Chapter Fourteen "Tomorrow Is Just A Dream Away"
The sun was about to set when Yumi reached the town Fort Augustus. From here, she only had about three more miles until Boleskine. She could already see the lake, the famous Loch Ness. "I'm almost there, Ami…" she said, even though she knew that no one could hear her. Just then, she spotted the beautiful sunset over the quiet lake. "How she loved these sunsets. I promise you, Ami, we will see another sunset together, I promise with all my heart…" The light at the horizon was beautifully bright, with the kind of red that only stories can describe. Though her motorcycle helmet, the girl was witnessing the most superb view that Scotland has ever seen. Yet, it just didn't seem right without Ami.
She could see the house of Boleskine from a fair amount of distance away. The headlights of the motorcycle helped the girl see it better. It looked like a simple house, although she could sense a strange presence all around it. She didn't get scared one bit, not when her friend's life was at stake. The house had something like a fence of small mountains covered in pine forests directly behind it, while in front of it Loch Ness was shining in its entire splendor, the moonlight creating a spectacular dualism. She parked her motorcycle behind the house. She spotted Ami's motorcycle costume and helmet lying on the ground. "Don't worry, Ami, I'm here now. I just need to find you." Suddenly, a hand touched her shoulder. "So, you finally came" the old man said. "It's you" she exclaimed. She immediately lowered her voice. She didn't even know why, but something told her that this was not the proper place to shout. "When did you arrive?" she whispered. "Not a moment before" the man whispered back. "Seems like everything is quiet for the moment" he continued, "let's go to the shore. And don't make to mush sound." Yumi didn't have time to question him; the two quickly got to the front of the house and down by the shore. Night did not really begin, as the sky was still a tad bright to the west. But it certainly was dark. The two were facing the lake now. "What now?" Yumi asked. "Now, we wait. And relax, it didn't start yet." "What didn't…forget it, I don't want to know" the girl said, as she sat down on the grass looking at the stars. The old man sat next to her. "So, I can guess that you two were very close, right?" "Did you ever meet a person and, from the first moment, felt like you were born to meet him or her? That's what I first felt when I saw Ami. We met for the first time in Tokyo and, since then, we have been close to each other every single day. She is my best friend and I'm not about to let her go." Just then, Yumi heard something. Apparently, the man heard it too, as he backed up a little and ducked behind some bushes, whispering to the girl to do the same. The two didn't notice, but, by now, the night was shedding its darkness all around. The moon was still as bright as ever, though. "What is that?" Yumi whispered pointing to a strange little light, in the middle and directly above the lake. "I don't know, but it looks like it's coming this way." Indeed, the strange little light was slowly making its way towards the shore. It was still to far away for any of the two to make out what it was. "What do you think will happen?" Yumi quietly asked. "Are you afraid?" the man asked back. Yumi however shook her head being determined not to let her friend fade away. "No, I am not. And I do not care what obstacle I must pass, nothing is going to take Ami away from me." "Good girl" the man replied "that's the spirit. Never let your friends go. They are the most valued treasure that you will have. Never let them go" he repeated. The light was almost there. Yumi could almost make out the shape of… "AMI!" The purple-haired girl jumped from the bushes and reached the end of the shore in no time, with the man close behind her. "Ami! Can you hear me? What's wrong with her?" she turned to the old man. Ami's eyes were closed and she was floating all by herself. She looked like she was in a trance. Around her there was a shiny aura which glowed making her seem kike an angel. She was dressed in a white gown and on her head she had a crown of flowers. "I don't understand; why is she dressed like that?" the man wondered. "The May Queen" Yumi gasped "AMI, WAKE UP, WAKE UP" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "Why won't she wake up?" she asked the old man with tears in her eyes. "Because that's not how she'll wake up" the man replied; he was looking worried as well. "But she can't be…" suddenly Yumi was silenced by a strange phenomenon: the moon was visibly sending its rays towards Ami, who was now slowly moving from above the lake to the top of the house. With her eyes still closed and her aura still glowing, she reached her final destination, the house of Boleskine. In an instant the whole house lit up and formed something like a pyramid of light; Ami was positioned at the top of the pyramid and the light was continued by the moon rays, which seemed bounded to the girl at this point. "I finally understood what's going on" the man said. "Yumi, listen to me!" But the girl was helplessly watching with tears in her eyes as her best friend was now facing the lake. "Where is the piper?" she cried "He must save her; where is he?" "Listen to me, Yumi; I bought this house a while ago. I bought it because it is the Thelemic Kiblah, like a Mecca of Thelema; I wanted to perform rituals…" noticing the strange look that Yumi gave him, he stopped. "You …bought this house…to perform rituals. I…I…don't believe it…you…you are Aleister Crowley?" "My dear, yes I am." Yumi fell on her knees. "But…you died." "I did" He confirmed. Yumi was both confused and scared. "We don't have time for this; I came to save your best friend, I came to save Ami. Yes, I am a ghost. But will you accept my help?" The girl didn't know what to answer. Aleister held his arm so Yumi could reach it. "Will you?" he almost begged. A smile on Yumi's face and a friendly grab of his arm were more than enough for an answer. "Yes, I will accept it" she said as she got up.
Just then, a loud sound, like a crash, shook the ground and from the waters of Loch Ness appeared a monster of immense proportions. Its sound was by far the loudest Yumi ever heard. "Yumi, this is what I was trying to explain" the man shouted "the monster is receiving its power from the May Queen, thus consuming your friend. The house is filled with energy and works like a battery. But it is powered by the moonlight, as you can see. Your friend is stuck in the middle being both a gateway and a victim. If this operation succeeds, this monster will receive all her energy by sunrise and, after that, she dies in three days." "Over my dead body" Yumi furiously shouted. The monster was visibly more and more powerful. In an instant, he saw the two intruders. "Yumi, he spotted us!" It reached for the two. "Watch out!" Yumi screamed. But, with a great shout, Aleister started saying a strange exorcism spell in a foreign language, something Yumi never heard before. However, this spell created an aura of protection around the two. It seemed to hurt the beast, which retrieved its giant arm. Yumi didn't hesitate for a second. "You? You're the piper?" A smile from Aleister towards her answered her question. With a flick of the wrist, the aura around them was gone; it was time for the two to attack. Aleister started saying another spell, which sent arrows of light, practically from nowhere, towards the beast. "What about Ami? How will we save her?" "Not we, my dear, you!" Aleister shouted back. "But you're the piper; you must save the May Queen! You must!" The monster was trying to regain its powers. Aleister got down on his knees, facing the girl. "My dear, I am not the piper. I'm just the help you need." "But where's the piper." Aleister didn't even have to speak. "Me? I am the…" "That's right, Yumi. It was you who had the dreams, you who found the secret message, you who understood the song's meaning. Now you just have to finish the job. Go ahead; call the May Queen to join you." "But, that means I must read the message out loud, which will kill the May Queen." "We all must die to go to heaven" Aleister said. "NO!" Yumi got down on the ground. "I won't kill her!" she shouted while tears were streaming down her cheeks. "AMI! WAKE UP! I DON'T WANT TO KILL YOU! AMI!" "Listen to me, Yumi, we don't have time. If the operation comes to a close, she's dead anyway." "I won't kill her!" "No, you won't kill her. You will just kill the May Queen, thus setting her free. There is still hope left for Ami. There is still a chance that the monster didn't get her spirit. There is still a chance, but only if you finish what you must do. So quit wasting time and read the bloody message already." Aleister restarted to enchant the attacking spells, as the monster had regained its powers. "Hurry!" he shouted.
With her eyes still wet and her hands shaking she got out her notebook and started reading: "If there's a bustle in your hedgerow…"; the monster was clearly shouting in pain when she started reading; "…don't be alarmed now…" "Keep going" Aleister shouted. "…it's just a spring clean for the May Queen." The beast was desperately trying to attack with all its might, but it was no match for Aleister. "Yes, there are two paths…" Yumi stopped to look at Ami one more time. "You're almost there!" Aleister screamed. The monster was weakened. "…you can go by…" Yumi closed her eyes. She wanted to remember Ami as she always was, lively and full of joy. She remembered all the feelings of happiness she got when she was next to her best friend; and also the thought that she will always be beside her no matter what. For all the promises they made at Camp Youwannasushi "…but in the long run…" for all those nights with falling stars "…there's still time…" for the girl who's hand she held so tightly in front of the camp fire "…to change…" for that special night in the park looking at the fireworks "…the road…" and, most importantly, for all the times she looked in Ami's eyes and saw the love that she was given, the love that she could not live without "…YOU'RE ON!" In a terrific shout, the monster was drowning and the moon ceased to send its rays towards the girl. "AMI!" Yumi shouted as the pyramid was dimming more and more and the pink-haired girl was floating back on the ground. "We did it, Ami, we did it" Yumi screamed, rushing at the girl's side. Aleister was fading away in the night, but managed to catch a glimpse of the two girls who were now reunited. His job was done. "Come on, Ami, you're safe now" she said while kneeling next to her friend, holding the girl in her arms. But her cherry eyes didn't open. "Ami, I know you can hear me. Wake up, open your eyes. Please…" the girl was lying without movement in Yumi's arms. "Please, Ami, come back to life" Yumi said, as soft tears fell on Ami's white gown. "We're reunited now, nobody can do you harm now. Please, Ami, open your eyes. Open your…oh, Ami" Yumi started crying, holding the motionless body of her friend. "Please wake up. You promised! You promised that we are going to be best friends forever! Promises should not be broken" the poor girl said through tears "promises must always be kept!" She closed her teary eyes and kissed Ami's forehead. "I can't go on without you" she whispered "I love you!" "Yumi…" a soft frail voice answered. The purple-haired girl opened her eyes and finally saw her friend's half-opened cherry eyes, in which the moon was reflecting its light. But Yumi's tears wouldn't stop. "Ami…oh Ami" she managed to say as she started crying.
"So what happened to Aleister?" the pink-haired girl finally asked while lying on her bed. "Well, all I can assume is that he disappeared." "Well, wherever he is, I hope that he can hear me. Thank you, Aleister for helping Yumi out." The two rented a hotel room in the city of Inverness, the closest city they could get to. In the morning, they were to ride to Glasgow where they would leave their motorcycle and suites and finally fly home, business class of course. "But, tell me, Yumi, if Aleister died in 1947, how did he manage transmit the secret message through the song, twenty four years later?" Yumi smiled and looked out the window; "I guess that's for him to know and us never to find out" she replied "Jimmy Page rented his house. That's all I know…" "By the way, Yumi, I heard a great deal of what you said to me in front of Boleskine" the girl said with a perky smile, "I also know that you cried for me; and that you said you love me. Say it again." "Well…you know…" she tried to find her words, while still looking out the window and smiling. "Please, Yumi?" "I think that it was enough for one night." "Agreed. And thank you, Yumi, for saving my life" Ami said and kissed her friends on the cheek.
Yumi was done brushing her teeth. She looked in the mirror. And what did she see? She saw herself, probably the luckiest girl in the universe. And she was proud of herself. When she got back to bed, she found Ami asleep. Yumi lied on the bed next to her. She took one more look at her beautiful friend, put her head next to Ami's and closed her eyes. "Sleep now, Ami. And yes, I do love you; forever and ever, until the end." Two friends, sleeping in each other's arms: is there a clearer definition of true love? Probably not! And probably the whole universe exists because true love. Who knows? Right now, somewhere in the world, two girls regain their energy for a brand new day with new opportunities. And outside, the setting moon brings the end to a night of mystery.
THE END
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"Ami, I need to ask you something." "What is it?" "If I were to remain here for a while, would you miss me?" "What do you mean?" "If I don't get on the plane with you and stay here, would you miss me?" the girl asked again. "Yumi, what's wrong? Are you feeling alright?" "Yeah, but nevermind. Let's just get out of here. Can't you see we're not in the story anymore?"