The Tale of Tara and Emiko

VI. Tara

It was a dark and stormy night. The rain clawed at doors, windows, and roofs, squeezing drops of freezing water into any and every gap between the boards. The howls of the wind were more like the screams of a prisoner being tortured as they longed for the thing so close yet so far: death. I should know, since I've been both the punisher and the victim in that situation before.

The rain was terrible, a storm worse than anything I've ever seen before in the eighteen sorry years I've graced this world with my existence. You'd think no one would want to brave the dangers of the hurricane outside, but three light, tentative knocks on the sleet-soaked wooden door proved otherwise.

I got up from my chair wearily, my long black hair swishing around my ankles as I pushed the door open. My eyes were met with an unexpected sight: a girl much younger than me, maybe fourteen or fifteen, in a dripping brown traveler's robe, her chestnut-brown hair plastered to the sides of her face. It was her eyes that threw me off, though. They were this odd yellow-green you don't see every day, red-rimmed, as if she'd been crying, and had slit, snakelike pupils.

This girl isn't human.

"H-Hello there," the girl mumbled, tripping over her words. "I-I'm lost, these wooded areas all look the same, and I was wondering if maybe I could, uh, stay for the night? Just one night, I promise, and then I'll be gone and out of your very long hair! Please, please say yes, I know it may not seem like much to you but it would mean the world to me."

I could tell she was pleading; her voice, which I assumed was usually melodic and soft, now had underlying hints of fear and desperation.

"Of course! Come in, come in, don't just stand out in the rain like that, you'll catch a cold! Here, I'll boil some water for cocoa." I hoped my tone wasn't overly friendly or suspicious. Luckily, the girl didn't seem to be in any condition to carry on a full conversation, much less detect false kindness. Welcoming a beaten, bruised, weak-ish stranger into your house in the middle of the night was how some of the best people like me got themselves killed. Let's hope this time will be different, I thought as I busied myself boiling a pot of water. "Ohhhhh, thank you," the girl sighed as she sank into a chair. The door swung closed behind her, its rusty hinges begging me to just end their misery already and get them replaced.

"It's alright. I've opened my doors to many a traveler like you. My name's Tara," I said, more focused on the water than the girl.

"I'm Emiko. Thank you for helping me today. I didn't mean to get lost, but it feels like my life is falling apart and I just had to get away from it all, and then it started raining on me and your home was the closest shelter I could find, and I can't thank you enough-"

"Hey. Take it easy, calm down. I think I've got a way to help you, but I'm going to need to hear your full situation first." I set two cups of steaming cocoa down on the table, each making a satisfying thunk. I haven't allowed myself to have such luxuries in a while, and I'd have to work twice as hard in the following weeks to cover the costs. Oh well.

Emiko sniffled, her voice heavy with the threat of more tears. "I'm a seer, and was highly respected in my village for being so young. Everyone in the town relied on me, and I was always treated with more respect than I deserved, even when I delivered bad news. At least, until they kicked me out."

"Kicked you out?" I parroted, unimpressed. "What for?"

"I predicted my sister's death."

"Sister?" I repeated, again. "Hold on, you don't-you aren't a princess, right?" The girl I remembered had two brothers.

"No, I'm not a princess, but it's very kind of you to think that." Emiko said. Huh, so this must be some twisted coincidence. Emiko's not a very common name...

Emiko continued. "My sister-she was much younger and prettier than me, so when she fell ill everyone turned to me in the hopes that I would predict a full recovery. And-"

"Let me guess," I interjected in the hopes I'd saved myself from a full-on emotional meltdown. "She died."

Emiko sighed, staring at her cup like it held the meaning of life, the universe, and everything. "Yes, she died. The entire town went into mourning, except for me, because I was thrown into the prison and sentenced to death the next day. Luckily, a weird six-legged metal creature that looked like it had flesh, muscle and bone but not skin and talked in a robotic voice picked the lock and set me free, and I ran, which is how I ended up here." She hiccupped and went back to fidgeting her hands in her lap. I was surprised at how calmly she was acting now. It didn't even seem like she cared. Part of me started thinking the tears were fake.

Could she be...?

No. There's no way she's like me. We don't have magic prophecy powers.

"Six-legged metal creature? I might know who that is..." I trailed off. Noticing the shocked look on Emiko's face, I quickly corrected myself. "Sorry! Sorry, I didn't mean to get your hopes up. I don't know for sure if that creature truly is one of my associates, and even if it was, I sure as hellfire didn't tell it to save you."

"Oh." Emiko wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. "But can you save me now? I really don't want to die, and I'm afraid once the sun rises my parents will find I've escaped and come looking for me."

"Some crappy parents you got," I muttered under my breath. "Alright, I've got a place in mind."

"You do?" Emiko asked. She sounded hopeful. Dammit, if she died today I might have something to feel guilty about.

I offered a soft smile as I twisted my hair up in an elaborate bun, securing the style with a pair of silver chopsticks adorned with lilac flowers. "Yeah. It's a place like no other, and my favorite out of any. No one will be able to find you there, trust me."

Emiko nodded, still looking scared but also slightly optimistic, her lips curving up into a smile.

Now I really believed she wasn't one of us. We're not that gullible, not that trusting. We don't waltz right into some random stranger's home and ask to be taken care of when we're wanted-we run, or die trying.

Emiko followed me down the creaky steps, past the wooden door, and into my world between worlds.