Chapter Three: Gauche Suede

And so the final moments of the evening began as we walked in endless silence, accompanied by only the sound of our footsteps clashing against the rocky grounds, traversing through places that belonged to me - or rather, to Gauche Suede. I hooded myself, as to not reveal myself or appear recognizable to anyone, deciding to recapture the scenes of this world anew. A short walk from the hills led us to a cross implanted into the ground, near one of the cliffs - it stood, old and vertically slanting. My mother's grave, the pale girl told me - resisting the surprise enveloping me in how much they knew my former identity, she told me of Lawrence's tales of me to her; how my mother died giving birth to my sister named Sylvette, paraplegic and that of Lawrence was willing to provide a cure for her, but refused by Gauche. Telling me how he always set sights on my capabilities. And how I lost part of my heart, the only portion that kept my memory of her.

We reached Yuusari Central, the middle-class society of the country, after a distant, slightly tiring walk. The city was comfortable, and modern - furnished by adequate and modern, enjoyable facilities, illuminated by spots of yellow lights, dignified, and not as bad as I'd imagined. Travelling here, I learnt of the gatekeeping system, bridges linking the districts guarded by two blind, Albisian twins, or at least as the rumours say. What stood out in the city was the building known as the Hive - the Bee Hive, the Letter Bee Headquarters, that of the girl had told me of, my former occupation. Distantly I collected the signature features of gold glitter adorned on dark blue uniforms and lengthy scarves around their necks, each with bags filled with letters to deliver. Thoughts ran across my head, curiosity in what these people were, these Letter Bees - and how I was one of them. I stared at the Hive blankly, eliminating the final traces in my head - I wasn't interested, nor did I find it important for me to know. I turned away, not wanting to linger near the place any longer, as she followed.

I decided to leisure in a short walk before departing the district, treading alone as we separated ways, as I strolled in the darker lanes, linking shops and small households established on the sides of them. The silence in my walk was pierced as I distantly I heard the rolling sound of a wheelchair coming from afar - I caught the intriguing sight of a girl, the smoke white hair similar to mine and her twinkling eyes a beautiful azure, an adorable smile on her face as she rolled on the same path, opposite of where I was going. Could this be her? I thought. My sister, Sylvette? Everything fit in - paraplegic, hair akin to mine, and with resemblance. She didn't notice me as we crossed our paths, each of us headed for different destinations. I stole a final glance at her from the corner of my eye veiled by the black hood covering my head, and indifferently continued on my way, through my final desires and moments of the city.

His life was thick, and interesting, but I felt no interest, no accomplishment, no care. Whatever I was - he was - didn't matter, never would matter. I departed Yuusari then, a mix of disappointment and accomplishment as my curiosity was satiated. I didn't know how I felt about that, apart that it was pointless.

I'm not going back.

We departed Yuusari, as I took the black-clad man to remnants of irrelative places of the country, I told him how I found him, fainted and unconscious in this place - or rather, a small distance away from where we were at. The cliffs of Caberlin linked to the Rosie River, as we continued our journey with towering, cliff-like rocks surrounding the sides.

"I was fallen in Caberlin?" He asked me. "Here, the place where the Rosie River flows just a distance ahead?"

"Lawrence said you came from the light." I said, as if I was repeating something, as I noticed a mild befuddlement surface upon him. "I found you there," I pointed at the distant spot I found him at as we coincidentally reached it, catching the sight of the tainted water and the stones that lay aside of it, reminiscing the disgusting sight of his bloodied, bruised posterior, helpless and unattended as it lay on the granite. "You had collapsed."

"I see. Thank you." There was his smile again, soft and warm. "It is because of you that I am alive."

It was a first - to be thanked. I felt hot and unusual, my cheeks heavier, a mild pang of indescribable discomfort - perhaps embarrassment - washing over me.

I stopped. There was a faint breathing - a struggle for life. Silent, barely detectable - but I heard it.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"I heard something." I murmured.

He followed me as I searched for the source of the odd sound. We entered the nearby cave, walking for a few moments in the darkness before the light surfaced, reaching a lake. There we found that creature - another one like me, a tormented, disposed experiment. A girl, beautiful, but anguished and short-breathed, her rear a fish's tail, as if a mermaid. Scales caressing a side of her head and cheek, her breathing growing thinner and dimmer as we watched, empty of any astonishment - he stood, calm as he would ever be. Fearless. Cold, collected and fearless. The girl reminded me of the horrible memories as my head and heart stung secretly inside - the sorrow, fear and pain, umpteenth and fruitless to my empty heart, welled up slightly, as if it was revived by them and repeating the experience of the pain they struck.

Another one, I thought. No matter how much they were, perhaps I couldn't ever get enough of them. "She must have escaped." I whispered, hiding the bitterness in my tone, my look. "From that place."

"This is-"

"Akatsuki runs experiments," I explained, fighting against my fear for once, telling him everything. Lawrence would likely tell him of his presumed and mpre bitter experience regardless, but I found myself deciding that I wanted this man to know, to see how he would respond, and what he would do. He deserved to know. "Combining all manner of things with humans, in an attempt to create spirit."

"But most, if not all - were failures. And they were all discarded and disposed of. Only a few survive for long."

"And you escaped," He said slowly, emphasizing the words. "From here, didn't you?"

I didn't respond. I wasn't comfortable in telling him of the tragic things I went through. I stroked the woman's auburn hair, the cold skin of her scaled forehead, the final threads of life cut from and escaping her. How much lives have I seen like this? I pondered, never to know the answer, for it was a number too much for me to ever count.

"At the very least," He muttered, as I sensed the compassion in his words, "Let us give her a proper grave."

"Yes." I breathed.

It was simple, as he brought the body outside, digging a sizable hole to accommodate the corpse, stacking fractions of nearby granite and rocks as a final touch. His face was expressionless through the whole journey, no emotion, no color. As if the world never mattered to him - much like myself, tormented with only small purpose and a broken past.

And now - he knew most of everything. Who he was, what happens in this cruel unfair world, about them. About me. What was he going to do?