The screams were so loud and rang within my ears, which I tried so desperately to block out, but they found their way in. The gate…
I have to find the gate!
My breathing is so heavy as I run, my pristine white-clothed kimono torn and dirty.
Blood sat on it from places I scratched myself. I had become so careless in my search to get back, to not leave her alone. I didn't hear her fall behind. I didn't notice her slipping away. I didn't think of her injured leg. I just thought of getting her out of there. Yet, still…
"Sae! Sae, please answer me!" I can barely breathe but I have to keep running. The ceremony is coming, and even if I have to go through with it, I can't leave her behind. I can hear them screaming, but I can't find the village. Their scared and worried screams, and when I swear to see the light, it fades away into another swirl of trees.
"Sae! Sae!"
I can hear her scream too. Screaming for me, to find her and take her away.
I finally lurch to a stop before the gate. It's nothing but ruin and I can barely stand anymore, the sight so horrible.
"Sae!
I can't stand the sight but I can't tear my eyes away. I can't even motivate myself forward. Something holds me back.
"I'm sorry…"
The only thing I can do is cry, stand here and watch the remains of the village vanish behind the trees. Their still screaming, they're still shouting for help, and I hear a few shouting my name. A laugh shakes the ground. I cry louder and throw caution to the wind and run inside. Sae, I'm so sorry!
"Sae! Sae!" The darkness is thick and suffocating, my vision swirling, and I run through the oddly silent village. It's so quiet, yet, I run past houses where I can hear screams. I have to get to the place no one speaks of. This is the only way. I shouldn't have run. I should have made sure she was behind me. I should have made sure…
"Sae!" My breath is knocked as I slam into the door and run. I run into the heart of our mansion, so sad and bitter, running past chaos. I can't even comprehend. It's too much. I can't stop now…
My heart stops dead when I run down a hall and throw the sliding door open.
So much blood.
So many bodies.
My eyes begin watering and I choke back a sob, gagging at the smell of flesh beginning to rot and the cries and screams. I had done this. I wanted to run, and this was what the results were. I thought it wouldn't be so bad. I convinced myself the village deserved this, for forcing twins to go through such a cruel tradition, but now I can only think of everything I had done wrong. My back presses against the wall. I can't take a step without stepping in a puddle of crimson, and I cringe when some splashes onto my attire. I had done this. It was my fault, and I cry when I hear a cackling laugh followed by a pained shriek.
"S-Sae…?"
My voice is so hushed I was sure it went unheard. I forced myself to round the corner, afraid of seeing what I feared. More bodies appeared. There was a pile, and when I stepped forward, a man reached for me. He looks so terrified. I gasp and step back, the familiar face sending an ache through my chest. He fell limp to the floor, dead. This was my fault.
Terrified, I force myself to look up and finally fall to the floor in defeat.
"Sae! Sae, what have you done?!"
My sister stands there. She's pale, so much paler than before, a bruised line around her neck indicating that she was indeed dead. They had strangled her. Alone. She died, but not at my own hands. They were supposed to be hand marks; not a rope mark. I shouldn't have run.
Her lips twisted into an uncanny smile.
"Sae…what have I done?"
Her eyes finally rest on me. I get to my feet. It's so hard to even stand. My breathing is irregular and I try to calm it, my vision swimming as my body threatens to fall over. I can't…
There's so much…
Sae…
I shakily get to my legs, biting back another cry when she slashes a body near her. It twists in revulsion, the only noise a jolted cry of surprise and agony, before it falls limply. She laughs then, such a sadistic and twisted sound I question whether it is my sister anymore.
"Sae…"
I reach for her and the laughing only continues.
"Sae! Stop this!"
I lunge for her then. She catches me easily. Though she is weak physically, she is stronger emotionally, and she smiles down at me with blood tainted lips. Something is behind her. It fogs my senses and for a moment, all I can see is red. The screaming grows louder and I grow limp in her arms.
"Sae! Sae! Sae, stop this!" I grip her upper arms. I have to get through to her. I can't fade away now. I did this, I have to fix it. She leans close, her breath caressing my face. "I just want us to be together. We can be together now, right Yae?"
"Sae…" I blink, trying to clear the haze.
She leans away, a mix of emotions coloring her face. I let a small cry slip. This was my fault…
"Sae. Please stop this." I sink further, the only thing I can see is her ghostly face. It's so unnerving. The atmosphere is so heavy around me. I feel like I'm dying, yet at the same time, I feel a sense of comfort.
"We can be together now." She finally smiles and helps me up. She was practically holding me by then. My body is so heavy, yet, I stand easily to my feet. Her eyes are so dark now, so emotionless. I frown, taking a step away and jumping forward when I step on an arm. The person reaches for me. Their face is so scratched up I can't even tell whether it's a boy or girl.
I clutch my kimono tightly, backing away from the ill-inducing sight and run into my sister's arms. I turn to face her, tears running down my face. She only laughs and wipes a tear away, uncaring to what she had done. I can't be sure if she's even my sister anymore. Yet, I convince myself I see her in there. Deep, deep within her, is the sister I grew up with.
Her touch is so cold on my skin. It reminds me of those bitter winters we shared together. Then, we would keep each other warm and play together in the snow.
I can't move from her. I can't say a thing. I can only clutch the fabric in my hands tighter, my kimono a disastrous mess and tears rolling down my face. Even if I could save her this would never be fixed.
"Sae," I choke out.
"Yae," She replies easily.
She steps toward me and wraps me in a hug. It's so cold and unfeeling. Her heart is unnaturally stilled beneath her chest.
"Y…you're dead, Sae. You need to stop…Stop killing everyone." My voice is so weak.
Her hands play with my hair, inhaling a strand, and I feel her smile into it. "You said they deserved this. Now we can be together, and they can't stop us. They deserve this. We can still be one Yae. It isn't too late for me to be a butterfly."
"Sae…I-I…I can't. This is wrong. This isn't the way!"
She pulls back then, hurt on her face but her arms linger on my shoulders. "You…don't want to stay?"
"Sae, I-"
"You promised me." Her voice had grown dark and I stepped away then, confused and alarmed by her change of tone. She never raised her voice in anger at me. Her hands tightened on my shoulders, preventing me from leaving. I heard the cry before I realized it came from me. Her nails dug through the fabric of my kimono, a hurt look on her face. I felt the blood crawling down my skin, staining my fabric, and I tried not to be dizzy. It was too much.
The room erupted into screams. I slam my hands over my ears, crying in tune with the screams. I can't do this anymore…
"I'll wait for you here. Forever." She murmurs. I can't hear anything but the screaming after that. I start screaming too. It mixed with that haunting laugh I hate.
"Sae! SAE!"
So many voices scream for her. For me. For us…
My vision darkness completely and I finally fall. I still can't stop the crying and sobbing. I throw my hands over my eyes. My nails dig at my skin. This was my fault…
My fault…
I shouldn't have run…
"Forever Yae. I'll wait forever."
'Yae..Yae…'
"Yae…Yae!"
I gasp and look up. My eyes wide with fear resting on a man. He looks so familiar yet I can't place him. My eyes roam the trees, and vaguely, I wonder why it is I'm in a forest.
The man steps forward and holds an arm out. "Yae…?"
Is…that my name?
I can't think of anything. I only cry, for reasons I can't understand, and he looks at me in sympathy. I start sobbing and run to him. I feel like I know him. I feel something so familiar ache in my chest it burns. My hearts stutters when I reach him.
My hands grasp his attire with tight fingers. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
I can only wonder what it is I'm sorry for.