The screaming was still going on. Then as suddenly as it, began, it stopped leaving my ears ringing. The sudden silence brought me to my knees, I knew he was gone and there was nothing I could do to change it. As much as I longed to I couldn't bring myself to look at him. I began to clean up the shattered glass of things he's broke in his final fit to keep my mind off of him. Tears sprang into my eyes as the remains of our belongings were being swept away just as my brother's life had been. The single crystal vase stood by his bedside containing the chrysanthemum that I had brought in only hours before to cheer him up. Then I walked over to the side of his bed. Everything about him looked as though he was sleeping, except his faced which was frozen in his final agonizing scream. Iakona bright green eyes stared unseeing into the ceiling as if he could see something. My heart ached; it longed to see him wake up ok from an endless slumber. I knew that I couldn't stay here, but I needed to gather papers from around the house that held memories. All of the letters and records of past events. Our papers had been kept in various locations so if someone came, not everything would be lost. The patch-worked bag that my mother had made sat in the wicker chair in the hall outside of the room. It was filled with sewing materials that I dumped out before I began to gather the papers. My first destination was the safe in the front room that contained all the financial records along with the small bundle of money and various stacks of coins. Carefully, I loaded these into the bag. Next I went to the bedside table in my brother's room. It was locked as always. Feeling slightly guilty I removed the key from around his neck and unlocked the drawer. It held a red leather bound journal that I had bought for him. He said that it was going to be used as a gift, but now was not the time for curiosity, with a key hidden underneath a pile of letters received from an old childhood friend. I grabbed the letters and journal as well as the key and stowed them in my bag. Silently creeping around the house I managed to find the rest of the papers I needed except those of which remained in my parents room. I hadn't entered that room since the day my parents died. Slowly opening the door I peeked in not really knowing what I was expecting to see. Quickly grabbing the papers and leaving with a sense of ill ease, I reentered Iakona's room. It surprised me when a strange and bizarre looking man was standing looking at my lifeless brother. He turned to me displaying a sadistic smile.
"You can bring him back," he told me laughing. "All you have to do is call his name." The hope in me soared but instantly my heart dropped. I was torn. I so desperately wanted to bring him back. My brain was swirling with possibilities of the things we could do together again.
"Well?" he asked after several minutes of me thinking.
"No." I said defiantly confident.
"Are you sure? Can you pay the consequences?" he asked.
"Yes." I replied certain. He put his hand to his face as if thinking.
"Alright then you foolish, foolish girl, you only have selfish reasons for not bringing him back. Since you won't let him see this world anymore, neither shall you. Take one last look at your dear brother, and remember his face, because it is the last time you'll ever see it." I quickly looked to my brother and studied his face for only a few seconds with the man in my peripheral vision. And with that my vision faded. The last thing I was ever to see was the grotesque man standing next to my lovely, yet sadly, deceased brother. It appeared as though the odd man had vanished but I couldn't be sure. No sound came from anywhere, not even the faintest birds' chirp from the old oak tree. The shock of all the occurrences that day caused my body to shut down, leaving me unconscious.
I woke to nothingness. I tried to open my eyes but they were already open. Crawling over to where I instinctively knew my brother to be, I reached up and grabbed his hand. His cold skin pierced the memories of what had happened. I let his cold hand drop in shock to the side of the bed where it had been before. The memories reran in my head causing a new pain to arise in me. After my tears had stopped I reached across his cold corpse to claim the ring that was now rightfully mine, now that I was the only one left to carry on for him. This would be the best thing to remember my brother by. He had loved this ring. I slipped it onto the golden chain that held my parents wedding rings, but a coldness crept into me at that thought. It felt wrong to have them all together. Slipping it back off, I fit the beautiful ring onto my left ring finger. Iakona's hands had never grown past a childs, so the ring fit perfectly. Slinging the bag over my shoulder I took a last unneeded glance back at him forgetting I couldn't see. Then stumbling through the house and down the stairs I used the wall as a guide to help me out of the house. Once I had reached the door I found the old oil lamp that was always lit and smashed it against the unpolished wooden floors. I could feel the heat of the flames licking my heels as I hurried out of the house after making sure it had caught. Stopping at the old oak tree on top of a small hill, I could hear the crackling and popping as the flames engulfed the place I once called home, erasing any leftover evidence. A moment of sadness arose in me; I tried to remind myself why I had done it. But it still didn't wash away the sad, lonely feeling I had felt all too much in my short life.
"You're free." I whispered to Iakona's spirit hoping he could understand. The sound of running footsteps approached behind me. I rolled around the tree trying to see who it was yet again forgetting I couldn't.
"Are you ok?" a child like voice asked from nearby. The footsteps slowed as they approached me. I tried to say something but the words wouldn't come.
"We need to get back to headquarters with her." A deep annoyed voice growled.
"Kanda behind you!" the child like voice warned. Loud gunshot rang through the valley.
A third voice yelled, "Watch out!" It seemed he was referring to me but I couldn't be sure. At that moment I felt an enormous impact coming from all directions.