Blessed are we all
White.
It was the color that reigned absolute in that environment without beginning, middle or end. However, it was not an empty environment. Numerous chairs, modern and ancient, synthetic and of natural material, floated softly in varying altitudes.
Among them was a girl.
Where am I?
That scene was completely bizarre for her. The chairs swirled in the air like in a weightless environment, but she felt firm on the ground or what she could tell was ground.
Something drew her attention. A mahogany chair with upholstered green. The girl had recognized, even being far away from it.
Or not.
Huh?
The chair now stood before her.
I-I went up to it? Or it came up to me?
When held out her hand to touch the chair. Something new had called her attention.
My hand.
Not exactly the hand, but the glove she wore. White, frilly and something shiny in the inner part...
Her eyes widened at what she saw: stars, galaxies, quasars, comets... on the dark background of the universe.
It's beautiful, but...
Her dress was of pure white. As for the glove, it was ruffled in the long tail and the short sleeves. The last layer of the ruffle was light pink, as well as the pantyhose. The shoe that she wore projected a wing.
But...
The neckline revealed the curve of her breasts, closing at the collar where rested five pink gems with the format of a drop. The gem in the center was bigger than the others.
"WHAT HAPPENED TO ME?!" She put her hands on the head.
Her scream was able to send the nearby chairs twirling away.
"My hair..." She ran her hands though her scalp. "...is long?"
When pulling a lock to investigate, she saw that there was no end: her pink hair floated, spreading and losing sight at the horizon whiteness. The only familiar thing were her pigtails, one on each side of her head, but tied with pompous white bows.
However, something managed to stun her even more.
While squirming to see her back, she noticed that there was something floating behind her. It was a hologram of a pair of white wings.
"W-Wings? Have I turned an angel? That... that means... I'm in heaven..."
She shook her head hard. It could not be true. She was at home with her family, so how could she be in this place now? She needed to remember. Needed to get out. Get Out. Get Out. Get Out!
Then, accompanied by a buzz, a hologram began to appear in front of her. It was an image of black and pure red color, it was still very blurry but it was already possible to say that was larger than the girl.
The image was gaining definition, yet the girl was not able to recognize or understand the meaning of it: They were two suns, one inside the other.
Before she could get a better look or even touch, another image began to form next to this one. This one was composed of the blue and white colors, forming the design of a TV showing two angels greeting.
"What's going on?" The girl was increasingly fearful as she watched a new image forming. It was red as the image of the two suns, but was in the shape that resembled a butterfly or a crown of thorns or, maybe, a flower?
There was no time for answers, for another picture emerged. And another. And another... And immediately the white background was being populated by a mosaic of these symbols.
The girl found herself surrounded by it, as if in a huge globe. Looking up, she saw that at the top of the globe, about a hundred meters above, had formed an image larger than the others.
It was circular and had to be more than a dozen meters in diameter. The central part of the image was a dark sphere pierced by a pin and a pair of dark wings. Over all this was a pink lace scattered.
The girl did not even notice she was staring with her jaw open, especially when that image was turning into another. The lace merged with the ball, turning in a pink star with eight points. The tip that pointed north had the shape of a crown. The pair of wings cleared until they became bright white. A frame of golden tones with a pink edge formed behind where numerous black lines projected from its center in all directions. Four black circles were positioned as cardinal points near the star.
Then, just below the wings, pink runes began to be written.
"Eternal Feminine..." Girl stammered, confused by her mind have been able to read that writing.
While the girl reread the runes, due to doubt her ability to be right about that, the image began to crack like glass.
Oh no! The girl lowered her head and put her hands on her head, fearing the worst.
A burst.
The image fragmented into thousands of pieces, falling over and around the girl. Fortunately, no piece was big enough to hurt her.
Returning to look up, she again found that an image had replaced the previous one.
Now it was only black and white. A dark salamander with a lozenge in its front and a pair of reversed wings behind.
The girl was completely absorbed in contemplating that she did not realize the danger: the destroyed image's fragments began to melt, acquiring the appearance of tar. The numerous puddles composed by that dark liquid snaked toward the girl.
She would just realize only when it was too late.
"Huh?! AAAAHHH!"
Like tentacles, the tar clung around her legs. Coalescing, slowly it began to rise to her waist.
Desperate, she tried in vain to remove the dark liquid with her hands.
The whole floor was taken by the tar. There was nowhere to go.
Then she felt herself being gripped around the waist and she started to rise up.
"AAAAHHHHH!" Terror gripped her. She was going straight against the salamander's image.
She protected herself as best as she could with her arms. Fortunately, the impact was not as strong as the material felt like a thin and light crystal. The image shattered as well as the previous one.
However, she was rising faster and faster. Below there was now only a mountain of black tentacles, which swallowed that myriad of images she had seen. The tentacles were firmly strapped to her waist, they were like a grotesque skirt.
Floating chairs passed her with speed, as she went up. She feared that one of them hit her or the possibility of a ceiling at the seemingly endless landscape.
The only thing she thought of doing was raising her arms and ask for a miracle. "HEEELLLPP! HEEEELLLLLPPP!"
Then she saw, on one of the chairs that had just passed, an animal. Had dark scales and should have around a meter long from head to tail.
Then came another one, on another chair. Now she was sure that the animal was the salamander she saw in the image.
Rising and rising. Her mind exhausted from all this madness, she glanced at the salamander, which was now in another chair. Then she discovered that it was the same animal as it disappeared from a chair and reappeared in another.
The salamander was following, trying to reach her.
Then she lost sight of the animal. She did not know if that was good or bad. It wanted to save her? Or was hunting?
It seemed that these questions would be answered soon, because when lifting her head, the girl saw the salamander falling towards her.
She raised her arms in order to hold the animal. However, her reaction was too slow and the salamander fell on her head.
What she did not expect was that those scales were so soft...
Opening her eyes, Madoka Kaname saw her arms reaching toward the ceiling of her room.
"Hmmmm...?"
The sleeves indicated that she was wearing her olive green pajamas. She rubbed her eyes, still sleepy.
The light and the songs of the birds coming from the window were announcing the dawn of a new day.
"Eternal... eternal..." Madoka sought to remember what had happened, but was left only a few flashes in her memories.
Then she remembered something had hit her head. Lying on the ground next to the bed, was a pink stuffed rabbit.
Madoka jumped up and hugged the rabbit. "Sorry to have thrown you Meggy, I think I had a terrible dream..."
She took and put the rabbit on top of a mahogany chair with green upholstery.
The room Madoka resided in consisted of two collections: one was of stuffed animals of various sizes, types and colors, and the other was of chairs. This unusual collection was initiated by her maternal grandmother and passed on to next generations.
The sound of movement in the house caught her attention. When she opened the door to the hallway, she ran into her father.
Tomohisa Kaname was a thin man of good appearance, due to the result of his adherence to a diet of natural products as he said. Even though having more than thirty years, his brown hair did not have a single gray hair or any other signs of age.
"Madoka? Already awake?" Said surprised, while cleaning the lens of his glasses with his shirt.
"Yeah... I think I rested enough." Madoka was running a hand in her messy hair.
"Good. So could you wake up Tatsuya for me? Then I can start to prepare the breakfast already." Tomohisa winked.
"Of course dad. Hihi."
Tomohisa put his glasses back on his face. "After you dress him, wake up your mother. She asked a few more minutes of sleep, because today will be one of those days."
Madoka was dismayed. "Oh? She'll work overtime on Saturday again?"
Tomohisa sighed and closed his eyes. "Yeah." He said in a disappointment tone.
/人 ◕‿‿◕ 人\
Junko Kaname was a modern woman with a promising career. Wearing a typical combination of blazer with a black pencil skirt and a white dress shirt, just missing the hair and the makeup to be ready to work. She was sharing a spacious bathroom with her daughter. "Anything new at school?"
"Nothing." Madoka, already dressed in the school uniform, said as she combed her hair. I'd better not tell mom about the conversation I had with Sakura-san.
"Um..." Junko tied her purple hair. "What will you do after school?"
"I'll walk with dad and Takkun." Madoka said without hesitation.
Junko began to apply a face foundation. "Why don't you go to the mall?"
Madoka raised her eyebrows. "Alone?"
Junko took the mascara applicator that was in the case. "Why not? Maybe you can find someone from the school there."
Madoka understood the idea of her mother. "Could be..."
"There's no need for it to be someone of your classroom. Have you thought about joining a club?" Junko had finished with her lashes.
"I thought, but..." Madoka remembered that strange conversation with Homura in front of the board, at least part of it...
Junko sighed. "I never imagined that getting these years out of Japan would make such a difference."
"Don't worry." Madoka smiled. "I don't have friends, but everyone treats me very well."
"Of course, else they would have to deal with me." Junko said in a threatening tone as she applied eyeshadow.
"Wehihi." Madoka began making her pigtails, tying with a red bow.
"You always use these for school, despite having others." Junko was preparing the powder for blush.
"Yes." Madoka looked at one of the laces. "I have a special affection for them, but I don't even remember where I bought them."
"Bought?" Junko questioned, while using the lipstick. "You didn't win them from someone?"
"Eh?" Madoka frowned in an effort to remember. "Um..."
"Well..." Junko closed the case and took a good look at her reflection in the mirror. "I'm ready to fight!"
"Mother! Your shoes!" Madoka pointed to the pink slippers that her mother was wearing.
"Oh yes! I left them to decide later." Junko reached for Madoka. "Thanks my good girl. Together we're invincible."
The two made a high-five.
The breakfast was ready.
There were vegetables coming straight from the home's garden. The bread and jam were prepared by hand by Tomohisa, who was wearing an apron behind the kitchen counter.
"Angel! Vvvuuusshhhh." Tatsuya, sitting at table in a chair for small children, was playing with a tomato like a toy airplane.
"Tatsuya! Don't play with your food." Junko scolded before taking a sip of coffee.
Tomohisa laughed. "Tatsuya has an imagination... Seeing an angel in a tomato."
Madoka was eating a slice of bread. She remembered the day Tatsuya showed off that huge tomato, since then he acquired this habit.
"Does someone want more coffee?" Said Tomohisa.
"Please." Junko raised the cup. "Today I have to be very alert."
Tomohisa brought the jar. "Junko, do you need to work every Saturday?" He said as he filled the cup. "Was it not because of the stress that we came back to Japan?"
Junko exchanged glances with him. "Dear.. I'm just dealing with the bills. "
"But..."
"The company only covered our tickets, luggage and transportation was on our own." Junko continued, leaving no room for her husband.
Tomohisa thought to impose her voice, speaking about the value of family, but he saw that Madoka and Tatsuya were looking closely at the two.
He stayed silent and smiled.
Junko answered that smile and held the hand of Tomohisa, sliding her thumb over a ring. "That's why I married you."
Some unusually long seconds passed.
Unfortunately for Tomohisa, the clock on the wall was there to spoil the mood. "I think you two better hurry."
The mother and daughter quickly left home together.
"Have a nice daaaayyy!" Tomohisa and Tatsuya said in unison.
Junko went toward the garage to get the car while Madoka would continue on foot. It didn't take more than ten minutes to get to school in a good pace.
"Bye mommy!" Madoka waved to her mother, taking the opportunity to exercise her English.
"See you." Junko said.
/人 ◕‿‿◕ 人\
These moments with family were of great esteem for Madoka. Mainly because it made her forget about her worries.
Now that she was alone on her way to school, they returned to haunt her.
It started since returning from the West. It was a strange feeling that something was wrong. Something felt out of place. Like, something that did not fit in that environment.
And she was absolutely sure what it was: herself.
Even the act of walking did not seem familiar. Is the ground in each country somehow different?
No. In fact, that seemed to apply to everything. Wearing pantyhose, going to the bathroom, feeling hungry... It was all so normal and at the same time... not...
Upon arriving at school, another feeling with which she dealt with had emerged: being watched. There were so many people looking at her, noticing her presence.
Even worse was when she entered the classroom. No one to give that special 'hi' or 'good morning'. Groups of friends were already formed in the room. That was the problem to those that get in at the middle of the school year.
Madoka knew she should have taken advantage of the early days, when she was still the 'new girl', to form friendships. But her restlessness combined with shyness acted as shackles.
Sitting at her desk, the feeling of insignificance, that she could disappear at any time and no one in the room would care, tormented her.
Maybe she should just go away. Maybe follow a similar career of her mother? Foreign trade? For a woman who travels the world, Japan would be a too small place. Yes! She belonged to the world!
But she would have the courage to do so?
Sakura-san certainly would.
Madoka noted that girl with a long red ponytail. Kyouko was not paying attention in class, she seemed more occupied with her friend of blue hair. What was her name?
Mi... Michael... Mickey... Miki. That. Miki Sayaka.
Kyouko was not afraid to take the teacher's scolding. She was not afraid to run through the halls. She was not afraid of detention. She was not afraid of being labeled as a delinquent.
She can be a delinquent, but...
In the first conversation Madoka had with the red haired girl, Kyouko had started talking about such a sensitive subject that it had left her embarrassed. However, Kyouko spoke so naturally, as if they had talked in other occasions.
Does she accept... to being my friend?
Madoka imagined what life would be like with those two girls. Do they hang around? Visit the mall? Listen to some music? So much could happen. It would even be possible for her to gain a little attitude from Kyouko.
It's decided! I'll talk to her during the break. Madoka was now determined.
However, then came the geography lesson, history, English...
It was always the same. The bells rang and her heart raced. So much could happen. Kyouko could laugh at her, mock, ignore... such endless possibilities that she could not finish that list before the bell rang again.
Next class will be the last of the day.
This break was her final chance. She knew the two would run away when school day ended and she could never reach them by then.
Within the last a few minutes before the break, her heart was already in a rapid pace.
What my mother would do?
Her mother was a warrior. Traveled to the West shortly after she gave birth to Tatsuya.
We're invincible.
What would be a mere talk?
Madoka kept shaking her legs while waiting for the take-off sound.
I'm invincible. I'm invincible. I'm invincible. I'm invinc...
The bell rang.
Madoka rose from her chair and forced a smile. Clenched her fists with determination and ignored her anguished heart. Finally, she began her journey towards her mission.
"Kaname-san?"
The tense body of Madoka turned to the person so quickly that she was not sure it had been a voluntary movement. "Ahh... um... A-Akemi-san?!"
Homura was near her. "I interrupted something? You wanted to go somewhere?"
"It's... not... hihi..." Madoka was scratching her neck. "I just... wanted to stretch my legs a bit."
"How nice." Homura smiled. "Since you're so willing, would like to follow me?"
"Now?"
Homura was looking at her nails. "Uh-huh..."
"Of course. Hihi." Madoka's mission may have been a failure, but going hand in hand with the exceptional Homura Akemi would be a great consolation prize.
However, before leaving the room with Homura, Madoka looked one last time to her former goal. In this she eventually exchanged glances with... What was the name again?
"H-Hi Mi... Michi-san." Madoka waved and made a bland smile.
Sayaka, who was still sitting, looked away. Her expression mingled disappointment and sadness.
Madoka looked down and bit her lip. Friendship with those two would not have been so easy.
/人 ◕‿‿◕ 人\
For those who saw those two walking the halls, it was hard to say they were together.
Homura was leading, head up, assertive steps.
Madoka, in turn, was looking around hesitantly. So many strange people watching, they were far from the classroom. They gone up two floors.
"Where are we going?" Madoka realized that this was the first time she talked since they left the classroom.
"To the rooftop." Homura answered without looking back.
"The rooftop?" Madoka was surprised. "But it's not prohibited?"
"It's not prohibited." Homura paused before continuing. "It's restricted. This means that some people have access, including students of the astronomy club, teachers, class representatives and..."
"Nurse's aide?" Madoka completed.
"That's right Kaname-san. Considering that you'll be of my responsibility."
The two reached the staircase that led to the top of the school.
That's when Madoka came with another question. "But why come here?"
Homura turned to her with a serene smile. "I noticed how you were afflicted in these last classes."
"Oh... um..." Madoka blushed.
"So..." Homura tight her lips, searching for words. "I decided to talk with you, but I don't know how you'll react. I wouldn't want anyone to see, for your sake."
Madoka frowned. What subject could be? What reaction would it be? Anger? Sadness? Laugh until fall to the ground? Considering how Homura addressed it, the latter should not be the case. Because of this, she reached the top with apprehension.
In fact, this was the first time Madoka visited the rooftop. How she regretted not coming before the restriction... The view of the Mitakihara's modern skyscrapers was amazing. The sun combined with a cooling breeze seemed to rejuvenate. She imagined having lunch on one of the concrete benches that was there. Observing the movement of students in the courtyard. Another thing visible was the tower with megaphones that...
It was as if lightning had struck her. "Akemi-san!"
"Yes?" Homura, which was still leading, turned back.
"We won't be late for the next class? If the bell rings..."
"Don't worry." Homura smiled. "I had exchanged emails with the teacher, he informed me that he'd be late for class."
"Eeeehhh?!" Madoka was blinking repeatedly, then smirked. "Good then." Wow! She is so close to the teachers. That's incredible.
Homura did not resume walking. "What I wanted to talk about."
Madoka held her breath.
Homura joined hands, locking the fingers. "Nakazawa-kun."
Madoka exhaled in relief. So that was it? "Ah. Then she told you everything."
Homura heard that statement with satisfaction. "Yes. She told me everything and I can guarantee that this false information will not spread."
Thinking what would happen if the classroom, worse, the entire school knew, Madoka blushed once again.
Homura acquired a serious expression. "Though you should not pay attention to Kyouko Sakura. She isn't a model to be followed. This includes her colleague."
"I see..." Madoka said without enthusiasm.
"Huh? Is there a problem?"
Madoka turned her back to Homura, toward the guardrail. "I think Sakura-san just misunderstood."
Homura was curious. "Really?"
"Yes. If Nakazawa-kun really look at me, it's not because of interest..." When Madoka placed a hand on the railing, she picked it up in reflex due to pain. The dark ink, along with the Sun, had left it too hot. She watched the tips of the fingers getting red. "It's because I'm a strange girl."
"Strange girl? Are you unhappy?" Homura continued to interrogate.
"No. That's not it." Madoka said. "I'm just feeling out of place. I couldn't get close to anyone. And I'm sure that problem is in me."
"This is... unfortunate." Homura was about to clap.
"But then you came."
Homura's hands retracted with that statement.
Madoka turned, exposing tears that roamed her smiling face. "You're my hope."
Homura gaped. "Mmmaaa...name-san?"
"Since the very first day, you took care of me." Madoka crossed her hands on her chest. "You're always worried about me, always around, although we talked so little."
The bell rang.
"Even though, compared to you, I'm nothing." Madoka began to approach.
"Don't say that, Kaname-san." Homura shook negatively.
Madoka wiped her tears with her hand. "Even if I must be a burden to you."
"You'll never be a burden to me."
"I can't help but consider that you're a friend." Madoka extended her hands to Homura.
"NO!" Homura stepped back.
Madoka was perplexed by that reaction.
Homura sighed. "You're confused Kaname-san. This is... just a duty." She felt a hit on her back.
Madoka looked at her own hands. "But just with me?"
"L-Like I said. You misunderstood." Homura received another blow, "...I-I...can't..." and another.
Then silence.
Madoka lowered her hands. "Akemi-san, sorry."
"You don't need. It's I who should be, for making you come here." Homura looked away. "You better get back to the classroom. By the time you get there, the teacher should have appeared."
"Oh... I-I liked coming here, but don't you want to come with me?"
Homura formed a simple smile. "I'll take the opportunity that I'm here to check if everything is in order." Another blow.
"Okay. I see you there. "A saddened Madoka began to walk away.
"Bye Kaname-san." Homura waited Madoka to get out of sight before running a hand on her back. She felt something wet and slimy. It was tomato pulp.
Looking for the perpetrators, she soon found black birds perched on the guardrails.
"Goooo awaaaay!" Homura said ominously and the birds departed.
Now alone, she hid her face with both hands, not caring for them being dirty. "It's me, who will forever need to apologize, Madoka."
/人 ◕‿‿◕ 人\
It was late at night.
The only light in Madoka's room came from the moonlight. She was sitting on her bed, thinking about Homura. Had she gone too far? So why a nurse's aide would do so much for her?
Then she hears the sound of the front door opening on the floor below. The sound of shoes being left on the ground. From the sound of the steps, she knew that the person was going toward the kitchen.
She decided to go downstairs.
Arriving in the kitchen, she came across her mother opening the refrigerator, which was illuminating the environment. When it closed, the moonlight came back to reign.
Junko had taken a juice jug. "Madoka? I woke you?"
Madoka smiled. "No. I'm not sleepy."
"Hmmm..." Junko took two glasses.
"Were you working up those hours?" Madoka went to her place at the table.
"Your father didn't say? I was with your teacher." Junko was filling the glasses.
"Saotome-sensei?" Madoka asked.
Junko inclined her head. "Who else?"
Madoka, still smiling, frowned. "Problems with men?"
Junko tilted her head even more.
"Wehihi."
Then Junko opened her bag that was on the sink counter. From there, she took a small bottle with a clear liquid and put its content in her glass to mix with the juice.
Madoka realized that her mother was slow in her movements. "Mom? Didn't you drink enough with sensei?"
"My daughter policing me? Kuku..." Junko said as she put the bottle back in the bag. "This here will help me to sleep. You'll understand better when we fulfill our promise."
"Promise?" Madoka looked down, trying to remember.
"Don't you remember anymore?" Junko sat in the chair. "That we would have a drink together when you reach the legal age?"
"Ah..." Madoka drank some juice. "I think not..."
"Lately you've been forgetting many things." Junko was turning the glass, swirling the liquid that was inside. "And now your lack of sleep... something disturbs you, no?"
"Yes..." Madoka shrugged her shoulders. "There is a person."
"A person... hmmm..." Junko closed her eyes. "In school?"
Madoka nodded. "Yes."
"They made some kind of mischief with you?" Junko questioned Madoka.
"No!" Madoka gestured. "They treat me very well from the first day. They are always worried about me, asking how I am. Giving me advice and I feel that they protect me."
Junko was just listening.
"But..." Madoka wilted. "But when I want to get close, they avoid me. I feel that we would get along so well. I'm confused by that."
Seeing that her daughter had finished, Junko wondered, sliding her fingers along the cup's rim. "In the way you put it, it seems to me more like a case of love."
Madoka widened up. "L-L-L-love?! How is this possible? When we love someone, don't we want that person to be close to us?
Junko smiled. "It would be nice if it were that simple. You know that person well?"
"Uh? Oh!" Madoka's face lit up. "They're incredible. Very responsible. Has great grades. Very good in sports too. Teachers are always talking..."
"Hahaha..."
"What?" Madoka said.
Junko shook her head. "I ask you, do you know how they see themselves?"
Madoka was silent.
Junko continued. "Do you feel you would get along well with them? Do they think the same?"
Madoka watched her weak reflection in the glass surface. "But... but then why do they do this to me? Wouldn't it be better to stop?"
"Love has many faces." Junko sipped before continuing. "It's beautiful, but not all stories where it's involved are happy. This person loves you, but maybe they believe it has something that makes it unworthy to have reciprocity."
Madoka contorted her face. "I-It's terrible. If this is true, they didn't give me a chance..."
"Madoka!" Junko called her daughter's attention. "The story may be sad, but it's not over yet."
"What do you mean by that?" Madoka was curious.
"They keep approaching you, are they not?" Junko looked deep into her daughter's eyes, seeking to reassure. "Be patient. They will open up gradually. You must seize those opportunities."
Madoka remembered the last conversation with Homura. She had not gone too far, but too quickly. Perhaps if she had waited for an opening...
"Thank you mom!" Madoka said cheerfully.
Junko sighed. "There's already Saotome. Now I have these conversations at home."
"Wehihi." Madoka arose. "Let me do the dishes for you."
/人 ◕‿‿◕ 人\
In a lonely flight, Homura returned to Mitakihara. However, this time it would take some hours before the sunrise.
Weekend and other days off were the only opportunity she had to hunt demons in the Americas, due to the time zone. Fortunately, they were also the days that she had more time to rest.
However, she was sleepless. The memories of those tears, formerly of hope and she turned them into disappointment, did not come out of her head.
".emiT"
There was no more. She had postponed the inevitable. She would have to do. It was that or lose everything.
Arriving home, crossing the portal, ran into the hall lined with black feathers on the ground.
My children had lots of fun with all of you, my accursed birds.
The hall was completely silent. No birds, children should be somewhere hunting them. Also were absent that witch and her familiars, though she could feel her presence nearby. Her only companion for the moment was the rusted clockwork mechanism on the ceiling.
That environment gave her inspiration.
First she did stretching, crackling her body completely. Then a deep breath and two claps.
An orchestral music broke the silence.
As if in a trance, Homura answered every note, every chord, with her body. With each spin, the dark dress's tail lifted the feathers on the floor.
Her dance was evolving not by grace and purity, but by aggressiveness and sensuality.
Ah! The music brought guests to the opulent lounge. Her children and pyotrs had entered, now the ball was full. For those who saw from above, the guests formed a choreography of concentric circles around the harlot.
Screens appeared on the walls with images of Madoka. Her joyful expression, hopeful, compassionate, were in every corner.
"FufufwahahahaHAHAHAHA..." Homura swirled, making the feathers form a black rain. Faster and faster. She did not want to miss a moment, even the most subtle, of her love.
Her children, her princesses, tried to imitate it. However, Homura was the queen! The beloved only had eyes for her.
But...
It was very difficult to tell what had stopped first, Homura or music. Feathers rested on the ground again. Now there was only the waiting for the jury.
Children, one after the other, raised their plaques with grades.
Zero Zero Zero Zero Zero Zero Zero Zero Zero Zero Zero Zero Zero Zero
"Thank you." Homura hugged herself, sliding the nails on the exposed skin of the shoulders. "Thank you..."
Applause.
This unusual event caught the attention of Homura. There was a white-haired girl with a painted face, in her usual pink dress with white polka dots.
With a gesture, Homura vanished the images of Madoka. "Witch? I woke you?"
Nagisa smiled. "No. I'm not sleepy."
"Hmmm..." Homura was approaching the witch.
"Amazing Homura-chan!" Nagisa exclaimed.
Homura tilted her face, leaning on a index finger. "Did you enjoy? Fufu."
"Was wonderfuwwrrr!" Nagisa opened her arms and began to spin. "That time you started spinning on one leg faster and faster. I thought you were going to fly."
Homura took into consideration that, if she performed with her wings unfolded, this was a reasonable possibility. "You must be referring to the fouettés."
Nagisa was still very excited. "Have you been a ballerina?"
"Hmm... I wanted to be one..." Homura realized she was taking her hand instinctively to the left side of her chest. She stopped. "But it was a childish dream. By the way..."
"Huh?" Nagisa noted that Homura was examining her.
Homura uttered sarcastically. "With this face you have... by any chance you dreamed of being a clown? Fufufu..."
Nagisa looked away and tried to hide her smile with both hands. Without success, her tiny hands were no match for the dimensions of her mouth.
"Oh really?! Fwahahaha..." Homura did not hold back. "You lived in the circus?"
"In the hospital." Nagisa said.
The smile of the two disappeared.
"Hospital?" Homura was confused. "That is not a place for those things."
"I disagree." Nagisa replied. "There was a group of clowns who visited frequently. It was beautiful to see them bring joy to the people who were suffering."
Homura closed her eyes in a moment of consideration. "Oh yeah. I remember them, but I didn't give it much attention. Didn't see much point in it."
When Homura opened her eyes, she saw that Nagisa returned to smile. "I mean... I saw this in a news..."
Nagisa shook negatively. "There's no need to lie, Homura-chan."
"Did you know? So she told you, hasn't she?" Homura felt a bitter taste in the mouth. "Were you a patient too?"
Nagisa continued to shake her head. "No. My mother was."
"You said you lived in the hospital. What happened to her?" Homura questioned the witch.
"She was sick." Nagisa began. "I was very young when she had the first problems. I didn't really understand, doctors said they were in the kidneys and had to remove them."
"Both?"
Nagisa nodded in confirmation. "My deceased father and his family were Japanese, they didn't accept his marriage with a foreigner. My mother had no other relatives to take care of me."
"So I accompanied her to the hospital. She sat on a machine for hours. I saw her blood going through some tubes. She said it was currant juice." Nagisa smiled.
"But then she got worse. Doctors said the disease had passed to the liver. Even if they gave her very strong medicines, they didn't give more than six months for her life expectancy."
"My condolences." Homura stammered.
"No!" Nagisa was still smiling. "I didn't say I lived in the hospital? My mother was hospitalized, but doctors were good and let me stay."
Homura was surprised. "You slept there?"
"Nurses only could give me some sheets. But no matter, because I was with my mother." Nagisa continued. "She lost weight and hair, but never her smile. I liked when I passed her hand on her flat head." Nagisa then ran her hands in her hair. "I even let mine grow so I could give a very beautiful wig."
Despite the content of the story, the voice of Nagisa was full of hope. "It was then that I met the clowns. They came with a cloud of bubbles and were dancing and honking. The faces they made were very funny. Ehihi."
The witch's face was once again the daughter who never gave up her mother.
"More than a year had passed and my mother was alive. The doctors said it was a miracle. My mother said I gave strength to her. You see? She wanted to live because of me!" Her eyes flashed.
"Later said she would win a new kidney and they would take the diseased part of the liver and... she was good. She was good!"
Pyotrs began circulating Nagisa.
"We left the hospital, but she still had to take many medicines. Yet she was happy. Her hair grew back and she stopped using the wig."
"Uh-huh... uh-huh." Homura was not interested in those details.
But Nagisa seemed to take forever. "Did you know she was a wonderful cook? Her dream was to set up a confectionery of foreign cuisine. My father had left some money saved, but it wasn't much. So she started selling cheese at the fair. Customers were impressed that I knew the names of all the types of cheese!" She pointed to herself, bragging.
"What a beautiful story!" Homura said, trying to interrupt. She then slid the index finger that was supporting her face to the lower lip. "But you made the contract because of your mother, right?"
The radiant face of Nagisa paled once again, her eyes went back to its bizarre mixture. "After a few years she returned to get ill. Doctors said the kidney was stopping. But she took all the medicines right, I helped to remember."
Homura watched Nagisa lower her head slowly.
"She had to be re-hospitalized. They said... that the disease had returned. It was very fast, she couldn't get out of bed, and lost her hair again..."
Nagisa put her hands on her chest.
"I let my hair grow again, but she didn't see. She just slept, full of tubes, pale skin... the whole mouth purple. They asked about my family, I didn't want to go... and they didn't want me."
"And then he appeared." Homura gave a simple smile.
Nagisa was silent.
"You wished to save her life." Homura said.
"No." Nagisa put the hands on her face, the voice was tearful. "No! I wanted a cheesecake."
"A cheesecake?!" Homura was completely taken by surprise and confusion.
"I wanted her to fight, to want to live... because of me... I should have asked for plates and silverware..."
The hall began to quake with a slight tremor.
"...I took a piece by hand...she had a mask...I put my finger under...she liked to feel the smell first..."
Homura realized that more pyotrs emerged, they were agitated. "Witch..."
"...The machines started to scream...without end...people entered... they kept me away from her...they stepped over the entire cheesecake ...I couldn't do anything..."
Homura did not like what she was witnessing. "Charlotte."
".. So I ran away... awayiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii."
"CHARLOTTE!"
"bbbrrriiii?" Nagisa was now facing a huge Homura. No. It was not that she was gigantic.
Nagisa was a doll once more but those colorful and expressive eyes were now faded. Her visage of a witch who discovered that perseverance does not last.
"So that's your curse." Homura said while observing the witch's dark and dull eyes.
"bbbrrriiii..."
"I don't understand what you're saying."
A purple liquid leaked through the eyes. "bbbrrriiii..."
"Ah... You're cryin..." Homura was interrupted by a strong tremor. A huge donut began to emerge from the hall floor. Caramel running down the walls. Puddings fell from the ceiling and crashed on the ground, mingling with feathers.
Homura took the witch head with her left hand and held her up at eye level. "Stop witch! You're overriding my barrier!"
"bbbrrriiii..." Chalotte did not stop crying.
Homura sighed and closed her eyes and then led the witch to her lap and hugged her. The crying continued, but it was muffled. Purple ran down the black fabric of her dress.
This lasted until the tremor yielded.
Stroking the witch, Homura decided to give her opinion. "Her death is a blessing."
"bbbrrriiii?" Charlotte looked up and the two exchanged glances.
Homura realized the risk and continued quickly. "You're now aware of the consequences of the contract. Think! What would have happened if your mother's life had been saved?"
Charlotte keep looking expressionless at Homura. It was not possible to discern what emotions the witch was experiencing at that very moment.
Homura continued. "Dead, being taken by the Law of Cycles or even turning a witch. Does not matter. You were doomed, your mother would lose you."
This time the witch lowered her head.
"That was your wish? For I'd never accept a wish where the person you love goes away." Homura said bitterly.
The witch was static, there was no way to distinguish her from an ordinary doll.
Numerous pyotrs crowded and nudged the legs of Homura. She decided to put the witch on them. "You fought for her until the very end. I admire you for that. Now rest."
The pyotrs began carrying Charlotte to her room. Along the way, the witch turned and the serpent came out from her mouth.
"Eek!" The smiling face of sharp teeth came so fast that Homura only had time to arm the wings.
But Charlotte did not open her mouth, instead she began to rub on Homura.
"Hey! Hey. Ok... I'll take that as a 'thank you'."
Apparently, Homura was right. The serpent retreated and disappear through the door leading into Charlotte's room.
"This little witch..." Homura smiled. She looked closely at the palm of the left hand, where her crown-shaped gem appeared. Its violet color shone brightly. "Today I collected a quite amount of grief. Huh?"
Her children, along with several flying teeth, were chewing the huge donut that had appeared.
Homura called them. "Children! No more candy for today."
They made a tantrum expression.
"I have something much better." Homura raised her hand whose gem was floating. "Bring him to me."
Homura saw her children, in a real racket of mechanical sounds, jump with joy.
"...htaeD"
"Huh?"
"...htaeD"
"Oh yes! I fully agree." A screen appeared with a still image of the smiling face of Madoka. Homura extended her hand toward the image and slid her fingers as if she was caressing the image's flawless skin. Almost as if from there, she could reach her beloved.
"Death is a blessing."".gnisselb a si htaeD"
Next chapter: Disconnection
