Ayame's life

Treasure Chest

It was dark, way too dark to see anything in the rather tight chest she had been locked into. Earlier that day, she had a disagreement with their dad about Axel, more specifically about their dad raising his hand at him. Ayame knew her twin didn't do anything, the man was just angry about something and wanted to blow off some steam, unfortunately for the "older" twin, he was spotted first. The brunette knew how much the man's punches stung and just how bad the bruises got; she couldn't let that happen, not when neither of them had gotten the chance to heal yet. In a rash moment, she raised her voice to stop him; it couldn't even be called shouting but she could definitely be heard and the man didn't like it, anyone with eyes was able to tell that much. However he did not hit Axel, turned away from him completely, heading into Ayame's direction instead. The girl didn't waver; taking the danger head on.

Strong, firm hand grabbed a fistful of chestnut hair, dragging the small, petite girl towards a damp, dark and dusty basement. Cement walls without paint or decoration surrounded not only them but also the object of fear; an old, wooden chest with black hinges and a single lock, key nowhere in sight. Nothing else sat in the room which only made it more creepy.

Even if just barely but a person of her size could fit into said chest and Ayame knew that way too well already. Having to be punished as often as her, the dad had to be creative as having too many injuries would be way too noticeable, thus at times like these, he had to switch to psychological abuse. One of his never ideas was locking her in for a while -until he remembered that she exists and let her out- usually a couple of hours, maybe a day. This was no different. Roughly shoving the girl inside, he locked the chest right away, not giving her any time to protest at all. A door was slammed shut once the stairs stopped creaking, earning itself a flinch and then quiet. Nothing but the dripping water droplets that echoed in her ears. The floor above was just as quiet, not a single one of the planks made a noise. That was a good sign and Ayame booked it as an absolute success.

Even after her eyes adjusted to the awful dark, she could not see a thing. Air so warm and sticky, it made her lungs feel as if they were barely filled with any oxygen, soon enough forcing her to pant to be able to breathe in enough of it.

Time was passing by so slowly, a single minute felt like a year and a whole lot of years have passed.

Loud breathing and dripping water filled her small ears, making them feel as if they were throbbing. Nostrils filled with the scent of old and wet wood. All she saw was dark, not the slightest of light making it through the thick wooden planks that made up the chest. It was cold, dark and very unpleasant, breathing and heartbeat never slowing down.The feeling of being trapped washing over her in strong continuous waves, pulling her under as if to drown her without a chance of coming to the surface.

Shivering helped each and every injury to make themselves known as they got pushed against the bottom of the box. Such an uncomfortable position, it would definitely cause the bad kind of soreness all over her body if she could even get out by herself. The man had every intention of leaving her there if that was not the case. Having a horrendous intolerance for weakness didn't make the kids' jobs easier when treating injuries or helping each other, that however never stopped the siblings. They always had each other's backs, no matter how scary and powerful their dad was. That usually led to even worse punishment than before but they stood up for each other even if they were too afraid to do so for themselves.

Growling stomach was the only thing that actually let Ayame know time was actually passing; mouth dry; lips chapped.

Once the top of the chest was opened he left, leaving the blinded girl alone. The light feeling so bright, so unnaturally powerful, tiny shaking hands had to cover sapphire blue eyes. Trying to give huge pupils enough time to readjust to the new lighting conditions and no one came down, no one but the dad was allowed to and the fact that nobody broke that rule made her heavy and tired heart feel way lighter. Finally squirming herself out of the wooden structure that trapped her for so, so long let her breathe deeper, more freely. Standing was out of the question for now. Muscles aching all over and her eyes were nowhere near being used to the sudden change in lighting. For a good while it was pure agony, then it slowly toned down, never actually leaving but easing to a more bearable level.

Losing complete touch of time didn't help to solve just how long the girl sat in the chest, waiting, trying to stand up, to breathe a little easier. Having no windows in the cellar was not reassuring, nor helpful in any way imaginable. The small girl could easily recall the time their dad decided to seal up the little, narrow window without any paint on its almost rotten, wooden frame and fogged up glass.

She could hear whispering from the top of the stairs. Judging by his height, it had to be Axel for sure. He was calling out to her, trying to get her attention, get her to stand up and join him.

A hug. She knew a hug was coming her way the second she defeated the staircase, and to put it lightly, she wanted that hug. The warm and caring embrace of her siblings that always made her feel better right away. Ayame needed that more than anything and was ready to walk on pins and needles to get it.

Not wasting another second, weak, trembling legs pushed her out of the box, stumbling to, and then up the stairs, melting into his arms, no longer bothering to hold herself upright. Luckily being as awfully light as she was, Axel could carry her without any difficulties at all. Being carried always meant that she had no more strength left for walking and usually, that meant even more punishment, right now, Ayame couldn't take any more.

Axel was careful and gentle not to cause any more pain than she was already in. He made sure not to be loud both because their dad was asleep and if he woke up and saw them like this, they would be dead and also because he knew just how sensitive her ears were after barely hearing anything for such a long time. It was already the next day, meaning his sister had been in that basement for not less than 24 hours. The boy never had to go there and thus had no idea what happened during that time.

Always took the trouble, no matter how bad things got and Axel hated that more than anything. He wanted nothing more than to protect his sister and seeing how many times he's failed, how many times she protected him instead, it made him feel powerless and weak. For now, all he could do was gently lay her down on the couch and get Hide to make her some food. It seemed like such a small thing in his eyes and had no idea just how much that gesture meant to his sister. Hide always made Onigiri when things got especially bad like today.  Axel sitting down beside his sister as they waited for the eldest sibling to finish.

As the sound of boiling water and the scent of cooking rice filled the air, a melancholic smile smeared onto Ayame's pale, worn out face and once again, she knew that things could be alright. Maybe not today, nor tomorrow but one day. As long as everyone was alive, they had a chance to make their lives better and for that future, Ayame was ready to give her life.