In the busy town of Plaridel, where people are dependent on magical abilities called quip, lives a young lady named Nikumu. One day, she finds her father, who was away for almost ten years, unconscious on their doorstep. After seeking help, she and...
She sighed as she closed her eyes. Only a month is left and Nikumu was still nowhere near her end goal. Her sigh was immediately caught by the passing wind which swayed her hair back and forth like chestnut laces dancing with the wind.
It was a windy afternoon. Being on top of the tree that overlooked the whole plaza of Plaridel gave her a sense of solitude and serenity amidst the crisis that went on in her head. The huge tree was near the playground and it was wrapped with huge Balete vines, just like how the rest of the Acacia trees were in that plaza. Just for a few moment, she allowed herself to unwind; a small thing she always did every late afternoon. With her eyes closed, the smell of the leaves became stronger and the wind started to be audible. Now, only the rustling of the leaves from the Acacia tree, the whispers of the wind, and the busy plaza could be heard. Seconds turned to minutes and minutes turned into hours of idleness. She soon fell into a deep slumber.
When she opened her eyes, she was in total darkness and she was wearing her usual red cloak now. Slowly, she walked in caution, trying to walk without getting stumbled. The floor felt flat and even and it seemed to be empty. After walking for what felt like eternity, she found a small glimmer of light ahead. Though her hopes were up, she kept her guard tight for what awaited her. She was relieved to see a little girl, and was a feeling a bit uneasy wondering how she got there in the first place. The girl was sobbing and crouching on the floor with her face burried in her arms. "What's the matter? Are you okay?" Nikumu asked the little girl and approached her with caution. "...-y... ...-mmy" "W-what?" "...daddy ... mommy..." "Where are they little girl? How did you get here?" She now leaned closer to the crouched girl. "Where are your mommy and daddy?" There was silence. The girl stopped sobbing and it seemed that she also stopped moving. "...-one." "Sorry, what? I didn't quite catch that..." The little girl stood up, her face still darted downwards. Something was dripping on her face but Nikumu couldn't see it properly. "L-little girl?..." Nikumu's guard bolted straight up. Something was odd, very odd. "I-it's alright, I'll help you find them. "GONE! THEY'RE GONE! SOMEONE SLAUGHTERED THEM." The little girl shouted furiously, exposing her face. She had no eyes, they were dark and hollow with blood oozing out, streaming down her face. Her hollow eyesockets were aimed towards Nikumu as she slowly walked towards her, pointing at her direction. "YOU KILLED THEM, SLAUGHTERED THEM WITHOUT MERCY!!" "Children were not part of my targets but I guess YOU are an exception!" Nikumu prepared her piano wires and wore her thick gloves, getting ready for combat but before she could attack, another woman appeared behind her, also sobbing. "... you didn't listen to my plea..." and then another man popped out. "You caught me off guard!" More and more people appeared, surrounding Nikumu. "My family!" "... it was you!" "Why?!" "I still had to take care of my family, now my wife and child are starving!" One by one, people started to appear that seemed to blame Nikumu for the things that happened to them. The dark and silent room now became filled with cries and screams of sadness and agony, which left Nikumu in terror. She didn't know what to do and everyone was surrounding her. She covered her ears, closed her eyes and dropped on her knees, refusing to listen and see. "I had no choice!" She defended. "So did we!" The annonymous people all answered in chorus. "You caught us unprepared, you took our lives away, leaving behind our families!" "It's for my family..." she amswered weakly. "WE HAVE FAMILIES TOO!" Nikumu crouched down, burrying her face, refusing to listen to the choruses that the people spouted at her. "How could you?" "Stop..." "Why did you do this to us?" They didn't stop. "Stop, I say..." "Murderer!" They continued to chant. "Stoooooop!"
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She grasped for air as she woke up. She was breathing heavily as she realized she was still on top of the Acacia tree. "...nightmare. It was just a nightmare..." "Ding... dong... ding... dong..." the churchbells from the two churches that were near the plaza started to chime and the people started to go home. It was getting dark so Nikumu wiped her cold sweat and took a deep breath. "Twilight... it's about that time again..."
