A note from the Author

Hello folks,

Here's the deal. This story is going to get messy. I was going to leave it as a surprise, but I was a bit worried that people might overreact. So here's the deal. Do not read on if you don't like to get upset, because this story is heading for some choppy waters (i.e. people is gonna die). I tried to steer it away to safer ground, but alas, I'm a poor navigator. If you're still interested, by all means, read on. And keep the reviews coming, I find them very encouraging. Plus, my goal is to be the most reviewed writer in the world – yeah, I'm that egotistical.

P.S. It gets really sad so beware.

Chapter 23: The Long Road to Nowhere

The Jersey winter had finally settled in, bringing with it frost covered mornings and frigid ebony nights. It was the nights that had most affected Motoko. Though unbelievably cold, the winter nights brought with it a spectacular view – an unhindered starry night.

On those nights, the moon would hang low and bright – seemingly just out of reach. The clear crisp air magnified the distant lights of the stars above. The amalgamation of the two natural phenomenons created a vision of unparallel majesty. The heavenly sight was Motoko's lone solace during those long lonely years before Keitaro woke from his deep slumber.

But he was no longer asleep. Keitaro was awake and living with her. Now she could share the winter nights with the man she loved – the father of her unborn child. She stood silently outside, gazing at the stars. Keitaro stood next to her, holding her hand. While she absorbed the scene above her, he stood transfixed by the beauty in front of him. In the pale moon light, Motoko's skin seemed to radiate with an incandescent glow, making her appear almost ethereal.

"My angel," he whispered, nuzzling the side of her neck with his nose, luxuriating in the feel of her silken hair against his skin; the cold only enhancing the sensation. Keitaro then stood back, surprising his love. She watched in confusion as he knelt down on one knee.

"What are you doing Keitaro?" she asked. Suddenly, an image flashed in her mind. Keitaro's position was reminiscent of something that she had previously seen. A colleague back at the university had once experienced a similar gesture. Her boyfriend had surprised her one day when they were eating lunch in the school's central courtyard. He had also knelt down on one knee, but Motoko could not remember the significance.

She watched as Keitaro began fumbling in his pocket; apparently, looking for something that he wanted to present to her. It was then she realized what was happening, her memory returning to her. A ring on bended knee was a marriage proposal in the Western tradition.

"Marry me."

Her finely tuned ears could hear neither hesitation nor trace of doubt in his voice. But her doubts still lingered on even after their romance had been cemented. She feared her sins would not be so easily forgiven and that her happiness would soon be at an end. Motoko feared the day that his love for another would be rekindled.

She did not want to cause him anymore pain. She did not want to be his cage.

Motoko slowly returned her gaze back to the stars, leaving Keitaro without an answer. A moment passed before Keitaro realized that something unexpected was going to happen. Perplexed, he looked towards the regal young woman, trying to decipher her enigmatic behavior.

Still focusing on the moon above, she spoke, "It has been my dream for these many years to be your wife, but I am not worthy of such happiness…"

"That's not true Motoko, I'm the one who's not worthy," Keitaro interjected, but was silenced by Motoko's nimble fingers as they pressed against his lips.

She then turned her head towards him so that her eyes could meet his. "Please Keitaro, let me finish," she whispered, trying to keep from crying, "I want to say yes – with all my heart I want to be with you, but I know that one day, this dream will end and you will find that the world you left behind is still waiting for you."

The words struck him cold. She may not have said the name, but she could not be any clearer: Naru was and will always be his promise girl. She would not deny him his destiny, even if meant her own happiness.

"I would live this dream Keitaro, but I will not burden you with the fantasy of a silly girl," she stuttered, the emotions beginning to rupture through, but was cut off by Keitaro's sudden embrace.

She struggled against his arms, trying to maintain her conviction. "Would you let me hold you like this forever?" he asked, tightening his hold on her, "Would you stay with me and be with me?" Then he took hold of her chin and eased it gently up until only a mere inch of space separated the two. "I'm willing to fight for us Motoko. Are you?"

Motoko Aoyama had loved him since she was a young girl of sixteen. He was her first love – her only love. So why run from him now? "Live in the here and now Motoko – with me," Keitaro added, whispering the words into her ear.

And in that moment, Motoko's fears and doubts were allayed. "Yes," she managed to squeak out before consuming him with her kiss. Keitaro, surprised to find his lips being engulfed in warm bliss, gave in to the sensation. Fate had taken from him his promise girl, Tokyo University, and five years of his life. And though fate had not been kind to the young dreamer, Keitaro Urashima was grateful that night – he had found happiness.

Now that happiness was once again threatened by the vicissitudes of fortune. Keitaro heard a scream as he neared his wife's hospital room. Panic gripped his heart. He instantly recognized the voice as Motoko's. He ran down the hall, knocking down several loitering visitors. "Motoko," he screamed, straining to hear a response. Entering the room, he found his love sprawled on the floor – alone. He saw the crimson stain on her hospital gown and winced at the sight. Before he could go to her, a strong arm had wrapped around his waist and pulled him away.

Suddenly several people dressed in hospital scrubs stormed into the room and fell to the floor. A young woman, not much older than Motoko, began taking her vitals. An older man, the doctor, began shouting orders. Keitaro wanted to kick and scream, but the sight of the medical team swarming around his wife held him still.

Motoko was then lifted up off the floor by the two orderlies and placed on a gurney. She was rolled away by the unnamed persons. Keitaro could only watch helplessly as the surreal events unfolded before him. When the room had emptied, he felt a sudden release of pressure along his waist. Keitaro stumbled forward, but quickly regained his footing. Turning around, Keitaro prepared to attack his assailant, but was paused at the recognition of his would-be foe.

"You have to calm down," Seta muttered, nursing his swollen cheek. In the scuffle, Keitaro had elbowed him in the side of the face, leaving behind a painfully looking bruise. Keitaro wanted to be angry at the man for keeping him from his wife, but reason could not be denied. Seta had stopped him from acting hastily, probably saving Motoko's life in the process.

"C'mon, let's go see about you wife." Taking him by the shoulder, Seta led the distraught young man out of the room. Waiting until she was sure that no one had remained behind, Sarah stumbled out from the bathroom and collapsed onto the floor. Too stunned to cry, Sarah continued to lie prostrate on the cold tile floor of the hospital room. Minutes had passed before Sarah noticed the figure hovering near the door.

"You should have killed her. It would have saved me the trouble."

Sarah recognized the voice. It belonged to her closest friend and confident, but she had not seen her in years. Sarah lifted her head and to her surprised found Koalla Su standing in the doorway. Su was donned in a charcoal black dress suit, her hair tied back in a tightly wound bun that lay snuggly on her head.

It was her expression that concerned the blue-eye girl. Sarah had known Su for most of her life, and never had she known the young island princess to hold such a dispassionate countenance.

Su was almost cold – a steely gaze where soft and jubilant eyes should be. Inexplicably, Sarah began to grow anxious in the presence of her closest friend. Could the years have changed her so much? It was then she remembered Su's remark and gasped at its meaning. She stammered, "What are you saying?"

A look of disgust replaced the cold visage on Su's face. Sneering at the hapless figure below, Su retorted, "God, you're spineless. What did I ever see in you?" Sarah lifted herself off the ground and slowly made her way towards her friend, but was halted when she saw the gun. Su had reached into her pocket book and pulled from it a small revolver with a silencer attached. Before Sarah could react, Su pointed the firearm at her friend's midsection and pulled the trigger. The sound of the bullet barreling through the air was the only thing Sarah heard before she felt the explosion of pain erupting in her stomach.

Sarah looked down and was surprised to see the blood spurting from the hole in her abdomen. She cupped her wound and returned her gaze back to Su, her eyes wide in disbelief. Su fired another round, impacting the shoulder. Sarah, losing the feeling in her body, collapsed onto the floor.

Su hovered above the dying girl, watching with amusement as Sarah's mouth opened and closed like a fish stranded on land. "I want you to know why you're going to die today," Su taunted, "It's because no one can have my Keitaro. He's mine." Su then raised her weapon again and aimed for Sarah's head.

"Oh my god," Rebecca screeched, horrified by the scene before her. Su looked up and was dismayed by the interruption. Without hesitation, she redirected her gun and fired two quick shots. The first bullet shredded the nurse's chest cavity. Before she could scream in agony, the second bullet impacted her frontal lobe, exploding out the back of her head, killing her instantly.

Singh stood ten feet away and watched in horror as he saw the blood gush from his lover's head. He screamed out her name and ran to her, not thinking of the consequences. The hallway filled with the sound of screams as several patients witnessed the brutal death of Nurse Rebecca and her fiancé. Singh had rushed to his fallen love, but was stopped short by the young girl holding the gun. He watched in almost twisted amusement as she unloaded two bullets into him. At first, he felt only the blinding pain tearing through his body, but the agony quickly subsided. He slumped to the floor, landing next to his beloved. Summoning the last reserves of his strength, Singh crawled over her body and embraced it with his arms. He then laid his head to rest on her chest and with his final breath, uttered a single world: "forever."

"Damn," Su grimaced in annoyance. She had exhausted her rounds and had nothing left for her friend still breathing on the floor beneath her. Hearing the panic outside, Su knew she had little time to waste or all her carefully laid plans would be ruined. "I guess you get a final reprieve," Su mockingly said, knowing full well that Sarah's wounds were fatal. She then walked over to the window and leapt out with the same agility that had been the hallmark of her youth.

"Oh God, Sarah!" Seta cried out, rushing to his daughter's side. He had heard the commotion and was drawn by it. People were screaming and running down the halls in terror. Others were shouting for help and police. It was the mention of a gun that had worried him. Though he didn't know why, Seta felt a sense of urgency to act. As he neared the source of the chaos, he recognized its location. It came from Motoko's hospital room. He then noticed the bodies of a young man and woman lying on the ground in front of the room.

Seta had seen death before, so was unaffected by its gruesome sight. However, nothing in his adventures could prepare him for what came next.

As he entered the room, Seta saw his little girl lying on the floor in a pool of blood. He ran to her, sliding to the ground. His hand trembled as he tried to feel for a pulse. "Stay with me," he pleaded, holding onto Sarah, wiping the blood from her chin. "Daddy, is that you?" Seta's eyes widened at hearing her voice. It was so weak and labored. He recognized it as the voice of the dying. "Yes, it's me baby," he replied, holding her hand against his cheek, trying to infuse his warmth back into her body.

"I don't want to die," Sarah whimpered, choking on the blood filling her lungs. She looked into her father's eyes, pleading for him to save her. But Seta could do nothing. He agonized as the life drained from her body, a lifetime full of wonder and potential fading into the nothingness. "Why God!" he bellowed, demanding an answer from the divine.

Sarah's body began to convulse, a guttural sound emanating from her throat. Seta's blood froze at the sound – it was her death rattle. He had seen it several times before in his expeditions. The dying last gasps of breath, the body shuttering as its bio-chemical processes began to shut down, the look of utter terror in the eyes of those losing hold on existence. All these he saw in his daughter.

Coldness enveloped his daughter, making her feel heavy in his arms. Seta pulled Sarah closer to his body, wrapping his arms around her, trying to hold on to her waning life.

He heard her speak a word, barely audible to the human ear.

"Daddy?"

Then she was gone.

Seta wept hysterically, clutching the lifeless body of his daughter. His thoughts had devolved into a chaotic mixture of emotions and images of days past. The only coherent thought that still remained intact in his mind was a single question: "Why?"

Keitaro was shaken by the sound he heard. Intimate with misery, he knew the wail that had echoed throughout the hallways of the hospital could only be that of a man who had lost his everything.

"Poor bastard," he thought, before turning his attention back to his wife as the doctor went on repairing the damage to Motoko's flesh.

Miles from the carnage, a telephone rang.

"Hello," Naru spoke into the receiver. "I found him," Su responded, "I finally found him. Get the girls ready, I'll be there in ten minutes."