Faded

Death To One's Heart

Approaching the golden palace designated to be her home and work place, the witch’s feet could barely carry her weight. It were as if the scarf she held in her hands were the weight of the world. Tears streamed down her cheeks, showing no signs of stopping any time soon. All of this was too much on her poor frail heart… someone as innocent as Wadanohara had no right to see such treacherous acts done to each of her friends. Of course, some were still alive- Ver, Emalf, Kcalb, and Samekichi- but did they have a chance against the unfortunate plague that swept over the rest of them?

The stairs were another story. She stumbled with her every step; her glazed eyes blurring her vision entirely. There was noise coming from the hall where everyone stayed… people must have been awake. How early was it? They should all be asleep! Samekichi must have woken up and noticed that his spouse had disappeared while he had dozed off. Their voices got louder until Wadanohara’s pale fingers wrapped around the golden knob of the door leading to the hallway. All the bustling seemed to seize, and when she finally pushed open the door, Ver, Samekichi, Kcalb, and Emalf were staring right through her.

“Wadanohara!”

Samekichi exclaimed, running over to her and immediately wrapping his arms around the nurse’s puny figure. He appeared the most shocked out of everyone. Ver gave a sigh of relief, Emalf nearly fell over from panic (either to be dramatic or literally), yet Kcalb didn’t seem fazed. The devil knew of the nurse’s whereabouts… maybe he was simply playing along with them, or looking for something else entirely.

“Samekichi… I… I don’t feel well…”

She muttered, nearly falling limp in his embrace. The feathers of the scarf awkwardly rubbed up against the shark, which made her pull it back to Samekichi’s surprise. Why was the witch so cautious about it? Ver seemed to be fixated by the feathery article of clothing; her jaw almost dropping and eyes wide. No one else seemed too concerned by the scarf like she was, and her voice wasn’t cooperating with her until the shark began leading the witch to her room.

“W-Wait. Wadanohara. Where did you get that scarf? No shop is open this early.”

That seemed to bring a silence looming above everyone. Their attention went from the demon who spoke up to the black and white feathery garment. Wadanohara’s features went sheet white; her eyes almost growing darker with sorrow. She knew what she had seen; she knew what these feathers were. She was never going to wear this. If anything, the witch was going to gently and reverently place it on top of her dresser with Satanick’s horns. Maybe she would wrap them around the base of the box to provide warmth and… a strange sense of comfort.

“The scarf… it…,”

It took every fiber of her being to get the words out (if she could even collect them all). Should she tell them? It would certainly wreck Ver. She knew Memoca so well… so well that Wadanohara envied their friendship almost (as much as she hated to admit it). To hear that the pelican’s feathers had been removed to make this scarf would be heart numbing… especially this early in the morning. It seemed as if these deaths were never going to stop; day after day, someone had been lost to the glorious hands of the pearly gates.

“These feathers… are… Memoca’s…”

Simply saying her name broke out the sobs contained in her throat. Samekichi held the nurse closer, while the demon stood there in utter shock. Emalf, now standing up, gave a long sigh; bowing down his head to show reverence. Kcalb, however… disappeared with the loud shrieks of crows that sounded louder than they ever did before. Ver slowly began to approach the nurse; holding out her hands as if grabbing for the scarf.

“May I… hold it… just for a moment…”

She breathed. With a hesitant nod, the demon slowly took the bundle of feathers from Wadanohara’s arms and fell to her knees. Her expression was that of disbelief, and her lips did not move; only letting shaky exhales escape from them. The demon clutched the black and white garment in her embrace; choking out brief, light sobs. Samekichi was silent, and brought the nurse safe and sound back to her room.