All changes are more or less tinged with melancholy, for what we are leaving behind is part of ourselves. – Amelia Barr
PROLOGUE
A small grey duffel bag slung over her petite shoulder, the roseate haired girl walked with resolute steps, towards her destination.
A small pang of regret, with a touch of bitterness and despondency, hit her.
The few moments of hesitation fleeted past. And the look of utter determination in her viridian green eyes masked her melancholy and longing…yet again.
A lone teardrop trickled down her fair cheek, which had still retained its childish roundness.
She hastily wiped it away with the sleeves of the black garment, she wore.
Black, the color of anguish and sorrow, it complimented her predicament.
The delicate blossom was already stained, with blood, already tainted beyond repair.
"Sorry…Ino, it seems the bud will never bloom into a beautiful flower" she let out a dry laugh, with no humor in her tone, just acceptance.
She had reached the outskirts of the village, the place she had loved – no, still loved, her home – Konoha, the ethereal gate leading into the village, still visible in the dark background of a starry night.
"Goodbye…" she sighed softly, her faint broken whisper the only proof of her existence, as she bolted from her beloved sanctuary, only to be momentarily seen as a pink blur in the distance, before disappearing from sight.
