Mère

Preface

The young girl opened her eyes, a foggy world surrounding her, and she stood clumsily, her legs weak and barely able to hold her weight. A length of blonde hair flowed smoothly from her head to her thighs, curved bangs framing her face, and her young eyes briefly scanned the area around her, their stormy grey colors both beautiful and fierce. In her mind, the word "Kimichi" was muttered, and she understood that it was her name.

She walked a few steps forward, the fog drifting around her knees, and she tried to see beyond the horizon, and was unable to. And so she took another few steps forward, and she began to walk frequently, a spark in her eye as she was determined to find something besides the endless fog, and she forced her legs to walk. 

A fuzzy memory blurred in her head, and she tripped over herself, recalling suddenly the face of a young man, with messy grey hair and deep hazel eyes, and with that memory came a little nervous feeling. Kimichi smiled to herself, holding onto the fuzzy image until suddenly she could recall him smiling, and she at his side, being the reason he smiled, as they moved in an odd motion that a little voice in her head identified as 'dancing.' 

Standing, more steady than she had before, she gazed upon the fog around her, and at the very horizon she saw the smallest figure, and happily she understood that it was the boy with the grey hair, and began to run, only to stumble over herself, grunting in pain as she hit the ground and skimmed her elbow on the cold, hard surface. Tears came to her eyes quickly, and she looked to her injury to see a thick stripe of blood sliding down her arm, all sticky and warm. Panicking at the sight of injury, she screamed, feeling totally defenseless and uninformed on what to do.

Right next to her, she heard laughter, and she looked to her side to see the grey haired boy, who was smiling. The nervous feeling enveloped her, and Kimichi felt heat rush up into her cheeks, and she wanted him to stop laughing, for it made her feel foolish. And as he laughed, she wanted him to stop so desperately that she opened her mouth, and without knowing how, spoke to him.

"St-stop.... stop laughing."

The boy paused, and so did she, as never before had she spoken, and she very much enjoyed the sound of her voice. It was soft, and gentle, and pretty, all great factors in her mind. 

Suddenly the boy spoke back, "We must clean your elbow," he said, and grabbed her arm before she could respond, stretching it out so that he could see the injury. Letting go of her arm, he tore a scrap from the sleeve of his white shirt, and wrapped it tightly around Kimichi's elbow, so tight that she let out a little 'ow' and he told her not to be a baby. 

"There," he said once he was finished, "is that better?"

"Uh..." Kimichi inspected the treatment, and admitted to herself that the boy had done a good job, but instead pouted, complaining, "it still stings."

He rolled his eyes, but his smile remained consistent, "Well I'm afraid that's the best I can do. I apologize if it did not live up to your expectations."

She frowned and stuck her tongue out him, something that she immediately realized was an immature thing to do and began to regret. The boy laughed again, and Kimichi returned to pouting, crossing her arms. 

The boy sighed, "I guess I should introduce myself. I am Tatsuki."

"I am... I am K... Ki-"

"Kimichi, I know you're name," Tatsuki nodded.

"How?"

He shrugged, "I have no idea."

Now Kimichi sighed, twirling her fingers and sending the fog into little motions that resembled miniature twisters. Tatsuki was silent beside her, watching the translucent formations she created as they spun and faded into nothing. And for a long time they sat, side by side, Kimichi playing with the fog and Tatsuki watching her. "It's like dancing," Kimichi commented after a long time, "it twirls around all happy looking."

"Happy looking? It looks rather sad to me. It really matches this gloomy place."

"But it's dancing."

"So dancing makes things happy?"

"Yes."

He chuckled, "Well than, Miss Kimichi, would you like to dance?" He stood and offered her his hand.

Kimichi paused, surprised for a moment before nodding her consent, yet refusing to let him help her up. But when she stood, she almost fell again, her legs still weak and unbalanced, and so Tatsuki caught her and helped her steady herself. Embarrassed, Kimichi blushed, pouting again as his assistance had in fact been required, and she blushed even more when he grabbed her hand with his, and placed his other against her back, instructing her to place her own on his shoulder. They began to dance, Tatsuki guiding Kimichi as she stumbled every now and then. 

Even though she pouted, Kimichi was happy, despite being almost completely alone, with no memory and no idea where she was. For that while, when they both dancing, Tatsuki and Kimichi were perfectly content.

And everything felt perfect.