Memories of the Forgotten One

Chapter 5

Bright Part Two

Yay, a review! Thanks The Girly Man!

I found out that this writing style is actually used in some published books, like The Lake House, By James Patterson, so switching between first and third person is acceptable. That's good, I was worrying about that. Now to start the chapter. I hope I don't ramble on too much about the beauty of nature here, I just had this image in my mind I had to put down into words, I was inspired today, lol.

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General POV

Kazuki stood at last at the top of the hill that had covered the sun. He looked around him, scanning his foreign surroundings through his large orange eyes. It was fairly bare on top of the hill, not grassy like around the house, or with so many trees you couldn't see the ground, like at the nearby forests. There were a few drying shrubs, a scattering of lonely trees, and a clump of bushes with red berries. He had been warned by his parents many years ago not to eat the berries, they were poisonous. Kazuki knew that meant you could die from them. Since that day many years ago, or maybe more recently, it was so hard to remember when the days seem to each stretch eternally on, Kazuki had done everything he could to avoid those berries. He was probably more afraid of the berries than he was of death itself. It was a word that didn't really mean much to him. He knew what it meant, how you get old or sick or poisoned and you can't move anymore. He knew that it was supposed to be a very sad thing, something that made even adults cry.

He knew because he had seen it. A long time ago, there had been a phone call that his great-aunt had died. Kazuki had never met her, or at least didn't remember if he did. His mom had started crying on the phone, and then handed it to his dad, then he started crying as well. Kazuki had been drawing and been too nervous to ask what was wrong. Eventually he worked up the courage to ask, in a hesitant shaky voice, "Why are you crying?" He hated the way the words sounded as he said them, like a little kid. But his dad had answered the question, telling him about how his aunt had died from being old. Kazuki had known that he was supposed to cry, that was what people did when someone died. But he couldn't seem to find any tears, and could not even pretend to cry. So he had went into his room, closed the door, and stayed there until the next day.

Now, staring at the berries, he decided to face his fears. They were just plants, they couldn't hurt him unless he ate them, right? Kazuki inched closer to the infamous red spheres, first anxiously, then more confidentially. His journey gained purpose with each step, as he realized that the berries weren't going to be able to do anything to him. Standing right next to the plant, his fears had somehow completely evaporated. He picked up a berry and rolled it around in his fingertips. It was hard and smooth like a polished rock. It was kind of pretty, bright red and shiny. He dug into it with his fingernails, revealing an orange interior. He excitedly realized that he would be able to write his name in bright orange, like his hair, like his eyes. His color.

He could even write his name on the sun, for everyone in the world to see. He knew that everyone all over the world saw the same sun at different times. His mom had taught him that also, she was very interested in science and the world. She probably knew more about the world than any of the other Sohmas. She always read the news and all the new science books. She seemed to know everything in the world, thought Kazuki's dad also knew a lot, but he didn't usually take the time to explain everything to Kazuki. Sometimes he would make up stories and tell them in order to explain things when Kazuki asked him questions. Kazuki knew many of them weren't true, but he liked to think like they were. Stories about sorcerers, monsters, spirits. Like, how their house had a spell cast on it by a dragon to keep it from being invaded by robbers, as Kazuki had once feared. Kazuki sometimes asked if the stories were true, the reply was always a smile and a simple sentence. "How would I know that?"

That always puzzled Kazuki. Oh well, the stories were cool to listen too, anyway. Kazuki didn't realize it yet, but Osamu made them up as much for Kazuki's amusement as he did for his own escapism, a breath of fresh air from outside the stifling Sohma cage.

Finally remembering his quest to find the sun, Kazuki climbed onto a high, pointed rock. Kazuki looked down from the highest spot on the hill, where he could see more houses than he had ever seen in his life. He was overwhelmed by the vastness of it all. Sure, he knew that Earth was big. He could probably quote statistics on it, Kimiko had told him so much about it. And Kazuki remembered every word, always anticipating the answers to his almost unstoppable flood of questions. Sometimes he'd ask the same ones more than once, just to see if the answer was still the same or to have something to talk about.

But he couldn't see the sun. It was nighttime; the sun was at another part of the world now. It was way out of his reach, even though he had walked all this way. His legs and feet hurt, and he was dirty from the long journey. He wanted to go back home, but he couldn't after trying so hard to get away. Plus he didn't know the way. He felt his eyes fill with tears as he wished with all his heart that his parents, or anybody, would find him and tell him to come home, they were worried. But it was late at night; it must have been a very long time. They would maybe never notice, and even if they did, they would never be able to find him either. He was lost and helpless, and he hated that feeling more than anything.

Enough, he told himself. He wasn't going to cry, he was too old for that. He knew that he could stop himself from crying, if he controlled his thoughts and looked up at the ceiling so the tears wouldn't fall down his face. He looked up, but was surprised not to see the ceiling but the night sky, filled with countless stars. He knew because he tried counting them. They were the only lights he could see, but they were so bright that he could see the ground and plants around him, and even the houses in the distance. Some of the houses had lights from candles in the windows, and there were even a few rare light bulbs, but their light couldn't reach to light up all the way over where Kazuki was. The stars were the only lights that he could see the ground under his feet by.

It was kind of cold, and Kazuki shivered. He knew he should have taken a jacket. It was too late now, so he was forced to make due with his light garment. Even so, he was grateful to finally be outside again and not trapped in his house going nuts with the passing of each endless day. The lack of night and day, light and dark, warm and cold, furthur served to emphasize the mono-day effect he experienced while at home. This was the greatest feeling in the world to Kazuki, being able to see everything, to feel the wind on his skin and listen to it rattle the leaves of trees together, making a sound like waves.

Suddenly, Kazuki's ears pricked up at a new sound. A steady beat, pounding against the ground. Footsteps! Kazuki felt his breath catch and his heart start to beat fast. What if a person was coming who wasn't his parents, a person who would get him in trouble? Like last time, how he hadn't been able to ever go outside until now, after those boys had come to the house. Even if it was his parents, he wasn't sure if they were angry or not. He didn't want to cause another disagreement. Or what if it was robbers?

Kazuki scrambled to get off the high ledge of the rock, and felt a brief rush of air fall up past him. He fell suddenly and uncontrollably to the hard and cold ground, barren of grass. At last he landed awkwardly, his feet touching down first, but soon falling onto his hands and knees. It was a little bit painful, but since he didn't have time to examine his scrapes and bruises now, he'd ignore them and pretend they never happened. He blotted out the pain from his mind and focused on getting out of sight, as the footsteps got louder and clearer, closer.

Abandoning all remnants of previous fear as a new, more urgent, one replaced it, Kazuki dove into the bushes. He felt his the thin layers of his clothes tear and brambles scratch at his skin, probably leaving shallow cuts and scratches on his arms, but nothing he took the time to notice now. He could feel his heart pounding and focused on making his breathing, which sounded unbelievably loud to his ears, synchronized with the wind. He was breathing hard, but thankfully the wind was picking up.

The footsteps got closer until a boy came into Kazuki's field of vision. Kazuki shrunk back deeper into the shadows; he knew he had to be careful. Please don't let me be seen, please don't, please don't he prayed over and over in his mind. The boy stared right in his direction, standing only a few feet away now. Kazuki tried not to make eye contact, to stare at the dirt and plant pieces in front of his face, as though that would help him hide. He knew it didn't really make any sense, and it probably seemed stupid and immature, but at least no one was going to see. He hoped.

The boy at last turned away and looked out over the hill and out at the city there. He seemed as amazed with the sight as Kazuki had been only moments before. Kazuki raised his eyes, and even his head a little bit, now that he couldn't be seen. He allowed himself to look more closely at the person he was hiding from. The boy was dressed plainly in shades of beige and white; his clothes were a little baggy on his thin form. But even the plain clothing made him look fancy. The bright white made his tanned skin stand out intensely. His hair was brown, darker than his skin but a lighter brown than Kazuki had ever seen before. He had long hair for a boy, messy too. It blew around in the light wind, just like his clothes.

Now was the time, Kazuki told himself. He could sneak away while the boy was staring out far into the distance, too absorbed to see around him. He could crawl quietly away, Kazuki could find the way back home if he tried. Now was his chance, maybe his only opportunity for a long time.

He pushed himself up by his palms and sat up on his knees. His feet had started to fall asleep and the tingly sensation bothered him as he moved. It felt good to finally stretch after that long time spent sitting so awkwardly. He extended an arm to loosen it up, putting his other arm behind his head to stretch his neck.

He felt something strange against the arm that he had reached up with. It wasn't spiky or waxy like a plant, but rather soft and warm. Kazuki, unable to restrain his curiosity, looked up to see what it was. Two yellow eyes stared into his own orange ones, both pairs reflective and disk-like. A cat. It lowered its black and white splashed head and arched its back. Kazuki stared, knowing he was powerless to do anything, as the cat opened its mouth wider than seemingly possible, revealing sharp white teeth and a pink tongue. A sharp hiss escaped from the animal.

As he noticed the sound, the boy's head swiveled around and his eyes made contact with Kazuki's.