Kusabana Aijin

Chapter 1

Elora glared scathingly down at the intruder who had so rudely snuck into her yard, and let out a scream of rage. “You idiots! How much more of you do I have to deal with? HUH?!” She was painfully aware of the fact that her foot was covering his face, smashing it into the earth below - as well as into her mother’s prized begonias. “You petty thieves! It’s no thanks to you that I get any sleep at night! As a matter of fact, its BECAUSE of you that I can’t sleep at night!” she brought her foot up and back down again, slamming the intruder’s head into the dirt. A muffled cry could be heard, but Elora chose to ignore it for the sake of her next words. “Pitiful, useless, no-good -!”

“ELORA!!!” Her mother’s shriek rang in her ears, and Elora ducked to the side to avoid having her ear forcibly grabbed by her mother’s outstretched hands. A few seconds later, the light outside switched on, and Elora’s mother and father stood there, clad in nothing except their nightgowns, looking positively furious at having been awoken from their “much needed beauty sleep“. Elora lifted an eyebrow.

“’Lo Mum, Da. I’ll be with you in a minute, I just have to deal with this idiot first…” she nudged the intruder with her toe. However, before her next choice of actions could be taken, her mother grabbed her roughly by the shoulders and dragged her inside while her father glared down at the intruder. Elora sighed as her mother slammed the door behind them and dragged them to the kitchen, throwing Elora towards the chair in the corner while she took the chair nearest the entrance. She didn’t offer Elora soothing teas, or something to “calm the nerves” as a regular mother doubtlessly would have. Instead, she poured a glass of milk, disappeared into the bedroom she shared with Elora’s father and came back moments later, smiling oddly.

“Here, Elora dear. Drink this.” She pushed the cup across the table to the girl, then stood and watched her with eyes that betrayed something sinister. Elora held her gaze calmly, her head atop her interlaced fingers. “If its all the same to you, mother dear, I’d rather not.”

“Why not? What’s wrong with it?” Her mother snapped. Elora smiled. Her mother’s eye twitched. “Besides the fact that there’s a ninety-nine percent chance you just drugged my drink? Nothing.” she gently pushed the cup back to the center of the table. “So, if its all the same to you, I’d rather avoid the beginning of what is promising to be a very nasty conflict between the three of us, and go up to bed.” She started to rise from her chair.

A slamming of the back door told her that her father was back. After a moment of silence, his presence filled the doorway, and he glared at her from over the top of his glasses. Elora didn’t move - nor did she react in any way. Her gaze met her father’s, and it became a matter of dominance. That in mind, Elora knew that if she kept that wall between them long enough, eventually she would win. Unlike her parents, who claimed to be specialists when it came to child care, Elora could turn the people on one another in a heartbeat, and win a glaring war with ease. None matched her when it came to disobedience, and so far, no adult had managed to curb that vicious tongue of hers.

‘A termagant with sandpaper for a tongue’ I believe is how the teachers at school describe me. A wicked grin split Elora’s face at the thought, causing her father’s face to turn a beet red. Her mother made a sort of whine in the back of her throat. Both knew that Elora didn’t smile much, and whenever she did, it was usually something troublesome or worrisome.

“Elora, stop that!” Her mother commanded, her voice trembling. Elora’s grin vanished, and she tilted her head as she examined her mother. “Why? Aren’t I allowed to smile?”

“NO.” Her father interjected, and Elora stifled a laugh. Her father was trying to prevent her from smiling? This was certainly a new tactic. I wonder what war they intend to wage tonight? Perhaps the one about my poor behavior? No, no, better yet, the one about how my grades are failing and I am an utterly worthless daughter who spends too much time locked up in her room, ignoring the world. Now that’s a decent battle. At least if we fight over that, I can entertain myself for a few minutes. A new smile caused her lips to twitch, but she forced it down.

Contrary to popular belief, Elora wasn’t cruel to her parents or even disobedient because she wanted to be. Rather, it was because she was a free spirit, and needed her space. Her parents had never really had time to discipline her when she was young, and so she had breezed through life pretty much by her own rules. And now that she was older, those rules got her in trouble - a lot. Her parents tried their hands at fighting her, and getting her to “behave like a proper young lady”. Alas, the early years came back to bite them. Elora was not untamable, but she was pretty damn close. And as far as she was concerned, parents had no right to try to control the lives of their offspring, especially when their own lives were going so poorly. That opinion must have shown on her face, because her father’s face grew stony, and her mother sighed. “Elora, please.”

“Please what, mother dearest? Am I not being a “perfect lady” like you want me to be? Am I being a “disgrace” again?” Her own eyes grew distant, and something like a veil began to cover them. Sighing, Elora pushed her way past her mother and father and headed upstairs to the attic she had called her home for the last few years of her life. Her mother called after her, “Elora, come back down here! This is a serious matter, you can’t just walk away!”

The hell I can’t. To you, everything’s a serious matter. I’m tired of being stuck as the target in this house. If you want to pester someone, pester Da about how he’s never around when you need him. About how he abandoned us for twelve months and then just walked back in without even telling me who he was. About how he’s been having affairs with all those women down the street, and acts like he hasn’t. And while your at it, scold yourself for always noticing, but never saying anything. For causing this family to have the troubles it has now. Because it really is all your fault.

“Elora!”

“Go away.”

Her mother rushed after her, grabbing her arm in a vice grip. “Come back down here! I’m not through -”

“Save it. I’ve had enough of your ‘come back here’ and ‘listen to me’ speeches. Every time something in this household doesn’t go your way, you always have to bitch about it. And I’m always your target.” At this, Elora turned to look at her mother, who had frozen, eyes wide. “You and dad don’t care what happens to me. If I died, you’d be happy. Then you wouldn’t have to deal with your “disgraceful” daughter anymore, and you might actually start blaming dad for what he’s done to our family.” Her voice was cold. Elora’s mother stepped back and gulped. Pressing a hand to her heart, she said in a shaking voice, “Your father has done a great service -”

“To everybody but us. Face it mom. He sleeps around, he spends money gambling; he’s basically torn this family apart, and you keep turning a blind eye. It won’t go away mom. It never will, no matter how many times you pray. This is one matter in which God won’t answer.”

That said, Elora turned away and yanked her arm from her mother’s limp grasp before climbing up the remaining stairs to her home realm.

God doesn’t care what happens anymore. We’ve lost His interest.

“Sit down, Elora.”

Elora groaned at the absurdity of it all. Did God intend to punish her for last night? Perhaps so, because when she had come down for breakfast that morning, her mother and father had been waiting for her. Her mother had a pad of paper in front of her, and a pen close by, ready to evaluate her daughter’s behavior. A silent thought crossed Elora’s mind as she leaned against the wall. It doesn’t how much she talks about child behavior and the things wrong with me. I stopped caring when she told me I was an idiot for not getting a perfect ‘A’ on that quiz. I stopped caring when she told me that a good daughter would come home with straight A’s, and that my pitiful C’s weren’t worth looking at. And I stopped caring when she told me that I’d never amount to anything with my attitude, and I need to stop acting like I own the world.

“Elora, didn’t you hear me? I said sit down.” Her mother’s voice was snappish, and Elora turned her eyes away. “I’d rather not.” She murmured quietly. The scratching of the pen annoyed her, and she shouldered her nap-sack up a little higher. That was all she ever carried when she went to school. A small nap-sack filled with a pencil, an eraser, a bottle of water, a small snack and a pad. Another topic her mother loved to nag about: her poor skills in preparation.

“Elora, come here.” Another command designed to help her mother evaluate her. Elora gave a small sigh. What was the point of being here? She would be better off going to school early and helping the janitor clean the hallways. As she stalked off, she heard her mother rise from her chair and begin following her. Elora didn’t question her mother’s actions, merely ignored her and kept walking. Doubtless this was another “walking session”, in which Elora’s mother followed her to her school and then to her classes and evaluated her based off her actions. She was crazy like that. As Elora took her daily walk to school, she heard her mother’s cell ring and then die as her mother answered. Hearing her mother snap to the person on the other end of the line, Elora took the chance to duck into the thick woods beside the road and make a run for it. Her blood ignited with the sudden desire to run, and speed was granted to her. The trees rushed by, and the leaves on the ground felt like walking on the clouds. She didn’t hear anything apart from the whispering of the trees and her own ragged breaths as she increased her pace. Running kept her concentrated on the tasks needed from her, kept her content. Without the ability to run, she would have lost her sanity long ago.

Eventually, she came to a fork in the road. Carefully Elora slowed down, and then stopped as she gazed at the old signs. Someone who was new to the town would look at the signs and find them impossible to read. But Elora had been in the town awhile now, and had memorized what was written on them. The left sign held a message of comfort. “The Angels watch for those who are worthy to receive our praise.” The right sign held a message of reality. “Those who are not like us are not worthy.”

Closing her eyes, Elora conjured up the pictures in her mind she had spent most of her earlier years perfecting. The pictures that had come from her grandmother’s stories. Even now, in the middle of the empty road, in the silence of the early morning, she heard her grandmother’s voice.

“T’was a very long time ago. God had not yet been born, and Earth was not quite populated. There existed no animals, no humans of any kind. But there were plants. Many plants of all shapes and colors, of all varieties. And inside these plants, there lived devious little entities known as the Flower Fairies.” An image of a tiny person with long twig-like limbs and purple hair came in mind, and another smile curved Elora’s mouth. “Hello, Gamma.” she murmured the fairy’s name lovingly, and the fairy turned to bow to her.

As her mind turned to continue the story however, a long, drawn-out scream of her name made her jolt. “ELOORAA!!”

Spinning around, Elora was confronted by the sight of a young brown-haired girl running towards her, her bag flouncing everywhere as she ran. “Waiit for meeeee!!”

Elora’s next grin nearly split her face in two as she laughed. “Amber! What are you doing here? I thought you were sick!” she called out, her mood lifting. Amber was a year younger than her, but was also one of the kindest people she knew. Although clumsy, she was very devoted to whatever it was she did, no matter how difficult.

Amber was out of breath when she finally reached the older girl and had to drop her backpack to lean over and catch her breath. “Whoa, calm down there girl. Breath. In, and out. In and out.” Elora teased, watching as Amber’s face lit up with embarrassment. “Sh-shut up! Stupid! If you had just slowed down, I would have been able to catch you, and we wouldn’t be having this conversation!” Amber snapped, although her voice carried little bite to it. Elora shook her head and gazed up at the sky. The colors of the morning were fading, and with it, a tiny part of Elora. Dawn and dusk, as well as the earth around her, made her feel…different. When she was cooped up inside the school or home, she felt too human. Too pitiful, too dirty. But when she was outside, in the open air, with nobody around except the plants and sky, she felt more in-tune with nature. She felt like she belonged somewhere. Like she was safe from the world, if only a little bit.

“Why were you running, anyway? Let me guess: your mom’s at it again? This is what, the fifth time she’s done this?” Amber chatted away happily, having regained her breath and slung her backpack back on. The two of them began to walk down the leafy path again, Elora being careful to step over the long tangles of ivy that lay on the path. The forest was a sacred place, a secret hideout the adults had yet to pay attention to. Nobody knew how the forest had managed to grow in such a desolate place, seeing how the rain barely touched the forest ground when it did storm, and the sun burned heavy down on the leaves. Elora didn’t question it, even if her curiosity sometimes threatened her. Some things were better off being enjoyed rather than questioned.

As they drew near the roads again, Elora felt a pair of eyes gazing at her from behind. She didn’t turn around, nor did she stiffen. Instead, she rolled her shoulders and dropped back behind Amber a little more. Amber, for the most part, was too busy chatting away to notice the sudden absences of company. Elora waited until Amber was almost gone before speaking.

“I don’t know who you are, or what you want. You could just be out for a walk. But whoever you are, I trust you will not harm the innocent. This place is very sacred, and to call war in such a place is to bring the wrath of the gods down upon you.” She paused, listening carefully. The person was still nearby, because the feeling of being watched hadn’t left, nor had the bugs started talking again. She took a deep breath, let it out, and then carefully turned around.

A young man stood there on the path, gazing at her with an expression that matched a wild animal that knew it was in no immediate danger. He seemed so calm…a part of the forest really. They gazed at one another for a long moment, sizing each other up. Elora showed no fear, but neither did she show arrogance that a normal human would when dealing with situations like these. Instead, she stayed calm and content. The male, whoever he was, cocked his head and blinked in a surprised manner. Had he been expecting fear? He didn’t seem the type to prey on little kids, nor stalk, but in this town, you never knew.

“You are…Elora, correct?” his voice was quiet. Elora nodded. The man bowed his head in a sign of respect. “I am your grandmother’s messenger and caretaker, Ebony. I was tasked with passing along something.”

Elora quickly bowed her head in reply, and he came forward at an easy stroll. Gently taking one of her wrists, he dug in his pocket and removed a small silver ring with a gem in the middle of it. He placed it on her forefinger and then let her hand go. Elora examined the ring with interest. For the most part, it was fairly simple, with little squiggles carved into it. The gem, on the other hand, was odd. It was crystal by the looks of it, but it held all the colors of the rainbow in it. Gazing down on it, she felt a sense of extreme rationality come over her, as well as a sense of familiar homeliness. A smile played her lips, and she looked up at Ebony. “Please pass along to my grandmother that I am extremely grateful for her gift, and I will come along later to give her my compliments on it. Oh, and thank you as well.” She bowed twice, once for her grandmother, and once for Ebony. The male blinked in surprise, before a smile softened his features. “You are welcome, granddaughter Elora. I will pass along your message, and look forward to seeing you again.” He bowed his head once more before turning around and heading back down the path. Elora did the same.

As she walked back towards where she’d left Amber, her fingers brushed against the ring and she smiled. Maybe today wouldn’t be so bad after all.

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Songs used (In order): Plazma - Lonely,

Plazma - Lonely 2

Trading Yesterday - Love Song Requiem

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“Would you still remember me, even if I am a “disgrace?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps.”