AN: ok Weekends are very helpful! lol 008 was a bit more difficult for some reason.
Pyunma walked slowly through the market place of his village. He had no idea where he was going, deciding he just needed a stroll to settle his thoughts. To his left he saw a family of tourist. A mother fussed and cooed over a small baby she held in her arms. Pyunma smiled to himself. 'That reminds me of…...What does that remind me of?' Nothing came to mind. Total nothingness was what filled his head when he tried to compare the infant to a non existent memory. He sighed and continued down the pathway of the market. He strode on with his gaze fixed on the ground beneath his feet. So long he traveled this way that he didn't realize he'd reached the cottage area of the village. Pyunma looked up and around at all the little homes with their thick thatched roofs. He quickly decided to go to his own hut. When he arrived at where it should have been, all he saw was a dark circle, charred splinters of wood everywhere, and ashes.
"My house…" He sank to his knees and just stared with wide-eyed disbelief. He didn't move at all when a hand rested on his shoulder.
"The family that used to live here died in a fire. No one knows how it started but..." Pyunma's head swiveled in the direction of the voice. A woman, seemingly middle aged, looked down at him curiously.
"My family lived here. I wasn't here before because I was hiding from slave traders. I've been gone a long time." The woman only nodded.
"My name is Nami would you like to stay in my hut? Since yours is…you know." Pyunma rose and looked at Nami.
"I'd like that thank you. You say no one knows how the fire started? That's strange. Fires don't just appear."
"I know. The village leaders questioned for weeks and weeks but could not find anything that would suggest the arson." Nami replied. Pyunma looked down at the remains of his home once more and it all began to sink in. His family, is whole life was ashes. He blinked back tears and followed Nami as she motioned for him to come away from the ruins. "Come now; let's not dwell on painful memories. Think of happy ones instead." Pyunma looked back at the kind woman and nodded his agreement. He did as she advised and thought about the happy times he and his family had. Like when his mother burnt their dinner and they all laughed and gave her comfort when she cried. Pyunma's father had eaten every scrap on his plate as his solace. He went back to when he and…he and who? Nothing…nothing was there. Blackness, emptiness was all he saw. 'What is wrong with me?'
"Quickly now young one! My daughter should have the supper ready." Pyunma realized he had stopped walking and hurriedly caught up with Nami. They weren't far from where she lived and soon arrived at a hut a bit smaller than the rest. There was no door so Nami knocked on the side of the opening so the people inside would know she was there.
"Lamosha, I'm back! We have a guest!" A younger girl about thirteen turned towards her mother.
"Another guest? Goodness mother we must be having a party!" Nami appeared confused. She looked around her daughter and saw three other people, two men and one woman, all foreigners. She smiled at them.
"Lamosha you should really learn some manners!" She scolded her daughter. "Welcome strangers! My name is Nami. My daughter and I are glad you're here. This is Pyunma he's staying with us tonight too. " Pyunma lifted one hand in a silent greeting.
"My name is Françoise and this is Joe and Albert." The woman of the three said, gesturing to the two men on either side of her.
"Hello." Pyunma answered shyly.
"Lamosha is the food ready?" Nami questioned. Lamosha nodded in reply.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's eat!" she said heartily. Françoise, Joe, and Albert answered questions from Nami and likewise she answered theirs. Pyunma ate in silence with downcast eyes.
"Are you alright?" He looked up to see Françoise beside him.
"I'm quite alright." He lied. She gave him a knowing glance and asked again, a bit more forcefully.
"Are you alright Pyunma?" He couldn't hold it in any longer and tears fell rapidly down his face. Nami and the rest stopped chattering and fixed all of their attention on him.
"What happened?" Joe asked.
"My…family is…dead. My house…is gone. Burned…" Pyunma stuttered. Joe looked at him with empathy in his eyes.
"I know exactly how you feel. I used to live in a church orphanage. The priest that took care of us and many of the children that were my friends died in a fire that enveloped the whole church. I lived and everyone thought I was the one the started the fire. I was left all alone."
"My parents died a long time ago. My brother took care of me through the rest of my childhood." Françoise told him.
"My fiancé was killed when we tried to escape over the Berlin wall in Germany." Albert said. Pyunma stopped crying and looked each one of them in the eyes, then at his wet hand from his tears.
"I know who started the fire." Scenes and memories spilled in and filled in all the gaps in his mind. All of them came so fast. He saw each memory in front of his eyes go by like a tape being fast forwarded. Then the images started going backwards, then forwards again, sometimes stopping abruptly. It was like his head was resisting them, but to no avail. The rush of recollections stopped and he was left with an immense headache. He rubbed his eyes and stared back at his three friends.
"Thank you for your hospitality Nami but I think we're going to go back to the airport." Albert told the African woman. He rose and Françoise and Joe followed.
"Wait." Pyunma said suddenly.
"May I go with you? Sorry Nami I just can't stay here. There's too much pain." 'Not that I'm going somewhere any better.'
"Of course you can come with us." Françoise answered. Pyunma stood up quickly gave Lamosha and her mother a hug and left the cottage with the others. He sighed heavily and walked on in silence. Albert put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a weak smile.
"Black Ghost will pay. Welcome back…008"
Maybe I shouldn't listen to music while I write. It takes me twice as long because I start listening more than I'm thinking about the chapter. Oh well. I'm thinking of a new songfic. Maybe it'll be better than my "Meant to Live Songfic". Oo