Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Darkness Falls ❯ Chapter 2: Goodbye Past, Hello Future ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter 2~~Goodybe Past, Hello Future

Hitomi spent her final days at her home in Japan locked away in her room, blocking out the world. She listened to music and felt bad for herself. She was reading a sappy love story and was becoming more and more fed-up. In the book, a knight in shining armor comes to save his beloved from her horrible life or as horrible as boredom can be, and whisk her off to his bed to live happily ever after. Hitomi sneered at the emotionless object. She wanted to watch it burn slowly, or at least cause the insufferable inanimate demon as much pain as it was causing her. Hitomi let out a frustrated cry and threw the book at the closed window over her desk. The window erupted into a thousand angry shards, spinning and falling in a cascade of raining glass.

"Oh, my…What did,…did I…," she stuttered, taken aback by the impossibility of the glittering glass smiling on the floor. A wave of shock traversed across her face. Her parents and brother, upon hearing the broken glass, came running into her room.

"What happened?" Her mother cried hysterically. She went over to her daughter and tried to hug her, but Hitomi pushed her away and rolled her eyes. Quickly, she rolled off her bed and strode toward the door. She stopped casually at the door but didn't turn around.

"I tossed a book on the desk and it had too much momentum. So, it crashed through the window and broke it." She continued out the door, never looking back, not even after her father called her.

"That's not possible! She'd have to throw the book hard enough to--"

"The book is in the front yard if you don't believe me," Hitomi called, annoyance hanging on every word, as she walked down the hall. She walked quickly down the stairs, not waiting or caring for an answer. She left her parent's house and began the long walk to the train station in the deepening twilight. Her gaze never wavered from her path. She never noticed the people she passed, no matter if they called her name or not.

When she reached the train depot, she paid for her ticket and boarded the train. She chose a window seat even though it was too dark now to see anything but passing street lamps. She stared out the train into the blackness. She closed her eyes for a brief moment and then looked at the few other people on the train. There were two older men in business suits on their way home from another late night, an elderly woman with her freshly bought groceries, and a man who looked to be in his late twenties, fairly grungy, and eyeing her like a piece of meat. The elderly woman sat closest to her, only two seats away. Hitomi studied her hands; the eyes of the grungy man bored into her, making her feel uncomfortable. She glanced at the empty seat next to her and gasped lightly in astonishment. A white feather lay teasingly in the harsh light of the fluorescent bulbs. Hitomi reached out to pick up the feather. As soon as her fingers brushed it lightly, it turned a chard black, disintegrated, and blew away in the nonexistent wind. Sadness filled her. She hoped that it wasn't a vision.

"That was a pretty feather wasn't it? Never seen one quite like it and don't suppose I will again." The old woman smiled gently at the thin girl before her. "I don't think a girl like you should be on this train so late. Bad things can happen."

Hitomi smiled. "I can take care of myself. Besides, I needed to get away from, from…"

"From your family? Yes, don't we all. Sometimes we need to get away from our troubles, from the people who don't understand. However, running away won't solve the problem. You have to face them eventually, even if it's not today." The woman touched Hitomi's hand as if to reassure her. "You'll see him again, Child. He won't forget you. None of them will."

"How did you-," Hitomi straightened herself and regained her fractured composure. "I mean, what are you talking about?"

"Oh, posh! Child, you know exactly what I speak of," the woman eyed Hitomi, amused. "'What am 'I' talking about?'"

The woman laughed and poked at Hitomi playfully. "I get off at the next stop and I think you should follow me off."

The woman leaned toward Hitomi and whispered, "That man in the corner there has been staring at you ever since you got on the train. Never stopped staring. He doesn't seem right. Right in the head, I mean. He was mumbling softly to himself before you got on the train. Hasn't said a word since. Very strange. Come with me. You can stay at my place and call your parents. I am sure they're quite worried. I know I would be if I had beautiful mesume such as you. You know, you remind me of me when I was your age. So independent and free. Oh, here's my stop. Come with me now. Come along, come now. Don't be afraid."

Hitomi got up and followed the woman. She didn't know why but she trusted the old woman. Maybe it was because she reminded her of someone she'd known so long ago. But then again, her mind often enjoyed playing tricks on her, especially now that she came back on earth. She walked down the street beside the old woman as she continued to ramble on. Hitomi suspected that she was talking not because she had anything to say but to take both Hitomi's and her own mind off the man that had followed them off the train. Hitomi could feel the man's presence as he matched their pace along the street. She risked a glance behind her and realized he was closing in on them.

"He's getting closer," Hitomi whispered to the woman.

"Yes, I know." The old woman smiled lightly. "It's time, Child."

As soon as the words left the woman's mouth, the woman was shoved out of the way and Hitomi felt an arm grab her around her waist, pulling her into a near by alley. Hitomi screamed but a grubby and dirty hand quickly covered her mouth.

"Don't scream. I only want to play awhile. You looked so sweet on the train." The man's breath smelled rancid of alcohol and cigarettes and his eyes were a malicious gray. He smiled and tried to kiss her, but Hitomi turned away. "Oh, come now. Don't be frigid."

The man laughed and moved to kiss her again. Hitomi felt anger and disgust rising in her throat like bile. Using all the strength she could muster, she shoved the man away and then hit him in the face causing a loud crack as she fractured his nose and cheekbone. The man cried out and Hitomi grabbed a hold of his shoulders and brought his groin in contact with her knee. He crumpled to the ground, twitching and unconscious. Hitomi stared at the man lying at her feet and felt guilty. "Maybe, I didn't need to go that far…"

"Child, you did what you had to do. He gave you no other choice." The woman walked over to Hitomi and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Never feel guilt for doing what is needed."

Hitomi turned to the woman studied her. She was short, shorter and thinner than Hitomi's 5'5" frame. Her face somehow seemed familiar to Hitomi, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. The woman's eyes were what intrigued Hitomi the most. They were a beautiful green, a green color much like her own jade orbs.

"Obaasan?" Hitomi's eyes widened in shock. "But you're, you're…"

"Dead? Yes, Child. I was sent back to help you," she laughed and lightly touched Hitomi's face. "Did you honestly think I would let you face your destiny alone? Child, child, child. You know me better than that."

Hitomi stared at her grandmother. "My destiny? What do you mean?" She searched her grandmother's face for some kind of sign.

Her grandmother merely smiled and patted her lightly on the cheek. "You shall see, dear Child. You shall see. Go home now. Your parents are worried sick. But understand, they want what is best for you and the powers behind this are stronger than those on Gaea or anything else imaginable."

Hitomi blinked and stared. She watched as her grandmother's small form slowly faded into the night, blending with the darkness and twilight. She eyed the spot where her grandmother once was and searched for some sign that she wasn't her imagination.

The light groan of the injured man brought Hitomi back to reality. She glanced toward the man and smirked. "I guess I should go home."

She left the alley and walked back toward the train depot. She bought a ticket for the last train of the night and waited on the cold platform, immersed in her own thoughts about destiny, her grandmother, and her future. The train finally arrived and Hitomi took it home.

Hitomi's mother was in hysterics when she finally got home at around midnight. Hitomi brushed off her parents questions and walked up the stairs to her room. She walked to her window and looked out. The moon was waning and sinking into the horizon. She closed her eyes and remembered the feather he had given her. Hitomi turned to the box sitting on her dresser and reached for it. When she touched it, she felt a small buzz as if from an electric current run up her arm. She pulled away and then put both her hands on the box. She felt nothing. She shook her head and tried to open the box. It was locked. Hitomi tried to turn the key, thinking that it was locked on accident, but it wouldn't budge. She cried out in frustration and threw her hands in the air. Hitomi eyed the box angrily. "You stupid box! Why do you torment me? Argh!"

Hitomi picked up a figurine Yukari had given her and threw it at the box. The figurine shattered against the wood, spraying shards of white porcelain across the top of the dresser and on the carpet. The key began to glow brighter and brighter until its form was lost in the growing light. Hitomi blinked and the light, the key, and the keyhole were gone. She tried to lift the lid on the box again and still it would not budge. She pulled away as a stronger jolt of electricity climbed her arm. She touched the box again and the electricity was gone.

Aggravated with the events of the day, Hitomi changed into her pjs and crawled into bed. Tomorrow she was leaving and had the whole plane trip to wonder about the strangeness of her wooden box. She rolled over and fell into a pleasant dream about when her grandmother was alive.

The next morning dawned a beautiful gray. Hitomi got up early and allowed herself three hours before her plane departed. She grabbed her bags and went down stairs where a cab she had called earlier waited for her. With the help of the taxi driver, she loaded her things into the trunk. She turned and took a final look at the house that was once her home.

Both her parents were still in bed. Hitomi did not want them to wish her well or say goodbye. She was ending her life here and she didn't want any excess baggage. She got into the cab and rode in silence all the way to the airport. She passed through security without a hitch and proceeded to her terminal. She sat for about an hour waiting to board, listening to her Discman. It was all she could do to keep from dying of boredom. Finally, Hitomi boarded the plane and took off toward her new home.

Willow was supposed to pick her up at LA-x when her plane was scheduled to land at 8 pm on Sunday. Hitomi disembarked and entered the exit terminal. Hitomi scanned the terminal for her cousin. A short red head wearing blue jeans and a red and yellow stripped sweater waved from her left. "Hitomi! Hitomi, over here!"

Hitomi wandered glumly toward the woman, dragging her carry-on absently. She stopped in front of her and waited. "I am here."

"So you are. Welcome. Let's get your stuff and we'll take off, k'?" Willow smiled and grabbed her wrist and led her to baggage pick-up. All the while, Willow was rambling on and on about how much fun they would have and how this wouldn't be a half bad experience. Hitomi smiled half-heartedly. She still felt abandoned and empty and she doubted that would change.

"Which bag is yours?" Willow motioned toward the various sizes and colors moving like lemmings along a conveyor belt. Hitomi pointed to a big black suitcase and a blue duffel bag. "Okay, you take the blue one and I'll take the black one."

Hitomi slung her backpack over her shoulder and picked up her duffel bag. She followed Willow out the terminal, toward the parking lot. Hitomi paused and frowned.

"Aren't we going to take a train or bus?" Willow turned to Hitomi and smiled.

"I have my own car. It's a '67 Ford Mustang." Willow turned and started walking toward a classic, fully restored red Mustang convertible. Willow popped the trunk and put in Hitomi's black bag. Hitomi followed suit with her duffel bag and her backpack. They both got in the car and Willow started the engine. Hitomi sighed.

"You don't want to be here, do you?" Willow asked as she navigated LA's busy and compacted freeways. She peeked a glance at Hitomi and noticed her down cast eyes. "I didn't think you would want to when your mother called me. She said something about it happening again. She wouldn't tell me what she meant though."

Willow glanced towards Hitomi to see if she was listening. Satisfied that she was, she continued, "I know what she meant. She was referring to her mother, to when she disappeared for a while. To when she went to Gaea."

Hitomi shifted uneasily and glanced at Willow. She couldn't run. She didn't know anyplace in a California to run to, besides they were on the freeway going 80mph. Taking a flying leap was not an option, unless you had a death wish.

"I know you've been there Hitomi. I've read the prophecy. But I don't know what happened to you there." Willow waited for Hitomi to answer when she didn't she decided to take a different approach.

"Fine. How 'bout we start with my story? I am sure your parents haven't told you much about me other than I live in California and am 24. Yes? No? Nod your head or something to tell me your listening. Good girl. Okay, okay. I didn't always live in Merideth. I moved there about two years ago for reasons that will be explained later. I moved there from a now abandoned town called Sunnydale. Sunnydale wasn't your average town. It held the Hellmouth. Weird things happened there. Really weird things. Vampires and demons weird. When I was about your age, a group of friends and I decided to form are own little club and we would go around destroying the vampires and demons. We did this every night, sometimes during the day. We didn't stop when we went to college. We continued on until we met our biggest and greatest foe. We defeated it but two of my closest friends died because of it. I was never the same after that. But the rest of us graduated and moved on with our lives. And now here I am. Does knowing about my past help some?" Willow ended with a deep breath. She didn't look at Hitomi but stared at the road ahead. She exited the freeway and took a well used road that wound through an ancient forest of Giant Red Woods and Sequoias.

Hitomi nodded. "Yes, but I don't feel like talking right now."

Willow smiled and drove on in silence. They followed the road for an hour and half before reaching a sign that welcomed them to Merideth. The road weaved into a city street that led through the center of the city. Willow took a few turns and pulled up in front of a Mediterranean style house in the middle of suburbia.

"Well, this is it, your new home for the next three years." Willow led Hitomi inside and showed her room on the second story. The room was done in an Arabian Nights theme. A queen size bed with a metallic red comforter and draped in sheer magenta material sat against one wall. A wooden dresser was hidden away in a respectable walk-in closet. Massive amounts of deep blue, magenta, and purple pillows were strewn in front of the bay window with more sheer material for privacy. A golden rug lay in the middle of the wood floor. A mahogany desk was placed opposite the bed. The walls were painted in a golden yellow with a muted glaze. "Do you like it?"

Hitomi nodded and wandered the room. She turned toward Willow and smiled. "How did you do this all in three days?"

"Good! You start school tomorrow." Willow smiled. Hitomi frowned, as Willow expertly avoided the question.

"So soon. I thought I would have more time to settle in," Hitomi pouted.

"Don't worry. It's not going to be that difficult." Willow cocked her head and studied Hitomi. "They're only expecting you to show-up until you get settled. It won't be that bad."

Hitomi sighed and gave Willow a doubtful look. "I guess, I'll go to bed then…jet lag and all. Goodnight."

"Don't you want something to eat?" Willow asked as she turned toward the door. "I can make you a sandwich or something."

"No, thank you. I just want to sleep right now," Hitomi replied as she moved toward her bags to change for the night.

"Okay. Goodnight then." Willow left the room and closed the door behind her.

Hitomi pulled out a muted blue pajama shirt with a matching pair of boxer shorts, changed, and crawled into bed. She tossed and turned for a while, finally deciding that it was too hot. She got up and opened one of the windows. She caught a glimpse of the moon and smiled. A soft, off-shore breeze blew in and lightly rustled her streaked locks. Looking at the moon always calmed her. Ever since she was little when things weren't going her way she would look towards the moon and gain its serene comfort. Even on Gaea she often found herself looking towards the moon and its sister. She crawled back in bed and went to sleep.