LIGHT IN THE ATTIC: Re-written as of 8-2-08
Thank you for all the reviews left so far, they are all very encouraging.
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Sakura stopped laughing. Something had caught her eye for the second time that day. A box lay underneath the bed, covered in dust and stapled shut. It was so old and beat up looking that Sakura thought it might turn to dust if she touched it. Which she did, of course.
Sliding the box toward her, she gazed at the staples, which looked as though they'd been put on by a child, or someone in a rush. Or both. Listening closely to make sure her dad and brother were still downstairs, she pulled the staples out one by one. Sakura didn't know what to expect, the excitement sent her imagination reeling. Perhaps a bundle of love letters, or precious gems hidden away. Or maybe a map to some secret passage? Sakura excitedly stuck her hand in the box and pulled out an incredible looking…
…piece of paper.
Disappointed, Sakura saw what looked like a diary entry. Her bad mood was short lived, because the date heading the entry was from 1931! Eyes wide, excitement returned as she read.
July 16th, 1931. Today Ita-kun played with me on the roof. Then we explored the attic and we found an old music box! It was broken, but Ita-kun says he can fix it. He's very nice to me. I know it's bad nobody has money, but if it weren't for that I never would have met Ita-kun.
Momoko Aoyama
Sakura finished reading, and thoughtfully placed the letter back in the box, but there was something else in there as well. Her hands found something cold, and withdrew a chipped, wooden box with a small glass lid. She opened it, expecting more paper, only to see a slowly rotating contraption.
"Music box…" She whispered to herself, suddenly realizing what it was. But although the metal pieces inside were moving, it was completely silent. She was tempted to shake it, but that might damage the already broken object even more. Perhaps it was like a bell from Santa's sleigh- you had to believe in Santa to hear it.
Her dad called from below. After placing her two treasures back in their cardboard container, she walked downstairs to help unpack.
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It was out of pure boredom that her brother, Kirio, had begun to tease her. First about her hair, then about the little sun dress Sakura had chosen to wear that day. After driving her to tears, she ran to find her father, who had spent the last three days shuffling through the boxes of old papers and useless junk left in the house. He had been reading old newspaper clippings from a shoebox when Sakura arrived, seeking comfort. After a good 5 minutes of assuring his daughter he'd speak to her brother, he hurried her off to "explore the house." But before leaving the musty room, Sakura paused.
"Daddy, who were the Aoyama's?"
Her dad answered without looking up. "They ran this place as a home for people who had lost theirs in the Depression." Her father turned to look at her "Why do you ask, Saku-chan?" Sakura hesitated. She didn't want to tell her dad about her treasures, she wanted to keep this secret as her own. Her one bad habit., keeping secrets.
"I.. was just wondering." And she left the room in a hurry.
Her father looked after her, concerned for a moment, then lit up a cigarette and returned to the news clipping. He stopped in mid puff and stared in horror when he read the headline.
Aoyama child falls to death from rooftop
Itachi Uchiha, friend, is main suspect.
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Yet somehow, as bored children usually do, her brother had found Sakura again, and had 'playfully' tugged the ribbons from her hair, and was trying to splatter paint on her dress. She fell and tripped many times before finally escaping his grasp by running up the stairs. Dirty, and with a bleeding knee, Sakura ran crying up all four flights of steps, onto the fourth floor landing. Her brother was right behind, paint on his fingers and wicked grin on his face. Sakura bolted for the door at the end of the hallway and toppled into the room. She felt her brother slam his small weight onto the door, making her yelp. She heard the scraping of chairs from outside, and suddenly realized that her brother was barricading her in. Sakura hammered on the door, sobbing, and yelled from the other side, but it wouldn't budge. How could her father hear her when she was trapped, four floors above?
Defeated, messy haired, and her dress stained and wrinkled, she crawled from the door and collapsed in the fading patch of sun from a grimy window with gray curtains, which blocked out almost all the light. She curled herself into a ball and shook with sobs. 'Always the weakling..' she thought, and cried herself into an uneasy sleep.
Itachi had watched, hidden in the shadows, as the child burst into the room. He observed as she sank to the floor and cried. Now he moved soundlessly as though not even the dust itself knew he was there.
Standing in the darkness cast by the many surrounding boxes, Itachi stood next to the girl who lay at his feet. He gazed at her with dark eyes, black hair curtaining his flawless face, which remained void of any emotion.
The light from the window had faded, throwing the room into darkness. He noiselessly crouched beside her, and reached a pale hand out to brush hair from her face.
But Sakura slept on, unaware of the danger she might be in.
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I actually prefer short chapters, I'd like to think it gives the reader time to think things out and analyze the story. But of course, I'm making the poor assumption that you all are analytical readers to begin with. The next chapter will be up soon and much more exciting! By the way, Itachi's appearance is that of a 15 or 16 year olds.. and yes, he is dead.