Reality
By Lehcar Urameshi
A strong wind blew that night, weaving their invisible tendrils
through the dead limbs of once-vibrant trees. The songbirds had long
abandoned the place, and all that was left was the silence, covering the
land like a blanket. The dark sky above it showed no trace of stars, no
moon, only a black nothingness; a clean slate, ready to be drawn on, but
the inevitable truth was that the artist would never again paint the
distant, shining specks that were stars or the pale, quiet moon watching
over the sleeping world.
Even if there had been a sun, its brilliance would not have reached
the dead forest. Even though there were no leaves on the ashen limbs of the
trees, the sun was blocked from ever touching the forest floor. An
invisible shield kept it out, it seemed, so that only the sadness remained.
The gray promise of nothing to come, nothing forever. Only the blank
skies and the deceased trees. The only movement or sound was the slight
flutter of a dead, brown leaf in the wind, being blown off to a better
place or, in most cases, to a different location on the gray, desolate
land.
If one were to be walking through this forest on this occasion, they
would feel an intense sense of sadness, a feeling of utter desertion and
aloneness. As if the forest were remembering something, a horrible, tragic
memory. But only scraps remained of it now. Small scraps that were blown to
and fro by the wind as the leaves were. The forgotten past of a love and a
loss.
The lingering memory of what once was and never would be again.
These dead leaves crunched under the feet of a young girl walking
swiftly through the forgotten forest, her long silver hair whipping around
her like quicksilver in the persistent wind.
"Are you sure this is the place?" her voice echoed eerily off the still
trees, their quiet spirits seeming to be awakened at the sound of her
voice, a sound they had not heard in so long.
A man, not much taller than the girl, with the same hair and facial
features as she, nodded. "Yes. This is it. Don't you recognize it?"
The girl looked to the man in wonder. "Why would I, Father? I have never
seen this place in my life."
"Oh, but you have, my Tenshi." He pointed to a dark spot on the ground,
"Look."
The girl, Tenshiryu Raizen, turned her attention to where her father was
pointing. A dark stain marred the gray nothingness of the forest, the
perfect forgotten wasteland. It looked almost like blood. "This can't be..."
she said softly, dropping to her knees and lightly touching the dark spot.
A thousand memories ran through her head at once. But one distinct memory,
the making of the dark stain, stuck out. She closed her eyes, but it was
imprinted onto the insides of her eyelids. She could not escape it.
The rain, the lightning, the thunder, and the blood. The tears mixing with
the blood and the rain. The face she saw alive for the last time. Cloud.
Her Cloud. More thunder. More tears. The scream. The sudden, jarring stop
of a heartbeat. The chill. More tears. More rain. Never ending rain.
And then the silence. Nothing more, just silence. The sound of the rain
obliterated, the thunder gone.
She pushed the thought out of her mind. That was over six hundred years
ago.
"Father, why did you bring me here?" she asked, standing up and wiping the
small tear from the corner of her eye.
He closed his eyes. "Tenshiryu, what happened to Cloud's body?"
"I-I don't know..." she stammered, "The guards left it when they took me
away."
Raizen nodded. "Yes, it was left here. And nothing harmed it. But now it is
gone, my Tenshi, and there is once more a heartbeat inside it."
Tenshiryu's breath caught in her throat. "Father, what are you trying to
say?"
"We have reason to believe that Cloud is still alive, my Tenshi. Very much
alive. And he is looking for you." Raizen answered, turning away from his
daughter.
"No!" she shouted, and the forest seemed to shake with her emotion, "I
watched him die! I saw it!" she fell to her knees once more in front of the
dark spot, "I saw it..."
"I know this is hard for you, Tenshiryu-"
"No, Father! I will not believe this! He cannot be alive! I could feel his
heartbeat stop, I could feel his breathing cut off..." her eyes grew distant
as she remembered the night in this very same place where Cloud had died in
her arms, "I felt his hand go limp in my hand, his eyes closed...and then he
was gone." She turned back to her father, "How can you tell me he is still
alive after I watched him die?"
"Try to understand, my daughter!" he caught her wrist as she was about to
run away, ignoring the intense burn on his hand, the sizzling of his flesh
as Tenshiryu's curse took its toll on him. "Whether you choose to believe
it or not, Cloud may very well be alive and searching for you at this very
moment. Will you deny him? Answer me!"
Tenshiryu lowered her arm and Raizen let go of her wrist, oblivious to the
fact that all of the flesh from the palm of his hand had burned away. "I
loved him six hundred years ago, Father," she answered quietly, "But I do
not know, after all I have done, that I have the capacity to love any
longer. I am afraid that if I meet him then I will end up breaking his
heart."
Raizen's stern face broke into a smile. "Do whatever you think is right, my
daughter. I know you do not wish to return to my territory with me, so I
will leave now as I came."
Tenshiryu unfolded her wings and began to beat them, rising a few inches
off the ground. "Farewell, Father." She said as she soared off into the
distance.
Cloud...alive...looking for her...it was all more than she could take. She wanted
him to be alive, but then again she wanted the past buried behind her.
Tenshiryu couldn't distinguish the two anymore, and above the creaking of
her wings as they beat steadily, one thought was being pounded into her
head like a nail.
Cloud was alive, he had finally returned to her, and no matter how many
times she denied it, this was her reality.
By Lehcar Urameshi
A strong wind blew that night, weaving their invisible tendrils
through the dead limbs of once-vibrant trees. The songbirds had long
abandoned the place, and all that was left was the silence, covering the
land like a blanket. The dark sky above it showed no trace of stars, no
moon, only a black nothingness; a clean slate, ready to be drawn on, but
the inevitable truth was that the artist would never again paint the
distant, shining specks that were stars or the pale, quiet moon watching
over the sleeping world.
Even if there had been a sun, its brilliance would not have reached
the dead forest. Even though there were no leaves on the ashen limbs of the
trees, the sun was blocked from ever touching the forest floor. An
invisible shield kept it out, it seemed, so that only the sadness remained.
The gray promise of nothing to come, nothing forever. Only the blank
skies and the deceased trees. The only movement or sound was the slight
flutter of a dead, brown leaf in the wind, being blown off to a better
place or, in most cases, to a different location on the gray, desolate
land.
If one were to be walking through this forest on this occasion, they
would feel an intense sense of sadness, a feeling of utter desertion and
aloneness. As if the forest were remembering something, a horrible, tragic
memory. But only scraps remained of it now. Small scraps that were blown to
and fro by the wind as the leaves were. The forgotten past of a love and a
loss.
The lingering memory of what once was and never would be again.
These dead leaves crunched under the feet of a young girl walking
swiftly through the forgotten forest, her long silver hair whipping around
her like quicksilver in the persistent wind.
"Are you sure this is the place?" her voice echoed eerily off the still
trees, their quiet spirits seeming to be awakened at the sound of her
voice, a sound they had not heard in so long.
A man, not much taller than the girl, with the same hair and facial
features as she, nodded. "Yes. This is it. Don't you recognize it?"
The girl looked to the man in wonder. "Why would I, Father? I have never
seen this place in my life."
"Oh, but you have, my Tenshi." He pointed to a dark spot on the ground,
"Look."
The girl, Tenshiryu Raizen, turned her attention to where her father was
pointing. A dark stain marred the gray nothingness of the forest, the
perfect forgotten wasteland. It looked almost like blood. "This can't be..."
she said softly, dropping to her knees and lightly touching the dark spot.
A thousand memories ran through her head at once. But one distinct memory,
the making of the dark stain, stuck out. She closed her eyes, but it was
imprinted onto the insides of her eyelids. She could not escape it.
The rain, the lightning, the thunder, and the blood. The tears mixing with
the blood and the rain. The face she saw alive for the last time. Cloud.
Her Cloud. More thunder. More tears. The scream. The sudden, jarring stop
of a heartbeat. The chill. More tears. More rain. Never ending rain.
And then the silence. Nothing more, just silence. The sound of the rain
obliterated, the thunder gone.
She pushed the thought out of her mind. That was over six hundred years
ago.
"Father, why did you bring me here?" she asked, standing up and wiping the
small tear from the corner of her eye.
He closed his eyes. "Tenshiryu, what happened to Cloud's body?"
"I-I don't know..." she stammered, "The guards left it when they took me
away."
Raizen nodded. "Yes, it was left here. And nothing harmed it. But now it is
gone, my Tenshi, and there is once more a heartbeat inside it."
Tenshiryu's breath caught in her throat. "Father, what are you trying to
say?"
"We have reason to believe that Cloud is still alive, my Tenshi. Very much
alive. And he is looking for you." Raizen answered, turning away from his
daughter.
"No!" she shouted, and the forest seemed to shake with her emotion, "I
watched him die! I saw it!" she fell to her knees once more in front of the
dark spot, "I saw it..."
"I know this is hard for you, Tenshiryu-"
"No, Father! I will not believe this! He cannot be alive! I could feel his
heartbeat stop, I could feel his breathing cut off..." her eyes grew distant
as she remembered the night in this very same place where Cloud had died in
her arms, "I felt his hand go limp in my hand, his eyes closed...and then he
was gone." She turned back to her father, "How can you tell me he is still
alive after I watched him die?"
"Try to understand, my daughter!" he caught her wrist as she was about to
run away, ignoring the intense burn on his hand, the sizzling of his flesh
as Tenshiryu's curse took its toll on him. "Whether you choose to believe
it or not, Cloud may very well be alive and searching for you at this very
moment. Will you deny him? Answer me!"
Tenshiryu lowered her arm and Raizen let go of her wrist, oblivious to the
fact that all of the flesh from the palm of his hand had burned away. "I
loved him six hundred years ago, Father," she answered quietly, "But I do
not know, after all I have done, that I have the capacity to love any
longer. I am afraid that if I meet him then I will end up breaking his
heart."
Raizen's stern face broke into a smile. "Do whatever you think is right, my
daughter. I know you do not wish to return to my territory with me, so I
will leave now as I came."
Tenshiryu unfolded her wings and began to beat them, rising a few inches
off the ground. "Farewell, Father." She said as she soared off into the
distance.
Cloud...alive...looking for her...it was all more than she could take. She wanted
him to be alive, but then again she wanted the past buried behind her.
Tenshiryu couldn't distinguish the two anymore, and above the creaking of
her wings as they beat steadily, one thought was being pounded into her
head like a nail.
Cloud was alive, he had finally returned to her, and no matter how many
times she denied it, this was her reality.