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Zerie's Shadow- Chapter 1 |
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CHAPTER 1
No More Words ~ 単語他著いない
The furthest back I can remember, I was always by my older brother’s side. If we were going fishing, eating fruits from the nearby trees, or even simply playing with the squirrels, I was always near him. The only time I would wander off was to go play with the horses. They were so much taller than I, yet they were very gentle. My brother tried to keep me from going out to the fields with them, but I simply went while he was asleep. I never knew his true name, for he never told me, but I came up with a name for him. I would call him Bieo. I don’t know where the word came from, but that is how I felt I should address him. He didn’t seem to care, since he gave me several names, each with their own ring of beauty. His smile was warm and his eyes were a lovely shade of an icy teal.
I can’t ever recall a day that was too terrible back then. The most difficult of the days would have been in the depth of winter when food was suddenly scarce. I almost caught myself a doe when it suddenly died. This was when I saw a person for the first time other than myself and my brother. I was stealthy as I followed the man back to where he came from, since I figured he was the reason they were disappearing so quickly. I followed him back to a new settlement. There were a few people there, but that did not stop me. I wanted them gone so that I could be here alone with my brother like before.
It took me a few minutes since it was so cold that day, but I managed to create a little fire. I slipped behind the buildings and lit them all like a torch. Since they were all made of wood or some other dry foliage, it was simple. I tried my best to stay out of sight, and I believe I succeeded. I ran off into the night and turned back to hear the sounds of human hollers. They were all trying their best to put out the fires, but it was too late. They were doomed. The next day, I returned and they were gone. All that was left was scraps of wood. The same thing was done a couple more times, until I believed they finally gave up. I did not see them since then, and just as I suspected, there was a jump in deer population again.
Then one day, everything changed. Bieo began eating less and less, and he would be sleeping more and more. I’d bring him fruits to eat, but they would simply end up rotting before my eyes. I began to worry as he thinned, and I remember the feeling of his burning flesh. I would bring him water, and occasionally poured it all over hoping he would cool off when the evening breeze came. It didn’t help. The only thing I could do was tell him the story of a winged horse, soaring high above the clouds and into the paradise in the sky. My hand rested on his chest while I spoke to him, feeling his shallow breathing and his slowing heartbeat. He looked up to me with a warm smile as I finished the deep story, and my eyes glittered in tears. That last word he said, to him, meant “never forget”. That word was “zerie”. His eyes closed and his whole body relaxed, even his heart. There was no more thumping.
I returned my hand to my lap and sat beside him, not eating nor sleeping, but sobbing. Two days later, he felt cold, and he had grown pale. I’m still not completely sure why I stayed at his side those couple of days. Perhaps I was just waiting for him to wake up, and play with me like he always did. Those games would be missed.
I arose from my place with a tear dripping down from my cheek and falling onto the carcass of my brother. When I looked up, I spotted his claymore resting against a tree, the tree that I slept under instead of where he usually left it. With a bit of shock, I concluded that he had left it for me. I went over to it and lifted the scabbard it was held in and pulled it close to my chest, cuddling it. I told myself I would keep it as a token to him and threw it onto my back.
I turned to Bieo and watched his body lay there silently. I finally decided to make him a grave to honor his death. Beside him, I dug a shallow hole, just enough to fit him into. Dirt caught under my nails, but I wasn’t concerned. By now, he began to smell awful, but I pushed him into the hole anyway, and as he dropped, I recall hearing some cracks, possibly from his bones adjusting. I poured dirt back into the hole, on top of him. There ended up being a bit of a mound, since I wished to return all the dirt. When I finished, I pressed small lavender flowers onto the soil above him. Those fruits I brought him so many days ago were spoiled, and insects began eating them from the inside out. This did not bother me, I was too preoccupied.
I stood up and began to walk away, but turned back… for the last time.
 Talc (The phoenix of the waters)
 Amazing Q · Tue Jul 21, 2009 @ 10:32pm · 2 Comments |
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