Discalimer: I DO NOT OWN ANATOLIA/RED RIVER STORY!!! IN FACT I OWN NOTHING THAT IS WRITTEN HERE... YAY!
Read if you like... if you think it breaks any rules please tell... I dislike breaking rules on these things... consequences suck
Himuro pulled away from me almost as soon as his lips tenderly touched mine, a blush forming across his face as he looked away from me, my mind reeled with shock, had I done something wrong? Did he not like me?
"Himuro!?" I asked suddenly startled as I stared at his blushing face, he turned towards me for a second, his dark brown eyes revealing his embarrassment momentarily before he turned away once again.
"S…sorry, Yuri. I can't do it today." He put his hand to his face with defeated expression, blushing and frustration mixing into one strange expression on his face as he did so. Even now I find it hard to believe that the strong willed Himuro could ever blush or stutter, but he did that day. "Even though I've got so much to say to you… It's too embarrassing after all…" I stood there in shock and vaguely noticed that he was turning completely away and walking off at a fast pace, he was leaving and yet I didn't mind… why? That question still bugs me now, I should have said something to him but I didn't because I was young, naïve and I was too scared, just like him. "See you at school…"
I stood there in shock and covered my mouth with my hands slowly as I processed what had just happened in the last 5 minutes of my life. Kiss… I finally kissed him? I finally kissed Himuro!? … We've been friends in the same class for three years… when did he start to like me… Himuro!! I mentally went through my log of thoughts and then exuberant joy ran through my mind and I jumped into the air in celebration, finally I had kissed Himuro, and it was my first kiss too! I spent possibly another 5 or 10 minutes celebrating my small victory before wandering home in a daze, my fingers pressed to my lips and my lips curved into a smile that felt like my face was splitting in half from its wideness.
Once I had reached the house Onee-chan pulled me into her room to drag all of the juicy details out of me, she always did this whenever I met up with Himuro out of school, and predictably Eimi, my younger sister, was waiting in Onee-chan's room, as always, and they started the interrogation. Somewhere in the middle of the questions I blurted out that Himuro had kissed me and my sisters set up a loud chorus in unison "A kiss!? You finally did it!" I blushed and hurriedly looked around myself and motioned towards the floor, below which my parents were somewhere in the house.
"Onee-chan, Eimi…" I begged to them quietly "Shhhh! Don't say that so loud!" My parents were strict and would not have any of their daughters, especially one only 15 years of age, going around kissing boys so I understandably didn't want them to hear the subject that I and my sisters had just breached upon.
"It'll be fine! Papa and Mama can't hear us from downstairs…" Eimi assured me but I wasn't convinced, I was nervous about the subject anyway and having them two shouting it out made me even more so. Onee-chan gave me a knowing look that somehow annoyed me, like she had been expecting it all along and also knew that I was just trying to cover up my embarrassment over the whole subject.
"Himuro Satoshi, eh? So he came to like you after all? I thought you said you were just friends…" Ah, so that was what she was getting at; previously I had denied my affections for Himuro by claiming that we were just friends, that was all I saw him as, but now that my sister had been revealed the truth she was brimming with her pleasure over the fact that she had been correct, I had indeed liked Himuro more than a friend and I had lied to her over the subject. Eimi looked at me with wide, innocent and curious eyes as she asked me a question that I was not overly sure how to answer.
"Hey… Yu-Chan, what did the kiss feel like?" Her face lit up as she contemplated it, it was the dream of all young girls to have their first kiss with their crush and she was no different in this matter. I looked at her and felt a sudden flush of embarrassment and happiness over this small matter, I put my hands together and closed my eyes, resting my face on my hands as I thought back to the shocking but pleasing moment, a blush forming readily on my pale face.
"It's hard to explain this to a child," I felt a superiority over my younger sister at this point that pleased me greatly and carried on. "But his lips tenderly touched mine…" Eimi's next question shocked me and took away the belief that she was innocent and naive at once.
"Ooh! Love! Did he stick his tongue in?"
"That's called a deep kiss! Yuri's just a newbie!" Of course my elder sister would know... How could she not? She was quite a bit older than me so of course she would have already had kissed someone. My reaction was still just as predictable, I realize now, as she had hoped it would be. "Onee-chan!" I screamed, embarrassment covering my face once again. But we all stopped our shouting as the loud and gruff voice of our father echoed through the house.
"Marie, Yuri, Eimi! Food's ready! Come on down!" We all breathed a sigh of relief, they hadn't heard... it was only dinner. We stormed down stairs to the dining room in which father was already sitting himself down at the over-laden table and mother was still standing up, wearing her apron, holding a tray on which balanced a set of steaming plates, one of which she was placing on the table in front of father. Our eyes lit up in surprise and gratitude as we chorused our exclamations of 'wow' and 'What a feast!' Mother smiled at us, her gaze lingering on me for longer than the others and then explained the cause for such celebratory procedures.
"It's to celebrate Yuri passing her high school entrance exams." She retained her beaming gaze on me once again. "Thank you for puttingall your effort into getting into the school of your choice." She praised me and it made me smile back at her though I felt slightly guilty, like most of the students my age it wasn't only for my family that I had revised so hard, it was to be in the same school as my friends and most importantly Himuro, not that I would ever tell them that.
"Mama, we already have one thing to celebrate, her first ki-" Eimi was going to blow it so I quickly covered her mouth and grinned sheepishly at my parents, it was better if they didn't know and Eimi was too young to understand that obviously. "Eimi!" I screamed her name to cover up both my embarrassment and the words that would have tumbled out of her mouth; it also helped me warn her off from trying to repeat it. My father looked up curious as he puffed on his pipe, his thick beard and eye-brows quirking up almost comically as if he'd heard something amusing.
"What was that?"
"N... nothing, papa..." Was what I managed to stuttered in reply to his curious question, it was the worst answer but it was better than the truth would have been. Onee-chan grinned at me from where she was standing, watching over the disaster that was occurring in front of her for her sister. I recognized that twinkle in her eyes and instinctively knew nothing good would result from it, my suspicions were confirmed as she opened her mouth and spoke.
"Hey Yuri, if these good things keep happening, a meteorite might appear and crush you!" Onee-chan appeared to take delight in this statement, as if the idea was almost amusing for her and this riled my temper.
"Marie-chan, you're terrible!" Calling your older siblings without honorifics in Japan is deemed insulting and her statement earlier had angered me but I still felt guilty having said it afterwards, I deeply respected my intelligent older sister. But still, as I ate dinner, no bad thoughts could penetrate my mind, I was floating on a cloud of happiness... But, really... now I'm free from all that studying... and Himuro...heeehee! Even if one or two bad things happened now, I'd have nothing to fear! Dinner had been rowdy, as usual, me and my sisters playing around and throwing jokes and insults at each other, my mother trying to restore peace and constantly congratulating me, Father was a good observer and just ate his food until he looked up as I started clearing up the plates and looked at mother.
"Is the whiskey and water ready?" He asked mother and she nodded her reply.
"Yeah, it's in the kitchen." My ears perked up, I was happy to be helpful today, usually I wished other people would help out ma and papa, but today I was in a good mood.
"Oh, I'll go and get it." I rushed into the kitchen and spotted the tray on the worktop, on it was a bottle of whiskey, ice, an empty cup and a jug of water, I picked it up carefully, not willing to let the tray shake lest I drop any of the objects balanced on top of it. As I began to carry it into the dining room Onee-Chan's voice called to me.
"Yu-chan, bring some juice too." I turned around shocked.
"Are you sure!?"
I must have tripped or something because the water flew out of the jug towards me and then landed neatly back in the jug so fast that I wasn't sure I'd actually seen the movement. I stood in the same place and stared at the jug for what must have been a while as if I expected it to start doing party tricks or something. Ma's voice quickly broke me out of my revere though,
"Yuri, what are you doing? Hurry up and come here!"
"Oh, ok!" I nodded and set off towards the door and as I walked unbidden thoughts rushed to my head. Just now... did the water just fly out of there?
And even though it was impossible I couldn't stop thinking about it through the first class at school the next day. What happened last night must have been my imagination... The water couldn't have just risen up like that all by itself... But once again my strange thoughts were distracted by something, or someone. As I walked down the hall to my morning duties and day dreamed a hand landed on my shoulder and caused me to turn around, to face Himuro. His handsome face was shining with a large grin and his expression changed constantly as he talked.
"Yo! Yuri, you're slow. We're doing the daily duties today. Sensei should be giving out the graduation schedules." I smiled as I looked at him and carried on walking.
"Oh, Himuro... Good Morn-" I blushed as I remembered the last time we had met and to my surprise on his face was a similar blush. "-ing..." Himuro lifted his hand off my shoulder and looked uncomfortable as we stood blushing at each other in the middle of the hall. It was almost worth my own embarrassment to see and hear Himuro stutter like that.
"I... I'm sorry about yesterday..." I hid partially behind my school bag and blushed heavily at him.
"N... No, it's all my fault..."
"I... I'll give out the prints myself..."
"No, I'll help too." We stood there like idiots for a while and I immediately regretted the offer of help, why did I say that? It would only make things more awkward...I'm such an idiot... He startled me and I must've given him a weird look... now he's gotten all worried...
In the preparation room I kept as far away from Himuro as possible, it wasn't that I disliked to be near him it was that it was uncomfortable, I could feel myself blushing and my heart beating faster as he got near me and it made me nervous, inexplicably so. Searching for the prints didn't turn out to be easy, we search much of the room before I finally worked up the courage to talk to him.
"Himuro, where are the prints?" I asked, my face blushing as my back faced him, my head turned towards him, trying to ignore the errant strand of black hair that was flopping over my eyes from my fringe.
"Funny…" Himuroscratched the back of his head, his back was also facing mine, avoiding me? And he let out a sigh of exasperation. "The teacher said they'd be in the preparation room." Himuro pointed randomly to near the fish tank facing the window. "Could you try looking over there?" Himurostrolled over to the opposite side of the room and started looking there.
I nodded my head in an affirmative, feeling my pony-tail swish against my neck as my head moved jerkily. "Okay…" I stared after Himuro for a while and then gave up, he wasn't going to look back at me, nor was he going to talk to me anymore it seemed.
Ugh, I shouldn't be worrying like this… I slapped my face with both hands, scrunching up my eyes at the same time, confusing filling my mind as I thought of the absurdity of me being worried about Himuro's presence in the room. How many times have the two of us been alone together already? Is started shifting papers next to the fish tank in an effort to find the elusive prints and muttered to myself quietly as I worked, 'I better find it quickly...' I couldn't stand the silence that me and Himuro had uncomfortably immersed ourselves into and worked to try and find a way out of it and back into the normal routine of our lives. "If only sensei had put the prints somewhere easy to find…" I didn't notice the water bubbling in the fish tank, almost like someone was trapped at the bottom, their vital breath bubbling to the surface.
Himuro was searching through the bookshelf, back to me, hands pulling out folders and books and replacing them almost as soon as he had removed them. He refused to turn to lookat me whilst he answered, almost too distant for me to comprehend. "That's true…" This time I heard the bubbling of the tank, but I thought it was just the pipe pumping clean, filtered water through the system and back into the flow of the tank, I ignored it and turned sharply, my ponytail slapping into my face as I turned away from the tank and towards Himuro, breath exhaling sharply in frustration at both Himuro's attitude and the elusive prints.
"Geez! Hey Himuro, let's go ask sensei again where the prints are…" with my back turned I didn't see the bejeweled hands rising through the water in the tank, didn't see those tanned, long fingered, graceful hands burst out of the water, reaching towards me, not until I heard the splashes of the water as it hit the water after sliding quickly and suddenly off the hands. I turned around, my heart beating errantly as I registered the danger approaching me in the form of the hands reaching towards me out of the fish tank. "Huh?" The arms seemed to have noticed that I had seen them and burst even quicker out of the water, water spilling out over the sides of the fish tank as the arms elongated and stretched towards me, hands covering my mouth just as I'd started to scream. The arms tried to pull me back towards the tank as if to pull me in when I started to fight back, my arms flew in all directions as I tried to propel myself away from the pulling arms and mouth screamed "No!" Hoping to gain Himuro's attention and help in this terrifying situation. Part of the way through my pointless waving of arms my elbow hit the fish tank knocking it off balance on the work top it was positioned on.
"Yuri!" Himuro shouted, finally turning towards me, his face etched with worry because of my previous yelling and screaming. It was then that the fish tank toppled, falling off the work top with the exotic, coral-reef fish spilling out over the edge as it crashed to the floor, the hands disappearing the moment that Himuro turned to look at me. Suddenly released I rushed towards Himuro, one hand reaching towards him for comfort and the other covering my throat, somehow thinking that that would help sooth the pain that was now residing in it after nearly being strangled by those grabbing arms.
"Himuro! There're hands in the fish tank…!!" I reached towards him as he backed off, shock and worry now visible across him face.
"What are you talking about?" I spun around to the place where the fish tank had been, not yet registering that it was smashed on the ground with no evidence of the hands left in it, finger pointing towards my so called evidence to my terrifying experience, he must have thought I was mad.
"Look over there!!" I stopped, one hand still clasping his arm, strangely his hand was also clasping my arm, not that I noticed that until later, as I viewed the wreck of the fish tank, the exotic fish flapping about pointlessly in the puddles on the floor, obviously starved for oxygen and dying piteously in the open air, all of it was my fault. I let go of Himuro's arm quickly and covered my mouth with both hands in shock. No…Himuro bent down quickly, in my shock I was unsure as to what he was trying to do.
"Uh… I don't know what happened…" I fretted in the background as Himuro's voice grew more and more worried. "But those tropical fish were pretty important to Yoshida…" One of my hands dropped from mouth, the other stayed their, fingers splayed and my eyes wide open as I watched in wonder at the dying fish, had I done that? Had I imagined it? This can't be! I'm certain… I'm sure the hands came out of the fish tank…
Later at home I related the story to my sisters, both looked at me with unbelieving eyes and concerned faces, was I lying or insane? Eimi was the first one to say the sentence that I had been dreading, possibly more than hearing that they thought I was insane.
"You must have been imagining things, Yu-chan." Eimi muttered this, looking intently into my eyes in a way that was too mature for her young years. I leaped up on the bed, doing an impression of the hands that I had been earlier in the day.
"I'm sure about it! Howe could I have imagined that!? It felt exactly like I was being touched!" This conversation was freaking me out but doing the impression had calmed me a bit, somehow it made it feel more like a game then I knew it was. Eimi looked at me worried for a bit then just stared at me in a mature way.
"Y'know, Yu-chan, you need to use a bit of common sense!" This statement shocked me slightly, it was coming from my younger sister and she was telling me that I needed to use common sense?! She thought I was insane, she must have…
"Uh…" was all I managed to say though in reply to this statement. I leant back as Eimi prodded her finger in my direction, it was getting worryingly close to my eyes and I didn't feel like going blind just yet. Then Eimi started announcing absurdities with a serious look across her face.
"Isn't that right?" She lost me with that first sentence. "You didn't realize it, but all that studying for your tests must have shot your nerves." So she did think that I was insane after all, that hurt a bit but what could I do? No one in their right mind would believe that grabbing, jeweled hands had come out of a tropical fish tank at school. Onee-chan came through the bathroom door in a night dress and head turban, obviously just from the bath, rubbing her face with the edge of the towel wrapped around her hair.
"Yuri, the bath is free now. You're the last one, so hurry up and take it." I worried slightly about this bath, all of the incidents so far had been around water, so understandably the idea of getting into a tub full of water worried me no end. Would the hands come back? Slowly I nodded, gulped and walked into the bathroom like I was facing my death sentence instead of a nice warm bath to clean me off.
Lying in the bath I thought through the incident that had happened earlier on in the day, one hand dangling over the edge of the bath as I stared up at the ceiling pointlessly. …I guess it's true… thinking over it calmly, it's not possible that all that stuff could have happened… "If I tell anyone else about the hands coming out of the fish tank, they'd never believe me…" I thought out loud as my head started to spin from the hot air, my mind went strangely foggy as I thought through this, I vaguely heard the water gurgling almost as if someone had pulled out the plug and it was forming a miniature whirlpool as it was pulled down the plughole. "Oh no I should stop… I'm getting dizzy…" This was something that happened usually when I was thinking in the bath, I end up being in for too long and getting dizzy, I started to climb out as I usually do. "Yeah… in truth, it was probably all just my mind playing tricks on me…"
I turned as I heard the gurgling of the water louder and saw one of the same bejeweled, tanned hands launch itself out of the water and towards me, a snake-headed broach cuffed around the wrist of the arm that followed the hand. The first hand and arm was followed quickly by another one, now I had one on either side of me, closing in to clasp around me, the hands grabbed me and pulled me down through the water, deeper than it should have been for a bath, pulling me down further still, with no chance of escape as water and bubbles swirled around me in a terrifying darkness.
Is this some kind of dream!? "I've caught you… I've finally caught you my girl!" The voice boomed around me, shaking my ear drums as it triumphed over my capture, the arms clasping still tighter as they pulled me down deeper and deeper. Me? You mean me!? My eyes widen in shock that someone could be hunting me down specifically, what was so special about me? It turned out that the feeling of drowning had been in my mind as I opened my eyes properly and saw that my face was struggling just above the water, my hands grasping at the surface as I tried to pull myself up. I'm being pulled in! My hands grasped still and reached towards the tiled edge of the bath next to the wall where two plant pots stood and pulled them onto the floor along with a load of shampoo bottles. The crashing resounded around the room and seemed to stop the pulling of the hands as they disappeared and my sisters rushed into the bathroom, just as I was pulling myself up against the edge of the bath.
"Yuri, what's wrong?!"
"What're you doing!? Were you drowning in the bath!?" But I couldn't think straight, I couldn't answer them, all I did was cough and my mind wondered in its newest discovery. So I wasn't imagining things… I've finally caught you, my girl! That echoing statement rushed through my mind chilling me as I coughed on the floor of the bathroom, having been pulled out by my older sister and been wrapped in a warm towel. Is there someone out to try and get me? The idea still made me wonder though, I wasn't anything or anybody important. Why!? WHY ME!? Up till now… up till now, everything's been connected to water… Does that mean I should stay away from water?
I stuck to the decision not to get close to water for weeks, I even turned down Himuro to dates which involved water, a trip to the beach at Yokohoma refused, a date at the heated pool… I felt guilty and upset that I was missing out on these opportunities to get close to Himuroand that I was upsetting him but I couldn't help it… I wasn't going near water and that was that. I even skipped school when it was raining. Mom, Himuro, everyone, I'm sorry… But if I stay away from water than nothing will happen to me… I was walking home from school when I was thinking this, the pure, fluffy white snow falling around me, deep in my thoughts when I heard Himuro call angrily behind me.
"Hey, Yuri! Get your act together! You still haven't given me an excuse for turning me down!" Himuro put his hands on his hits, his face obviously angry, he cast an imposing figure with the snow around him and his thick winter coat on as he faced me, finally confronting me about my irrational behavior. "Even today, the long awaited Saturday, you're rushing to go home?" He was right, that definitely wasn't like me. I turned, surprised.
"Himuro…" I didn't know what to say, that I was afraid that if I went near water hands would fly out at me? No, that wouldn't work, he'd think I was insane for sure. "S…sorry, Himuro." For some reason I stuttered then, nervous at my inescapable position, this was bound to happen sooner or later anyway. Himuro smiled at me, all traces of anger disappeared as he faked thinking about it.
"You can take me to the movies by way of apology." His grin then almost stopped my heart, I realized then that he'd got what he'd wanted.
"Okay…" It should be all right, if it's just the cinema… I don't have to worry about the snow turning into rain…I looked up at the snow falling softly down, one flake landing on my cheek and melting almost immediately.
The movie was actually better than I thought it would have been, Himuro and I walked through the streets and into a park on the way home, the snow had stopped and was melting into small puddles which I carelessly ignored, what could a small puddle do to me after all?
"I knew you'd enjoy that, Yuri." Himuro announced, his face a big grin at the fact that he'd guessed my movie preferences correctly. I looked at him a bit surprised, so he had done this for me after all. I grinned, nodding my head as I grasped the shoulder strap of my backpack.
"Yeah, and the sky cleared up, too! I'm glad I came!" I pushed back my fringe, it was getting a bit long and looked up towards the now clear sky. Honestly… I was worrying a little too much. I f I don't relax a bit, it'll be like giving up before anything happens. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Himuro blush slightly but I didn't give it much care except for a small sense of satisfaction that Himuro did indeed like me as much as I liked him.
"Yuri, if something is worrying you… Just tell me." Himuro was definitely blushing now as I turned to face him at this sudden announcement, I nearly told him all about the hands in the water then but I couldn't, I just couldn't… Himuro would think I was insane. "I'll definitely protect you."
"Himuro…" I felt my heart go out to him then, he was so kind and caring, even if I wasn't already in love with him I would have fallen in love with him right then and there. I gasped in shock as I felt Himuro pull me towards him, I thudded against his chest, my blush a burning red and looked up at his face only to see that he was also blushing.
"Hey… I mean it." Himuro clasped me tighter to him in a comforting hold against his chest, my face resting against his shoulder. "Are you listening to me?" I nodded slowly against his shoulder.
"Yes… I'm very happy… But I'm fine." And I was, there in his arms I felt like nothing could touch me, I was safe and no one could take me away. That's right… no matter where I go, there'll always be water around… I really can't let myself lose my mind so easily…
"Really, Yuri?" Himuro asked, his face still worried and blushing, I felt his arms loosening as he let me go. I felt his warmth disappearing from me as soon as he let me go, cold patches winging themselves to my chest and upper arms that only a second earlier had been warmed by Himuro's arms holding me close. I nodded slowly as Himuro stared at me, awaiting my response.
"Yes… But I'm a bit hungry, Himuro." Himuro turned around suddenly, his face blushing heavily.
"Okay then!" He was avoiding looking at me. "Burgers are on me!"
I walked forward my heart inwardly leapingas I did a small little celebration dance, supposedly at the prospect of getting a free meal. "Yay!" But as I walked through a puddle my celebration stopped, something was grabbing my boot-clad ankle… I looked down and saw the same bejeweled, right hand clasping my ankle, my breath left me in a gasp, fear fed this time as I tried unsuccessfully to pull away, the hand was once again coming from water, from that tiny little puddle formed out of melting snow.
Suddenly the other hand shot up and clasped and my mouth, stifling my screams before they had even reached my throat, both arms wrapping themselves around my body, trapping my legs close together… escape was impossible this time, the hands had made sure of that. I dropped my bag as the arms pulled me through the puddle, under it in a quick movement. I vaguely heard Himuro turn and call out "Yuri, what would you prefer McDonald's or Mos Burger…" Then the shock in his voice as he noticed I was gone. "Yuri?" The thud of my bag as it hit the floor. "Yuri!! Hey, where did you go?!" Himuro's voice was worried but it was fading, just like every other sound that had previously filled my ears.
My mouth was free but I couldn't call out, the hands dragged at my legs, pulling me down and down. I'm being dragged in… I'm being dragged in! This is no joke! It's almost the 21st century, how can this be possible!? I kicked the arms away but then realized something rather quickly, I had no air, I was in water and my breath escaped from my mouth in a bunch of tight packed bubbles as I attempted to hold it in with my hand. It hurts…!! My chest felt like it was being crushed from the lack of air and my mind rushed with thoughts. I need to get out, fast! I look around at me but there is only water everywhere until a light streams down in a square shape, an escape!
Swimming as strong as you can up to the surface when you're starved of air is not easy but some how I managed it and came up gasping for air in the middle of what looked like a well, steps leadingup to an open area where women held jugs and children hung onto mothers. Their clothing was odd, rough, woven materials in coarse, un-dyed colours, the children wore nothing. Women sat next to wooden bowls holding fruits, sorting them out and sheltering in the shade from the heat that I was suddenly victim to after comingfrom the freezing cold of Tokyo's winter. The women and children stared at me, babbling and backing away, one was screaming in a high pitch voice in a strange language.
" !!"
Huh…? Water dripped off my hair and onto my face but I couldn't care less, they were bubbling the strange, fluent language that was nothing like Japanese but sounded impossibly ancient to my ears.
" "
" " I don't know this language… A man strode towards me, his hair longer than many men in Japan had it, it was then that I realized their facial features didn't fit those of Japanese people, or Asian people at all, the man started shouting at me and pointing, as if I could understand but his words flew over me meaninglessly as I sunk into my own pit of revelation.
""
" " Women gasped and backed away, men marched forward, angry and imposing, my mind rushed. I don't know this place… Where am I?
A candle was all that lit up the steps and base of the spring, a cowled figure standing and holding it over his kneeling an cowled mistress, her voice luring, angry and seductive to his ears.
"Looks like you got away... This is truly disappointing. Just a little more and I could have brought you here..." The thin, jeweled fingers of the woman hovered over the water of the well, small bubbles floating up to the surface at her fingertips. "But she is certainly within this kingdom. She should have arrived in one of the other six springs in the city."The woman looked at her attendant and he nodded slightly.
"Well, lets call for some soldiers. The girl will be before you soon, your Highness." The man bowed his head slightly, his face lit only partially in the candle light, the other masked in shadow from his hood. The woman got up from her crouching position next to the spring and turned towards him slowly pulling her hood down at the same time so as not to muss her hair, it was piled carefully above her head a gold tiara holding it into position with a gold chain holding a red ruby in a tear-drop shape dangling at the centre of her brow.
"Naturally. I summoned that girl for a reason. No matter what happens, her blood is needed..." The woman turned fully revealing a neck full of light beaded and golden necklaces and a large chest, with which she somehow managed to walk up straight with a regal manner, her face was rather beautiful if not for the strict look that now crossed it, aging it and making it cold.
I ran, seeing only other sights that both astounded and scared me. A massive, yellow-stone wall surrounded the city in which I was running, stone buildings vaguely resembling temples that I had seen in books filled the spaces, people wearing plain, un-dyed clothes walked around, their feet bare or wearing sandals of a sort. There was no concrete, no tarmac, just stone and wood, simple materials that weren't really used in Japan anymore, people preferring the use of glass and concrete now. The road was mud, it didn't exist, it was a red dirt that had been pressed into an almost flat surface by countless feet stamping along it, every now and then there were tracks in it that looked like long lines, bikes? Carts? This isn't Japan... This isn't my city! I realised rather belatedly, my thoughts suddenly skipping to another line. Where's Himuro!? He should be here, he was standing with me when I got pulled through the water, surely he should have been too? I noticed a set of steps up to the top of the wall that surrounded the city. What would he tell me to do? I ran up the steps, tripping once but somehow managing to reach the top uneventfully. Where the hell is this place!? I was running along the top of the wall now, looking down as I did so, I stopped as the sight that faced me awed me. I stood leaning against the wall, the wall I had now realised where battlements, and stared out at the scene open eyed.
"Wh..." I was looking out across a sprawling city across a vast landscape, the ground was a red brown, hills lining the view and the wall extended up one of them, falling short of the others but still containing a vast area of land, houses clumped together in groups big buildings mingling with the smaller ones. What looked like separate areas where contained in their own walls, their buildings bigger than others and their placement was always high up, where everyone could see them. I suddenly felt small, insignificant and I also realised at that time that I was definitely not anywhere that was even like Japan, it was more like I was in an African country, somewhere behind the times without technology. There was another thing that shocked me, no factories, traffic or the general city noise that I knew, sure I heard voices but there was an awful lot less than there was in Tokyo. "Where am I!? Where is this place!?"
I now know that this place is Hattusa, Capital of the Hittite Empire in the 14th Century BC. In the 20th Century this place is known as Central Anatolia in Turkey.
Um, finito...
Right, if you like this tell, if hate... tell and just don't be too mean ok?
ta lovies.
1995 February, Japan, Tokyo