Time Won't Change the Meaning of One Love
Summer came again. Kyoko sat on the top of the cliff overlooking the ocean. It's been seven years since she was found unconscious on the sands of the beach by the village. The air is alive with all sorts of activities. There is a school of mackerels that is traveling towards the strait by the village. With the mackerels that the village relies on as income and food, comes the cash crop of Yellowtail tuna.
Kyoko hears a whisper of pods of dolphins and porpoises. The wind tickled her ears again, but this time the message was a little different and it nagged her heart a little. But, she shook her head, and tells herself that she's only imagining things. Another breeze tickled her nose, and it brought scent of familiar sweet warmth of a boy that has been sharing summer adventures with her. Kyoko shook off the uneasy feeling and ran towards the village to get her pack and shoes.
The Okami had noticed how Kyoko had been growing quite a bit, and had went to the big city nearby to get Kyoko a new pair of shoes in sunshine yellow and a cute kitty backpack in checkered powder blue. Kyoko's face was just as cute as she imagined the whole time she was shopping for them. She went straight to the private courtyard and into the room next to the koi pond. She then quickly ran to the kitchen where Okami is grinding some anchovies and soy beans into a paste for a side dish. She said goodbye to the Okami and Taisho, before she ran off to meet with Corn.
Okami smiled again, and repeated the sentiment, as Kyoko fade out of sight, "She's going to make a good wife, someday." Kyoko ran down the old crumbling asphalt road, at the speed of lightning. Like someone who's familiar with being chased by angry school girls that had a big crush on Sho, and get away without a scratch. Not so, with the few posts that met their ends at the hands of this little girl, that simply ran though them leaving an impression of a hand, a foot, or a random body parts that demolished the concrete. Soon, a boy with bright blonde hair and smiling eyes met her dark murky ones.
"Corn, do you think we'll always be friends?" asked Kyoko, while they were building sand castles at the beach near the village.
All around them, tourists and locals were running about having fun, children burying the adults in sand, and playing tag. Further in towards the walkway by the strand, were people walking, sitting on the benches chatting, people cycling, people flying kites, playing with their radio controlled airplanes and cars, walking their dogs. But, to the two of them, there were just Kuon and Kyoko.
"Why do you ask, Kyoko-chan," asked Kuon, "of course, we'll always be friends. No matter where we are. We'll always be together, even if I have to go to the end of the earth to find you."
Kyoko smiled, and felt a lot better. Maybe, it was because Sho-chan was teasing her particularly hard that morning, that's why she was feeling a little bit, not all together right. That's why she felt she had to run to her favorite spot, at the rocks, to clear her head, right? Then, Kyoko remembered something.
"Ah!" She exclaimed, smiled a big smile and started to dig in her backpack looking for something.
Kuon stopped and looked up, when Kyoko made the shocked noise.
"Kyoko-chan, are you alright?" asked a very concerned Kuon.
But, then, when he saw Kyoko nodded her head, and her sudden big smile. He, too, felt great relief.
"I made something for you for the end of the school project," said Kyoko. "Mrs. Kawai, the homeroom teacher really liked it, too."
"But, before I can give it to you, you have to promise to close your eyes and not peek."
Kuon nodded, "Uhn!" and quickly close his eyes and held out both of his hands in front of him.
Kuon felt a smallish object covered in a rustly fabric being put in his waiting hands.
"You can open your eyes now." said Kyoko, brimming with excitement.
Kuon opened his eyes in anticipation to a little navy pouch, and untied the drawstring like it is the most fragile thing in the world. He pulls the silver chain out of the pouch until it revealed a round disc pendent with a rose dangle. At that moment, Kuon felt an overwhelming sensation of joy.
"Thank you, Kyoko-chan," said Kuon. "I will always wear this and think of you."
At that moment, an ocean breeze blew in and brushed the bang on Kuon's forehead, giving his eyes a shiny glint as he put the necklace on.
"Hey! Do you want to go to the beach, near the cave, where we first met?" Suddenly, Kuon asked.
At the moment, Kyoko shook out of her dazed daydreaming of Corn. Kyoko reached out with her hand and smiled again, as Kuon pulled her up. They strolled towards the direction of the sea cave, and played on the beach until the day grew shorter, as they ran and chased each other.
The wind started to pick up, and in a sudden, the wind carried an urgent message to Kyoko. A storm is coming and it's coming fast.
"Corn! We need to get to somewhere safe." said Kyoko nervously to Kuon, as the wind starts to whip around them and with it comes torrential rain.
"Kyoko-chan, let's get to the sea cave. We'll be safe there."
Kuon broke into a fast run, taking Kyoko with him, as they hurried along to safety.
At the village, in the darkness with the rain pounding outside, Fuwa-taisho and the Okami heard on the radio, "The sudden...fre...k...storm...le...d to massive...p...er...outage...This...c...ld be an...ther...storm...of...the...cen..ury."
The guests at the inn had been frighten, but thanks to Okami's great power of persuasion. Everyone had calmed and is enjoying some nerve steadying tea over a small charcoal burner. Taisho even opened a cover in the middle of the floor, to uncover a fire pit and made the room really cozy. Everyone was given a thick traditional cotton blanket to snuggle in, including Sho-chan.
"Have you seen Kyoko-chan?" Okami asked Taisho.
Taisho answered in his laconic way that he had not seen Kyoko at all. Okami went around making sure everyone was comfortable, before she went around the inn to make sure Kyoko was in the inn. When, Okami realized that Kyoko has not come back, yet, she confirmed her fear to her husband.
"Kyoko-chan will be alright. She is a smart girl and she will definitely be safe somewhere."
Fuwa-taisho comforted his wife, with the few rare words that he had ever spoken as he hold Okami close to him, as they, too, huddled together in a thick blanket to wait out the storm.
In the meanwhile, Kuon and Kyoko huddled in the deep far part of the sea cave, where he had started a small, but warm fire. Kyoko stared nervously out at the small opening leading to the outside. They had laid out the rest of the food she had brought, and shared a jacket and a blanket she had brought in her pack. Outside, the wind battered the cave, and the cities nearby. The storms kept on bringing the splattering rain. The water level had started to raise a little, in the part of the sea cave, they're in. But, since they are situated well above it, Kuon and Kyoko weren't really worrying about it.
But, the wind kept on bringing more troubling news to Kyoko's ears. The wind carried a message of an even greater storm heading towards the village. This time, the storm could hurt a lot of people. Kyoko remembers the storm that Okami told her that brought her to the Fuwas. She started to worry about that this one could have the same magnitude. It could cause the water in the cave to get to where they are in the cave. She tries to make a brave face, as Kuon put a reassuring arm around her shoulder, to keep each other warm.
Kuon said to Kyoko, reassuringly, "Don't worry, Kyoko-chan. We'll get out of this safely."
But, Kyoko just couldn't shake that nagging feeling that not everything is going to be alright. The nagging feeling started a tingle in her chest, and it kept on spreading and covering every part of her body, and the tingle became a shimmer. The shimmer became a glow. The glowing started to outline her body in the shape of fish scales and her body started to get very warm. Kuon stared at her in awe, and fear. Something is wrong with Kyoko, and he didn't know how to stop it.
Kuon held Kyoko to her, "You're going to be alright?"
Kyoko, trying to be brave, answered, "Yes. I'm fine."
Kyoko shimmered and glowed, and shimmered and glowed. Her body started to pulse like a star. She started to feel unbearably warm and broke out in a sweat. Howling wind and rain outside, relentlessly batters against the cave. The wind again carried along more messages, but this time, there was another voice with it.
"Where are you?"
"Come back."
"It's time to come home."
"Come back."
"You have been missed for so long."
"Come back."
"Come back."
The message just kept on repeating, until Kyoko covered up her ears and yelled at the wind, "I don't know where here is?"
Kuon stood up and held Kyoko tightly to him, tears rolled down her eyes.
"I don't know where here is?" as Kyoko cried.
"Kyoko-chan, what is going on?" Kuon asked as Kyoko sobbed uncontrollably.
"The wind," Kyoko said through her tears. "The wind is calling me back." Kyoko hiccupped.
"It's in my head. I can't get it out of my head." cried Kyoko, as she held on to Kuon, trembling with the force of her fear.
"A storm is coming and it's going to hurt a lot of people. The people that cared for me." Kyoko, sobbed. "The people of the village, you, are all going to be hurt."
Kyoko shakily let go of Kuon.
"I have to go. They are calling me."
Kuon reached out to stop Kyoko.
"Where are you going? There is a storm out there."
Kuon held on with the force that's borne out of fear and concern.
"No! Let me go. Please! Let me go." Kyoko plead with Kuon.
Kyoko broke free of Kuon and ran towards the cave entrance. Just as she's about to be clear of the cave, Kuon reached out and grabbed hold of her hand.
"No. This is dangerous. You're not going to stay out here." said Kuon, as the rain poured down both of their face and body, making talking difficult and making breathing almost neigh on impossible.
"Corn!" pleaded Kyoko, "Please let me go."
Kuon yelled at Kyoko, as rain tore at them, "No! You're not going anywhere."
Kyoko pulled at her arm, as she tried to yank her arm out of his grasp.
"I have to save the village. I have to save you."
And, with the last pull she was freed. She took off towards the surf, as her scales started to bristle out, and her body started to change with her. Kuon took off after her with fear pounding in his chest. The fear makes breathing even more difficult, as fire tore through his chest with every breathe he took in.
Kuon used the last of his waning strength, and took down Kyoko with a tackle as they ran into the water. Kyoko struggled with Kuon, as his strength fades.
"Don't go. You don't have to go." Kuon struggled to get the words out, as his lung is robbed of his breath, and his body is robbed of his strength. Kyoko turned towards him, and held on to him one last time.
"I have to go. I have to stop the storm." said Kyoko, as she kissed him on his cheek, and then turned and slipped away, shimmering like a beacon, in the stormy steel grey of the rolling water.
"This is goodbye."
Kuon yelled hopelessly into the storm, as he tried to struggle in the chest deep water. Tears streaming down his face, as the rain and the wave washed it away, carrying the message of sadness and heartbreak, as Kyoko swimmed towards the storm.
This is the hardest chapter I have to ever write. I struggled with trying to strike a balance between the storytelling and the emotion of the characters I write. I hope that you enjoy this chapter.