Author's Note; Hello! Thanks so much for checking this out and reading. I appreciate it so much and would love it if you reviewed my work. Comments, questions, and concerns concerning this writing are welcomed with open arms. I would really like if you shared with me things I could work on since I crave improvement. ^^ This is a fanfiction revolving around an OC by the name of Sonora and as events lead onto others...well, you'll see what happens! I'm not too sure when and how it'll end..I honestly have no clue to that. But you can expect a good amount of chapters from this. I...sadly didn't have the brilliance to come up with One Piece, so I do not own it. But if I did then Luffy and Nami would be smoochin' and huggin' and all that amazing stuff. (; This is rated T for violence...language...and possible romance. I don't think anything M-rated will appear, but if so, you'll get a fair warning in the Author's Note. Alright, thanks again and happy reading! :D Tell me whatchur think.
I woke up, not too sure where I was, what had happened, and why I was on the dirt ground. I was out of breath, rasps escaped my gaping mouth instead of smooth inhales and exhales. I looked around me, struggling to focus my gaze.
Buildings were destroyed, turned over, even. Trees were uprooted, plant life dead. All that remained of the roads were rubble and pulverized gravel. It was as if a huge monster from Grand Line had walked through and took no notice to what it annihilated.
At first, that was what I had believed, a huge Sea King made its way to this village. But then, the first thing that came back to me was that I was far from Grand Line, too inland to be bothered with the sea's creatures. I was in my village in the middle of the main road.
Why I was there to begin with, in the middle of the road? I wasn't sure... But I did know that those were my fellow townsfolk lying on the ground around me, bleeding and dying. What had happened?
I racked my brain, trying to remember, trying to pull myself together…
I poised myself to get up, but with a yelp, I slumped back down to the ground, clutching my side. Putting my hand in front of my face, which was drenched with blood, the second thing I realized came to me: I, obviously, was injured.
Hesitantly, I looked down on the wound, afraid of what I would see.
A sword injury, I concluded by the looks of it. I was slashed mercilessly, but by who?
I rested my aching head in my free hand, gently smacking myself. Well, doing this won't help me remember.
Gripping onto my side, I got up onto my feet slowly. Woozy, I made myself to turn in a circle, getting a full look of my once upright and standing village. I…live here. I shook my head with disbelief. The place where I had grown up, the place where I had spent my first 19 years in, was ruins.
I forced myself to correct my last statement: I lived here.
I stumbled over to the nearest person and gently turned them over so that I could see their face. He owned a produce stand on this street, made good business, too. Dead. I walked over to the next person, a woman who I recall had two children and lived a few streets away. Dead, with a knife still stuck firm in her chest. I swore I scouted out the entire village, observing every body, recognizing almost every one. I was in utter shock.
I made the decision to go back to my place, treat my wound, and then the rest would come to me sooner or later. I found it so weird that I couldn't remember what had happened. You'd think that you'd remember a little too vividly, the slaughter of your neighbors. But not a single recollection crept into my mind.
The walk to my cabin was eerie. There was no sound, not even the whisper of wind. It was like the world had been stilled, frozen, just so that I can make the trip to my home in horror. Horror, that's the next thing I realized. I was scared beyond belief. I would've quickened my pace, but my cut said otherwise. So slowly but surely, I made my way to my cabin.
It was dark by the time I arrived at the door. Or, should I say, the gaping hole where my door should've been. Ripped off its hinges, no doubt. So I just stepped in and found my way blindly around to the bathroom.
I rummaged around the cupboards until I found the proper medicine. I cried in pain as I treated my wound, stinging and still bleeding. It wasn't a shallow cut at all, but not deep enough to be fatal. Panting, I made my way to my room and got to my chest-of-drawers. Without a care, I took the first piece of cloth I touched, ripped off a proper amount, and tied it around my torso. A makeshift bandage, sure, but it'd do for now.
I struggled out the doorframe, back outside in the silence. I was at a lost at what to do and for the first time in a long time, I felt hopeless.
A distant cough snapped me out of my thoughts and back to the present. I strained my ears, praying that I didn't just imagine that sign of life. A minute or two passed before I heard the cough again. As fast as I could, I staggered towards the voice's direction.
I came upon the body after a few yards, in the shade of an uprooted tree. In the faint moonlight, I recognized neighbor and old friend Eden. She was in terrible shape, bent and twisted beneath the gnarly roots of the tree. I gently got her out from underneath and laid her out in the open. She looked like she put up a fight against the enemy, but her opponent must've been stronger. She had stab wounds all along her body and it seemed like her bleeding wouldn't stop, or would stop only when she had none left. She and I knew alike that she wasn't going to make it.
"What happened here?" I whispered, barely able to hear myself. "Eden?"
She looked into my eyes, my own terrified gaze reflecting back at me. She attempted to speak, but ended up coughing up blood instead. I tried consoling her as she got her breath back with much difficulty.
After a few minutes of her raspy breathing, she gasped to me, "Sonora, I'm so glad you're safe. Everyone else is dead…aren't they?"
I caught my words, finding it hard to say "yes". But my hesitation let her know, and tears formed in her eyes.
"It was horrible," she sobbed. "Horrible. Pirates. Lots of them. They attacked the entire village, stole everything they laid their eyes on. K-killed everyone..." I let her weep for the tragedy, the obnoxious sound of her bawling making the situation seem more real.
So it was pirates. My blood boiled at the thought of the greedy, murderous bunch, killing off my people. My chin shook with tears that wouldn't spill and I curled in, my shaking chin pressed up against my knees. This position must've been horrible for my current condition, but I stayed put, appreciating the pain. That pain was the only thing that felt real. My eyes closed, I listened to Eden sob, wishing I could do the same.
It seemed like several hours passed, and that was proven by the hint of pink forming in the dark sky. I stared at the horizon without a thought in my head, not blinking. "Dawn," Eden murmured.
She looked a wreck, the blood on her body looked more significant against her pale skin. I remember when we were young, playing in the streets without a care in the world. We were great friends back then, but as time passed, we grew apart. Nowadays, we're friendly, but aren't as close as we were. Staring at her on the brink of death, I was regretful.
"I'm sorry," I began, my voice wavering. "I'm sorry…so sorry…," by the fresh tears streaming down her face, I could tell she understood.
She held out her right hand, showing me a gold band with a precious opal. I remember this ring well. We were walking down the coast long ago, searching for shells to add to our immense collection. Her eye had caught sight of the stone and plucked up the gorgeous ring. "My lucky day!" she cried, placing it upon her ring finger. I had watched her face crinkle in frustration as she then placed the too-big ring upon her middle finger, then her pointer, and finally settling on her thumb. Even then, it was too big and I laughed at how ridiculous she looked sporting that ring.
...But she never took it off. Seeing it now fit perfectly upon her ring finger, where it was meant to be, took my breath away. So much time has gone by since then.
"Take it," she whimpered. I looked at her, eyes round. "Please! Take it," although her eyes were dull and tired, they had a fierce fire about them.
Reluctantly, I slipped the ring off and let it sit in the palm of my hand. "I need you to promise me two things," she whispered. I didn't take my eyes off of her as she said "First, guard that ring with your life. That's a dying wish from me to you," at this, her eyes shut, and I would've thought she died right then and there if it weren't for her saying, barely audible "S-second, you must find who did this,"
"Eden, Eden, I don't remember anything," tears welled up at last in my eyes, blurring my vision of my dying friend. "How can I do anything if I don't remember?" I pounded my fist against the cold ground in frustration.
"You must, you must kill them…kill them for destroying our home," Eden said more confidently. "I know how much this village meant to you," at this, my eyes flew wide open. "So do that for me, so I can pass on knowing that you'll find peace eventually," she turned her eyes up at me, not a single tear in her gaze. "Please, Sonora?"
We looked at each other for a minute, me crying silently at her words. There was no way I could find who did this, not a single chance. But she was looking at me so seriously, all I could do was nod. "Good," she said, pleased. Her eyes closed again and her breaths grew shorter.
"Their flag, upon it was the moon," she muttered.
"Wha-," I shook my head. "The moon? Do you mean th-," I cut my words short.
I closed her eyelids and stood up. I looked up at the sky, new tears sliding down my face.
Truthfully, it wasn't all that long ago that we were playing hop-scotch, jump rope, and annoying the village boys. The boys, I thought, they must be dead, too. With that thought in mind, I bent down and unraveled a shoelace from my battered shoe. The white lace has mud and blood stains, but it would work perfectly. I slipped the thread through the ring, tied the ends of the lace together, and slid is over my head. With the ring constantly bouncing off my neck on the blood-soaked lace, I could never forget my promise.
Just before I blacked out, I then came to realize I was all alone.