title: Suicide
summary: Yuko's latest customer, claims God told her to kill herself.
spoilers: none
cross overs: Uh...maybe at the end?
disclaimer: I do not own xxxHolic.
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"The Lord is thy shepard, I shall not want."
It was a cool summer day.
Yes..Yuko thought to herself, feeling the wind blow comfortably through her hair. It was strangely cool for mid-summer, the witch didn't even have to turn on her air conditioning! Which was a good thing, since she didn't have it to begin with.
She was inspecting her shop, making sure she hadn't left any...items...lying around. She always took good care of her treasures, but sometimes she just got a little too drunk. She was especially careful when she walked through a beaded curtain, as on some of the large beads had become...temporary residence by some very favorable guests.
The world's most fragile crystal. The precious gems only lasted for a season or so, before losing its beautiful shade of pearly-white and glossy appearance. Yuko extended a pale hand to run her index finger against one. It twitched.
Ah. It wouldn't be much longer until the chrysalis was torn in half, revealing her neighbors in all their beauty. It wouldn't be much longer until they arrived, either.
"Yes...this is...a good place..." A voice announced from the entrance.
Yuko stayed behind the curtain, watching her latest customer. A delicate girl with red hair and blue eyes.
"No one...would find me here. At last...I won't be a hindrance anymore. O! Merciful Lord, I give you my life!" She cried hysterically, raising a box-cutter knife in the air.
Now.
Yuko made her move. The beads rustled, clicking and clacking against one another. Of course, she was careful not to hurt her neighbors...her guests.
"Ah!" The girl screamed, staring wide eyed a Yuko. Stunned...like a deer in the headlights. Though this was just a saying. Yuko didn't know, as she had never seen a deer in the headlights. Yes. There were things Yuko had never seen.
"Can I help you?" The witch asked cynically. Of course she could. It was, after all, her job.
"N-no! I'll just be leaving.." She stammered, beginning to walk off when...
"Suicide, is an unforgivable sin." Yuko said. The thought had come from almost no where.
The girl paused, not knowing how to react. "M-my moth---...No one would...care.."She replied, glancing towards her left.
"You should think carefully about these things."
"I-I don't have too. My choice to die, is my choice alone! Mine!"
Yuko frowned, and the wind picked up, making her kimono and hair blow wildly. "But you have doubts."
The girl raised a brow, trying to make the witch think she knew what she was doing. What was at risk. "No I don't."
"The fact that you look to your left, is a sign you are remembering something." Yuko pointed out.
She looked to the right.
"And by looking to the right," Yuko began, and the girl raised her hand to her lips. "Means your remembering a physical encounter. By raising to your hand to your lips, you show insecurity."
"Its not true! Not at all!" The girl hissed, still holding the box cutter in her trembling hand.
Yuko did not speak. Apparently, she had touched a soft spot.
"My...mother gambles." The girl admitted. "And she's always getting drunk. We used to go to church...but not anymore. She's sinning and...I want...to atone for her. I didn't know how though! I got a job, worked hard, went to confessions, prayed, everything! But nothing got any better! So one night, God told me to kill myself and everything would be forgiven..."
God...? Yuko continued to frown. Hearing this, she knew for a fact everything was a huge misunderstanding.
"He said, 'Go somewhere and die. Your mother will stop, and she will be forgiven!' And I love my mother too much to let her go to Hell!" She yelled.
"That voice, is not real.." Yuko replied simply. It was somewhat out of character, but true.
The girl stepped back, obviously distressed by Yuko's words. "Then I must die for you too! I only hope my life will be enough! O! Dear God! Forgive these sinners!" She raised the box cutter to her throat.
"God?" Yuko asked.
"Yes!" The girl replied, a crazed smile on her face.
Yuko chuckled a bit. "Then your God, is nothing but a hypocrite."
"Lies!"
"Judging by the Crucifix around your next, you are most likely Christian or Catholic. Didn't your God say, that suicide cannot be forgiven?" Yuko pointed out.
"It cannot. The Lord is so merciful...that even murderers can be forgiven." The girl whispered.
"And yet, your God tells you to kill yourself?"
"Stop talking! Stop! Stop!" The girl yelled, covering her ears. "You are trying to sway me off of my path! Devil! I will not be deceived by the likes of you! God will---"
"Do nothing." Yuko finished. "It is a God's job, to not do work for you. To not offer the easy way out."
In a brief moment of sanity, the girl looked up.
"The time in which Gods would do this and that for you...is now over. In this time and age, we must do what we can for ourselves. And God, will watch and guide."
"Then I should...listen.."
"Would your God tell you this?" Yuko asked.
"...No...My mom...told me to die...that I was useless. And I really am..." The girl murmured, dropping the box cutter and looking off to the side, tears welling in her eyes. "I...I'm not great at anything, I'm just normal and barely passing high school..."
Yuko placed a hand on her cheek. "You have a wish, and I can grant it." She said calmly, the girl's tears streamed down her face at these words. "What is it?"
"I-I...want to be someone who can-hic-...who can make my -hic- mother proud. So she won't have to run -hic- away...either..."
A small smiled formed on Yuko's lips and another wind blew. The bead curtain made noise and the neighbors came out. Countless butterflies in different shapes and colors. Each with a unique design... Fluttering about in the strong wind, they continued to fly in their direction. The way they wanted to go..
"And the price," Yuko said, placing a hand on the crucifix on the girl's neck.
The girl nodded her head understandingly and took the necklace off.
"You will rely on yourself for now on." Yuko said, and taking the box cutter from the ground she gave it back to the girl. "And if this is what you truly want, it will be your decision."
The girl bit her trembling lip and bowed. "Thank you!" She cried, running back to where ever he home once was.
Yuko looked at the necklace. And then back at the gate. The last of the butterflies were flying off. The wing's of a certain red one were wet, and began to fall to the ground. But a pair of hands caught it.
A charming young man with raven hair and glasses...
"Hello, Yuko."
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AN: Reviews are nice. -wink-