Friday, September 22, 2006
HeartSong
Chapter One: I’ll Wait For You.
Tayuki dashed out at noon and smacked into someone. Muttering an apology, she looked up to see Kai’er, smiling down at her. She gasped in horror.
“Kai’er? What are you doing in your home clothes? School’s at one!”
“There is no school today.”
“What? Why?”
“Founder’s Day. Gees, your memory is depleting.”
“Founder’s Day…oh yes. Great.”
Now, Tayuki had the entire afternoon to check out the Takahashi Shack. She grinned gleefully at her boyfriend, who continued smiling.
Suddenly, someone knocked into Tayuki hard, causing her to fall onto Kai’er. She gasped and looked back, to see a white blur and a splitting image of a beautiful man with the silver mane of hair…
They fell with a crash on the pavement. Everyone present stared at them in as their awkward position was attracting attention. Blushing to the roots of their hair, they untangled themselves and stood up.
Tayuki took Kai’er’s arm and whispered, “I need you to come with me to investigate something. Please, it’s urgent.”
Kai’er grinned. “Oh? Want to become a policewoman now, eh?” He laughed. “All right. What do you want to investigate? The toilets for drug abusers?”
Tayuki looked into Kai’er’s eyes and said, “No. What I want to investigate, in fact, is a place. The Takahashi Shack.”
Kai’er’s eyes dimmed down and he stopped grinning. He looked appalled by her sentence.
“What? But it is forbidden! You and I both know that!” he exclaimed.
“Shush! It is really, really, important to me, Kai’er! I’m begging you now! It’s about this girl named Akari who disappeared in the Shack. I want to check it out.” Tayuki hissed pleadingly. She looked up at him appealingly.
He hesitated, then nodded, smiling.
“Okay. Whatever you want.”
Tayuki jumped with joy, and dragged Kai’er down to the Shack. Defeated, Kai’er followed his enthusiastic girlfriend, he felt a stone sink into his stomach, and felt that something bad was about to happen, but he shrugged it off.
They sprinted back to Tayuki’s home, past her home, and to the Takahashi Shack. Its history was long and unknown, it could not be demolished due to its historical value, and therefore it was left there, untouched.
Tayuki felt anticipation rise in her chest as the Shack came into view. She beckoned to Kai’er and raced forward, and he followed.
Before she could step into the Shack, Kai’er grabbed her hand to stop her. She looked back at him questioningly.
“Look.” He said, pointing to the ground. She drew back and saw words, engraved on the ground neatly.
Those who step in may step out
Those who seek in may not seek out.
Tayuki looked suspiciously at Kai’er.
“Are you scared of spooky poems?”
Kai’er hesitated, then replied, “You’re seeking for something, aren’t you?” Tayuki laughed.
“You’re scared!”
Kai’er grabbed Tayuki and the shoulders and shook her lightly, which made her stop laughing. She looked at him.
“Listen Tayuki…”
“I am…”
“I think we better heed the warning. That person you mentioned went in there and disappeared. It was many years ago, when we were only babies. In fact, it was sixteen years ago.” He said.
Tayuki stood, her arms akimbo.
“Heed the writing on the floor? You don’t even know if its true- wait! How to you know?” she paused.
He turned away.
“I was the one who made her disappear.” He replied quietly. “Sixteen years ago, she played ball with me, I threw it too hard accidentally into the Shack. The person’s grandmother refused to let her into that wretched place, but I cried…”
Tayuki listened, shocked at what she was hearing.
“The person felt very sorry for me and was determined to get back the ball, even though it wasn’t an important thing. She went in there with her grandfather, and I never saw that person again.”
Tayuki nodded slowly, then said, “All the long you were talking, but I never hear you use a pronoun. All I hear is this person, that person- why? Do you know if that person is a female or a male?”
Kai’er shook his head slowly. “I was three back then. I can’t remember anything in great detail. Not even the gender of the kind person.”
She reached out and took his hand gently. He looked at her to find her smiling at him softly, but sincerely. She hugged him.
“It’s okay, Kai’er. I’m not blaming you. It’s just that…I really, really want to help Hana find her granddaughter.” She said. “I’m sorry.”
Kai’er smiled softly, then hesitated before saying, “Be careful.”
Tayuki nodded. She turned and took a deep breath.
“Wait for me outside here, won’t you, Kai’er?” she said. Kai’er nodded.
“I’ll wait for you.”
“Good! Don’t come in no matter what happens, if I scream, go get help. It won’t do us any good if both you and I are stuck in the Shack. Who knows what will happen?” she said. Without hesitating, she opened the door and stepped through it and disappeared through the walkway.
Kai’er stood, worried at the doorway, wishing that he had went in with her. He took a step forward, making a decision to go in, but Tayuki’s meaningful words found their way into his head. Sighing, he leaned at the fence, trying to relax, but he found himself all tense.
Tayuki strode into the Shack. Unlike what she expected, the place was especially clean. Not a dust bunny was found, nor a cobweb, the place was amazingly squeaky clean. It was a simple place, only a table and a chair filled the room. A door, slightly ajar, was calling out to her. She thought she heard whispers behind the door. Excited, she crossed the short room and yanked the door open.
A bed with a cardboard, which were ancient, was placed innocently in the cramped room. At the corner of her eye, something shone brightly. Curious, she stepped into the room and before she knew it, she was falling into nothingness.
She screamed, “Kai’er!”
And at the back of her head, the same words Kai’er said earlier rang hollowly.
“I’ll wait for you.”
Signing
off, [Shoujin] the [Cabbage].
...
