What Are These Tears For?
Chapter 1 – Strength
Machika bowed to the altar before turning to leave.
It was the twentieth chapel she had prayed in that year, but had sat, as solemn as a wounded dove and prayed, cupping her hands together she prayed for her journey to end and for her to find the thing missing from her life.
The year had gone slowly, and it had gone painfully. There was always something missing, when she ate, she turned, expecting to see a warm kind smile, but instead she found nothing, only loneliness.
"You look like you're looking for someone, when you sit during your prayers," came a voice from the shadows.
Machika turned, "Who's there?" she asked.
The man emerged, his hands raised, "I'm just a humble monk, my dear," he smiled.
"How can you tell I'm looking for someone?" she asked.
"Your face, it looks so determined, your mouth, it speaks pleas, and your tears, well, your tears represent strength," he said, lighting up a candle.
"Strength? I don't think so," Machika replied, "If anything, they'll represent cowardice,"
"Why is that?" he asked.
"Because, when I pray, through my hope and courage, I always seem to cry a few simple tears, I see them as weakness, if these tears hadn't fallen, maybe I'd have found what I'm looking for by now," she said, forcing a half-hearted smile.
"Maybe," he nodded, "But I can see you've been searching for a long time, and through your hard comes, you still manage to find faith and that, I believe to be strength."
Machika couldn't find anything to say. She smiled and raised a hand as a goodbye gesture and ran off into the night.
IIIIIIIIII
The warehouse stood, like an abandoned giant, sitting in the vast, open desert.
"What do you think, Kiki?" Machika asked the creature as it entwined it's tail around her leg.
Kiki didn't do anything to give an answer, it merely hung its head humbly as if nodding.
"Yes," said Machika, "I think so too,"
The warehouse looked empty and run-down as if it had not been touched for hundreds of years, it would be a perfect resting place for the night.
Kiki ran ahead, taking strong bountiful leaps, gracing the desert sands.
Machika walked nimbly behind. Her hair fell a little below her shoulders now, there was no sue cutting it off, for it grew back in no time, and her sickle was growing to blunt to cut it. Machika didn't even know why she carried the sickle, over the year, it had become rounded and blunt as ever, and all it did was pose extra weight. But she carried it religiously, like a good luck talisman.
A cloud of dust flew into the air as Machika opened the creaky door to the warehouse.
"Kiki?" she whispered, walking around in the dark.
There was silence, until she turned a corner, and heard a voice spoke.
"Oh, Hello there," it said, gruffly.
Machika heard Kiki purr in approval.
"You remind me of a creature I knew a while back," it said.
Machika took a step backwards, she had heard that voice before, she knew that voice.
"Rain?" she whispered into the darkness, clutching her hands together in hope.
"Machika?" came the reply.
"Rain? Is it really you?" she asked, taking a few steps further.
"Yes, but I can't see you," he said.
She held her hands out to the darkness until she felt a smooth warm hand, he was doing the same, and the hands grabbed her by the arms and pulled her closer into an embrace.
She wrapped her arms around his neck lovingly and she held tight.
"I thought I'd never see you again," she said, a tear falling down her cheek,
"Look," she said, laughing, "I'm crying,"
He said nothing, but she knew he was crying too.
"What happened to you Rain?" she asked.
"I don't remember," he said.
"You don't remember anything?" she asked.
"I woke up around a hundred miles from here and I've been wandering ever since, don't tell me you've been searching for me all this time?" he said,
"Of course I have," she said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Why?" he asked.
"Why? Well, the last thing you said to be was to live, but how could I live when the only thing I live for is you? You're all I have!" she cried.
He didn't reply, he merely held her closer.
"Why did you come in here?" he said, after a few moments,
"I needed a place to rest," she replied.
"That's why I came in here too, do you still want to rest?" he asked,
"Suddenly, I don't feel like resting anymore," she said, wiping away a tear.
The walked out of the warehouse and looked up at the sun.
"I like your hair like that," rain said, twisting a lock around his finger.
She smiled.
"Hey look," Machika said, pointing upwards, "An aircraft,"
Rain looked up, "I don't think that it- -MACHIKA! MOVE!" Rain shouted, pushing her out of the way, as an explosion hit the valley.
The aircraft loomed nearer the ground. A ladder draped from the side, and a familiar heeled boot placed itself on the first ridge. The woman pulled back her mask.
"Wow," she said, "You're a good hider Methuselah, but not good enough, we didn't expect you to have departed so soon," said Sharem, smiling.
"You should have guarded me more closely," Rain said, his eyebrows narrowing,
"Well, that wasn't our fault, we expected you to be unconscious for about another week," she frowned.
"What do you want?" shouted Machika,
"Ah, you've still got the runt with you," Sharem pointed out.
"I said, what do you want?" Machika repeated.
Sharem shot Rain with a small dart, he sloped to the ground, unconscious.
"I want Methuselah. Alone," she said, as she aimed a heavy blow at Machika's head. Machika ducked and rolled.
"Ah, I see your dodging skills have improved," Sharem smiled.
Machika kicked Sharem down to the ground, Sharem grabbed Machika by the shoulders and slammed her head off the ground.
She was out.
"Ah, well, that takes care of that," Sharem smiled.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"Rain?"
"Rain?"
Rain stirred and awoke,
"You've been out for a while," came the dark snake-like voice.
"Yuca," said Rain, "Where's Machika?"
"The girl you mean? She's in the dungeon," smiled Yuca, "for now,"
"Just set her free," Rain said,
"Can't do that, set it free and it'll just come running again, to be frank, I'm tired of her antics," Yuca said.
"If you touch her, I'll-"
"No. I'll set her free, but you must make sure she'll never come back." Yuca said.
"What?" Rain asked, confused.
"I want you to tell her you don't love her. I want you to hurt her, hurt her so much she'll never want to come near you again. That's the only way you can save her," Yuca said.
"I can't," Rain said.
"Then I'll kill her." Said Yuca.
"You-" Rain started angrily.
"Hey, I'm giving you the choice. You can save her, or you can send her to death." Yuca smiled.
"I can't do that to her!" said Rain.
"Why not?" asked Yuca.
"Because, if I tell her that," Rain paused, "She'll give up living anyway," he ended quietly.
Yuca shook his head, confused,
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"She told me that I was the only reason she had to live. She told me without me, she couldn't live," Rain said, shedding a tear.
Yuca smiled again, "Wow. You've grown conceited. I never expected that of you,"
Rain jerked his head up, furious, "Shut up!" he shouted.
"I'm making this clear. I'm giving you a choice. You either tell her you don't love her and send her away, or she's killed. I think it's an easy decision, don't you?" Yuca said.
Yuca shut off the light and left Rain alone in the dark.
