(RIGEL)
'THE thing that you've been looking for all these years is not in that place, but the one behind that place, if you really want to know everything, start with it, and maybe one of these days, you will eventually find it.'
Words that flooded my mind every time I close my eyes like I am stuck inside a void I know, but could not recognize. To my identity and the past, I hold, I always feel like I am grabbing into a ticking time bomb that is hunting me ever since.
"Just who am I?" I ask myself.
Looking at the place after waking up in the blinding white room inside the four corners of my hospital bed. I started to wonder everything about who I am when my mind could not find anything, even a name to call.
"Hiro Altamira."
Stealing my attention as the door opens. The name that rings an alert tone more than my still unconscious mind marks the arrival of the beautiful woman who enters wearing a fitted white dress addressing herself.
"I finally found you, Hiro."
Now standing beside me as her smile took the thousand assurance for my existence calling me with the name I could not recognize, she lends her hand for a handshake, introducing herself, "I am your father's business partner and 2nd cousin, to whom is your closes relative and only living one as you can call me Luna, Seraphim Luna."
To her smile that marks both the words of trust and not, I took her hand into a handshake as my guts tell me to or else, I will regret it later.
"Good." she commends, taking her seat beside me. "You know taking your life will not answer the questions that you have now, Hiro."
Taunting rather than reminding me of the night where I decided to take my life, I look away taking a deep sigh, as disappointment creeps in. Thinking if I should be grateful for being alive or not, for still, I could not remember everything and worst, my mind is knocking the images through dreams of the family I call that only hits the pain and agony rather than comfort which I needed.
"Life and death, two simple words to say but have the greatest exchange for everything a mortal could hold. You may be suffering now as your life is at stake from the enemies you do not know, but do you think taking your life will solve everything?"
She taunts me again, which left me in hate, and added disappointment of my life becomes as I look at the dark sky outside the clear glass window of the room.
Gasping I look at her asking, "Then, can you make me remember the memories I have lost as can you ease the hate, disappointment, and anger I have now?" I dare, but to my expectation of her yielding even a little, a cunning smile is what I received as she assures everything in return.
"I cannot just let you remember the past that you forget in this lifetime, but way beyond what you truly seek for."
Saying the words that are somehow too poetic, her words and the fact from the past she pertains to hits something within me where I could not explain what. But to my mind and heart that's urging to dwell and take the risk, as I crumple my fist I decided.
"Make me."
With her smile that draws its winning game, my life started after waking up from that once suicide attempt.
"A prince will always be one, remember that. As an heir to whom death is just a step away from your enemies. To kill or be killed, that is your life now, Hiro. "
Luna always reminds me as I started to take on with her wings. Trained in every way and everything that this cruel world will give me in preparation, the hell I needed to endure is the chance she gave me to survive.
"Tsk! Prince?"
I smirk, often wondering as my status and richness only lead me nothing like a fairytale luxury that title holds. But hell, and constant battle to stay alive in each passing day. For years and long now, all that is clear is that I am alone and an orphan without someone to call my real family with the worst of revenge and survival to call life.
"What if I tell you that you are not ordinary nor ever been, Hiro."
I was born a prince, rise as an orphan, hidden as an angel but taken by death, yet I survive. To the past and the first mortal life I dwell into, it gave me the chance and became the King under the name and shadow to where I successfully hold as the hunter. To the 2nd chance that shed the pretenses aside, engulfing my world in anger and hate as I train my senses and endure every pain, the prey that I was then is gone as I am the hunter hunting the once hunters in my past. The courage that kept me alive for all these years. The tricks and dirt that led me into this were not just for revenge, survival, or power, but to find a person I knew but could not remember.
'Let's just say that I am someone who will bring back everything to where it should be, now if you want to have the thing that you've been searching for, then trust no one, not even me, but yourself.'
RAFAEL!
Waking up from the same old reminiscing dream of my dark past, I look around my room thinking deep as my life is getting a hard tole from the reality, I should dwell in. Taking back from all those years, those past eight to where I struggle in a scramble of a wild fight in an arena to where I need to be the crazy dog whose survival is to knock their opponent down. The hardship I endured both in death and survival, those sleepless nights, and the art that I master and needed to, all of those, was for this path I choose and need to take.
'From now on I will be your shadow, I will work the things that will mask your identity away from your enemies, as the saying goes, keep your friend close and your enemy closer.'
The wealth and luxury I have now, the identity behind the façade I work into the corner of my dark life. Every trick and lies I encircle to my palm as I gain everything beyond what she promised. The life that brands me from that world to where I rule as the King is all for the sake of the only thing I forever seek for, for the only thing I ever want the most.
'Five hundred million, that's the amount you owe me.'
Yet in that day, in that time, where a simple mistake out from greed turns everything back. To the foolish one who drags everything into the mist of dust, begs but refuses to die. Everything went in the plan as his foolishness lead me back to where I should be.
'How about, I cease the land that you own? What was that place called? Ah, Sakura Farm Village, was it?'
Everything from that moment in time since that day then, everything falls on the perfect track of the plan, yet.
'The thing that you are looking forever since is at this person's hand.'
Looking at the picture of the one that is the last key to unlock the box of the missing puzzle piece of my life from that day is located, it finally came to this. As that picture falls, I called out.
"I finally found you,"
From the unbearable consequences of the past mistake, the truth behind the scene that keeps on repeating. The one thing that I have lost and kept on searching, but I cannot recognize and remember, was with me all along, near enough, yet I could not own.
'Your highness.'
'After those years, I finally found you,'
Fixed in time or just a chance for everything when the glimpse of the foreign, unrecognizable, but familiar scene came rushing into my mind. I held her close, in that fast beat in a second of time that caught me into a trap to where I became naïve and unlike, I always been. I dash out as everything scream for the first time as my heart and mind become one to protect the one, I just saw, a stranger in any way possible that I know but I couldn't recognize. The one that I should protect and unconsciously call.
"Miyu."
'To fulfill your wish, I came down from above to help you with, and to make the contract at bay, I will set everything right. The one who should remember, the one who the other needed to remember, and the one who forgets, I will make everything came back to its rightful path and for the both of you to win.'
Stun in that time as a whisper from someone's voice echoes to my ear which I knew, but struggle to call at that moment. To the throne I'm sitting now as the most powerful person in and out of the dark I made my life into, and from the façade, I wear in between, I call the name that dears the biggest heartache inside my unknown life.
"Just who are you?"
Hiding in a tight place as I held her close into a tight embrace towards me, she asks the thing that I was too afraid of for not knowing why and what to answer back. To her tear that falls as my begging heartbeat is screaming the words, I could not hear. Yet, from the corner of my eyes as a peculiar light approach, blaring red warning hit my high alerted sense. Grabbing her hand in the split second and turning her back facing me, a bullet latches out, scratching my left arm in return. Showing an undisturbed face as my entire being is kicking to protect and only care for her. My beating heart and screaming mind are having the agony I could not understand.
Sensing the still lingering danger, I took her hand as I drag her out as we both run in escape into the pile of the crowd passing by.
"Do you trust me?" still in pursuit as the assassins tail us behind, but is being reluctantly careful from the eyes of the crowd. My eyes lay to a nearby river that could lead us out from the city and into the rain forest that will keep us safe.
Somewhat in a trance of what I want to say, she almost laid back, but not before I pull her close again in my arms as I breathe heavily in screaming.
"Do you trust me?"
As the assassins got nearer and the fact that there might be snipers from pointing their guns at us, I insisted, "Trust me." claiming a slight nod, I took a deep breath in as I slam my lips unto hers as we both fall in the river into a synchronize breathing.
Vaguely hears the screaming crowed as a strain of bullets rain us down like a sounding echo in the deep river from within. We both successfully dodge it on time, and by a distance, the moment came with a wailing siren I took her hand as we both swim far deep, escaping the entire scene.
Falling down the grassy stream as we both cough and took a fast breather. My wound finally kicks its pain and now is bleeding hard as I immediately press holding in, stopping the blood.
"Are you okay?" Immediately thinking of nothing but her, she fell unconscious like a tramp. Catching her in time and return as her heavy breath made known. Taking a glance and noticing, a bullet grazes on her leg as blood flows from it.
Scavenging, I rip a piece of my cloth as I bound it into her wound, stopping it from bleeding. Realizing that we should head forward going to the nearby road up ahead, I tightly redo the knot in my wound, stopping it temporarily again from bleeding. With a blurry vision from blood loss, I force myself to stand as I carry her in my back, taking the heavy footstep ahead. Taking the seems like an endless tall grassy pavement as the rain forest shielded us from the direct heat of the sun. Somewhat hitting a hallucination, I heard the familiar whispers that are urging me to remember something.
'Welcome to my heavenly garden!'
Thinking everything is because of the weakness of a starting delusion, I continue my way only to stumble upon the familiar stones, weeds, trees, and tracks from near and different directions.
'These stones will be our secret code to track us back without getting lost into our secret sanctuary.'
Somehow being hammered with pain from inside my mind. A tiny voice of a boy and a genuine smile of a girl came rushing, like a wave I could not hold of, and stops for a while from the surge it's causing. The scenery faded as fireflies appear circling us and somehow transported into a distorted time and dimension, I found myself or rather my subconsciousness into that night. With the two familiar half-star necklaces that they both wore, to the Sakura tree that stands from behind, pain struck me as they held their hand for a promise.
'You promise you wouldn't forget about her, so remember, realize the person who you needed to protect, Rafael.'
Finding myself reaching out my hand towards them. I took the left warning as I close my eyes, blinking. Everything disappears as the entire scene fades, claiming back to what it used to be. Taking a fast breath in as I convince myself that everything is just an illusion and a fragment of my slowly deteriorating consciousness cause by fatigue and blood loss. I continue to move forward, glimpsing an off-road besides, but neglect to pass. Stumbling upon a cave halfway deep, I laid her close as I rush collecting some firewood and start a fire, keeping us both warm in the slow passing light of the day.
"Rafael?" thinking deeply from the delusion or not as that name was once Luna calls me then. I sat carefully down, laying my back to the cave walls, easing the pain in my wound as my brain hits a painful pain just thinking about the rather dream yet not that I have seen.
Taking a deep breath in as I look at the flaming twig and back at her sleeping face. Images of that moment, his voice, and the one he's with bangs, the echoing howl in me. Silently figuring something out from the picture-like scene for a while, cold gives in, making my eyelids fall into a deep sleep.
'Reincarnation, death and rebirth, three chances, three lives spin, three events in time, three hopes and three wishes, that's the script. Take it or leave it. You will be my actors as I am the playwright, from those chances you can choose, but remember I already warn you. In a hundred years, fifty, twenty or best be lucky for, after ten years from now, one of you will remember everything when your destiny once again meets and you realize it. Only if you realize it, but the other will not when that time met, I will only give you twenty, you heard it right twenty years to live. To that time your consequences and named price will tick and will never cease to exist. As the time will start your first chance will begin, to a mortal body in exchange equal by you in appearance and every bit of your existence now, our play will begin. After a hundred days, you both will suffer each other's loss, for months you will meet again as I can finally say, let the game begin.'
"Are you ready, RAFAEL?"
"Miyu!" screaming as I woke up in sweat and pain.
I look around just to realize that I'm not where I was a moment ago. Lying near the bone fire I'm creeping and fast with fear and agony of not finding her near, forcing myself to stand as I notice the bandage on my wound, I rush searching for her.
With my head pounding in pain, my body shivers, and my wound aches worse than before. Taking the steps that were too heavy to bear as my body wanted to give up and pass out. The unknown fear that's creeping inside me is more than any pain I have now. As giving up is taboo I should not choose weird enough to feel for someone I did not know, but I could not let go.
"Where are you?" Taking all of my left strength out, I screamed, calling out as the dawn arrives and the day became the night. The lighted path is now a dark one ahead, with only light from the full moon paves some way.
Walking unknowingly where a patch of laid-down grass caught my attention, my instinct kicks in. Visibly point my sight to the path that leads in a nearby cliff a blade of an angry wind blows by which into my sight and probably due to all the stress and pain. A familiar figure of a woman dress in a renaissance age falls from that cliff.
'I'm sorry.'
Hitting hard as that whisper echoes somewhat into that time leap, my heart beats a trembling fear of losing someone dear. Immediately reaching my hand to the scene that suddenly vanishes, my feet took the fast steps as the same scream echoes, but this time it was to the present time.
'No matter what, I will always be the one to protect you, I promise, Miyu.'
On my knees slamming hard on the ground adrenaline kicks in as I caught her hand in a second exact of time. With the tiny left strength, but great fear out, she landed into my tight embrace. Burying my face into her neck as my grip tightens into a secure embrace. My tears fall unknowingly as I neglect everything of the cold, pain, weakness, and fear. For all that I knew and care for at that moment is her.
"Stupid! What do you think you're doing? I almost went crazy for a minute thinking that I lost you!" screaming out loud like I never imagine that I still had a spare strength. To begin with, she whispers in assurance, aided by someone's dream, the words.
"I'm sorry."
'I'm sorry, Rafael.'
'Do you mean that we already meet each other in our past life and in that time, you are the King and I am?'
'My Princess.'