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JUST A MOMENT

I look up into the sky and saw nothing but bleak darkness. No star or moon was in sight to grace us with their shining mercy. I could hardly see anything around me. If it weren’t for the noises these people make, I won’t have the courage to go on in this thick forest.

The wind, though a whispery breeze, brought chills down our spine and we shivered for a moment. That was when Toushi, the lazy smart ass, suggested that we call this a night. Haru, the silent assassin, agreed and placed her burden on the grassy floor quickly relieving her shoulder of the heavy weight. Hikari was always a heavy sleeper; she never wakes up when it’s her curfew thus making us decide who will carry her when she starts drifting off into slumber land. Haru never minded having the extra weight on her, she might be an elegant woman but she can smash a boulder in one hit.

I looked around the area, trying to adjust my eyes more to the darkness, and found shelter under the shade of an old tree not far from where Hikari was sleeping. I curled into a ball and used my furry tail as a pillow. Adjusting my body a bit, I found a comfortable position and waited for sleep to take its toll. As I waited, I observed my companions as they tried to make themselves comfortable. Toushi sat with his back leaning against the trunk of a tree across me. He stretched his hands a bit before falling asleep. Toushi always found it easy to sleep anywhere no matter where he is – might it be standing up or while climbing a monkey bar. Haru slowly unbuckled her sword, Zangetsu, from her back and gently placed it on her lap like it was something fragile. I don’t know what secret that sword contains but I sure know that Haru will kill anyone who dared to steal it. She squatted down beside a rock and slowly fell asleep too. Meanwhile, the first to sleep, Hikari, splayed across the grassy land caring about nothing and no one. Oh how I hate her curfews.

Suddenly, I found it hard to sleep. Earlier I couldn’t control the drowsiness that lay on my eyes on our journey but now I could not bring them back. A moment of silence and soft snoring passed and I still couldn’t find sleep. Oh how I envied Toushi who could suddenly sleep with a snap of his fingers. That goes to show how lazy he was. Did I mention that he could sleep anywhere? Even when standing up? Yup, that’s the kind of person Toushi is but mind you, he’s the brains in this journey! Okay, he didn’t actually recruited us… it was more like we decided to tag along. Neither I nor Haru knew what force told us to follow this eccentric man. It just came up when we first met him. Maybe it’s because of his strange knowledge about everything that we found ourselves walking in the same path.

When I first met Toushi, Hikari was already accompanying him. Unlike Toushi, Hikari was more eccentric. She had this dual personality problem and each personality had curfews. Yes, curfews. Let me tell you her curfews. At exactly 6:00 am to 12:00 noon, Hikari was like an angel – so reflective and caring. A selfless human being who taught us about faith and God was her first personality. Her second personality came out during 12:01 pm to 6:00 pm. By those times, Hikari became completely opposite – from reflective and caring to bitchy and gothic. Mind you, she’s still the religious woman… but with a twist. So what would she do at 6:01 pm to 5:59 am? What she is doing now: SLEEP. Even though Hikari was like that, she’s very useful during battles when she’s awake. Toushi said they were childhood friends and though troublesome as it may be, he can’t turn her down when she asked to accompany -bother- him.

After that incident with them, I felt a sudden urge to join in their journey. That was then we met Haru. Not much was known about Haru but what’s sure was that she’s silent and moody. At times, I found her sulking in a corner while contemplating on her sword – which she named Zangetsu for a reason only she knew. We didn’t expect for her to join us but she did and after a few months of journeying with her did we found out she was an expert assassin who had a past no one dared to speak about. So we decided to shut our mouths and enjoy her company.

We’ve been together for almost a year now and we have been through a lot of hardships and trials. Despite the bad times, we still hung on and we don’t know why. We simply don’t know why we’re still together when it’s so easy to take a solo route. But we didn’t and that shocked us – all of , that was not important at the moment. Honestly, I didn’t care who my companions will be as long as I achieved my dream. Who am I? Why, I’m ‘Kookie’, of course. Not my real name, obviously, but that’s what the children in my village used to call me when they first saw me.

The wind blew again and I was glad that my fur provided enough warmth for my entire body. I hid my legs under my body to heat them up and got my ears alert for any suspicious sound. It’s easier for me to hear the faintest of sound because of my condition. Yes, I am far from human. I had 4 legs, brown fur, 2 large black eyes and a small nose of the same color. Once I had 2 legs, brown skin, 2 black orbs and a nose of a human… but that was before I was cursed. Now, I am in the form of a wolf – an animal. That’s why I journey, to find a cure for my curse. Still, it’s not bad to be a wolf since I could turn back into a human once every February 29 – leap year. Only on that day I would remember that I was once human but still, the feeling doesn’t last long. I’m still thankful, though ---

“Go to sleep, Kookie”, was the firm command from the silent assassin. She stared at me one-eyed.

“Hn”, was my simple answer.

She returned to her sleep and not long, I followed her.

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Yeah!! Placed in one story to avoid confusion. Reread and edited but not that much.