Chapter 23: Utena's Last Memories of her Mother

The pounding of footsteps filled the corridor as the girl raced on, her labored breathing her only companion. The many windows of the hall blended into the walls like paint being smeared onto a canvas, as her tears brimmed over.

Gasping for breath, Utena shut her eyes to try to block out the images she saw before her as she raced towards the front doors of the school. Not seeing the step down in the doorway, Utena stumbled and fell, sliding forward a few feet and into the thick, springy, green grass.

Instead of getting up immediately as the normally-composed Utena would have done, she laid there for a few moments, her hands curled into tight, shaking fists that were pressed against the ground. Tears streamed down her face and into the grass but Utena didn't even notice.  All she saw were the images of her mother lying in that hospital bed, her face, arms, and legs covered with bruises. When Utena had arrived at the hospital, her mother hadn't been conscious and that was Utena's last memory of her mother, in a dead-like state.

Her mother, a well-known doctor, had been raped and almost beaten to death one afternoon when she had gone shopping while Utena was at school. The bastard had knocked her mother out and had dragged her into a park where he had raped her numerous times. Utena's mother had awoken from unconsciousness during one of these times and she had started faintly screaming, her weakened voice growing stronger with each punch and every kick she endured from her attacker. Finally she had been knocked unconscious again by a sharp blow to the head and the man had continued to ravage her body. Luckily, her screams had finally attracted the attention of a young man who had been strolling in the park with his dog. The man had turned his Great Dane on the man but the attacker had been able to escape from the aged dog. Even though the young man had quickly called the police and had tried frantically to stop the bleeding, Utena's mother was in an extreme state of critical condition when she had arrived at the hospital. She was in a coma and she was bleeding internally.

Utena's school had been called and Utena had rushed to the two mile away hospital, not knowing what had happened. When she had finally stumbled into the emergency room, gasping for breath and fear and dread upon her face, it was empty, save for the familiar police, medical technicians, doctors, and nurses in the emergency waiting room. They had all looked at Utena with sympathy and Utena immediately knew that this was the last time she would ever get to see her mother.

Her mother's friends and fellow co-workers all talked to Utena, telling her everything that had happened. With every horrible word spoken, Utena could feel each drop of blood draining from her face and felt something sharp stabbing her heart each time her mother's name was emotionally-distressingly said. They told her that her mother had been knocked into a coma and was already dying from all the blood she had lost. Finally, after what seemed like the longest summary ever to Utena, she was allowed into her mother's ICU room. Upon entering the cold box-like room, Utena had seen her mother laying on the properly-made bed, between the white and faded blue sheets, the ugly purple bruises coating her once beautiful, glowing face. Her mother now looked pale and dead. Utena couldn't blink. She couldn't even cry. Taking small shaking steps to the bed, Utena had looked down upon her mother, an emotionless expression upon her face. After a few moments, the gentle beeping of one of the machines next to her mother's bed began to emit a shrill scream. Utena took her mother's hand and when she felt how cold the pale, simple-manicured hands were, the tears started falling. Utena couldn't stop crying even after one of the nurses had come into the room and had turned off the machine. She had left to allow Utena a few more moments alone with the corpse of her mother.

Utena remembered, hugging her mother's hand to her for what seemed like the shortest of time before another nurse came in and gently pried her away from the bedside. Utena was finally able to compose herself after drinking some of the warm tea from the cup that had been handed to her as she sat in the emergency waiting room, oblivious to the few other occupants of the room. The med techs and most of the nurses had left to do their jobs, but the three police officers and two of the nurses had stayed behind to offer Utena support.

A half hour after the second nurse had been called away to her duties, two of the police officers left. The last one had stayed behind to talk to her. Officer Takato Katsuragi had been a close family friend of theirs and he was just like an uncle to Utena. Utena remember his words.

'Utena, you're mother was like my sister, you know that…so if you need someplace to stay…my family and I would gladly take you in,' Officer Katsuragi offeredl.

Utena looked up at him. 'No,' she had replied quietly. 'I'll be alright. Thanks anyway.'

'All right…' Officer Katsuragi said uncertainly. He picked up something from the table next to him. 'Uh, you're mother was carrying this when…'

Utena looked at the small box in the plastic bag. '…Thanks,' she said and took it.

'Uh, I guess I should get back to work now, but if you ever need anything, you know who you can come to?' Officer Katsuragi had said and with a pat on Utena's shoulder, left through the sliding glass doors.

Utena had stared at the box, not really registering that it was the last thing her mother had touched before being dragged off. Takinga  deep breath, Utena slipped the box out of the bag and set the plastic bag on the seat next to her.

The box had been wrapped carefully with simmering blue wrapping paper and a silver ribbon. Utena carefully undid the ribbon and slid it off the box. She lifted the lid off the box and there, within the layers of blue and silver tissue paper was a star necklace. It was silver with a single, tiny white diamond in the center. Pushing the tissue back from the sides, she found a pair of sterling silver star earrings with almost identical white diamonds.

Wondering who it was for, Utena picked up the ribbon and found a small white card nestled within the exquisitely made-up bow. Opening the card, Utena read:

'To my beloved daughter Utena,

I hope your Sweet Sixteenth Birthday is the most memorable days of your life.

You have so much to offer the world so please don't tie yourself down. You must indulge yourself in everything and anything that interests you, not just one thing. ^_^ Please don't be like me, becoming only a doctor and a mother, nothing else. I want your life to have great meaning to the world.

I know you're wondering where I got your birthday present from and to save you the time of asking me and me the time of telling you the whole story later, I will tell you now.

I received this necklace from an elderly man who was a patient at the hospital. Somehow, he knew I had a daughter and on his last day of his week's stay, he presented me with this gift to give to you. He told me that you would love it and that it would mean more to you than I would ever know. And I hope he is right. I also found a pair of earrings that I think matches the necklace perfectly, but you can decide that. Either way, I hope you will wear them.

Oops. I think I should end this now. The woman at this gift shop is letting me use her counter to write this card to you and she doesn't look too happy that I'm writing a novel. ^_^;;

I love you Utena. Never forget that.

Love Always,

Mom'

It was only then that Utena had suddenly remembered. That day was her sixteenth birthday. And her mother had been out that afternoon buying her birthday present.