Why?
Because I am god. Because I can. Because I love you, Momiji.
"I want to tell you a story, Akito-sama. May I?" A twitch of the lips; you try to force a smile. You only look miserable. Do you hate me so, my caged rabbit?
"As you wish. I only called you here to spend time with you, Momiji."
Your voice becomes measured. Do you tell stories often? You never have before, to me, at least. The words have their own rhythm, as you nearly sing, "Once, there was a man that didn't move, but stayed still, a perfect picture of beauty. Everyone loved him, because none of them had seen something so indescribably lovely before; he was like a masterpiece, painted to a canvas. But," your tone changes, and eyes I wasn't aware of closing open slowly to look at you, "one day, she came.
"She was beautiful too, but fluid, like water; her beauty shifted from day to day, never the same, but always lovely. The man still loved, held in silent repose, a breathtaking work of genius. He was sure that his admirers would never leave him, and forever lavish their attention on him.
"He was wrong.
"Eventually, no one came to see him, or his perfect beauty. He couldn't understand it. Seeing himself in the mirror, there were no flaws. Where had they gone? Gone to marvel at the fresh, new, exhilarating beauty of the girl, he found. They had never seen anything like what she was that day, or the next, or the next. It always amazed them. The man asked each one, over and over, if he was beautiful, and they said that he was. But they had seen him before, and could remember the perfection of him. They didn't need to see him anew every day.
"The man didn't understand. He was envious of the girl, which turned to resentment and hatred. Without warning, he destroyed her, kept her from showing the people a new beauty, and the people were sad. He was the only beautiful thing left for them to see, but they still didn't come." The story is over, the spell broken, and I blink as I return to my receiving room in the Sohma complex.
A silence begins, and holds until I ask, "Why?"
You gape at me, and then remember yourself and snap your jaw closed, clearing your throat. "Why what, Akito-sama?"
Weighing my options, what I wanted answered first, I say, "Why didn't the people like the man?"
"They knew he had nothing new for them, and had grown bored."
"But…I do not understand."
"He couldn't force someone to love him by taking everything else away."
Disgruntled, I settled on my back, staring at the ceiling. "I have a poem for you, my caged rabbit. It's about why I call you caged. Will you hear it?" You nod reluctantly. I recite:
"The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
of things unknown but longed for still
and his tune is heard on the distant hill
for the caged bird sings of freedom." (Maya Angelou)
There is quiet after I stop speaking, and I heard hesitant footsteps approaching. I wonder what will happen now. You bend down, leaving your breath on my ear.
"I have no doubt that you love us, Akito-sama. But, we know you well, and turn our eyes away, while you don't understand and force us back. You love us because we know you, but we cannot return it, for you don't know us."
You kiss my cheek and pad quietly outside, to the freedom I should never have allowed you.