1 Alone

May, 2006.

The season of spring has already begun last March throughout Japan but due to differences in geographical location, Hokkaido welcomed it late with trees of cherry blossoms blooming everywhere. Some of the petals started flying off trees, accompanied by birds' chirps as music; they danced gracefully through the wind, seemingly directed to tread one direction. Yet, one broke the group, wandering alone it went down, down, and down, swaying back and forth like a feather, until it found its place on a smooth small land.

Sitting under a tree in a large courtyard was a little girl holding a fairy tale book on her left hand which rests on her stomach. She giggled as she touched her forehead and picked the petal. After rubbing and feeling the smoothness of its skin, she placed it inside her book to serve as a bookmark. Satisfied, she stood up, patted the dust off her butt, and marched through her uncle's home. Her black straight hair reaching her elbows sways as she walks, wearing a pink dress and black shoes, with her round eyes, small lips, and blushing cheeks which seem asking to be pinched, she looks really cute.

Her name is Yamaguchi Mizuki, the only daughter of Yamaguchi Juzo and Uzumaki Nami, old business partners who shared interests and eventually got married. Juzo and Nami are currently on a business trip in Singapore, leaving Mizuki behind on Nami's brother, Mark. Whenever they leave for business reasons, Mizuki was entrusted to Mark who also has a wife and daughter. Mark and his wife, Sydny, get along well with Mizuki as if she's their second daughter. Mizuki has long been used with this set-up. She would always bring her book and dancing figurine given by her mom and dad respectively to fill in all her spare time as she and her cousin, Angel, do not get along well. Nevertheless, she enjoyed being with just herself.

When she entered the backdoor, she sensed a commotion happening in the receiving area. Curios, she ran towards the scene and hid behind a large pillar that concealed her perfectly. There were Mark and Sydny, sitting across two police officers. Their eyes downcast were filling the room with worries and despair.

"This can't be true. Perhaps the bodies you found were a mistake!" said Mark, his right hand trembling as he holds a white paper.

"Sir, there's no mistake. We are sorry for your losses. Mr. Yamaguchi Juzo and Mrs. Uzumaki Nami's bodies should be here by next week if you follow the procedure," an officer said.

So mom and dad would be coming here to get me next week! Thought Mizuki. She then hurriedly went upstairs where her room, guest room to be specific, was located. She hummed happily and carefully placed her belongings on her pink bag. She's probably excited to receive the colored pencils she asked from her dad.

Downstairs, Mark and others were still talking.

"You said… that they both died on a plane crash?" Sydny asked despite knowing the truth, still trying to digest it.

"Yes, Madam. Their identities were confirmed based on cards found in their possession," an officer replied. "You can contact us or some local funeral directors to receive the bodies. We'll now excuse ourselves."

The two officers stood up and bowed before exiting the door being led by Sydny. Mark only managed to give them a light nod and did not bother to send them out. He and his wife were still shocked by the news. Just how are they supposed to explain this tragic news to Mizuki, a little 8-year-old girl?

"Mizuki… she's smart. She will sense something's wrong if we did not tell her. But how?" Asked Sydny. She leaned her head to Mark's shoulder and he envelops her in a warm hug. She hugged back, both trying to console each other.

"We'll tell her the truth. But not now," Mark dared not to. He can't bear seeing Mizuki's bereaved face. Although Mizuki is just his niece, they were close and he still treated her as his own daughter.

Unbeknownst to them, Mizuki heard it all. After packing, she rushed downstairs only to hear the shocking news. Though she only got the gist of it, she understood one thing: her mom won't sing her lullabies anymore and her dad won't carry her around like they've used to before. She's now alone.

Mizuki walked forward, slowly, only halted when her uncle and aunt were in front of her. Her face displays no emotions. She wasn't crying nor trembling. She just stood there, silent. The stupefied Mark and Sydny looked at her with confused faces. They were sure Mizuki heard them, but they did not have the strength to initiate a discussion about it.

"Uncle," Mizuki uttered in low voice, holding the hem of her uncle's shirt. "Mom and dad… what happened to them?" She asked as she stared deeply on her uncle's eyes, patiently waiting to tell her the truth, making it impossible to lie.

"Ahem," Mark cleared his throat first, having no idea where to start. He bent his knees to have the same height as Mizuki. "They went on a business trip, right? On their flight home, an accident happened. Both of them… they died. I'm sorry Mizuki," he explained briefly, trying to be as understandable as possible.

Mizuki understood what 'died' means. When she's young, her pet dog died. It never opened its eyes again; neither wiggled its tail nor barked. It's just asleep, forever. For her, it means things you get to do before will never happen again. Ever.

Mizuki nodded as if expecting the answer. Then suddenly tears trickled down her face, but she's not making any noises. Like before, she just stood there, blank but has now tears.

Sydny hugged her. "Don't worry sweetie. You're not alone, okay? We're going to adopt you. You'll be part of our family!" Though Mark and Sydny did not discuss adopting Mizuki openly, they both come up with this as silent agreement.

Weeks later, the funeral was done. Nami and Juzo's bodies were buried. Mizuki cried her heart out for days.

Mark and Sydny decided to have a vacation in their rest house near the popular Blue Pond at Hokkaido, Japan. Classes had already started but they needed fresh air and aesthetic scenery to ease their minds, especially Mizuki.

It was night and dark. Mizuki did not bother turning on the lights and was in the corner of her room, crying, sobbing, and sitting alone as she buried her face on her knees. Angel, her cousin, just broke the dancing figurine that her dad had given her. The head has been severed and some screws got lost. Now, it won't dance anymore nor play nice music. It was impossible to fix.

"Sh. Stop crying," an irritated and cold voice uttered out of the blue. Mizuki raised her head. In front of her room's window was a silhouette of a man lying on her bed. It was wearing a large robe, has large ears on top of its head, and numerous tails wiggling slowly on its back. Each one measures about a yard.

Frightened with the scene, she hurriedly stood up and opened the lights beside the door. She rubbed her eyes and slapped her chubby cheeks but the man did not disappear.

"W-who are you?" Mizuki asked, her voice shaking.