Memories in flames

"Oh no," Kiyu whispered in shock when she saw what had happened to Harios.

'This can't be a coincidence!'

First that strange dream where Rika appeared in front of her and now her new home was on fire? Did that mean that Rika was here? Was she here in Harios and for what reason? Taking revenge for the forgotten promise?

Tears were running down her cheek and she just didn't understand why this had to happen.

"Mom! Dad!", Laki screamed.

Laki also noticed that the source of the fire was moving and feared that this creature would extend the destruction to her home. It was easy to see from the hill. An avatar of fire walking through the streets, unleashing its power.

Laki ran off toward her parents' farm without delay, being the quick one that she was. Kiyu needed a while until she could bring herself to follow Laki. All of this seemed too unreal to her and made her mind feeling heavy.

She continued to monitor the chaos that was spreading through the village as she raced toward the house.

The flaming creature had reached the entrance gate of the village and was gathering a tremendous amount of fire there. A colossal figure formed from the tremendous power of fire that far outshone all the houses of the village.

Dark laughter echoed through the area and drove Kiyu through marrow and bone. The fiery figure turned and looked at the path of destruction it had left behind. It wasn't the same dark laughter which she already knew. Whatever this thing was, it was not Rika!

'Is that..... a spirit?'

A thousand questions flashed through Kiyu's mind as she watched the spectacle, powerless with Laki who stopped on the spot. The happy life they had led until then was over within an instant.

Thank goodness that the creature had left the farm alone so far. Was the farm uninteresting? Did it think that all the people in the area gathered in the village right now? Either way, Kiyu was just glad that nothing had happened to Samira and Yorgen.

The flame creature threw balls of flame at the village nonstop, while Laki and Kiyu approached their home. Only a few hundred more meters until they could reunite with their parents!

Relief and hope spread through Kiyu. Maybe they could escape undetected?

A depressing feeling spread through her soon after. All feelings of happiness gave way to this new feeling. Kiyu swallowed hard once before staring in the direction from which she suspected the queasy feeling came.... and indeed! The monster had discovered her! And it also seemed to understand where Kiyu and Laki were running!

"Laki! Stop right there!" she shouted as she understood that the fire creature was about to lunge out to throw a fireball at the farm.

It was just all happening way too fast. One moment she had hopes of escaping with her family, the next moment she found herself on her stomach, slumped over to escape the massive blast wave over her head.

With one blow, her entire body went stiff, and she shivered at the thought of what lay ahead. Tears formed in her eyes before she looked forward and discovered Laki. She was unharmed!

Like Kiyu, she had thrown herself to the ground after the massive, fiery blast wave hit her!

But as for the farm.... as well as the village, it was on fire. The house, which had been her home for six years, was ablaze.

They heard not a single scream from inside the building.

Kiyu's first glance was in the direction of the fire monster. The monstrous creature had already turned away again, as if Kiyu and Laki were only dirt and not even worth the trouble. .

"This....is all my fault!" she stammered in horror.

"WHY? All because Rika wanted revenge?" she brought out in tears, slapping her hands to her face to avoid seeing all the suffering that was in front of her.

"What... are you saying?" Laki grieved. "Revenge for what?"

The aghast look she endured from Laki was something Kiyu would never forget either. She had a hard time getting even one word out. How could she ever explain all that had happened to her?

"I...", like before during her dream conversation with Rika, she explained, but she just couldn't produce a sentence.

She felt a pressure in her throat instead, as if all the words would get stuck there and bit by bit clutter her throat.

"Because of you, mom and dad are....!" cried Laki, upset and with tears streaming down her face.

Her body was also trembling, and Kiyu could only guess how she just felt right now from the tightness of her lips.

"Get out of here! You mischief-maker!" she roared and straightened up to resume her sprint to the farm.

"Laki! I…!" shouted Kiyu after her, but broke off mid-sentence when she realized Laki was ignoring her.

"Everywhere I am, I bring nothing but sorrow and ruin," she sobbed, trying to wipe the tears from her face as she fell to her knees.

How could she ever live a happy life? First she lost her real family and all the members of her tribe, and now her foster family. To make matters worse, she was just pushed away from the person who meant the most to her, which was tantamount to ripping out her heart.

She had nothing left in her life. What difference could she make? She felt so weak; she protected no one. And Rika? Would doubtless try to make the rest of Kiyu's life hell.

< It's not your fault, little Kiyu. >, Cheryu reassured her. < None of this is your fault. >

"But just because Rika wants to take revenge on me..... the others are dead!" she roared. "If it's not my fault, then whose is it?" she now shouted, but in a softer voice than before. Cheryu strengthened her body again, which made her calm down a bit.

< It's not about blaming, Kiyu. You got into something beyond you, me, and many others. >, he opened his explanation in a calm. < If there ever was a culprit, he's not alive anymore, I guess. >

< You have suffered losses. More than some people in their entire lives. >, he continued. < But right now you have to make a choice. >

"Choice?" she sniffed, "What choice?"

< How you deal with it. >, Cheryu explained.

< Do you let your misfortune paralyze you and take the most precious person in your life, or do you stand up? Right now, only you can be there for Laki! >

Only now did she understand what Cheryu wanted from her. Laki was still there! Laki had pushed her away, but even though Kiyu wanted nothing to happen to her. With both hands, she wiped the remaining tears from her eyes and looked at the burning house.

Without warning, Cheryu had reappeared, in one of the darkest hours of her life, and stood by her. Right now she couldn't ask where he had been or what he was doing all these years.

First, she had to save what was most important to her.

Taking a deep breath and gathering all her courage, she realized that something was different. Not only had her courage returned, but her entire body felt... strengthened.

< Come on, little Kiyu. Work on your destiny! >

With that little push towards her self, Kiyu sprinted.

Something was different. She felt it all over her body. An energy, like she had never felt before, ran through her entire body. With a speed she had never experienced before, she ran towards the burning house of her foster family and reached it within a few moments.

But she didn't give herself time to think about this miracle. Without hesitation she entered the house and looked out for Laki, but also Samira and Yorgen.

The dense smoke should have made her vision worse, but the effect was not as strong as expected. At the entrance, she had discovered Yorgen, buried under some of the supporting pillars of the house. He was no longer moving.

'Laki didn't seem to spot him with all that smoke.'

< What happened is in the past >, Cheryu's voice entered her head. < Focus on what you can change. >

Kiyu averted her eyes from Yorgen's corpse and continued her search instead.

Between the crackling of the fire, she could make out a soft gasp. Someone was alive! She closed her eyes and tried to figure out where the gasp was coming from. It was a soft gasp, but it was enough! Not loosing any second, she ran and found the source.

It was not long before she spotted Laki. Another pillar of the house hemmed her in and therefore could not move away.

"Laki!" shouted Kiyu, upset, and ran toward her.

"Kiyu?" she replied in shock. "What are you doing here? Get out of here!"

Whether she said it so Kiyu wouldn't expose herself to danger or because Laki didn't want her to help, she couldn't say. Deep down, Kiyu didn't care at all at the moment.

"I'm not leaving without you!" she said, grabbing the buttress that trapped Laki.

"You can't do this alone!" she coughed. The smoke had to have been bothering her for a while. "Please....," she whispered, "save yourself."

"I'm not leaving here without you!" Kiyu yelled.

Under normal circumstances, Laki would have continued to argue, but her body seemed to give way. Before Kiyu's eyes, she went limp and seemed to pass out.

With all her might, Kiyu grabbed the buttress and tensed every muscle in her arms.

"Argh!" Her scream rippled throughout the house, followed by the dull thud of the pillar she had lifted and tossed away.

Straight away she grabbed Laki and carried her on her hands in front of her on the way out of the crumbling house.