AB AURIGAE B

Chapter Two

CHAPTER TWO

MEMORIES AND DREAMS

She opened her eyes, trying hard to breathe. 'That wasn't a memory. The last part was a..a..a....dream.' She thought. Noura's memories haunted her. Not the memories actually but the dreams followed that followed.

They reached the school premises. There were two buildings in the Crimson Institute. One was a school and the other was a university. Catherine and her brother, Puff started to walk. He tried to talk to her. But failed as usual.

At the end of the path which separated into two stairs, one for the school on the right and one for the university on the left, Puff glanced at her one last time, swallowing everything he should tell her. She didn't notice it and walked away. He desperately counted the steps towards his building. While walking, he looked at his hands. "The scars are still hurting." He murmured as the pain increased when he glimpsed at the deeply injured palms through the thick wool gloves. Someone threw the basketball at him, whimpering sarcastically "Skeletonic Puffyyyy."

In class, Cath was quiet. Others were shouting, telling jokes, shedding tears of laughter... 'How can they be like this? One of them is missing and they don't even care. They have forgotten her.' She thought and gazed everyone unpleasantly... But the golden fish on the teacher's table was gloomy. It missed Noura's smile.......When it was lunchbreak, everyone went out except Catherine. She sat there and thought.

'Why do I have haunting dreams? Why does it follow sweet memories? Why do I have strange-'?

"Maybe you should avoid her." A sharp but soothing voice came from behind. She turned back as if she knew who was there. As expected it was her father. This is hallucination......She knew...... But it was essential for her because her father was always her guide.

"Maybe you should avoid her." He repeated.

"But how?" She asked, something crushing her head. "How can I find a way to avoid her? She is my sister. How could you tell me that?"

Her father interrupted-"Do you still believe that she is living?" His tone was so smooth that her heart shook with its invisible force. She nodded a 'yes' yet with a confused mind. She never doubted on this question until her father asked.

"These cries won't help you, dear. Save yourself." Her father moved with great difficulty and sat beside a pile of books which her companions left.

The bell rang. Students were entering the class. Her father disappeared. But her father's voice was still in the air.

"Do you still believe that she is living." With a sigh, trying to be in the present, she turned around to see a pair of large wild green eyes staring her.

Tanaka Emi, a girl with dark green coloured hair was standi ng in front of her. "Need help ma'am to stop this...." Lowering her voice with a light grin on that pink lips. "Hallucination."

Catherine didn't look at her face. She avoided it purposefully and longed for the teacher who used to come at the right time. Emi smiled mysteriously and sat at the chair behind. Catherine rolled through her memories.

They were thick friends. Catherine, Emi and Noura. Their friendship was so intimate when the three of them were kids and innocent and sweet. At ten, Tanaka Emi went to the Crimson circle which consists the best school in the south of Japan from the Apple valley. But the lost link was so intense in the village girls' mind until they met her after eight years. Emi has changed a lot not only in her appearance but also in her character. She transformed from a girl with dark black hair to a girl with pitch green hair, covered her neck with tattoos of green parrots and went far away from her kind and mild character.