Lingering Hopes by MidoriChi

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Prologue

The cherry blossom trees in the park shed their petals and sprinkled them lightly on the water of a lake below. The water rippled as each petal touched the water. The petals floated on the water resembling miniature boats fishing for the catch of the day. The colorful fish of the lake swam to the water's surface exploring the new environment of cherry blossoms. The brisk spring air was about. A gentle breeze tossed the pink snow around the park. A childish laughter was in the air emitted from three children beside the lake. They were basking in the sun, tackling each other, and simply just being kids.

The three kids swam through the sea of cherry blossoms as the petals soared through the air, two boys and one girl. One of the boys seemed to be the older of the two with a slender neck, strawberry blonde hair, and reassuring, jade eyes. The other boy seemed several years younger with his chocolate brown hair and glowing, baby blue eyes. Most likely the same age as the younger boy, the girl had dark red hair and glossy, silver eyes.

It was the beginning of spring, but winter was still in the air. The cherry blossoms had just awakened from a year of slumber. The sky was as blue as the little boy's eyes, and the petals brushed against their cheeks as they ran around the park.

They finally took a rest under one of the larger cherry blossom trees at the peak of a grassy hill. As the boys sat down, the girl fell across their laps. She looked up into the sky and asked the older boy a question, "Hoshi, how old are you?"

She had interrupted his train of thought, but he did not mind. "Hm? I'm eight years old. Why do you ask, Koi?"

Koi had caught a cherry blossom in mid-air and was now pulling off the petals one by one, "Just wondering." She then turned towards the other boy, "Sosuke, how old are we?"

Sosuke laughed and then sighed, "Don't you know Koi? We're already five. Before you know it, we'll be in first grade and going to school, like Hoshi."

"Is school hard, Hoshi?" asked the curious little girl.

Hoshi messed up her hair and stared into the light blue sky, "I wouldn't say it was hard, just difficult, Koi. Don't worry though. I'll be with you every step of the way."

"Hey!" Sosuke shouted out, "Why don't we make a promise? Like, one day, we could meet back here, in this exact spot, after ten years."

Koi scratched her head in deep thought, "Won't we always be together, Sosuke?"

"Of course, Koi. But just in case, we should make some sort of pact," answered the dark haired boy.

"And if we do meet back here, what would happen?" Hoshi wondered.

"We could play in the sun under the cherry blossom trees like we did today!" Koi exclaimed.

Sosuke and Hoshi shook their heads. Then the strawberry blonde boy said, "I know. After we meet, Koi and I could get married."

"What?!" Sosuke was shocked. "No way! Koi's gonna marry me!" The skinny, blue-eyed boy tackled his best friend.

"No! She's going to be my wife!!" retorted Hoshi.

The two boys wrestled and tumbled down the hill in friendly play. Koi chased after them with a smile. After several minutes, the boys decided on a draw and fell on their backs onto a soft pile of cherry blossoms at the bottom of the hill. As Koi tried to catch up with them, she tripped over an exposed root and somersaulted down the hill while screaming. Hoshi and Sosuke jumped up and ran to see if Koi was all right. As they approached, Koi was lying beside the lake with her right arm submerged in the cool spring water. When both of them bent down to check on her, Koi immediately splashed them with the lake water. Sosuke and Hoshi tackled Koi and rolled down the hill once more towards the pile of cherry blossoms. Once exhausted, they lied down in the sun to dry off from Koi's wet encounter.

Koi rolled over and stood above the boys' heads. She bent down and looked into both pairs of eyes, "I guess it's settled then. We promise to meet here again in ten years and one of you will marry me." She kissed both of them on the forehead and smiled.

The two boys blushed slightly and replied simultaneously, "It's a promise!"

Several hours later, Koi's name was called throughout the park and her brother appeared at the top of a hill. She regretfully stood up and kissed both of her friends on the cheek before running towards her big brother. Hoshi and Sosuke watched adoringly as she held hands with her brother while they walked off into the distance. Koi's little arm that was connected to her brother's arm swung back and forth as they walked. Her brother seemed grim and as they neared the black limousine, she could not help but deem that something was wrong. But as a child, Koi could not gather the courage to ask what this emotion that she felt and saw was. Her brother lifted her into the limousine and slid along side her as he shut the door. Immediately, the limousine drove off from the park and in a matter of minutes, they had reached the mansion.

Koi's father stood outside on the porch. The driver parked in front of the porch and opened the door. Her brother stepped out and without saying a word, rushed right past his father. Confused, Koi ran towards her father for a hug, but did not even receive a pat on the back. Through the open door, she could see a figure lying upon the leather couch in the family room. As the figure's face fell towards the side, Koi recognized the limp figure to be her mother and ran inside. She knelt by her mother's side and threw herself over her mother's chest. Knowing that her mother had been weak and fragile for several months, her mother had been in a health facility. Koi was now crying tears of happiness for her mother's return and yet sadness for the look on her mother's face.

Her mother was pale and cold. The eyes inactive and unmoving. Her face expressionless and mouth stretched open. Her thin red lips slowly fading to a dull purple. The arms limp and fingers stiff. The woman's chest was still and no sounds came from her. There was no steady heartbeat or wheezing of breath. Her mother was a still, limp, figure on their couch. She was a wax model for a museum. No matter how many times the doctor and the others in the room would explain, Koi did not understand the definition of death. She did not understand the disease her mother suffered from. All Koi wanted was to hear her mother breathe, to see her mother's brown eyes looking down upon her, to hear her mother's voice speak her name once more, and to be wrapped in her mother's arms and sitting in her lap before a warm, cozy fireplace. But her mother was gone, never to return.

Koi burst out of the room in silent tears and ran towards her father. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his arm. "Daddy! Daddy! What happened to mommy?" she urgently asked as she tugged at his arm.

He looked into the setting sun and then down at his five year old daughter behind his royal blue sunglasses. He spoke in a monotonous tone, "Your mother's dead, Koi. She's gone." He shook her off his arm and got into the newly arrived limousine where several of his social workers waited inside.

"NO!!! She can't be!!" Koi screamed. She chased after her father as the limousine drove off. When she tripped on a rock, she picked it up and threw it at the limousine. "Come back, DADDY!!" She lowered her voice and whispered to herself. "I want my mommy." She fell on her knees and wailed with all of her might.

"Mommy's gone, Koi. You don't have a mother anymore. She's dead. There's nothing you can do about it." Said her brother depressingly as he stood beside his crouched sister.

The red head looked up at her brother in disbelief and then kicked him hard in the shin. Then she ran. She did not run inside to her room. Koi ran out of the gates towards her friend's house, to Hoshi. Even though her brother called after her, she did not look back. After several blocks, she reached Hoshi's house. Still in tears, she rang the doorbell. No one answered. Koi ran to the back and looked through the windows. The house was empty. Koi shouted for Hoshi over and over again, but the air was silent. Then she heard a voice call out. She ran to the front yard and saw Sosuke.

"Hoshi's gone, Koi. His parents came and took him away."

Her voice was hoarse now, but she screamed Sosuke's name and ran into her friend's arms. He squeezed her tight, and she told him everything that had happened. Sosuke placed his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. Then he told her that everything would be all right. He reminded her of the promise that they had made earlier that day. The boy with blue eyes told her that if she was feeling down and lonely, she should think about the promise to help her get through the day. He wiped the tears from her cheeks and informed her that he was going to marry her someday. So she should not cry, but look forward for that day. Koi hugged him once more, and they sat on Hoshi's front porch looking out at the sunset.

Neither of them knowing that this would be the last sunset they would share for a long time.

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Author's Note :: (07-04-04)

I know that kids usually don't go running out in the streets alone or go playing around the park without supervision, but everything will come together in the later chapters. Your questions regarding the reality of this story will soon be answered in the chapters to come, so please do not email me saying that older brothers and parents would let the little girl do that. Thank you. ^_^

And I know that I used food like adjectives to describe their hair and stuff. I was hungry okay? XDD

Thanks for reading the prologue. Please review.

^^ MidoriChi