Chapter 2: The Lost and Gained
Mayu once again stayed up tonight and never once laid down to rest. She had been calming Mio the entire time from her pain when in truth, she was feeling pain herself. She would think to herself often if not with words that at this time dear reader you shan't understand; those words are "I'm sorry."
Tonight she felt as if the pain had left her almost completely, as long as Mio needed her she would always be happy. "The past is the past…", hissed the young girl to herself "she belongs to me and shall be no others. Oh Mio… I've truly never enjoyed anything until we were together." She went to her sister and gently rubbed her hair, the bristles seemed stiff in her grip, as if winter had found its cold way into the room.
She walked up to the large window in their room and looked into the clear dark sky. "Heh heh the moon shines happily for me tonight; I have everything I could imagine now. I may have been forgotten long ago but I've coped with that and can never be forgotten as long as she is like this." Mayu walked up to Mio who seemed to almost squirm in fear as her sister got closer and gave her a gentle kiss. She laughed to herself as she finally decided to go to bed and smiled as she closed her eyes under the covers.
This dream again... it has been plaguing Mio ever since that day, this manor seemed to follow her no matter where she slept. Mio walked around yet another corner of this strange manor and avoided the woman who stalked it's very halls. She was garbed with only a cloth to hide her lower body, while her upper body was completely consumed with tattoos. Mio now wondered to herself as to why she had come inside, it was almost as if a force beckoned her inside.
All she could see were spirits of long deceased who floundered every corner as if begging to escape their everlasting loop and even Mio was wishing to escape. "This was a mistake," ,squeaked Mio in fear of the darkness that was coming to overwhelm her "I should not have just gone and run into some manor and without even Mayu to help me… oh Mayu help me." She began to shed tears from her unmasked eyes when all of the sudden from the corner of her eyes, was Mayu walking away from her and into a dark hallway. "Mayu?", pondered the young girl as she flew with all her speed to the ghostly figure.
She ran after her sister who although was only walking was quite fast and slowly leaving Mio behind in the darkness that was growing behind her. In a desperate attempt to get her sister's attention Mio screamed as loud as her lungs could go, "Mayu! Please don't leave me behind in the dark!" As if all time had stopped itself in that one black area so had Mayu who herself had begun to hiss in a cold icy voice that made Mio's hair stand "Alone… in a dark place is where I have waited for you…" Mayu slowly turned to reveal her face distorted and angry in which she screamed with the caw of a banshee "AND YOU DARE ASK ME TO PROTECT YOU FROM THE DARKNESS!" Mayu charged at Mio before she could even get a scream in and suddenly… she woke up.
Mayu stood next to Mio as she woke up abruptly and startled her Mio then began to panic and run around like a madman. As she left the room screaming, Mayu had run after her in great speed hoping to stop her before she could reach the stairs. Mio was in all sense running away from the darkness that inevitably surrounded her, still believing to be in her dream but what she couldn't understand was that she was back in reality and in desperate need of waking up. Mio was darting around until she had reached an edge and suddenly began to topple over with an ear piercing scream. Mayu saw Mio nearly fall but managed to grab the collar of her pajamas and pull her back and tried her best to consult her, "Mio, you're awake now and are no longer dreaming." Mio wormed around in Mayu's arms and began to slowly gibber out words, "M-m-mayu… I did my best to save you I'm sorry it took so long to do it."
As you can see, Mayu doesn't watch dreams so at first she couldn't get the gist of what her sister was babbling about and predictably asked, "What?" Mio then exclaimed with fear and sadness, "I'M SORRY I TOOK SO LONG TO SAVE YOU FROM THE VILLAGE!" Mayu went backwards a bit in shock to this subject "I wasn't quick at all and I couldn't save you fast enough to keep you safe from the darkness. Please…please… don't hurt me."
Mayu was biting her lip at this but reacted quick enough, "Oh Mio. I would never hurt you. Remember it's just a nightmare which is a simple fabricated lie." Mio cried into Mayu's breast as their uncle Kei came into the room "Mayu, what happened? I heard Mio scream and thump all over the house." ,questioned Kei when Mayu replied with unease in her voice, "Oh nothing uncle, Mio just had a nightmare and began to panic." Kei looked upon her with the kindling eyes of a sage and then said, "Alright then, I'll go make breakfast and leave her into your care Mayu."
Kei had left the room with silent movement as Mio only began to slowly recover from her episode in which Mayu was once again biting her lips as her thoughts produced only one phrase, "Cursed Dreams."
