I will be myself, if only for tonight. Chapter one.
Thunder clouds rolled across the horizon bringing the smell of rain along the wind. The sweet smell filled the air, electricity in the atmosphere coursed around her. This storm would be long and powerful. Wind whipped around, cutting through the thin dress the girl wore. She wondered if she ran away how long it would be till her mother noticed her missing. Would it be a few hours, a day; two or three even? If she took her little brother it'd be much sooner than two or three days. Her mother was an addict: a pill popper and an alcoholic. Her father had abandoned her before her little brother was born. Pondering what was worse, her mother's violent fits of rage or her father's cold abandonment she was interrupted by a voice calling for her.
"Maja, Maja...MA-JA!" A little boy called worriedly.
Turning back towards the house she quickly followed the sound of the voice.
"MAJA! Where are you!?" He whined louder, starting to cry.
"Here I am, here I am." She says motherly, bending down to pick him up. "Hush, okay, it's okay, I'm here now." Holding the three year old in her arms she looked down at him tenderly. "Why are you out here crying Haru-chan?"
"I had a dream you disappeared an, an, I couldn't find you! An when I woke up," he sniffs, "…I couldn't find you!" Haru replies sniffling.
"It's okay, Haru. She smiles down at him. "I'm here now. I tell you what why don't we go inside and make some breakfast together? Would you like that?"
"Yes!" He smiles up at her.
Going into the house they are unaware of the danger lurking inside. Maja sets Haru down on the kitchen counter. Rummaging through the fridge she notices there isn't much there: a quart of milk, half a loaf of bread, an opened case of cheese, and one small egg. Making a note to herself, to go shopping later, she pulls out the egg and half a loaf of bread. Popping the bread in the toaster she starts to scramble the egg on the stove.
"THUD"
Maja realizing the sound must have been their mother falling off the couch. She quickly removes Haru from the counter just in time to see her mother stumble into the kitchen pushing Haru towards the table making sure he is seated out of the way. She turns back to make his plate, carefully avoiding there staggering mother who is looking through the fridge herself. Seeing the fridge almost bare she slams it and turns around glaring.
"Wha you got there?" Mother slurs at Haru.
"Maja made me breakfast." He says smiling until he notices her look.
"She did, did she?" Turning her glare on the Maja, "Who says you can just cook whenever you want? Hm? Who pays for the food here, me or you? And you both gobble everything up!" Her eyes go back and forth between the two, narrowing into slits. Snatching the plate from the table "This is mine go find your own food!"
Haru sniffles. Dropping the plate back on the table their Mother comes near to him screeching. "Are you gonna cry! I'll give you something to cry about!" She lifts her arm and is about to strike him when suddenly Maja moves in front in between them, taking the blow. What would have connected with the boys face instead hits Maja's arm.
"Haru hide." She says as her mother hits her again across the face.
"You little bitch! Get out of my way." She tries going around.
"Mother please he's just a baby!"
SMACK! "Shaddup!" Another smack! "Why don't you get a job and support him then! When you're supporting him and yourself you can do whatever you want! But you're my kids and if I wanna beat the shit out of you, I will." Smack! "Maybe you're too stupid to get a job, hm? You are both such ungrateful little brats!"
This continues until the phone rings. Their Mother leaves to answer it and Maja quickly takes the opportunity to escape and find Haru. Finding him hiding under their bed she grabs him and makes a quick dash out the back door.
"And just where do you think you're going?" her Mother says angrily as she hangs the phone up.
"I have school, and Haru has preschool." Maja replies steadily.
"Fine, then. I'll see you both after school, and you better come right home." She replies going back inside. "I'll be waiting to finish our little 'discussion'."
Maja slowly walks away carrying Haru to her only friends' house, Shizuru Kuwabara. Making her way to Shizuru's apartment had been difficult with the beating she had just endured. Knocking on the door, she patiently waited for someone to answer.
Opening the door Shizuru was startled by the sight of her severely bruised friend.
"Kohana what the hell happened to you?!"
"Mother," she replies.
…..
Chapter one finished!
Maja is Kohana, Maja is a name Haru created for Kohana because he views her as his mother; though they wouldn't dare have such care for one another in front of their Mother.
Haru is three with blue eyes and blond hair. An outspoken, charismatic little boy when with Kohana, he's the complete opposite when she's away; and even more withdrawn when left with his Mother.
Kohana is 16 with violet colored eyes and dark wavy hair. She's 5'3" and of petite stature; weighing only 105lbs. Her name means "little flower" and was chosen by her grandmother who passed away just days before her birth. Her Mother wanted to name her something else but her Father insisted on honoring his Mother's wish to name her Kohana, though it's ironic because he had no honor for himself when leaving.
Mother, Neikan-Kirai is two names combined. The first means "Wicked, treacherous" and the second means "Hate." The children very seldom, if ever, use both names but rather use one or the other.
