Here we go. Enjoy. I've decided to bend it a bit. After watching some telenovelas, I've decided to go for a more unorthodox approach…
*********
The Platform Surfers
Chapter 8:
Hospitalized
"How are you, Ran?" asked the figure.
"Who…are you," she replied, shaking.
"Silly! It's me, Sonikku!"
"Sonikku! I don't know anyone named…"At that moment, he revealed himself. "Oh my god! Sonic the Hedgehog! How did you get here?"
"That's nothing of the matter," he said with a laugh.
"Well, I know that, but WHY THE HELL DID YOU SCARE ME LAST CHAPTER, YOU BASTARD!?" She was waving her arms again.
"Just wanted to see the Ran Kotobuki that Shibuya wished they'd see."
"That's not me! I never do stuff like that!"
"Well, now you just did!"
"Well, thank you, Sonic!"
"It's not Sonic, it's Sonikku! SONIKKU!!"
"…"
"Anyway, good job with the effort you're doing. I just came to see you, that's all."
"Well, what a welcome."
"I believe the correction is…what a VISIT."
"…"
"Hey, who is this fella?" asked Miyu, coming to the scenario.
"Miyu, this is Sonikku. Sonikku, this is my friend, Miyu Yamazaki."
"Hello, sweetling," said the blue blur, shaking hands.
"Wow, you're very small for a hero," she replied, giggling.
"Figures. Well, I…um…gotta go. Sorry if I bothered you, Ran. Bye!"
"Bye…Sonikku! Wait!" But he was gone. "I forgot to ask you how you knew my name…hmmm…I guess that's his nature…"
*****
A howling wind
Comes from the east
And takes your breath away
I cannot speak
I cannot hear
I cannot feel
But what I can feel
It hurts
And it has the signs
Of a troubled past
When two parents
Argue
And throw it all away
The child
The love child
The dark child
The child that has been lost
To death
I feel
As if my time
Is at hand
I feel your presence,
I need the healing touch
But it is not there
And so I search
Hopelessly
Endlessly
Forgotten in oblivion
I want to kiss the rain,
As I close my eyes,
And I see you standing there
An enigma
A mystery
An anomaly
A still statue of flesh and bone
I call to you
But you are not there
And I feel
As if it was my fault
For giving you
That kiss
That sent waves of shame
On your face
Forgive me
But I must leave
I am no longer needed here
My parents have become
Shameful reflections
Of what I could have been
And will never be
Do you see me?
You don't see me
But I will try to come back
Some other day
If it is possible
Which I don't think will be
Come, sweet death…
The painfulness of the words in her mind filled Ran. Enveloped in her visions, she fell into a coma, slipping beneath life, wandering over her past happiness, still, a corpse waiting to happen.
*****
"A few more minutes, and we'll finish the album," said Mamoru, behind closed doors with Usagi. "Amazing. I am beyond words."
"Mamo-chan, you've been saying that many times over," Usagi replied, munching on an éclair. "I'm getting bored with it."
"Usako, you're not bored with anything, are you? Are you?" He pinched Usagi's fat cheek, in which she blushed. "You know, I've got a better idea. How about we let the band call it a night, and we record the rest next week, ya?"
"Hmmm…I guess we can tell them they're done for the day. Bummer. I was hoping we would finish it, such a long album…" She went over to the lounge, and said. "All right, you guys. You people have done a good amount of work. Mamoru and I decided to let you folks have a breather until next week. We'll then finish the album. Agreed!"
"Yeah!" cried everyone else.
"Okay. See ya!" Usagi left with a skip in her step.
*****
"I wonder how Ran-pyon is now," said Tatsukichi, sipping another can of Coke. He then saw Ran, lying down, flat on her face. "Ran, are you sleeping? We're going home. Ran? Ran? Hey, Ran! Are you playing around, Ran-pyon? Ran? Ran?" He felt her pulse. Dead Zero. She was cold. He turned her over, and it did not look good. "RAAAAAAAAAAAN-PYOOOOOOOOOONNNNNN!!!!!"
"What is it, Tatsuki?" asked Aya and Miyu.
"We have to get her to a hospital, quick!"
"What the…Ran-chan!? No way!" exclaimed Yuuya.
"Oh no, Ran…" said Rei, seeing the dead sight.
"Kotobuki…?" said Mami, scratching her head.
"Um, Sayo-chan," said Masato, "your sister…"
"Hmmm?" she asked. She then skipped on over, and when she saw Ran lying dead, she fainted.
"Sayo!" yelled Naoki.
"No, no, no! NOOOOOOOOO!!!!" cried Tatsuki. "Not Ran-pyon! Not her! God, no! No no no NOOOOOO!!!!!!"
"Hey, what's going on?" asked Usagi, opening the door. She then saw Ran lying still. "I'm calling the paramedics."
"Ran, please get up," cried Miyu, crying hard.
"Ran, please…this can't be happening. This can't…be…" whimpered Aya, crying hard as well.
"Kotobuki…" whispered Mami, taken aback, but obviously shocked. "My rival turned friend…no…this…Yuuya!"
*****
"You know, Kiyoka," said Taizou, playing solitaire, "I wonder if Ran is all right."
"Why shouldn't she be?" she asked, washing the dishes.
"Because, you know, my dear wife, there's something that we didn't tell our kids."
"Never?"
"About Ran being an adopted daughter?"
"What?" asked Yamato, coming down the stairs.
"Um, nothing," said both parents.
"Mmmm, that was a goooood meal, Kotobuki-kaasan, Kotobuki-tousan. Thank you."
"I'm glad you like it, Satsuki," said Kiyoka, who finished washing her dishes. Suddenly the phone rang. Kiyoka picked it up. "Moshi moshi? Um hmm. Oh. Oh my. Okay. We'll be there as soon as we can. Thank you. Okay, bye." She hung up, her eyes blank.
"What is it?" asked Taizou, putting away his cards.
"She now knows the secret, and she's paying for it with her life."
"No! We have to get there quick There's still a chance she could be resolving herself."
"Huh? What's going on here?" asked Yamato.
"We're going to the hospital. Bring Satsuki along with you," said Kiyoka in a dire mode.
"Okay, Mom," Yamato said. "Wait a minute, this is not…OH NO!"
"What?" asked Satsuki. "What's wrong?"
"We have to head to the hospital. Ran's there."
"Ran? Wh-why? No, no way! Seriously!!?"
"Let's go! Hurry!"
All four of them quickly headed to the hospital.
*****
I see my past
And it unfolds before me
Mom, Dad,
I have no parents
They have left me
To rot in the street
These narrow, dank, deep alleyways
I cannot breathe
Ran was still unconscious, floating between life and death. She was trying to fight it, but she still continued to float in that fine line between pleasure and pain, still in the coma.
"Ran! Are you all right?" asked Ayumi's spirit to Ran in her head.
"Ayumi…I realize…something they didn't tell me…" Ran's spirit said.
"What is it, Ran? Who is this concerning?"
"My parents. They didn't tell me the whole truth."
"In short?"
"My life as I know it…has been a lie. It's hard to swallow, I can tell you that much."
"Ran…"
"I have no parents. My real parents, I…don't know where they are."
"It's okay, Ran. Please, don't do this."
"I don't know. It's as if my heart is empty, and I…I…I…I…I CAN'T LIVE ANYMORE, AYUMI! I'M SORRY!!" She was actually crying inside, the tears flowing out. Ran's spirit was truly breaking down. "I don't have the strength to be angry anymore. I only have the strength to have remorse. I can't find myself."
"Ran, don't say that. No…"
"Ayumi, I have been living 18 years, and what my parents tell me to be isn't worth it. They're not my real parents. I don't know why I am. Miyu knows who she is, Aya knows who she is, aniki knows who he is, everyone knows who they are. I thought I knew who I was, until I felt my heart slipping away."
"Ran…you can't be…"
"Ayumi, how would you feel if what your parents taught you are all bullshit when your real parents, your biological parents abandoned you, and put you in an orphanage because they couldn't afford to raise you? How would you feel, huh? Huh?" Ran was still crying, sobbing, weeping bitterly, as if her tears have been deprived of their meaning.
"Ran, please! Don't die. No, Ran. If that were to happen to me, at least the parents I have now are people who would care for me. They are my true parents, whether they are biological or adopted, it doesn't matter."
"Ayumi, I don't know what to say." She stood there, her eyes blank, as if she had the mindset of a persocon. "I've tried to figure it out. Ayumi, I give up. Please, don't talk to me anymore. Goodbye. I'll never see the world again."
"RAN! PLEASE, DON'T DO THIS!" She took Ran's hand, and pulled her away, grabbing her just by the fingers.
"What are you doing, Ayumi! I told you, I don't care about the world anymore, didn't I?"
"Ran, you have a long life to live. You've got plans and dreams to aspire. You've taught many peers the ways to live out their dreams. Don't throw it all away." She pulled her away, holding her tight. Ran still continued to cry. "It's okay, Ran. Don't do this." They were sitting just near the chasm of death.
"NO! Let me go!" But she couldn't escape Ayumi's grasp. Frustration and despondency turned to sadness, grief and remorse.
"It's okay, Ran."
"Ayumi, why does it have to be like this? Tell me, WHY THE FUCK DOES MY LIFE HAVE TO BE LIKE THIS?" she sobbed. "Fuck, I wanted to have parents that would tell me everything, not hide anything in the dark! No…it's all my fault. Ayumi, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" She was still crying, Ayumi holding her tight in her arms. "I'm sorry…"
"It's okay, Ran, I already told you that. Don't think about it too much. It's not your fault."
"Oh, Ayumi, I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry…that I…I…I…everyone…I'm sorry…I…"
"Shhhh…"
As she lay in Ayumi's arms, Ran continued to choke at the tears on her face. She still felt remorse. She knew the truth, and as the truth began to seep in, she continued to weep, mourn, wail. She was fighting it, and she was winning…little by little, inch by inch, tears in heaven like waterfalls of reflection.
Nobody wants to be lonely
Nobody wants to cry
My heart is longing to hold you
So bad it hurts inside
Time is precious and it's slipping away
And I've been waiting for you all of my life
Nobody wants to be lonely, so why,
Why don't you let me love you?
*****
End Chapter 8
I think I underdid it. Bummer. Review it please. Hey, it was only an experiment….sheesh. e_e;