Sorry if the pace is slow, but I promise you it will get better. Reviews and criticisms are all welcome.
CHAPTER TWO –GOLDEN WINGS
The buildings were nothing but crumbling ruins, one proud towers turning to dust. Neatly tended flower beds had become lifeless pits of moon soil, a haven for weeds and thorny brambles. The beautifully arranged trees that once lined curving avenues had become nothing but withered stumps, their soft bark splintered and stained with adhesive sap. But what broke Kaguya's heart the most were the skeletons that were scattered across the ruins. Some clutched smaller corpses, children, as they lay curled in everlasting sleep.
Fresh, salty tears stung her eyes. As she walked through the city that was as dead as its inhabitants, her foot kicked something. She stooped down and picked it up. It was a wooden flute, simply but beautifully decorated with a pale pink pattern of sakura blossoms. She held it tightly to her chest, and murmured to herself "What happened here?"
Her words echoed through the ghost-city, the emptiness and silence as loud as the crash of thunder.
There must be at least one survivor! She thought, and she began searching the ruins for any living soul, desperate to find company in this desolate, urban forest.
"Hello!" she called out, meeting no answering call, save for the echo of her own voice.
Her search became more frantic, and an hour passed without any contact. She sighed sorrowfully, and thought of heading back to her rocket. Perhaps her hunt for the truth of her past was fruitless, and now that the one link she had was gone, she thought it would be better to give up, return home, and forget that this ever happened.
She turned, but paused when something captured her attention.
A clearing opened up in the crowd of shattered buildings and broken towers. A square in the centre of the city. Curiosity got the better of her, and she walked towards it, her interest rekindled.
Walking towards it, Kaguya discovered that it was some sort of garden. Or it once was.
Stone paths cut passages through a circular field of dead grass, the garden reduced to a corpse of wilting husks of flowers and ragged hedges. It was a sorry sight. Kaguya had wished she had seen it in full bloom.
A sudden flicker of gold flitted past her eyes. She leapt back, stunned, but smiled when she realised what it was. A pale, golden moth fluttered in dainty circles, the moonlight flashing off its radiant wings. The moon-moth was quickly joined by another of its kind, possibly its mate. The two elegant insects chased each other playfully and danced in an eerie serenade.
The bamboo-girl was filled with a bitter-sweet sensation. She was relieved that there was at least some form of life here, and that they could still rejoice in each other's company regardless of the ruins surrounding them. But Kaguya was also filled with a deep sense of loneliness, greater than she had ever felt it. She missed her Grandfather, she missed Nippon. But she also missed her own kin, the family she had never known but yearned for more than anything.
The moths ended their game and flew off, their departure marked by the twin yellow sheens of light glinting of their crystalline wings. The bamboo-girl's shoulders slumped sadly, but she smiled again as they returned.
"You want me to follow you?" she asked.
They flickered excitedly around her head and raced ahead, waiting for her to follow.
She trailed after the insects, wondering where they were leading her. Perhaps it was to a survivor! She prayed it was.
Soon, the moths came to a halt. Kaguya gasped in awe at the sight before her, though it filled her with pity and sorrow. A giant tree dominated the moonscape; branches arching to the dark sky, caressing the stars, its roots sprawled like long slender fingers. But like everything else in this city, the great tree was a withered echo of a once blossoming beauty, and it stood their alone like a fine vessel reduced to a shattered shipwreck.
Kaguya sighed and sat on the brown grass, which crumpled under her weight. She had seen a few trees like these back in Nippon, scattered throughout the land, and were sacred shrines that were said to house the spirits of nature. They were covered in pale pink flowers and had brought life and joy to the troubled land, watching over the citizens like ethereal sentinels.
Her thoughts were interrupted as the moon-moths hovered beside a shrivelled branch. Confused, she walked over to it, and her eyes widened as she caught sight of a tiny fruit, barely alive, but alive nonetheless.
Leaping to her feet, she ran to the tree and scaled its boughs, gently tugging the fruit from the spindly branch. She clambered down again, and, filled with a sense of purpose, and headed towards a bare patch of soil.
She ripped out the choking weeds whilst the moths watched her work. Once the soil was clear, the bamboo-girl clawed at the dirt and made a reasonable sized hole. Giving the fruit a tender stroke, she planted it and brushed the soil over the top, hoping that it was fertile enough.
"Water!" she exclaimed. She looked around for a water source, and spotted a battered well. She collected a bucket-full of the gleaming water that drained into the channel at the city gates, and tipped it over the buried fruit, water cascading down like glittering rain.
Kaguya sighed. She didn't know what she was doing. But it felt right.
That's the end of Chapter Two, and Chapter Three will come up in a few days. I hope you enjoyed it! ^^