Just the Beginning

Silence. Chapter 38

Disclaimer: I do not own the picture above and have done only some basic editing. The link to the original picture is at the bottom of the page.

- 4:33 am: Saturday morning, Kou Gasai -

The kids' bus arrives and they jump down the small staircase of the bus. We both smile at them and I start dragging the bike up the hill as they all walk beside me.

"How was your day? Has it been okay?" I ask and they all nod in response with smiles on their faces.

"We played a lot of games. The teachers looked really tired and worried though, so I think they didn't enjoy." Shizuka says and goes back to looking at her notebook filled with several paper games. Alisha comes closer to me and whispers.

"Were they trying to get the kids' mind off of the things by playing games?" I shrug with slight uncertainty and keep looking at the kids.

"There were very less kids in school today. Everyone's scared of what happened." Kaito says and looks at Alisha and me. 

"Well, guess it didn't work, whatever they were trying to do." I look at Alisha and reply with a slight sassy tone. She inhales with her teeth clenched and we continue walking until we reach the hill top. We instantly go into our rooms and spend some time getting settled back in our house. I sigh in relief and lay my back on the bed. "Home sweet home." I smile as I look at the ceiling and close my eyes for a little while. 

"Thank you." That's what I told him when we were in the bowling alley. I remember starting to cry when he wiped my tears. He was being so gentle and kind, a side of him I had never seen.

I open my eyes with an irritated expression and look around the room after sitting up. I place my palm against my forehead and sigh while my eyes close again.

Why am I remembering this incident now? Ugh, I have to focus on studies. I can't be thinking about something I had no control over. I have no time to think about these kind of things.

Soon, I get up from the bed and walk towards my school bag, which has the talismans we found at Alisha's former house and near my house, again. I look at both of them and thrust them into my drawer with other talismans. To ease up my mind from all the seriousness, I pull out some clothes from my closet and go into the bathroom so I can refresh. The warm water against my skin really helps me focus on the present more than anything and after feeling better, I step out of the shower. 

I dry myself and walk out of the bathroom while rubbing the towel against my damp hair. I stand in front of my window as I look at the sun starting to rise with the beautiful dawn orange color covering the horizon. Blue becoming darker as the night sky closes in my vision. The peace is suddenly interrupted by a loud thunder near by. I cover my ears and close my eyes as I retract three steps away from the window. A yell escapes my lips as I bend forward in a semi-crouching position and the towel drops to the floor. 

I look at my door and instantly run out to see Alisha slamming the main door behind her. The kids come downstairs in a hurry but I stop them mid-way by running past the stairs.

"No! Don't go any further! Stay together in one of the bedrooms upstairs and don't come out!" I run to the exit without letting them speak any further and lock the door with a key I had picked up on the way. I quickly turn around to see Alisha running towards the back of the house and I follow her. "Alisha, wait!" She turns her head towards me but doesn't stop running, instead motions her hand to tell me to run faster. We reach at the back of the building in seconds and look at the smoke only a few hundred meters away. 

"What happened? How did it happen?" Alisha asks with her eyes wide as I look at her in worry and keep my mouth shut. My eyes travel back to the thickening smog and I rub my forehead. I see something laying on the grassy ground and glance at Alisha quickly, then back at what I think is the talisman. I slowly walk closer to the smoke and Alisha hesitantly follows me. 

"Look at this." I say and pick up the talisman while Alisha turns around to look at the ornament in my palm. A grunt escapes her lips and she starts walking back towards the house but I continue to look at the talisman. "We can't keep hiding Alisha." I hear the footsteps stop behind me but I keep my back towards her. "It's not about revenge, not about our safety. I'm worried about the kids I have a responsibility over. I don't want them to get in danger because of our family issues. They don't deserve to witness all this." 

I finally turn around to see her staring at me through the corner of her eye. She turns back and starts walking without a word. With another look at the vertical tunnel of smoke, I turn around and follow her wordlessly. 

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Picture: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiC8v2ctPjXAhVFYpoKHXCqDagQjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fexplore%2Fcool-anime-girl%2F&psig=AOvVaw2FEbUcWbvG2DZveQOsxc8U&ust=1512753365641053