Sea Island Moonstone: Chapter 1

         I burrowed under a mountain of cool blankets, blocking out the rest of the mourning that filled this pitiful house I called home. For the past week I hadn’t come up with a good reason to do much of anything except cover myself up and feel the continuous tears roll down my ghostly white cheeks. He was gone, and there was nothing I could do to bring him back. No matter how much I wished that I could turn back time and stop the unfortunate tragedy from unfolding, I couldn’t.

         In some ways, it had been a week of torture. Incessant flashbacks of moments that would’ve made a smile appear on my face if he were still here, but now only made my heart ache that much more. Such as Kurosaki and me holding hands in a cherry grove…

~~~~~

          It was a hot summer day and we were on a date at my uncle’s cherry grove. We were having a great time, laughing and talking like nothing could ruin our happiness, when Kurosaki turned to me suddenly with a mischievous grin lighting up his features.

         “Want one?” he asked as he pointed up at the abundance of red berries dangling high above us. The tree seemed to tease us with its long trunk and crooked branches which hid the fruit just out of reach.

         “But, we don’t have a ladder,” I started confused, then added, “Should I go see if my uncle has one?”

         “Now, why would I need a ladder?” He gave me an awfully charming grin and began to twist and twirl his fingers in such a way that made my eyes go wide and my jaw drop as hundreds of cherries rained down on us. Pretty soon they covered every inch of soil within view. His powers never ceased to amaze me.

         “I thought you only said one?” I laughed, teasing him.

         “Just one of the many advantages of being an earth sorcerer,” he responded with a chuckle.

         “You’ll have to teach me one day,” I joked as I picked up a cherry at my feet and popped it into my mouth, not believing that day would actually come.

         Our love was real, not blinded by some fairy tale image of romance.

~~~~~

         He had been on a hike. A rock slide, they said. The whole town believes it was rocks that did the dirty deed, but ever since I got the phone call from his sister seven days ago, I’ve known that it had to have been something else. Something more sinister and menacing then petty little rocks.

         All of a sudden I found myself sitting up, pushing the heap of blankets to the floor, as I realized that I was finally pulling myself out of my mournful bed. My heart skipped a beat as I lurched up to grab a backpack, stuffing it with various items as I tied my blond hair up with a rubber band. I opened the front door and silently exited into the night, unsure of where I was even headed.



~~~~~



         After walking aimlessly for half an hour, I found myself standing in front of the one place I had been trying to avoid ever since I received that dreadful phone call.

         Kurosaki’s house.

         I started to turn around, getting ready to leave and return to my comfortable bed back home, when I felt this strange tug in my stomach urging me forward. I’ve learned to trust my instincts, as they usually end up being correct, so I soon found myself slowly creeping towards the empty house.

         I reached the window and peered through, seeing nothing but darkness. I looked down and gently tugged on the bottom of the window, not at all surprised when it slid open with ease. Kurosaki was never one to lock his windows.

          Here we go, I thought dryly as I climbed through the window. I glanced around the dark room, realizing that I was standing in the middle of his living room. It was filled with boxes, and all sorts of junk was scattered around. Kurosaki’s family had obviously gotten over the grief of losing a close family member, as it seemed they were in the process of clearing out all of his belongings and selling the place.

         Curiosity got the better of me as I began to quietly pilfer through a few of the boxes at my feet. I noticed a few books, old baseball trophies, his music collection, and a hoard of photographs. I came across one photo of us grinning next to a campfire, and I felt a small smile form as a single tear began to roll down my cheek, unable to suppress the memories from consuming my thoughts.

~~~~~

          We were out camping with our families one weekend when we were still just friends. Everyone had retired for the night when Kurosaki took my hand and smiled down at me.

         “Let’s go for a walk,” he suggested.

         “Ok,” I agreed as he led me away from the campsite. We entered the woods and started down a small pathway set in-between the trees. After walking in silence for a while, he stopped and turned to me with a strange look on his face.

         “Is everything ok?” I asked worried. He had been acting weird all night. It wasn’t like him to be so distant from everything. Did I do something to upset him?

         “Yeah, everything’s fine,” he said as I let out a long sigh. I was about to say something when he quickly spoke up again, “I need to ask you something…”

         “Sure, what is it?” I asked curious.

         “Well, I know this will sound really cheesy, but we have known each other for a while now, and I really like you.”

         “Yeah, I like you too! You’re a great friend.” I said with a smile. Why was he so nervous?

         “No, um… I really like you,” he stuttered as the gears began to click inside my mind.

         “Are you trying to ask me out?” I blushed as he nodded, looking down.

         “It’s fine if you don’t want to, I mean, I know it’s sort of sudden, um… you know, never mind… forget what I just said…” He turned away and muttered to himself angrily.

         I giggled and walked up behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

         “Yes.” I stated simply.

         “What?” He turned around and looked at me with confusion in his eyes.

         “Yes.” I repeated the single word with another laugh, “I’ll go out with you.”      

         As I said this, a huge grin spread across his face as he picked me up and twirled me around, while we both laughed at the wonderful moment that had just transpired.

~~~~~

         I carefully placed the photo face down in the box while wiping the last of the tears out of my eyes. I began to stand up, when I noticed a loose slip of paper sticking out of one of the books. I bent down and picked up the book to inspect it. It was leather bound and appeared very old. The pages were fragile and the cover was in tatters. I carefully opened it and skimmed through the pages, which looked to be completely blank.

          That’s odd… I thought to myself as I removed the slip of paper, turning it over in my hands as I examined it. After staring at the strange markings for a few long seconds, I realized it was a coded message that appeared to be written in a mixture of  languages. The only words I could make out though, were “defeat”, “finish this”, and “girlfriend”.

          What is this…? I wonder what language this is… I thought to myself while I continued to inspect the piece of paper. Hmm… I’ll have to study this more at home. It may be a clue behind how Kurosaki really died…