Tales of Kijo - Book One: "It All Began"

5: Fear of the Unknown

The feel of the wind graced upon Kijo's face. Out of the dark, her eyes blinked open and blinded by the bright light of day. Having a blurry vision had its advantages, Kijo would not be able to see if she entered the spirit world. Eventually the images became clear enough to figure out she was inside a room?

Kijo quickly sat up from the bed she laid on and scanned around for Ai. Eager to find her sister until white strands of hair fell from the top of her head. She focused on the strands and jumped off the bed, reaching up to clench her hair in both hands.

"Whose hair is this?!" Kijo screamed and it could be heard throughout the entire castle.

Not far away, Oukoji has been sitting at a table with Markus, his ears twitched while catching the sound of Kijo screaming. "Ah. Well there's our first wake up call." He spoke before taking a sip from his mug.

Another scream filled the castle, "What the heck is this?!".

And another, "My hair!!".

Oukoji cleared his throat as he raised an eyebrow towards Markus. "Still think it was a good decision to leave them alone?" He asked mockingly.

Markus sighed and stood up from the bench, "C'mon you." He spoke as he made his way towards the medical rooms.

Back in the medical room, Kijo had been staring at her new white coloured hair and intertwined the strands between her fingers. Her breathing was rapid as was her heartbeat. "Oh no, no, no... why am I so old?" She whispered to herself.

"They found you like that." A familiar male voice spoke.

Kijo turned around to see Syrik standing at the doorway. He must of been there for some time. "Wha- what do you mean? My hair is white!" She suddenly panicked while grasping parts of her hair.

Syrik stared at this girl feeling annoyed, "Probably from rebellion I assume." The young boy crossed his arms, "Karma is quite evil in its own ways, don't you think?".

Kijo bit her tongue. She knew that was a response to the beating he received by her brother. "I doubt it."

"Nice hairstyle anyway, though white is mostly for the old people." Syrik smirked at Kijo's blush.

Kijo ignored the young boy and rushed passed him in the doorway. She quickly looked for Ai and Kaki since Syrik brought an interesting topic to mind. In one of the medical rooms, she found Kaki with a shocked face as she held her own head. "Kaki, you too?" Kijo asked.

Kaki turned to look at Kijo, quickly pointing with her finger. "Ah! You have white hair! What's the deal?" She squealed and collapsed to her knees. Kaki's hair is now half white on one side while the other half contained their natural color. Her little sister didn't know what to make of this.

"I don't believe what I'm seeing..." Ai's voice was heard by both of her sisters, who turned to look in her direction of the hallway. "Why... why is our hair white?" Ai asked with concern.

Just then, Markus And Oukoji showed up in the opposite direction of the hall. "Girls, are you all alright?" From hearing Markus speak, Kaki immediately covered her head with a spare sheet.

"Wow... you all look..." Oukoji stared at his sisters while taking in the image of their new hair colour. It really reminded him of their mother.

"What happened, Oukoji?" Ai quickly asked.

He was not exactly sure how to answer that. With a glance at Markus beside him, he took a deep breath. "I don't know, Ai but I've never been so worried about you all. We'll find out soon I suppose..."