27: Snow Cone

“Hmmm, so going to the police is out of the question. How far does this ‘Domain’ spread? Is it just in Tokyo?” Reba asks, sipping her tea.

“I do not know. I know that Mast—” I glance up, seeing her give me a subtly stern look. “Ah… The leader would sometimes leave for weeks, but I do not know where. And… a lot is missing in my memory.”

“What is their goal?”

My heart feels heavy, and I stare down at my hands. “I was never told. All I knew was… not disobey orders.”

She is quiet for a long moment. “How long were you in the organization?”

“Years,” I mutter, trying to think. “I was ten years old when they took me.”

“So roughly six or seven years I’m guessing,” she says.

Was it really that long? For a moment I search my memory. “I… was sent away. Thought I was meeting family to take me in,” I mutter. “When I realized it was a trap it was too late. They had a lot of kids my age, from all over. Forgotten children no one would miss.”

“We were all trained in martial arts and basic weapon fighting. Hours and hours, all day. It was so much some died from the stress. I remember… they fall to the ground and not getting back up. And if we distracted from our training, we would be punished so we had to act like it not happened.”

Reba remains silent, listening to every word. My chest feels tight, and I can feel my breath becoming shorter. However, it is like I can’t stop talking now that someone is finally willing to listen. Now that the door has been pried open.

“They… locked us in small rooms with nothing but the clothes they made us wear and a mat to sleep on with no blanket. Quiet. I could hear my breathing… And cold. They gave us enough food and water to survive as long as we did well. Awful, cold meals. All I could think of was how to get out. Every time I tried only made it worse…”

My fists clench and I take a deep breath. “So much time passed. I don’t know. No windows, so never knew if it was night or day. Lost track of time so easily I didn’t know when winter came and went… or how many times. But… one day, they put us in a large room, threw out a few knives… and told us the last one standing would be given a gift. It was…”

The words stick in my throat as my mind reverts back to that time. “I-I…”

For a moment everything is silent. “What was the gift?” she asks gently.

Before I realize it, my head is in my hands and for a moment the words will not form. “I still… do not understand how… but that day my eyes became like this. They gave me the name ‘Red Dragon’. After that, much of the time until I came here is like looking through fog. Some of it is so dark… Can’t see it.”

For a long moment everything is silent, and she comes over to sit next to me. “Shyba, do you realize how strong you are?”

My mind reels and I look up at her. “What?”

“For you to have been through so much, treated like an animal and put through such hell for so long, and still be able to feel empathy. I’m just really in awe… and thankful. I don’t know what else to say right now,” she says.

For a long moment I mull over her words. I suppose she is right, but my heart still feels so heavy thinking of how much time has passed. I was a child… and now all of a sudden I’m practically an adult. It seems to hit me like a ton of bricks and before I realize it tears flood my eyes. Dammit! Why am I such a crybaby now? Get it together!

“Shyba?” she asks, placing her hand on my back and gently rubbing back and forth.

For a second, I am unsure how to word it. “I… lost so much time,” I mutter. “There is so much I missed. I left school… left friends… I did not grow up like I was meant to.”

Then I recall what Reba had said when she told me my life had been taken too. All of this was stolen from me and there is no getting it back. Where would I be now if this had never happened?

I look up at her, wiping my eyes. “What can I do? I am starting from nothing. I… do not know where to go. I am supposed to graduate high school now, but I am left behind.”

She continues rubbing my back. “Shyba, I know it hurts knowing how much you missed out on,” she says gently. “But you can’t let the past hold you down. I know it’s easier said than done, but you have to let go of those ‘what if’s’. Stop looking in the past and look to the future. You’re not the person you were before you came here. Hell, you’re not even the same person you were yesterday, because today you’re moving forward and that is an incredible thing.”

“I do not know what to move forward to,” I mutter. It is not like I can have an actual life anymore.

“For right now, just move forward to tomorrow. Take it one day at a time, you’ll find your spark again,” she says. “And there is a lot you can do and learn here.”

I nod. I suppose she is right, but I still have no idea what to do. How does one rebuild their life from absolutely nothing?

Kiara—

As I carry my laundry down the hallway I glance towards the closed door of Mama’s office. I’m glad Shyba finally confided in her whatever he had been holding onto. I can’t help but wonder what it is though, given how much they have been meeting to talk these past few days.

I know it is something serious though. The other day I caught Mama crying by herself after he had left the room. She wouldn’t tell me why of course, just wanted me to promise I wouldn’t mention her crying to him. What has he been through that would make her react like that? I know it’s not my business to ask though.

After taking my laundry to my room and coming back down I find Mama in the kitchen fixing a snack. She gazes out the window and I look out to see Shyba heading over to his spot by the tree, a book in hand. She turns to me and smiles.

“Feeling okay today?” she asks.

I nod. “Yeah. What about you? You look like there’s something on your mind.”

She glances back out the window, her brows arching. “You’ve been reading about Japanese culture and stuff, right? What are some fun things people do in Japan? Stuff that someone his age might normally do with friends or family.”

Her question sends me aback and I glance out the window. Seeing Shyba sitting by himself I realize her intention.

“Uhhh well… let me think,” I mutter. “I remember reading about going to places like hot springs or camping. Maybe karaoke… and going to the beach. Oh!”

As I look up at her I can feel the excitement welling within me. “Watermelon smashing! You just get some melons, a tarp and a stick and smash them open. A-as far as I know at least.”

Her eyes light up. “That sounds fun. We should do it!” she says and grabs the notepad and pen from the counter. “Let’s see, how about we combine a couple of those ideas. Set up a campfire in the back and we can camp outside too. Jer has a bunch of extra wood to make a fire.”

We get everything planned out for the weekend and decide to surprise Shyba the day of. I get giddy just thinking about it. I hope he has fun. It would be amazing to see him enjoy himself even if it is for a moment.

Shyba—

As I follow Kiara through the aisles, I remain silent, watching our surroundings. She fills the cart with items from her list, turning to me every now and then to ask if I like this or that. Half the time I am not sure how to answer, so I just nod to which she seems pleased.

After paying, we leave the store and I help load the vehicle, half of the trunk filled with watermelons. I can’t help but wonder what they plan to do with all of them, though this family is rather large, so I suppose they buy them in bulk.

Kiara gasps and I whip around, my fist ready. “The snow cone shack finally reopened! Have you ever had a snow cone Shyba?” she asks, her face lit up.

I feel my shoulders deflate. “Ah… What is snow cone?”

She purses her lips in thought. “It’s like snow. In a cup. But with flavor! Come on! I’ll show you!”

As I follow, she skips over to the stand near the park entrance. The line is a bit long, so I guess this place must be good.

“What flavors do you like? There are all kinds of fruity flavors, but also more sugary flavors like cake. Oh, and sour. Do you like sour? And there’s toppings you can get, but I usually don’t get the toppings. I just like the snow cone by itself,” she babbles. “The ones you get here are so big though and they’re so soft! They don’t skimp on the flavor like some places do. That’s why they’re so popular. Oh! They also have coffee flavors. Do you like coffee? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drink it.”

She suddenly stops, her eyes widening before darting to the ground. “O-oh, I’m sorry. I was so excited I couldn’t stop talking… Hehe…”

I am taken aback by her sudden change in demeanor. “You can talk.”

As she glances back up at me, she seems unsure, then smiles, a slight blush across her cheeks. “My favorite is the strawberry cheesecake,” she says. “What do you think you would like?”

For a moment I am uncertain, thinking back at the options she spoke of. “Ah… cake?”

“Oooh, that sounds yummy!” she says. “You like sweet things, don’t you? Me too! I like more fruity sweet stuff though. It seems like you lean more towards sugary sweets.”

We make it to the front of the line and give our orders to the woman behind the counter. Before Kiara can fish through her bag to get her wallet, I hand the woman the money. Albeit a bit awkwardly since there isn’t a money dish in sight.

Kiara seems a bit shocked before glancing up at me. “Thank you.”

I simply nod. I still don’t know what to do with the allowance Reba gives me, so I might as well use it to make others happy. After they give us our orders, we sit on a bench nearby. I then realize what these are. “Ah! This is kakigõri.”

“Oh? They have these in Japan?” she asks.

I nod, taking the spoon and trying the cake flavored white pile of cold mush. “This is good.”

She smiles before digging into her red strawberry cheesecake treat as she dances in her seat. “So, which is better? Ours or the ones they have in Japan?”

For a moment, I am unsure how to answer. “It has been so long since I ate it, I do not remember.”

She giggles. “It would be cool to try it. The more I learn about Japan the more I want to see it someday.”

I remain silent. I suppose for her it would be fun to do. Part of me wishes I could take her there if it would make her happy. I wonder what we would even do there. What would I show her? Where would we go first?