Orchid

Patches of sunlight shone down at the confused teenager. She tried to catch her breath, as she clutched the trunk and stood up unsteadily. She could not see the scientist's convention anywhere.
She began to walk, not really caring where she was going. She had no home, anyway. All she had was in the bag on her back, some clothes, a photo album, sustenance and some things of her grandmother. So many things had happened in the past year, dizzyingly fast. Her grandmother cruelly snatched from her by an evil force. A rage had gripped her and pulled her through foreign countries and faraway places, demanding she satisfied it with the blood of the man who murdered her family.
She saw the man in dreams. Sometimes he was leaning over her, smiling proudly and cruelly, a watery vision while she was under green liquid. Sometimes he was standing over a group of them, her brothers and sisters, angry and almost shocked at something they did. But she never heard him speak. They were rather like visions of a past life, something that she didn't know. Japan was a pretty place. She would have loved to come here on vacation with her grandmother. But her grandmother was dead. Again, the rage boiled, never surfacing but setting her grimly and ruthlessly determined to destroy him. But she didn't. She had stopped. She was afraid, and weak.
He will not leave immediately, she deducted, I will find him again, and I will kill him. I won't fail this time. And if I don't, I'll follow him, to the ends of the earth if I have to, but I'll kill him!

She kept walking, angrily, never tiring. She did not tire easily, unless she went a long period without drinking the sustenance. She still did not understand herself, even with her grandmother's explanation, but she knew she was very very strong.
She saw sky. Something was coming up ahead.
She found herself standing on the edge of a small cliff. There was a little trickling brook making a miniature waterfall down below. There was an establishment down below, surrounded by more thick forestry. A temple of sorts, with a courtyard. Maybe she could rest there, if they were kind. She guessed it houses monks or something stupid. Peaceful people who wouldn't mind feeding a poor girl.
Carefully, she climbed down the cliff, feeling her way down. It was hard to maneuver with the heavy bag on her back, but she needed those things; they were all she had.
Her foot slipped, and her jaws shut together tightly, as she made another foothole. Almost there. She did not dare look down. Well, maybe once.
The ground wobbled and came closer and farther away from her until she felt dizzy. It was still too far down to make a jump. Her foot wobbled again, but she hugged the cliff tightly.
Suddenly the rocks beneath her crumbled and she fell.
She shrieked shortly, but suddenly found herself on the ground, feet first... and she was all right. Somehow, she had jumped all the way down from nearly the top of the cliff without hurting herself. She didn't feel like she had jumped at all, just took a step down. How did I do that?
She stared up the cliff as she began staggering back. Weird.

She walked up to the entrance of the temple. It was a nice place; very clean and beautiful. She thought she would enjoy staying overnight here.
There was no door into the main hallway, it was simply open. She hesitated wondering if she should announce her entrance. It seemed abandoned. With her bag slung over her shoulder, she went inside.
"Hello?"
Her voice echoed off the halls. Such a simple place looked so grand and exotic. There was a bell at the back, and the wide open space was actually a training ground of sorts. There was a ring painted on the floor. What sort of monks are these people?
"I got lost. I'm only staying in Japan for a short time and I got lost. I was wondering if you could help me?"
There was no answer. She shrugged and explored the room. There was incense sticks in front of a marble statue of some god, and silk screen paintings on the walls. They were quite beautiful and she lingered by them, mesmerized by the color and detail. She wished she knew how to paint. There was not much opportunity to growing up in her cottage.
A loud voice broke her thoughts. She looked up. There was an old man standing at the door, looking angry. He said something to her in Japanese.
"What? I'm sorry, I don't understand, I don't speak- I'm not from around here."
"He's asking what you are doing here. This is private property."
She turned around to see a teenaged Japanese boy with beautiful almond-shaped eyes.
"I got lost," she repeated a little impatiently, "I was just wondering if you could help me, or maybe I could stay here overnight, or somewhere.."
The old man spoke in Japanese again. The boy said, "This is a martial arts school, and we do not accept visitors. If you continue on your right, you'll see the main road."
"I'm very tired, hungry and dirty. Would it kill you to give me a meal?" snapped Kayla. Then she paused. "Martial arts?"
"This is one of the best, and private schools for martial arts and ninjitsu," replied the boy as haughtily as he could in his halting English, "It is not open to many people. Especially girls."
"Oh please," she smirked brashly, looking the boy up and down, "It can't be that exclusive if you're in it. Heck, I could take you!"
The old man looked at the boy questioningly and the boy angrily relayed the message in Japanese. The old man surprisingly chuckled and replied back. The boy looked annoyed.
"He says that he wants you to fight me. If you can defeat me, then you may stay for the night."
She put her bag down and smoothed her dirty hair back. She felt very excited; she had fought very little in her life living the forest, but she liked to fight. She usually won.
He was not boldly confident, but he was totally calm. Surprisingly, he folded his hands together and bowed. Not knowing what to do, she clumsily tried to match his bow. He looked amused.