That night, Violet had a dream. Just like any other dream, her dream is like fragments of the whole story that just played in front of her.
A younger version of herself in the forest... playing tag? No. There is no one else in the forest beside her. She is definitely running away from something. Then the dream seems to have decided to take a skip.
Now, she is laying on the soft grass under the shade of a tree in the summer afternoon. She is looking above the clouds and having simple fun with looking at its shapes.
But not just her.
She happens to be with someone. Just as Violet expected, the figure is blurred out, like most parts of her dream.
She tried to move closer towards the figure. The figure gets clearer and clearer.
Then it spoke.
"You wouldn't forget me, would you Vi?"
Violet jolted awake.
Then slumped back in bed with a groan.
"My head hurts..." she groaned.
"Well, you did stay out at night," his grandfather said as he came in.
Violet pulled the covers up over her neck. He didn't want to start the day listening to his grandfather lecturing her. Even his father didn't do that. Probably because he has other things better to do than checking on his own daughter.
"It is a good thing that that kitsune lad brought you home," Grandfather Seto continued that made Violet sit up straight.
"You know Renji, Grandfather?!" Violet asked, both confused and surprised. "How?"
Grandfather Seto sat beside her granddaughter in bed, just like what they used to do when she was younger. Then, Grandfather Seto started to tell her more about the spirit realm.
He told her how the world was before with the humans and spirits living together in peace and harmony. He told her about how that bond was broken and that it became what is now the human realm and the spirit realm, what once was one, now divided. Grandfather Seto didn't leave out the part about the spirit's distrust of other kinds of spirits as well. Violet listened attentively. She sat there, listening and pondering on every word that her grandfather lets out of his mouth. She is like a little girl being told stories about fairies and unicorns... only hers is about spirits she thought are just made-up by old people to scare children into making good deeds.
"The human realm and the spirit realm still has a connection despite what happened," Grandfather Seto said. "After all, one cannot exist without the other. We have to keep the world's balance as it is."
"But how, Grandfather?" Violet asked. "If the humans and the spirits are not allowed to interact, how can the two realms still have a connection?"
"By having an impartial leader, of course," Grandfather Seto said as if telling the girl that this is obvious and is exactly what is needed in modern society as well. "A spirit and a human who sees all spirits are equal to humans and humans equal to spirits. Ones whose loyalties do not lie whether in which he realm he or she belongs to."
"Why have two, then, if this leader is so impartial?" Violet asked.
"A human should represent the human realm, and a spirit to represent the spirit realm," her grandfather replied. "Just like there are at least two sides in everything, two sides are needed to maintain the balance. The world is too large for just one person, or kind, to handle everything on their own. While one reaches, the other pushes. This way, a higher goal can be achieved." He paused, then asked, "Tell me, will you trust a spirit to represent us, humans?"
Violet thought about it for a moment then answered, "No, not really."
"Why not?"
"Because he is not like me. I don't know if he really gets me and my pains since he is different," Violet answered.
"And that is another reason why there are two representatives," Grandfather Seto concluded. "One wouldn't know the feeling of the other unless he puts himself on his shoes."
Violet kept silent, showing eyes eager and hung up on his grandfather's next words.
"Now, time for breakfast. My stomach's grumbling," her grandfather declared.
"Well, that went 100 to 0 in quick spin," Violet mumbled, arms crossed.
Grandfather Seto heard the mumbling and turned around to see his granddaughter with a pout on her face.
"You look just when you were a little girl before when I tell you stories about the spirits," Grandfather Seto remarked.
"You only told me about the good parts, though," Violet said. "You didn't tell me about the bigger part."
"To understand the bigger part, one must take the smaller part first," Grandfather Seto said. "Tell me, would a house automatically be built big? Or does it start small?"
"It will start small, of course. Starting from the base," Violet answered.
"Exactly," Grandfather Seto said and got up to leave.
Just when he almost reached the door, Violet called him to ask the last questions before breakfast.
"Who are the representatives? How are they chosen?" she asked.
Grandfather Seto gave her a warm smile. "The spirits and humans will choose their successor. One they trust deeply. The last spirit successor was a lion spirit. He chose a monkey spirit to be his successor and that monkey spirit is the current representative of the spirit realm."
"What about you, Grandfather? Who chose you?" Violet asked.
"My father," he answered simply.
"Is having relatives as a successor alright?" Violet asked while thinking about politics in the modern world.
"Yes, as long as the requirements have been met by the chosen successor, and our bloodline has been the only human representative," Grandfather Seto said that he expected to amaze Violet.
And she did.
"Somehow, our bloodline produces the best representatives for the human realm. It is not tradition, though. I can choose whomever I want as my successor. Be it my relative or not," Grandfather Seto said firmly.