Chapter Three:
SYMPATHY FOR PANDORA
Ex sulum procuratio , amo umbra , illa specialis recolligo quod merge…
From every direction, like shadows, these secrets gather and merge...
In the same room where airy rustlings first summoned him away, he hid from the daylight. Although he enjoyed it, he also knew that night would come and snatch it away soon enough. So he tried not to become too attached.
Instead, he lost himself in the pages of a novel he'd already read, reread, and read again numerous times before. Not just in his current life, either…but it was all becoming the same thing.
Engrossed at this point, he was able to distance himself from the misery of the night before. It was so routine now; he always wound up back in this room after it was over, barely able to move but alive in some sense of the word.
He flipped another page. As if in defiance, a memory of the past night surfaced, making him frown and reach into his pocket. The solid weight of the stone was comforting in his hand, gently warming the flesh. A reminder that he was still alive for now, and as such, might one day escape.
He was going to open the thing.
Really, he was. Just… Just not right that second.
"This is ridiculous," Rei sighed, slouching in dejectedly.
Beyond the tense atmosphere of the kitchen was his small, cozy living room. It tempted him, calling him to come in, forget about all of the day's crap and indulge himself in a favorite book.
Rei forced himself to look back at the table.
On it's dull wooden surface rested the cause of all his current anxiety: the Package. He glanced around the room as if to draw courage from the scenery. Sorry, nothing inspiring there: a few pictures of roosters and tigers, white tile floors, plain white counters, an ancient fridge, an oven, a rarely used microwave…and his table.
Where the Package still sat.
Unopened.
He found himself ripping open the paper with a growl (something he usually refrained from doing), only to find that whatever was inside was packed with dry grass. On top of the dead vegetation was an envelope with his name on it. He opened this, as well, with impatient fervor. Inside was a manuscript of inked characters that caused a wave of homesickness to wash over him. He shook it off.
Kon, Rei
I hope you are well. As you know, you and your mother were the first we have seen of the Kon family since your ancestor left the village. Maybe one day you will return, and maybe not. Regardless, I could not give this to you before now. You were not yet of age. This object is your birthright, and you must be very, very careful with it.
It has
been called the Cat's Eye, but do not let this name fool you into
taking it lightly.
Do not folly and sell it, and do not allow it to
be stolen! Now that you possess it, you have the chance to set things
right…or you may continue your ancestor's mistake that has
reached so far through time.
I can say no more than that.
Despite passing grudges and misgivings, know that your people will always care about you, and wish you safe from evil.
May the right path be clear in your eyes.
Congratulations
on reaching your eighteenth year, my boy.
Zhao Do Chao, Head of the Village
After his third time rereading the letter, the seventeen year old managed, with some effort, to put the paper down.
Since when had Lee's dad become head of the village?
Okay, putting that aside for a moment. He'd only heard bits and pieces, snatched by eavesdropping on the village gossipers, but he had a vague idea of what his family situation was.
Apparently one of his ancestors, said to be a crackpot of sorts, left the village seeking greatness. Never seen again. Rumor had it he died a beggar, but then there were lots of rumors about him. Then, years and years later, Rei's mother showed up at the village with him in her arms, and died shortly after.
He never quite knew what to make of all this in the first place, and now this letter? What mistake, exactly? What did his ancestor do? It wasn't as if he'd been positively swelling with family pride in the first place, but this… This was ridiculous. Rei scratched his head, carefully avoiding the strap of the eye patch.
His visible eye narrowed at the paper. Rei felt overwhelmed, confused, frustrated, nervous, annoyed at not knowing what was going on, and… and, Kami, he wanted to know what was inside!
Rei reached his hand into the box, feeling around until he felt something solid. He grabbed it and pulled it out, immediately stunned at what he saw.
It was a gem.
It was more than that, though. It was an effervescent kind of green, with hues and shadows that seemed to dance before him. It was set in a thickish metal disc about the size of his palm. Rune-like characters unlike anything Rei had ever seen before decorated its smooth surface, along with a series of beautiful geometric designs. Even in the light of his kitchen, it seemed to glow. Brighter and brighter until-
"AH!"
Rei yelled in panic as sparks erupted from the stone to flitter over his hands and up his arms to cover his body. It felt like static shocks all over him, the yellow of the electricity leaping everywhere. Rei flung it onto the floor, not daring to take his eyes off of it even as the tingling sparks diminished.
He gasped, trying to catch his breath. Looking down at his hands, he saw they were trembling. A slight feeling of pressure in his eyes let him know that his pupils had probably slitted as they often did when he was scared or mad or excited. Moisture dripped from his brow to the floor, alerting him that somewhere along the way he'd started sweating.
Rei stared at the drop of liquid on the floor before slowly dragging his vision along the white tile to the taunting gleam of the Cat's Eye. He swallowed. How was it that he'd only had this thing for less than ten minutes and he was already a wreck?
There was a knock at the door.
Rei jumped almost two foot into the air at the noise, and after taking a brief moment to calm down, he prepared himself to dash to his pone and dial 911.
"Rei? Are you there? It's me, Max!"
The sound was muffled, but the voice was unmistakable. Rei moved damp hair out of his eyes, pushed up his headband, and tried to make himself look somewhat presentable. It was only Max, thank goodness!
"Tyson's here, too. Can we come in?"
"Y-yeah! Uh, hold on just a second!"
What was he going to do about the rock? And the letter? He really didn't want to touch the thing right now, and Max would ask questions, and Tyson might try to eat it, and-
"Rei? Are you there?"
"I'll be there in a sec!"
There was nothing to be done about it, he supposed. Heck, maybe Tyson's brother would know something about it, he was good with ancient languages and stuff, right? Rei jogged over to the door and opened it to see a grinning Tyson and a sheepish looking Max. It wasn't a surprise, really. The two were inseparable, practically joined at the hip.
"Hey Rei!" said Tyson, loud as ever. Max waved feebly, making Rei frown a bit in worry. What was up with Max?
"Hey, buddy. Mind if we come in?"
Tyson nodded vigorously, probably with the notion that Rei would fix them something to eat. The amber eyed male wasn't too keen on coughing up the last of his homemade egg rolls, but that was just Tyson for you.
Rei frowned thoughtfully, wondering how he would explain the scene. Maybe they would just not notice it? He moved aside to let them enter, smiling in greeting.
Max sighed in relief and rubbed at the back of his neck, a hint of a blush coloring his face as he walked in.
"I came here to apologize, Rei. I'm so sorry! I feel horrible! What was I thinking, just barging in like tha- Whoa! Rei, what…" the blonde trailed off, leaving his query to dissolve into the air. Tyson slowly looked away from the stone to Max, prompting his blond friend to do the same.
"Max… You thinking what I'm thinking?"
Max nodded. Rei fidgeted nervously, not sure of what to do. "Uhm, you guys, I don't really know what to tell you, but-"
The neko-jin paused as Tyson drew a similar object from his pocket, while Max pulled one out from a chain under his shirt. Max's shone a light ocean blue, set in a disc of dark wood, while Tyson's was a stormy grey, set in a semitransparent crystal disc. Both had symbols and patterns similar to Rei's Cat's Eye graven onto their surfaces.
Rei gaped at them for a long while before he could choke out a pathetic excuse at saving his sentence. "-b-but, I guess I don't have to say much, do I?"
Just in case anyone cares, I kind of pictured the novel to be Eugene Onegin, but whatever works for you. Please, please review. Or I'll slap a rabbit, I swear I will!