"No! Leave her alone!" Ren shouted. She watched in horror as her father began to beat her sister, throwing her against the wall reluctantly.

Sayuri cowered, curling up into a fetal position in an effort to protect herself from the abuse. After a few more moments of pure pain, at last, the torture began to subside. Their father left the bedroom.

Ren crawled over to Sayuri, pulling her dark hair away from her tear-stained face.

"It's all right, Sayuri. We'll run away tonight. And he won't be able to hurt you any more…I promise." She whispered.

When the moon was full and bright, the twin girls crept out of their home and into the dark forest. The trees were far too lush to allow any light to pass through them, so the girls wandered on through the black night.

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Yukiko stroked her little black cat. She was sitting on a ledge with her sister, Yumiko, dangling their legs in midair.

"Do you think mother will let us keep her?" Yukiko asked her twin. Yumiko shook her head. Yumiko had not spoken since their father had been killed in the war.

"Well, perhaps if we ask nicely?" She wondered. She continued petting the precious kitten. She was delighted to find that he was very receptive, purring richly as she lavished him with great attention.

Yumiko had tried to pet the cat once, but was rather taken aback when he arched his back and hissed at her. She didn't try again.

Yukiko cooed in the kitten's ear, falling more in love with him every second that he lay contented in her lap.

"Girls! Your soup is getting cold!" Their mother called to them. She retreated into their home, leaving the sliding door open.

The kitten jumped off Yukiko's lap, his little paws passing swiftly through the tall grasses.

"Oh, no…" Yukiko cried. She ran after the kitten, weaving in and out of the grasses and trees, until she found herself in the woods.

She was all alone in the dark. The kitten had disappeared. Yukiko felt around and she was relieved to have discovered her sister behind her.

But try as they might, they could not find their way back out of the forest.

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Kaosu and Kiritsu danced around in a circle, their long, ebony-black hair falling across their backs like flowing water.

They fell to the ground, panting and laughing. They rolled onto their stomachs and examined the little cicadas up in the trees. They debated on whether or not to catch them and put them in a box.

Summer evenings in the forest were wonderful. All the flowers and trees were in full blossom, the animals were curious enough to be touched, the heat of the sun was softened by the shade, and the days lasted so long, one would believe that they would never end.

This particular summer day was a breezy one, casting a musky fragrance throughout the wood. It was a sweet, dense sort of smell.

Kaosu created her own little path near a running stream, lacing her fingers through the current.

Kiritsu made a game of jumping over the stream, sprinting from side to side with little effort and great ease.

They played for a long while, not even thinking of the time, or how quickly it was passing.

And before they knew it, the darkness had come. They were stranded in the black night, not knowing where to look for traces of the familiar.

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The forest was full of secrets. Secrets it never intended to keep for long.

Sayuri was entranced by the night. And by the beautiful crimson butterflies surrounding her.

She followed them with a willing spirit.