Moon Flower

Sneak Peek

Rain beat down like silver drops, illuminated by the moonlight as Mei and I sat together on the porch. Her head laid in my lap while my fingers ran through her hair, soothing the both of us. A gentle smile graced my lips. As the pitter patter of the rain played around us, I began to drift into my own thoughts. Only a month ago, we had made the rash decision to run away together under the cover of the stars. Only a month age we had left everything and everyone behind in order to allow our love to thrive. It was selfish thinking, I know, but I couldn't be happier. I was no longer my father's eldest son and successor, no longer a man of obligation and duty, no longer a man to be married simply for alliance sake, no longer a man who was forbidden to have what his heart desired. Now I was a simple restaurant owner, working alongside my wife. Now I was happy, and my heart was full.

After a few minutes, Mei's breathing had become slower signifying that she was asleep, so I picked her up taking her our bedroom at the back of our little restaurant. I laid her on the bed, covered her up and kissed her forehead before climbing in beside her. I planted one more kiss upon her brow before falling asleep myself.

The morning, the sun shone down fiercely as I walked back from the market with piles of ingredients in my arms. I'd left Mei to run the restaurant as the morning crowd was usually pretty small and we desperately needed things for the lunch rush. I was one-third of the way home when I suddenly smelled smoke. At first, I didn't think too much of it because not far down the road there was a smokehouse. However, the closer I got to the house there more I realized that wasn't the smell of meat. My mind went into a panic and I took off, hoping it was nothing to fear. As I reached the restaurant, I was met by people running out in a panic and the restaurant coveted in hungry flames. I rushed over to one of the people who was trying to catch their breath, trying to grasp hold of the situation. "What happened?" I asked an elderly woman who'd I seen many times before. She took a hold of my arm to steady herself before saying "Some men came in looking for you and started to trash the place then set the place on fire. They said, 'this is for the revenge of Aki'." An alarm went off in my head, but I tried to stay rational and calm. "Have you seen my wife?" I asked her as I helped her sit on the ground away from the building. The woman shook her head no, coughing into her hand. I quickly nodded before running off into the direction of the restaurant to find Mei. Men ran past me with buckets of water in hand already trying to put out the fire as I tried to find her. I began calling her name out frantically before someone shouted: "She's still inside!!!". All the blood in my body felt as though it drained out and onto the ground. Then in the same instant, it all came back and jump-started my body. I ran toward the front door with all resolve in mind. However, the moment I set foot on the step, the roof collapsed-

My eyes flew open and I awoke in a small sweat still in my bed, still in my home. The one I had dreamt of abandoning. Abandoning for Mei. I slowly climbed out of bed and stepped outside into the night air. The crescent moon reflected on the pond as I sat down in front of it. The wind graced my face although with the reminder that tomorrow I am to be married against my better wishes. Then suddenly, my mind started to replay the events of the dream I just had. My skin felt cold just thinking about it. If I decided to runaway to be with Mei instead of going through with my obligations, would that happen? Was that a premonition? If it was, running away was not an option. But what could I do? Suddenly I heard a rustle and quickly turned around. As soon as I did I was met by Aki, my future wife. I stood up and bowed to her but kept my gaze away. From the corner of my eyes I could see she smiled as she stepped up beside me, "You know, the moon is quite beautiful, it almost makes me want to hold our wedding at night." She hummed. She grew quite again before grinning once more. Aki reached out and touched my face and whispered, "Goodnight, future husband" then turned and left me alone with the moon. Once she was gone I sighed and search the star rattled sky for what do. What I could possibly do. All that I received was the whistle of the wind , dancing across my face.