Night

"I won't say a word." Junya said as she held up her hand. "Scout's honor." She lowered her hand. "Now tell me the secret!"

"Ssshhhh!" Suzuno clamped her hand over Junya's mouth. "Don't attract attention or people will hear!" She moved her hand away and leaned in close so only Junya could hear.

"I wrote a poem for the talent show." She smiled as Junya glowed.

"I told you! Didn't I tell you!" She squealed happily. Suzuno scoffed.

"You said you wouldn't say anything. You gave me scout's honor!" She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Well...I'm not a scout." Junya grinned.

"Mm hmm. You always were good at inventing loopholes." Suzuno shook her head slowly. "Anyway. I got Mr. Suzawa to cover light and soundboard for me. He was coming to watch the show anyway."

"Well you know me. So what is your poem? Are you going to show me?" Junya smiled brightly, tauntingly in fact, probably still inwardly gloating at the fact that she had been right about Suzuno wanting to be involved with the talent show.

"Hmm.... I don't know." Suzuno said as she pulled her journal from her school bag. She waved it in Junya's face. "I'm thinking of letting everyone find out what it says when I tell it on stage!" She laughed, hugging the book to her chest as Junya swiped at the air for it.

"Now don't be cruel Suzuno." Junya crossed her arms over her chest. "What about Camille? She's not even going to be here for the talent show! Are you going to show your best friend?" She grinned.

"Camille is going out of town?" Suzuno looked surprise.

"No.... Suzuno...she's moving. She didn't tell you?" At Junya's words Suzuno froze.

"...Moving?" Her fingers wrapped tighter around her journal. For some reason it comforted her. "No....this can't be! She would have told me! Don't fib like that!" Her sudden sadness gave her little time to restrain her tears.

"Oh...Suzuno... It'll be all right. She said she'd write us all everyday. She promised." Junya's hand went to her shoulder. "It'll be all right." She gave Suzuno a reassuring smile. "Come...let's go talk to her about it."

"...Talk? ...Ta..." Her vision blurred in front of her and her face drooped. She was in shock. She couldn't believe it. She wouldn't. She had been Camille's friend since she could remember. "N...no....she can't be leaving! I'll never believe it." Her school bag clattered to the ground and she took off running.

"Suzuno!" Junya called after her but to no avail. Suzuno needed time to mourn.

"Oyo...what's wrong with Suzuno?" Camille said, stepping up beside Junya. She looked down at Suzuno's school bag, the light-book peeking out from underneath the flap. She narrowed her eyes, understanding suddenly.

"So she found out huh?" She looked down in shame, tears coming to her own eyes.

"I should have told her sooner. I should have...been honest. Now she's so angry she'll never want to speak to me again!" Her papers slipped in her arms and she clutched them messily to her chest, most of them creasing under her arms.

Junya turned to Camille, putting the same reassuring hand on her shoulder. "No I'm sure Suzuno will be fine. She just needs time to regather her feelings. She'll be all right Camille. For a while, send your letters to her to my house. I'll give them to her when she wants to hear from you." A tear streamed down Camille's cheek.

"I should have told her." She said quietly. Her eyes met with Junya's. "Thank you Junya. Please tell Suzuno I'm sorry." She wiped the tears from her eyes. "I really wanted to say goodbye to her. Tell her she'll always be in my heart." Camille turned and walked away, the wind tousling her hair. Junya covered her mouth. Were things so easily thrown away between friends? At the very least they could have said goodbye to each other properly. After all, Camille was moving to America.

The land of Sairou remained relentlessly hot. Tatara set out, wondering why he ever left home in the first place. His mother...his father. He looked over the waving desert and the endless orange and yellow of sand. Nothing could grow here. Perhaps he was fool to try to embark on a quest in a land where his powers were nearly useless. At least the wind was cool today. It was a blessing compared to a week ago. He could barely breathe on the journey to Sairou. He shielded his eyes from a hot gust of wind blowing sand in a tiny cyclone. He stumbled in his short period of blindness and heard a crunch beneath his feet. When the sand cleared from his vision he looked down.

White fragments gleamed in the sunshine. He winced and began searching for anything useful in the man's belongings. He saw around the skeleton's neck a black ribbon with a silver crest. When he brushed the sand away it was an engraving of a tiger. He fingered his own crest around his neck. It was the same one given to all the men who'd embarked on the quest before him. Had this man left only a week before? Why was his body already dried to the bone? Was the sun so merciless? He found the man's satchel and his carafe was empty of water. There was no food left in the man's bag only a bit of gold.

He looked across the desert in all directions and then towards the direction of Sairou. Gold was useless here. None-the-less, he stuffed the pieces into his pocket and took whatever possessions would be of some worth. He decided to let the sand cover him...it would only be a matter of time. He couldn't waste precious energy and moisture digging a grave for someone who had long-since been dead. But no sooner had he taken a few paces but there was another crunch beneath his feet. He stepped away from it. Now he'd stepped on a hand. How many corpses were there out here?

"As you can see, the four that came before you have failed." A voice echoed through the breath of the desert. "Why have you come so far just to die?" A strong wall of sand knocked him to the ground. He braced himself back up onto his hands.

"Who's there?" He drew one of his seeds from the chain around his neck. He used discussion as a distraction to ready his powers.

"You will never know. I'm speaking to you through psychic means. That little sand trick was only a fraction of the force of my real abilities. I could snap your neck like a twig in one instant if I so choose." He could almost feel the smug figure smiling.

"I guarantee you, I'm much more different than my counterparts." Tatara answered. He narrowed his eyes towards where he thought the voice might be coming from. He closed his eyes and concentrated on his visualization of the desert landscape. He sensed a dark presence to his left and pressed the seed to his wet lips. He wished there were sufficient moisture in the air...he'd not be wasting his spit on summoning his vines. But it was necessary, he realized. He threw the vines towards the spot in his mind.

"I see you've found me. Perhaps you'll prove to be a more worthy adversary than I first supposed." The shadow moved in his mind. It was closer now. He concentrated again but little by little, anger began to cloud his thinking. 'No Tatara...think hard. You must not lose.' He fired his vines again at the shadow, where it had been repositioned. It lashed the figure on the leg.

"I'm done playing games you little fool!" The voice sounded agitated and its anger radiated with the heat of the sun. A shockwave disturbed the sand and threw Tatara backwards. "You were entertaining for a little while...but as you can see...when you disturb a bee, you shall feel its stinger!" He roared angrily as a stronger shockwave threw a wall of sand at Tatara once more, each grain like a sword cutting into him. Tatara jumped to his feet, the pain of little consequence. He concentrated as hard as possible. He was weakened but not put down.

"If this is a game...then it shall be you who loses!" He concentrated an energy blast at the shadow in his mind. It appeared that the blast had hit him but been deflected by an energy shield. The adversary's deadly red eyes pierced his mind. He'd been struck but unmarred.

"I think you need time. Killing you now would be too easy. But when you lie on your back in the end...you shall beg me for mercy... from Kenzanboushi, the psychic master of the Shikyo Mountain Clan!" His presence dissipated and Tatara fell to the sand. He was exhausted. Though he had managed a way to injure Kenzanboushi, but he had had to concentrate all of his life force. He wasn't so sure he would be able to face him and live to tell the tale...

Theater class came and nearly went without Suzuno knowing. The whole time she spent her tears behind a platform in the backroom of the theater. Camille was gone forever. Her poem meant so much more to her now. It was about Camille after all. She had written about how best friends meant everything. But now...she wasn't so sure Camille wanted anything to do with her.

'Camille… Camille why?' The name kept echoing in Suzuno's head. It didn't make sense why Camille was just abandoning her like this. She looked up as she heard a noise come from around the corner. Tears misted her eyes; she remained silent. Suzuno looked up into Junya's face. Junya understood her pain, she realized. They'd been friends for as long as she and Camille. But for some reason...she had never gotten as close to Junya. Whatever reason had ever been the cause…it meant nothing now. Suzuno felt comforted just by the sight of her friend. And yet the cold void in her heart remained.

"Are you all right Suzuno?" Junya said quietly. "Why are you hiding in a corner? You're all alone." She squatted down and rested her hands on the floor.

"I want to be alone." Suzuno said, burying her face in her hands. "I just...I want to be alone." She wept into her sweaty palms. "I don't want to talk to anyone." Of course it was just the opposite. She wanted to speak to Camille…to say goodbye. But obviously…Camille had no plans to do so. She was going to a new place where she would replace Suzuno.

Junya's lips curled up in skepticism. "Are you sure?" She cocked her head at her friend and placed a hand on her shoulder. Her hands were warm, probably the only warmth Suzuno would feel for a long time. With Camille gone…her most vital link with life was gone. She'd never be able to replace Camille… That part of her heart would always be missing. She continued to weep. Junya stayed by her side.

'How can I read my poem now, knowing that Camille won't be there?' She thought. Unknowingly she had mumbled the question out loud.

"You can do it." Junya said. "Just remember. You'll always be in Camille's heart. She told me so herself. She loves you. It just hurt her so much to tell you. She didn't want you to be sad." She ran her fingers lovingly through Suzuno's hair.

"Oh Suzuno… You can do anything in this world that you aspire to do. You know that. You've heard everyone telling you that your whole life! Now go out and be it!" She smiled brightly…the same way she always did.

"Junya!" Her name was called from the stage. She turned her head over her shoulder and grunted.

"It looks like it's time for me to rehearse. Would you like to come and watch? … Best friend?" She smiled even brighter, if it were possible, her hand outstretched. Suzuno squinted more tears out of her eyes.

"Come on Suzuno." she said quietly. "Will you forget everyone else in the world?" She cocked her head to the other side.

"Junya!" The voice sounded a bit more impatient this time. Junya's lips curled in reiterated skepticism. She heaved a deep sigh.

"I know it'll take time." She said quietly. She stood and stepped away. "Just remember there are those that love you. That includes Camille." She left the back room and she announced gleefully that she was present.

Suzuno sniffed and wiped her eyes. 'I don't think you understand Junya. No one's understood me like Camille did.' More tears shadowed her eyes despite her attempts to clear them away. 'But you're right. I can't hide away and not read my poem. Maybe if I read my poem she'll come back.' Suzuno hoped for a miracle. If she never saw Camille again, how could she ever be happy again?

Before she could blink…the day of the talent show had come. However, hours before the doors were even open, Suzuno entered the theater and approached Mr. Suzawa.

"Mr. Suzawa." The aged man spun around in his chair. He'd been working on something at his computer desk beside the light and soundboards. He smiled and pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose.

"Can I help you with something Ms. Oosugi?" She smiled in return.

"I have a change for my act tonight." She held out a sheet of notebook paper. "I only wrote it down so there could be a note in the light-book about in the length of time I'm on stage."

The paper read 'Extended by 2 minutes.' Mr. Suzawa looked her with raised eyebrows. "Why the extension of time?" His interest piqued, he laid down the paper on his keyboard and braced his elbow on one of his knees and the other on the desktop.

"I have two poems to read." Suzuno said, smiling when inside she felt like crying.

"Two ay? Well…I can't wait!" He smiled brightly. He'd not heard any of her poems and was eager to get a peek into her mind. Hardly any person in the school knew her that well. Everyone was possessed by curiosity…if only a little.

Suzuno turned to leave. Two poems indeed. One was written for Camille and the other was written about the sadness she felt now that Camille had gone. Only…she hadn't written the second yet. Something kept her from writing until now. Now that the task was set forth, she had no excuse not to release her feelings onto paper.

Stars shown above Suzuno in the night sky. She sat leaning against an oak in her front yard. Her father was due home from work anytime. Her pen held over the second page in her journal, she waited. She'd kept it that way for least an hour…her mind wandering at what to write. 'Come on…concentrate Suzuno.' Thinking clearly came hard but slowly words began to come to her. They came so easily when concentration was achieved. Now if she could only find the courage to read them out loud.

Headlights flooded her vision as the car pulled into the driveway. If there was any courage in the world for her, now would be the time to try to summon it. She clutched the book to her chest and climbed into the passenger seat of the car. She laid the book in her lap, covering it with her hands. She didn't want her father to know she'd found her Christmas present.

When she arrived, everyone was getting ready. Junya was up first with her dance. She was doing a routine that she'd worked on with the dance teacher. Alan was up second with his monologue. Both were rehearsing when she entered the side-stage door. Other performers were warming their voices or stretching…or just plainly shaking their hands nervously. But for some reason…of all nights to be nervous…Suzuno wasn't. She was ready for the world to hear her. But she knew they'd never be able to fully understand.

"Hey! Suzuno!" Alan stepped up to Suzuno and slapped a friendly hand over her shoulder. "I'm glad you didn't duck out!" He grinned and ducked his head beneath his free arm. Suzuno shook her head and smiled. Alan…always a kidder. She began to walk over to a quieter part of back stage when he stopped her.

"Hey…I'm dedicating my monologue to you tonight." He winked at her and let her go. He turned his eyes to a sheet of paper that had been tucked under his arm. Junya waved to her as she passed her and she quickly waved back. She stared down at her journal. Everything looked right. Everything felt right. Now was just the interminable wait to be on stage.

Junya stepped onto stage as she was announced and some upbeat pop music began to play. She could imagine her twisting and turning her curvaceous body all over the stage. Junya loved to dance and Alan loved to talk. Both were expressing their passions. But what was Suzuno there for? She realized that besides being a painter and a writer, she had been a friend. That was a continuous work in itself. When Junya's music ended she took a bow and bounded off stage. She squealed happily and smiled brightly through her sweat glazed face.

Now it was Alan's turn. Suzuno and Junya stood as close to the backstage door as they could. If they stepped into the stage wings, they'd be seen by the crowd. This was the best place to hear what he was saying and still remain out of view. Now Suzuno only wondered why Alan was dedicating Hamlet's famous "To be or not to be?" monologue to her. What significance did it have to her?

The lights came up on him on center stage and he began to speak.

"Well my dear, I guess this is it. It's been fun hasn't it. It'll be hard to forget, so many memories. The only thing stopping us from seeing each other is time," at this, Suzuno's hand flew to her mouth and her eyes filled with tears, "and what is time" he continued "but a mere idea we as a human race invented to keep track of what happens. It would be easy to do away with time all together."

He sighed as if imagining some far off dream. "Imagine, that…no time. We could stay as long as we wanted to in one place and not have to worry about leaving. It would mean eternal happiness. Not just for us" he brought his hand to his heart "but for everyone. No more jobs nine to five, because 5:01 and 8:59 wouldn't exist. There would be no set time to return from a vacation or deadline for a book report in school. Time is only in our minds."

He paused, pointing to his temples. He lowered his hand.

"Unfortunately this is just a dream." A tear slid from Suzuno's eye and Junya took her into an embrace. "Time is as much a part of our society as speaking and listening. When our ancient ancestors first calculated how long a day was and how that fit into a month and how that fit into a year they never thought about how we should pass the time. We've had to suffer through that by ourselves. Is it easier for us as a species to block all feelings and memories until we see each other again?"

Another pause lifted to offer itself to the audience as Suzuno muffled her cries into Junya's chest. She fought against the truth of what Alan was saying. He had changed his monologue to something else entirely. Something for her…to console her.

"Yes -- is it healthier, no. We must realize that no matter how much it hurts to do so, these happy times we shared together will always be with us. Through good times and bad, through winter and summer. And when we need to we can rely on these happy thoughts to give us support when we need it most."

There was yet another silence and all the while, Suzuno's memories were flooding back to her. They were a flood of both happy and sad things…moments she'd always treasure the most.

"Hey, we'll meet again. It may be in a year, a month or twenty years from now, but this isn't goodbye. I'm so damn sure of that."

Suzuno felt his eyes on her and his soul comforting her.

"So wipe those tears off your face, smile and remember time doesn't have to be so long." Suzuno froze in shock. Yes. Time wouldn't be too long. Perhaps one day she would see Camille again. But there was only half a chance. Could she take it? It was her turn next. Did she have the courage? The time ticked as applause rang from the crowd. And of course, there was the occasional whistling of the more intensely passionate members. Suzuno couldn't hold back her tears. She let them flow. This was more than an act. This was her self. If she wanted to cry…then she'd cry. That's what poetry was about…feelings. Alan met her as she was being announced.

He gently brushed a tear from her cheek. "I didn't mean to make you cry." He said quietly with a soft smile. He hugged her tight and she let the last of her larger tears soak into his coat.

"It's all right." She said. "I needed to cry." She left him and moved onto the stage. The lights came up on her red and tear-stained face. She unfolded her journal in her hands as whispers of worry came from the crowd.

"My name is Oosugi Suzuno. I've come to read two poems. The first was written before a dear friend of mine moved away. The second was written after she had gone. She's gone now." She felt tears sting her eyes again. "But that monologue that you just heard gave me hope. Even if she never comes back. I'll wait for her." She smiled faintly.

She looked down into the book and for a moment felt as if she'd been knocked senseless. It was as if her mind was thrown into a different consciousness altogether. She shook her head and began to read.

"To Camille: My Best Friend

Friends are inseparable

That much is true

I have known this everyday

Since I met you

I know we will be together forever

We'll never be apart

You making happiness possible

Because you're in my heart

And though my words are simple

Though the rhymes are commonplace

They are true in their form

Because they're inspired by your face

You are always smiling, encouraging

You always restore my belief

I can be someone, anyone I want

You give me such relief"

She paused for a moment and collected her breath. This poem had come straight from her heart. Camille was so dear to her it hurt to remember her. But now she realized she needed to remember her…even if she was gone.

From the audience her father squinted and wondered silently at what book she was reading from. He'd never given her that book. She had no job…how did she get the money buy it. Her birthday wasn't for a while yet, so it couldn't be a gift. He rubbed his chin and listened to her reading. He knew the second poem would be far more heartfelt and sad.

"Here is the second poem. It's called 'Measuring Time'." She paused.

"I once tried to measure time with a ruler

But the ruler ran out

I shall try again, I reassured myself

Perhaps, I thought, time is measured in a smaller way

Perhaps it is measured across your thumb

But my thumb couldn't cover it by any means

Maybe it is measured in a thread of light

But no amount of light has stretched that far

For no matter how long you pull it

Night shall surely come"

Her eyes squeezed tight as the tears in her eyes began to fall onto the book pages. She began feeling odd as if she were wavering…her existence falling into the wind. Her fingers trembled. Was she nervous? No this couldn't nervousness. Nervousness didn't hurt like this. It was as if a throbbing overtook her brain and she felt someone watching her. Her senses returned to her and she shook her head again. She continued to read.

"When time stopped and I was reaching for you

I tried to measure how long we'd be apart

I tried to fit it in a thimble

But it was too wide and too deep

The ruler was simply lost

And I misplaced the light in my dark sadness

I held a picture of you and thought

As I cried helplessly

And reached out in sadness for you

Surely time is measured with love

For however long we feel love…time is at its fullest

And when night may approach

…When a thread of light is absent

A night of forever is not so long

As long as it is a moment of loving you"

She paused. The throbbing came back. This must be the work of her mind not to finish…not to let herself be heard. It was what had spoken to her before so many times in her life and told her to be silent and introverted. Sweat beads formed on her forehead as more tears trickled from her eyes. What was holding her back? More whispers rose from the crowd. 'Nothing's holding you back.' A voice said in the darkness of her mind. 'Finish what you started.'

"And if it is a night of forever…

In it…I will to freeze in eternal waiting…"

She spit the words out, fighting her fears. A white light began eminating from the pages of the Universe of the Four Gods. It began filling the stage. Now was the time. 'Finish it!' She told herself. The white light softened for a moment and beneath the raspy whispers of the crowd, she looked up and met eyes with her father. A silver tear fell into the book.

"…and…disappear."

The white light filled the stage once more. The loud roar of a tiger echoed in Suzuno's ears. Her tears flew away from her face as a wind engulfed her. It captured her in a capsule of air and she was twisted in a vortex of time and space. The stage was suddenly empty and the book dropped to the stage.

Alan and Junya stood perplexed, their eyes wide with the terror of what they had just seen. Alan rushed to center stage and picked up the book. Junya followed close behind.

"It's a disappearing act!" Alan said with a nervous laugh. Junya shoved him off-stage.

"Please enjoy the rest of the show!" She said, equally nervous. They both disappeared into the wings of the stage. Suzuno's father rushed to the exit and soon found himself standing beside Alan and Junya. Their fingers trembled around the book.

"Where did she disappear to?" Suzuno's father asked. "It was all an act right? A surprise. Where is she?" He dropped to his knees in front of the two students who looked blankly back at him.

"We…we made it up so the crowd wouldn't worry. We don't…know where she is." Alan stuttered. "We…we have no idea." Junya hand covered her open mouth, questions filling her eyes as she stared at the book.

"That strange light." Her father said. "Open it." Almost as soon as he'd said the words the book opened in Alan's lap. A folded piece of paper lay in the pages like a bookmark. All signs of Suzuno's handwriting had disappeared. Oosugi's eyes flew wide open. He unfolded the paper within the pages and read aloud.

"Dear Oosugi,

I have no choice but to ask you to take care of the rest. There's no time. I found this ancient artifact. A scripture known as the Universe of the Four Gods, but the book absorbed my daughter, Tukiko. The book itself had magical qualities. My daughter became the main character and summoned Genbu and then came back to me. But my daughter then was in tremendous pain and agony. Every time she made a wish, my daughter's body was being devoured by Genbu. If my daughter's going to be devoured, I prefer to take her life myself and then take my own. But before I do that, I wanted to dispose of the book, but it wouldn't burn. The book must be waiting for the rest of the mikos - the mikos of Byakko, Suzaku and Seiryu. Please seal this book away in my place, my friend, as my final wish.

Einosuke"

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The monologue is not mine. It was written by Matthew Clearfield and can be found at ( )