AN: Finals just ended. I get a two week vacation before compulsory summer starts. So, I think I should reward you with updates for waiting so long. I still want to interact with you guys so, names? For our little protagonist?
[Part II: A Visitor]
Theme: L'atelier by Sungha Jung
She crouched down behind the ropy, rather large, roots of the unknown tree. She stifled her giggles and snickers for she learned that the gray-haired man have good ears.
"Alright, you little ankle biter. Where did you wiggle yourself into?" The underside of his hakama rustled the brown leaves on the forest floor.
She watched as the man glanced fleetingly, his head sharply turning, at every sound emitted by the birds. She can imagine a little gray rabbit checking its surroundings for any danger. Ears twitching and nose crinkling its whiskers moving at a rapid pace.
She couldn't help but sneaker at the image she conjured. A mistake.
The man quickly glanced at her direction. Hazel orbs met cobalt ones.
"Aha!" He sprinted towards her direction. She let a gleeful cry and ran away from the pursuing rabbit man.
The day started like any other day. She left to draw some water from the well. The tension from last week's incident was still evident from her mother's stiff shoulders and rigid posture.
When her mother saw her bounty, the woman quickly grabbed the white mushrooms and threw them to the fire. She cried outloud and was about to protest when her mother seized her shoulders looking frantic and fearful.
"Did you eat some of it?" She asked. Touching her face and feeling her temperature.
"No, mother." She took her mother's hands and smiled. It's one of their gestures of comfort.
Her mother's cobalt eyes, like hers, showed relief. She was given a tight hug and her face was peppered with kisses.
She's confused by her mother's strange actions. What is happening that she does not know?
"Please, don't do that again."
"Don't do what again?"
Her mother took two deep breaths her chest rising and falling significantly. When she looked at her mother's eyes again, her face is calm but there are still traces of fear and panic in her eyes.
"I appreciate the gesture, snowflake. I really do. But..." The woman held her face with both hands. Her eyes fierce and somewhat filled with motherly tenderness. "...when you are going to gather something from the forest, always ask me to come. Am I clear?"
She just responded with what any obedient child would do. "Yes, mother."
She let go of her face. "Good. Now why don't you clean up. Lunch is about to be ready. Now go, shoo."
She brought her cart, built by her own hands, with her. The buckets jiggled and bucked from the protruding rocks the wheels encountered.
It's fairly early so the village children are not up dilly dallying. Shame.
She was itching for a good punching. The flat-faced boy has not yet compensated for her upturned buckets in the past.
As she filled the buckets, she reminisced last week's scenario. What prompted her mother to take such an action? Does the white thingies have a significant representation? An omen?
She heard the gleeful cries of children and the early greetings of the adults in the village. She quickly loaded the buckets onto her cart and she dashed away just as soon as they came to play near the well.
She glanced back and saw the flat-faced boy looking murderous at her direction. She smirked and stuck her tongue out. This made him grind his teeth. She cackled. Ah, to infuriate a bully.
As she neared her house, she saw two horses in front of their house. From the looks of it, they're riding horses. Tall and built for speed. Or pursuit. The saddles are leather and have intricate designs.
One is brown and the other lightly colored. Like a lemon. They are tied to the fence and they neighed their greeting to her.
She parked her cart and approached the two. Such magnificent beasts. She held up her hands and the lemon one lowered it's head. She petted it's snot. It snorted hot air into her face. She giggled. If horses have expressions, she might think the horse had smiled.
She let go of the gentle beast and walked into her house. They have visitors.
She removed her zori and ascended her house. She ignored her uwabaki. She likes walking with only her tabi inside the house. And besides she is the one who cleaned the floors today. She have the right to decide what kind of footwear she wants.
She wished that it was evening so she could sneak up through the engawa of their house. The light would cast her shadow directly into the shoji then what would become of her sneaking around? Probably a spanking.
She can hear voices eminating from the room with the tokonoma. Male voices. Along with her mother's.
She tiptoed up to the shoji and she put her ear on it. The voices quited down and before she knew it, she went tipping.
A cry of alarm was ripped from her throat. She was on her back and she's staring up to a pair of hazel eyes.
He lifted his brow at her antics. She glared up at him.
"Looks like we've got an eavesdropper." He grabbed her arms and pulled her up. Her mother looked at her disapprovingly. She made an apologetic smile and a shrug. She is her mother's daughter after all.
She heard a chuckle and she glanced at the source. It was a man with strawberry blonde hair. His eyes are a mix between blue and green. Like a torquise shell. He wears a green haori and a hakama with darker shade of green. His hair was tied with a piece of silk. He was looking at her with curiosity and is that fondness?
He looked at her mother. "Is she...?"
Her mother nodded and he stood up and approached her. "Hello."
She looked at her mother and she gave her an encouraging smile.
She gave a bow and responded. "Hello, sir."
He chuckled at her antics. "Your mother has told me a lot about you."
She ignored his attempt at pleasantries. "Who are you and what are you doing in our home?"
Instead of the angry reprimand about her attitude and a scathing insult to her mother, she heard laughter.
She looked up and she saw the man clutching his stomach with his head thrown back. His shoulders shook from the intensity of his laughter. She heard a chuckle behind her and she can see the gray-haired man has a smirk on his face, his arms akimbo.
"Ah, she really is your daughter, Jacky." He kneeled infront of her smiling fondly. He continued staring at her, his eyes running along the contours of her face, her hair, but not downward.
"Do you like playing hide and seek, child?"
She puffed her chest. "I'm the best hider and the best finder in this village."
"Really? Then you'd like a challenge. Aster!" The Man behind them stood up straight. A soldier called to attention.
"Why don't you two play in the forest, while me and Jacky make breakfast." He looked back at her mother. She sighed and waved her hand.
"Yes, but please don't wander too far." She saw her mother's hair was down. She never let her hair down at the presence of men.
She looked up at the gray-haired man and flashed her mysterious smile. "I think Aster here wants to give you a head start."
Child and man stared at each other. The former has a challenged look in her eyes. A smirk slowly forming on her lips. The latter has his eyebrow raised.
"You can never find me, rabbit man!" She said before sprinting towards the entrance.
She was just descending the genkan when she heard the sound that accompanies the sliding of the shoji. She quickly slipped her feet in her zori and sprinted outside. She looked back and saw the overgrown rabbit man give chase.
That's how she ended up sprinting across the forest floor scattering leaves and breaking fallen branches. She kept running until she noticed the foilage of the leaves to be thinning and the amount of the trees to be dwindling.
It opened up to a field where different types of flowers are abloom. She stopped for a moment and admired the scenery. The breeze carried the scent of the flowers and escorted them around throughout the field rustling the healthy leaves as it passes through the forest. She inhaled their scents with much gusto and it made her relax her stiff shoulders as her breath evens. At the other side, the cherry blossoms thrive.
Their pink flowers in full bloom showing patterns of brown and black dots along the inside of the petals. The wind plucked a few loose for it's art the sky its canvass. This is her haven. Her and her mother's. She closed her eyes, smiling softly, she let herself bask in the ambiance of it all.
Two strong arms held her under the arms and lifted her up in the air. She yelped and looked down at the triumphant face of her pursuer. Right hide and seek.
"Finally! I caught you you little bugger."
She made a face down at him. "Sure, sure. Can you put me down now?"
He sniffed but obliged. He set her down and looked ahead. He walked a few places ahead and continued to admire the beauty of spring.
"Someone got distracted, didn't she?"
She scoffed. "Like you wouldn't."
"Oh no, I did. Infact, no one can just glance at it and move along. Ah spring, the most beautiful of all the seasons."
He smiled and carried on with his ministrations. She mused. Spring is beautiful. With the it's colors and warmth, everyone adores it.
But, for her, nothing beats winter. The crisps air and the cold. Intricate frosts lined every dead branch. Her mother, too, likes winter. Speaking of mothers...
"Hey, mister."
"Hmm?" He looked down at her. She took note of his grey hair. Was it due to age? She searched for any similar traits.
"Are you my father?"
He sputtered violently eyes wide.
"What? I, uh, I'm-"
She pressed on. "Are you?"
He calmed down and looked her in the eyes. "No, I'm not your father."
She looked at the direction of her house. "Then, the other man, is he my father?"
He was silent for a moment. Then he answered, "No."
"Do you know who my father is?" This time he stayed quiet. She tried to meet his gaze but he won't meet hers
She's becoming frustrated. He still won't answer her question. She glared up at him.
He sighed and met her gaze. His eyes were sad and she can see pity in their depths. Pity? For her? For what?!
"Let's go back. I think they're already done making breakfast." He walked ahead. She protested but it fell on deaf ears. He kept walking and did not glance back and check if she was following or not.
She stood the their for a few more minutes. The trees and the sound of the forest her only company. She grabbed two fistful of flowers. She was about to pull them but then stopped. The flowers didn't do anything to her. They do not hold the answer about her parentage. She let go. And saw the dark splotches of dark coloration following the lines of her fingers and palm. She cried.
She caused pain to this innocent flowers.
Finally, she couldn't ignore the grumbling of her stomach and she begrudgingly walk back to her house. She wiped at her face with the back of her hand to remove snot and stains of tears. She look back at the field. The flowers never had the problem she has. They were not kept in the dark. They are here bathed here in the light of the sun.
AN: Hello! I'm back atleast for just a week. Thank you for your patience. I'll try to update one of my stories before summer starts. As for the Japanese elements here, I'm not Japanese so please forgive me if I have used some wrongfully. My knowledge is only based on the internet. Also, I'm too lazy to make an index here on what every italized word mean so, yeah.Thank you for reading! Reviews would be appreciated. I'm serious about the name though.you made me snicker with the name but seriously though.