Entry no. 26: Light
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Not inspired by the song "Lighters". Really. I heard it the day after I wrote this and had to laugh.
KakaSaku, if you squint.
"It's night already, we should move out."
Glancing up at her sensei, Sakura nodded.
"Alright."
She didn't like nights.
Every time it came, she felt like a blanket was thrown at her, muffling everything.
Every sensation, every thought even.
They left their hideout in a cave, moving through the woods towards their destination.
They travelled without a word, the silence making Sakura fall even deeper into this state of detachedness.
Nothing really touched her.
Then Kakashi stopped.
She came to halt beside him, raising an inquiring brow.
"There should be a plateau near us," he said quietly. She heard his voice, but it was like it came from a great distance. "It should be a good view point. We can take a look at the landscape before we go forth."
She nodded and he led the way again.
It wasn't long before they reached the brow of the plateau, looking out into the endless darkness of the sleeping lowland.
Sakura glanced at her sensei, thinking that perhaps with his sharingan, which sees even in the dark, he might not get the artistic effect of it.
As she glanced to the left, she noticed something.
She took few steps towards it.
Was that… a city?
Surrounded by woods, there was a blindingly bright speck on the dark face of the land.
"Sakura?" Kakashi asked quietly.
She nodded towards the spot.
The lights were so bright…
"Look."
He did.
"I don't get…" he began.
Sakura held up a hand. It brushed his chest, but for now she didn't care. "Pull your headband down."
And he did, because soon she heard his voice, with an edge to it that indicated one of his rare smiles.
"Are those…"
"Lights," she nodded. "They're beautiful."
And as they stared at the bright spot in awe, they noticed more bright spots rising towards the sky.
"They're sending candles," Kakashi realized.
Sakura smiled. "It's like fireflies."
"It's an old custom."
She would look at him if her emerald eyes weren't captured fully by the swarm of lights rising into the inky sky.
"Why do people send lights like that?"
"I think it's meant for lost souls. Of the ancestors, perhaps."
This time she really looked at him. "How do you mean that?"
"Those lights should guide them home."
Looking at the floating lights, she smiled slightly. "I never thought about it like that. That light guides."
"How did you think about light?"
Sakura smirked a bit.
A wind rose, raking through the grass beneath their feet and ruffling Sakura's hair.
It sent the lights towards them, too.
"I don't know," she admitted. "As something that enables me to read even though I'm up late?"
"You must admit you were right, then."
The wind was strong, and the lights were not far away from them now.
"Not entirely," she mumbled as the first one approached, casting its light on the two of them, the dew-stained grass and the old trees behind them.
And then came another and another.
Soon they were all around them, bright, shining, beautiful, fending off the oppressing darkness of the night.
"They're so beautiful," she breathed out.
And they were casting their beauty on everything else. The grass looked beautiful, the twisted branches of the trees were beautiful and Kakashi…
Hisdark eye sparkled in the light of the lampions as it crinkled slightly when a small smile crept its way onto his face.
He was beautiful, too.
She stared at him.
Why didn't she notice before?
The wind blew again, taking few of the lampions from her.
"If I caught one," she asked carefully. "What would happen?"
"I don't know," her sensei admitted. "But do it."
Her eyes met his.
He nodded.
Reaching out, she caught the wire flailing from the bottom of one of the lampions.
The wind blew again, dispersing the rest of them, sending them farther on their journey to the heavens.
They watched them float for a while.
Then Sakura looked at the lampion in front of her.
It was white, but on one side there was a kanji "ai" painted on it.
She smiled.
Love.
"There's a note tied to it," Kakashi noted, holding it up and reading aloud, "I wish I will find love."
"A wish?" Sakura looked at the disappearing lights. "Do you think those all have wishes with them?"
There was a clear smile in his voice. "Maybe. And maybe only this one did."
She looked back at him and shook her head.
This time when she looked at the lampion, she felt slightly guilty.
So she let go of the wire, and let the wind carry it higher, farther from them.
"Why did you do that?"
"I want this wish to be fulfilled," she said irrationally.
"Why?"
"I don't know," she admitted. "But the light is so beautiful…"
Her sensei chuckled.
Sakura looked around.
"It's so dark here now," she said, suddenly feeling lost a little.
"Do you want me to set the forest on fire for you?"
She looked at him, startled. "No!"
He chuckled; grabbing the hand she was still holding against his chest and putting it down. "We have to get on the move, but when we get back, I'll buy you another lampion."
He didn't wait for her reply, jumping up into the trees instead.
She gave the bright city one last glance before following Kakashi.
She might have lost the light of the lampion, but there was still some light in her life.