Hina's Character Story

Chapter 1

We were a perfectly average family leading a perfectly average life.
I used to love Sundays when I was little.
It was the one day of the week I got to spend with
Mom, Dad, and my little brother.
We'd always make lunch together.
And cooking is such an adventure for a little kid.
I'd try to copy the cooking video playing on the tablet,
but every time I went to crack an egg, things got...interesting.
I'd go through an entire carton trying to get it right, and
Dad would laugh each time I didn't.
One day, I finally got my egg in the
pan with a minimal amount of shell.
I whispered the magic word for my secret flipping technique and...
"EEEEEK!"
My brother poked the ticklish spot on my side,
causing the egg to smear all over the pan.
He was always such a little jerk...
Anyway, I draped the remains of the egg over
some golden rice and called it good.
Then I drew a smiling sun on it with ketchup and gave it to Dad.
"This looks just like you," he said. And just like a sun, I beamed.

Chapter 2

It was the first parents' visiting day of my elementary school life.
The unusual prospect of a family visit set the class abuzz.
Even our teacher—who was terrifying when angry—seemed nervous.
Dad even took off work so he could come.
Our first class of the day was social studies, followed by science and math.
Whenever the teacher asked who knew an answer, I waved my hand over
my head like a crazy person and screamed, "Me, me, me!"
Dad watched as I breezily wrote the answer down on the blackboard.
In our final class, the students had to give a
presentation about the origins of our names.
Everyone seemed embarrassed by their parents'
reasons for choosing names.
But I was ready. The day before, Dad said they named me
Hina because it means "sunshine."
We wanted you to smile as brightly as the sun, he'd said.
When I was finished, my teacher told me my name suited me perfectly.
"You do have a very bright smile! It always cheers me up."
My friends all agreed, and I felt like I was going to explode with pride.

Chapter 3

When I got to high school, our family underwent a seismic shift.
My parents got divorced.
We used to cook together on the weekend.
Go on trips together. Now everything was different.
I thought happy families like ours only got ripped apart in TV shows.
I ended up living with Dad.
He was mentally and emotionally broken,
and no longer smiled like he used to.
He'd just lay down and stare into space.
Even breathing seemed to cause him pain.
The people around me all worried about him.
Teachers. Counselors. Friends.
They constantly asked if I was doing okay,
and seemed to be searching for a way to connect with me.
But I just smiled and said everything was fine.
Even if it wasn't. Even if I was miserable.
Because as long as I kept smiling...
I thought there was a chance Dad would go back to his old self.

Chapter 4

The days following the divorce turned into weeks. Months.
I tried everything I could think of to get our
lives back, all while going to school.
I just wanted a life like everyone else.
But if Dad and I ever wanted to get there,
I was going to have to put in some serious work.
And I had no idea just how far we'd actually fallen.
One day, I was having a mindless chat with a friend on the phone.
We were gossiping about random things at school.
Near the end of the call, she got serious
and asked if everything was okay at home.
"Everything's fine!" I replied in a chipper voice.
I ended the call.
The screen went black.
I could see my reflection in its surface,
my face strained under the weight of a false smile.
And in that moment, I understood everything.
My parents chose my name because they
wanted me to smile as brightly as the sun.
But it quickly became a curse that bound me.
Because no matter how hard or painful my life...
Everyone expected me to have a brilliant, beaming smile on my face.

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