𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘪𝘯 「𝘢 𝘣𝘴𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘹 𝘰𝘤」

𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘐

        Sunlight splayed across her pale cheeks as the young woman began to stir from her sleep, blinking blearily before stretching her hands to the sky. Her dark hair, which glimmered in the warm afternoon sun, sat twisted and tangled atop her head as her sleepy honey eyes wandered the unfamiliar alleyway in which she sat.

        Bed springs poked and prodded at her delicate skin as she slowly stood from the rotting mattress she slept upon. Left bewildered and confused, the young woman peeked round rubbish and brick only to be met with the tapping of shoes roaming idly by.

        People, young and old, walked the sunny streets of Yokohama as they went about their day. Passing by colorful windows and blossoming trees, they spoke kindly to one another as they mingled under the midsummer sky.

        As her muddied yellow socks wandered the sidewalk, the young woman couldn't help but ponder how she had wound up snuggling trash bags and waste in an unfamiliar city instead of her lush duvet and cloud-like pillows.

        Blinded by her curiosity, she was unable to sense the blonde boy affront her drawing nearer before colliding with the concrete.

        "Wow! I'm so sorry miss!" The boy frantically spoke as he reached down to assist her.

        Grasping his warm hand, the young woman replied softly, "oh no! I'm sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going."

        As the boy continued to glance at her, a kind smile spread across his face before he introduced himself as Kenji Miyazawa. "Still, I feel sorry for knocking you over...hey I know!" His hands shuffled about his denim pockets before finding a small crumpled coupon and a lavender wildflower. "Here! The pastries at the Cafe Uzumaki are really yummy, and I found this flower this morning!"

        As he gently placed the coupon into the palm of her hand and weaved the flower into her unruly hair, the woman nervously replied in thanks before returning his sweet smile. "My name's Mary by the way...Mary Shelley."

        "Well it's nice to meet you Mary, but I should get to work. I enjoyed bumping into you though! Maybe we'll see each other again sometime!" Kenji's smile, forever present, widened as he waved Mary goodbye and went on his way.

        Perhaps they would meet again, Mary thought fondly as she continued to wander the unfamiliar city streets she woke upon.

_______________________________

As the hours flew by, Mary found herself peeking in vibrant store windows and winding down the colorful streets and alleyways. She wasn't exactly in any rush to return home, as she knew that the house would be nothing but hollow and cold without her other half. In fact, Mary was enjoying her journey, relishing in the fresh warm air as she ambled blindly over concrete and cobblestone.

Weeks prior, Mary's spouse Percy passed on. It had been so hard on her own heart that Percy's calcified within the chambers of his chest, being left behind in the ashes of his lifeless flesh and bone. His heart was something she cherished and kept near in her time of grief, wrapping it in his old newspapers and tying it neatly in twine so she could listen to it beat in the hollows of her soft cotton pockets.

Mary had been aware of her husband's illicit profession, however, she had no idea he was so important that the Mafia would go looking for him in his absence. That is, until she found herself pressed firmly into the brick alleyway with her hands bound tightly behind her.

She was far too tired to bother putting up much of a fight, and instead found herself to be strangely calm as she took note of the people who surrounded her.

She listened as her captor stifled a cough before speaking clearly in a demanding monotone voice. "What do you know about the location of the ability user Percy Shelley?"

Mary had not the faintest idea what an ability user was, however, she knew for certain that her husband was six feet under ground. It wasn't exactly a secret. "234-0053 in Kanagawa," she replied in boredom.

As her captors searched for the location of her husband, Mary continued to rest against the wall uncaring until the monotone voice spoke once more.

"But that's a cemetery."

"...yeah and?"

"..."

"..."

And just like that, Mary's head was slammed into the brick wall.

_______________________________

-𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘵! 🤍

-(750 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴)