Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Wanderer ❯ The Melody ( Chapter 9 )

YAY!! Party time. ^^ In celebration of having reached 50 reviews, I've posted another chapter. The song does not belong to me. The original version was in German, by Heinrich Heine, in 1823. However, the translated version I had taken from Tr. Frank 1998. The title of it is Die Lorelay (die is pronounced as Dee not, Dye). The story that goes with the poem is really sad to, if you'd like to hear about it.. read it in the AN at the end of the chapter. Anyways.. enjoy!

 

I cannot determine the meaning

Of sorrow that fills my breast:

A fable of old, through it steaming,

Allows my mind no rest.

The air is cool in the gloaming

And gently flows the Rhine.

The crest of the mountain is gleaming

In fading rays of sunshine.

 

The loveliest maiden is sitting

Up there, so wondrously fair;

Her golden jewelry is glist'ning;

She combs her golden hair.

She combs with a gilded comb, preening

And sings a song, passing time.

It has a most wondrous, appealing

And pow'rful melodic rhyme…

 

The song drifted to his mind, as he lay staring blankly at the wooden roof, seeming to peer past the tightly bolted ceiling and into the dark sky that lay beyond it. As if he could see the rolling clouds, heavy with rain soon to fall, or the lighting in the distance. As if he could see the distant stars which were hidden behind those curtains of clouds, their light shining feeble down at them, mocking him with their false brilliance. The moon was absent to tonight, refusing to glow upon this mortal bound to earth, denying his soul to travel along its shimmering fingertips and into the horizon where night met day, and paradise awaited, where he might glimpse a phantom of his mother. The melody danced within his mind, telling a tale he refused to hear, along with memories of a time when they had been together.

 

The blue orbs closed tightly, and he rolled upon his side as a crash filled the air. The thunder had come so suddenly that it shocked him, a catalyst to suppressed memories, and a truth he refused to admit. And then, it happened, it was gradual at first, a light sprinkling, then it came faster, and faster, as if an entire river was being emptied onto, or in his perspective, into this little hut. Perhaps it was just his imagination, perhaps it was what he had heard, the sound of the storm merging with sounds of a past. The memories came upon him gradually and then suddenly just as the rain had. And soon, when all he could hear was the pelting droplets, and booming thunder, the melody ceased…. He cried out at the loss of it, try as he might, the third stanza was lost to him. The two thirds story hung within his mind, and taunted him, daring him to approach and attempt to piece it together. Did he dare? Did he dare to delve into the recess of his tormented memories, and pry into the long forgotten? `Kenji..' He could still remember her voice, so distinct... so real, and yet... so surreal. He could hear her singing the song, as he himself hummed the melody. Yet, as they reached the end of the second stanza, all became lost to him. “Mother” the soft whimper escaped his lips.

 

Distantly, he could hear someone enter the room, the cursing of a man he in his delusional state could not discern. He didn't care to turn his head and find who these people were, or how they even knew his name. All he wanted was to sleep, just as the rain had, the cold about him crept up unexpectedly. He shivered as a clawed hand racked at a pillow. `Enraptured with a wild ache,' Was that it, the next line? No… something was missing. “Kenji...” He closed his eyes, and let the icy chill hand of memories consume him.

 

 

Yahiko cursed the rain, the thunder and the lighting. How dare it fall just as he was returning? Stepping into the one roomed hut... or rather cabin, he withdrew the package he had been shielding beneath the fabric of his top. Unwrapping it, he approached the futon where Kenji slept, and knelt beside him. The boy looked so pale, and sweat beaded his forehead. Perhaps these rice buns would do some good. His rough fingertips reached down to brush the strands of hair that matted his forehead away. However, as their skin met, he froze. The younger's skin was moist, hair damp, and he was burning up. The older `brother's' breath caught with his throat, and he cried the boy's name, hoping that Kenji would not fall asleep; fearing that in the morning, he would be met with the sight of lifeless eyes, eyes that were an exact replica of Kaoru's. “Kenji...” At one time in his life, he had promised he would always protect his family, staring down at this boy… it was a reminder of how empty his promise had been. However, the greatest sting was not just the sight of that woman's son... it was the boys words. “Mother” That simple whimper, shot through him, obliterating any reassurances he had presented before himself. Now, all that was left was his empty and condemned self, a man who had failed to save his sister, and who was equally useless in saving her son.

 

(Memory)

 

The thunder wouldn't stop, and neither would the rain. He was standing in the middle of an empty hallway, planted before a closed door that lead to the outside world. She wasn't home yet. Yahiko had told him not worry, yet he couldn't help it. His mother had a habit of disappearing at dawn every morning, yet she'd always return by the time he awoke. However, she hadn't returned today. Yahiko had told him it would be alright, that she needed to cope. From what, he did not know. Did someone die today? This day held no real significance to him; save this day… one year ago, his father had left. But what was there to cope over, she herself promised that he would be returning soon. Questions and worry drove at his mind, and he flinched as another bolt filled the sky, the light illuminating the darkened hallway. He knew he should be in bed, Yahiko was… But the fact that he was still awake gave him a small sense of pride, a feeling he was unaccustomed to. This was a privilege, maybe now he would considered a “big boy.” And… big boys saved women. Another bolt filled the sky, and he almost coward beneath the thunder. However, he set his mind, opened the door, and set out into the cold and chilling thunderstorm.

 

It only took a few seconds for his clothes to get soaked through. He walked through the muddy streets, having lost a shoe somewhere along the dirt trodden path. Each time the gods boomed down at him, he flinched, however, it didn't stop him from his search. “MOTHER!! MOTHER!” His tiny voice called out, lost within the abyss of night. Familiar and now ghastly buildings passed him, and he could see shadows everywhere. The childlike imagination taunted him, causing him to see ghosts where there were only animals scurrying in search of shelter. Without any real logical explanation as to why he headed in this direction, he found himself near the harbor. There was a cliff overlooking the docks, and there, as he squinted into the dark... he discerned a vague, yet familiar figure. A flash of light, and he recognized the phantom as his mother. “KAA-SAN!!” she didn't seem to hear him. Something urged him to climb up there and grab her attention. A feeling of dread he couldn't place filled him as he watched her stand there. With a speed he had never used before, he sought the tangled path that lead up there. It involved a bit of climbing, a treacherous task for him, considering he was only 5 and the fact that the rocks were slick with water and mud. However, after awhile of struggling, he managed to bypass the climbing section, and half ran; half stumbled up the rest of the way.

 

The cliff was empty, save for a tree or two. Below lay jagged rocks, and swelling waves. He approached timidly towards the figure that now stood near the edge, looking out at the roaring ocean. Her soft voice reached his, halting and broken. She was singing a song that he had often heard her sing while washing the laundry, “Allows my mind no rest.

The air is cool in the gloaming”. “Mother?” No reply. He touched a cold hand upon her own which hung dead at her side. She jerked at his touch, turned and stared at him. He was met with the most frightening site he'd ever seen. The life was faded in her eyes; they were wild and frantic, as if a lost puppy that had just seen the death of its parents. He was suddenly reminded of a bird he had seen the other day. He had tried to feed it, and care for it until its broken wing could be mended... however, it had died the next day. “Mother?” He stared into those frightening blue eyes, those orbs that shined of insanity. Kenji took a few steps back, and stumbled, falling onto his behind. He watched her, trembling, a whimper escaping his lips. He didn't hear Yahiko calling his name down at the docks.

 

She smiled a sickening smile. As if his whimper had brought her the greatest joy in the world. Her eyes seemed to pierce him, yet at the same moment didn't see him. Instead, she saw the image of a man she had loved, and had been abandoned by. Softly, she continued to sing, tears falling from her eyes and merging with the rain.

 

“The boatman aboard his small skiff,-

Enraptured with a wild ache,

Has no eye for the jagged cliff,-

His thoughts on the heights fear forsake.

I think that the waves will devour

Both boat and man, by and by,

And that, with her dulcet-voiced power

Was done by the Lorelay…” Her eyes closed, fists clenched at her sides, when she opened them, they were devoid of life, and her lips were still curled in that lost smile “Kenshin, I think that the waves will devour, both you and I… by and by...” She took a step back, gave `Kenshin' one last sad glimpse, `Stop haunting me…”and leapt off the cliff, into the freezing waves.

 

“MOTHER!” He rushed towards the edge, and watched as she struck the waves. His hands clutched at the ground, knuckles white, and his and heavens tears merging to scar down his face. His blue eyes for a split moment became akin to hers, wide and panicked as a hurt and lost animal. His body trembled, and he cried out once more, as he watched her body appear, and disappear as the waves threatened to consume her. “noo.. noo.” Horrified, he saw a body collide into the rocks. In shock, he didn't notice, as Yahiko, who had been on the docks searching for him, leapt into the water in hope of saving his older `sister.' The edges of night crept at him, and he gladly allowed himself to delve into tears and oblivion. When he awoke, he found himself in his room, at the dojo.

 

The little Kenji staggered out of his room, clutching the wall as a support. With each step, bits of what had occurred flashed into his mind. The familiar tears crept down his cheeks, and he wiped them off with his sleeve, once dry... now damp with his weeping. He guessed that Yahiko had changed his clothes. Finally, he came upon his destination, hand on the door... he hesitated. “Stop haunting me…” he opened the door, and was met with the sight of Yahiko, kneeling over his mother. She was pale, and blood that had seeped through the bandage on her head matted her hair.

 

 

The boatman aboard his small skiff,-

Enraptured with a wild ache,

Has no eye for the jagged cliff,-

His thoughts on the heights fear forsake.

I think that the waves will devour

Both boat and man, by and by,

And that, with her dulcet-voiced power

Was done by the Lorelay…

 

Ahh... that was it, the last stanza. He forced his eyes to open, and stared at the ceiling. The dream, or rather memory was more than unnerving. He remembered now… That night, 4 months before the dojo had been destroyed; his mother had attempted to commit suicide. Yahiko had risked his life and leapt in after her. That was when he began to question the love of his father. He remembered waking to find her barely alive, 3 ribs bones broken, an arm, fractured ankle, and a head wound that didn't seem to stop seeping blood. It was miracle she survived. Yet, after this incident there were no more attempts. Yahiko had unleashed his fury on her. He screamed at her about the shear stupidity of her action, and a reminder that she still had a son. But what had really brought her out of this pathetic state of despair she had wrought upon herself was the sight of her son's frightened eyes, when he was finally allowed to see her. She had wept for his innocence then, had wept for the loss of her husband, and for herself.

 

Kenji, brushing off the memories, the melody complete at last, sat up and ate, a soft smile on his lips. She had promised to live after that incident, and he knew that she would never break a promise. She was out there somewhere…and though she had disappeared after saving him at that scene at the cliff, he knew that it was not her choice to go. Kenji would find her, and kill whoever was hiding her from him… with or without the help of his father.

 

 

TBC

 

 

o.o Yeah.. I had the sudden urge to write something dark… but I figured you'd all kill me if I ended this chapter tragically. Besides, we're not even half way through!!

 

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Die Lorelay—this is an old german legend. A young fair woman was waiting for her lover to return from the crusades. Every day she'd sit on top of a cliff over looking the Rhine river, hoping to see her beloved. One day, when she was about to be sent to a cloister (because many men lusted after her and therefore she was thought to be a witch), she requested to climb the cliff one last time and look down. There, she saw the boat carrying her lover in the distance, he was waving at her with his hat, everyone on the boat was so enraptured by her beauty that they didn't notice the jagged rocks by the cliff, or the whirlpool that they were soon caught up in. The boat and its passengers perished. The knights who were to take Lorelay to the cloister began to climb the cliff, however, the tide rose and they to were caught within the whirlpool. Lorelay, consumed by grief and guilt leapt into the water and died. It was rumored that you can still see her ghost up there, singing and waiting, and luring sailors to their doom. There's a bit more to the story but that's the short version. It can also be spelled as Die Lorelie.