Author's Note: New kinds of creepy! Also, not to ostracise those with political views divergent from my own... but Sandra Day O'Connor resigned (from the Supreme Court) today. Le doom!

Habit; 21

Springtime in Kyoto: sakura, sunlight. Warm, green—koi ponds wide awake, stripped at last of their white frosting. Little breezes that chill him, planting ice where bone marrow belongs. All he sees are the sakura—pink petals in the air, picked up by the stronger gusts—mabaroshi? Is He coming?

Springtime in Kyoto: family, ritual, long-standing traditions. He participates in the rituals, nods when he ought to—white faced paper doll in matching robes. The breeze would rip him into shreds if not for his icy core. Frozen boy, smoking cigarettes in a blooming garden, dead to everyone save Him.