Re: Duality

Mother

   The performance resumes with an air of lighthearted naivete and unwitting foreshadowing. The performer acts alone, but still the other performers follow her steps to each beat willingly. The watcher merely waits for the next step closer to the conclusion; there they will find the answer they have been searching for.

   I hug Kaori and Saizo tightly before we are about to leave the village. They and the other shadow demons give us as much supplies as Nicholas can carry. I even catch Saizo pack a few of those divine desserts into a small satchel for me to carry; Nicholas doesn't seem to notice, or if he did, he doesn't seem to care all too much. Kaori whispers something into Nicholas' ear that I can't quite hear and I start to ask what she whispered, but Nicholas' sharp glare towards my direction reminds me to mind my own business. We set off as all the shadow demons wave farewell at our backs as we forge ahead. This town is isolated, so they should all be quite safe from any threat, right? They're some of the strongest demons out there, no one would be foolish to attack them, right? Kaori and Saizo... I look more like them then my own father. He realizes that much, and that's probably why things are much more... awkward than they were before. 

   "You have regrets. You said you wanted to travel with your father..... Were you not sincere with yourself?" Angie asks quietly as she suddenly appears and walks right next to me. Her hand reaches out and our fingers entwine in a friendly familiar manner. There is a faint physical feel to her hand, but it is incredibly faint and may as well not even be there. From my little satchel I pull forth a piece of candy and offer it to Angie, but she merely stares at Nicholas' back; his gaze focused on reading the map Saizo provided to him. 

   "...I was sincere. I wanted to go with Nicholas. He is...my family, even after the incident. The better question is why are you here now? Is something bad about to happen?" My hand pulls away from her's and a flicker of sadness passes through her eyes. She still does not remove her gaze from Nicholas as if she were analyzing the beating of his heart and the quickness of his breath. He stops and leans against a burnt tree clutching his chest, but he is quick to stand back up straight and continue forward.

   "If he is your family why do you still not call him father? Does the incident still bother you that much?" She notes how much I flinch at her stinging questions. She should know better than anyone why I can't call him father...

   "He loves you more than you realize, yet you still blind yourself like a child. The longer you hide the truth in darkness, the more painful it will be when it is dragged back into the light. Embrace and forgive, that is all the advice I can supply you with for now." In a blink of an eye Angie is gone and I'm already far behind Nicholas. The distance between us is hard to close what with all the poor foliage and unstable ground in the way. I stumble and fall along the way, but Nicholas is there to place me back on my feet once he notices I'm falling behind. Surprised by how sudden the gap has closed, I push him away and take several steps backwards.

   "Anju.... Are you alright? Do you wanna go back to the village?" He steps closer to me and gets on a knee. He clicks his tongue in what comes across as annoyance as cleans off my dirty knees with a damp piece of cloth. I peer above his head as he does this action, and notice that the road forward is even worse the road we've traversed through. I shyly step closer to him and place my small hands on his strong, broad shoulders. He flinches, but picks me up in his arms and onto his shoulders nonetheless. I place my hands in his greasy hair and contemplate what Angie said, what could she be talking about? Perhaps I should of stayed....Maybe...Maybe Nicholas can't-

   As Nicholas walks, too caught up in his own thoughts and the directions on the map, he misses a steep incline and slips down it. There is a loud crack and a sharp cry of pain from one of us as Nicholas falls backwards onto the ground; his attempts to catch himself only result in him sliding and subsequently myself, down the slope. The incline is littered in rocks and sticks of varying sizes, all of which tear our clothes and skin apart. From my point of view I am able to see the end of the descent, a cliff leading into a large body of water. Nicholas realizes this fact far too late and tries desperately to stop our rapidly increasing plunge into supposedly certain death. I cling desperately to Nicholas which only hinders his attempts at saving us.