Seto held Mokuba's hand tightly as they walked in the park that was near
their neighborhood. Mokuba was now three years old and had just learned to
walk. Now eager to learn more, he moved his legs faster and tugging at his
big brother's hand to go faster. They finally stopped in front of a couple
of crudely made swings. Mokuba excitedly went to grab one of them.
This section of the park was hidden deep in the corner of the area. Giant Oaks cluttered in every direction, some leaning over the weight of a few trunks and limbs. Seto felt the chilly fall wind as it swept gently across his face. Fall leaves decorated the floor beneath his feet.
"Push, Push!"
A little cry brought Seto back into reality. Mokuba sat on the swing and needed help to move because his short legs couldn't touch the floor. "I'm coming, I'm coming," he mumbled, striding over to Mokuba. "Hold on tight." warned Seto. Mokuba gripped tighter on the ropes.
With one motion, the little Tasashi went threw the air and soon expressed his wishes to go faster. Higher. But Seto maintained a steady pace, only allowing his little brother to pick up height after each few pushes.
"Hey guys!" yelled a voice to the side of him. Seto stopped Mokuba, though he wasn't too happy with the decision. "No!" pouted the three year old," Seto! I want to swing some more."
Celeste ran towards them, her hair flying over her face as the wind flew by. Mokuba was still trying to get Seto's full attention on the swing issue. "Hey Celeste." greeted Seto. Mokuba finally quieted down but crossed his arms across his chest and refused to look at her.
She raised an eyebrow. Getting something from her jacket pocket, she held out three bars of chocolate bars. Ignoring Mokuba, she turned to Seto. "Do you want any chocolate, Seto?" she asked curtly. Catching on, he responded," Yes, Thank you." Celeste handed him one of the bars.
Mokuba looked at the two leftover bars in Celeste's hand. Celeste smiled kindly." Do you want one Mokuba?" He eagerly nodded. Smirking, she gave it to him. Mokuba thanked her in response, with a smile on his face.
"I knew it'll come in handy," she whispered to Seto as they watched Mokuba tear off the silver wrapper.
They went over to the bridged to finish their chocolate. Though the bridge was old, it was still sturdy enough to support the children. They sat down in the middle of the bridge with Mokuba between them.
It was a beautiful day. The sky was crystal clear with streaks of white clouds dotting the open space. A few chilly breezes would make a couple of leaves fly across them and land on the little stream underneath.
After Seto was finished, he positioned his hand to throw away the wrapper. Celeste grabbed his hand before he could. "What is it this time?" Seto asked. "Throw it away in there!" responded Celeste; she pointed to a trashcan near them.
Seto sighed. He rolled his eyes, making Celeste even madder. Mokuba looked innocently between them, biting off a large chunk of chocolate.
Seto wasn't even sure how this weird friendship happened. After he had found out about her secret, she had given him her respect for keeping the promise not to tell. It was like a silent peace treaty. They both knew that without even communicating. Mokuba had started to accept Celeste as an older sister. For the last two years, they were each other's best friends.
But there was a downside to this relationship. Seto tried countless times to convince her to tell someone about her dad, but she refused each time. They would get into an argument and act like nothing had happened the next day. Her mood changes as often as the days of the weeks. She was completely unpredictable, like a tornado.
Good thing he was equally stubborn. "Don't be so bossy about it!" he sneered back. Celeste glared at him. "I'm not bossy! I'm just telling you what you are going to do!" she stopped abruptly, realizing what just came out of her mouth. Seto started to smile and broke out laughing. She started to smile, too.
"Fine. I am bossy. I just worry about the environment. Didn't you listen to Mrs. Wyllie?" She was referring to their 4th grade teacher. They had just started to study the environment in science.
"Fine," said Seto, still chuckling. He tucked the wrapper into his pocket, too lazy to put it in the trash.
Mokuba, finally finished with his chocolate bar, threw the silver wrapper. It landed right in front of Celeste. Seto looked at Celeste, expecting her to lecture Mokuba. Instead, she calmly picked it up and put it in her pocket.
"Why didn't you pick on him?" asked Seto.
Before she could answer, Mokuba answered," Cause I'm special!" Celeste and Seto laughed.
ONE WEEK LATER
BOOOOM! Seto woke up. The thunderstorm outside was deafening. Raindrops pounded on the roof above him. Seto cursed under his breath as he threw a pillow over his head. He hated thunderstorms, especially at night. The rumble or thunder or bolts of lightning didn't scare him. He had learned a long time ago what made storms happen. Once you know the facts, you're usually not that afraid of it.
What annoyed him the most was that he was a very light sleeper. The noises would wake him up and it could take a couple of hours for him to fall back to sleep again.
Seto sighed and waited for the storm to stop. It was no use fighting the forces of nature. The thunder and rain drowned out most of the night sounds. He couldn't hear Mokuba crying. "Just like Mokuba," he thought," I wish I could sleep like that."
He closed his eyes to help him go to sleep. Breathing deeply, he used the patter of the rain to help him go to sleep. In a way, it was working. The steady rhythm of each drop sounded like a well-organized line of drums.
Something seemed out of place, though. Seto frowned when he realized the beat was intervened. He sat up to see what had happened. Maybe the storm dying down.
He gasped when he realized someone was gently tapping on his window. Opening his mouth, he was ready to scream at the top of his lungs. Then, a single bolt of lightning revealed a face, with a set of familiar green eyes.
Seto stopped himself just in time. Squinting his eyes, he realized who it was at his window. Moving quickly, he reached the window and opened it. The cold rain and harsh winds greeted him, filling the room.
Celeste quickly went inside. Seto shut the window once she was in. She wore a heavy jacket that reached to her knees. Her hair was matted and her clothes dripping with rainwater.
"Celeste?" he muttered, afraid to wake up his father," What are you doing here?"
She had her back turned to him. Turning around, he was surprised to see that she was crying. Seto knew something was terribly wrong. This was only the second time he had ever seen her cry. The first time was when....
Before he knew it, he was right in front of the girl. Looking straight into her blotchy red eyes, he asked," What happened?"
Celeste looked up at his. She chose not to say anything but removed her jacket. "Oh No." Seto whispered.
Her right arm was a long jagged cut that ran the length of at least 3 inches. Though it wasn't very deep, blood covered the wraps of bandages.
"I-I-I need your help." she stampeded. "I don't know w-w-what to do."
"How did this happen?" asked Seto, taking the arm delicately in his hand. He turned around and grabbed the nearest t-shirt to stop the bleeding.
"My d-d-dad," she started, "H-h-he drank too much. He threw...something... at me. I ran into my room and tried to f-f-fix it the b-b-best I could. Then he tried to break d-d-down my door so I ran out the window."
For the first time in his life, Seto felt scared. He carefully unwrapped the blood-soaked bandage and flinched at the sight of the cut. The skin around it was purple. Celeste was definitely in pain. She had run in the storm to ask for his help. He went out for a little bit and returned with the family's first aide kit.
Celeste watched as he expertly wrapped clean bandages over the cut. By the time he was finished, Celeste had managed to control the stuttering. "Thanks." she said in a hoarse voice.
"Seto? Can I stay here for tonight?" she asked weakly," I promise I'll leave before your dad wakes up."
Seto looked at her. "Celeste, you have to tell-"
She shook her head." No! Seto, this isn't that bad. All I came here for is for some more bandages. " Seto still looked doubtful.
Celeste looked down at her feet. "I know it's really all of the sudden. But I can't go back there until my dad relax a little bit."
Seto looked at the girl next to him. He didn't want to make her go back either. It was too dangerous..too scary to think about. In fact, he didn't want her to go back ever again. His eyes seem to flicker. A sign that he was thinking really hard about something.
After a minute, he turned to her." Yeah. Okay." he said brightly. "Wait here, I'll get you some towels."
Celeste smiled and nodded. "Don't worry. I don't snore." Seto forced a laugh. He got up and went out the door. Going to the kitchen, he located the phone.
Seto hesitated for a minute before dialing 9-1-1.
*
Seto returned with an armful of towels 5 minutes. Later. Celeste had already found the comb and was now trying to pick out the tangles in the matted hair.
"What took you so long?" she asked playfully, taking a towel from the stack.
Seto just shrugged. "I forgot where we kept them." He couldn't believe that Celeste could act like this. To act perfectly normal when she was fully aware of what happened less then an hour ago. He sat on the bed and watched as Celeste dried herself with a towel.
Silently, he looked at her for the longest time. Trying the best he could to push the knowledge that it could be the last time he'll probably ever see her.
Celeste found the answer strange. "You forgot where the towels were? No offense, but you have a remarkable lack of hygiene skills."
Seto laughed. He watched as her eyes began to sparkle again. Celeste surveyed the room. Still holding the brush, she began to detangle her hair again." I'm serious, Seto. Your room is really-"
She stopped abruptly. "What was that?" she asked sharply. "I don't hear anything," he said quickly.
"You don't hear anything? It sounds like sirens." She went to look out the window. The comb dropped to the floor when she saw the police cars stopping in front of Seto's house.
Celeste's heart dropped. "Seto..Why are the police here?" she said uncertainly, turning to the boy for answers.
Seto turned away from her. Her face twisted in surprise as it began to dawn on her. "You didn't! No! Seto you...you... PROMISED!" she yelled at him.
The bedroom door flew open. Mr. Tasashi was holding Mokuba's hand. "Seto? What is go-" he stopped when he saw Celeste there. Mokuba's eyes grew as he ran to Celeste, smiling at the presence of his favorite playmate. He stopped when he saw the unfamiliar anger in Celeste's eyes.
Seto stood calmly off the bed and went towards Mokuba. Mr. Tasashi still confused over the night visitor. The doorbell rang. "Police!"
Celeste had a frightened look on her face as Mr. Tasashi went to get the door. "No!" she yelled and had begun to run to the back door. Seto followed after her. He was able to grab her as she reached for the doorknob.
"Let me go!" she screamed, banging her fists on him. Mokuba looked at them, frightened as he witnessed one of his friends beating up his brother.
"I can't!" he yelled back," The police already know! You can't run anymore, Celeste! I didn't want you to get hurt anymore!"
"Traitor! How could you!?!" she continued," You promised me! YOU PROMISED!" Celeste couldn't believe what Seto had done. As bad as what her father had done, she didn't want to be alone. It might be hard to explain, but she felt like she needed to defend her dad. She began to hit harder. "Why Seto!?!?! How could you betray me?!?" Angry tears ran down her cheeks.
Seto tried the best he could to defend him and still be able to hold her down. Then, he felt Celeste being pulled from him. Mr. Tasashi help Seto up. The two police officers were struggling to hold onto the girl, she was still trying to get to Seto. He watched as one of the police officers finally put the girl over his shoulder. Seto caught a glimpse at Celeste before they walked out of the door.
Her eyes reflected the feelings of betrayal, hate, and anger. "Seto?" said Mr. Tasashi quizzidly. Seto pulled out of his father's arms and went to see Celeste being carried out to the car. She was still struggling. A fighter till the end. "I HATE YOU, SETO!" she screamed as the car door opened. "I HATE YOU!"
The words were hurtful. Seto felt a stabbing pain in his chest as the words 'I hate you!' rang in his ears. The car pulled away from the house and away from the street. Celeste glared angrily out the window. For a moment, their eyes met. As the car disappeared, Celeste did to.
It was at that moment, Seto began to felt the rain drops on his face. It was still raining.
NOT THE END
This section of the park was hidden deep in the corner of the area. Giant Oaks cluttered in every direction, some leaning over the weight of a few trunks and limbs. Seto felt the chilly fall wind as it swept gently across his face. Fall leaves decorated the floor beneath his feet.
"Push, Push!"
A little cry brought Seto back into reality. Mokuba sat on the swing and needed help to move because his short legs couldn't touch the floor. "I'm coming, I'm coming," he mumbled, striding over to Mokuba. "Hold on tight." warned Seto. Mokuba gripped tighter on the ropes.
With one motion, the little Tasashi went threw the air and soon expressed his wishes to go faster. Higher. But Seto maintained a steady pace, only allowing his little brother to pick up height after each few pushes.
"Hey guys!" yelled a voice to the side of him. Seto stopped Mokuba, though he wasn't too happy with the decision. "No!" pouted the three year old," Seto! I want to swing some more."
Celeste ran towards them, her hair flying over her face as the wind flew by. Mokuba was still trying to get Seto's full attention on the swing issue. "Hey Celeste." greeted Seto. Mokuba finally quieted down but crossed his arms across his chest and refused to look at her.
She raised an eyebrow. Getting something from her jacket pocket, she held out three bars of chocolate bars. Ignoring Mokuba, she turned to Seto. "Do you want any chocolate, Seto?" she asked curtly. Catching on, he responded," Yes, Thank you." Celeste handed him one of the bars.
Mokuba looked at the two leftover bars in Celeste's hand. Celeste smiled kindly." Do you want one Mokuba?" He eagerly nodded. Smirking, she gave it to him. Mokuba thanked her in response, with a smile on his face.
"I knew it'll come in handy," she whispered to Seto as they watched Mokuba tear off the silver wrapper.
They went over to the bridged to finish their chocolate. Though the bridge was old, it was still sturdy enough to support the children. They sat down in the middle of the bridge with Mokuba between them.
It was a beautiful day. The sky was crystal clear with streaks of white clouds dotting the open space. A few chilly breezes would make a couple of leaves fly across them and land on the little stream underneath.
After Seto was finished, he positioned his hand to throw away the wrapper. Celeste grabbed his hand before he could. "What is it this time?" Seto asked. "Throw it away in there!" responded Celeste; she pointed to a trashcan near them.
Seto sighed. He rolled his eyes, making Celeste even madder. Mokuba looked innocently between them, biting off a large chunk of chocolate.
Seto wasn't even sure how this weird friendship happened. After he had found out about her secret, she had given him her respect for keeping the promise not to tell. It was like a silent peace treaty. They both knew that without even communicating. Mokuba had started to accept Celeste as an older sister. For the last two years, they were each other's best friends.
But there was a downside to this relationship. Seto tried countless times to convince her to tell someone about her dad, but she refused each time. They would get into an argument and act like nothing had happened the next day. Her mood changes as often as the days of the weeks. She was completely unpredictable, like a tornado.
Good thing he was equally stubborn. "Don't be so bossy about it!" he sneered back. Celeste glared at him. "I'm not bossy! I'm just telling you what you are going to do!" she stopped abruptly, realizing what just came out of her mouth. Seto started to smile and broke out laughing. She started to smile, too.
"Fine. I am bossy. I just worry about the environment. Didn't you listen to Mrs. Wyllie?" She was referring to their 4th grade teacher. They had just started to study the environment in science.
"Fine," said Seto, still chuckling. He tucked the wrapper into his pocket, too lazy to put it in the trash.
Mokuba, finally finished with his chocolate bar, threw the silver wrapper. It landed right in front of Celeste. Seto looked at Celeste, expecting her to lecture Mokuba. Instead, she calmly picked it up and put it in her pocket.
"Why didn't you pick on him?" asked Seto.
Before she could answer, Mokuba answered," Cause I'm special!" Celeste and Seto laughed.
ONE WEEK LATER
BOOOOM! Seto woke up. The thunderstorm outside was deafening. Raindrops pounded on the roof above him. Seto cursed under his breath as he threw a pillow over his head. He hated thunderstorms, especially at night. The rumble or thunder or bolts of lightning didn't scare him. He had learned a long time ago what made storms happen. Once you know the facts, you're usually not that afraid of it.
What annoyed him the most was that he was a very light sleeper. The noises would wake him up and it could take a couple of hours for him to fall back to sleep again.
Seto sighed and waited for the storm to stop. It was no use fighting the forces of nature. The thunder and rain drowned out most of the night sounds. He couldn't hear Mokuba crying. "Just like Mokuba," he thought," I wish I could sleep like that."
He closed his eyes to help him go to sleep. Breathing deeply, he used the patter of the rain to help him go to sleep. In a way, it was working. The steady rhythm of each drop sounded like a well-organized line of drums.
Something seemed out of place, though. Seto frowned when he realized the beat was intervened. He sat up to see what had happened. Maybe the storm dying down.
He gasped when he realized someone was gently tapping on his window. Opening his mouth, he was ready to scream at the top of his lungs. Then, a single bolt of lightning revealed a face, with a set of familiar green eyes.
Seto stopped himself just in time. Squinting his eyes, he realized who it was at his window. Moving quickly, he reached the window and opened it. The cold rain and harsh winds greeted him, filling the room.
Celeste quickly went inside. Seto shut the window once she was in. She wore a heavy jacket that reached to her knees. Her hair was matted and her clothes dripping with rainwater.
"Celeste?" he muttered, afraid to wake up his father," What are you doing here?"
She had her back turned to him. Turning around, he was surprised to see that she was crying. Seto knew something was terribly wrong. This was only the second time he had ever seen her cry. The first time was when....
Before he knew it, he was right in front of the girl. Looking straight into her blotchy red eyes, he asked," What happened?"
Celeste looked up at his. She chose not to say anything but removed her jacket. "Oh No." Seto whispered.
Her right arm was a long jagged cut that ran the length of at least 3 inches. Though it wasn't very deep, blood covered the wraps of bandages.
"I-I-I need your help." she stampeded. "I don't know w-w-what to do."
"How did this happen?" asked Seto, taking the arm delicately in his hand. He turned around and grabbed the nearest t-shirt to stop the bleeding.
"My d-d-dad," she started, "H-h-he drank too much. He threw...something... at me. I ran into my room and tried to f-f-fix it the b-b-best I could. Then he tried to break d-d-down my door so I ran out the window."
For the first time in his life, Seto felt scared. He carefully unwrapped the blood-soaked bandage and flinched at the sight of the cut. The skin around it was purple. Celeste was definitely in pain. She had run in the storm to ask for his help. He went out for a little bit and returned with the family's first aide kit.
Celeste watched as he expertly wrapped clean bandages over the cut. By the time he was finished, Celeste had managed to control the stuttering. "Thanks." she said in a hoarse voice.
"Seto? Can I stay here for tonight?" she asked weakly," I promise I'll leave before your dad wakes up."
Seto looked at her. "Celeste, you have to tell-"
She shook her head." No! Seto, this isn't that bad. All I came here for is for some more bandages. " Seto still looked doubtful.
Celeste looked down at her feet. "I know it's really all of the sudden. But I can't go back there until my dad relax a little bit."
Seto looked at the girl next to him. He didn't want to make her go back either. It was too dangerous..too scary to think about. In fact, he didn't want her to go back ever again. His eyes seem to flicker. A sign that he was thinking really hard about something.
After a minute, he turned to her." Yeah. Okay." he said brightly. "Wait here, I'll get you some towels."
Celeste smiled and nodded. "Don't worry. I don't snore." Seto forced a laugh. He got up and went out the door. Going to the kitchen, he located the phone.
Seto hesitated for a minute before dialing 9-1-1.
*
Seto returned with an armful of towels 5 minutes. Later. Celeste had already found the comb and was now trying to pick out the tangles in the matted hair.
"What took you so long?" she asked playfully, taking a towel from the stack.
Seto just shrugged. "I forgot where we kept them." He couldn't believe that Celeste could act like this. To act perfectly normal when she was fully aware of what happened less then an hour ago. He sat on the bed and watched as Celeste dried herself with a towel.
Silently, he looked at her for the longest time. Trying the best he could to push the knowledge that it could be the last time he'll probably ever see her.
Celeste found the answer strange. "You forgot where the towels were? No offense, but you have a remarkable lack of hygiene skills."
Seto laughed. He watched as her eyes began to sparkle again. Celeste surveyed the room. Still holding the brush, she began to detangle her hair again." I'm serious, Seto. Your room is really-"
She stopped abruptly. "What was that?" she asked sharply. "I don't hear anything," he said quickly.
"You don't hear anything? It sounds like sirens." She went to look out the window. The comb dropped to the floor when she saw the police cars stopping in front of Seto's house.
Celeste's heart dropped. "Seto..Why are the police here?" she said uncertainly, turning to the boy for answers.
Seto turned away from her. Her face twisted in surprise as it began to dawn on her. "You didn't! No! Seto you...you... PROMISED!" she yelled at him.
The bedroom door flew open. Mr. Tasashi was holding Mokuba's hand. "Seto? What is go-" he stopped when he saw Celeste there. Mokuba's eyes grew as he ran to Celeste, smiling at the presence of his favorite playmate. He stopped when he saw the unfamiliar anger in Celeste's eyes.
Seto stood calmly off the bed and went towards Mokuba. Mr. Tasashi still confused over the night visitor. The doorbell rang. "Police!"
Celeste had a frightened look on her face as Mr. Tasashi went to get the door. "No!" she yelled and had begun to run to the back door. Seto followed after her. He was able to grab her as she reached for the doorknob.
"Let me go!" she screamed, banging her fists on him. Mokuba looked at them, frightened as he witnessed one of his friends beating up his brother.
"I can't!" he yelled back," The police already know! You can't run anymore, Celeste! I didn't want you to get hurt anymore!"
"Traitor! How could you!?!" she continued," You promised me! YOU PROMISED!" Celeste couldn't believe what Seto had done. As bad as what her father had done, she didn't want to be alone. It might be hard to explain, but she felt like she needed to defend her dad. She began to hit harder. "Why Seto!?!?! How could you betray me?!?" Angry tears ran down her cheeks.
Seto tried the best he could to defend him and still be able to hold her down. Then, he felt Celeste being pulled from him. Mr. Tasashi help Seto up. The two police officers were struggling to hold onto the girl, she was still trying to get to Seto. He watched as one of the police officers finally put the girl over his shoulder. Seto caught a glimpse at Celeste before they walked out of the door.
Her eyes reflected the feelings of betrayal, hate, and anger. "Seto?" said Mr. Tasashi quizzidly. Seto pulled out of his father's arms and went to see Celeste being carried out to the car. She was still struggling. A fighter till the end. "I HATE YOU, SETO!" she screamed as the car door opened. "I HATE YOU!"
The words were hurtful. Seto felt a stabbing pain in his chest as the words 'I hate you!' rang in his ears. The car pulled away from the house and away from the street. Celeste glared angrily out the window. For a moment, their eyes met. As the car disappeared, Celeste did to.
It was at that moment, Seto began to felt the rain drops on his face. It was still raining.
NOT THE END