Backstory

✎...Childhood
tw: bullying

Hui Yi, also known as Heatherr, an English name he was given by his parents, is a single child who grew up in Manchester, England. His mother, who was an immigrant from China had travelled to England where she met his father. Hui Yi was born with heterochromia, an illness which causes one eye colour to look different than the other. His mother would frequently remind him that he was special and he needn’t worry about the indifference he had compared to his other family members. His parents were overly hard working; his mother a nurse while his father, a real estate agent. They hardly had time to spend together, and hence, Hui Yi was then cared for by his grandmother. His grandmother had taught him moral principles since young and therefore, Hui Yi grew up to be a polite boy. Hui Yi was contented with his family and his childhood life, being able to be surrounded with his loved ones and also making new friends in kindergarten. He was enjoying the young days like a normal child would, that is until he was admitted to school.

It all started with the stares given by his classmates, examining closely at his eyes specifically. They would ask why his eyes were that way and questioned if he was only searching for attention. Now, Hui Yi was never exposed to children who were somewhat rebellious, hence he hadn’t had the courage to stand up for himself. He would usually be taken advantage of due to his condition, since he was labelled as “not normal”. His bullying became worse when the teachers had taken a liking to his diligence in school. Some of his classmates were displeased by the difference of treatment and continued their bullying, mostly verbally. He would sometimes be greeted with threats early in the morning through paper letters. Those words impacted the little boy which led to the disruption of mentality at a young age. He started to lose his attention in class, falling behind academically. It wasn’t long before his parents noticed the change in their only child, which proceeded to their decision to transfer him to homeschooling.

Although still a little traumatised, his parents continued to support him and encouraged him to stay strong. Overtime, his condition became better and his education was once more on track. Since he spent time more at home, his relationship with his grandmother had grown, forming a deeper connection with her. He regards her as his second parent, and would play with her after he was done with school. He became open to the older woman and talked about the childhood shows he watched or the subjects he learnt when in class. It became a daily chatter for the little boy and his grandmother so much that he had grown attached to her.

✎...Teenagehood
tw: thoughts about self-harm

Everything was going smoothly once more after he continued his studies through homeschooling and his parents frequently coming home then. Sadly, those times didn’t last very long. At the age of sixteen, Hui Yi had learnt the worst pain he had ever experienced. It was the period where he learnt of his mother’s illness, which was stage 4 cancer, that resulted in her being only to live until a certain time. Hui Yi was already devastated enough after the news that his left eye has worsened from the chronic inflammation. He hoped that everything was a dream, but sadly, it wasn’t the case. Hui Yi wasn’t able to handle the situation, growing mentally unstable to the point where he wanted to gouge his eye out due to his condition becoming way more unpleasant.

After his mother's death, Hui Yi lived alone with his father and grandmother. The day of his mother’s death ceremony, everyone gathered to pray for their condolences to the family. Hui Yi knew he had to look strong for his grandmother but he still wasn’t able to accept the reality of things himself. It was a depressing time for him which he knew he had to move on with, especially since he knew the other members of his family were experiencing the same sorrow as him. Or so he thought until he heard of his father’s date a few months after. Even though being supportive was what he was supposed to do as his father’s child, he didn’t accept that he was moving on too fast. Nonetheless, he didn’t interfere with his father’s relationship.

As the weeks passed by, Hui Yi had to undergo surgery for his left eye. Although it was successful, he wasn’t able to see through his left eye as clearly as before. It was bothersome in the beginning, but had grown used to it over time. The most support he was given was from his grandmother, who stood by his bed the whole time he was admitted in the hospital whereas his father came in and out due to work. He didn’t expect much from them as being in their presence alone was enough. He knew that eventually he would only have one working eye left and just having the thought of it was enough to make him feel a little more scattered than before.

✎...Adulthood

As he grew into adulthood, Hui Yi has learnt to overcome the negative feelings he experienced. He grew to accept his insecurities, even though he had to change a little of how he presents himself. Hui Yi was able to catch up with his studies after the mournful period, gaining himself the credibility to continue his education. Choosing Arts as his career path, Hui Yi was able to get himself a spot in a university abroad. He was a little relentless about the idea of leaving his grandmother behind but with much persuasion from her, he finally decided to study abroad. His father had helped him with the costs of his university and was able to support his child from afar. Hui Yi was against relying his father and yet again, the sweet talk from his grandmother was enough for him to give in to his father’s help.

After settling in the new environment for a year, Hui Yi is able to find himself comfortable with his surroundings. His current residence is the dorms provided by the university, although he did make plans to move out once he was much more stable with his income. His father insisted on providing one for him but Hui Yi rejected his help. He didn’t want to rely entirely on his father and would like to be independent for once. He had found himself a fixed part-time job at a tattoo shop nearby his university to support him financially. His shifts mostly included him attending to customers who had made reservations that day. Due to his education, he was able to produce impressive results that had his customers satisfied.

Throughout his time there, he had made the least friends since he is rather on the antisocial side. He doesn’t talk much, nor make visible, bright expressions which make it hard for people to approach him. He didn’t mind it, though. In fact, he was glad he didn’t have to interact with too many people. He was still a little insecure of his disability and making acquaintances would cause him to overthink their judgement towards him, which he would rather avoid. He goes about his day like normal, following his routine which consists of morning nap, studying, work, and all over again.