Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Caged Bird ❯ Petals ( Chapter 3 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: MellyN 
Miscellaneous: Original Stories Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Psychological / Angst | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 03.19.2015 | Pages: 6 | Words: 3.9K | Visits: 309 | Status: Work In Progress
Miscellaneous: Original Stories Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Psychological / Angst | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 03.19.2015 | Pages: 6 | Words: 3.9K | Visits: 309 | Status: Work In Progress
XxXxXxXx
Caged Bird
By: Melissa Norvell
Chapter 3: Petals
XxXxXxXx
"You can see?" Suzuka marveled in awe. She could tell that Zeshen's eyes were alert and free of impurities, just as those of someone with excellent vision. Even though she was of Shinto religion, she accepted the idea of other divine beings than those in which she believed in. The paranormal and what truly lay beyond had always been a fascination of hers and she never doubted the existence of things such as angels that were not of her own belief.
"Yes," Zeshen smiled placidly.
"What happened? Where did you go? Did you meet your angel?" The priestess was curious. She didn't mean to bombard the man with so many questions but she had been anxious and worried about him ever since he had left. More importantly, the fact that he had been laying in the rain was concerning.
The black-haired man sat up and shuttered against the cold air as it hit his still-damp skin. "It's gotten colder."
"You should sit under the kotatsu. I've made for us. This rain isn't going to stop anytime soon," Suzuka gestured to the table, which had an elaborate tea set on the top of it. The fire bathed it in a sunset orange color. Zeshen glanced over to the cozy-looking kotatsu table and smiled warmly. "So, it's better for us to wait it out." The priestess looked out of the window as the steady rain pounded the glass.
Zeshen was glad to be inside, where he could warm and dry, the summer rains weren't bad. They were usually warm but for some reason, this rain felt colder than before.
XxXxXx
Kohanna sat on a tree branch of the largest tree within her cage as her sorrowful green eyes stared at the falling rain. A few stray flower petals blew past her face as the gentle breeze picked up. The angel was soaked with rain but she didn't care. Her white and dull red lolita dress hung on her like a heavy burden and the birds around her, sat nestled within the confines of the trees. They were dry and simply sat back and slept or preened themselves in the rain.
Kept in this place
Broken wings cannot fly
Into the Garden of Eden
'Zeshen...' The white-winged angel thought as she continued to sing her song.
Soon after mentioning that very name, flashbacks reeled through her mind of true events that had taken place in the past. These were the things that went unmentioned. These were the very events that she could not tell Zeshen.
'Kohanna, please don't die,' the priest was so different back then. He was dressed in a black, military ensemble that consisted of a long, black coat and black pants. His pitch black coat possessed a large, blood-red X in the middle of the back, between the shoulders. The desperate and emotionally distraught man gripped a small, feminine hand with all of his might.
The hand had a light pink ribbon wrapped tightly around it. From that hand onward, was attached to a white-winged angel girl dressed in a white, spaghetti-strapped dress that was mid-thigh length and very flimsy. Ribbons were wrapped firmly around her waist, ankles and wrists, trying to pull her into the sky. The girl flapped her wings to attempt to escape the ribbon's grasp but she was not strong enough.
'I'll do anything to save you!' Zeshen called out with fierce determination.
Frightened and worried green eyes, which verged on tears, peered at the man as Kohanna spoke in a concerned voice. 'I'm sorry Zeshen. I went against the nature of all angels by choosing you.'
'Kohanna! I won't let go!' The black-haired man struggled to attempt to pull her back into his arms.
'Zeshen,' Kohanna smiled sadly as tears began to fall from her eyes. This was her fate and these were the consequences that she would have to accept for the sins that she had committed. She knew that angels did not belong to anyone. That was why God disallowed angels to get involved with humans and punished Azreal and his followers for doing such a thing in the past.
'You are my one and only and I will let no one else have you,' the sweet and protective words seemed nearly like a promise as the rolled from the desperate man's tongue.
Suddenly, a ribbon flew through the air at high velocity and pierced his chest in a non-lethal area. Another was close behind it, piercing his shoulder but Zeshen refused to let go. No matter how much blood was spilled and no matter how deep of a color the red was on the stained pieces of fabric that went through his body, he would not let go of Kohanna's hand. He promised to protect her and he loved her too much to let anyone have her, even God himself.
Kohanna looked on in horror as she saw the ribbons bust through his body in sword-like fashion. The white-winged angel wanted nothing more than for him to let go of her hand. It was not worth his life and it was a guilt that would weigh on her shoulders for years to come.
'I will never let you go! I don't care if God is angry with me,' Zeshen winced as he closed one eye. He was hell-bent on not releasing Kohanna's hand. He'd rather die.
It was too much for Kohanna to stand. She could not bear it any longer. She couldn't sit by and watch him suffer until he died. 'Please, please stop! Don't hurt yourself anymore! Don't hurt yourself because of me!' The angel begged as tears continued to roll down her young cheeks.
'Kohanna...' The black-haired man smiled weakly. Kohanna knew that her words did not reach him. She had no choice but to watch as two more ribbons were sent down from the heavens. One pierced her lover's arm that held on so desperately to her hand, the other pierced his lower leg, trying to disable him from standing. Slowly, his hand began to slip and finally, his hold weakened and the angel was pulled from his grasp and drug towards the heavens. Kohanna tried to reach out to him, even though she knew that it was futile.
Zeshen called out her name at the top of his lungs as he helplessly watched her fade from sight.
Her memories faded as she continued to sing.
Please...
Please help me...
I call out to you...
Please
Please help me
For my caged heart longs to be free
'This is my call to you, the special song that I have composed, so that no matter what memory that you have lost, you will always be compelled to find me.' Kohanna thought as she finished her song. "This is my last and final call to you, my last attempt to revive the past and carry out my goal and promise of long ago. I will call out to you as long as it takes."
This was the angel's solemn swear that she pledged to keep, ever since they were separated.
XxXxXxXx
One of the sentinels that had been patrolling the island walked up to the blonde genius, who sat in a sanitary looking room with only a bed, a table, a single picture on the wall and a large balcony with sheer, flowing curtains that extended to the ground. The window was the only outlet aside from the door and provided a striking view of the treetops of the island.
Eien stood beside of the bed, where a sickly woman was laying. She had long, brown hair and eyes of the same color. The woman looked to be in her twenties and was very pale. There were also several IV needles in her arms and she seemed to be sound asleep with a peaceful smile on her face.
"Sir, we have not found anyone on the island and the tea boat is still here. What should I do?" The sentinel asked. He and several others had done a clean sweep and left nothing uncovered. They had even done it more than once to be sure and they still came up empty handed.
Eien turned his eyes from the slumbering woman and looked a little outraged at the sentinel. "You idiot! Find them and kill them! Also, get rid of that tea boat. Any suspicion that ties to this island must be disposed of." The blonde had no tolerance from failure. Someone would pay for this if that blind man continued to go undetected and he would make sure of that.
"Of course, sir," the sentinel saluted, bowed and then left.
After the sentinel left, the brown-haired girl stirred awake. "Eien..," she uttered weakly as her eyes slowly looked to the man standing before her.
"Haruhi, please take it easy," Eien's features turned from angry to concern for the girl as he walked over to the bedside and placed a hand on top of hers.
"The doctor visited me again today," Haruhi informed as she smiled at her boyfriend.
"What did he say?" The blonde was anxious. He wanted to know anything that he possibly could about her disease. Haruhi's life was in the hands of some of the best doctors and if they couldn't pull it off, he would make sure that he would do it himself.
The girl's saddened expression and subtle frown told him all that he needed to know before she even had uttered her phrase. "The news isn't good...I only have a month to live. My bone cancer has progressed rapidly and he can't find a way to slow it or keep it from spreading," Haruhi glanced away. She couldn't bear to see Eien look so hurt.
"What?" Blue eyes went wide with this news.
"I'm so sorry, Eien. I can't marry you like I promised. I don't even have the strength to sit up anymore," the sickly female told him.
"Haruhi..."
"Why is God so cruel, to allow someone to go through such agony before they die?" She wondered to herself aloud.
"Don't say that!" Eien's voice was desperate to hold onto any glimmer of hope that shown at the moment. "It is God who will deliver you from this deadly disease. In fact, I know of something that may cure you entirely."
Haruhi squeezed his hand back and turned back to him with a gentle smile. She knew that he was so desperate to be with her and it pained her to see him in such a state. The sickly girl knew that it was time for Eien to let go of her dying body and move on. "It's alright, you've held on so long...You can let go now, Eien."
Those words frightened the blonde genius badly enough to make him paranoid. "No! You will get this help! I'm convinced that it will hold you completely!" Eien knew that there was an alternative. Haruhi couldn't give up now! All she had to do was trust in him and things would be going in the right direction. Eien had all that he needed to make his plan work. He simply needed a little more time.
"Don't strain yourself so much, dear. I'll always be in here." The frail woman slowly lifted her hand and placed her pointer finger on his chest, over his heart.
"Haruhi..." The emotional blonde frowned and hugged the woman firmly.
"It's alright, dear."
"I can't believe that I'm one of the wealthiest figures in all of Japan and I've bought even the most expensive and powerful medical minds to help you and nothing is working." Eien told her in a futile voice. He had hoped that the doctors would buy him the time that he needed but things were not going as planned. Now it was a race against the clock as her bone cancer continued to worsen. He wasn't sure if she would make it in time for him to put his plans into action.
"Wealth and power cannot buy life and health. They are very precious things to us and we, as human beings only have one to take care of. I hope that you will take care of the perfect health that you have been blessed with, even after I am gone."
"I will,” Eien knew no matter how morbid this topic was, no matter how much he'd rather push it to the back of his mind. He would abide by her last wish.
"I know this is hard for you, Eien..." Haruhi glanced towards the single table and spied a bouquet of purple thistle flowers that sat in a simple white vase in the middle of the round, hardwood table. "I see that you brought me purple thistles today."
Her fiancée seemed to have a habit of bringing her a different variety of flowers every week or so and placing them in that very vase. It brought Haruhi great joy to see them when she woke up from her sleep. It seemed to be the only thing she had been doing nowadays, since her body was slowly deteriorating. Soon, she would not have the strength to even move.
"Do you like them?" Eien asked with a smile.
"I do. They are beautiful, my favorite flower," Haruhi replied.
"What would you do if you could walk again?" The blonde asked.
"I would like to stand in a field of wildflowers with you at my side," it was simple but she had her reasoning for it. In that instance, she would be surrounded by all of the things she loved- flowers, nature and the man of her dreams.
"That's such a simple wish," Eien nearly blinked in confusion at such a thing. He wasn't sure what to make of it. Usually people wished for big things, like to win a lot of money or do something daring but not Haruhi. Her thoughts seemed a little too simple for someone with such a disease.
"When people don't have something important that makes them different then everyone else, it makes them appreciate the small things in life a little more. Things like the gently rolling clouds and the placid wave of the grass doesn't seem so insignificant when every second of life is important." The woman looked out of the window. It would feel so wonderful if she could do outside once more.
That was where she truly felt free.
"You know...You're right, I want to enjoy life to the tiniest fragment of dirt," Eien liked her outlook on things like that. Haruhi was always the person who seemed to notice the beauty in things that most people didn't. It was one of the many things that loved about her. 'With you, my dear Haruhi...That is why I will use Kohanna's powers to infuse her soul with yours, curing your of your fatal illness and allowing you to be by my side. You will be rid of your pain and we'll live together in this paradise that I have created with my own hands.'
"It will be marvelous," the blonde smiled maliciously in triumph.
"What will?" His fiancée asked.
"When I one day will get to join you, standing in that field of flowers," Eien replied.
XxXxXx
"An island?" Suzuka thought she'd known of the exact one but she also wanted the course of events explained to her, so that she could understand fully what he spoke of.
"Yes, there is an island on Osawa Pond by Daikaku-ji Temple. That's where she was calling me."
"The angel?"
"Yes, her name was Kohanna," Zeshen informed her.
"Kohanna? Did you ever figure out what she wanted?" She had been curious on whether or not he could come into contact with the angel from his dreams.
"It was all jumbled. We didn't have very long to talk. She said that something about me being the only one who could help her. I didn't know what she meant but she acted as if she knew me...and she told me that she would grant me the gift of sight." Everything had happened so fast that it was still hard to comprehend.
"She performed a miracle for you?" That was the only conclusion that Suzuka had come up with. She had been researching angels and found that they often granted miracles to those who really needed them. It must have happened to Zeshen. Perhaps that was why he gained his sight back after years of being disabled.
"Is that what it was?"
"I have a feeling that it possibly could. Think about it, now you have perfect vision and you don't have to walk with that cane anymore," Suzuka added.
"You're right..." That had just hit him.
"Only guardian angels can grant you miracles," at least, that's what she had found out.
"So, she is my guardian angel?" Zeshen asked.
"Something close to it, at least, do you think that you'll be called back to that island?" Suzuka questioned.
"I don't know," the priest closed his eyes. "Even now, I can hear her, singing that song...Even now, I wish to be at her side. Kohanna..." His voice was distant and wistful. 'Who are you? Why are you being kept prisoner in that strange cage, day after day? Why does it seem like you know me so well, yet, I have never seen you before?'
"Do you remember anything about that island?" There was only one island Suzuka knew of in the location that he had described. If it was that island, than there would be definite problems- more so then he could ever imagine.
"There's a large domed cage-like structure there," Zeshen described it to the best of his abiity.
"What? A cage? Is it made of metal, by any chance?" Suzuka had a bad feeling about this whole story. She hoped that it was not the island in question but she had that sinking feeling that it more than likely was.
"Yes, how did you know?" That answer alone caused the small spark of fear in her heart to grow even more.
A serious look crossed the purple-eyed woman's face. "This could be entirely different matter altogether."
"What do you mean?" Zeshen asked.
"That is a personal island that belongs to billionaire Eien Nakayama. He built that island with his own two hands from the ground up. There are several rumors about that place," Suzuka warned. If any of them were true then Zeshen should either avoid the place entirely or watch his step when he got there. It was more than a serious situation. He could possibly die.
"Rumors?"
"Yes, rumors of a beautiful maiden, who often sang haunting songs from that cage. It was said that she was kept prisoner there against her will. She hated it so much that she eventually died of sorrow." The priestess informed him of the sorrowful legend. She hoped that the angel and the maiden from the myth had no shared ties. The island itself was bad enough but a dead soul deceiving someone into thinking that it was their guardian spirit was another thing entirely.
Sitting here
Watching the world
Decay is all around me
The essence of life drains
Caged bird with broken wings
Horror picture moving in slow motion
Won't you please
Please...
Please help me...
'Maiden?' Zeshen thought to himself as he recalled something that Kohanna had asked him when he had first visited the island.
'Will you be the one to save me?'
'Kohanna must be that woman...Even now, her soul cries to be free. She's miserable there.'
'It seems cruel to put a caged bird by a window and let them look at the sky.'
Drowning in despair
Kept in this place
Broken wings cannot fly
Into the Garden of Eden
Please...
Please help me...
I call out to you
Please...
Please help me
For my caged heart longs to be free
"I have to go back to that island," Zeshen spoke up after a moment of silence had his mind absorbed the legend that Suzuka had graced him with. This was a fuel that only caused the blaze of determination to glow brighter in his heart. It was just the thing he needed to get his confidence back up and cause him to gather enough courage to journey back into the island and help the angel.
"You can't. That island is private property!" Suzuka was worried about him in a lot of different ways. The odds were clearly stacked against him and if there was any way to persuade him from going, she was going to. This whole course of events seemed as if the myth was simply reliving itself and she could not risk a life for the sake of studying angels. "It belongs to Eien and anyone who's found on the premises will not return."
"Just who is Eien Nakayama, anyway?" Zeshen asked as he stared into the priestesses' worried eyes. She seemed to know the man on the island and the warning of the dangers on such a place. He was curious as to what exactly Suzuka knew and how she acquired such knowledge.
To Be Continued...
Caged Bird
By: Melissa Norvell
Chapter 3: Petals
XxXxXxXx
"You can see?" Suzuka marveled in awe. She could tell that Zeshen's eyes were alert and free of impurities, just as those of someone with excellent vision. Even though she was of Shinto religion, she accepted the idea of other divine beings than those in which she believed in. The paranormal and what truly lay beyond had always been a fascination of hers and she never doubted the existence of things such as angels that were not of her own belief.
"Yes," Zeshen smiled placidly.
"What happened? Where did you go? Did you meet your angel?" The priestess was curious. She didn't mean to bombard the man with so many questions but she had been anxious and worried about him ever since he had left. More importantly, the fact that he had been laying in the rain was concerning.
The black-haired man sat up and shuttered against the cold air as it hit his still-damp skin. "It's gotten colder."
"You should sit under the kotatsu. I've made for us. This rain isn't going to stop anytime soon," Suzuka gestured to the table, which had an elaborate tea set on the top of it. The fire bathed it in a sunset orange color. Zeshen glanced over to the cozy-looking kotatsu table and smiled warmly. "So, it's better for us to wait it out." The priestess looked out of the window as the steady rain pounded the glass.
Zeshen was glad to be inside, where he could warm and dry, the summer rains weren't bad. They were usually warm but for some reason, this rain felt colder than before.
XxXxXx
Kohanna sat on a tree branch of the largest tree within her cage as her sorrowful green eyes stared at the falling rain. A few stray flower petals blew past her face as the gentle breeze picked up. The angel was soaked with rain but she didn't care. Her white and dull red lolita dress hung on her like a heavy burden and the birds around her, sat nestled within the confines of the trees. They were dry and simply sat back and slept or preened themselves in the rain.
Kept in this place
Broken wings cannot fly
Into the Garden of Eden
'Zeshen...' The white-winged angel thought as she continued to sing her song.
Soon after mentioning that very name, flashbacks reeled through her mind of true events that had taken place in the past. These were the things that went unmentioned. These were the very events that she could not tell Zeshen.
'Kohanna, please don't die,' the priest was so different back then. He was dressed in a black, military ensemble that consisted of a long, black coat and black pants. His pitch black coat possessed a large, blood-red X in the middle of the back, between the shoulders. The desperate and emotionally distraught man gripped a small, feminine hand with all of his might.
The hand had a light pink ribbon wrapped tightly around it. From that hand onward, was attached to a white-winged angel girl dressed in a white, spaghetti-strapped dress that was mid-thigh length and very flimsy. Ribbons were wrapped firmly around her waist, ankles and wrists, trying to pull her into the sky. The girl flapped her wings to attempt to escape the ribbon's grasp but she was not strong enough.
'I'll do anything to save you!' Zeshen called out with fierce determination.
Frightened and worried green eyes, which verged on tears, peered at the man as Kohanna spoke in a concerned voice. 'I'm sorry Zeshen. I went against the nature of all angels by choosing you.'
'Kohanna! I won't let go!' The black-haired man struggled to attempt to pull her back into his arms.
'Zeshen,' Kohanna smiled sadly as tears began to fall from her eyes. This was her fate and these were the consequences that she would have to accept for the sins that she had committed. She knew that angels did not belong to anyone. That was why God disallowed angels to get involved with humans and punished Azreal and his followers for doing such a thing in the past.
'You are my one and only and I will let no one else have you,' the sweet and protective words seemed nearly like a promise as the rolled from the desperate man's tongue.
Suddenly, a ribbon flew through the air at high velocity and pierced his chest in a non-lethal area. Another was close behind it, piercing his shoulder but Zeshen refused to let go. No matter how much blood was spilled and no matter how deep of a color the red was on the stained pieces of fabric that went through his body, he would not let go of Kohanna's hand. He promised to protect her and he loved her too much to let anyone have her, even God himself.
Kohanna looked on in horror as she saw the ribbons bust through his body in sword-like fashion. The white-winged angel wanted nothing more than for him to let go of her hand. It was not worth his life and it was a guilt that would weigh on her shoulders for years to come.
'I will never let you go! I don't care if God is angry with me,' Zeshen winced as he closed one eye. He was hell-bent on not releasing Kohanna's hand. He'd rather die.
It was too much for Kohanna to stand. She could not bear it any longer. She couldn't sit by and watch him suffer until he died. 'Please, please stop! Don't hurt yourself anymore! Don't hurt yourself because of me!' The angel begged as tears continued to roll down her young cheeks.
'Kohanna...' The black-haired man smiled weakly. Kohanna knew that her words did not reach him. She had no choice but to watch as two more ribbons were sent down from the heavens. One pierced her lover's arm that held on so desperately to her hand, the other pierced his lower leg, trying to disable him from standing. Slowly, his hand began to slip and finally, his hold weakened and the angel was pulled from his grasp and drug towards the heavens. Kohanna tried to reach out to him, even though she knew that it was futile.
Zeshen called out her name at the top of his lungs as he helplessly watched her fade from sight.
Her memories faded as she continued to sing.
Please...
Please help me...
I call out to you...
Please
Please help me
For my caged heart longs to be free
'This is my call to you, the special song that I have composed, so that no matter what memory that you have lost, you will always be compelled to find me.' Kohanna thought as she finished her song. "This is my last and final call to you, my last attempt to revive the past and carry out my goal and promise of long ago. I will call out to you as long as it takes."
This was the angel's solemn swear that she pledged to keep, ever since they were separated.
XxXxXxXx
One of the sentinels that had been patrolling the island walked up to the blonde genius, who sat in a sanitary looking room with only a bed, a table, a single picture on the wall and a large balcony with sheer, flowing curtains that extended to the ground. The window was the only outlet aside from the door and provided a striking view of the treetops of the island.
Eien stood beside of the bed, where a sickly woman was laying. She had long, brown hair and eyes of the same color. The woman looked to be in her twenties and was very pale. There were also several IV needles in her arms and she seemed to be sound asleep with a peaceful smile on her face.
"Sir, we have not found anyone on the island and the tea boat is still here. What should I do?" The sentinel asked. He and several others had done a clean sweep and left nothing uncovered. They had even done it more than once to be sure and they still came up empty handed.
Eien turned his eyes from the slumbering woman and looked a little outraged at the sentinel. "You idiot! Find them and kill them! Also, get rid of that tea boat. Any suspicion that ties to this island must be disposed of." The blonde had no tolerance from failure. Someone would pay for this if that blind man continued to go undetected and he would make sure of that.
"Of course, sir," the sentinel saluted, bowed and then left.
After the sentinel left, the brown-haired girl stirred awake. "Eien..," she uttered weakly as her eyes slowly looked to the man standing before her.
"Haruhi, please take it easy," Eien's features turned from angry to concern for the girl as he walked over to the bedside and placed a hand on top of hers.
"The doctor visited me again today," Haruhi informed as she smiled at her boyfriend.
"What did he say?" The blonde was anxious. He wanted to know anything that he possibly could about her disease. Haruhi's life was in the hands of some of the best doctors and if they couldn't pull it off, he would make sure that he would do it himself.
The girl's saddened expression and subtle frown told him all that he needed to know before she even had uttered her phrase. "The news isn't good...I only have a month to live. My bone cancer has progressed rapidly and he can't find a way to slow it or keep it from spreading," Haruhi glanced away. She couldn't bear to see Eien look so hurt.
"What?" Blue eyes went wide with this news.
"I'm so sorry, Eien. I can't marry you like I promised. I don't even have the strength to sit up anymore," the sickly female told him.
"Haruhi..."
"Why is God so cruel, to allow someone to go through such agony before they die?" She wondered to herself aloud.
"Don't say that!" Eien's voice was desperate to hold onto any glimmer of hope that shown at the moment. "It is God who will deliver you from this deadly disease. In fact, I know of something that may cure you entirely."
Haruhi squeezed his hand back and turned back to him with a gentle smile. She knew that he was so desperate to be with her and it pained her to see him in such a state. The sickly girl knew that it was time for Eien to let go of her dying body and move on. "It's alright, you've held on so long...You can let go now, Eien."
Those words frightened the blonde genius badly enough to make him paranoid. "No! You will get this help! I'm convinced that it will hold you completely!" Eien knew that there was an alternative. Haruhi couldn't give up now! All she had to do was trust in him and things would be going in the right direction. Eien had all that he needed to make his plan work. He simply needed a little more time.
"Don't strain yourself so much, dear. I'll always be in here." The frail woman slowly lifted her hand and placed her pointer finger on his chest, over his heart.
"Haruhi..." The emotional blonde frowned and hugged the woman firmly.
"It's alright, dear."
"I can't believe that I'm one of the wealthiest figures in all of Japan and I've bought even the most expensive and powerful medical minds to help you and nothing is working." Eien told her in a futile voice. He had hoped that the doctors would buy him the time that he needed but things were not going as planned. Now it was a race against the clock as her bone cancer continued to worsen. He wasn't sure if she would make it in time for him to put his plans into action.
"Wealth and power cannot buy life and health. They are very precious things to us and we, as human beings only have one to take care of. I hope that you will take care of the perfect health that you have been blessed with, even after I am gone."
"I will,” Eien knew no matter how morbid this topic was, no matter how much he'd rather push it to the back of his mind. He would abide by her last wish.
"I know this is hard for you, Eien..." Haruhi glanced towards the single table and spied a bouquet of purple thistle flowers that sat in a simple white vase in the middle of the round, hardwood table. "I see that you brought me purple thistles today."
Her fiancée seemed to have a habit of bringing her a different variety of flowers every week or so and placing them in that very vase. It brought Haruhi great joy to see them when she woke up from her sleep. It seemed to be the only thing she had been doing nowadays, since her body was slowly deteriorating. Soon, she would not have the strength to even move.
"Do you like them?" Eien asked with a smile.
"I do. They are beautiful, my favorite flower," Haruhi replied.
"What would you do if you could walk again?" The blonde asked.
"I would like to stand in a field of wildflowers with you at my side," it was simple but she had her reasoning for it. In that instance, she would be surrounded by all of the things she loved- flowers, nature and the man of her dreams.
"That's such a simple wish," Eien nearly blinked in confusion at such a thing. He wasn't sure what to make of it. Usually people wished for big things, like to win a lot of money or do something daring but not Haruhi. Her thoughts seemed a little too simple for someone with such a disease.
"When people don't have something important that makes them different then everyone else, it makes them appreciate the small things in life a little more. Things like the gently rolling clouds and the placid wave of the grass doesn't seem so insignificant when every second of life is important." The woman looked out of the window. It would feel so wonderful if she could do outside once more.
That was where she truly felt free.
"You know...You're right, I want to enjoy life to the tiniest fragment of dirt," Eien liked her outlook on things like that. Haruhi was always the person who seemed to notice the beauty in things that most people didn't. It was one of the many things that loved about her. 'With you, my dear Haruhi...That is why I will use Kohanna's powers to infuse her soul with yours, curing your of your fatal illness and allowing you to be by my side. You will be rid of your pain and we'll live together in this paradise that I have created with my own hands.'
"It will be marvelous," the blonde smiled maliciously in triumph.
"What will?" His fiancée asked.
"When I one day will get to join you, standing in that field of flowers," Eien replied.
XxXxXx
"An island?" Suzuka thought she'd known of the exact one but she also wanted the course of events explained to her, so that she could understand fully what he spoke of.
"Yes, there is an island on Osawa Pond by Daikaku-ji Temple. That's where she was calling me."
"The angel?"
"Yes, her name was Kohanna," Zeshen informed her.
"Kohanna? Did you ever figure out what she wanted?" She had been curious on whether or not he could come into contact with the angel from his dreams.
"It was all jumbled. We didn't have very long to talk. She said that something about me being the only one who could help her. I didn't know what she meant but she acted as if she knew me...and she told me that she would grant me the gift of sight." Everything had happened so fast that it was still hard to comprehend.
"She performed a miracle for you?" That was the only conclusion that Suzuka had come up with. She had been researching angels and found that they often granted miracles to those who really needed them. It must have happened to Zeshen. Perhaps that was why he gained his sight back after years of being disabled.
"Is that what it was?"
"I have a feeling that it possibly could. Think about it, now you have perfect vision and you don't have to walk with that cane anymore," Suzuka added.
"You're right..." That had just hit him.
"Only guardian angels can grant you miracles," at least, that's what she had found out.
"So, she is my guardian angel?" Zeshen asked.
"Something close to it, at least, do you think that you'll be called back to that island?" Suzuka questioned.
"I don't know," the priest closed his eyes. "Even now, I can hear her, singing that song...Even now, I wish to be at her side. Kohanna..." His voice was distant and wistful. 'Who are you? Why are you being kept prisoner in that strange cage, day after day? Why does it seem like you know me so well, yet, I have never seen you before?'
"Do you remember anything about that island?" There was only one island Suzuka knew of in the location that he had described. If it was that island, than there would be definite problems- more so then he could ever imagine.
"There's a large domed cage-like structure there," Zeshen described it to the best of his abiity.
"What? A cage? Is it made of metal, by any chance?" Suzuka had a bad feeling about this whole story. She hoped that it was not the island in question but she had that sinking feeling that it more than likely was.
"Yes, how did you know?" That answer alone caused the small spark of fear in her heart to grow even more.
A serious look crossed the purple-eyed woman's face. "This could be entirely different matter altogether."
"What do you mean?" Zeshen asked.
"That is a personal island that belongs to billionaire Eien Nakayama. He built that island with his own two hands from the ground up. There are several rumors about that place," Suzuka warned. If any of them were true then Zeshen should either avoid the place entirely or watch his step when he got there. It was more than a serious situation. He could possibly die.
"Rumors?"
"Yes, rumors of a beautiful maiden, who often sang haunting songs from that cage. It was said that she was kept prisoner there against her will. She hated it so much that she eventually died of sorrow." The priestess informed him of the sorrowful legend. She hoped that the angel and the maiden from the myth had no shared ties. The island itself was bad enough but a dead soul deceiving someone into thinking that it was their guardian spirit was another thing entirely.
Sitting here
Watching the world
Decay is all around me
The essence of life drains
Caged bird with broken wings
Horror picture moving in slow motion
Won't you please
Please...
Please help me...
'Maiden?' Zeshen thought to himself as he recalled something that Kohanna had asked him when he had first visited the island.
'Will you be the one to save me?'
'Kohanna must be that woman...Even now, her soul cries to be free. She's miserable there.'
'It seems cruel to put a caged bird by a window and let them look at the sky.'
Drowning in despair
Kept in this place
Broken wings cannot fly
Into the Garden of Eden
Please...
Please help me...
I call out to you
Please...
Please help me
For my caged heart longs to be free
"I have to go back to that island," Zeshen spoke up after a moment of silence had his mind absorbed the legend that Suzuka had graced him with. This was a fuel that only caused the blaze of determination to glow brighter in his heart. It was just the thing he needed to get his confidence back up and cause him to gather enough courage to journey back into the island and help the angel.
"You can't. That island is private property!" Suzuka was worried about him in a lot of different ways. The odds were clearly stacked against him and if there was any way to persuade him from going, she was going to. This whole course of events seemed as if the myth was simply reliving itself and she could not risk a life for the sake of studying angels. "It belongs to Eien and anyone who's found on the premises will not return."
"Just who is Eien Nakayama, anyway?" Zeshen asked as he stared into the priestesses' worried eyes. She seemed to know the man on the island and the warning of the dangers on such a place. He was curious as to what exactly Suzuka knew and how she acquired such knowledge.
To Be Continued...