Pieces
Chapter 1
I woke up, confused about where I was. I looked around me, and saw two people sitting around, crowding me. They all looked concerned for me, yet at the same time, relieved I had woken up.
"Good morning." A woman greeted, "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine. Where am I?"
"You're in Hachi, also known as District sixty-three." said a man.
"District sixty-three? What is this place?" I asked.
"Why don't we make you some tea and we'll explain to you what happened." the woman offered.
The two got up, and went over to an old-looking oven. I stood up from the floor, and began to walk around and examine the small house. There was a small television across from an old, torn love seat. In front of the love seat, there was a wooden coffee table. The tea was done, and the two came back into the room and set three cups on the coffee table and poured the hot tea inside.
The man and the woman sat on the love seat while I sat on the floor. I lightly blew on the tea before I took a sip. They two did the same.
"We are all in the Rukon District." started the man, "The Rukon district is made up of over eighty different districts." The man then sipped at his tea. The man had dark brown hair that hung a little below his ears. He looked to be about twenty, he had a little dark stubble of hair at the tip of his chin. He wore old, patched up clothing. His muscles flexed as he carefully set his cup on the table.
The woman who sat next to him had blonde hair wrapped up in a white ribbon. She wore a blue dress with a few noticable stitches scattered around. Her eyes were blue, but much darker than mine. She wrapped her right hand around the base of the cup, while she lifted the cup with her left. She sat there quietly as then man next to her spoke.
"The Rukon District is where souls go once they have died." said the man.
"Wait! You're saying, I'm dead?" I blurted.
"Yes. We found you passed out over at the edge of Hachi." said the woman, "We decided to bring you back here, and see if you were alright."
"We're being rude. Why don't we introduce ourselves. I'm Derek," he introduced.
"And I'm Vera." said the woman, "What's your name?"
The question stumped me. What was my name? I couldn't remember anything until now. Without thinking twice, I answered, "My name is Kirie."
"Well, Kirie, you are welcome to stay here." Derek offered.
"Thank you." I thanked.
We all finished our tea, then Vera showed me the room I was to sleep in. It was a smalll room, nothing more than a bed, and a nightstand. Once we were done, Derek handed me some clothes she had gotten from the hamper. I then realized my clothes were dirty, I thanked him then went back to my room to change. I came back out, changed into a tank top and a pair of caprees.
"Why don't you go outside? You can meet some of the neighbors." Derek suggested.
I did as he said, and went outside. I was surprised when I took my first step outside of the house. Instead of the streets being paved with cement, which I was oddly expecting, they were covered with dirt. I sat out front, watching two young kids playing tag across the dirt road. I then began to think, about how I got here, how this happened. I tried to remember things about my old life, but I couldn't remember anything. I couldn't even remember my old name. My head began to hurt, and I decided to stop trying and just enjoy my new life, here.
"Hey, you must be new here." said a girly voice from behind me. I turned around and saw a girl. She had black, curly hair, with dark brown eyes. She was a little shorter than me. I stood up to greet her.
"Yeah I am. I'm Kirie." I greeted.
"Hi I'm Miku. How old are you?" she asked.
"Uh, I'm not sure." I answered.
"What do you mean?" she questioned.
"I don't remember much up until a few minutes ago."
"Well, you look like you're around seventeen." Miku answered, "Why don't you come with me to the market? The people I live with gave me some money for groceries. You can come with me." she offered.
I took the offer and decided to go with her. The market was outside and full of merchants selling different things. Most of the merchants sold different types of foods, but there were a few selling other things. Miku took me by every one of the merchants, and we browsed through their goods. I looked over on one merchant's stand, and saw a necklace in a basket. I don't know what drew me to the necklace, but I just had to have it. I searched my pockets for some money, thinking that I might have had some when I died, but I didn't. Miku then caught me off guard and startled me from behind.
"Hey Kirie, watch'ya lookin' at?" Miku asked.
"Nothing, just a necklace I liked."
"Well, I got all the things I needed to get, and I have a little extra money. Why don't I buy it for you?" she offered.
"That's really nice, but I couldn't let you do that."
"Nonsense, think of it as a 'welcome to the District' present."
She then told me to get the necklace as she paid the woman. The necklace wasn't anymore than a metallic symbol tied to a piece of string. I put it on, and let it hang from my neck. Miku and I then began to walk back to her house. On the way home, we ran into a couple of her friends.
"Oh, hi Tom, this is Kirie. She's new to the district." Miku introduced.
"Hi." he said shyly.
Tom looked to be about twelve. His hair was black, and very messy. He was a skinny boy, a little too skinny. His rib cage showed every time he took in a breath. He didn't wear a shirt, only a pair of black shorts. There was a little girl, hidden behind him. She looked no more than five years old.
"This is my sister, Kimmy." he introduced the little girl.
She slowly came out from behind her brother. She wore a little green dress than had a few dirt stains on it. Her hair was red, it matched perfectly with her olive toned skin. There was a blue ribbon resting ontop of her head. She looked down at the ground as she greeted me.
"Nice to meet you two." I said quietly.
"So, you're new here?" Tom asked.
"Yeah, Miku kind of gave me a tour through the District's market."
"Maybe tomorrow all of us can give you a tour through the whole district." Tom offered.
"Yeah, that sounds fun! Come on Kirie, I'll take you home," Miku said.
We said goodbye to Tom and Kimmy and walked the rest of the way home. I was surprised when I found out Miku's house was just behind mine. I wished her a goodnight, then retired into my room for the rest of the night. I sat on my bed, and began to stare at my necklace Miku had bought me. Something about it seemed so familiar. Then I suddenly paused, like I was beginning to go into a trance.
"Here, I want you to have this." a man then gave a girl a small wrapped box.
"Dad, you don't have to give me anything." said the girl.
"Of course I do! Next month my baby girl is going off to college! This will be the last birthday I can have with my little girl for a while. Now go ahead and open it!" the man said, very egar for her to open the present.
The girl opened the small box. A necklace, with a symbol was hanging from her hands. She looked at back at the man, her face lit up with happiness. Her father smiled back at her.
"That symbol means serenity in Japanese." he said, "It used to belong to your grandfather."
The girl hurried up and put the necklace on, and moved her hair out of its way so her father could see it.
"You look beautiful." he commented.
I suddenly snapped out of my trance, and looked back down at the necklace. I then looked at the symbol.
"Just like the one in that vision." I mumbled to myself.
I then lied back on my bed, and started to think about what the vision meant, until I blissfully fell asleep