Morning Star

Chapter One ◠Death Wish◠

It was unusual, but it was for once sunny in the small town. Many people, both rich and poor were out and enjoying the fresh breeze and dazzling sun, except Mikara. She was sitting in the darkness of an alley, her eyes glazed over like newly cut glass while watching the kids on the street play. She was not supposed to be entertained by that, but she was. She was tired, very tired. She was not as beautiful as she had been before the death of her friend. Her saggy eyes and lingering body were a perfect example of her not being well after the tragedy.

"Julia, no!" She screamed as she was dragged away from the lifeless body. It was not conceivable. It had been so sudden. A glance and Julia's body collapsed, her eyes not showing any emotion nor sign of her being alive. She was dead and no one knew why.

The horrifying flashbacks still haunt her. It had been a year since the events but they were still vividly replaying in her mind. The people usually by her side who call themselves her family, had tried to get her help, but none of their methods had proven successful. For the time being, she was being driven to the edge of her sanity. She was unsure if something beyond the realm of reality had claimed Julia as their own. The only thing Mikara truly wished for, was to join her friend. But how far down the rabbit hole does she dare crawl? Instead of assuming her position at Julia's side, she found herself sitting on the cold, hard ground thinking of what used to be. She didn't feel upset, she stopped feeling upset months ago. She stopped feeling months ago. It was just emptiness, and the spark that had been lit by Julia was gone as easily as it came. Only one thing kept Mikara drawn to this existence, and that one thing was just above her, on a bin, ready to pounce. Holly. The jet-black cat was already on her lap, purring like the big kitten she is, her swaying tail caressing her cheek.

"Can you please stop doing that! I've told you before!" Mikara shouted, in a playful tone of course. She didn't seem to get an answer, only a couple of big, green eyes to glance at her and a purr followed close by. She couldn't resist and decided to wrap her arms around the furry thing, nuzzling her face against its long side. There was a gust of wind, an unusual sensation considering they were cuddled up in an alley. Also unusual, was Holly's decision to break free of Mikara's grasp and dash off. "Holly?! Where are you going?" She exclaimed as she was left to eat the cat's dust. She set off after her to find out what had gotten into her cat.
"Holly, wait..." She groaned under her breath, putting her weight onto her right whilst leaning up against the wall of bricks by her side. She furrowed her brows, watching the cat remain in place, its long puffy tail waving from left to right as if it's a motion for Mikara to follow. "Is it because you're hungry, cat?" She mumbled, slowly walking towards her pet. Sooner or later she realized that Holly had dragged her all the way to the cemetery - a small church close by as well. Mikara's frown had grown, her lips were parted too as if she wanted to say something, but couldn't muster doing such. The same uncomfortable gust of wind appeared again. The coldness pierced her skin. Holly continued to lead her pursuer into the front of the church. There was a nice garden there the last time Mikara was forced to go there. But apparently, that was no longer the case. It was nothing more than dust and a couple of scorch marks. It looked unnatural, like nothing that had ever been seen before. She knew the pastor here, he would never let this happen to his garden. It was his most prized possession. Holly had stopped in the doorway whilst glancing back at Mikara, almost as if to say 'Come.' Mikara followed the unspoken order that she had received, her legs trembling beneath her, by both the reasons that running after that damn cat had been such a nightmare, and that fear was pulsating through her veins. What was going on? Her cat could suddenly communicate with her and burning church gardens had suddenly become a popular pastime in this area? She slowly made her way into the church, against her better judgement.

The two kept walking through the church, the walls which used to be blank and steady were getting old, the planks which people would call the "floor", were creaking whenever she took a step. Mikara walked through the church almost in a daze. It all felt so surreal, like this place didn't belong. Holly seemed more timid than usual, Mikara wasn't used to seeing her like this. The fun loving but lazy cat was no more. She seemed determined though to lead her to wherever she wanted Mikara to go. The church pews were all immaculately in place, although slightly worn. Considering the fact that the garden out front was scorched, the interior of the church was perfectly normal. As if nothing had happened. Was she imagining all this? It did seem rather bizarre that she was following her cat as if it had suddenly become more intelligent than herself. They continued onwards to the church altar, was Holly trying to marry Mikara without her consent? What would her father think of her? She was sure she can do better than a cat if she would've tried. Holly sprung up onto something behind the altar, a religious sculpture or something. Mikara turned away for a second to look out towards the pews. Everything was silent, a moment of tranquility. She forgot about everything and just assumed the role of a priest carrying out a church service. She could imagine herself in the stupid robes acting like she had a holy rod up her own ass. Whilst thinking of how she'd address her crowd, something furry touching her leg scared the hell out of her. She jumped in utter terror.