Hanako's Past

Chapter One

The birds outside chirped loudly as morning hit, rays of sunlight hitting the glass of the window lighting up the room. A girl, about 10, laid curled up in a ball under the covers, fast asleep. It was quiet until loud foot steps came marching up the stairs. The door swung open and bashed against the wall, a tall man stepping in and shouting. "Hanako, wake up! It's breakfast time!" The girl, still somewhat asleep, let out a loud scream as her father barged into her room. After a few moments, Hanako wakes up, her bronze eyes examining her surroundings ; same bedroom as always. After her nightmare of the endless abyss that awaited all mankind in the afterlife, she was thankful for the familiar sight.

"Dad, you scared me again.. I'll be down there in five, go talk to mom until then." After her father left the room, Hanako slipped out of bed and stretched before skipping over to the closet, whistling happily as she grabbed her white buttoned shirt and her black pants before walking over to the bed, putting them down for a second. She took off her pajamas and tried putting the pants on while standing on leg each, which resulted in her falling backwards and flopping on her bed. Giggling, she pulled the pants up and then put the shirt over her head, buttoning up the shirt with the gold buttons. She didn't bother with putting her shoes on and ran down the stairs, sliding into the kitchen.

"I'm here, I'm here!" Hanako shouted before jumping up into her chair by the table. "Oh, morning Hanako," Her mother greeted Hanako happily before going back to cooking something. Hanako turned towards her father, who was reading some book that didn't really have a cover on it. "Uhm.. what are you reading dad?" She spoke as she tried peeking over his shoulder. He rose his head up and looked at Hanako with a confused look, closing the book. "Oh, nothing Hanako.. Hey, don't you have a play date with Kazumi today?" Her father asked as the mother served their food. Hanako had just taken a bite of her food when her father reminded her of this information and quickly cupped a hand over her mouth, swallowing the food before looking over at her father.

"Oh, crud! I completely forgot about that! I-i told my friend David that we could meet at the river today.. Mom, what do I do?" Hanako asked frantically, blushing brightly in embarrassment.

"Well . . . As long as it's okay with Kazumi's parents, you can take him with you to meet David. Who is this kid by the way, I don't think we've ever heard of him." Her mother exchanged an awkward glance with her father who was now actually paying attention.

"Oh, he's a kid I met a bit ago, I was running around and I sorta crashed into him by accident.. He was fine though, and really nice." Hanako explained with a smile on her face before turning towards the direction of the door when she heard a knock at it. David's friends often called him Lone, because of his habit of ignoring others and going off on his own. Indeed, he spent more time with himself than anyone else. It was creepy to most people, but Hanako always kinda felt bad for him. She wasn't even sure if he had parents or any family at all. Of course, she didn't call him by that nickname at the moment, so as not to freak her parents out.

"Well he sounds very nice," Her mother answered before looking over at Hanako's father. "Go answer that, I have something to show Hanako." After putting a pan down on the stove, she grabbed Hanako's hand and gently tugged her into another room.

"Am I in trouble?" This was the question Hanako always asked when one of her parents said they wanted to talk to her. "No, of course not Hanako.. you got to stop asking that. I got a gift for you!" her mother got on her tippy toes and dragged a cardboard box down from the top shelf before walking over to Hanako, placing the box in front of her. "Open it!" Her mother shouted eagerly, smiling happily.

Hanako tilted her head in curiosity towards her mothers actions before shrugging, dropping to her knees and eagerly opening the lid of the cardboard box. She looked in it and saw some red fabric folded up. Hanako picked one of them up and looked at her mother. "Mom, what is this?"