Chapter 2
Koan
Koan sits in a wooden chair, listening to the calming rain outside. He walks outside to see the coconut and sago palms riddled around the forest with tall canopy trees connected by vines. Rain falls as he hears the mourning doves and Dodo birds calling out. Koan walks down the wooden stairs from the deck and down a path opposite the house. While walking, he stops to pick yellow, white, and pink Plumeria flowers. After gathering the flowers, he walks the fern and monstera-filled path to a cleared-out area with a large rectangular stone. He digs a small hole a few inches away from the front of the stone and sets the flowers inside, burying the stems.
Koan: "Hey, Lia." He says, softly. "I'm sorry I haven't been back to see you in a while." He says, regretfully. "Things haven't been very good lately, but coming to see you always helps."
He sits on his knees.
Koan: "You know, it's been a while since I've told you your favorite story."
A dark-headed man stands on a beach with palm trees swaying as a light breeze flows. A sun sets in the background as he hears a voice.
Nurse: "Sir, your son's here." She said, smiling.
Dark-Headed Man: "He is?!" He said, estatically.
Nurse: "Yes!" She said, excitedly.
Dark-Headed Man: "Ok." He said, anxiously while walking quickly towards the forest.
The man arrives at a small house and throws open the door. The nurse follows him, and they walk into a room with a woman on a bed holding a newborn baby wrapped in a blanket. He walks to the side of the bed.
Dark-Headed Man: "Hey, are you ok." He said, worried.
Woman: "Yeah." She said, smiling.
He turns to the newborn baby and lays his finger on his cheek.
Dark Headed Man: "Hey, buddy." He said, softly.
He turns to her.
Dark-Headed Man: "What's his name?"
The woman looks up at him.
Woman: "Koan." She said, smiling.
Nurse: "The Warrior." She said with a slight smile.
They both look at her.
Nurse: "He was said to have freed Scarif from the Sith's oppression." She smiled. "He will bring great honor to your family."
The dark-headed man looks down and with a big smile he says...
Dark Headed Man: "Hi, Koan!" He said with a smile.
A mourning dove breaks Koan's focus as he finishes the story.
Koan: "They said the sun shined brighter and longer that day." He says reminiscing. "You always loved that story." He says with a slight smile.
He stands up, wiping the wet dirt away from his pants.
Koan: "It was nice seeing you, Lia, but I must be on my way." He says with a painful smile. "Goodbye, Lia." He says, bowing his head.
Koan then turns and walks back down the path toward his house.
Saku
Saku stares out of a window, resting her cheek on her fist, depressed by the dreary weather. She stands up and decides to explore the island. Grabbing an umbrella, Saku steps outside and walks along the beach with the light breeze flowing through her fur. She finally saw the island for what it was. The flowing coconut palms, waves crashing against the shore, vibrant sounds of creatures in the rainforest, and the rain falling softly on the green foliage of the endless jungle. She walks farther down the forest line until she comes across what looks like a path into the forest.
Saku: "Is this a nature trail?" She thinks to herself.
Saku decides to walk down the slightly overgrown path into the lush rainforest. The leaves brushing against her umbrella and the dark forest make her uneasy, but she ignores it and keeps walking. After a few minutes, she sees a brighter-looking area at the end of the path, so she goes a little farther and comes across a big cutout in the forest with an old wooden house in the middle, with strange earthen pots sitting outside of it.
Saku: "It looks like our cabin!" She thinks, perplexed.
Saku heads toward the house, surprised at how well-managed it is despite looking so old. She investigates the earthen pots, only to see rainwater inside them, so she continues towards the steps leading up to the house. After walking up the steps, she begins to knock but decides not to disturb whoever is inside. So, she walks down the steps, takes another look, and goes back down the path. Saku arrives on the beach after about seven minutes and keeps walking down the line of the forest until she gets to the plaza. She walks down the bright street, passing all the shops and cafés decorated with foliage and colorful flowers from the forest. She finally decides on a café and goes inside to grab a coffee and something to eat. She sits down after getting a coffee and cinnamon pastry. The smell of the café sends a wave of nostalgia over her as she remembers her childhood home. Saku felt warm thinking about her mother and how she would make her coffee and pastries just like the ones in the café.
Saku: "I miss her. I should go see her sometime." She thinks longingly. "I owe it all to you." She thinks, reminiscing.
Saku finishes her pastry and leaves after saying goodbye to the cashier. She steps outside, opens her umbrella, and walks to the cabin while sipping her coffee.
Tabi
Tabi lays down on his bed listening to music, when Nikusa walks in and stands in front of him. Her words are drowned out by the loud music, so he takes his headphones out to listen to her.
Nikusa: "Do you hear me?" She says, agitated.
Tabi: "What?" He said, taking his headphones out.
Nikusa: "Are you even listening to me?!" She says with anger.
Tabi: "Ni, I have headphones in." He says, dumbfounded.
Nikusa: Ugh, whatever. She says, annoyed. Do you wanna go to the plaza?
Tabi: "No."
Nikusa: "Come on, I wanna go." She says begging.
Tabi: "Sigh, fine." He says, unimpressed.
Nikusa: "Really?!" She says excitedly.
Tabi: "Yeah, let's go." He says, getting up.
Nikusa: "Yes!" She says victoriously.
They head out of the cabin and walk along the rainy beach toward the plaza. Nikusa and Tabi get to the stairs that lead up to the plaza's street, so they walk up to the street to see all the clothing shops, food stores, and cafés lining either side of the street. Nikusa sees a clothing shop that interests her and asks Tabi to go in.
Nikusa: "Can we go in there?" She asks while pointing at an expensive-looking clothing store.
Tabi: "Sure."
They go inside the store and are greeted by the cashier, who also recommends a few dresses and other clothes to Nikusa. Nikusa goes into one of the fittings rooms, while Tabi sits on the bench in front of them. He sits waiting for her, when he thinks about something that's been bothering him.
Tabi: "Who was that guy?" He thinks to himself. "What even happened?"
Nikusa steps out in a dark red dress.
Nikusa: "How do I look?" She asks smirking.
Tabi looks up to see her.
Tabi: "Beautiful." He says smiling.
Nikusa's smirk grows into a smile, and she goes back into the dressing room to try on more clothes. After Tabi buys a few dresses for Nikusa, they go across the street to a café to get coffee and food. That subject comes back to Tabi as he's eating, so he turns to Nikusa and asks her about the figure.
Tabi: "Hey, Ni?"
Nikusa: "Yeah?"
Tabi: "Do you remember yesterday when we saw that, guy?"
Nikusa: "What?"
Tabi: "You know!" "The guy in the black robe."
Nikusa: "Oh yeah, that guy?" She says after thinking for a few seconds. "What about him?"
Tabi: "Well, you know how when I looked at him, I got that sharp pain in my head."
Nikusa: "Yyyeah?"
Tabi: Why do you think that happened?"
Nikusa: "I don't know." She says, shrugging her shoulders. "Why do you care?"
Tabi: "It's just been bothering me." He says, concerned.
Nikusa: "Why are you so worried about some weird ass guy in a fuckin bathrobe?" She says in a snarky tone.
Tabi: "I don't know, I just got a really weird feeling about him."
Nikusa: "You're fine." She says, dismissing him.
Tabi looks up at her with a worried look. They leave after finishing their food and decide to go down to the beach. At the beach, they walk along the slightly wet sand, looking at the ocean and the rainforest that stops it. The rain becomes gradually heavier as they walk along the beach, so they determine it's time to go back to the cabin.
Nikusa
Nikusa wakes up to a world that seems just as bland and colorless as it was when she went to sleep. She gets off the bed and goes to the mirror, and when she looks at it her world seems more colorful and interesting. The world has hardly changed in its bleakness, but a few things always make it brighter. Nikusa walks out of the bedroom to the living room and sees Tabi sitting on one of the sofa chairs, listening to music. Suddenly, her world gets slightly brighter, so she walks over and hugs him from behind.
Nikusa: "Hey, Tabi." She says lovingly.
Tabi takes out one of his headphones.
Tabi: "Hey, Ni." He says leaning his head back into her.
Nikusa: "Where do you wanna go today?" She says in his ear.
Tabi: "Nowhere." He says bluntly.
Nikusa: "Huh, why?"
Tabi: "Because I don't want to."
Nikusa: "Humph, you're no fun." She says pouting.
Nikusa sits on a sofa chair beside Tabi and pulls out her phone. A little while later, Sarv comes out of her and Ruv's room.
Sarv: "Hey, guys!" She says with a cheery voice.
Nikusa turns to see Sarv, and her world gets slightly brighter again.
Nikusa: "Hey, Sarv!" She says happily.
Saku, who is sitting at the kitchen table, turns her head to see Sarv.
Saku: "Hey, Sarv!" She says waving.
Sarv: "Hey, Saku!" She says, almost yelling.
Nikusa's world becomes dimmer.
Sarv: "Why does everyone look so sad?" She says as she sits down on a sofa chair beside Nikusa.
Nikusa: "Well, it has been raining for the past two days."
Sarv: "It's just water." She says in confused laughter.
Nikusa: "I don't like that water."
Sarv laughs and stands up.
Sarv: "I'm going to go get my bible." She says, walking to her room.
Nikusa: "OK, I'll be in my room."
Nikusa stands up and goes to her room to get ready for the day.
Sarv
Sarv sits in the living room reading chapter four of Genesis in the bible. She finishes the chapter and thinks about what to do next.
Sarv: "Why don't I go see Ruv!" She thinks to herself.
Sarv gets up, walks over to her and Ruv's room, and opens the door. She sees Ruv lying on the bed, watching something on his phone. She walks over to him.
Sarv: "Hey, Ruv!" She says, ruffling his hair. "Whatcha doin'?"
Ruv: "Nothing." He says blankly.
Sarv: "Well, you have to be doin' somethin'." She says, smiling.
Ruv turns his phone around to show her that he's watching a Russian slapping competition. Sarv's smile turns into a frown.
Sarv: "Ugh, I hate those stupid fuckin' videos!" She says in a low voice.
Ruv turns the phone back around.
Sarv: "Sigh, anyways, I'm gonna go out, you wanna come?" She says flustered.
Ruv: "No."
Sarv: "Ok, well, I'll see you later!" She says, walking out the door.
Ruv: "Mhhm."
Sarv walks out of the door to see an empty living room. She goes out of the cabin and down the steps to the wet, palm tree-riddled beach. She remembers Saku telling her about a path leading into the forest not too far from the cabin. So, she walks along the forest line until she sees an opening. Sarv walks down the path slowly, taking in the beauty of the radiant and lush rainforest. Plumeria flower trees, coconut palms, sago palms, monstera deliciosas, canopy trees, vines, ferns, and many other plants that filled the rainforest. It reminds her of the garden where she has flowers and plants just like them. She stops to pick some orange and pink plumeria flowers when she gets a weird feeling. Not a bad feeling, just a strange feeling, and it makes her want to walk down the path even further, but faster this time. She quickly walks on the path until she comes across an open area with a house in the middle. She analyzes it and everything around it. Strange earthen pots capturing rainwater, a string holding bundles of what looks to be grass hanging underneath the house, and the house looking almost exactly like the cabin. She walks forward, looking at the house while passing it, until she sees a continuation of the path. Sarv decides to go down it when she gets that strange feeling again, but it's even worse. She feels like she's being watched, so she puts her hands together, bows her head, and closes her eyes.
Sarv: "Father, please protect me from whatever this is. Amen." She thinks to herself.
She walks down the second path a little bit until she stops. She gets a bad feeling, and the paranoia of being watched takes full control. She believes The Lord is telling her to get out of there. So, she turns around and runs back down the path like an antelope fleeing a leopard. Once back at the beach, she stops to rest for a minute, then walks shaken up back to the cabin.
Ruv
"What's the point of living if nothing makes you happy?" Ruv asks this question to himself all the time. He can't remember feeling any different. Some days, he doesn't even know how he feels.
Ruv: "Ugh, my back hurts." He thinks while getting up to stretch.
He lifts his arms up and backward while arching his back forward. He twists his back from left to right and decides to come out of his room to walk around. He steps out and starts his excursion around the cabin from the bedroom door. He sees Saku sitting on a sofa chair. She looks up to see him.
Saku: "Hey, Ruv." She says, smiling.
He looks over at her.
Ruv: "Hey." He says in a low voice.
As he loops around the kitchen into the living room, it comes to him again. "Her." That's the reason he keeps going. She's the reason he lives, to make her happy. But she doesn't need to know that. His face grows warm thinking about her. He reaches the bedroom, opens the door, walks over to the bed, and lays down, pulling out his phone to watch another Russian slapping competition video. He lies down thinking about how he feels.