A Tale Like No Other
Hello, How Are You?
"…A beautiful girl, a very beautiful girl. Hair brighter than the sun, skin as fresh as the new fallen snow, lips redder than the reddest rose, eyes sparkling more than the most precious diamond, and a body to fit in with her own features. What was her name? Medusa, a girl who was as beautiful can be…A beauty that was captured throughout the eyes through everyone. Everything about her was beautiful, except for one thing, her inside. No, no, no, not her health and such, but her heart and mind was very boastful. Bragging here and there, nothing but her commenting on her own beauties. She would look in the mirrors to see herself, telling herself she's very beautiful in most of her time. For her beauty was wasted, for she had a curse. The Goddess of Wisdom, Athena, was the one. For she was wise, physical beauty never fed the poor, nor did any good, for it was only appealing to the eye, the human senses, lust even. Her personality wasn't beautiful at all, to match her personality, Athena decided to give her a little make-over. For her beautiful bright hair was no longer hair, for it was dry scaly snakes instead, with her beauty left her as well. And the worst part of all, looking into her eyes for a few seconds could turn any person into stone, even including herself, if she even looked into the mirror to see herself, she would turn into stone like the others forever…."
Thump
"So this is how it goes…" a girl with long, beautiful, teal, hair with skin pale and emerald eyes mumbled to herself. She clasped the book in her hand and closed her eyes, "Turns a person to stone forever…a curse…" She stood up and walked over to a table with a small heart-shaped white box with pink frills on it along with pink round diamonds decorated over it. Who was she? Why she was Miku Hatsune, a maiden who rarely came out of her house, for she had a similar fate. She was beautiful, but, she did in fact turn a person into stone, only for a few fragile seconds though. Many people feared her for they knew this curse she had, thinking she was boastful, and would turn them into stone forever. She lived alone in a nearby cottage near the little village. She always wanted to go to school, but neither students nor even teachers welcomed her for they were always afraid they would look into her eyes. Why was she like this?
Her mom wasn't exactly Medusa, but more of one of her next generation of her. She did turn people into stone forever. Her mother always told her not to look into people's eyes for her daughter did turn someone into stone by accident when little… She ate the chocolate slowly from the frilly box she had and savored its taste. Every afternoon, she would have one piece of chocolate from the box bought by her mom. She always said that eating one a day would help her come from a dream to reality for the taste was always rich, and it also reminded her how the world can have its sweet moments, meaning her life can have a sweet moment as well.
Miku sighed to herself looking at the window at the other kids play along in the forest from afar and watched them as they faded away into the forest to their village. She was only seven years old, and she still didn't play along with other kids due to their fears, they only found out about it because one day, she was walking outside in the forest admiring the beautiful trees that danced along the wind, the sea of leaves flying, and the alluring aura that surrounded her with peace and serenity. Without warning, kids came up to her, not knowing her powers yet, she played along with them. They were chasing each other like they were best friends already, then suddenly, she fell down. One kid came up to her, a face she can never forget, blonde hair, friendly cerulean blue eyes, a short boy. The terrible event occurred, the fear that shocked everyone, including her. For a moment, they all just stared at the paralyzed, lifeless, stoned, body that laid there, they finally got back to reality…The kids ran away, every single one of them, except for the one boy that laid there.
Miku tried to reach her hand out to them with only the result of them running faster throughout the woods. To her own shock, she ran away to as well leaving the boy there dumbfounded looking up at the specks of the blue sky combined with the green leaves of the trees that looked back at him. He sat up ignorant of what happened. The next day, without knowing, he moved out of the village along with his family to a city to make money. Sadly, nobody knew of this, not even the parent's closest friends for they didn't want to say good-byes. This caused rumors to spread throughout her village of the horrors of her and her mom.
She decided to run over to a beautiful teal hair that ran down her back like silk, blue eyes that could match the most beautiful ocean, a white casual dress that draped around her perfectly, and a beautiful white lily on the side of her hair. "Hey, Mom! I was wondering… Would it be ok… if I…if I… could possibly…you know...well uh…play…outside…?" Miku asked nervously, "Today seemed a nice day… so maybe?" Her mom only smiled at her remark. She was reading a book like any other ordinary day, but this time, she was very ill, she couldn't go outside, or barely do anything. Miku looked over to her mom with hope in her eyes, for she didn't go out too often. Her mom nodded and agreed with her.
"I'll be staying in here, so don't go too far, ok? Please be careful…alright?" her mom said with a friendly smile planted on her face. Miku nodded enthusiastically running out of her house. Her mom always wanted her to play outside and explore, but of course, with the curse the family held, that wasn't the case, for she even turned her own husband into stone by accident. That's right, she had a husband, a husband that didn't like her for her beauty, or knew her for her curse, but knew her for her. The true self she held inside, the personality and heart within the curse, hidden. For a while, they kept the curse on rest until her mom almost fell down. Surprised, she opened her eyes wide, and as a reflex, her husband held her arm looking back at her to make sure she was ok… Then it happened. She cried and wept knowing what she had just done, what she had done to her innocent lover, the only one who fell in love with her true self and the only one who accepted her. Why must this curse be held upon us? Why must this be our faith? Was our ancestor always being the one that will mess up our lives? Do we really, honestly, deserve this? Or was this chosen upon us in a whim?
The mom thought and thought for her life as a kid of loneliness always haunted her each and every day. She met her destined one in the town when there was rain pouring down, welcomed, he kept her under his umbrella and came to the nearest home, his house. She tried explaining what she could do along the way, but he only smiled, but he did believe her for he knew of the rumors. Spending time together for hours until rain stopped, they became friends, to admirers, and lastly, lovers. She was thankful to have him in her life.
During all this thinking, Miku was playing along with the flowers that surrounded her cottage. Her home was very unknown, so visitors never came by, rarely at least, such as what happened a couple of years ago. Miku had a very nice imagination accompanied by creativity. Interested in those classic fairytales of Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Cinderella, she made her own little crown with twigs and daisies with colors covered by pink, blue, and bright yellow. For a moment, she felt like there was no worries in the world, like everything was in place, that she…that she didn't have the curse anymore. But that was only a mere fragile seconds, for she didn't know that was coming up.
Whack!
Someone took a tree branch and started hitting her. Whack! Whack! Whack! Continuously, they attacked and strike at her with their weapons. "You…You…YOU MONSTER! You shouldn't even deserve living!" called out a boy attacking her, "You even let Len disappeared from our lives forever! How can you do such a thing!" he said ranting on, "How are you able to live with yourself knowing you KILLED a person!" There was two of them, two of them whacking her in rage, one with a bat, and the other with a thick branch. Sometimes, one of them would even pull her hair out of amusement.
"O…O-Oww! Please…! Please stop! It hurts! Stop it! Ah! P-Please stop it!" Miku yelped, "I didn't mean to…! I didn't know! I'm sorry! Please…Please just stop!" she cried out. Her mom was calmly reading her book on the chair under the light. Oblivious to the conflict outside, she noticed that she wasn't able to see Miku, not only that, but she heard a yell, crying…She knew the cry who it was, Miku. Her mom ran out of the house ignoring her sickness and didn't care about how weak she was, her only objective she only had was to protect her dear daughter, Miku. She slammed the door looking to her left and right seeing her daughter weeping help under the branches she was being strike with. "Please…! No! It hurts! It hurts! Stop it!" Furious and worried at the same time, her mom ran up to her helpless daughter to help her.
"Miku! You two! Stop it!" her mom screamed out, "Don't hurt her!" she exclaimed on the top of her lungs and took Miku by the arm trying to drag her out of the chaos without looking into any of their eyes.
Without warning, one of the troublesome boys grabbed the rim of her mom's dress, she was being held back a bit, and fell to her bottom. She noticed from the corner of her eyes that the other boy came up with the stick prepared to hit them both. Tired of all this mess, her mom had no other choice…The only choice to save her daughter from being hurt any more…The choice that would change anyone's life in this very moment. Her mom looked into the boys eyes. Miku looked up at the boy frightened seeing the scene she did to the other boy years ago, the same thing happened to this boy…Except…one fatal difference… he turned into stone forever.
Miku looked down at the same lifeless person that lay before her eyes, the eyes filled with hatred; his emotions didn't have the time to react to the time when he turned into stone. His ally froze in fear looking at the other friend turn into stone, he dropped his bat and ran away fading into the woods as fast as he can. Her mom was draping her arms around her weak daughter like vines, comforting her while patting her head. "Thank you," her mom said. Miku blinked for a moment, but before she can answer, her mom suddenly fell to the side with her hair traveling across the grass, her eyes closed like she was careless…but most of all…her breathing stopped.
"M-Mom! Mom, please! Wake up! Wake up, Mom! Please wake up! No…Don't! Don't just leave me here! Please…! It's too soon! No it can't be!" cried out Miku with tears traveling down her face. She held her mom shaking her gently, "Mom! Please don't do this! Not now…Not when you just saved me! Mom! Please…Mom…" she hugged her mom in her arms not wanting to let go. "Mom…" she mumbled…"Please…Please don't…you can't…you just can't…! This wasn't supposed to happen…" she wiped some of her tears only with the result with having it replaced with more tears. "This wasn't supposed to happen…I was supposed to wake up, play outside calmly….And spend more time with you…Not this…No, not this! So…So please! Stay with me! Don't leave!" her tears kept on coming like an endless waterfall, "..Please…Please don't leave me….I don't want to live without you…I can't be by myself…I don't think I will be able to make it…so please…please don't die on me…!" She cried on and on still hoping for her mom to wake up anytime from now. She stayed there for hours hugging her mom feeling the leftover warmth, even after she turned cold, she only rested in her arms like they used to always done. She cried the rest of the day until she fell asleep in her arms throughout the night.
She awoke in her mom's arms from the bright sunlight that shined upon her face. She looked up at the sky realizing it was morning. She then had a memory of what happened yesterday. She opened her eyes wide and looked up to the right and saw her mom's fragile face with her eyes closed and her skin with its feeling of life taken away. It must've been too much energy for her when she used her powers to stone the boy. Miku cried with tears in her eyes hugging the last bit of her mom accepting she was dead. She was cold and lifeless, just like the stoned people. Unexpectedly, her mom started to disappear…fading away…not from distance but literally fading away. "Mom…?" Miku asked herself mumbling. She held her in her arms ignorant yet knowing the situation.
She cried trying to remember her touch, her warm touch of life that she gave. The feeling of a hug, the feeling of her lips on her forehead, the beautiful voice that captivated her heart. She cried her heart out like a child who lost their favorite toy. She cried remembering the times she protected her, the happy times, the loving times, all her memories of her. The memories of her with her dad, the time they spent…All of the memories with her mom were soon to end. She was starting to be transparent that she can barely feel her, like she was a ghost that you can grasp…It felt like they were there, but like they were non-existent. Before her eyes, her mom completely disappeared. She tried grabbing her mom again scratching the air looking for her mom, the only one that loved her along with her dad. She cried again covering her teary eyes with the palms of her hands calling out for her mom, "MOM! No, please…! Don't disappear! I don't want you to be gone…! No please…!" she kept on crying her heart out thinking of her mom's looks, the way she smelled, the way she laughed, the way she talked, the way she singed, the way she smiled, the way she patted her head whenever she felt lonely, everything.
Miku didn't want to forget the feeling of relaxation and protection from her mom. The only one that was alive that she trusted and loved…was just gone…in a second. In one fight, in one beat up, in less than one minute, she just died…She couldn't believe it. "Please don't…Please don't…Please…! Why…WHY! Why is this happening! Why does this always happen to me!" Miku leaned on the ground with her knees bent, and crying out for her mom. She grasped her forehead to keep her head from having a headache from this. She was battling with her emotions trying to hold back only to have the outcome of having it reaching its peak. Miku pounded on the ground from rage knowing it was her fault, it was her fault her mom died, and she was protecting her from the terrible boys and had her mom die instead of Miku taking care of her since she was sick. She couldn't even say good bye or anything
…I'm so selfish…My mom risked her own life to protect me…and what did I do? I just sat there crying in pain instead of attacking back…I just left her with the state she was in battling with the boys, she used every bit of her energy to protect me…I'm conceited…I'm selfish…I didn't do anything to help her…I'm such a horrible daughter. Miku thought this over and over again. She soon continued on with her life still thinking about her mom every day, praying, she would have somehow, another chance to see her parents once again…To feel their embrace, to hear their voice, and to feel their warmth that they only gave out to her.
Would I have another chance?
Author's Note: No, she will not be only 7 years old, there will be a HUGE time skip xDD (9 years, perhaps? XD)