Orange Sunday

There I sat, upon a bed of roses that overlooked a beautiful man. Although I could not see his face I knew that he was a Samurai. I knew this because, he was covered in blood. He was covered in such displeasing impurity because of me, to save me; (me of all undesirable people) His hair was shortened to his chin, chopped by a fellow sword in the height of battle.

I remember, simply sitting their in a solitary un-blood covered corner, watching his graceful shadow battle in the moonlight. It blocked his face, the silver steel shown in gore covered glory although it lay to momentary rest upon the ground, the pride vested in himself which left only his presence standing on the dirtied earth…

There was only a little bit of light, it was his clean skin that gave it off and showed me the way. He reached out for me in agony as he called my name. “Yuhi.” His voice was flaccid and his eyes were labored also hazed from that pretty color of gray sky. As I grasped his hand he clung to me. Standing their so small against a tall body so brave.

It was then it started to rain, the sky washed away the blood of the earth only so they could start again some other day. Still we stood there in some fantasy, in warm water that sprinkled down upon us brought by the heavens. I heard a noise, it came from a distance, upon it my ears twitched. I looked beyond his body to find and army. A gasp left my throat as I tried so hard to conceal it.

Lips moved but no words came free, something was shoved into my hand, it was to dark to see. He leant down to me and whispered a simple instruction. “Run.” Shoved, I stepped three steps back into the ever looming darkness with teary star stricken eyes. His body so elegant, fearless as he picked his sword up from

The tainted earth and stood to face what would be the end of his days.

As I turned my back to run, to do as he plead, I saw it on the ground in a heap, dead as the body that it lay next to, his hair. Once a beautiful thick silver, now it was the feeling of sea weed, darkness sparkled off it in the thick caress of blood, strands flew free of it as the wind tussled it so. His pride had long sense left him as I had realized, it was there on the ground.

Still it seemed beautiful, in a morbid sort of way, in any case. I ran, I heard the firing of guns and I heard the screaming of men. I covered my ears with the item he had given me clenched to tightly in my hand.

Desperately I ran, alone in my journey I feared, many things actually. I stepped, I tripped. Hands fisted first into the ground eyes that closed tight come impact opened with tears dreary in every way.

I looked down to my landing, gasped and cried as I shuffled away, a body had broken my fall. Never will I forget the dead looking eyes of something that once lived.

I ran, I ran as far as the eye could see and still I felt eyes on me, but it was ok, because I knew they were his. His soft gray sky colored eyes. I saw it then, I saw it in front of me what I thought was the sky. The rain poured now putting weight into my robes as I went, and eventually as I came to the sky, I had to stop.

It brought me to the edge of a cliff, so far down I thought that the sky was the opening right into the bowels of hell itself. The heat rising from the mountains was unmistakable, the mist that gave the air a looming feeling must have come from this place.

Then I heard nothing, silence. The stench of blood was soaked in the air, as I looked into this bottomless pit of doom, a loud scream came from the south it startled me, as I feared I recognized it. I felt a shove, a rock slipped up my feet and then I fell I remember the wind in my face and the fear in my eyes as I looked down into the lustrous pit of doom.

“Yuhi!” again, I heard my name but it wasn’t by the samurai I had left behind, “Yuhi!! Wake up! We’re going to be late for school!”

School? Who cared about school? I was falling to my doom! With nobody to save me! But finally as I could clearly see the bottom to my end, I felt it. Algid, water. I screamed and jumped looking around to familiar surroundings, it wasn’t a battle field, no. It was my bedroom set in the twenty first century.

I groaned as I realized that I had twenty minutes to be ready for my first class that day. Nobody cared, it was only home room .. Right? Wrong, “If you don’t get up mother will start yelling!” A loud squeaky voice threatened in my ear, her presence hovered above me, my sister.

The most obnoxious being on possibly the entire planet. I eyed her as I lay there with my face half covered by a white pillow its fluffy insides barely blocking out the loud noise coming from her vocals. “I’ll sick rofus on you! Now get up!” rofus? Yes, her stuffed dog.

“I’m up!” I said, groaning, sitting up like I had been summoned from the dead. It really felt like it then, I looked across the room only to see my reflection in the mirror that sat above my desk where school papers sat a mess and my clock radio was going off like it was nobodies business. What was that playing? Ayumi Hamasaki… I threw the pillow at it, causing it to slide off the end of the desk and fall straight into the trashcan, bingo.

I was left alone before I could say another word, sighing as I stood I stretched, the morning light was already coming from the window, I really was late now. I ran to my closet to get my uniform. . . At least, that’s what I usually did every morning.

I felt my face elongate, doom… My uniform was missing, and with fifteen minutes to get dressed this was nothing funny, I bolted down stairs, I could feel my hair standing on end but I knew this was just from the

Bed head from the night before, I hadn’t even bothered to run a brush through it.

“Mom!” I called for her, desperately like our house was on fire. Nearly knocking my older brother down the stairs I heard him say something but I ignored it. He looked a bit different today, I could barely see him out of the corner of my eye as I ran into the kitchen. Breakfast, yes! No, I missed it.

All dishes were clean and put away, she turned around with those eyes of hers, I hated the way they looked at me with concern and care. “My uniform?” She smiled brightly.

“Its in the washer, your going to be late again.” she scolded, but I didn’t have the time to listen to her speeches, I rushed down the crooked steep stairs into the basement washer, dryer room. Sighing a bit as I found it dark and empty like always, it creped me out to no end.

A mysterious, dark, laundry room was what we had. I kept my focus, I walked straight on the lighted path to the dryer, sighing heavily as I reached the white piece of machinery, I put my hand on it then gave my self a good pat on the back for a job well done.

Smiling a bit, I laughed at my own insecurities, afraid of a laundry room underneath the house, how lame was that? Well, it was all lame until I opened the door and grabbed my warm uniform. Something in a far off corner fell over for no apparent reason, I gasped and ran up the stairs, leaving the dryer door wide open.

Its light casting on the walls causing more shadows.

“Kazuno!” I clung to my uniform, as if it held the key to saving the planet. “Kazuno!” My older brother looked to me in disgust as ran to him with my fears.

“What?” he said, his voice was very flat and very emotionless, it always had been. Ever sense I could remember he had no feeling in his voice, or anything he did. Well, after father died.

“There is something in the washroom!” I knew I would have to convince him to get him to go down their and kill whatever it was. Instead he looked at me like I was joking, he picked up the rolled up newspaper like he was going to hit me with it, “No no!” I begged, “It knocked over the broomsticks in the corner! What if it’s a rat!” gloom came over my mothers face, I could feel it all the way across the room.

“Kazuno dear, I really hate rats, please go check on it?” she asked holding a wooden spoon tightly in her hands, nobody in the house was quite sure why mother hated rats so much. But she had this instinctive fear of them. When Kazuno saw those scared eyes of her he could do nothing but comply.

“Fine.” He said, taking to the basement, I followed close, but not too close behind him. Still clinging to my uniform, keeping the fabric warm? Who knew, his steps were quiet, mine were loud. He looked to me.

“Shh.” He threatened with his eyes, it was a deep gaze that seemed to go on for forever. I nodded as he ventured out on to the concrete floor of the basement, not me. Oh no, I stayed right there where it was safe on the stairs. He was just stupid, walking out there like that. But that’s why mother asked him to go check for these things and not me.

He sighed heavily as he turned on the light, standing underneath it he looked so strangely illuminated, “See?” he said, “nothing,” there was a moment of silence before the broomsticks moved again, although now on the floor, whatever it was, was big enough to move some broomsticks, I pointed and waved my finger.

“Your such a sissy,” he remarked, I growled at him from my safe spot on the stairs, I noticed he became a bit hesitant, walking over to the broomsticks in the corner he reached down with a slender hand and picked one up, even he was startled when the creature ran from the pile, I pressed my self against the wall until I saw what it was.

“Nazuoh!” I yelled, our cat. It ran past me and up the stairs, out of the basement and probably to a more comfortable spot in the house, my older brother picked up the fallen broomsticks and put them back into place. On the way out he turned off the light, I could feel him getting closer to me, his dark eyes, his dark hair.

It gave me a rather strange feeling, I shuttered in my spot as I held onto my uniform now he was standing in front of me on the staircase, so close I could smell him. “Grow up Yuhi.” he said to me, looking down on me like he always did. But it was then I knew he didn’t mean it, he smiled at me.

He went quietly up the stairs, and I followed in silence. Mother was in the kitchen waiting for us both, “what was it?” she asked and it would be my brother that would answer.

“The cat,” he gestured to the feline that lay now sprawled onto the back of the couch. She smiled and then shook her head, another sigh escaped my lips as I re-entered my bedroom to change. I felt different then I did when I woke up, which was nothing major I suppose. I changed into my uniform, clean and semi-wrinkle-free.

I was definitely late now, and going to miss home room. But, for now that was ok because there was no demon in the basement, my sister had gone to school with out me I would enjoy a pleasant walk with my MP3 player.

The only demons left for the day, were the ones that awaited me beyond the gates of the school yard.