The Trilogy Outtakes

BLACK AND BLUE

    "May I have some of your sake, obachan?" 

    "No doubt, you will need it. Go ahead, my dear." 

    Sayaka poured herself some sake with trembling fingers and gulped as much as she could. She coughed, not used to warm alcohol. She felt as if her nose and the back of her throat was bubbling with something slightly acidic.

    "Kirari's father has always found the Igarashi's detestable. Bottom-feeders, he called them. He wasn't surprised that Kirari and Ririka would be attracted to you. He chalked it up to fate and destiny but he never considered that it was love, only a generational curse that kept bringing our families together. It skips a generation or two, true. But eventually, history does repeats itself. I'm glad that its all for love." 

    "I understand if Kirari's father could call us bottom-feeders. My family is poor." 

    "Your family is only poor, my dear, because they refuse to return to their ancestors in the sea."

    "So many Igarashi's have drowned, obachan. Especially before they reach the age of 50."

    "Are you sure they have drowned, my dear one? Or have they simply chosen...to return to the sea?" 

     Sayaka stared at the elder with wide eyes, "I don't understand." 

    "Perhaps your own mother will explain it to you someday." 

    "Some Igarashi's have been burried in the local cemetery." 

    "Were they cremated?" 

    "No."

    "Let me guess. It is a closed-casket funeral." 

    "H--how did you know, obachan?" 

    "Because, as I said earlier, your line comes from the sea. Before they reach the age of 50, the relatives that do know of this generational curse return to the ocean. Had anyone of your ancestors chosen to get rich, it would have been all too easy. There is something about your blood and your flesh that can grant longevity and...dare I say...immortality." 

    Memories of the short time she had spent with the Prince of the Air had now suddenly come into focus. And without any prompting, Sayaka burst into tears in front of the Momobami matriarch. Fear. Guilt. Anger. Anguish. A sense of betrayal. Goosebumps broke out all over her skin. She cried. Memories of what had happened to her with the otherwordly creature who had sired Sonja returned to her. It seems like several minutes had passed before she was able to calmly face the matriarch. 

    "I am...so sorry." 

    "Why should you feel sorry for what you are, pure one? I'm not. In fact, I find myself lucky. That I may have the opportunity to make this request of you. I wish to prolong my life...should you wish to grant it to me." 

    "May I ask why, obachan?" 

    "Because there will be a time when Kirari will need me. I have had a vision. I have seen the future. One where...you are so very different from who you are today." 

    "May I know this future?" 

    "Give me another sip of that warm sake," the elder requested, "Then I need to rest my throat for a while. I promise you that I will do my best to explain after I have rested sufficiently."  

    Sayaka poured more into her cup and helped her to sip from it. After, the elder reached for her oxygen mask and took a long breath. She rested back against the pillows propped on her headboard. She stared at Sayaka who appeared flustered and emotional. She looked as if she had done something so horribly wrong and was ready to blame herself for it. Kirari and Ririka's grandmother reached for Sayaka's hand to settle her. She squeezed at it and Sayaka broke down into tears.