Prologue
I remember that day like it was yesterday.
Its events will forever be imprinted into my mind. I will always be able to replay it as though I were re-living the same day for the rest of eternity.
That day goes by so many names: "The Day the Sky Parted," "The Day the Sun Went Black," "Doomsday," "Armageddon." However, it was not just the end of the world—it was the end of my world.
It was the beginning of a new world, which I could only describe as a living, breathing hell.
"I win," Kobe said flatly.
Frustrated, I tossed my Xbox controller onto the floor and crossed my arms. I shot a death glare at my brother, who had a smug look on his face. Couldn't say I blamed him, though. I mean, I would too if I'd just beaten my older sister for the fourteenth time in a row in the easiest fighting game known to man. Honestly, I can't think of anything more humiliating or depressing.
"Want another go?" he finally asked after he got the hint that I wasn't talking to him. I shook my head, and turned my nose up at the air.
"No, I'm tired of letting you win," I said, and then thought, "So much for the silent treatment."
Kobe let out a cough and turned back to the screen. "Winter, you suck," he said with a cheesy smirk. He pressed the "REMATCH" button onscreen, then continued to mercilessly beat up my fighter, who of course did nothing to retaliate.
"Hey! Hey!" I yelled, grabbing my controller and pressing random buttons. "You coward!"
"Don't get mad at me 'cause you suck at fighting games!" Kobe snapped.
"Yeah, well YOU suck at life!"
"I'd rather suck at life than suck at fighting games! ...Wait..."
"You should re-think what you just said." I grinned, feeling victorious. Little brothers could be so naive. Kobe rolled his eyes, and we continued to play another round of "Arcadian Warrior."
That is how I usually spent most of the days of my life: sitting in the living room with my ten year-old brother, playing fighting games that, no matter how much practice I got, I never improved at. Every day Kobe and I would play this game, and every day of the one hundred-something rounds we'd play, I would usually win about ten of them.
Why did I continue to play them, one may ask? My own stubborn effort was the main reason.
The other half of my day was spent either drawing pictures, taking care of my two year-old brother Rei, or helping my mom around the house. But most of the time it was just me, Kobe, and the Xbox.
Today however was the event of, perhaps, my entire life. Any minute now, my dad would come home from work and whisk me off to Noburi Park where we were going to watch the super nova of the century! Apparently, a certain star that NASA had been keeping tabs on was set to explode in just a few hours.
This star was said to be the second closest to Earth's proximity next to the Northern Star, and its Supernova would be a once-in-a-lifetime sight. Me, being the astro-nerd that I am, just couldn't pass up a chance like this! After months of begging my parents prior to the day, raising my grades, and doing chores, I had finally convinced them to let me go by myself. Mom couldn't go because she had to stay at home and take care of Rei, whose metabolism wouldn't allow him to stay up late enough to watch it anyway; Kobe decided not to go because he thought that it was a waste of time; and Dad wasn't staying for long because he had to go back to another company meeting once he was done picking me up. It had made me sad that they weren't going to be able to come with me, but in life you take what's handed to you, and work for the rest.
Kobe and I finished our game. But before taking my leave to my room, I promised him that I would have revenge. He brushed it off and laughed at me, pointing to my heinous win-loss record on the screen. I did my best to ignore him as I thumped up the stairs to my bedroom and closed the door behind me. Then I began to organize a list of the things I would need for the day.
"Binoculars: check!" I said, tossing a worn-out pair of binoculars into a gym bag. "Sketchbook: check! Cell phone: check! Camcorder, extra glasses, emergency phonebook, wallet, notepad, blanket, diary: check, check, check, check, aaand check!" I smiled as I swept all of the items off of my bed and into the gym bag with the binoculars.
In truth, I hadn't really even needed a list. I'd known what to bring a long time ago, but having some kind of organization just secured my conscience, which had a habit of second-guessing itself.
I looked over the items inside the gym bag and pulled out my sketchbook, wondering whether or not I should really take it. My plan in taking the book with me was to draw the supernova, bring the sketch home, and paint it. One of the very few things I knew how to do well was draw. The others were the uncanny ability to fix technology without having to know anything about its make up, and the last was improvisation. The techy-stuff came at a later age, but I never thought much of it. I would rather use a game system than fix it. The improvisation as just something I was born with. For a long time during my childhood, I was a thought to be a pathological liar by my parents. I was actually addicted to lying until I ended up caught in something major, and my lying just became improvisation. The drawing however was something that I was proud of.
I was born with a top-tier memory. I could look at something for less than a few seconds and have its picture in my mind down to the finest detail. I'd remember it with pristine clarity for up to a week before it started to become foggy, and that ability had saved my skin many a time. With practice, I had become a fast sketcher, and was able to draw things in record time. Lately however, all of those talents were beginning to fade. It was like I literally woke up one day and forgot that I knew how to do anything.
As I was trying to find a just cause, Rei came wobbling into my room. He was wearing Dad's vacation shirt and a pair of Mom's favorite stiletto heels. On his head was a sombrero, and he had lipstick and shaving cream smeared all over his face. His arms were out at his sides as he tried to balance himself and walk into my room. Although I had to admit, he was doing better than I would if I were in those heels!
"Winna, wooook!" he cooed happily as he struck a pose. "I Cavin Kwine!"
"Calvin Kline?" I translated in my head, looking down on my littlest brother with amusement. "Wow! You look so handsome Rei-kun! So cute, so cuuuute!"
I grabbed my cell phone out of my gym bag and began clicking like mad at the camera button. Every time the camera flashed, Rei struck a new pose. I stifled a giggle, but was smiling ear to ear. I really loved Rei, and wished he could come with me to the park...
"Where did you get those shoes?!" I gasped, furthering humoring the boy.
"The stoa!" he said proudly.
"And who did your makeup, Rei?"
"I did!" He grinned, striking another pose.
"And-"—I gasped—"that shirt! It's gorgeous! I MUST have it!" I got down on my hands and knees in front of Rei, and stared with exaggerated admiration at Dad's shirt.
Rei giggled and folded his arms. "You can't!" he said stubbornly.
"But I want it!" I whined.
"No!"
"Yes!"
"NO!"
"YEEEEESSSS!" I hissed, grabbing my brother into a hug and tickling him. His laughter was like an antidote. It made me happy.
Meanwhile in the hallway, Mom was pulling Kobe by the ear down the hallway and into the laundry room.
"Honestly, Kobe!" she was saying. "Did you think that I wouldn't find the cookie wrappers in here? I wash all the laundry for crying out loud!"
"I'm sorry, Mom!" Kobe whimpered. "Please don't hurt me!"
"Hurt you? You're not going to get out of it that easily! I was baking those for my next book-club gathering! You're going to bake them all over again!"
"What?!" My eldest younger brother screeched.
"And you won't eat any dinner until you do!"
"That's not fair! I'll starve!" Kobe whined.
"Then you'd better get to work!"
"I'll call Child Protective Services on you!" Kobe threatened.
"Do it then!" Mom grinned. "Either way, you're baking those cookies!"
"I've been threatening to call the services since I was your age!" I yelled to Kobe whilst continuing to tickle Rei. "She really doesn't care!"
Kobe sulked and walked dejectedly down to the kitchen. Mom winked at me before following her son downstairs.
"Mama! Mama!" Rei called after my mom, breaking out of my grasp and waddling after her. "Wook at me, I'm Cavin Kwine!"
I heard the sound of a car horn honking and ran to the window. Dad's Honda was sitting on the sidewalk. He saw me through the car window and beckoned for me with his head to come downstairs. I smiled, and held up my pointer finger to tell him, "One minute!" then I snatched up my phone, sketchbook, and threw them all into the gym bag before thundering through the hallway and down the stairs.
"Bye everyone!" I yelled to my family before leaving.
"Bye, my dear! Have an educational day! And don't go off with strangers!" Mom sang, waving me goodbye with her free hand, seeing as Rei was being held in the other.
"Bye, sis," Kobe mumbled as he walked into the kitchen, oven mitts on his hands.
"Bye-bye, Onee!" Rei cooed. "I wove you thiiiiis much!" He held his arms open and smiled at me.
"Wove you too!" I laughed, closing the living room door behind me.
When I got in the car, Dad had a content look on his face. He drove off the second I closed the door, and we road along in silence for a bit.
Dad was an amiable man. He worked hard, but he was really serious about his job. It had happened years prior, and since then he'd just kind of gotten distant. Dad used to sit on the living room couch, read the newspaper and chat with the family back when it was just the three of us. When Kobe was on the way, he started to get serious and stopped showing up around the house. Dad and I had started to have less face time.
When I was a little younger—maybe a little younger than Kobe—it used to break my heart. We'd been close. I remember wishing that he would just get fired so he would talk to me more again, but as I grew older I just had to deal with the fact that that was not going to happen. Since then, he'd been moving up in the ranks with his job, which meant we saw him less and less every day. Nowadays, we had idle chat here and there, but for the most part the most we ever said to each other was "Good Morning," and "Good Night." It was probably for the best, though. If Dad had never gotten so far-removed, then Mom would never be the best friend she is to me now.
I stared into the rearview mirror, lost in memories. We were halfway to the park when I finally looked at Dad through the corner of my eye, grinned, and said: "So, how is work?"
"Same old, same old," he answered with a faint grin.
"Ah..." I replied, turning to face the window.
That was that of our conversation until we reached the park. There, Dad said: "Have a good time, and come home safe, alright?"
And I said: "Thanks, Dad. See you soon!"
He waved to me then drove away. As he left, I turned on my heel and walked into the park, armed with my gym bag. A large clock built into the archway entrance of the park told me that the time was 7:15. I sighed. The supernova wasn't scheduled to begin until around midnight. Dad would still be at his meeting then and there was only one car, so I opted to take a bus. Dad, being the protective guy that he was, refused, but since there was no other way for me to get home he eventually agreed.
I sighed, then mumbled aloud, "What am I supposed to do for five hours?"
I found a comfortable spot after about an hour or so of searching for one with a view that I thought was perfect. It was on top of a hill that didn't have too many visitors. On top of this hill was a single weeping willow and it was surrounded by a patch of dandelions and beautiful green grass. It was extraordinarily tall for a tree of its kind, towering about 45 feet above ground. I spread my picnic blanket out underneath its shade and sat back against the tree trunk, pulling my sketchbook out of the gym bag. Not having anything else to do, I began to sketch the sunset.
I was putting a splash of orange paint on my picture when I suddenly looked up and realized that the sun had set three and a half hours ago. Stars were appearing in the sky now.
Alarmed, I put my sketchbook to the side and dug into my gym-bag to grab up my phone. It was 11:55. I sighed, relieved, and then took out my camcorder and camera. The star was supposed to explode at exactly 12:01 midnight.
More people had gathered around the hill I was on. Some had telescopes stationed on their picnic blankets, while others were sporting professional Nikon cameras around their necks. Only a few children were running around wildly playing tag and screaming at each other. I didn't see anyone my age within the range of people on the area below the hill. It didn't bother me, though; I'd known that this was probably how things would turn out.
By now, Rei was probably fast asleep, lost in his own realm of dreams. Kobe was asleep by now too, I figured, unless he was still baking cookies. Mom would be reclining on her bed with one of her favorite books or a picture album in her hands. And Dad, unless by some miracle he'd gotten released from pris—work, was still in the company building. He wouldn't be getting home until much later.
I sighed, feeling slightly guilty that I wasn't at home. Then, putting my sneaker on the willow tree's trunk, with my cell-phone in hand, I hoisted myself up to a seat near the willow's peak using its branches. It was illegal to do this, but I figured I would think of some kind of explanation should I get caught.
I sat near its peak trying not to look down and just enjoy the view. I had a crippling fear of heights, but ironically I really enjoyed climbing things—namely trees. Just as I was considering the option to take a picture of the sky and send it to Mom and Dad via phone, the entire earth jolted and started to violently shake.
The previous calm and joyful atmosphere quickly turned chaotic: The same people who were laughing only a second ago now ducking and running for cover, or clinging onto someone. Off in the distance, car alarms were going off simultaneously, combined with the tumultuous sound of high-rise buildings starting to rattle and crumble. Dogs were barking, the lights in the park all automatically went off, children started crying and screaming for their mothers. Further down the hill, trees were starting to lean over and crash onto the earth. The people who couldn't run for cover were struggling to keep their balance, while others tried to crawl to safety.
"WHY IN GOD'S NAME IS THERE AN EARTHQUAKE NOW OF ALL TIMES?!" I screamed in my head, clinging to the weeping willow for dear life. I held my breath and buried my face into the tree, feeling scared for my life as I felt my feet dangle helplessly 45 feet above the ground. My most urgent desire was to somehow get off the tree, but with all of the severe shaking I already subconsciously knew that there was only one way for that to happen. I could only hope to God that the tree wouldn't come crashing down, because if it did, there was no improvising my way out of it.
Suddenly, a beautiful, heavenly light lit up the sky. It first illuminated the park, then the entire city, until it was lit as though it were daytime during the brightest day of summer. It was a supernatural, extraordinarily bright light that blinded everyone's eyes, and we all instinctively brought a hand up to them to keep them covered. The earth continued to rumble...but from what I could see through my squinted vision, the sky was...
...splitting in half...?
It was like divine hands had come out of nowhere and were literally tearing the sky down the middle. The rip was where the light was emanating from, and it spanned the length of the entire sky. There was no other explanation—supernovas don't happen like this.
This was the end of the world.
The shaking became more violent, so much that it was becoming painful to hang onto the willow tree—its splintery wood was scratching my exposed skin. I was confused and terrified. I wished I had my mother or someone else to tell me what to do in a time like this; and knowing that I was alone just scared me even more. I mentally slapped myself for being so careless. I should have never come to watch in the first place!
That's when I heard it.
The dreaded, "CRACK!"
My heart stopped. Life slowed down...
...everything...
...slowed…
…down...
The willow tree had cracked directly down the center, and I was falling down with it. I watched and was dazed as my view slowly tilted upwards from overlooking the park to looking straight up at the divine light in the sky as the tree made its descent. I felt myself falling, and my conscience slowly slipping into darkness.
Just as quickly as it'd happened, the pandemonium ceased. It was still...
...quiet...
...but dark...
…just...so dark...
...
**And so ends the Prologue of "White Snow Dimensia."
**Please tell me what you think of the prologue so far. Thank you C=
-Kamikimmy13
**NOTE: This chapter has been edited. No major storyline plots were changed.
