Violence and Vulnerability

Chapter 1

"Ma, why's dinner taking so long?!" My little sister, Teiko, grips at my mother's apron and lightly tugs it. She tries to use the momentum from our mother's clothing to propel herself over the counter to see the food. Being so small, she fails her mission and is on the verge of toppling over.

"Don't worry, the food is almost ready," my mother chuckles. I've always been amazed at how patient my mother is with my little siblings. I've tried to take after her in that regard but I quickly find myself losing patience with the little ones.

Instead, she just pats Teiko on the head and chuckles before turning to me. "Sanemi, honey? Would you mind going out into the garden to get some sage? I forgot to get it earlier when it was brighter out."

I nod and set down the pork I was cutting. I rinse off the knife and decide to bring it with me to cut the herb off of the branch. "Be back in a second," I say tiredly as I trot down the stairs to the small garden in our backyard.

Even though it's small, our garden has always been a pleasant place for the entire family. We mainly grow herbs and a couple of easy-to-grow plants like green onion; simply the smell can put your mind at ease. Gardening is primarily my mother's hobby, though it has transferred to most of us kids throughout the years. It's one of the only places where we can escape the Shinazugawa's hectic lifestyle and relax while being gently swayed by the wind and the scent of the plants.

I look up at the sky as I walk to the garden. The night is pristine, a deep purple canvas littered with majestic white specs. The moon seems to have disappeared in the sky, only leaving a tiny sliver remaining. To many, this night sky would seem bleak and ominous, but these were always my favorite nights. Without the sheen of the moon, the shimmer of the stars can stand out.

The breeze ruffles through my hair like fingers gently caressing my scalp as I finally look down from the sky. I look ahead at the garden and my serene smile fades into the night like the moon. The wind whispers to me again, but it feels more cold and threatening now than it did a moment ago. In front of our garden is a tall, eerie, ethereal figure who looks as if they're the moon that was plucked from the night sky.

The figure has long, thin hair that trails down its back and legs like a slow-running waterfall. The waterfall begins as a black that matches the deep sky and slowly trickles into a pure, snowy white. They tie their hair at the bottom as if that will be enough to keep their hair away from their face and eyes. The figure's hair shimmers in the starlight, but not enough to let me see their face, which they keep hidden from view.

Their long violet robes ripple in the wind at the same pace as the shivers running down my spine. I take a sharp breath, gripping at the knife I brought to cut the sage from the plant.

"One of you finally emerges," the figure says, who I can now tell to be a very frail man. He still stays facing the plants, gently twisting a single cheerful dandelion between his long, slender fingers. His voice is soothing and monotone, making his presence all the more frightening. "To be frank, I'm happy it was you and not one of your siblings."

My grip on the knife immediately tightens until my knuckles turn as white as the tips of his hair. I quickly glance back up at the house, making sure that all of my family is still safe inside and that the windows are closed.

"Who the hell are you and what the fuck are you doing here?" I snarl, not even bothering to hide the knife from view.

The man lets out a single breath, quietly chuckling at my words. I can see the corners of his mouth curl upward as if I was joking. "My, you're even more of a feisty child than what I've heard," he muses, finally turning around.

As he turns around, I almost drop the knife. His eyes are completely white, or at least that's how it looks at first. His eyelashes are the same snowy white as his hair or mine, but his irises are slightly different. His right iris is a light silver and his pupil is slightly darker, only to make it stand out a little more. His left eye, on the other hand, was a deep shade of purple, not too dissimilar to my own eyes.