A New Route

A Vision in the Morning

The distance seemed almost endless. I look through my window and reach out my hand  in towards the bright, faint sunrise, as if I'm trying to reach in and touch it, to be embraced by it's faint light and warmth. I clench my fist and imagine that I'm grabbing the sun itself. Then I noticed the bracelet wrapped around my wrist. A clear see through band with a white orb on one end and a black orb on the other. I look at it, glistening in the light reflecting of the clear plastic beads. I remove it then look at the kanji signs on the black and white orbs and read it out in a whisper. "We won't." That's it, just those two words, and I don't remember the second half. It kills me not remembering the rest of the message, like a piece of me is missing. An incomplete feeling takes over my mind. I let out a sigh and set the brace on my nightstand next to my bed. The clock says "5:10am". "Damn, two hours early. So much for sleeping in my last day of school." Motionless and in the dark, I grab my laptop and almost immediately blinded by the bright light on the screen. The home screen shows a group picture of  my friend Estelle and my little brother Winter. I put my headset on and listen to music, songs I've mashed up, remixes and such. Time seems to go by so slow, but it's just an illusion when my alarm goes off. "7:15am already? I still have sometime to myself... Wait... 7:15am?!" I slam my laptop with great vigor and dash out of bed. Sunlight bathes my bedroom, creating a warm and peaceful feeling throughout my whole being. I look back at my nightstand and see the bracelet. "We won't." What was that supposed to mean? I walk back and put it on.
"It feels wrong not wearing it." I tell myself.
The sunrise shines over me and I let out a gentle smile. I rush to the bathroom to wake and wash up. Brush my teeth, wash my face, I do the essentials. I walk down stairs still in my pajamas. The kitchen isn't occupied. The stove is cold, and nothing is set up. I scratch my bed head hair, and walk back upstairs. I knock on Winter's door and he answers, sounding like he just woke up.
"Les, what are you doing!? It's 7:17 in the morning!" He says.
"Yeah, I know! Come on, get dressed we're going to be late!" I reply.
His ears twitch and he drops his tail. He's a beastman, so waking up should be easier for him anyway. He face palms and doesn't even budge. He just stands their in the doorway.
"Leslie? There's no school today! Yesterday was the last day, so go back to sleep!"
He slams the door in my face and I feel the gust of wind as he does so. I wipe the hair out of my face, and turn away.
"Geez, rude wolf." I whisper.
"Heard that." He replies.
I let out a small giggle and walk back to my room. Now what? My room is dimly lit up from the curtains. I rub my face and sigh. With my hair brush in my hand and phone in the other, I call me friend, open the curtains and let the light wash over me. With the window open I can smell the fresh air.
"Hello? Es, you there?"
"Hey Leslie! Woke up early again, I'm guessing?"
"Yeah... "
"Hahaha!! This just like last year! I can't believe you did it again!"
"Well, why are you awake so early?"
"I was up all night, again."
"Let me guess. Talking to your new lion boyfriend?"
"Oh honey, you know me so well."
"Estelle, I've known you for three years now."
"Honestly, I've been wondering."
"Now that's dangerous."
"Haha, very funny, Shiriyuki. Anyway, when are YOU going to find someone?"
I drop my hand on the windowsill, and hang my head. I'm not interested, none of the guys I like are really boyfriend material.
"Sorry Les, never mind. I already know what your going to say. I have to get going, I have some family breakfast to get to. So I'll call you later, okay, love?"
"Sure, no problem, later, Es."
The call ends, it's quiet, then the sound of birds chirping break the silence. I stand there, mesmerized by the freedom birds have. It's foolish of sorts to say I'm envious of them. While getting lost in thought, I heard a knock on the door behind me, which freaked me out.
"Boo, big sister."
It was Winter with his smug and semi rude attitude.
"Heh, I thought you were sleeping."
"Well, after you woke me up it was kinda hard too. Anyway, I checked the mail. Looks like we got something from dad. And something you to."
Our father, Sedau Shiriyuki is where Winter gets his looks from. Being a wolf beastman, they're usually taller then humans. Even though I'm two years older then Winter, he's about 5'6 while I'm 5'4. Damn genes. He hands me the letter from our dad. We don't get to see him or our mother, Donna Shiriyuki, since they're job requires them to be constantly on the move. I open the letter from him and to our surprise, two train tickets for this afternoon slide out as I open the paper.
"Dearest Leslie and Winter,
Your mother and I won't be able to be home for the summer. Our director needed us to take care of an important job in Osaka. We know it can't make up for our absence, but we bought the two of you tickets for a train ride to Kyushu. You two can visit your grandmother and grandfather while your there. The debit card contains 10,000 yen, so don't spend it all at once. We both love you two very much and hope you two will enjoy your time there. When we come home, we expect some pictures of your time there!
Our most love, your mother and father."
And that's the end of the letter. Odds are, it was probably Dad who wrote it since it was short, sweet and straight to the point. Winter looks at the tickets and sees the departure time of the train to Kyushu.
"It says the train leaves at 5:30pm today. Should we leave at around 4:50?"
"Yeah, that seems like a good time. God, Kyushu. We haven't been in five years since we moved away. I wonder if the others still remember us."
"Well, knowing them, they wouldn't. You knew them for ten years and they knew me for eight, so them forgetting is very unlikely."
I laugh at him for being such a dork. We both go downstairs and I prepare breakfast for the both of us. Winter took cooking for two years in high school, but the little puppy is only a sophomore while I'm a senior at Kyoto Gaidai Nishi High School, but besides that, he's a way better cook then I am. We finish breakfast and get out bags ready for the ride to Kyushu. As I'm packing my bags, so many thoughts filled my head. How is it going to be? Will they remember us? I've never been this excited and happy in a good while. I catch myself blushing slightly while looking in the mirror on my desk. I notice the brace around my wrist again. Black and white. 'I hope I'll remember the other half.' I think to myself. I hear a knock on my door. It was Winter with his bags all packed up.
"It's already 4:45pm, we should get going!" He says joyfully.
I let out a slight smile and nod. I grabs my bags, lock up the house and make our way to the Kyoto Train Station. My head is full of thoughts. How will this summer go? How beautiful would it have gotten? Then a worrisome realization comes up.
"Wait... Will Kyushu have wifi?!"