Author's Note: After having completed both Drowned Out and Circuits, I am now able to embark on writing new stories!
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. Just the bedtime story.
Belladonna
Chapter One
The sounds of the fair filled the air that was often accompanied by the cries of patrons feeling the rush and thrills on the rides they boarded.
"Mommy, Daddy, come on!" a little blonde-haired boy whined impatiently, "I wanna ride this one next!"
His younger brother was nodding in agreement. "Me too! Me too!"
"Just a minute, you two," their mother called out. "Wait for us!"
Once they caught up with their eager children, the couple took each boy by the hand, but much to the boys' dismay, the line of people in front of them for the roller coaster seemed to stretch for miles.
After a few minutes of waiting though, the two boys were growing impatient.
"How much longer?" asked the younger of the two.
Their mother looked surprised, "T.K., we've only been here for a short time, we have to wait our turn."
"But Mommy, the line's too long and it's gonna take forever!" the older boy added with a pout.
Her husband bent down to his son's level and gave a small smile. "The line may be long now, Matt, but if we keep waiting, we'll get a turn to ride it."
Matt's blue eyes widened. "Really?"
The older man nodded.
The minutes ticked by and while the family waited, Matt and T.K. didn't notice how much shorter the line was getting until their turn to board the ride finally came and their happy cries of excitement were joined by their parents and others as the coaster dipped and soared at a fast speed. As the day went on and the family enjoyed one festivity after the other, but there was just one more ride that they haven't tried but it was getting late and the two boys were now getting tired.
"Well, it looks like you two are ready to go home." Nancy said smiling. "I'm glad that you both had a good time."
T.K. yawned, "But Matt and I don't wanna go home. Can't we stay a little bit longer, please?"
Matt nodded.
"Yeah, we're not sleepy…" he insisted, despite his growing drowsiness, "we can still ride it…"
Hiroaki and Nancy exchanged knowing glances and they both bent down to pick up their sons.
"I'll tell you what," Hiroaki said, smiling softly at his youngest child, "the next time we go to the fair, we'll all ride the merry-go-round together."
"Promise, Daddy?" T.K. asked as his blue eyes slowly started to close.
"I promise."
Nancy smiled as Matt also fell asleep in her arms and feeling Hiroaki's arm gently drape onto her shoulder, she soon found herself leaning more and more into him.
A faint beeping sound roused Nancy from her brief slumber and she glanced up at the clock and sighed.
He's late. Again.
Ever since Hiroaki managed to get a high-paying job working for the local T.V. station, his late arrivals became more frequent. Although the long hours were the price that he paid, Nancy couldn't help but notice a drastic change in her husband.
He was growing more distant, throwing all of his focus into his new career. He was even becoming colder as well, towards her and to their young sons and the promises that he made were now harder for him to keep but easier to break.
This has been going on for too long! Nancy thought to herself, growing frustrated. He needs to know what this is doing to our family!
She finally heard the door open and slipping on her robe, Nancy made her way down the hallway into the foyer.
Hanging up his keys, Hiroaki took his jacket off and set his suitcase down.
"Ugh, what a day," he said aloud, lazily kicking off his shoes, "the elevator's still broken and after trudging up those stairs, I'm finally home."
He was about to head into the kitchen when he saw his wife coming towards him with a look of displeasure on her face. He groaned, knowing what was coming next and was dreading it.
"Do you have any idea how late it is?!"
"It's only 11:30, Nancy," he protested, "I had a lot of paperwork that needed to be done before the deadline."
Nancy was about to retort, but Hiroaki wasn't interested in what she had to say and headed off to the kitchen to heat up some dinner. But as he walked past her, he heard her say:
"There's one deadline that you've completely overlooked."
Those words stopped him in right in his tracks and he slowly turned around to face her, his blood beginning to boil.
"What are you saying?!" Hiroaki demanded, "I've been working hard for both you and the boys!"
"That is true, you've done a lot to provide for us, but…"
"But what?"
Nancy paused for a brief moment but her husband was quickly losing his patience.
"Well?"
"Matt and T.K. won't be children for much longer," Nancy said, "You now seem to put all of your effort into work instead of spending any time with them."
"They know that I can't!" the man argued, "I worked very hard to get this job, you know that! I can't just throw it away!"
"But you're throwing away what's really important!" she retorted, "Your family! One day, you'll realize that once our sons are grown up that you've missed out on things you can't get back nor go back to."
"I-" Hiroaki attempted to speak but his wife cut him off first.
"Hiroaki, I have been holding my tongue for long enough! This hasn't working out for you and me and you know it. We have both tried giving it another shot and I was hoping that things would improve, but they aren't."
"Are you saying that-"
Nancy nodded, her expression shifting from anger to regret.
Hiroaki's face twisted with rage.
"Well then, I hope you're happy, Nancy!" he snarled through bared teeth, "for selfishly tearing apart this family!"
Turning around and slipping back into his coat and shoes, Hiroaki stormed out of the apartment, opening and slamming the door behind him hard.
Nancy slumped into a nearby chair, trying hard to hold back her tears.
He's right. I am being selfish!
Down the hallway, a door slowly creaked open which was followed by a timid voice.
"Mommy?"
Her head shot up and her body immediately became tense as she slowly turned to see her two young sons cautiously approach her.
"What's happening?" Matt asked, "Where is Daddy going?"
T.K. whimpered as he hid behind his older brother. "And w-why is Daddy so mad? It scares me!"
"Daddy just had a long hard day at work. He's just stressed out, that's all."
Nancy hung her head. Although what she told them was partially true, it was still a lie.
"You said that the last time he got mad, Mom," the eight-year-old said.
She was about to protest, but she knew Matt was right. This had been going on for nearly three months and showed no signs of stopping. Looking over at her youngest child, she hated that she would much sooner than later be explaining to both what could be done to stop the fighting.
"I'll tell you tomorrow," she said, standing up, "it's late and you two should be in bed."
Taking hold of Matt's hand, Nancy escorted her children back to their room and into the bed they shared. After kissing both of them goodnight, she was about to leave the bedroom when T.K. called out to her.
"Mommy?"
"What is it, Sweetheart?"
"Can you tell us a bedtime story?" the five-year-old asked.
Nancy gave a small smile. "I can."
The little boy's face lit up in anticipation but his older brother's reaction was the complete opposite.
"But Mom, I don't wanna bedtime story." Matt whined.
"I do!" T.K. said, bouncing up and down, "Tell us a story! Tell us a story!"
"Settle down now, T.K.," Nancy said as she pulled up a chair next to the bed, "what story do you want me to read?"
"A story from you." the five-year old replied.
Nancy was surprised. "From me? Are you sure, dear?"
T.K. nodded his head eagerly.
"Okay then," she said, "I'll give it a try."
She paused and thought for a moment and then taking in a deep breath, she began the tale.
"Long ago, where the ocean and sky meet, there was a kingdom that ruled the nearby land. Life was peaceful but not for the king. For he had lost his wife tragically and the widowed king had recently remarried and his new queen was ready to have a child. But her health was starting to fail and the king, fearing the worst, summoned to his palace the finest doctor he could find. Although the doctor saved the queen's life, he denied any riches that the king could offer as payment."
"He said, 'What I want is something you cannot give, Sire. It is something much more precious than gold.'"
T.K. briefly looked at Matt, who was sharing the same wide-eyed expression as him.
"More precious than gold?" the younger blonde whispered to his brother, "What can it be?"
Nancy continued.
"This statement puzzled the king, but before he could ask why, the doctor was gone. Following the birth of their twin children, there was great rejoicing throughout the kingdom and as the years passed, the king forgot what the doctor had said."
Then Nancy stopped.
Matt and T.K. looked at their mother, confused.
"What happens next?" asked T.K.
"Yeah," Matt added, "What happens to the king now? And what about the doctor?"
Nancy smiled. "You'll find what happens but until then, it's time for bed."
…
Hiroaki angrily walked towards the elevator of the apartment. He was just about to press the down button when he remembered that the elevator was out of order.
Growing even more irate, he began the long journey back down the winding staircases towards the parking lot.
He seethed as the things his wife said to him began to play back in his head.
Who does she think she is?! Can she not see what I do for a living?! The nerve!
As he stormed his way down, making it into the parking lot of the complex, Hiroaki almost stepped on a stray cat's tail.
The cat let out a yowl, startling and causing the man to take a step back but the cat kept its amber eyes locked on him as it continued to hiss.
Scowling at the stray, Hiroaki began to turn away when the sound of something crashing to the ground filled the air. The cat's head turned in the direction of the noise and darted towards it.
Hiroaki contemplated following the cat but chose not to, being too angry at the animal to care.
He approached his parked car and upon opening it, was surprised that it was unlocked but then he remembered that he didn't lock it when he came home.
Hiroaki groaned, "It would be just my luck if something was stolen then I would never hear the end of it…"
Turning on the van's internal lights, Hiroaki inspected the vehicle thoroughly and much to his relief, everything inside was where he left it and nothing was taken.
"Well, that's one good thing that's happened all day."
After strapping himself in and starting up the van, he pulled out of the parking lot and drove down the road as fast as he could, getting farther and farther away from the city.
And farther away from his wife and sons.
…
Checking to see her sons were fast asleep again, Nancy decided to stay up once more and wait for Hiroaki to come home. But while she sat up in bed, trying to read a book, she found herself unable to focus on finishing the chapter.
All she could think about were the harsh words Hiroaki spat at her.
A sudden clap of thunder startled her and it was followed by a heavy downpour of rain. Putting her book aside, she listened to the storm and the longer it raged, the more her heart filled with worry for her husband.
…
Continuing down the road, the streetlights were gradually declining in numbers and Hiroaki soon heard the rain coming down hard, pelting on the car.
"Oh great," he murmured aloud as turned on the windshield wipers. "Just great."
In an attempt to get his mind off of the weather, he turned on the radio and picked a channel which started to play a love song but as he continued to listen to the lyrics, Hiroaki's anger gradually began to dissipate and guilt manifested in its place.
How could I be so cruel to her?
His thoughts then shifted to his sons and the words that his wife said about them were now becoming clear to him.
Maybe it doesn't have to be like this… I need to get home, apologize to her and this time, make things right. Not just for our marriage, but for our sons as well!
He found an intersection and turned, heading back towards home but the rain continued pour in fierce sheets much harder than before.
Even with the windshield wipers being on at full blast, Hiroaki could hardly see the road as the storm continued to grow fiercer and it was getting harder for him to navigate with only the headlights of his car lighting the way.
A loud honking from another car caught him off guard and Hiroaki barely had enough time to move into the other lane allowing the other car to pass but now the van was quickly losing traction with the road. He swerved, hoping to avoid disaster but the van began to hydroplane worse than before and was now beginning to slide on the water. Struggling to regain control, Hiroaki turned hard on the steering wheel, trying to get out of the pooling water and onto a safer section of road.
Lightning flashed, followed by an explosive boom of thunder.
Then, came a new sound.
And the entire van filled with light as he slowly looked up.
Eyes widening, Hiroaki didn't have time to scream as the sound of glass and metal shattering filled his ears.
…
The sound of the phone ringing jolted Nancy out of a brief sleep and she glanced at the clock with tired eyes.
1:20 A.M.
It must be Hiroaki, she thought, becoming hopeful as she picked up the receiver, he's found a place to stay to wait out the storm and will come home tomorrow!
"Hello?"
"Yes, hello," a man's voice answered back, "is this Mrs. Ishida?"
"T-this is Nancy Ishida," she said, growing nervous, "who is this?"
"I'm a police officer, ma'am, I know it's late but I have some very bad news. It's about your husband."
Nancy gasped. "What?! What happened to him?! Where is he?!"
"There has been an accident," the officer explained, "and he was involved in it."
"Which hospital is he at? Will Hiroaki be alright?" she asked, her tone growing more frantic. "Please tell me!"
There was a pause.
"He's…dead…"
-To be continued…