Sands of Time
I was the warm hearted, kindred spirited and helpful type of guy, at least that's what every one thought before that faithful night. I guess I should start from the beginning, when I started to doubt what all the villagers, monks and even samurai said.
It was back twenty years ago, when I was still young and didn't care about love or silly things like that. Villager after villager, illness after illness, and injury after injury kept me from caring about small things like love, but kept my mind on the war. I learned to master the herbs and how to properly treat wounds at an extremely young age and kept working at it until I thought it was perfect. A few years after I became head physician of my village a new woman came along and gave me a helping hand. She was beautiful, her eyes were a beautiful burnt seyana and her hair was jet black. I guess I could compare her to my village, green grass, beautiful wooden huts, and a crystal clear stream just a walking distance away from it. It was the most wonderful thing in the world.
"Hello? Dr.Hesimha? Correct." As she spoke not only did I jump but I felt my stomach turn inside out.
"Yes I am Dr.Hesimha." I gave her a slight smile and a bow, and quickly turned around towards a fairly large wooden hut.
As I approached the large dark brown steps I felt my face go pale, and I felt my knees go weak. I knew that I was nervous. Sui…why are you a nervous wreck all the sudden? You have been around thousands women before. Get a back bone and stay normal! I thought as I grasped onto the door and slid it open.
The floor had roughly twenty young kids sleeping (all orphans that I and a few others cared for). My dark gray eyes scanned the hut and stopped on the blazing fire that was near the back. The fire reminded me so much of the war that was going on, with its dancing flames and shadows being cast on the walls.
"Dr.Hesimha, are you ok?" The woman's voice chimed in as I collapsed.
"Please when we aren't around villagers or children please call me by my first name, Sui. I'm fine." I muttered as I placed my head in my hand.
"All right then…you can call me Aika…the head monk of this village sent for me after he heard of a mysterious illness running ramped in this village." Her voice had a certain type of warmness to it when she spoke to me.
A few years had passed by from the time I met her, and we had only fallen deeper in love. I thought nothing and I mean nothing would rip us apart, but was I wrong. The night was a typical night, I was out in the woods collecting some herbs to calm a young child's cough, and Aika was picking out her kimono for her sister's or brother's(I could never get that one right in my head) wedding. I hated to leave her in the village late at night, but some one had to get some medicine. From there it's hazy what happened, all that I remember is that one minute I'm in the woods collecting herbs and the next I'm in the hut with Aika.
As I entered the hut from what I could remember I saw her laying there pretty badly hurt. Her face had cuts and buses on it, and her arm was black and blue. I quickly raced to her side and picked her head up and placed it my arms.
"Aika…what happened?" I asked as I looked down into her light brown eyes.
Her eyes were glassy, almost like she had been crying and I could see her warmness going cold in her eyes. My heart raced as I quickly grabbed some herbs and a few bandages and started to wrap up her arm which seemed to be broken. Who could of done this to her? Why would they do this to her? Those were the questions I wanted answered before she went unconscious.
"Sui…why are you helping me? Don't you remember what happened?" Aika weekly asked as she closed her eyes.
"Aika…open your eyes please…Aika!" I shouted as I felt her body go limp and then I knew she had died.
What happened? How did this happen? I knew I shouldn't have left her here alone! You're nothing now, Sui…your loosing your mind…this is all a dream…when you wake in the morning she'll be up and smiling and everything will be all right. With those words to my self I laid down next to her and closed my eyes.
When I had woke up the next morning reality hit me. Aika was truthfully dead, and I couldn't do anything to prevent it. My eyes burnt from the tears that I had held back, my hands shook as I reached over to her body and touched it. My hands almost froze when I touched her body; I knew what I had to do. I got up and quickly raced out of the hut, across the village and made my way to the head monk's temple. As I ran through the thick wooded area in front of the fortress I felt something wet and cold hit my cheeks, I raised my hand to them and wiped the liquid off, it was tears. Tears for what, I mean it's not like I loved her right? A laugh left my mouth as I looked down at my pale hand and saw the tears.
As I approached the fortress I stopped to study it for a while. The fortress had two beautiful dragons on top of the curved roof. The shingles reflected the beautiful orange , purple, and red of the sun rise, and the temple its self was a beautiful reddish yellow. As I looked at the fortress I continued on towards it. I knew that I had to get the advice of the wise head monk, but I was nervous going to him (this was my first time and I didn't know what he would think of me).
"Hello…monk Myazi? Are you here?" I looked around and only saw a few monks tending to the beautiful flowers around the main part of the temple.
"How can I help you young man?" A young monk said as he approached me.
"Yes…could you help me find Myazi?" I asked as I gave a slight bow and looked at his light blue eyes.
"Oh Myazi! I'm his apprentice, Kenji but call me by my last name; Iyharo please." He stated as he bowed a bit and continued. "Follow me…he should be inside."
I nodded a bit as I followed him. His clothing gave it away that he was a monk's apprentice, which is he being in a robe of two colors usually brown and a light tan color. I kept my eyes fixed on his back as he led me through the long path to the middle of the fortress.
"Myazi-kun…some one is here to see you." Kenji said as he kneeled and bowed a bit.
"Thank you Iyharo. You may go now." He said as he continued to pray in front of the giant golden statue of Buddha.
Kenji nodded and walked out of the room leaving me alone with the head monk of the village. My knees felt like jellow as I slowly approached him, it was so hard to go across the floor as my legs kept shaking.
"You are having troubles I take it." Myazi finally said after what seemed like hours of silence. "Sit next to me and tell me all that bothers you." He finished while patting the wooden floor below him.
"Yes." I gave a slight bow as I sat down and faced the monk.
His face was gentle looking; he looked to be no more then twenty-seven or twenty-nine. The clothing that he wore was a beautiful shade of yellow with some type of design on it. The clothing loosely fit over his medium build.
"I can sense that the problem is with some one who you cared much for." Myazi finally said after a few moments of silence.
"Yes it is…you see she passed away just last night from some wounds that were caused by a human…and I'm wondering if you could come down to the village and help me properly bury her remains." I stammered a bit as I looked at his black eyes.
"Of course I will…and my apprentice will be coming along with us to learn a bit more." He said as he got up and walked over to the beginning of the hallway.
I felt some sort of bond between us once I told him that. Its almost like he lost a person or woman that he had loved and was bound to help others out with the same problem. I quickly ran after monk Myazi to the entrance of the fortress, and by the time I had reached the entrance I saw the head lord blocking our exit.
"Myazi, Ren…I never would of thought you would have helped out a murder! Hesimah, Sui you have been accused of murdering lady Aika…and Myazi accused of helping you out…both of you are to be beheaded!" His voice carried through out the fortress.
"Lord Kehasmha I…I didn't even know she died…yet alone at the hands of a physician…but I will accept the punishment for my crime." Myazi looked at me and then looked at the lord.
"W-what? I don't remember doing this…" I shook like a mad dog as reality hit me again.
I killed her…I knew something was wrong when she asked that…I should of let her die alone! All I felt was the burning sensation of ropes getting pulled around my pale wrists and feet. I knew the end neared as the lord's samurai pulled Myazi and I the long way to the castle. From there on out I can not remember what happened. I don't even know if I died or if Myazi got away. I guess I'll never know it. I can see the world from above and I spot a familiar face…it's the face of Kenji he is praying at a grave. I lean in closer to see what it written on it. The grave is my own.