Possible triggering content - None!

“The tree—no, I don’t know—blood. Why? I’m sorry…” Mika murmured in her sleep. Her face was grey, lips clamped. The frosty morning gust was soughing through the windows, shivering her spine. She rolled to the side with a frown and shot her eyes open, jerking herself awake—sitting up with cold sweat, and her mom sleeping peacefully beside. You look like a baby when you’re asleep. She ran her hand through Akemi’s head, sighing in relief, dragged herself to the door and stepped outside, to be greeted by the rainbow-coloured birds, singing in perfect harmony.

“Mika, is everything alright?” Akemi questioned over her shoulder. She wheeled around, staring at her mother, who was crawling out of bed, tying her hair into a messy bun.

“Nothing really—just a nightmare. The climate is pleasant, isn’t it? Are you ready? Let’s get going before it gets warmer.”

“Okay, Commander Mika Seechii,” saluted Akemi—her yawn interrupted her chuckle. “But I’m still tired…” Her joints cracked with a satisfying pop as she climbed back into the cot.

“Mom, no! Let’s get ready,” she said, leaping into the cot, grasping her mother and pulling her off the bed. “Now, now, time to get off the bed!”

“Finee...” Akemi snarled playfully.

After getting ready, they shared some breakfast, and soon stepped outside. It was misty, yet warm. Their tensed skin soaked the moisture of the morning dew—making it glossy, like a freshly steamed dumpling. The sweet scent of blooming flowers tinged their noses. She wanted more. Akemi deeply inhaled with her hands outstretched.

They strolled towards the doctor’s house—for a quick checkup. The mother looked pale and fragile, yet so joyful and childish, whereas the kid looked calm, like a responsible adult.

“We should go thank the Elder for yesterday. Without him, we wouldn’t have gotten the rations,” said the mother.

“Wait a minute, how did you know? You fainted—“

“Sensei said it all.”

“And when did that happen?”

“Oh, you don’t know? Well, then—suppose that it’s magic,” she giggled. Her kid played along.

“Anyway, yeah, we should thank him. Good thing that the soldiers respect people in the Elders and Sensei roles.”

“Because complaints from them can put the soldiers out of their jobs.”

“Wonder what privileges the clan chiefs would get,” the kid wondered, and her mother grinned widely.

“Getting into the power dynamics already, huh? You would make him proud!”

“YEAH! I want to become a respectable General and win wars, like him!” Mika jumped in excitement while her mother’s face fell.

“Uhm—by the way, what was the nightmare you were talking about? You still remember it?”

“I saw flashes of a tree. It looked like the one on the outskirts of the village. And fire—a lot of it and someone was saying something to me. I couldn't really remember what it was. But it didn’t feel good. There—there… Was a lot of blood. It didn’t look like our village...” Mika’s eyes were fixated on the ground, running her spastically twitching fingers through her hair.

“It might be because I saw someone near the tree yesterday. Arai thinks it might be a wounded bandit. I heard the news—the bandit activities and raids have been increasing lately. He informed the clan chief—but still,” she added.

“No buts. The chief will take care of everything. Don’t worry, flower bud,” she grinned and hugged her kid from the side, tickling her.

“Finefinefine! Mom—stop! I’m ticklish,” she bursted out laughing.

“Oh, and do you know? Mr Tanigawa Yoshio, the village doctor’s husband, should be back home now from the army. He's a doctor too.”

“Oh really? Then I really want to ask him about what it is like in the army,” she exclaimed. “Wait, If Mrs Tanigawa’s husband is also a doctor—then why did she stay here in the village while her husband was in the army? She could be with him in the army!”

“Dummy, there would be no doctors in our village then.” Akemi playfully nudged her.

“Yeah—my bad,” she grinned, playfully biting her mother’s palm lightly, and she lightly pinched her mildly in return—chuckling under the rustling of trees. Soon reaching Mrs Tanigawa’s house.

Mika knocked on the door twice. A middle-aged lady, sparkling bright with positivity and neatly dressed in an usual village outfit—but made of cotton and potions and herbs tangling down her belt. She nodded to greet her guests and Akemi bowed, addressing her as Mrs Tanigawa.

“Hello Akemi, feeling better than yesterday?”

“Yes certainly, Mrs Tanigawa, I feel better because of...” She wrapped her left hand around her kid’s shoulder and pulled her closer, winking at her. Mika’s face blossomed with a smile.

“Is Mr Tanigawa back yet? Mika is eagerly waiting to meet him,” she added.

“Oh my… A little fan, huh?” Mrs Tanigawa knelt to meet the kid’s eyes. Her fingers flew to her mouth, covering her giggles lightly in amusement. “He came back, but he’s out now, meeting his old friends. Will be back soon. I believe so.”

“Fine, I’ll wait here then,” the little girl replied.

“Mika, you can sit on that bench in the yard while you wait for him. Me—and your lovely mother here will be inside, okay? I need to check her up,” she said, pointing to a wooden bench. The kid nodded, hopping to the bench while her mother went into the house.

Mika sat down on the bench and the sun warmed her skin up while the icy wind from distant passing clouds swept through her loose hair. The lavenders around the bench wavered in the gust, spreading its sweet smell. The flower that Mika and her mother love ever so fondly.

She closed her eyes, resting her head on the backrest of the bench, taking all of it in. The bench crackled next to her, snapping her out of it with a jerk. A smiling individual seated next to her, waving at her. “Hello miss, waiting for someone?”

“Who are you?” She asked.

The stranger laughed. “I should be the one asking. This is my house. I’m Tanigawa Yoshio—” Mika interrupted him, standing up and bowing down to him robotically. He chuckled, telling her to sit.

“Seems like you were looking for me if I’m correct,” he said, and she nodded aggressively. “And you are?”

“I’m Mika Seechii… I heard you served in the army. So, I wanted to know how it was and what it was like in the army.”

“Mika? Oh my god, you are…” His eyes widened, his mouth parted open. “Is it really you? You—you are so grown. I still remember that day… It was intense.”

“Intense? What do you mean?”

“The delivery day... I was there that day. When you were born. It was so complicated. It was almost like a miracle.” Mika sat back on the bench, leaning towards him.

“Really?”

“Yeah, it's a long story!”

“It’s alright. Tell me," she said. He saw the enthusiasm in her eyes.

And then, he started the story of her birth. The story of importance that the whole world would soon remember as where it all started.