Episode Five
New Year's Eve
Like the women shown in homemaking magazines, Serena bustled around the apartment in her apron getting things ready for the party that night. The deserts were baking in the oven, the baby was peacefully asleep in the nursery, and with a feathery duster in hand, Serena expelled the dust from all the furniture in the living room.
It was a picturesque afternoon—the snow was gently falling, leaving the city in a thin blanket of soft cold snow. She stopped for a moment to admire the view of the Tokyo skyline in the distance, but quickly, continued with her chores. Already sitting on the countertop were the fine china plates for the deserts and the exquisite wine glasses for the drinks. Everything was working perfectly. She looked up at the clock. Darien would be home any moment from the grocery store.
Just as she thought of him, he entered through the front door, carrying a bag of groceries. He headed towards the countertop and set the bag down in an empty space. He looked around for a moment at all the dinnerware, but something caught his attention. He began to sniff the air. "Serena? What is that smell?"
"Smell?" She questioned. She started smelling the air, clueless, but her eyes bulged once she realized. "Oh no!" She ran over to the oven and opened the door. "Get my oven mitts!"
Darien frantically looked around until he found the padded gloves then tossed them to her. Serena shoved them on her hands and reached into the oven. Out came a silver pan with a large darkened log in the middle.
"What is that?" Darien asked.
"Cookies," Serena sighed.
Darien looked at the large log for a moment, thinking of his words carefully. "Why is the dough in one big heap?"
"I bought one of those easy-bake cookie packages," Serena said. "But, it isn't easy!"
"I think you were supposed to cut it into pieces before you baked it."
"Really?" Serena's eyes started to water. "I…I…"
"Serena! Don't cry!" He reached out for her and took her into his arms. "Don't cry. Look, you made all these other wonderful desserts…"
"Lita made those! She brought them over this morning." Serena's tears broke lose and she began to sob. "I can't do anything right!"
"Serena, don't say that." He hugged tighter. "You can do lots of things."
"No I can't!" She sobbed against his shirt.
"Serena," He sighed. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eye. "Some people in this world were made to bake…"
She sniffled, about to sob some more.
"But some of us, are made to eat." He tried to make her smile. "Right?"
Serena shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose."
"Right," Darien nodded. "Now don't cry. Everything will be fine."
She nodded, wiping away her tears. A small smile came to her face.
"There," He smiled. "That's better."
"You're so good to me," She said before leaning in to kiss him.
A few moments later, as his hands wandered to his wife's backside, the door flew open. Raye walked in, carrying a glass dish, but after she looked up, her face immediately blushed. "I'm sorry, I…" She turned her head away.
Serina stood up straight. "No, no, that's fine. Bring it over here." She walked over to her friend, and took the glass dish. She walked back over to the counter while Raye followed sheepishly behind her.
Darien cleared his throat. "Hello, Raye."
She glanced up for a moment, but blushed deeper when she made eye contact. "Hello, Darien." She looked over at Serena. "Can I wash my hands?"
"Yeah, sure."
Raye turned to the sink and began to wash her already clean hands. She took her time and took even longer to dry them. She glanced over her shoulder for a moment, seeing her blonde haired friend grabbing at her husband's rear end as he walked away. Raye rolled her eyes and turned her gaze back to the sink.
"What is this?" Serena asked, slowly lifting the cellophane wrap off the dish.
"Lasagna," Raye replied.
"Oh," Serena uttered.
"What?" Raye looked over at her friend.
Serena turned away from the dish toward her friend. "You usually don't bring western dishes."
Raye shrugged. "I thought I'd give it a try." She walked up to her dish and pulled out the white index card that she left on top. "I put the baking instructions right on this card."
Serena grabbed the card out of Raye's hands. "Let's see…preheat oven…"
"Don't screw it up!" Raye scolded.
Serena put her hands on her hips. "Why do you always think I'm going to mess everything up?" She looked away as Raye gave her a look she knew too well.
"Anyway," Raye continued. "I have to run some errands before the party. I'll be back in a couple of hours."
"Alright, sounds good."
Raye headed for the doorway.
"Wait a second!"
Raye turned around, holding the doorknob in her hand. "What?"
Serena's eyes wracked over a piece of paper, counting the people on the list. Are you bringing anyone?"
Raye shook her head. "No," She walked out of the apartment.
She hated parties. There were lots of people she didn't know, mostly Darien's co-workers or friends at motherhood classes Serena met. The people she did know were involved with their own conversations and agendas. Standing in the corner of the room, holding a thin elegant glass in her hand, Raye's eyes scanned back and forth across the apartment. She looked nice—black slacks, pointed leather stiletto heals, red turtleneck sweater with a fabric that seemed to glitter, and a long gold chain necklace. She stood there, holding the glass of apple cider, merely watching everyone else.
Her eyes headed towards the couch. Excitedly, Serena and Darien played a card game with Ami and her boyfriend, Shun. They had the same major at the University of Tokyo—Pre-Medicine. Raye's eyes darted away, looking past all the unfamiliar faces. Her eyes then caught Andrew, Darien's best friend, sneaking into the desserts in the kitchen. Occasionally, she would see Luna and Artemis walking around the apartment, pretending to be normal household pets. At times, she would get bored standing in the corner. She would walk around for a few moments, pretending like she had something to do, but eventually, she would return to her post.
Mina and Raye crossed paths. The blonde took a hold of Raye's arm and pulled her close. "Hey, Raye, what's happening?" She fell forward onto Raye.
Raye almost lost her balance, trying to support the blonde. Raye rolled her eyes—she had the clumsiest friends ever. Mina was just about as bad as Serena. "How are you, Mina?" She asked with a deep breath.
The blonde stood up straight. "I'm fine." She flung her arm back, almost spilling her drink. "There's a ton of cute accountants here!" She squealed. "I've got my eye on that one over there!" She pointed to one of them, but Raye didn't look.
"I thought you were dating some bass player…"
"I am," She said flatly. "But look at him," She kept staring over at the accountant. "He's incredibly cute!"
Raye glanced over. Standing next to fireplace, three men in suits conversed causally with one other while they sipped on their drinks.
"The one next to him isn't bad either," Mina said.
Raye nodded her head. "No, he isn't."
A devilish smile spread across Mina's face. "Let's go talk to them!" She locked arms with Raye and began to head towards the fireplace.
"Mina! What do you think you're doing?" Raye scolded. "Let me go!"
"Just do me a favor for once in your life!"
"No! I don't want to talk to them!"
"You're going to if you like it or not!"
"Ladies?" One of the men smiled as the two approached.
"Hello!" The two girls ceased their fighting and put on bright smiles.
"So, who are you fine gentleman here for?" Mina asked.
"We work at the office with Darien." The man Mina was interested in spoke up. "And who are you two lovely ladies?"
Mina cackled with laughter. "I don't know any good reason to just give you my name." She battered her eyelashes. "Perhaps it should be a game…"
"Her name is Mina," Raye said flatly.
Mina shot a dirty look towards her friend before flashing a smile towards the gentleman. "Excuse my friend," She faked a laugh. "She's a bit disgruntled sometimes."
Raye returned the dirty look.
"Mina," The gentleman uttered, his lips curling into a small smile. "That's a pretty name."
Mina laughed again, the same fake laugh that irritated Raye to no end, as she made her way closer to the gentleman. Soon, the young blonde monopolized the attention of the gentleman, leaving Raye alone with the two other men.
The three of them stood around the fireplace for a moment, but the one standing against the fireplace excused himself for more to drink. Raye glanced up for a moment, looking at the other man Mina thought was cute. It was true. He was cute—brown hair and big beautiful brown eyes. He noticed Raye's glance and faintly smiled. She returned the courtesy. They stood there for a few more moments before he took a step closer to her.
"What is your name?"
"Raye," She answered quickly.
He took another step toward her. "My name is Steven."
"Oh," She said, nodding her head.
He looked around for a moment then turned his attention back to her. "I haven't seen you around before. Do you work at the firm?"
Raye shook her head. "No, I'm a friend of Serena's."
"What?" He asked, struggling to hear from all the noise in the room.
"I'm a friend of Serena's."
"Oh," He said. "What do you do for a living?"
"I'm the Head Priestess at Hikawa Shrine."
He stepped closer, straining to hear. She repeated herself and he nodded his head. He looked around for a moment then motioned his head towards the doorway. "Do you want to go out onto the balcony?"
Raye looked out towards the glass door. It was empty. It would be cold out there, but at least she would be away from the crowd. "I suppose so."
The two of them weaved through the people in the living room and headed towards the balcony door. Steven slid open the large glass door and led Raye out onto the balcony.
"Brrr!" Serena exclaimed while sitting on the couch. She turned around, searching for the source of the cold breeze. She noticed Steven and Raye heading out onto the balcony. "Honey, who is that?"
Darien turned around. "Who?" He looked around then noticed Steven and Raye leaving to head outside. "Oh, that's Steven. He's only been at the firm for a couple of months."
Serena smiled. "Well, hopefully it's permanent."
Lita walked up towards the couch, holding onto her boyfriend's hand. "Hey Ami, did you see that?"
"See what?" Ami asked, not paying attention to anything but her hand of cards.
"Raye's out on the balcony with some guy," Lita said with pride in her voice.
Ami head jerked up. "Really?" She peered across the room towards the balcony. "That is fantastic!"
"I don't understand." Shun, Ami's boyfriend, sat up from the couch. "What is all the excitement about?"
Ami turned towards her date and whispered in his ear. "She hasn't been out on a date in over two years."
"Oh," Shun uttered.
"Is this Steven a nice guy?" Lita asked, giggling as her boyfriend's arms ticked her as he slipped them around her waist.
Darien nodded. "I don't know. I haven't talked to him much."
"Hopefully he is." Serena smiled before taking a drink.
It was strange. He was paying attention to her—asking her questions, talking about their likes and dislikes, and listening to the things she had to say. Every moment felt excruciatingly awkward and frightening, but she bravely continued to converse with the stranger. The first part of the conversation was filled with facts and details about one another. Whenever one of them would run out of things to talk about, the other would quickly fire off another question. Finally, when no more questions could be thought of, an awkward silence befell them. For a few minutes, they stood out in the cold air as the listened to the dull roar of the party inside.
"Your sweater is pretty."
Raye glanced over at him. "Thanks."
"It reminds me of my convertible—bright red."
"Oh."
"Yeah, none of the other guys at the firm have one. I knew I could bank on getting that promotion so I went ahead and got it."
"That's nice." Raye looked away towards the skyline.
"My boss has no idea what he's doing. They should hire someone who does."
"Like you," Raye said flatly.
"Well, I wouldn't be such a bad candidate…"
Raye sighed as she continued to listen to the man reveal all the problems and concerns of his workplace. After what seemed like hours, she finally interrupted him, asking for a refill on her apple cider. He complied, heading back into the apartment, and leaving her alone on the balcony. She waited for a few minutes, but he didn't come back. She turned around for a moment to look back into the apartment. Everyone was gathered around the television. It must have been close to midnight. She watched, on the outside looking in, as everyone waited in anticipation. After a few moments, she turned back around, looking out into the quiet night sky.
She stood out there alone, thinking by herself. Absorbed in her thoughts, she did not even realize the New Year came until the faint ringing of church bells echoed through the city. Instead of turning around, she continued to stare out into the night, watching her breath in the cold air. It seemed like hours before she turned around, but when she did, she saw everyone crowed around Lita and her boyfriend. After studying their movements for a few moments and watching Lita's hand fail around, she concluded one thing. She headed back towards the door and stepped into the apartment. Everyone looked as the door slid open and cold air rushed into the apartment.
"Raye!" Lita exclaimed. "I'm engaged!"
"That's wonderful," She said, trying to smile for her friend. Lita ran up to hug her, grasping her in a tight embrace. "I'm happy for you."
"Thank you!" Lita squeezed tighter.
Raye looked up past Lita's shoulder. Steven was talking to some other girl. Raye sighed quietly. "I'm really happy for you," She whispered to Lita.
She didn't linger much longer after midnight. Instead, she headed straight home on the bus. At this hour, it was pretty empty, but there were others like her, leaving parties or traveling to other parties. It was mostly quiet on the ride home except for the laughing and giggling of some of the people in the back. Finally, she reached the Hikawa Shrine and left the bus. She slowly and tiredly climbed the long stairway that seemed to go on forever.
She walked through her house without bothering to turn on the lights and went straight to her bedroom. Exhausted, she peeled off her clothes and threw them across the room. She grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a tee-shirt, put them on, and quickly went to bed. She hit the bed hard and snuggled into the chilled covers from the night air. Quickly, they warmed from her body heat, and she dozed off to sleep.
At first, it was a restful sleep, but as the night went on, faint images began to appear in the back of her mind. They were blurry and dark, but as the night passed, they came into the focus. It was as if she was standing in the middle of a dream clearer than ever before. She looked up. High above her was the thick canopy of the tress of the forest. The leaves were turning colors of fiery reds and burn oranges and sunfire yellow. As the breeze tickled her skin, she listed to the rustling of the trees as the leaves fell down to the ground. Everything was peaceful until the shrill of an horrendous scream filled the forest.
Raye immediately ran off in the direction of the scream. Consciously, she did not know the way, but her feet carried her down a long and winding forest path. The screaming grew louder as she approached. The sun was beginning to set in the western horizon, making her pathway darker and darker as she ran. Soon, the night fell, but up ahead, bright flashing lights illuminated the darkness. She ran out of the forest into a clearing.
"Kaori, run!" A man hollered, failing his arms.
As Raye looked across the clearing, she saw the young man, motioning a woman to leave the area, but in her arms, was a tiny bundle of blankets wrapped around her child. Before them, a mysterious woman stood stoically, dressed in a black cloak. Raye gasped. It was the same mysterious woman who attacked her. The woman slowly extended her hand, pointing her index finger towards the young couple. Raye tried to stop the attack; she ran out in front of the energy beam shot off by the woman, but it passed right through her. Nobody could see or hear her. She shook her head, remembering that it was just a dream. She looked back behind her. The man and the woman with the baby both fell to the ground from the blast.
"Kaori, run!" The man repeated again.
The woman nodded and started to take off running. The man stood up, mustering all of his strength, and prepared himself for battle. It was to no avail. As the man charged forward, the woman did likewise, striking him with another blast of energy. The man was pierced through the chest. The woman, hovering above the ground, flew over towards the woman, catching her from behind. The mysterious woman grabbed the young woman by the shoulders and flung her back. The child was tossed up in the air and caught by the woman dressed in black. Quickly, the young mother leapt up with tears in her eyes and charged the mysterious woman. The woman dressed in black causally slapped the young woman across the head, and the young woman passed out.
Raye watched helplessly as the mysterious woman walked away, holding the child that she stole from the two young parents. The child was wailing and crying violently, but the mysterious woman seemed to be unbothered by it. As she walked, a large grin spread across her face. "I found you once again." She said to the baby before disappearing into the night.
Raye's eyes fluttered open