Perfect Beauty
Chapter 4
It was the middle of the night; the night air was calm as a gentle mountain breeze blew through the air. Heero was lying in his bed wide-awake, staring vacantly at the ceiling above. 'Why did she kiss me?' he wondered to himself. 'I know it was just a way of saying thanks but how come it felt like more than that?' Then a sudden knock at his door interrupted his thoughts. 'Who could that be at this hour?' he thought as he made his way to the door. He slowly opened the door only to find Kanani standing there in only her pajamas. "What are you doing here?" Heero inquired softly as he looked curiously at the girl.
"Can I come in?" she said just above a whisper.
Heero opened the door and let her into his room. She walked over to the bed and sat down on the side closest to the balcony window. She cradled her knees up against her chest and rested her head upon them as she looked out the window at the darkened landscape. Heero just looked at her, he knew something was wrong but he didn't know what to say. "Kanani?" he whispered softly as he stood beside her at the foot of the bed.
There was a brief moment of silence before Kanani finally spoke up. "I had a dream Heero, a horrible dream." She paused, trying to maintain her composure, and continued. "It seems like just yesterday that she died, it was so unexpectedly. We had just come back from church on a beautiful Sunday morning, just my mom and I. We would always go to the local bakery after church to get some fresh bread. We walked everywhere; the town wasn't very big. My dad wasn't with us that day because he was away on business, it seemed like he always was. That's when it happened. My mom heard a car coming from a distance, which was highly unusual because cars weren't driven around there very often. We saw a jeep coming down the road; about 4 men seated inside, and a cloud of dust following it in their wake. I can still remember it as clear as day, I was only about 8 at the time and I had never seen a car before. As the jeep started getting into view, screams echoed throughout the town, the men in the jeep had guns. Everyone fled into the surrounding buildings but it was too late for us. They opened fire and my mom threw her body over me to shield me from the shower of bullets. All I could see was the anguish on my mom's face as her body was riddled with bullets, sacrificing her own life for mine. My clothes were saturated from her blood as it slowly seeped through her wounds. I held her in my tiny arms and cried as she slipped into the afterlife."
Heero listened intently to her words, his heart twisting at the underlying pain in her voice. He knew the pain she was going through, he had experienced it so many times before. He just wanted to touch her, to comfort her, to tell her that everything was going to be all right. He reached out his hand hesitantly to touch her, but quickly drew back as she began to speak again. "All I can remember now is the echo of bullets and the look on my mom's face as her soul left her body. I relive that moment almost every night in my dreams."
Heero took a seat beside her at the foot of the bed, he could sense that she was trying to be brave for him, but he wasn't fooled. He too was good at masking his feelings, so good, that he knew when others were masking theirs as well. "You know it's OK to cry," Heero said.
Kanani turned her head to face him, silent tears already pouring down her fragile face. Heero waved her over with his arm and she crawled beside him. He put his arm around her shoulder and embraced her with his other arm as she sobbed into his chest. He gently stroked her long auburn hair, trying his best to comfort and soothe her aching heart. Her pain filled tears caused his heart to ache; no one should have to go through this. Sometimes he wished he could go back in time and change everything for the better but all he could do now was be there for her, help her through her grief. "It's going to be all right," he whispered into her hair.
Her sobs slowly dissipated and she raised her head to look at him. "I'm sorry Heero, I know I cry too much."
"No need to say sorry. Crying is a release, so receive it when it comes, it eases the soul," Heero said, trying to comfort her the best that he could.
Kanani laid her head on his lap and looked out the window. "Why her? Why did it have to be her?" she said softly, fighting the tears that welled up in her eyes.
"I don't know Kanani," Heero replied. He was never quite sure why things like this happen to innocent people, they just do and that angered him terribly. Things were supposed to happen for a reason, but the senseless violence never had a real reason. Silence overcame both of them for a moment as the two gazed out the window.
"Another beautiful night," Kanani said wistfully.
"Yeah," Heero said as he looked down at Kanani who was taking in the night sky before her.
Silence overcame them once more and a few minutes later, Heero looked down to see Kanani fast asleep in his lap. A small smile crept over his face as he looked at the sleeping girl; she was finally at rest. He carefully eased her head off of him, laid it on the bed carefully, and got up off of the bed. Heero gently picked her up in his arms long enough for him to pull the sheets back on the bed. He gingerly laid her down on the bed and then took his spot beside her. Heero pulled the sheets over them and they both became lost in slumber for the rest of the night.
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The early light of dawn peeped over the Alps, cascading their light upon the lush green valley below. The brilliant light flooded through Heero's window and landed upon Kanani's serene face. Her eyes slowly opened to see the beautiful sunrise before her. She watched the bright orange ball of light as it made its way over the horizon, its light flooding the valley like a river of light. She rubbed her eyes sleepily and turned her head slightly to see Heero fast asleep beside her. 'I need to stop doing this,' she thought comically. 'But he does look kind of cute when he sleeps,' a smile spreading across her lips at the thought. His ruffled dark brown hair covered his eyes and part of his face like a chocolate veil. She delicately brushed the mass of hair away from his face and eyes with her hand, gently tucking it behind his ear. Kanani smiled slightly, admiring his face momentarily, before curling back up under the sheets, she didn't want to wake him. Little did she know that the warm and gentle touch of her hand had caused Heero to awaken. Heero's eyes slowly fluttered open only to see a young girl lying beside him, her eyes closed and resting soundly. The slight movement of the bed beside her told her that Heero was finally awake. Kanani slowly opened her eyes and through her slightly blurred vision, she saw Heero staring right back at her with his intense navy eyes. She smiled lazily and said, "Good morning. Did I wake you?"
"Like always," he muttered jokingly.
"Sorry, it's just that your hair is always covering your eyes and it drives me nuts. You have pretty eyes, you shouldn't hide them," she said as she cast her gaze downwards away from his. "Well I'm going to take a shower," she said as she climbed out of bed and strode across the room. Heero just looked at her oddly. 'What was that all about?' he wondered. He then heard the shower water go on and took that moment to get dressed. After he got dressed, he made the bed and sat down, waiting for Kanani to get out of the shower.
'Why did I say that? He must think I'm nuts, of course he probably came to that conclusion when he first met me,' Kanani thought as the hot water sprayed her face. 'Idiot,' she cursed to herself as she began to wash her long mane. Heero waited patiently on the bed contemplating what she had just said to him. 'That came out of nowhere,' he thought as he stared at the bathroom door. As if on cue, the shower water shut off and Kanani came out a few minutes later. Her hair was wrapped up in a towel and she was wearing her pajamas from the night before. She saw Heero sitting on the bed waiting for her and she spoke up, "Heero, I'm so sorry for inconveniencing you like this. If I wasn't such a cry baby.."
Before she could finish what she was saying, Heero came up to her and put his finger to her lips to silence her.. "Like I said before, crying is a release. Besides, it's nice having company once and awhile. I've been alone for so long that it feels good to have someone there for you, even if all they do is talk," he said almost jokingly.
She was a little shocked by this action, she wasn't expecting him to say that to her. She gently pushed his finger away from her mouth and said, "I don't talk that much, do I?"
"Let's just say you do enough talking for the both of us," he replied sarcastically.
"Well that's not saying much, especially in your case. I can practically count the number of words you say a day on my own two hands," she said with a grin.
"Funny. Now let's get you to your room to change, I don't think the teacher will approve of your current attire," he said sarcastically.
Kanani pulled the towel off of her head and hung it up in the bathroom. Heero grabbed his books from the desk and went out the door, Kanani following close behind. The two walked down the hall towards the girls' end of the dormitory to Kanani's room. The two received odd looks as their fellow classmates ogled them; Kanani in her pj's didn't help the situation. They ignored the snickering and pointing fingers and took refuge in Kanani's room.
Kanani quickly changed into some decent clothes and the two headed off to class. "What's with the name? It seems a little odd," Heero inquired on their way to class.
"Huh?" Kanani said surprisingly.
"You've got a Hawaiian first name but an Irish last name, what's the deal?"
"I was named after my grandmother, my mom's mother, she was full blooded Hawaiian. She married my grandfather, who was American, while he was stationed there as a soldier in the Army. My grandfather was then transferred to Ireland, where my mother was born shortly after. It was in Ireland that my mother grew up and fell in love with my father, an Irishman. That is the deal with my name," she stated.
"Oh ok, that makes sense now," Heero stated as the two continued to walk to class. Then Kanani stopped in her tracks, a huge smile plastered on her face.
"Hey Heero, I want you to meet my dad."
"What?" a shocked Heero replied.
"Yeah, he works in the city so we would have to take a train there, like a little field trip, what do you say?" Kanani said eagerly.
Heero was dumbfounded, he had no idea what to say. "Why do you want me to meet your father?" was what he finally spit out.
"Well, you're the first friend I've ever really had and I want to let him know that I'm happy and okay," she replied timidly as she looked down at the ground.
Heero noticed her sudden change of mood and replied with caution, "Why don't you call him first so he knows you are coming."
She looked up, a huge grin spread across her face. "Really? Thanks Heero! I will go call him now, we still have a few minutes before class."
"You go ahead, I will go save us some seats. Hurry up, don't want to be late again," he said as she bolted off towards the phone. Heero looked as she made her way down the hall, a sense of worry evident upon his face.
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"Hello? Dad? It's me Kanani. Is it all right if I come over to visit for awhile, I want you to meet a friend of mine that I met over here at school."
Her father a little hesitant to reply, but finally spoke up. "Sure honey, I look forward to your visit. See you in a few hours."
"Bye Daddy," Kanani replied.
"Bye sweetheart," her father said and then hung up.
He turned in his chair and looked out the window with his hands folded under his chin. After a moment of silence, he closed his eyes and turned around back in his chair. He opened them to look at a picture on his desk, a picture of his two most prize possessions, one which he had lost tragically a few years ago. All he had left was Kanani, and he wasn't going to lose her.
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Heero waited patiently for Kanani to return to class, it was only a few minutes before the class would start. Then he saw the door fly open and Kanani walk in, a look of contentment on her face. Heero all of a sudden had a sinking feeling in his stomach, like someone had just knocked the wind out of him. She happily took the seat next to him, he was afraid of what she was going to say next. "Guess what Heero? My father said I could come, he's expecting us later this afternoon. Isn't that great?"
Heero just cracked a smile, he had a bad feeling about all of this. The school day passed like it was nothing and before they knew it, they were on a train to the city to visit Kanani's father. Kanani fidgeted in her seat, eager to see her father, while Heero stared aimlessly out the window at the passing scenery. Kanani noticed Heero's silence and spoke up. "Heero, what's wrong?"
Heero, snapping out of his daze, replied sarcastically, "Oh nothing, just a little tired that's all. You kept me up all night and I didn't get much sleep."
"I'm sorry," she said quietly.
"Hey, I was just kidding. Look, we are here," Heero said as he pointed out the window at the sign.
Her face immediately lit up and as soon as the train stopped, she practically dragged Heero off of the train. The train station wasn't too far from downtown where her father worked so they were there in no time. The building her father worked in was a tall building, about ten stories tall and covered with windows. "Well here we are, let's go Heero," Kanani said as she took his hand and led him inside through the revolving doors.
As soon as she walked in, the receptionist said, "Well hello Ms. O'Neal. Good to see you."
"Hi Ms. Burke," Kanani replied cheerfully.
Kanani and Heero got on to the elevator and Kanani punched in the tenth floor. Heero watched slowly as they ascended the building, floor by floor, he watched. "We're here Heero," Kanani said as the elevator reached the tenth floor. As soon as they walked out, her father's secretary was there to greet them.
"Your father is expecting you, go on in."
With a push of a button, the door opened and the two walked in. The door then shut behind them and Kanani's father turned around in his chair. "Hi dear, so nice to see you," he said as she came over to hug him.
Heero stared at him and made a nodding gesture to her father and he returned it. "Father, this is Heero, my friend I was telling you about," Kanani said as she walked over to Heero.
"Kanani, please sit down dear, there is something I need to tell you," her father said monotonously.
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TBC
