Living in Death
Shizenhane clutched a crumpled piece of paper in his sweaty green paws. It was a note from the Brain Tree, requesting he find as much information as he could on a long deceased character by the name of Rabuchi. The Brain Tree seemed particularly interested in the details of 'Rabuchi's death, and was willing to give Hane and his family a decent sized reward in return for the information. The nervous green aisha stumbled through the Haunted Woods alone, making his way to the cemetery. Hane had never heard of a Rabuchi, and thought it sounded more like someone sneezing than a name, but his family was poor, and any help they could get was good, even that of a creepy old tree. Hane tiptoed around what he hoped was a form of spooky food. If it wasn't, he just didn't want to know. He reached the large ornate gates, one hanging by ropes, battered by time and vandals, and slipped through, not daring to move them. As soon as he stepped onto the damp grass inside the cemetery, he noticed a change in the air. It wasn't as stale, and there were flowers growing in neat garden beds around the headstones and paths. There was a pleasant feel, much better than Hane imagined earlier. He smiled to himself, feeling the warmth of relief. He picked several black roses growing by the gate, and walked down a small loose-pebble path, reading the headstones. He stopped, fascinated by the amount of detail on the tombs, contemplating the padlocks on the doors. He didn't know why, but being in the cemetery was calming, he felt drugged with content. He read the names on the stones aloud as he passed,
"Gee, a lot of deceased pets. Pennidou, Shiakuma, Ga_Vara, Jiyuha, Rabuchi. RABUCHI!" he re-read the name on the paper, confirming it. He laughed to himself, something he hadn't done since he was taken from his mother and placed in the large building where all new owners created a pet. He was happy in his new home with Kojin, and his new brothers Himeichi, Utagai and Iie_Utagai, but he didn't seem to laugh with them as he had done with his litter mates all those years ago. He brushed dust and vines from the tombstone and whispered the engraved words to himself.
"Rabuchi, beloved citizen of Neopia." He pondered 'citizen'. This usually meant that the deceased left no family or friends behind to grieve them. Hane felt a knot in his throat, and a feeling of pity for a person he never met. Inside a small frame, behind cracked glass there was a picture of a pretty red aisha. Her eyes weren't like other Aisha's, they were large and curious, but had lost the spark of happiness others held. Hane brushed away the dust on the glass and tried to rub graffiti from the bottom of the stone with his furry arm. No one deserved to die alone. He read the stone more. "Born Jan 20th 1988, died Jan 20th 2003. She died on her birthday." He scribbled it on the back of his paw as he read.
"Suicide. Fifteen of the worst years of my life. Uh, well, they were the only years of my life. This is more like. well, I don't know." a female voice muttered. Hane looked about, wondering who had snuck up to play a trick on him.
"After-life? No, that's not quite it." Hane looked up, in the direction of the voice. Hovering above the tombstone were a pair of large sad eyes. They looked directly at him, then a semi-transparent turquoise body formed around them, to create the image of a familiar-looking Aisha. Hane gaped,
"Ra-Ra-Rabuchi?" he mouthed in awe.
"My friends call me Rabu. Or at least they would if I had friends." She sighed, a large, bushy tail almost as large as her body swaying behind her. She seemed to move with wind, like smoke, but smelt of sweet incense. Hane blinked,
"But, this says you're dead!"
"Who said I wasn't? Well. Wait. It's sort of like the undead or something, isn't it? Only I don't drink blood from the living. So, maybe like a ghost? But I don't like that term. How about spectre? I like that word."
Hane looked at and through her at the same time, then, slowly, cautiously, reached out to try and touch her. His paw passed through, but when it was 'in' her, it felt warm and tingly, and a little bit soft. He pulled his paw back to himself, staring at it.
"Oh, right. You're scared. um, sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you. I just don't get many visitors, and I haven't spoken to anyone in a while." she slipped down from her perch, her form moving like fog, slow and graceful. Hane finally shut his mouth. She turned and smiled at him, "So, you know who I am, or, who I was. Who're you?"
"I'm. I'm. I'm dreaming." Hane whispered, "Wake up!"
Rabuchi blinked, "Interesting name. I swear, neopet owners have the strangest-"
"No, I'm Hane. Wait, you're not real!" Hane gasped. Rabuchi looked hurt,
"I wish that were true, then I wouldn't be so unhappy. If only I weren't." Hane watched her as her head sunk low, her shoulders sagging. Her tail stopped swaying and lay on the ground. Small ghost-tears formed under her thick eyelashes and she sniffed. Hane felt guilty and went to hug her, finding, quite to his surprise, that he could. He stammered,
"Uh, Rabuchi. why am I able to hug you?"
"Because I'm too busy crying to run away...?"
"No, Rabuchi. a moment ago, I reached right through you."
"Oh yeah, I'm a ghost!" as soon as the words escaped her lips, Hane fell through her, hitting the ground with a thud. Rabu watched, confused, "Huh? What the?" she moved to help him up, and this time, passed through him again.
"How come I could feel you, I mean, I felt your fur. you're soft."
"I don't know." Rabu replied, utterly lost. "Wait. and how could you sit on the headstone?"
"I don't."
"I think it has something to do with whether or not you believe you can." Hane hypothesised. You weren't thinking I'd fall through you, so I didn't. You never wondered why you were able to sit on things, so you were able to." Hane smiled, feeling as though a little light bulb should appear above his head. Rabu just stared blankly at him, fiddling with the chain-collar around her neck.
"So, you're saying, if I believe I'm alive, I will be?"
"I don't think it works that far. I mean, I assume your body is." he looked at the ground, "About six feet under."
"No." Rabu corrected, "I was cremated. My body was sprinkled over the flowers here."
"Ah, well, unless you feel like becoming a daisy, I don't recommend you believe you've got your body back."
"Point taken. so, what were you saying?"
"I'm saying if you believe you can do it, your new form can. Try something." Hane grinned. Rabu looked about then closed her eyes, focusing. Almost instantly, her body stretched, forming two large wings on her back. She opened an eye,
"Did it work?"
"Did you think about wings?" Hane asked. Rabu smiled wide and pounced into the air, the large wings beating, yet creating no wind. She hovered, only a foot or two from the ground, then flew higher. When she reached about a hundred feet, her wings disappeared and she plummeted back toward the ground. Hane's eyes widened, and he screamed, "Rabu! No!" Rabu never hit the ground, she simply, fell through it. She disappeared under a while, then resurfaced, looking as though she was swimming in it. Hane laughed at himself. Of course she wouldn't get hurt - she was already dead.
Rabu smiled at Hane and he blushed. She disappeared under again, and suddenly pounced at him from the ground. She passed straight through him, sending a shivering sensation down his spine as he was filled with warmth. She didn't really land as much as redirect herself, launching herself at him in another pounce, this time, pushing him to the ground and pinning him. Hane felt the wind rushed from him, and looked up at the aishette above him. She noticed her own paw on him, and then grinned, becoming opaque. Hane watched as the sky he could see through her disappeared, and the intensity of her gaze became more obvious. She leapt off him, dancing about, ecstatic. Hane watched her; a new feeling filling his veins, no, his heart. Hane felt embarrassed - he had fallen for a deceased girl.
Shizenhane clutched a crumpled piece of paper in his sweaty green paws. It was a note from the Brain Tree, requesting he find as much information as he could on a long deceased character by the name of Rabuchi. The Brain Tree seemed particularly interested in the details of 'Rabuchi's death, and was willing to give Hane and his family a decent sized reward in return for the information. The nervous green aisha stumbled through the Haunted Woods alone, making his way to the cemetery. Hane had never heard of a Rabuchi, and thought it sounded more like someone sneezing than a name, but his family was poor, and any help they could get was good, even that of a creepy old tree. Hane tiptoed around what he hoped was a form of spooky food. If it wasn't, he just didn't want to know. He reached the large ornate gates, one hanging by ropes, battered by time and vandals, and slipped through, not daring to move them. As soon as he stepped onto the damp grass inside the cemetery, he noticed a change in the air. It wasn't as stale, and there were flowers growing in neat garden beds around the headstones and paths. There was a pleasant feel, much better than Hane imagined earlier. He smiled to himself, feeling the warmth of relief. He picked several black roses growing by the gate, and walked down a small loose-pebble path, reading the headstones. He stopped, fascinated by the amount of detail on the tombs, contemplating the padlocks on the doors. He didn't know why, but being in the cemetery was calming, he felt drugged with content. He read the names on the stones aloud as he passed,
"Gee, a lot of deceased pets. Pennidou, Shiakuma, Ga_Vara, Jiyuha, Rabuchi. RABUCHI!" he re-read the name on the paper, confirming it. He laughed to himself, something he hadn't done since he was taken from his mother and placed in the large building where all new owners created a pet. He was happy in his new home with Kojin, and his new brothers Himeichi, Utagai and Iie_Utagai, but he didn't seem to laugh with them as he had done with his litter mates all those years ago. He brushed dust and vines from the tombstone and whispered the engraved words to himself.
"Rabuchi, beloved citizen of Neopia." He pondered 'citizen'. This usually meant that the deceased left no family or friends behind to grieve them. Hane felt a knot in his throat, and a feeling of pity for a person he never met. Inside a small frame, behind cracked glass there was a picture of a pretty red aisha. Her eyes weren't like other Aisha's, they were large and curious, but had lost the spark of happiness others held. Hane brushed away the dust on the glass and tried to rub graffiti from the bottom of the stone with his furry arm. No one deserved to die alone. He read the stone more. "Born Jan 20th 1988, died Jan 20th 2003. She died on her birthday." He scribbled it on the back of his paw as he read.
"Suicide. Fifteen of the worst years of my life. Uh, well, they were the only years of my life. This is more like. well, I don't know." a female voice muttered. Hane looked about, wondering who had snuck up to play a trick on him.
"After-life? No, that's not quite it." Hane looked up, in the direction of the voice. Hovering above the tombstone were a pair of large sad eyes. They looked directly at him, then a semi-transparent turquoise body formed around them, to create the image of a familiar-looking Aisha. Hane gaped,
"Ra-Ra-Rabuchi?" he mouthed in awe.
"My friends call me Rabu. Or at least they would if I had friends." She sighed, a large, bushy tail almost as large as her body swaying behind her. She seemed to move with wind, like smoke, but smelt of sweet incense. Hane blinked,
"But, this says you're dead!"
"Who said I wasn't? Well. Wait. It's sort of like the undead or something, isn't it? Only I don't drink blood from the living. So, maybe like a ghost? But I don't like that term. How about spectre? I like that word."
Hane looked at and through her at the same time, then, slowly, cautiously, reached out to try and touch her. His paw passed through, but when it was 'in' her, it felt warm and tingly, and a little bit soft. He pulled his paw back to himself, staring at it.
"Oh, right. You're scared. um, sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you. I just don't get many visitors, and I haven't spoken to anyone in a while." she slipped down from her perch, her form moving like fog, slow and graceful. Hane finally shut his mouth. She turned and smiled at him, "So, you know who I am, or, who I was. Who're you?"
"I'm. I'm. I'm dreaming." Hane whispered, "Wake up!"
Rabuchi blinked, "Interesting name. I swear, neopet owners have the strangest-"
"No, I'm Hane. Wait, you're not real!" Hane gasped. Rabuchi looked hurt,
"I wish that were true, then I wouldn't be so unhappy. If only I weren't." Hane watched her as her head sunk low, her shoulders sagging. Her tail stopped swaying and lay on the ground. Small ghost-tears formed under her thick eyelashes and she sniffed. Hane felt guilty and went to hug her, finding, quite to his surprise, that he could. He stammered,
"Uh, Rabuchi. why am I able to hug you?"
"Because I'm too busy crying to run away...?"
"No, Rabuchi. a moment ago, I reached right through you."
"Oh yeah, I'm a ghost!" as soon as the words escaped her lips, Hane fell through her, hitting the ground with a thud. Rabu watched, confused, "Huh? What the?" she moved to help him up, and this time, passed through him again.
"How come I could feel you, I mean, I felt your fur. you're soft."
"I don't know." Rabu replied, utterly lost. "Wait. and how could you sit on the headstone?"
"I don't."
"I think it has something to do with whether or not you believe you can." Hane hypothesised. You weren't thinking I'd fall through you, so I didn't. You never wondered why you were able to sit on things, so you were able to." Hane smiled, feeling as though a little light bulb should appear above his head. Rabu just stared blankly at him, fiddling with the chain-collar around her neck.
"So, you're saying, if I believe I'm alive, I will be?"
"I don't think it works that far. I mean, I assume your body is." he looked at the ground, "About six feet under."
"No." Rabu corrected, "I was cremated. My body was sprinkled over the flowers here."
"Ah, well, unless you feel like becoming a daisy, I don't recommend you believe you've got your body back."
"Point taken. so, what were you saying?"
"I'm saying if you believe you can do it, your new form can. Try something." Hane grinned. Rabu looked about then closed her eyes, focusing. Almost instantly, her body stretched, forming two large wings on her back. She opened an eye,
"Did it work?"
"Did you think about wings?" Hane asked. Rabu smiled wide and pounced into the air, the large wings beating, yet creating no wind. She hovered, only a foot or two from the ground, then flew higher. When she reached about a hundred feet, her wings disappeared and she plummeted back toward the ground. Hane's eyes widened, and he screamed, "Rabu! No!" Rabu never hit the ground, she simply, fell through it. She disappeared under a while, then resurfaced, looking as though she was swimming in it. Hane laughed at himself. Of course she wouldn't get hurt - she was already dead.
Rabu smiled at Hane and he blushed. She disappeared under again, and suddenly pounced at him from the ground. She passed straight through him, sending a shivering sensation down his spine as he was filled with warmth. She didn't really land as much as redirect herself, launching herself at him in another pounce, this time, pushing him to the ground and pinning him. Hane felt the wind rushed from him, and looked up at the aishette above him. She noticed her own paw on him, and then grinned, becoming opaque. Hane watched as the sky he could see through her disappeared, and the intensity of her gaze became more obvious. She leapt off him, dancing about, ecstatic. Hane watched her; a new feeling filling his veins, no, his heart. Hane felt embarrassed - he had fallen for a deceased girl.
