I wasn’t born into a wealthy family. My mother was Japanese and my father was an African man from Ghana, who met my mother while traveling in Kyoto. They instantly fell in love the moment they met each other. However her parents did not approve of their relationship. She didn’t care, so she left home and lived with him in the far countryside.
They got married….then on April 17th 784 A.D. I was born. The joy in my father’s eyes once I was born was something he never thought he’d experience. He wished his family back in Ghana could see me, he missed his family so much. As I grew, my father became a soldier to fight in the war so he could provide for my mother and I. My mother and I would take care of the garden. We’d plant lots of fruits and vegetables.
But….the unthinkable happened.
In 790 A.D. the Empress and her warriors were looking for children to become her warriors and slaves. She ended up killing all the children’s parents. I feared the worst for my parents and they were scared as well. I held onto my parents very tight and they held me close to them. We heard a horse carriage stop at our house and the soldiers knocked down our door. I looked at them…my body started shaking and my hands started trembling…then I saw her…The Empress. She gave me and my parents a disgusted expression…she gagged at the sight of me..maybe because she’s never seen someone like me…. My father walked towards The Empress, she was startled by his appearance….she looked him up and down…then looked over at my mother.
“ Please…your majesty! Don’t take our daughter! “ my father begged
“ Your begging won’t help…..soldier’s grab that child…I will deal with her parents. “ she grinned
As the soldiers aggressively dragged me out of my house while I was kicking and screaming. I turned around to see The Empress pull out her sword….she looked at me grinning evilly, I started screaming for my parents….they smiled at me and quietly mouthed that they loved me. Then right before my very eyes…The Empress murdered my parents and such a violent way…she looked so evil covered in my parents blood…I kept crying…. She was going to pay dearly someday.
When we reached Yonaka Kingdom, I looked at it all wide-eyed…it was a beautiful place, but I missed my parents so very much. We entered inside the Kingdom…The Empress told her warriors to feed me. I wasn’t hungry…how could I eat when that evil woman killed my parents. I knocked the food on the floor, the Empress grabbed me by the throat and I spit at her. She yelled at the soldiers to send me to the dungeon. She looked me in the eyes and said to me
“ That’s going to be your new home you little brat! And you might even die there too! “ she laughed in my face
“ One day I will escape here! “ I glared at her
“ You will never escape here! “
The soldiers threw me into the dungeon, there were other kids in here…..they had sad expressions on their faces. That Empress will pay for everything she has done.
When I was seven years old, the Empress forced me and the other kids to fight in the war. We were trained every single day and night. I was glad to learn how to fight so I could have a chance at killing the Empress. We were her child soldiers and some kids were not strong enough. Whenever we disobeyed her, we were punished badly. Some of the punishment was so bad….it would leave marks on our bodies. One kid disobeyed the Empress so badly that they cut off her left arm. She was a very evil woman…she was very much a devil in my eyes….she needed to be stopped.
In 796 A.D. The Empress brought in new children….they looked so frightened. I walked up towards them and introduced myself to them.
“ I’m Ajiwau, what are both of your names? “
“ My name is Jingu….and that’s Siku. We were both taken by our parents by that evil Empress! “ he started crying
“ She’s a very wicked woman! One day I plan on stopping her! “
“ I want to stop her as well! “ Jingu looked up at me
As I got acquainted with Jingu and Siku, we all grew close. I protected them like a big sister, I would take the punishment for them. Sometimes Jingu would mouth off to the Empress…..his punishment was very harsh. He didn’t care, he wanted to escape here…so late at night Jingu, Siku, and I planned our escape from the Kingdom. I used a broken screwdriver to destroy the dungeon door, the three of us quietly snuck up the stairs and went through the back of the kingdom. But the soldiers caught us. The Empress walked in front of her soldiers and glared angrily at the three of us. We were going to get very harsh punishments. Jingu and Siku’s punishment wasn’t too harsh since I told the Empress it was my idea to try to escape. I got the most harsh punishment….which caused me to lose my right eye. Never in my life have I felt such pain. I stopped trying to escape and accepted my fate in this dungeon.
For the past nine years, I never once planned an escape…until one day three sisters were sent to the dungeon…caught my eye, she was determined to escape here…how foolish could she be? But she had a much brighter idea than I once did….her name was Kagayaki Mizu I was so amazed at how strong she was, she wasn’t even afraid of the Empress….the Empress was afraid of her. I admired her a lot… I wish I was as strong as she was back then. Then her older sister Hojo had a plan….we couldn’t believe they were really trying to escape here..,but it actually worked….we really escaped this horrible place….I cried tears of joy when I saw the fresh grass and smelled the fresh air…. Am I really free? Jingu and Siku were crying too…we can now live a normal life.
Eight years have passed since we escaped the Yonaka Kingdom, my life was so peaceful. I would go on my day with a smile everyday. And I had fun training with Kagayaki. We became very close friends, I admired her strength… so we continued to train for the upcoming war. But I became very ill…I was not allowed to leave my bed. I felt discouraged…. I wanted to fight in the war alongside my friends. When the war started, I laid in my bed watching Kagayaki and the others ride their horses away.
I kept staring at the window, the snow was so heavy. I hope Kagayaki and the others will be alright. Siku came into my room with my soup. She too was sad that we both couldn’t fight in the war, but she was happy to be taking care of me. I thanked her and began to eat the soup….then I stared at my sword. I put the soup gently on the table next to me. And then I got up to put on my warrior attire and slowly went over towards my sword…. I picked it up and Siku ran over towards me with tears in her eyes and said to me
“ AJI! YOU CAN’T FIGHT! REMEMBER WHAT THE DOC-“
“ But I must go…Siku…I don’t care what happens to me. I want to help Kagayaki “
Siku was crying uncontrollably, she didn’t want me to go. But I had to and I walked up to her and hugged her one last time.
“ Take care of yourself, Siku! “
I let go of her and picked up my sword. I walked out of the door. I got on my horse and rode into the cold windy snow.
When I arrived there…most of Kagayaki’s warriors were dead or injured. I saw that Tomoe was going to strike at Kagayaki…so I charged in between them…I stopped her attack from Kagayaki.
“ Ajiwau…what the hell are you doing here? You’re not even supposed to be out of the house! “ she shouted at me
“ Do not worry about me…I want to help you! “ I struck Tomoe in the stomach and kicked her on the ground.
I turned to Kagayaki…I used my healing powers, something I was born with and teased about daily. But she grabbed my hand to stop me, but I assured her that it was alright. So she let me use it on her. I went to heal Hojo, Onna, and Jingu. Then I went back over towards Kagayaki and sat with her. We joked and just laughed a bit….but I sensed something coming our way…I stopped laughing and glanced over Kagayaki’s shoulder and saw three arrows aiming towards her… I pushed her out of the way and the arrows…struck me in the chest and the throat. My life was officially coming to an end…I wanted to protect Kagayaki. I slowly turned around to look at Kagayaki with a weak smile on my face. I fell to the ground. That was the end of me…I lived such a long hard life…at just twenty nine years old. But I was loved by amazing people. Now I can finally be at peace and join my parents. They’re waiting for me. I missed them so much. I will miss my friends…who have also become my family.
862 A.D.
“ So you’re finally here…Kagayaki…welcome! “ I greeted her with a hug
“ It feels good to be here…”
“ Let’s go, we have so much to catch up on…”
“ Ajiwau…I’m so happy to see you again.”
“ And I’m happy to see you again…let’s watch over our friends and your family”
We walked into the shining light. My friend and I are finally reunited.
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