• "Do not wish to die too fast, Master Rien. I will be sad if you do. I do not want to be alone again."
    -Tsubame
    ________

    The two walk quietly to the atrium of their garden. They don't speak; silence is their virtue. The trees shield them from the sun. A gentle breeze caressed their cheeks. The stream trickled playfully beside them, tagging the banks of the river while leaping over rounded boulders.


    Rien looks at Tenri's dancing hair, watching its rhythmic steps as the zephyr twirls it. He squints as the blinding rays of the sun bombard his newborn eyes. He shivers as the Earth's breath ensnares his dripping body with it's cold, harsh fangs. Clasping his body with his hands, he strokes his arms hoping to stop his shivering.


    Tenri watches Rien's souless shivering shadow. She unhooks her shawl revealing her pale white flesh which contrasts against her midnight hair.


    "Take off your shirt," she says to him holding up her shawl, "wear this instead."


    Rien says nothing. Like a machine, he does what the manipulator orders him to. He slides off his shirt, takes the shawl and wraps it around his damp shoulders. A puppet was what he was. Orders were absolute; actions were to dictate that. His body knew the fear of pain caused by insubordination: the volts passed through his body, the slashes done by the blades, the water forced into his lungs; all were painful lessons he had learned from disobeying orders. Even if he was to completely humiliate or bring himself to the brink of death, he would have no choice but to follow blindly. He is a dog, tell him to speak and he will bark. Tell him to die and he will ask how.


    What you can't tell him to do is to stop thinking. Thoughts flow like the rapids in his mind divided into tabs: revenge, malice, death, survival, routes, strength, food, life, freedom. Every second is recorded deep within the recess of his mind filing it under the categories. After all, when he escapes, he's going to pay them back for all their generosity. He'll make sure to give them gifts better than what they gave him.

    Tenri turns away fixing the straps on her dress. The wind avoided her, seeming to curve away from her, veering away from her daunting pressure. The blades of grass became blunt in her presence and quickly bowed down, feeling her menacing aura. The light from the sun did not touch her. Branches and leaves protected the sun from her piercing darkness. The water in the stream halted their game of tag as she passed by becoming silent, starting again when she was a safe distance away. The world feared her existence. She was the one that corrupted the order of Heaven. This was the result of her foolish actions.

    Fear.

    Fear from everything.

    Love from nothing.



    Her hair was the only part that danced with the movements of the gentle breeze; holding no malice towards anything. Like a glamorous waltz, the two partners flirted with each other-holding hands and keeping in rhythm to the song of nature.


    Rien, with the shawl wrapped tightly, watched as the two flaunted their love in front of him. A pained sensation ran through his chest. A feeling all too well known to him- melancholy. He was envious at the two despite the fact they had no emotions. Whether it was truly envy or a combination of envy and sorrow was unknown to him. His emotions were too complicated for a child like him to understand. He just continued walking and watching in silence.
    _________

    Soulmates...

    When you meet yours; nothing will be said and that connection will spark instantaneously. The person who you can trust and love who will give the same in return. No drama is needed- only romance. There will be no work for this person. There will be no trying for this person. There will only be mutual acceptance. That is when the flowers of spring will begin to bloom.