Belladonna

Chapter 3: Change

There is a garden.

The blue moon shone brightly in the starless night sky. Decorative grey pebbles lined the sides of a small, glistening pond, the smooth surface of the rocks reflecting the moon's ethereal glow. In the middle of this picturesque scenery stood an ancient Sakura tree in all of its magnificent glory.

A gentle, playful wind caressed the lovely flowers, and countless petals drifted upon the swaying lush green grass. The sturdy old tree is tilted to the right, its twisting trunk so large it would require five or six of me to fully encircle it within our arms.

It... looked familiar.

I heard a rustle and glanced around in search of the source. Near the large tree roots, the hem of a luxurious, pink sakura-patterned kimono caught my eye. My eyes flicked up, and I was met with a soft smile belonging to a beautiful woman with doe-like eyes, her irises pear-green in colour. Long black hair framed her heart-shaped face, and there was a slight curl at the ends.

A sakura petal fell within my line of vision, blocking her from sight for but a mere second, and— she was gone like the wind. I twirled around, hoping to find where she had gone, but all of a sudden, I noticed that the pond had disappeared along with the sky, swallowed up by shadows. All I could see around me was a yawning abyss.

When did the darkness close in?

There was a sudden drop in temperature, and it has gotten so cold. The feeling of being confined grew ever stronger. I'm scared. I want to leave.

Someone.

Anyone.

...

Please help me.

As though hearing my plea, a larger hand entwined into my own. Their hand is on the cold side, but it is not unwelcoming. It felt... familiar, almost like a reunion after being separated for a long time.

I slowly looked up to see a pair of obsidian eyes staring intently back at me. She is not the woman from just now, apart from the colour of their hair, they are nothing alike. This girl seemed young, perhaps in her late teens or early twenties, and she had straight hair that went a little over her shoulders.

Her lips moved in a desperate manner, urgent, rushed, as though she had something extremely important to tell me. Sadly, I could not hear her. This world is shrouded in silence to me.

As she began to fade from my sight, her translucent fingers slipping out of my grasp, I tried to hold on tight, but it was no use. She is no longer tangible. I do not want to lose her for some reason. I do not want to be separated from her. This feeling is much more intense than my unwillingness to part with AmeOnna and Nee-chan. It felt like I was missing something, something very important, so I asked her frantically.

"Will I see you again?"

She blinked once in surprise, a strained smile tugging at her lips as she mouthed something to me before vanishing from my sight.

...

'Of course.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I silently inched my way to the room where I knew Nee-chan and my mentor were conversing. My snail-like pace helped to lessen the obnoxious rustle of my clothes. Leaning against the wall, I carefully grasped the doorframe as I craned my neck to press my ear to the mahogany door, this way, my shadow would not show underneath the thin gap. I held back a snicker, mentally praising myself for the smart move.