"Do NOT look so smug
Himistu!"
"I would not dream of
it princess."
"OR mock me! How could
this have happened? He was miles underground! MILES!"
"Calm down Kakari, I
am sure an explanation will arise sooner or later."
"This was your doing
was it not Himistu! I should never have trusted you with my
plans! That was my first mistake!"
"A little paranoid are
we? Remember princess, I am the one helping you to the throne.
You wanted this man as your king and I agreed."
"Perhaps your plans
have changed. I do not want your assistance any longer! Get
out!"
"Very well, princess.
I will be expecting payment for my services shortly."
"Do not expect them at
all!"
"I see." Himistu
bowed deeply and was gone with a flowing flourish of his cape.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I walked a few miles before
I came to a small, somewhat deserted town. I'd had a sense of
urgency overwhelm me as Yakira's house disappeared into the
horizon. The burning sun did not give me time to dwell on it as I
hoped that I could find shelter from its stinging rays.
I noticed a wooden sign
staked into the ground reading 'Cadin' as I entered the desert
town. I found an abandoned building and leaned heavily on the
wall just inside the door. Sweat stung my eyes, my dry throat
begged for water. I rummaged through my backpack looking for the
canteen and just as I found it my eyes came upon a book. I sank
to the floor and took a refreshing drink from the canteen and
opened the dusty, old, brown, hardback book.
'A Tear in Time' read what
I could only assume was the title, perhaps age had erased it from
the front cover?
Below the title was a
picture of a nude, faceless, dark haired man and a golden haired
woman; they were laying on their sides facing each other, head to
feet - in a yin yang position. There was nothing sexual about the
picture. However there seemed to be some kind of power emanating
from it. A faint, white glow surrounded both of them and joined
together creating a ball of light between them. There were other
pictures of faceless people depicting the events of the legend.
'As
foretold the two would return to the land,
A loving gesture of Althena's hand.
One a matron of platinum hair,
And a raven-haired master whose destiny he is unaware.
These two
will grow amidst beings of the floating city,
Where the raven master will find no pity.
Only pain and suffering will they find there,
So flee they must and find themselves at the shrine of prayer.
The young
master's changes become stronger still,
He leaves the matron to seek his cure his fate to fulfill.
Death he
finds in an arranged contention,
Thereafter a blue matron revives him without vacillation.
In time to
come he sojourns with the fae folk,
There he reads the legend his other self he doth invoke.
Continues his
journey to the knowledge tower,
Only to find added doom his other self doth overpower.
The grains
fall and he awakens caged,
All the while the mistress of his meditations becomes enraged.
Rescued from
a certain demise,
To a village he travels the sought out truth doth materialize...'
I could hardly believe what
I was reading! My life... as if someone had written every move I
made! A wave of dizziness befell me and I leaned my head back
against the wall. That feeling of urgency was back full force, my
stomach nauseous. I closed my eyes taking in long, deep breaths.
The book dropped to the
floor as I rubbed the sweat from my eyes. At this moment I longed
for Kirei. I knew not why. The very idea was ludicrous! She was
in league with Ghaleon and the Vile Tribe sisters! Thinking back
now, she may well be dead by my very hands. Yet at the same time
I longed for Portia. My sweet Portia! I could not have known her
for more than a week...no, that was not true. I had known Portia
my entire life! By the Goddess how could I have forgotten? Our
role-plays as Ghaleon and Lemia when we were what, nine? Ten?
Portia would come to my house, my aunt in the kitchen baking
sweets that would surely rot our teeth! The time when my aunt
told me the truth about my mother... she had died when I was
born. I ran to my favorite place close to the edge of the city.
Portia had been there! I closed my eyes again, remembering...
"Hey! Where have
you been? You are gonna be in SO much trouble for not showing up
for your magic lessons!"
Stupid girl! Who cares?
... I killed my mama! You must hate me mama! Please don't hate
me! I'm so sorry... I wish that stupid girl would just go away!
"Yasuo? Are you
crying?"
"No! I'm NOT
crying! Go away!" I wiped my tears away before she could
see. "I want to be by myself!"
"Why are you being
such a baby!"
That's it! How dare that
dumb beast girl say that! "Shut up! You don't know anything!
You're just a freak! Yeah! That's what all the kids say! Even the
teachers! Why don't you go away you freak!"
Why isn't she going
away? And why was she just standing there looking at me like
that? It made me feel bad for what I'd said... is she crying?
Man! She is crying! I saw other kids from school looking at us.
Man!
"Hey uh, don't
cry."
"You're mean!"
She sniffled.
That bad feeling still
wouldn't go away... and she wouldn't go away either! "I'm
sorry."
"You're still
mean.. .but you're a boy so it's ok. Why are you sad?"
I was gonna tell her
that I wasn't sad... but she probably wouldn't have believed me
anyway. Stupid beast girl! But I felt like I was going to start
... crying... again!
"My mama is... is
dead."
She came closer and sat
next to me. "So is my mama... my papa died a long time ago
too. My granma says that he died of a broken heart. Did your papa
die of a broken heart too?"
I almost started...
crying... again. "No, he lives in Reza. I haven't seen him
in a long time. I don't really know him. He doesn't come to visit
me much."
"That's sad... but
at least you still have your papa. You're lucky! You got your
Aunt Juu right? I really like her! She makes the best candies in
aaaaall of Vane! We should go get some right now! I'm
hungry!"
Man, she was right! Aunt
Juu's chocolate was so good! I could already taste its sweetness!
I jumped up forgetting about my sadness. "Come on! Let's go
get some candy!"
Ah, how naïve I had been!
I had to smile at that memory. Whilst eating the sinful
confections Portia could not seem to hold her tongue and told my
aunt of my truancy! I had been detained for a week and was told
to stay after school everyday that entire week to make up for
that lesson.
Remembering that one event
opened the floodgates in my mind and suddenly I was recalling
what seemed to be hundreds of memories of the two of us! How
could I have forgotten such beautiful memories! What had changed
between us? Why had we grown apart in our latter years...
"Portia?"
"Oh Yasuo! It's
terrible!" Portia cried.
My aunt had given me the
note Portia had left for me. I was to meet her at our favorite
place. It was quite the emergency!
I sat next to her;
concerned I put an arm around her.
"What has happened
to have you so upset?"
She sniffled and wiped
her tears away even as more wetted her long lashes. "Well...
it's... it's Midare." She burst into another fit of tears as
my chest tightened with pure jealousy! I did not like the feeling
yet I could not push it aside.
I took a deep breath.
"So what has happened?"
"He choose Saru
over me!" She cried more.
I was at a loss. Saru
was not a raving beauty as far as I was concerned. I was quite
happy that Midare felt differently. That sudden unexplained
jealousy was gone, I'm not sure I even felt it now that I think
about it.
I sighed, I was sure
that my next words would be crucial... yet I could not think of
one thing to say to her. Instead I hugged her tighter. She hugged
me back! Now I felt an awkward and unfamiliar lump in my throat.
What was I to do!
She pulled away... but
not too far away. "I... I am sorry. Crying for no reason. I
knew he was in love with her. He is no real winner. Who needs
him? I may not be as pretty as Saru, but I am not ugly either! I
will find my soul mate! I will!"
She looked so beautiful
then, more beautiful than anyone or anything I had ever seen in
my life. The moonlight caressed her face just as my hand wished
to. Her eyes were so expressive, full of life and determination.
Her smile that lit up her features in such an amazing manner. It
was simply breathtaking.
"I think we should
kiss."
I choked. I must have
heard wrong... stay calm Yasuo ol' boy.
"Excuse me?"
"I said, I think we
should kiss."
She said it so matter of
factly. It was almost as if the whole reason for coming here had
not been because she was so heartbroken over some idiot from
school, but because of this one request that had my heart racing
like I had just ran a marathon around Lunar.
"Ok." Was all
I could manage in my dumbfounded state.
"This will not
change our friendship... it's just a... an experiment. That's
it."
Hey, I was ALL for
experiments... Kissing! Just kissing! I would not take advantage
of her, not like a lot of those mental midgets from school
probably would have.
"Ok."
"We are in
agreement then?"
"Ok."
I gently pulled her
closer and closed my eyes just as those soft lips were about to
touch mine...
"PORTIA!" We
jumped at least a foot apart! "By ALTHENA what are you doing
out at this time of night! And with THAT MISCREANT!"
As my face turned beet
red I noticed lights from various houses come on... oh no! I
wanted to sink into the ground.
"Granma! You will
wake the whole city! Please-"
"So be it! Maybe
embarrassing you will get it through your head that you have
BETTER things to concentrate on than THAT BOY!" She grabbed
Portia's arm tugging her along. Portia looked back at me with an
apologetic, flustered look. I did not blame her...
A bittersweet memory... We
had almost kissed that night. I remember all to well now that
later we had agreed to keep away from one another; the taunts and
teasing had been downright outrageous. I only wished to spare
Portia the embarrassment of it all. Yet it took a toll on our
friendship. We grew apart after that.
Tears welled in my eyes for
so much time lost. If only we had known what was to come! By
Althena I will see her again! I will hold her in my arms again! I
will kiss her! I will tell her that my heart has ached with love
for her since the first moment I saw her! It will for all time!
Goddess the pang in my heart now!
I cried then, it was too
much. Someone once said a man was a fool for crying that he was
weak. Then I am a fool, I am weak! Not even Althena herself could
know the love I have for this woman!
I dried my face, and looked
down at the fallen book. A gust of wind blew into the door-less
abode turning its pages. When it stopped my entire being froze. I
knew that if I touched the mirror that looked to the ceiling now
that I would feel its warmth. I knew that when I retrieved it
from the floor -- for I had no choice, my fingers curled around
the edges of the covers -- that I would hate what I would see...
§ Chapter 16 § Tear Main § Chapter 18 §
