Chapter One:
The Moon's Silhouette
As it dances in her memories
"I remember it only vaguely, as I was only a child at the tender age of five. My life took a sudden twist, and nothing was ever the same again. It started on the night before my fifth birthday..."
I had woken up screaming from the most terrifying nightmare I've ever had. My heart refused to halt its incessant pounding on my chest, and cold sweat appeared in beads all over my forehead. A small hand automatically went to my face and started brushing the beads aside. I sat in the bed for some time before my tiny legs found their way to the ground and eventually into my parents' room. The looks of concern on their faces lifted my mood as I crawled into the bed with them, falling asleep almost instantly. If you ask me now what this nightmare was then all I can say is this.. It was something very strange, like someone or something was forcing me to raise a weapon to my own parents. I shudder at the thought to this day. The next day when I awoke, I could remember nothing from the night before. I didn't give it much thought as I got out of bed and went downstairs to say goodmorning to my parents. I received a hasty exclamation of 'SURPRISE!' when I descended the final flight of stairs and almost fell over backwards from the shock. Confusion riddled my face before I remembered with a jolt of glee that today was my fifth birthday. The greatest surprise came when I opened my mouth and tried to giggle and jest about how unsurprised I was. No words would come. Panic fought common sense and I opened my mouth to scream. Once again, no sound came. My mother was the first to react to this as she saw the fear in my eyes, and came over to assess the problem. I tried talking again, but just like the first few times, nothing. I ran upstairs to my room quickly, and was happy that my parents didn't follow. I didn't want them to see the tears freely streaming down my face. I found a small notebook and a pencil and quickly wiped my face of the tears before I went back down the stairs, opening the book and beginning to write. It was the same careless scribbling that every child at that age would make, but it was clear enough to discern the words.
"I CANT TAaK!"
I remember writing it exactly like that, with the exclamation mark at the end, forcing my parents to see the truth in my words. My dad was the one to move as he gathered my small self up in his arms and proceeded to bring me through the door with my mother following close behind. We arrived at the doctor a few minutes later and were admitted immediately. My mother hastily explained the situation to the doctor and asked what had caused the problem. The woman ran many tests. Tried all sorts of healing techniques. She even took a sample of my blood for processing to search for any sort of bacteria or otherwise that could have caused it. Nothing turned up results of any kind. Feeling defeated and at a loss, my parents brought me back home and brought me to my room, sitting in two chairs across from me as I sat on my bed. The forlorn looks on their faces made me sad, and, realizing that I could say nothing to comfort them, I thought to myself, "Please don't be sad". They looked at me as if I had just slapped them hard across the face. They sat with frozen miens, forcing me to jump off the bed and walk over to them. "What's wrong?" I thought. Their heads moved from their frozen positions to look down at me. They got up from their seats and began taking quick steps backward to the door, only stopping once they saw the tears on my face. My mother exchanged frightened glances with my father before they both calmed down enough to make their way over to me slowly and pick me up. It was already getting very late, and my parents and I slept in their room that night, all wondering what had just taken place in my room.
...BOOM! CRASH! THUD! AAAGGGHHH!! The explosions. The crashes. The screams. I ran as fast as my tiny legs would allow. I didn't spare a second glance at the chaos behind me as I kept going. It was strange. I could hear the persistent laughter of a male in the background, and the more I ran, the closer I seemed to be getting to the scene behind me. When I stooped and covered my head with my hands, the scenery changed to me standing in my parents bedroom, on the bed, looking down at both of their lifeless bodies with blood soaking the sheets. I was nowhere near a mirror to accurately describe the look on my face, but what I felt was horror. Complete and total horror. When my mind finally began to register what had happened, I felt something cold in my right hand. My eyes quickly darted downward to glare holes into my hand as I realized the knife. I tossed the weapon with as much strength as I could muster and opened my mouth to scream. The satisfaction of the sound never came. I was thrust out of my parents room with an unseen force an pinned onto an imaginary wall. Before I could really register anything that was happening, a man's silhouette stepped out of the shadows and stood before me. He had a long cloak that covered his entire body, and the shadows cast by the moon did their jobs to perfection, hiding his face from my gazing eyes. He stared at me for a long while from what I could tell, and when he finally spoke, his voice came out as powerful throaty whisper. "Sweet girl, don't be afraid of me. I wont hurt you. I would never harm a delicate little flower such as yourself". His hands moved slowly toward me, sweeping gently across my face before they retreated. A slight sting streaked across my face on the route his hand took. "Until we meet again, my dear".
With that, I woke up from my nightmare, gasping for air with my fingers dithering violently. I grabbed my pillow off the bed and went to do what I had been doing for the past few nights. Once I reached my parents' door, I opened it and entered quietly, not wanting to disturb them. I crawled into the bed in between both of them, laying my head down and closing my eyes. They opened the very moment they closed, and the smell of blood pervaded my sense of smell. I got up quickly and looked at both of them with my heart pulsating against my chest. What I saw was their lifeless frames, exactly like what I had seen in my nightmare. I got up from the bed and went to stand beside it. The blood that had found its way all over my clothes and body never registered as my eyes caught yet another thing from my nightmare. The same knife that I had held in my bloodstained hand lay beside my mother's face. The tears came in torrents as I tried desperately to scream, yet still no sound would come. I ran from the house, falling several times, but still going regardless of the blood of both my parents and myself that trailed freely from my body. I stopped in the streets as I realized that my nightmare was reality. The small once peaceful village was now on fire. I could feel all the pain of the people and the animals close by. It made me want to fall to the ground and just die then and there, yet somehow I managed to resist the urge. I turned around slowly to see the damage that had been dealt to my own home. Nothing. There was nothing wrong with it. Yet that was what seemed the strangest in my mind. Why was my house the only one that was not subjected to the wrath of the blaze? The tears continued as I ran down the street, trying to drown out all the cries for help that seemed to bombard the recesses of my mind. I reached the exit of the village in minutes, but I never stopped running until I was a good distance away. I slowed to a walk before I stopped completely, turning around slowly to see the damage caused. There was nothing left of the village, as most of the buildings had already become one with the ground. I turned around and walked slowly into the forest, allowing the darkness to entangle me in its embrace.
I woke up in answer to a scream in the depth of night. I slowly rose from where I had collapsed on the ground and rubbed my eyes. The scream came again, causing my entire body to turn in its direction and forced my little legs to move forward. I had finally arrived at a clearing in the forest, and what I saw made me want to turn tail and run, but my stubborn curiosity got the better of me. I stood and watched the scene unfold before me. "You b***h! What the ******** do you think you're doing?!" I winced as I saw the bulky man hit the woman hard across her face, sending her flying a short distance to his right. Tears fell from her eyes as she held the wounded cheek with her hand. A boy that was around the same age as myself ran up to the woman and started crying too. "Mommy, mommy", he called. The woman quickly hugged the boy tightly and pushed him behind her, telling him to run away quickly. The boy never managed to take so much as a step before he was hoisted into the arms of one of the three strong men. The man who had slapped the woman began to laugh rambunctiously, forcing my eyes away from the boy to him. "Since you just can't wait, I'll use you right here". I didn't know what he meant by that until I saw what he was doing with my own eyes. He began to divest himself of his pants and was grinning wickedly as he shoved himself into the woman's face. She got up and tried to race to the man who held the little boy, but was quickly accosted by the third of the large men and held in place. She screamed again, but all it won her was another hard slap across the face as the man who was now sans pants stood before her, forcing his sexual intent onto her as he kissed her feverishly.
I do not know why I did it, and looking back, it was probably the stupidest decision I've ever made. I peeled myself from my hiding place among the trees and found myself running up to the group while screaming frantically in my mind. I did not know at the time whether it would work or not, but I got my answer when I saw the three men release their captives to quickly cover their ears. This seemed to do nothing to help their situation however, as they writhed on the ground with their eyes tightly shut. The woman went over to the boy and gathered him up before she ran over to where I stood in the open and dragged me along behind her as she ran. I had stopped my mental screaming and tried to keep up with her pace. The men seemed to not be affected by the scream anymore as I heard footsteps blazing a trail toward our little trio. The woman was not fast enough, though I wonder if it was my fault since I was slowing her down. They caught the three of us and knocked us out immediately.
I woke on an actual bed, in an actual room, actually feeling relaxed. That ended on an abrupt note however as I recalled the events that had transpired before. I sprung off the bed and dashed to the door, throwing it open without thinking. I began running forward, but was grabbed from behind suddenly. I felt the wind leaving my body, racing forward with the momentum of my sprint. I found myself being held in strong arms as I wriggled, trying to get free. When this did not work, I flailed, sending my hands and feet in every direction. The hands that held me were persistent, and only after I felt a vibration coming from behind me, accompanying the sound of deep laughter did I stop my struggling and calm down. I was about to do the same thing I did before, scream and cause the man to release me, but, though being so young, I realized that I should not reveal all my secrets until it was absolutely necessary. The man seemed to sense my relent, as he put me down lightly on my feet. I turned around slowly, looking up at the large man towering over me. He was a giant as far as I could remember. Yet I couldn't help but think that he was the most handsome man I've ever seen. It wasn't only his muscular build or his beautiful face, but the softness I saw in his eyes that made me feel safe around him. He stooped down, not exactly reaching my level, but only slightly above me. When he spoke to me, I all but jumped. His voice took on the tone of a man with practiced authority. The deepness, the tenderness, all those tones that reminded me of my father. "What's your name?" Tears started to stream down my face as I reminded of my parents and the tragedy that had befallen my home. He ever so gently held one strong hand forward and wiped away the tears from my face, watching me with a soft smile as I sobbed a bit before looking back at him. I shook my head at him, hoping that he would realize my implications on a first guess, but I was wrong. "You don't have a name?" I pouted at him, which solicited a laugh. I opened my mouth and started to mouth the words, 'I can't talk' while pointing inside my mouth with one finger. He caught on quickly as I saw him run inside the small house. Moments later, he returned with a small notebook and a pencil. I opened it to the first page and began to write.
"My NaME IS Mileena"
He read the words and smiled at me, calling out my name in that same deep tone I've become endeared to. "My name's Takao. Nice to meet you". He held out one large hand to me and I looked at it sceptically for a moment before I placed mine in it. I was struck with a memory of before, and quickly pulled my hand from his, searching the grounds as my eyes opened wide. He seemed to realize what had suddenly crossed my mind as he put both his hands to either side of my face and held it in his direction. He looked at me calmly yet with fervency, telling me with his eyes that I would be safe here. I thought I heard him say as much too, but I didn't give it a second thought. I felt safe around him for some reason, and I made it known to him as I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around him in the tightest hug I could give. He hugged me tightly as well and released me reluctantly when a male's voice called to him. He told me to stay right where I was and that he would come back soon. I watched him go before I opened my eyes to my surroundings. There were a lot of people around. Children around my age at that time, adults and a seemingly peaceful village in general. I felt strangely at home here. I all but jumped out of my skin when I heard a woman's voice suddenly appear behind me. I turned around to see the same woman that had been with the little boy earlier in the forest. I opened my mouth trying to say something, but then gathered my thoughts enough to remember that speech was no longer possible for me. I began to write in the notebook that Takao gave to me.
"ArRE yoU ok?
The woman read the words and smiled at me, and in that instant, she reminded me of my mother. "I'm fine. My husband, Takao and some of his men came and rescued us in the nick of time. Though I don't know the details of what happened to give me and my son the chance to get away from those men. I almost feel like you had something to do with that. Thank you". My cheeks turned a bright pink as I smiled. The wind blew at that instant and my hair, which only reached my shoulder at that time, blew with the wind to the east.
"I CANT TAaK!"
I remember writing it exactly like that, with the exclamation mark at the end, forcing my parents to see the truth in my words. My dad was the one to move as he gathered my small self up in his arms and proceeded to bring me through the door with my mother following close behind. We arrived at the doctor a few minutes later and were admitted immediately. My mother hastily explained the situation to the doctor and asked what had caused the problem. The woman ran many tests. Tried all sorts of healing techniques. She even took a sample of my blood for processing to search for any sort of bacteria or otherwise that could have caused it. Nothing turned up results of any kind. Feeling defeated and at a loss, my parents brought me back home and brought me to my room, sitting in two chairs across from me as I sat on my bed. The forlorn looks on their faces made me sad, and, realizing that I could say nothing to comfort them, I thought to myself, "Please don't be sad". They looked at me as if I had just slapped them hard across the face. They sat with frozen miens, forcing me to jump off the bed and walk over to them. "What's wrong?" I thought. Their heads moved from their frozen positions to look down at me. They got up from their seats and began taking quick steps backward to the door, only stopping once they saw the tears on my face. My mother exchanged frightened glances with my father before they both calmed down enough to make their way over to me slowly and pick me up. It was already getting very late, and my parents and I slept in their room that night, all wondering what had just taken place in my room.
...BOOM! CRASH! THUD! AAAGGGHHH!! The explosions. The crashes. The screams. I ran as fast as my tiny legs would allow. I didn't spare a second glance at the chaos behind me as I kept going. It was strange. I could hear the persistent laughter of a male in the background, and the more I ran, the closer I seemed to be getting to the scene behind me. When I stooped and covered my head with my hands, the scenery changed to me standing in my parents bedroom, on the bed, looking down at both of their lifeless bodies with blood soaking the sheets. I was nowhere near a mirror to accurately describe the look on my face, but what I felt was horror. Complete and total horror. When my mind finally began to register what had happened, I felt something cold in my right hand. My eyes quickly darted downward to glare holes into my hand as I realized the knife. I tossed the weapon with as much strength as I could muster and opened my mouth to scream. The satisfaction of the sound never came. I was thrust out of my parents room with an unseen force an pinned onto an imaginary wall. Before I could really register anything that was happening, a man's silhouette stepped out of the shadows and stood before me. He had a long cloak that covered his entire body, and the shadows cast by the moon did their jobs to perfection, hiding his face from my gazing eyes. He stared at me for a long while from what I could tell, and when he finally spoke, his voice came out as powerful throaty whisper. "Sweet girl, don't be afraid of me. I wont hurt you. I would never harm a delicate little flower such as yourself". His hands moved slowly toward me, sweeping gently across my face before they retreated. A slight sting streaked across my face on the route his hand took. "Until we meet again, my dear".
With that, I woke up from my nightmare, gasping for air with my fingers dithering violently. I grabbed my pillow off the bed and went to do what I had been doing for the past few nights. Once I reached my parents' door, I opened it and entered quietly, not wanting to disturb them. I crawled into the bed in between both of them, laying my head down and closing my eyes. They opened the very moment they closed, and the smell of blood pervaded my sense of smell. I got up quickly and looked at both of them with my heart pulsating against my chest. What I saw was their lifeless frames, exactly like what I had seen in my nightmare. I got up from the bed and went to stand beside it. The blood that had found its way all over my clothes and body never registered as my eyes caught yet another thing from my nightmare. The same knife that I had held in my bloodstained hand lay beside my mother's face. The tears came in torrents as I tried desperately to scream, yet still no sound would come. I ran from the house, falling several times, but still going regardless of the blood of both my parents and myself that trailed freely from my body. I stopped in the streets as I realized that my nightmare was reality. The small once peaceful village was now on fire. I could feel all the pain of the people and the animals close by. It made me want to fall to the ground and just die then and there, yet somehow I managed to resist the urge. I turned around slowly to see the damage that had been dealt to my own home. Nothing. There was nothing wrong with it. Yet that was what seemed the strangest in my mind. Why was my house the only one that was not subjected to the wrath of the blaze? The tears continued as I ran down the street, trying to drown out all the cries for help that seemed to bombard the recesses of my mind. I reached the exit of the village in minutes, but I never stopped running until I was a good distance away. I slowed to a walk before I stopped completely, turning around slowly to see the damage caused. There was nothing left of the village, as most of the buildings had already become one with the ground. I turned around and walked slowly into the forest, allowing the darkness to entangle me in its embrace.
I woke up in answer to a scream in the depth of night. I slowly rose from where I had collapsed on the ground and rubbed my eyes. The scream came again, causing my entire body to turn in its direction and forced my little legs to move forward. I had finally arrived at a clearing in the forest, and what I saw made me want to turn tail and run, but my stubborn curiosity got the better of me. I stood and watched the scene unfold before me. "You b***h! What the ******** do you think you're doing?!" I winced as I saw the bulky man hit the woman hard across her face, sending her flying a short distance to his right. Tears fell from her eyes as she held the wounded cheek with her hand. A boy that was around the same age as myself ran up to the woman and started crying too. "Mommy, mommy", he called. The woman quickly hugged the boy tightly and pushed him behind her, telling him to run away quickly. The boy never managed to take so much as a step before he was hoisted into the arms of one of the three strong men. The man who had slapped the woman began to laugh rambunctiously, forcing my eyes away from the boy to him. "Since you just can't wait, I'll use you right here". I didn't know what he meant by that until I saw what he was doing with my own eyes. He began to divest himself of his pants and was grinning wickedly as he shoved himself into the woman's face. She got up and tried to race to the man who held the little boy, but was quickly accosted by the third of the large men and held in place. She screamed again, but all it won her was another hard slap across the face as the man who was now sans pants stood before her, forcing his sexual intent onto her as he kissed her feverishly.
I do not know why I did it, and looking back, it was probably the stupidest decision I've ever made. I peeled myself from my hiding place among the trees and found myself running up to the group while screaming frantically in my mind. I did not know at the time whether it would work or not, but I got my answer when I saw the three men release their captives to quickly cover their ears. This seemed to do nothing to help their situation however, as they writhed on the ground with their eyes tightly shut. The woman went over to the boy and gathered him up before she ran over to where I stood in the open and dragged me along behind her as she ran. I had stopped my mental screaming and tried to keep up with her pace. The men seemed to not be affected by the scream anymore as I heard footsteps blazing a trail toward our little trio. The woman was not fast enough, though I wonder if it was my fault since I was slowing her down. They caught the three of us and knocked us out immediately.
I woke on an actual bed, in an actual room, actually feeling relaxed. That ended on an abrupt note however as I recalled the events that had transpired before. I sprung off the bed and dashed to the door, throwing it open without thinking. I began running forward, but was grabbed from behind suddenly. I felt the wind leaving my body, racing forward with the momentum of my sprint. I found myself being held in strong arms as I wriggled, trying to get free. When this did not work, I flailed, sending my hands and feet in every direction. The hands that held me were persistent, and only after I felt a vibration coming from behind me, accompanying the sound of deep laughter did I stop my struggling and calm down. I was about to do the same thing I did before, scream and cause the man to release me, but, though being so young, I realized that I should not reveal all my secrets until it was absolutely necessary. The man seemed to sense my relent, as he put me down lightly on my feet. I turned around slowly, looking up at the large man towering over me. He was a giant as far as I could remember. Yet I couldn't help but think that he was the most handsome man I've ever seen. It wasn't only his muscular build or his beautiful face, but the softness I saw in his eyes that made me feel safe around him. He stooped down, not exactly reaching my level, but only slightly above me. When he spoke to me, I all but jumped. His voice took on the tone of a man with practiced authority. The deepness, the tenderness, all those tones that reminded me of my father. "What's your name?" Tears started to stream down my face as I reminded of my parents and the tragedy that had befallen my home. He ever so gently held one strong hand forward and wiped away the tears from my face, watching me with a soft smile as I sobbed a bit before looking back at him. I shook my head at him, hoping that he would realize my implications on a first guess, but I was wrong. "You don't have a name?" I pouted at him, which solicited a laugh. I opened my mouth and started to mouth the words, 'I can't talk' while pointing inside my mouth with one finger. He caught on quickly as I saw him run inside the small house. Moments later, he returned with a small notebook and a pencil. I opened it to the first page and began to write.
"My NaME IS Mileena"
He read the words and smiled at me, calling out my name in that same deep tone I've become endeared to. "My name's Takao. Nice to meet you". He held out one large hand to me and I looked at it sceptically for a moment before I placed mine in it. I was struck with a memory of before, and quickly pulled my hand from his, searching the grounds as my eyes opened wide. He seemed to realize what had suddenly crossed my mind as he put both his hands to either side of my face and held it in his direction. He looked at me calmly yet with fervency, telling me with his eyes that I would be safe here. I thought I heard him say as much too, but I didn't give it a second thought. I felt safe around him for some reason, and I made it known to him as I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around him in the tightest hug I could give. He hugged me tightly as well and released me reluctantly when a male's voice called to him. He told me to stay right where I was and that he would come back soon. I watched him go before I opened my eyes to my surroundings. There were a lot of people around. Children around my age at that time, adults and a seemingly peaceful village in general. I felt strangely at home here. I all but jumped out of my skin when I heard a woman's voice suddenly appear behind me. I turned around to see the same woman that had been with the little boy earlier in the forest. I opened my mouth trying to say something, but then gathered my thoughts enough to remember that speech was no longer possible for me. I began to write in the notebook that Takao gave to me.
"ArRE yoU ok?
The woman read the words and smiled at me, and in that instant, she reminded me of my mother. "I'm fine. My husband, Takao and some of his men came and rescued us in the nick of time. Though I don't know the details of what happened to give me and my son the chance to get away from those men. I almost feel like you had something to do with that. Thank you". My cheeks turned a bright pink as I smiled. The wind blew at that instant and my hair, which only reached my shoulder at that time, blew with the wind to the east.
