It was cold night. My eyelids felt heavy. I couldn't remember how I got there. The wind was blowing smoothly. I was lying beside the lush green field looking up at the moon. The cold breeze gives a sense of calmness. I was not worried about why I was here alone, why there is no one here besides me. To be fare there was no one else around me except grass. A tree stood close to where I was laying, except for that the lush greenfield seemingly went on and on. It was as if that the field was infinite. But after looking around for few more second, I again closed my eyes. After a while, I heard a voice, breaking the silence.
"Oi, Brat what are you doing here? I almost stepped on you because of how small you are. Geez kids these days"
Hearing this kind of annoyed me, considering I was one of the tallest kids in my class. I got up to see who was talking. It was a woman about 170-180 cm (6.1 feet) tall, she was carrying a large suitcase in her left hand. After a few moments stare, she put down the suitcase on the grass beside me and said, "aren't you going to say anything? Did cat get your tongue, boy?"
"Who…are you?" I asked
"Hmph, now you are questioning me? (With a slight laughter) Alright before I do you go with the start"
"I don't know, what to say. I just woke up and here I was….''
"I am Sofia Aozaki" she said, interrupting me.
"Ryogi Shiki... (Slight pause) ... I am Ryogi Shiki."
"Ryogi Shiki, huh... Nice name. It brings a nice ring to it. Now, let's get to the main question. Why are you here? No one else can enter this place except from some specific people." She paused for a moment and continued with, "Have you experienced anything unusual may I ask?"
Her question confused me. I didn't quite understand what she meant by it. Everything seemed normal to me at that moment, though something was definitely bothering me. It took a moment to realize that she appeared weird to me. Why couldn't I see the red marks on her as I did on others?
I asked, "Umm...why can't I see the red markings on your body? It's almost as if you're empty." I replied in a stutter voice.
She smiled hearing this and said, "I see then my guess was correct. I never expected to encounter someone like you in this time and age. Tell me if I am correct, you can see thread like red markings on everything, right?"
I paused hearing that…could that mean she is also like me? With hesitation I asked,
"Yes, I see thread like red markings on everything. It's fine if you don't believe me…" I was nervous.
After hearing that she gave a smile and said, "Huh, knew it! I guess an old geezer like me can still identify other's talent even after this long."
This was the first time someone had listened and believed my ability to see thread like red markings on every physical object. She even seemed to know something about my condition, which I didn't. As a result, I became more curious as well as getting more excited about it and I thought of asking her if she knew why I had this weird sight. Why was I the only one who saw this.
Summoning my courage, I asked, "uhm, Miss. Do you have any idea on why...I can see these markings? No matter how hard I try to unsee it I can't. Everywhere I go it follows with me. People say that they do not see these then why was I different? The fact when I go to a crowded place my head starts to hurt more and more.
She gave a small smile hearing that and explained, "It's sort of complex. But to make it simple for you this power of yours is perception. The perception of knowing people's vital point. All living and nonliving things have different sorts of vital area. For humans we have brain, heart which is connected by many blood vessels. Those Blood vessels act like the red marked threads that you see on others"
"Then miss what about the circle thing that I see on the chest of the body which is connect by red threads?" I asked wanting to know more
"These are known as the "Core" of the body. A part which all living beings have. To make it simpler they are the essence of our soul. The very thing that keeps us moving. Think of it as a burning flame that changes as we age, grow from our prime. The flame slowly becomes more weak overtime as they are going to meet their death. But If you manage to strike this core with a sharp object then they will die instantly."
Stopping for a second, she pulled out a pocket mirror pointing at me and started again, "Now look at yourself for a second in the mirror. If you observe your body, you can also see the red threads that you see on others. But in the end, they all seem to end up on the same circle or core I talked about. As I said this is our soul. One sharp attack on the core could easily take away a person's life. Now it is up to you. On what you will do with this power, Shiki. Either you help or pave the road to destruction. But who am I to say what you can do or not do with this power?" She finished her explanation in a joking manner.
Despite feeling confused, I tried to comprehend her explanation. It did sound like a plot from a fanfiction novel.
"Miss, then why do I see the same red marked threads in the non-living things? From your explanation they do not have any blood vessel or anything like that to show the red marked threads on them." I asked her with curiosity in my eyes.
"Well, non-living objects or things lacking life do not possess soul. However, they do have their own weakness. For instance, a chair has its own sets of weak points. Which are shown by your eyes. If you want to you can easily cut these weak points with a sharp object thus it will end up sliced up like a piece of butter. Though the only limit for this is how much you brain can process."
As she said that I was quite intrigued by the limit she talked about. What did she by saying that depends on how much my brain can process? Being intrigued I again asked,
"But what do you mean by limited by my brain process"
"Well by that think of a computer or any machine for this instance. If over work anything it will get hot and more destabilized. If this goes on the machine performance will go down and might as well completely break down at one point. Same goes for your brain. That brain of yours works relentlessly to give you the visual feedback of what you need. But yours eyes being special it needs to work more than an average human. This is one of the reasons why you get head ache in public places or in a crowded place."
At this point every single explanation of my power is going over my head. But I pretended to nod away as she explained. But even with all that one question was still unanswered.
Why was she empty. She doesn't have a core not to mention they isn't a single red marked thread in her body. Why did she neglect all things she just talked about? While thinking about it she suddenly strokes my hair and started saying,
"You might be wondering by now on the fact that why I seem empty or in other words so 'normal' to you. I might as well tell you the answer rather than beating around the bush. In short, your abilities do not work on me yet because you are not strong enough to do so. Perhaps one day, you will be. But don't be too surprised if you were unable to see my vital points even in the future. The world is full of mystery after all..."
Her words made me excited. But this conversation also brought a somewhat strange relief. Not a single person believed me when I spoke of these red threads. Some even suggested I had mental issues. Meeting her felt nice. It was as if a freshening breath came to me after all the things I had to go through.
She suddenly starts stretching her arms and finally sits besides me. She asked away with a question,
"Say, Shiki. What do you think about a person who has nothing to lose anymore… (Pausing for a second) actually don't answer this? You wouldn't be able to answer it properly. Probably I hope I will get a proper answer from you in future." As she said that she again looked at the sky being silent. Soon she again spoke,
"The moon appears unusually blue tonight, right?" She told as I nod agreeing with her.
After a while, she took out a pocket watch from her coat. Glancing at it, she said,
"It seems our time being together is coming to an end."
Hearing this, I said with a tone of surprise, "Our time is ending? What!?"
"You'll see soon enough." She said in soft chuckle
She stood and took her suitcase in her hand. While doing so she added,
"I believe in existence of faith. We'll meet again, Shiki. I hope that day we will have more time to talk. And before you leave, here is a small gift I wish to give you. Take it as one's Sensei giving his student a parting present."
From her suitcase, she pulled out a black bag, which she threw to me. "With your abilities, you could get into serious trouble if not cautious. Keep this with you no matter where you go. It will help."
As she gave me the black bag, I open it and decided to take look of what was inside of it. Inside I found an eye glass and a sharp dagger. I sort of became amused by this and I kept looking at them. Like this is some kind of trophy. She kept staring at my amused face with a smile and finally said that,
"Glad to see you like it. Remember as I said previously always have this with you, till your grave if you can."
"One last piece of advice from this annoying lady. The last thing we will talk about. Never get this power get into your head. It can be both a miracle or a curse depending on how you use it. Shiki, you can become someone who people respect or you can end up in a path that will only cause hatred and destruction. But this is Farewell for now. I won't intervene on the path you choose. I believe this is thing every person should make on their own rather than other choosing it for you. With this my last speech comes to an ending"
"Huh!? But where are you going?" I asked with a worried and confusing tone into my voice."
"I am not the one who is going anywhere. You are the one who will soon depart!" she said with a smile on her face.
With that she started to walk away. I couldn't move. It felt like my body was frozen. As I see her leave little tear makes my vision blurry. At least I wanted to show my gratitude to her for this. Without knowing if she will hear me or not, I decided to give her the highest honor I can give at that point. I shouted,
"Thanks for everything, SENSEI!"
Whether she heard me or not, I don't know. Because it was the last time, I saw her. As Darkness slowly consumed me. The vision also started to fade.