together in the framed ocean | g. tomioka

prologue

Age 11

Since the cold winter began, the freezing nights seemed to become more of a routine and today was no exception. Entering your home from the market, you call out your mother's name when you notice the note she left you on the table.

"Takada invited us to dinner. Find some wood for the fire and have the rooms clean by when we're home."

A sigh leaves your mouth, but you put the food and goods you came back with in the kitchen and begin your chores. At least the house will be quiet for a while, says your inner thoughts. For eight years of your life, at least twice a week, a note was left to you, instructing you to do some sort of chore in the house when the family went out without you.

Cleaning the house was no issue, but walking into the dark forest through the snow would prove to be an obstacle. After wiping the last table clean, you put on the one jacket provided to you by your family on top of your purple and cream checkered haori. Then, you headed out with an ax in hand. If only he were here, he would've helped me. There is your mother, father, older brother, older sister, and younger sister in your family. Your mother treats you like trash, your father doesn't acknowledge your presence, and the abuse you receive from your two sisters, who have a wide age gap, is mentally tiring. It was only your older brother who had genuinely cared for you. Everyone in town knows of your brother and his kindness. In the past, your mother gave you the order to chop wood; however, your brother carried the ax for you and chopped the wood on his own as you watched.

One night, while coming back from running errands, there were people in front of your house when the family was supposed to be out. You pushed through everyone and what you saw was a dismembered corpse that resembled your older brother. It couldn't be him. Someone like him wouldn't go so quickly. Days later, the body was confirmed to be your older brother. There were rumors that a demon had killed him.

Nevertheless, your whole family blamed you. They didn't believe such creatures existed. For weeks after his death, you were locked in the house, unable to see the light of day. He wasn't there, but the town wouldn't leave him. From then on, you were left hopeless.

While picking up the last piece of wood a sudden scent of metal and something sweet passes with the wind. Usually, no one is in the forest at such a late time. It is such a familiar smell, yet you couldn't recognize it. You ignore it and prepare to return home. The chopped wood is heavy, splinters pierce through your jacket, and to make conditions better, the winds blew stronger as the night passes. Adding to the weight of the wind's breath, the snow is piled up to your knees, making this an arduous journey home. To your surprise, the same scent lingers in the air once again but it is stronger this time. Blood?! You finally remember. The kindling drop from your arms and falls through the packed snow as you run towards the scent, hoping you will make it in time.

"This... Isn't this the way to Takada's house?"

The odor is more discernible as you get closer and closer to Takada's place. Finally, you stop right in front of the house, which is suspiciously not lit from the inside. A bead of sweat slides down the edge of your jaw. Even at this late hour, Takada's place is usually the blinding sun of the mountain. And worse, you can't hear the loud voices of your family members.

Besides the howling wind, the forest is so quiet that the deers probably hear every squeak from your steps on the front porch. You twist the doorknob of the front door that is weirdly unlocked and enter the house. Taking the second step into the house, you almost trip on a heavy object. It is too dark to see anything so you kneel down to get a closer look. The moonlight hidden from your body shone through the opened front door and lit up part of the house. An inch away from you is your older sister, lying on the floor in a pool of blood. You gasp, looking up in shock, then your eyes widen. The sparkling clean white walls you remember seeing when you occasionally came over to Takada's house are stained with red splatters. Your eyes adjust to the darkness, exposing the other bodies lying on the floor and tables.