"Never Forget"
…a star had begun its descent home.
The walk home that day was the longest walk he had ever had. Thinking he might've taken a wrong turn somewhere, or maybe…there just wasn't a place to call home anymore.
The morning sun was gleaming over the quiet city now, illuminating it's streets with a dull glow of fiery red. The stone path remained silent, only disrupted by the light hammering of his shoes against the pale face of the cobbled walkway. Everywhere he went he only saw things that reminded him of her, his subconscious thoughts beginning to drive him mad. Even the slightly discolored stones he tread upon looked like the tall fine carven stone that would mark her place in the world forever.
His memories, the memories he had nearly lost to her incantation. The only things he had left of her engraved themselves upon his every wakening moment; the entire town had housed countless memories of her. Something not even returning to Hong Kong wouldn't help, he would still be able to see the starlight and he could not escape the bright and cheerful sunlight.
Where Am I now? She stood facing the dark, fluid wall. The dark bottomless liquid seemed to stand vertically forming a barrier on its own and she expected it to dissipate and have the aqueous material crash down upon her. She could see the reflection in the surface as well as the faint dotted colors behind it shimmering then fading back into the perpetual darkness. There was a sudden droplet that stung waves of retort and she could start to feel herself being pulled through the darkness.
"We'll meet each other again" She beamed a joyful smile "In another hundred years hopefully"
She felt the cold damp beginning to soak into her back and she shivered in response, then suddenly breaking through the surface and being pulled through the deep waters with tremendous speed and force until she was nowhere. In space in between reality and ethereality and she suddenly felt the need to breathe, the aching in her lungs that she had not felt for days now was beginning to return. Drowning was probably the best word to explain it, although she felt an incessant need to travel back to the surface for a gasp of air, she would not satisfy the thought.
But she would also never forget the time she had spent.
The first time she had met with her mother.
Kero flew a reasonable distance away from 'the gaki' as he could not predict his temper at the time. Switching momentarily between depression confusion and anger, he knew it was much more difficult on him then it was on himself.
Sighing he glided slower leaving a few paces behind him when he felt the odd presence flow through the air, checking backwards he saw the long road behind him leading back to the park.
He shrugged letting the peculiar sensation slip by him to see that the Chinese boy had already made quite a gap and he flew quickly to reclaim his place of uncertainty behind him.
When the brown and white dish caught hold of his senses, lying neatly on the floor was a small cup of pudding. Not being able to ignore his instincts he made his way into the shade of the residential wall.
Tomoyo took her steps in long wide strides down the long winding home to the more upper-ended housing districts. The unhurried breeze playing games and tying knots in her long silk hair which was frayed ever since that day with grief and sorrow. Sakura had been her friend since as long as she could remember, and she could clearly recall their childhood days of filming her graceful smiles and cheerful attitude. She had packed her camera away since that incident, the countless tapes that lined her clean specially labeled boxes sat undisturbed as a haunting library in the very back of her closet, never to be added to again.
The luxurious road that lead up from the gate of her house stood clean and swept as always. Lined with flowering plants and aesthetic flowering trees that seemed to grow closer to her ever since the day it happened. Those trees held many memories within their green leaves, as did every other tree she ever happened to pass by.
The double doors swung perfectly on their hinges and took their place on the door stubs that lined both side of the walls, creating a slight thud that would've echoed throughout the halls. But she paid no attention to them; she made her way slowly up the stairs and towards her room, hearing the muted voice of someone speaking in an Osaka dialect she first noticed that her mannequins were bare and standing prideful in the corner of her room, not where she had left them. The slight whirring of her video camera humming in the background to the familiar humming noises, and the shadows danced upon her soft walls as her face sprung up in delight.
The lemon walls of the old house had not changed its gleeful hue since as far as he could remember. The mumbling of the news broadcast carried quietly throughout the empty household. But it only felt empty, the tall man paced with the same old briefcase he had since he begun working at the university. Always filled with facts and figures regarding histories and lives that passed without anyone ever caring a second glance. Now held with papers and forms he had been dreading having to fill out. It was a parent's nightmare to ever have to outlive their child.
Touya walked towards the living room, not indulging in conversation with his only remaining family. Lately there were fewer and fewer words to be spoken. He watched him place his hand on the gold colored knob and twist it revealing the bright morning light outside and he watched him step out without a word.
He moved towards the living room and sat down with his Yukito his long-time friend. Lately he seemed to be tiring but today he said he felt better and decided to pay him a visit.
He moved his hand over to the low table and gathered his mug into his hand and lifted it to his lips, but there was nothing inside it. The mug was cold and empty
The mug is cold and empty!
Throwing it into the air and landing neatly into his friends pale hands he sprinted towards the door and scuttled down the porch steps to find his father just leaving.
"Dad, Stop"
Leering rays of light were cast upon the drying paths as alongside the street lines, the sun beginning it's ascent into the bright sky.
The 'stuffed animal' had fallen behind somewhere, he didn't know where but nor did it really matter. He had absolutely nowhere else to go, a shelter but no home like devotion lacking a devotee. Every glimmer of light seemed to be stabbing at him as they reflected off the dull opaque stone walls that winded in a never-ending system of roads and houses, so many houses but none to call home.
His pace remained slow and his thoughts distant, strolling through the streets without caution not even realizing his surroundings, or the car that seemed to have been peculiarly stopped at the intersection much too close to him, the driver seeming to be in a frozen shock
He continued his unhurried pace across the street continuingly unaware
Even when time unfroze and the car came speeding across the walkway screeching its brakes to a halt.
The path to his apartment building seemed to stretch further and further into the distance as he made his way closer to it. He could see the building but then it would fade back underneath the horizon.
It seemed an era had passed before he got to his apartment. Tragedy having rinsed his body clean of any hope, yet he could still feel the residue of her aura leaving faint surges of electricity where it stayed static, clung to the walls in a dying embrace.
All this time, I've been lying to myself.
His steps became angrier as he kicked the elevator side, opening to reveal his floor. He was in no rush to be anywhere; it would seem his entire life had just come to a standstill.
He placed the key into the lock and automatically opened the door without thought until his nose was hit with the aroma of cooking in his house. Strange, he had let Wei out for the day.
He stepped cautiously around his own living space; he crept slowly into the kitchen to find there was nobody there.
He ventured to the dining room where a dinner was neatly prepared, the dishes still steaming with the fresh heat that emanated from the still cooling cooking, he sat down in his usual seat with his face turned towards the balcony watching over the town.
He could tell the style of cooking was clearly neither Wei's nor Meilin's. The dishes were both Japanese and Chinese and were prepared all too familiarly, in the sense that he could see the cake was burnt once and was hastily redecorated with a pink glazing that danced across the surface expertly in the shape of little pink flowers.
"Well Mr. I-can-bake-a-cake-better-than-anyone-else why don't you do it yourself then?"
It was then that all time stopped. No forward motion, no sign of change. Eons seemed to have passed as they stood there staring at each other, the white-cotton sweatshirt that was a size too big for her, stained with droplets of some odd seasoning, a bright smile stretching over her facial expression and the feel of wanting to memorize every feature of the woman he though he had lost forever, his heart came to a stop along with time, flowing slower than thick clotted glue.
She took the seat closest to the end of the table, pulling out the fine wooden chair from its place without causing the floorboards to creak and sat down with a thump and a sigh as she took out her dinner utensils and smiled invitingly at him.
He took the closest seat next to him, uncurling the napkin from his utensils as well and for the first time in days he made himself, at home.
At home with the one smile
the one face
the one woman
the one Sakura
He could never forget.
This story has finally come to an end. Hope everyone enjoyed it!
Now I have to go write two essays by Monday and they have to be at least one page single-spaced each! I don't even have a topic and probably should've been writing my essays instead of writing this fic. But I didn't want to leave it hanging for too long so there.
By Winter Break I'll be writing more probably, but will need good fic ideas if you have an idea please E-mail me at azn(underscore)guy(at)hotmail(dot)com