The Mimic: Origins

Chapter 5: Seki.

     That's right, Okaa-san was supposed to visit me today. I should calm myself and wait for her. I waited a few hours until she came. She looked at me while saying, "You look like a pity, you know that?" I stared at Okaa-san. "Are you going to keep telling me to give up after all these years?" "I don't see why you still keep sticking to that fantasy up in here," she said while pointing at my head. I could feel the tears fighting to dance on my cheeks, "Reality and fantasy have been a part of my life. There is no difference between them, though. They're the same thing in my eyes and it's not that difficult to know the truth. It's exactly how I know the Witch is real and I will prove it to you someday. She took Oto-san from us! Why don't you believe me?" Okaa-san looked like a bull ready to attack. She angrily spoke with me saying, "Just look at yourself Hirosa. You're not going anywhere anytime soon, you might even die soon and you're more worried about that worthless man? I can't believe you at all. I'll be visiting you tomorrow, goodbye." I watched in disbelief as she left the room. Here I was again, alone. Maybe I was destined to be alone this entire time.

     If only Oto-san was here, he would be the only person to comfort me. Why does everyone have to treat me like I'm nothing? Is it because I'm ill? Tears swam down my face as I mumbled, "Why can't you be here when I need you the most.." I cried my heart out until my vision turned dark. I opened my eyes to the beautiful moonlight. The moon smiled at me as if saying, "It'll be alright child, you should do what you want." I thought to myself for a little bit about what I wanted to do and decided to walk to the hospital's courtyard. I slowly stood up from my bed to make my way towards the door. Click. I snuck through the crack of the door and closed it slowly behind me. I stared at the sign above my door. Room 8413: Hirosa Masashige. I scoffed at the sight of my last name, people could hardly call me a Masashige nowadays if they saw the state I'm in. My legs awkwardly guided me to the corner of the hallway, for it has been a while since I last walked on my own. I saw an arrow pointing towards the courtyard so I walked in that direction. I wasn't familiar with the hospital because I never walked around it often. I had a gut feeling that I was going the wrong way when I heard a sound behind me. It sounded like the sign flipped, but I doubt it could flip on its own. Nobody was in the hallway with me.

     I started to feel pain all over my body. I whispered, "Don't give up on me, we're almost there. You can do this Hirosa. You're strong. You were raised as a Masashige so live up to the expectation." The further I walked into the hallway, the more I imagined it as a freezing cave. My body felt cold during every step I took. I placed a hand on the wall to be met with disgust, it was mushy wetness. My throat was itching with coughs, but I didn't want to cough out more blood. However, my body disagreed with me and forcefully coughed the blood out on its own. I didn't notice I fell while coughing a lot. The floor was an iceberg that froze me into place. I fought to pull myself into a standing position, yet I wasn't successful. I turned into a spider crawling for aid. There was a hint of light in the corner of my eye. I turned to glance in the direction the light came from and my eyes found beauty. There was the courtyard, blooming with fresh grass, fragrant flowers, and glowing creatures. Seeing this brought a huge smile to my face, I never thought there would be something more beautiful than my imagination of the Witch herself. My heart was full of content as I observed the glowing creatures fluttering around me. They were the color of the souls, a splendid sight to feast my eyes upon.

     One of these small creatures landed on my hand. I delicately pet the creature out of fear that I'd hurt it easily. I noticeably felt a slight breath of the wind on my back, enough to make my skin crawl. I could definitely tell now that somebody was here with me. I slowly turned to meet the tall nurse from earlier. I didn't notice until now that she was splendidly beautiful, tall, and menacing. Her figure shut my mouth immediately. I jumped with my hands over my mouth to keep from screaming out of surprise. The nurse I hated was in different clothing now. She wore a sun hat with her luxurious curls hanging below her stomach. She seemed to exchange the crappy uniform for a silky dress that went along with her elegant heels. However, her face seemed lifeless despite how beautiful it appeared. Words fumbled out of my mouth before I could think, "Why are you here?" She smiled in reply, "I am quite sure you dislike me a lot, but I was on my way to your room to apologize for my behavior. I saw you walking towards the courtyard so I followed you." I thought to myself for a little bit. Something about this nurse reminded me about the Witch. I couldn't remember what about her seemed so familiar. She turned to catch a butterfly while humming a nostalgic tune. Then it hit me. The emotions of shock, anger, and bitter sadness caused me to fall to the ground. It was her. It was the woman that took away my Oto-san, the one I admired growing up. She was the woman he was sent to put an end to, yet he must've failed. Hearing her hum that tune hurt me everywhere. I didn't want to fall into her hypnotizing tricks.

     I yelled out of fear, "Why are you here? What do you want from me?" She looked down at me as if scoffing, "I will say this, you can call me Kintoru, I've watched you for a severity of time while seeing your illness get worse every day. You can thank him for that." Her words sent anger through my bones. "What do you know about my Oto-san? You never knew him better than I did! He wouldn't do this to me.." I cried as I stared miserably at the floor. I started questioning what he had done. "You know that man selflessly gave up his life to ensure your wellbeing was perfectly fine. He told me to watch you." I cried out in frustration, "You're a liar. Stop lying to me." She smirked while watching me cry. "How could you be so sure? If you agree to come with me, I can show him to you. You could even talk with him for all I care." She held her hand out to me, expecting for me to grasp it. My mind became full with several memories of my Oto-san. Don't become her pawn. The exact words he last said to me five years ago. I mumbled to myself, "How could I believe those words you told me when you yourself fell for her as well.." I grasped her hand without hesitation. Her hand felt awkwardly wet, like the wall she touched from before.

     Kintoru grinned wickedly as she picked me up and threw me down. It felt like the air got choked out of me, I couldn't breathe. I struggled to fight her off me, but I eventually gave up. I was sick and she was strong. What more could I do? I was only a failure to my last name, Masashige. I could hardly see anything anymore. I noticed one of the creatures fluttering towards the path I took. No. No. No. No! The words wouldn't come out of my mouth. The world around me turned into my house. I was no longer in the hospital, at least I think. There he was, my Oto-san. I ran towards him to greet his warm embrace once more. I smiled through my tears as I held onto him as tight as I could. Then, my vision went dark.