Solstices

Chapter t.i.tle: I Will Always Remember

Chapter no. 1

Author: Ahce Darato Torres (@BunnyDeanAhce)

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(Karimiku"s POV)

Facing the destructive storm as heavy rainfall pour down the empty streets of my neighborhood, I caught a glimpse of loneliness and unwanted feelings drown me in a cup of tea. Shadows ran through the tainted French windows of my room, as if the trees are dancing merrily with the taste of heavenly droplets from the angry clouds of summer. Steam began to show on the epoxy covered table as I hear the kettle sing to its unending whistle.

I gaze at an old picture stuck on the wall for several decades now, a picture of a woman with meritorious deeds glancing on a wall filled with memories of her and her husband"s victory. Her youthful face gleamed with admiration and freedom. While a familiar ring lingered on her hand as if she"s living in a fairytale dream, whilst marrying the man she loved.

"I miss you mom" I whispered as I empty the last contents of the tea

My father was once a veteran general. But he died early, leading his troops to war against the terrorists of j.a.pan, and sacrificing himself to save the people living in the mountains of Tokyo. We mourned for his death secretly, but that wasn"t the same case for my mother. She was forced and pressured to take over of j.a.pan"s number one Yakuza family, Himura Clan of the East. And I was stripped from a n.o.ble"s life to enter the fields of a.s.sa.s.sins. Skipping a normal school to take advanced cla.s.ses and graduate early. My grandfather molded me into someone every girl can only dream of becoming, but this also caused my downfall and I became a vengeful person in the end.

But love was deceiving, my mother fell for a man whom she grew up loving, yet things come with a price and he became a traitor. He inflicted pain which turned my mother crazy, acted like a good man who chose to pick a broken shoe and hid his scheming face into another horizon. I only have one father and he pa.s.sed away, having a second one is disrespectful but I cannot say things the outer world should never hear. And I cannot afford to see my mother falling into the abyss of misery again.

"Mother, you"ve failed me." I whispered as I held the teacup tightly, and then breaking it into pieces unevenly.

I once ran to my grandfather"s deathbed as he unveiled the secrets of our clan"s downfall. But my mother was too engrossed in a superficial love affair, where she agreed to degrade herself and become someone else"s stepmother and left me alone. Wasn"t I too young to carry the burden of running a clan? Barely thirteen years old I ran for a position and became the head of an a.s.sa.s.sin organization. At fourteen I entered the unfamiliar territories of the underworld to negotiate and scheme. And at fifteen I killed people to save my family from total extinction. Who could blame me?

I was only a child back then.

When the death of my mother dawned upon the sleepless nights of war against clans fighting for power I became someone I"m not.

"Weak"

"Helpless"

And "Alone"

But that didn"t cease the rage burning inside of me, I became so careless that I"ve offered half of my people to h.e.l.l"s door.

And in spite of the hardships we"ve faced together, they still saw me as a child.

A child who never begged for love or familial care.

A child who made the impossible become possible.

A prodigy favored by the heavens.

"I am the Lady of Himura Clan"

Daughter of the dragon.

Everyone died when they planned for my escape.

The people I call family vanished in thin air, their ashes were nowhere to be found and the history of Himura clan burned in the sea of fire as I watch into nothingness. Now, I am really alone. Without food and money I returned into the underworld and carved a name for myself. As the last descendant of Himura clan I pursued my grandfather"s dream and did everything I could to rebuild my clan back. And there"s one thing I am sure of, I never sold myself to the devil even when I lost everything.

I killed them all.

Their lives paid their debts in my hands.

And everything they have, I now owned.

I became so heartless.

I became someone I"m not supposed to be.

But it was too late to change my choices.

"I was already half buried"

The clan is alive and because of that I am happy.

Now that everything is in good hands my time shall be done. I wanted to see everyone, and stay with them. I wanted to unveil the afterlife that everyone has been talking curiously about. And I want to search for the happiness that I longed to have. I need to remember my past and cherish everything before I close my eyes.

I sighed.

Feeling my heart"s beat slow a few paces down.

Abruptly recognizing the pain as the poison traveled in every cell of my body.

And letting the tears fall from my eyes.

The smell of burning wood made it hard for me to breathe as I imagine what happened that night. As I see the faces of my family, as I hear their screams and plea, and as I saw them die one after another. And I saw myself kneel, kneel very far from them, while they sacrificed themselves to keep me alive.

But what"s the point of leaving me alone?

What"s the point of keeping me alive?

Why do I need to continue living?

"Grandfather, I am sorry I have wronged all of you. My time is up, I am finally going to meet all of you there. And I am finally free from the shackles of this world."

I murmured.

The house burned into the sea of fire.

As I watch myself die.

I turn around and close my eyes as I leave this world.

"I"ll have no more regrets."