Chapter Two

My eyes shot open and I gulped in a breath of air. It took a few seconds before I realized that I was lying on the ground, a pool of blood forming underneath me. I looked down and almost passed out again when I saw a long piece of metal sticking out of the left side of my chest. The realization hit me that I must have just performed my first ritual, as soon as I saw a snowshoe hare lying still on the ground a short distance away.

I couldn't remember anything past the darkness.

A pair of arms scooped me up and the metal spike was pulled from my body. My mother smiled down at me.

"You did very well. I'm proud of you."

I smiled tiredly and cuddled into her shirt a bit. Atarashii looked up at me with wide eyes and I reached a hand down to her. She grasped my fingers between hers and seemed a bit relieved to find that I was not dead. Mr. Akiyama came over after a moment and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"It's your turn now, dear." Atarashii gave my hand a final squeeze before she let go and allowed Mr. Akiyama to guide her to her spot.

I think I fell asleep because I remember waking up in my bed later in the day. My chest was bandaged, but when I removed the gauze curiously, I found that the wound was already part-way healed.

My mother sat in the rocking chair to one side of the room, asleep with my sister curled up in her lap. They looked so peaceful there that I smiled in happiness and went back to sleep.

I thought the biggest trial of my life was over.

I know now that I was seriously mistaken.

About a year later my eighth birthday finally rolled around. July twenty-ninth.

Atarashii had been creeping about the house secretively all morning. Meanwhile, our mother had gone down to a market to pick up ingredients for my birthday dinner: Dumpling soup with chicken breast. She knew it was my favorite and even hinted that she might teach me how to cook it myself later.

For the most part I sat outside and practiced bird calls. I almost got a blue jay to land right next to me. When mother got home she called me into the house to help her cook.

We cooked. My friends Ao and Kiko came over for dinner. We ate and sang and danced. It was a marvelous time we had.

After cake came the gifts. Kiko brought me three pairs of lovely hair ties, each with a different attachment. The first pair had a flower on them. A lotus, I believe. The second pair had a blue jay on one and a cardinal on the other. The third pair was probably my favorite; on each tie there was a small silver Jashinist symbol. I hugged her and gave thanks to her for the wonderful presents.

Ao presented me with two thin metal cylinders. It took me a moment before I realized what they were. I extended the spiky weapons to full length and examined them in mild fascination. My first ritual spikes. These would always be special to me. I knew his father probably crafted them and asked him to thank the man, and told him thank you as well.

My mother gave me a small book bound in black leather. I opened it and found empty pages of lined paper.

"A journal," she explained when I looked to her in slight confusion. "To keep all your adventures in."

I smiled faintly, knowing what she meant. We'd be leaving early the next morning to go stay with our grandparents, Atarashii and I. Mother was going on a mission that would last almost an entire year. I would have this book to write my days in so I could regale her with many stories upon her return.

She also took the silver chain from around her neck—upon which her and father's wedding rings were usually strung—and handed it to me.

"You'll need that to go with your sister's gift."

Atarashii took the chain from me and put something on it that I couldn't see. After she put the necklace around my neck, I was allowed to admire her gift. The hand crafted silver pendant completed my new rosary and brought me close to tears. I hugged my mother and sister happily and kissed them both on their cheeks.

"Thank you…"

Shortly thereafter Ao and Kiko bid me farewell and took their leave. I went to bed, knowing there was a long day ahead when we woke up the next morning.

We all woke up at dawn, already packed and ready to go. Most of the people in the village were still asleep, so we kept quiet on our way out. There were a few people who bid out mother safe travels as they passed and Mr. Akiyama greeted us warmly at the village entrance.

He gave me my own copy of the ancient scrolls, which I stored carefully away in my bags as he and mother embraced one another. I heard him whisper something in her ear that made her wince a bit.

Even though I was curious about what he'd said, I decided in the end that it might be better for me not to ask.

They released each other and mother bowed her head slightly in respect to her old friend. They parted ways and I followed mother with Atarashii in tow. Mr. Akiyama watched until he could no longer see us before, I suppose, he headed back into the depths of the village.

The three of us started down the mountains to the valley below, where the Village Hidden in the Pines was located. As the name suggested, the village was surrounded by dense pine forests. Luckily we were all used to the high mountain wilderness, so when we reached the valley that evening we had no trouble finding our destination.

People looked up from their work curiously as we passed. Children stopped playing to watch us marching silently through the streets. I saw more children our ages than I'd ever seen before. This place was considerably larger than our home village, and to be honest I found it somewhat… intimidating. But I kept my head held high and made sure Atarashii did the same.

Everyone had a look in their eyes I felt familiar with, but I couldn't put a name to the emotion at the time. I would later come to know those eyes very well. That look of fear and hesitation hidden partially behind a stony wall of anger and hatred. At the time all I knew was that everyone was watching us, though.

We ended up at a house at the other end of the village and our mother headed up to the door, shoulders tense. An old woman opened the door, about fifty years of age, and looked from us to our mother.

"Mother, let me speak—"

"I know why you're here," the woman said. "How long do you wish for us to keep them?"

Mother hesitated a moment before she replied, "Eleven months and my business should be over with…"

Our grandmother looked back down to me and Atarashii in silent contemplation. "Fine. They may remain with us while you are away. Bring their belongings—"

"I'm sure they'll have no problem bringing in their luggage on their own." She seemed quite reluctant to set foot inside the house. "I have to be going now. I need to stop by the hospital and see dad." She knelt down in front of me and Atarashii to say her goodbyes.

"Be good for your grandparents, alright? Try not to get into too much trouble or upset them. They're going to be taking care of you both while I'm on my mission. I'll see you when I get back." She hugged us close and whispered, "I love you," gently.

Little did I know this would be the last time I would embrace my mother over the next twelve years.