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Chapter 3
Sighing heavily, I pushed a piece of broccoli around my plate with my fork, too lost in thought to hear the question that Emiko had asked twice already. I was vaguely aware of the volume level in the room dropping slightly before I felt something mushy hit the side of my face and begin to slide down my cheek. As I watched a clump of mashed potatoes fall onto my plate, I heard a giggle from the end of the table. Glancing to the side, I saw my stepmother fighting hard to suppress her laughter, her spoon still in position from the potato launch.
I raised an eyebrow at her and she snorted. Laughing a bit myself, I shook my head and used my napkin to wipe off my face. Emiko put down her spoon and smiled at me sweetly, nothing on her face but pure innocence.
"Finally, she's back," my stepfather, Isamu, said quietly from across the table. Looking up at him, because he still towered over me even while sitting down, I stuck out my tongue. He chuckled softly and put another spoonful of food into his mouth.
Turning back to Emiko, I sighed. "Sorry. It's been a long day. But what were you saying?"
"I was just wondering how work went. You seem a little bothered," she said, picking up her glass and taking a sip. In my mind I saw flashes of the day's events: an upturned vase of flowers, the crater in the park, an evil grin, and a falling jar. How was I supposed to tell my stepparents about any of that? About how I almost passed out and defied the laws of motion? That was a bit heavy for dinner conversation. Plus, there was no way they would ever even believe me, and if they did, they would just worry that something was wrong. And the last thing I wanted was a trip to the therapist.
"It was…interesting," I turned back to my plate and popped that piece of broccoli into my mouth. Sneaking a peek up at my stepparents, I could see they were both waiting for more information. I figured I could spare them the juicier details. "Mr. Urahara sent us into town to pick up a few things and we saw that weird hole thing in the park." A look of understanding washed over both of their faces.
"Kisuke always knew how to keep people occupied," Emiko chuckled and Isamu smiled in agreement.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that," I said, scooping up some potatoes. My stepparents had known Kisuke Urahara for years; they had met when he started supplying them with certain herbs and weird mixtures they used on some of their plants. They were first and foremost botanists, who dabbled as florists on the side, and owned the most beautiful greenhouse in Karakura Town.
When I had begun living with the Kobayashi's, they were kind enough to ask Urahara if he would offer me a job in his shop. They were always doing things like that for me. My grip on my fork tightened as I felt that familiar lump in my throat. Emiko and Isamu had accepted me as their daughter, no questions asked, from day one and I would forever be grateful to them for that.
The first time I had met Emiko, I was a bit taken aback by her energetic, carefree and highly humorous attitude. She was a young soul in an older body, but she never seemed to let that stop her. Always ready with a smile and words of encouragement, she somehow managed to bring the sunshine back into the dark void that had become my life. Emiko's bubbly personality was perfectly balanced by her rock of a husband Isamu's calm and peaceful demeanor. While his vocabulary was sparse and he mostly kept to himself, I found Isamu to be a comforting presence. He was rational and kept me grounded when my imagination strayed back into my foggy past, and resurrected the pain of those memories, even the ones I couldn't remember. Those were the ones that hurt the most.
The laugh lines around Emiko and Isamu's eyes and mouths, and their kind hearts soon removed any doubts that I had about entering into the foster care program at the Karakura Children's Center, where I had been living ever since I was released from the hospital. Together, they made me feel right at home and quickly convinced me to come live with them. A few months later, the adoption papers were signed and I was swept off into a brand shiny new life.
As I stood up from the table, I gathered our empty plates and cups and brought them into the kitchen. Placing them in the sink I turned the water on and let everything soak for a few minutes. Turning around, I leaned back against the counter, watching my stepparents laugh and joke about something that had happened at the greenhouse earlier. I smiled at how things had seemed to return to normal for the moment. But it hadn't always been this cheerful in the house.
It was really hard when I first moved in; I had a rough time getting used to all the changes. I was still having the nightmares at that point, but whenever I would wake up screaming, both Emiko and Isamu would spend as much time as necessary with me until the storm inside me had calmed and I could fall back asleep. I missed my mother insanely, and everything had just happened so quickly. But, as time went on, Emiko and Isamu found ways to wiggle into my heart and I truly did love them. They were my protectors from nosy neighbors and strangers who found my scars disturbing or who wanted to know how I got them. I had been the talk of the neighborhood for a long time, but eventually people got bored and I became just another oddity in this strange town. I would always be in debt to the Kobayashi's.
I turned back to the sink and picked up the sponge, squirting a blob of dish soap on it. As a few little bubbles flew up around my face, I settled in to do one of the most normal things I had all day. After all the craziness at work, a simple task like washing the dishes seemed incredibly calming and was just what I needed. Instead of letting my mind focus on everything that had happened, I concentrated on scrubbing all the food off of the plates and silverware. Once I had finished I took a shower, then retreated to my room.
Even though my window was open as wide as it could be, the air inside barely moved. There seemed to be no end in sight for the heat wave that pressed down upon the town, even at night when the sun had set. Walking over to the open window, I caught the faint scent of flowers. I breathed it in deeply, closing my eyes and smiling at the smell that I now associated with being home. My window looked out on the backyard which sloped up to form a hill at the very back. If you climbed up to the top you could see my entire street, plus a few others. But, the best view was the one right below you, in my backyard.
The Kobayashi's, their love of plants seeming to spread everywhere, had turned the entire yard into a floral jungle of sorts. The grass was rarely cut and reached up past the middle of my calves. Scattered throughout were bunches of all different flowers from roses to lilies to tulips, to ones I didn't even know the names of. There was a path that wound through the space, but it was so covered over by moss that it looked more like a green carpet. When the weather wasn't so brutal, I would enjoy just sitting under the large tree on the hill and reading. Even just lying in the grass, the blades tickling my skin and being surrounded by the flowers was relaxing.
Placing my hands on the bottom of the window sill, I leaned out as a very faint breeze caught a few tendrils of my hair and brushed them across my face. It was so quiet outside; I couldn't even hear the crickets. Was the air really that thick? Looking down into the yard, I tried to follow the path with my eyes, but lost it near the base of the tree. Then, my attention was drawn higher.
Squinting slightly, I leaned out the window a little further. I couldn't be sure, but I thought something had moved among the branches. It had only been a glimpse of a shadow, but a gut feeling told me that there was definitely something out there. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and, despite the warm temperature, I could feel goose bumps rising on my arms.
"It would be a lot more helpful if I could make out a little bit of what you are," I said quietly. "Where's the moon anyway?" Looking into the sky, I saw only a bit of silver peeking its way around the edges of some clouds. "Hmph." I sat down on the sill and crossed my arms. "Some help you are."
Obviously I didn't get a response, but I had hoped that breaking the silence would calm my nerves. I had an unnerving feeling that someone was watching me, but the darkness was relentless and there was no way I could make out if something was hiding in the branches.
Suddenly, barking rang through air nearby and nearly sent me over the edge of the window. My neighbors must have let their dog out. Evidently he had sensed the trespasser as well as he kept lunging at the fence that separated our properties. I was sure I heard a hiss from somewhere out in the darkness. There was some rustling in between the barks from the dog and I narrowed my eyes even more to try and see a little better. As the moon finally slid out from behind the clouds, all I could make out was a black cat slinking its way through the grass and around to the front of the house. I let out a breath of air in relief and rested my head back against the window frame. I need to calm down or I'm going to send myself into cardiac arrest one of these days….
There was a knock on my door and, as it opened slightly, I could see Emiko poke her head through. Once she saw me, she held out a pile of clean clothes as if trying to buy herself passage into my room. I laughed and ushered her inside. As she placed the clothes on top of my dresser, I slid off the window and started putting them away. Emiko sat on my bed, fanning herself.
"Phew," she said, blowing a stray piece of gray hair off her forehead. "Isn't this weather just awful? And it's September! It should be cooling off by now. All of my flowers are going to think they don't need to get ready for their winter nap." I smiled as I hung my school skirt in the closet. Emiko always referred to her plants as if they were people. I found it very entertaining; it was just another one of her many endearing, childlike qualities.
"I'm sure they'll all be ok," I reassured her after seeing the truly concerned look on her face. I placed the last few shirts neatly in a dresser drawer and then turned around to lean back against it. Across from me, hanging on the wall, was the full sized mirror Isamu had put up beside my bed for me when I first moved in. Usually, I hated spending time looking at my reflection, what with the whole me resembling a human zebra thing going on. But, I was wearing a tank top and shorts so my stripes were pretty much all you could see. I wonder if that's all anyone sees when they look at me...
Walking forward slowly to stand in front of the glass, I traced a finger from my shoulder down, swirling around my arm along the path of the darkened skin, feeling the familiar, yet baffling, warmth it emitted. Normally, one would think dead skin would be colder because it was, in fact, dead. But, like with everything else, I was the exception to those common sense laws of the universe.
I wasn't self-conscious about the scars; I never put much stock in what anyone thought of my appearance. It was more that I hated when someone would ask about them. I could never think of an appropriate explanation because I still didn't know what they were from myself. Instead, the painful thoughts of my past would be dredged up once again and the pang of emptiness inside my chest would hit me like a giant wave on the shore line. The guilt of not being able to remember always fueled that wave, scooping me up and carrying me out to sea where I thrashed around wildly for some shred of the truth.
Emiko got off the bed and came to stand behind me. She gathered my loose, damp hair at the nape of my neck and with deft fingers, though calloused from handling countless thorns and vines for years, began to braid it. I closed my eyes as she softly folded my hair over and over itself while humming quietly. Even with all the questions flying through my mind, all the worries, guilt, and uneasiness, I felt a calm flow through me with Emiko there. Reaching forward, she held out her hand for a tie to finish off my braid. I pulled one off my wrist and handed it to her.
"There," she said, placing her hands on my shoulders. "You look beautiful." She always told me that whenever she thought I was worrying over my skin predicament. I smiled back at her, not in the mood to really explain what I really was worried about, and she kissed side of my head. "Get some sleep, ok? You have school in the morning."
As Emiko left the room, I began to pull the sheets back on my bed. Everything was still until an unexpected gust of wind tore through the hallway and out my window, sending my door flying back on its hinges. There was an empty hanger on the handle, and as it swung past my dresser, it crashed into the small jar of flowers Emiko had placed there a few days ago. I watched as the jar rocked back and forth dangerously, caught in a moment of stomach clenching déjà vu, and then finally righted itself again. Walking over to it, I removed the hanger from the door, still staring at the jar.
I had moved so quickly without even thinking about it when I had caught the jar at the shop earlier. For a moment, I wondered if I could possibly do it again. Peeking my head out my door and down the hall, I made sure all the lights were off and I could hear Emiko and Isamu watching TV downstairs. I decided to set up a test. I took a small glass figurine from my dresser and placed it on the windowsill at the far end of the hallway. If another gust of wind came, I knew it would knock the figurine right off, but I wouldn't know when that would happen. It would be spontaneous, just like Tessai's jar. Pulling out a shoe from my closet, I used it to prop my door open. Standing all the way back at my window, I took a deep breath and waited.
As the seconds ticked away, I tried to let my mind wander so I would be taken completely by surprise. The dog next door was digging somewhere in his yard, and a car horn sounded from a few blocks away. Suddenly, I could hear the leaves outside begin to rustle, and the curtains of the hallway window flew up, as did the figurine. Throwing myself forward, all I focused on was how imperative it was that I caught that little monkey before it hit the hardwood floor. I felt that same sensation of time slowing down, and I felt my foot make contact with the floor only once, when I was suddenly standing up straight by the hallway window. Looking down, I opened my clenched fist to find the glass monkey, perfectly safe, in my hand.
"Woah," I breathed, my brain scrambling again. Emiko appeared at the foot of the stairs and looked up at me confusedly.
"You ok, hun?" Pasting on a fake smile, I assured her that I was and then headed back to my room. Closing the door behind me, I leaned back against it and looked at the figurine in my hand again, honestly too awed to speak. I did it again. How fast was I even moving….I wonder if I can do it at will too, when something's not in danger of breaking.
As these thoughts ran through my mind, I turned off my light and threw myself down onto my bed, face first. Placing the little glass monkey on my side table, I took a deep breath. I kicked at the sheets, trying to get them away from my already overheated body. Turning on my side to face the window, I watched the curtains billow as they caught the movement of another rare breeze passing through. Today had been such a strange day.
What had Urahara meant when he said "it's starting"? Did "it" have something to do with what made that hole in the park? And where was that thing now? Was it still nearby? There was no doubt I was also included in the conversation seeing as I was the only one who had passed out. Almost passed out, I mean. But what did I have to do with anything? And who was that man I saw? For some reason, in a place deep inside of me, I felt a sense of recognition as I thought of his face again. But I couldn't recall ever meeting him before.
As I burrowed deeper and deeper into my thoughts, I watched my curtains still blowing in the breeze. They swirled around each other, silver in the moonlight and I fell asleep with thoughts of smoke curling its way around my body and a grinning, evil pair of dark crimson eyes.