Lapse in Time: Prologue
The wind blew, harder and harder. Dark clouds formed in the afternoon sky, warning the people below of an oncoming storm. But she didn't care. Hitomi didn't even hear the sound of booming thunder. All that was audible to the young athlete was the beating of her feet against the track and her quick, steady breath. She ran faster and faster, never stopping, each stride bringing her closer to her destination. Even when she had passed the white line, she continued for quite a distance. Only the ecstatic voice of her friend could bring her out of the world that her mind only had created.
"Hitomi!" Yukari cried out excitedly while running after her friend. "You did it! You did it!"
Hitomi held out her arms, welcoming her friend's warm embrace. "I won the race?" she asked happily.
"You won the race and you beat thirteen seconds! You're amazing!" Yukari said, smiling.
Only seconds afterwards, Hitomi found herself surrounded by family and friends, all of them overly excited.
"Excellent job!" her father exclaimed.
"You're amazing Hitomi! I wish I could run like you can!" said a friend.
The comments flew at her like a raging storm. And all she wanted to do was escape it. Hitomi hadn't won the race for them; she had won it for herself. It was proof, proof that she had done the one thing that she had thought to be impossible. She had moved on.
When she had the chance, Hitomi made the short trip down to the train station. With only an umbrella and a coat to protect her from the icy rain that was now falling from the darkened sky, she walked towards the water. Looking out at the ocean, she whispered a name, a name of a boy who had forever changed her.
"Van," she said.
Suddenly the boy appeared on the rocks that sat several meters from the shore. His loving smile made Hitomi's heart melt.
"I did it Van," she said. "I'm doing just fine." Van's smile brightened even more.
"I miss you Van, and maybe one day I'll come back to Gaea, to Fanelia. But for now I think I'll just live among my own people. I'll give myself time to grow up, and then I shall decide."
Van nodded his head in agreement. "And I shall be waiting," he replied as his image slowly faded away.
Hitomi blew a kiss towards the rocks where Van had just been sitting, then turned towards the train station.
Till we meet again, my love, she thought.
Chapter 1: Return to Fanelia
It was a beautiful afternoon. Fluffy white clouds gathered in the sky above, and the sun's warmth brought happiness to the people bellow. Children ran around, playing youthful games while their parents watched with proud eyes.
On one side of the park, a young woman was sitting on an old bench, moving her pen smoothly across the paper before her. Every so often she would look up from her writing and watch the clouds moving and changing.
Dear Diary, she wrote.
The clouds are so beautiful today. I wish I could reach out and touch them. I'm sure they would be very soft. Yesturday I won the race! And I beat thirteen seconds! Yukari was so happy for me; you should've seen her face when she told me the news! It has really been hard for me over the last year. I don't believe I've told you yet, have I? I guess I was too busy to write about it.
When I returned from Gaea, the school year was already over. In order to catch up, I had to take summer school so that I could pass into the next grade. I was so busy that summer that I barely had enough time to practice for track. So when school started and it was time for tryouts, I almost didn't make the team. And to think I used to be one of the fastest runners on the girls team! It took a lot of practice to improve. And oh how I missed Gaea and my friends, Allen, Millerna, Merle, Van; especially Van. There was always something about Van that I found interesting. Maybe it was his hidden personality. Maybe I could sense that.
I wonder what he's doing now. We talk telepathically sometimes, and every once in a while we see each other. Like last night. I went down to the harbor and saw him there. I told him that I was planning on staying here on Earth for a while. I have a good reason. I'm still only sixteen years old; I have my whole life ahead of me. That's why I left Fanelia in the first place. It's hard to tell if a teenage love is real. What if I didn't love Van? It's best that I stay here and grow up first. Then I can decide whether my love for Van is real and if it's worth it to move to Fanelia, or anywhere in Gaea for that matter. Still, I do miss him. Well, I should go practice for finals. Thank you for listening.
The young woman put her diary away her in bag, and, after taking one final glance at the blue sky she slowly walked away.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Come on Hitomi! Run as though you were in the finals!" Yukari scolded. Hitomi seemed very distracted today. After her strange disappearance, she would space out every so often. Yukari was beginning to wonder if Hitomi actually did know what had happened to herself during those months that she had been gone.
Hitomi ran as fast as her aching legs could carry her, but she just couldn't concentrate. She felt as though something was going to happen very soon, something bad. Ever since her return to Earth, her visions had completely stopped, so this worried her greatly. What on earth could be so important that her psychic powers were reawakening in order to warn her?
Hitomi soon paid for her absent minded behavior. She tripped on a rock that had been laying on the track and fell onto her left side.
"Hitomi, are you ok?" Yukari called, running after her. Hitomi stood up and smiled, even though her left leg was stinging.
"Yeah, I'm ok...." she began.
"If you concentrated on your running Hitomi you wouldn't trip!" Yukari scolded. "Why are you so distracted today anyway?"
"Well....um....I...."
"Oh, don't worry about it. We have half an hour left; how about we go get an iced cappuccino instead? It's getting really hot" Hitomi nodded.
"I could really use one right now. I'm famished." Hitomi quickly grabbed her bag and ran after Yukari, trying her best to hide her worried expression.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Everything is going well, your Highness," a middle aged man announced. "At current rates, Fanelia should be completely rebuilt within the next few years."
"That's excellent Pyrus," a young boy replied unenthusiastically.
"Lord Van, why is it that you are often so depressed? It can't possibly have anything to do with the Great War, could it? That was almost a year ago. We have no time to worry about the past."
"It's nothing of your concern," Van replied. Pyrus nodded his head and walked out of the room. Van sighed heavily and clutched the pendant that was always around his neck.
Van thought about Hitomi a lot. Her warm smile, and her lovely voice; everything about her was amazing. Being a sixteen year old king was not easy, and having almost no one to help him through his teenage years was very devastating. Even Merle could not provide adequate comfort; she was still too childish to understand.
Van looked at the pile of letters sitting in front of him. Almost every one of them was from a king offering their assistance in the rebuilding of Fanelia. It warmed his heart to know that so many people cared about the well being of his country: yet, he felt very lost and alone without Hitomi to keep him grounded.
"I hope you return to Fanelia someday, Hitomi," he whispered.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Yukari couldn't believe what her friend was saying. How could that possibly be the cause of her distraction?
"I know it's hard to believe Yukari but I just know that something bad is going to happen to me! I don't know why or when, I just know it's going to happen very soon," Hitomi insisted. "And there's nothing we can do to stop it."
"Oh Hitomi," Yukari sighed, "I believe you, but what's the point of telling me if there's nothing we can do?" Hitomi reached across the table and placed her hand on Yukari's.
"Because you're my best friend," she explained. "I wanted you to know just in case we never see each other again."
"Oh Hitomi!" Yukari cried, breaking down into tears. Hitomi opened her mouth in order to speak, but she sensed something coming. Moments later, Yukari's brown eyes went wide and Hitomi found herself bathed in light.
"NO, HITOMI!" Yukari screamed as she was lifted into the sky.
I actually started writing this a long time ago, but I never finished it. I want to know if I should just forget about it or if I should continue with the next chapter. Could you please tell me in a review? And PLEASE be completely honest. You won't hurt my feelings, trust me. I don't like the prologue and the first chapter that much anyway; the rest of the story will be more interesting.