A Brisk Morning
Melting Just a Little
Van arrived home about an hour after his short meeting with Mr. Ya. As he entered, Van noticed that all of the lights were turned off. Shadows making even the most ordinary vase look sinister in the growing night. He walked up to Hitomi's room to see if she was home or what, and found her room neat and tidy as always. But empty. Maybe she went over to Millerna's. Ya, that made sense.
The young man's eyes wandered down the long corridor, towards a room that stood slightly ajar. A room he'd been in many times before. Even in this big, empty house he found it hard to be alone, in a place so much his own, yet not. He found the seclusion he wanted in one of the largest rooms in this mansion, the library. I had hundreds of books, mostly older classics, but he had added some of his own favourites. There were so many old leather books, he hadn't had time to get to all of them, no matter how much he tried, he always ran out of time. Getting busy, or some such thing.
As he walked up to the door, he noticed a faint light coming from within the library. Pushing the door open Van saw that this light was coming from a lamp on one of the desks, and there sat Hitomi. Her head was slumped over, resting on her arm. Hitomi's honey-brown hair gently brushing her cheek. She looked so peaceful as she slept, so lovely. Lovely? Who c ame up with that thought?
Taking a few steps towards the sleeping girl, Van took the time to look at what she was - or had been reading. Noticing that it was a scrap book, he gently lifted the book out of her hands. In it he found... pictures of him. Not only that but pictures of himself as well. Pictures of him and Hitomi. In was easy to see that they had been friends. The way their eyes shown, the two wre smiling so happily. So carefree. As though time stood still for these young children. At least this ends one mystery, the pair had known eachother in their childhood. But what tore them apart? What hope did they lose? And most importantly, why couldn't they remember alone?
Alone... alone... Alone. Finally Van was able to put a name to that feeling, Loneliness. Then it hit him, memories like never before.
Playing in a field, lush, green... A giant oak tree... Blue sky, shining...
Running through flowers, chasing a little girl... honey brown... Green eyes peer out from no where... a flash of green and pink...
Spinning, spinning, spinning... STOP...
The pounding in Van's head grew, grew, grew... Why wouldn't it stop? The overload was too much. Van fell to his knees as they buckled. His head had only seconds to spare... He was going... And the dark fell on him too.
Hitomi awake to see Van unconcious on the floor next to her, it was late, almost 8:30, she must have been alseep for atleast 4 hours. She found the scrapbook under his arm as she tried to fix him into a better position. Van was heavier than he looked.
While she was looking for a cushion or something soft to put under Van's head, Hitomi didn't notice his red-brown eyes blink into conciousness. Hitomi also didn't see them following her every move like a wounded dog.
When Hitomi turned back to Van she cought him with his eyes open, and smiled.
"I thought you were sick or something..." She said slowly. Even if they had a past, that part of their lives was over now.
"No, but I think I blacked out. We should go downstairs. How long have you been up here?" Van asked with genuine concern edging his voice.
"I don't know, but a long time. Do you want some hot chocolate?" Hitomi was wary, revelling in the kind words only heard for a second. Hoping this comfort level wouldn't leave them as they left this room.
"Sure," That was all Van said, it was wonderful in it's simpleness. Just because he said it with such a companionable smile that it almost reached his cold eyes.
As the pair left the library Van turned off the light and closed the door, both of them forgetting momentarily about the scrapbook left open on the table.
Walking downstairs they entered the kitchen to find Marie sitting at the table with a hot cup of tea. She looked surprised. Marie had never seen Hitomi and Van smiling at eachother, or even really together for that matter.
"I'll make the hot chocolate," Said Hitomi.
"I'll get the marshmallows... You like marshmallows right?" Van said uncertainly.
"Of course, how could somebody not like them?"
"Good point," Van replied, and the two smiled again.
Marie was deffinately concerned about the pair now, what had gotten into them? For a whole month they had barely strung two sentences together and now this?
"Okay, stop, stop, stop! What's up with you guys? You've never talked this way, what's gotten in to you?" Marie finally gave in to her curiosity.
"Nothing," The pair responded in unison. This was true, nothing had gotten in to them, they had learned something about them, and it had come from them. If anything some of the coldness in both of them had melted just a little, enough for hot chocolate anyway.