"Wake up, Morgan. This is a dream, but you must open your eyes. Listen to my voice and remember..."
I opened my eyes only to find Seraph standing over me. His hands were tucked in the pockets of his gray hoodie, and his silver hair hung in thin strands over his eyes. The moment he noticed I was awake, he signaled me to follow him. So I did.
"Where are we?" I asked, glancing at Seraph's face. When he didn't reply, I decided it was best to just try and figure it out on my own.
At first glance, it appeared to be some sort of garden. A beautiful, magnificent garden in fact. I had never seen grass so green in all my life. There were countless assorted flower arrangements of all different colors as far as the eye could see. There were smooth, dirt pathways that curved around different distinct areas of the garden, one being a decorated gravestone, another being a small stream that ran beneath a white wooden bridge. The sound of the waters flowing over the stones that sat by the edge of the stream and the quiet chirping of the birds that remained perched atop the bridge added to the tranquility of the garden. It was just moments after I had taken notice to the birds that Seraph and I began to cross the white bridge. It was then, just as I was about to take a step off the bridge, that I heard the laughter of children coming from somewhere afar off. I stopped in my tracks and glanced around the garden, hoping I would be able to catch who had made the sound. Sadly, I found nothing, so I continued to follow Seraph along the dirt path.
"Can't you tell me anything about this place?" I asked him, trying my best to hide the desperation in my tone. "Where are you taking me?"
"I'm taking you to see Kyo."
"What?"
"Did I freakin' stutter?"
I let out an exasperated sigh as I directed my attention to the road in front of me. I could see now that the specific path we were on led underneath a decorative arch, and beyond that arch lay an elegant fountain gushing with clear water. I stopped to marvel at the new scenery that had just entered my vision, while Seraph went ahead of me to take a seat on one of the benches surrounding the fountain.
"Don't get too comfortable here," Seraph warned me. "Need I remind you this is a dream. Not to mention I dug into Kyo's memories for you. You're welcome, by the way."
"What on earth are you talking about?"
"Come on, daddy! Ren went this way!"
The voice of a child could be heard from afar off, and if I wasn't mistaken, it was one of the same voices I had heard laughing just a few minutes ago. It wasn't long before a little boy with dark brown hair and large, blue eyes came running into the area of the garden where Seraph and I were. He circled the fountain twice before stopping to wave at a middle-aged man I presumed to be his father. The little boy was giggling and leaping with joy as he waited for his dad to catch up to him. However, neither he nor his dad seemed to notice Seraph and I in the garden with them.
"This is one of Kyo's memories," said Seraph. "I learned this trick from Connie a while ago. They won't see us, so don't worry about that. This is merely a replay of a specific day in Kyo's childhood."
I returned my attention to the little boy now climbing onto his father's back, grinning widely as he pointed ahead. "Let's go find Ren, daddy!" He shouted. "I'll bet he's hiding in one of the flower beds!"
"Alright, Kyo," his father laughed, hoisting the boy up on his shoulders. "Let's go find your brother."
"Brother?" My eyes shot open for a second. "I never knew Kyo had a brother..."
"Maybe he didn't want you to know."
I looked at Seraph, but he only took the time to glance at me.
"I'm not in the mood right now," he said, turning his head away. "Go chase after those two if you want."
Finding myself unable to resist my curiosity, I followed Kyo and his dad back down the path Seraph and I had come from. The two raced under the arch and across the bridge together, all the while smiling and laughing as if they hadn't a care in the world. Soon after reaching a patch of red and white roses, Kyo's dad carefully let his son back on the ground where the young boy could freely frolic around in the flowers.
"Ren! Ren!" He called, cupping his hands over his mouth to make his voice louder. "Where are you, Ren? Daddy got home from work early, so he's playing hide and seek with us now!" Kyo stood still for a moment, as if he expected to receive an answer from Ren. He made a noise of disappointment at being met with silence, but soon recovered and resumed the search for his brother. His father had also begun looking for the missing boy in a patch of lilies nearby.
"I know you're here somewhere..."
"Ren! Come out, come out, wherever you are!"
It was hard to explain, but some part of me wanted to find the boy, too. Not only was I curious as to what kind of person Kyo's brother was, but I was also a little worried. This garden was huge, after all. It seemed like an incredibly easy place to get lost in. Then again, what did I know? This wasn't my memory. Even so, I still couldn't resist the urge to join the search. So I started down a path leading away from Kyo and his father and began looking for the boy, despite not knowing what he looked like.
As the distance between the three of us increased, I slowly found myself becoming more and more lost in my thoughts. The garden seemed to have a strange effect on me. It wasn't necessarily a bad one, but it did leave me with a few questions. Did this garden belong to Kyo's family? Did something significant in Kyo's life occur here? Is that why Seraph is showing me all this?
"Ah, I think I see someone now..."
Surely enough, with just a few more steps, I could clearly see a young boy with blonde hair balancing on a small slopes that lay beside the stream. His arms were stretched out on either side of him as he continued to skip along, humming a quiet tune to himself. This must be Ren, I thought. It wasn't that hard to tell of the boy's relation to Kyo. The two looked almost identical.
Ren stopped suddenly and turned his face towards the stream, making me stop and face it as well. He leaned over the side of the slope and peered into the waters. This instantly caused me to flinch and reach my hand forward, as if I had expected the boy to fall forward into the stream. I stopped myself, though, suddenly remembering what Seraph had told me. "This is Kyo's memory," I whispered aloud. "No one else can hear or see me, which means I probably can't make contact me any of them either..." I gazed at Ren with uneasiness, every nerve in my body telling me he was going to fall in. "Relax, Morgan...everything is going to be fine..."
"Eh? What's that in the water?"
Ren got down on his knees and leaned forward even more. I flinched again.
Don't get any closer, Ren. It's not safe...
"Just a little closer..."
Ren threw out one of his little hands to grab something he thought he saw in the stream, at the same time using his other hand to keep his balance. However, after struggling for quite some time and failing, Ren decided to use both hands to reach into the stream. And that was all it took for him to go crashing in.
"Ren!!"
I called out to him, but of course i had forgotten he couldn't hear me. Still, I rushed to the edge of the stream and held out my hand, shouting at him to take it, but I was forced to watch as the helpless little boy struggle to keep his head above water. The stream wasn't even that deep...I could see the bottom of it. It was just that Ren was so small...and it was clear to see that he couldn't swim.
"I've got to tell Seraph!"
In a panic, I ran as fast as I could back to the area of the garden where the fountain was, but I was horrified to discover that Seraph was no longer there.
"Seraph! Seraph, I need you! You have to come here quickly!"
Nothing. Seraph was no where to be found. My mind and heart were racing at the same pace now: too fast for me to handle. I felt as though I was responsible for all this. Even though I was I aware that this was just a dream...that this was merely something that occurred in Kyo's past...I couldn't help it.
I needed to do something, and I needed to do it quick.
"KYO!!"
I hurried back to Kyo and his father, who were already making their way down to the area of the stream where Ren was. But they were walking at a very slow pace...because they had no clue what was going on.
"Kyo! M-Mr. Noraki!" I shouted their names and picked up my pace to walk beside them, but once again, they payed no attention. "You have to hurry! Kyo, your brother is drowning! You need to walk faster!"
My pleas of desperation were ignored. Again. Again and again they were ignored. But I couldn't stop myself from crying out. Maybe I'll get through to them, I told myself, but with little faith in my own words. Just maybe...
"Where on earth has that boy gone?" Mr. Noraki looked down at Kyo with a puzzled yet concerned look on his face. "You and Ren know this garden like the back of your hand, isn't that right?"
Kyo nodded rapidly. "Yes, that's right, daddy. You don't think...that Ren is in trouble, do you?"
His father stopped for a moment and stared off into the distance, then narrowed his eyes as if he were focusing on something in particular. "Hold on a sec..."
Kyo tugged at his father's sleeve and looked up at him with a curious expression. "Do you see something, daddy?"
It was then that Mr. Noraki's eyes shot open and instantly became filled with immense fear. He took off in a full-out sprint, leaving his little brunette son behind. Kyo tilted his head in confusion and a small frown appeared on his face. "Daddy?" He continued walking forward at a much slower pace, his arms and legs now trembling, as if he knew that something horrible lay ahead.
"D-daddy?"
Kyo now stood frozen in place, staring with wide, trembling eyes at his father who was now on his knees, holding Kyo's brother in his arms. Mr. Noraki lifted his head quickly and fixed his gaze on Kyo. His eyes were filled with tears now...tears that gradually began to fall on Ren's face.
"Daddy...what's wrong with Ren?"
Mr. Noraki shook his head slowly at Kyo, pressing his lips together as a single tear ran down his face. Kyo took a step forward.
"Daddy, what's wrong?"
"Don't come any closer, Kyo," his father said sternly, but the boy continued to come closer. "Kyo, go back to house!"
"Why won't Ren open his eyes? Is he sleeping?"
The boy's father was silent.
"Why are you crying, daddy? You never cry."
"Kyo...son, please go get your mother. I don't care what she's busy with at the moment...just go tell her I need her."
Kyo waited a minute before turning around and running back the way he came. As soon as the boy was out of sight, Mr. Noraki began to cry even louder. He held Ren closer to him and ran his fingers through the boy's blonde hair, whispering his son's name over and over to himself.
"Ren...Ren...Ren, I'm so sorry...I shouldn't have left you alone. I should have put a fence up or something so you could never fall in...but...daddy's here now. Can ya hear me, son? I'm right here..." Mr. Noraki put his ear up to Ren's chest and held his breath. He didn't hold it for long, though. After just a few seconds of silence, he lifted his head again and stared at Ren's lifeless complexion. "Daddy's here," he whispered again. "Daddy's gonna stay here..."
"Trey, honey...?"
The familiar sound of Kiyoko's voice hit my ear, and as I turned my head in the direction of the voice, I discovered her running towards her husband with a worried look plastered on her young-looking face. As soon as her gaze fell upon the young boy lying in Trey's arms, she covered her mouth and began crying uncontrollably. Trey immediately got to his feet and hurried over to his wife, allowing her to wrap her quivering arms around him and her son.
I could see Kyo standing afar off from the rest of his family, crying silently to himself as he turned his back to them and walked away.
"So that's it, then...Kyo's brother died..."
"That's correct."
Seraph was standing beside me now, his expression still as blank and unvarying as it was before. I let out a tiresome sigh and dropped my gaze to the ground, an empty feeling settling itself within me. "So now what...?" I asked. "Was there a reason you wanted to show me this?"
"You wanted to know more about Kyo, didn't you?"
"I never told you that."
"But it's true, isn't it?" said Seraph, lifting his eyes to watch just as Kyo disappeared into another area of the garden. "Even though I didn't witness it with my own eyes, what happened back at the amusement park made you concerned for Kyo, didn't it? He's your friend, and you've been worried about him for a while now. There's nothing wrong with that, but I should tell you that curiosity comes with a price."
"I didn't ask for this," I said in a low voice. "I feel like I'm betraying Kyo by seeing all this...I'm sure he would want to keep this sort of thing a secret from most people..."
"Would you like to see another memory?"
"No!" I shot Seraph a look of disgust. "Why would you even say that?!"
"Relax, Morgan, it's not like it's anything harmful," he explained. "I'm just trying to help you understand Kyo better, that's all. Tell me, Morgan, do you recall seeing a gravestone in the garden earlier on our way to the fountain?"
"Yeah...what about it?"
"That was Ren's gravestone."
"Huh?" I narrowed my eyes at him in confusion. "But how is that possible? Ren died just now, didn't he? How could that gravestone be his?"
"It's a collision of memories," said Seraph. "The memory of Ren's death, and the memory of the last time Kyo ever visited his brother's grave. In fact, if we go to the gravestone right now, we may be able to see Kyo."
"See...Kyo?" I stopped myself for a minute to contemplate whether or not it was the right thing to do. I mean...it wouldn't be that big a deal, right? I already watched his brother die...it's not like anything worse could be waiting for me there. "Alright," I said finally. "But as soon as we're done here, that's it, okay? I want out of this dream."
"Deal."
+++
Before I knew it, Seraph and I were standing just a few feet away from Ren's gravestone, silently waiting for Kyo's arrival. Soon enough we spotted him coming up the path, and he was carrying a bouquet of blue flowers. Much to my surprise, it was not a young version of Kyo I saw, but rather a man that looked almost exactly the same as Kyo did when I first met him. It must not have been too long ago that this took place, I thought.
I held my breath for a second as Kyo began climbing up the small set of steps that led to the gravestone. He got down on his knees and released a great sigh, lifting his head to gaze upon the photograph of his brother that sat at the foot of the grave.
"It's been a long time, hasn't it, Ren?"
Kyo's voice sounded so...different. It was soft and gentle...and also very kind.
"I'm sorry I haven't been coming here to visit you lately, but I've been thinking that it's finally time for me to let go. There were just a few things I wanted to tell you before that happens..." He took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders before continuing to speak, still in the same gentle manner of voice. "Dad died just a couple days ago. And now that he's gone, Mom has finally decided to sell this property and move to Aobasani. Can't say I'm happy about it, but if it's what she and Dad wanted all along, then I suppose there's nothing I can do about it." Kyo paused and lifted up his hand to touch the engravings of Ren's name on the stone. "I'm really gonna miss ya, buddy. I hope you'll miss me, too." A big smile appeared on Kyo's face, and he started to laugh quietly to himself. "Who I am kidding? Of course you'll miss me! You used to adore me when we were younger. You would always try and mimic what I did 'cuz you thought it made you look cool. Ah, but you never really were good at hide and seek..." Kyo pulled his head back a bit and glanced away from the stone, no doubt trying not to remember the events that took place the day of Ren's death. "A-anyway, Ren, like I said, I've been meaning to let go of you. Now I don't mean forget about you, 'cuz I would never forget about you, I just mean...well, what I'm trying to say is that this is the last time you and I will ever get to see each other again. I'm not gonna take your photo with me, because I feel as though that belongs here. Mom already made a deal with the people who will be purchasing this property, and they promised not to destroy the garden. Your gravestone will stay here, untouched by anyone...including me. I'm sorry if this makes you sad, but...think on the bright side. This garden could help remind you of me. If you look straight ahead..." Kyo took a moment to look behind him, and he pointed at the white bridge that sat just afar off. "...you can see it can't you? That bridge. Surely you remember all those time we threw little rocks over the edge and made a wish. It was like our own special kind of shooting star. I still remember this one time you wished that we could stay happy forever...that we would stay...one big, happy family. Sorry I couldn't make your wish come true, Ren. I guess I let you down, didn't I? I'm sorry..."
Kyo inhaled sharply through his nose and allowed his gaze to fall once again on his little brother's smiling face. He was completely silent for a minute, and not a sound could be heard throughout the entire garden. It was almost as if the garden was listening to Kyo's every word, not wanting to drown out his voice for a second. However, the silence was soon broken by the quiet sound of Kyo's sobbing. Kyo hung his head and clutched the clothing over his heart, tears beginning to stream down his face without showing any signs of stopping.
"I'm sorry, Ren..." He cried, his misty eyes now having trouble focusing on his brother's photograph. "I'm sorry I have to leave you for good, but please...please remember that I'll never forget about you. Okay? Can you do that for me?" Kyo picked up the bouquet of blue flowers he had placed at his side, then held them out in front of the gravestone, as if to show them to Ren. "Look, Ren," he said with a crooked smile. These were your favorites, weren't they? Forget-me-nots...heh...how fitting. I picked them from the garden myself. I thought...you know, that they'd be a good parting gift. It's not much, I know...but it's all I have to offer. I'm gonna wrap this up now, otherwise I'll never be able to get myself to leave."
Kyo put on the biggest smile he could as he placed the forget-me-nots right in front of Ren's gravestone, then, with a trembling voice he left his brother with a final farewell.
"Goodbye, Ren. Remember me, and I promise I'll never forget you."