My Soul Remembers You

EROD EXCERPT



"A... A fiancee!?"

Chiharu's outburst echoed upwards through the canopy of trees above her head. This had been the strangest two days of her life. She couldn't believe that it had been less than twenty-four hours since she found her clan. After spending fifteen long years, sitting on her bed in her and Klinoa's room, wondering about what her real family was like, she had finally found them.

She had a blood father, and a blood brother, and a clan of her people who seemed as excited to find her as she had been to find them. They had spent the night celebrating her return, and she had been awoken late in the afternoon by Nikan, her older brother. She hadn't once anticipated that what he wanted to show her was a long-lost fiancee.

Nikan burst into laughter, his dark green eyes twinkling. "No, no, little sister!" He said, trying to stifle his chuckles. "When I say you are bonded to him, I don't mean like an arranged marriage, but rather a... Spiritual bonding. You are bonded to one another through your shared spirit.

Chiharu raised an eyebrow, and looked her brother's face over seriously. "I... I don't think I understand, Nikan..." She started, bringing her hand to her mouth and chewing her thumbnail.

Nikan helped her climb over a fallen tree, his expression thoughtful."Okay, well... Remember that last night we explained to you about our gods, the Huntress Mother and Hunter Father?" Chiharu nodded, and he continued, "As the mother and father of our great clans, they ensure that whenever a babe is born into one clan, another is born into the other.

"This has been going on for hundreds of years, at least. Ever since our clan has started recording our history the truth of the double births has been exhibited." He stopped for a moment, brow furrowed. "How can I explain this... Because we are born at the same time as this other child, the clans come together in the Rite of Bonding, which bonds the spirits of the two individuals together for eternity. You basically share two halves of the same soul."

Chiharu opened her mouth in protest. As far as her experience had been, she had a fully functional and independent soul, and had not been the worst for lacking this person. She didn't know why, but she felt offended at the prospect that he spirit wasn't capable of being whole without this other person, this stranger, that she had never met. Nikan raised a hand to halt her argument, and gestured forward.

"We're here."

Nikan had stopped at the edge of a vast clearing, light filtering gently through the leaves above them. The sheltered space had shallow, rolling hills covered in the softest green. The grass was peppered with flowers of all different colours, looking like rainbow bubbles in a sea of green.

Then, she noticed them. A handful of animals, dark as night, was lazing about on the opposite edge of the forest on the tapered end of the clearing. They were bipedal, standing on muscular, clawed legs with slender arms that fell gently in front of them. Their long, thick tails curved out behind them and deftly adjusted their balance as they stood to their full height to examine her. They cocked their heads, long and slender, somewhere between canine and reptilian, eyes glistening like beryls set in a bed of coal.

"Hello, gentle ones." Nikan said softly, raising one hand in greeting. The creatures took a few tentative steps in their direction, still looking curious. "He does not know that I was coming, but I have come to meet Stellaphiro."

"Stellaphiro does not remain within the pack when we are partaking in our day to day activities." A voice said. A dark figure had emerged from behind the creatures. His hair was the same colour as the other animals, and he shared their ears and the same glistening eyes. Dark robes fell to the ground around him, and his hair was adorned with a golden headpiece. He reminded Chiharu of her newly found father, although his face was solemn and he wore a grim expression. "He remains a banished one for what occurred in his youth. You should know this best out of all your people."

"I know our rules well, Chieftain." Nikan smiled politely at the man and rested his hand on Chiharu's head. "I think that Stellaphiro's punishment has gone on long enough. I happen to have with me someone very special to our clan, and to him, and I think she can persuade your people to allow him to return from his exile."

A ripple of shock and quiet excitement passed through the group of animals, and through the numerous other dark figures who had silently entered the clearing through the trees undetected. The Chieftain of this dark clan locked his widening eyes on Chiharu for a moment, and in the blink of an eye the strides of his long legs found him looming over her. She felt heat fill her cheeks as he bent down, putting his smooth dark face close to hers. He drew a deep breath and stared into her eyes.

The moment that this regal man held her gaze captive seemed to stretch on for an eternity, but finally he straightened, breaking eye contact. Chiharu felt the tightness in her chest release as she began to breath once more.

"Messengers! Run to where Stellaphiro rests and bring him back here immediately! Go As You Are, so that you may return quickly!"  He turned back to them as several of the animals and figures turned and slipped away through the trees. He looked at Nikan, and his lips parted in a warm smile, revealing gleaming white fangs. "It is her, after all. I hadn't wanted to believe it when I first laid my eyes on her, but I felt that it was.

"Young one, you have grown into such a beautiful young woman. The little caterpillar I remember has become a beautiful butterfly." He smoothed her hair and gently touched her face with his fingertips, turning the warm gaze on her. The murmur of the gathering crowd had risen considerably, all eyes turned in their direction.

"I should introduce myself, as the butterfly does not often remember what it has not seen since it was a caterpillar." He said, stepping back to examine her from head to foot. "I am Dalphiro, Chieftain of the Dark Ones. I do not know when you returned to us, so I cannot speculate how much you have been told about the ways of our peoples. I am the Bonded of your father."

Chiharu glanced quickly at Nikan, who gave a quick nod and stepped back a few paces to give them space. She looked up at Dalphiro's regal face, warmer than any face she had ever seen, and she felt the corners of her mouth pull up slightly.

"I am honoured to meet you, Chieftain." She responded, gripping his hand in greeting as the others began to close the distance between them, seemingly to examine her for themselves. "I have only been here since last night after sunset, but Nikan has told me a bit about the idea of the Bonded Ones. Just now, actually."

Dalphiro laughed, a beautiful sound that filled her ears with its softness. "You have much to catch up on, little caterpillar. I will be the first to welcome you to our home." He motioned to the others, who were now standing no more than an arms length away. "You are also a part of our clan, and we are relieved and overjoyed that you are alive after such a long absence."

Chiharu felt hands brush across her cheek. The Dark One nearest her had reached out to touch her. Her dark hand was soft against her face, and she smiled the same bright smile. Chiharu smiled back. Before she new it, the Dark Ones were cycling to touch her face or hair.  When they had finished their strange form of hello, Dalphiro turned her to face him once more.

"Caterpillar, I can hear on the wind that your Bonded One approaches rapidly. You will meet him for the first time in your memory." He gave her a gentle look, and laid a hand on her shoulder. "It may be a difficult feeling for you both. We are meant to remain together with our Bonded One from our infancy until we pass from this world, and you have not seen one another since early childhood. More importantly, you have not felt one another's presence. I cannot prepare you for what you will feel, as it was many generations before I was born since a situation like this has arisen. "

Chiharu felt the heat in her face intensify, and her heart jumped in her chest. She felt the seriousness in Dalphiro's voice, and the legitimacy of his warning. What was it that she was going to feel? "Wi... Will it be painful?" She blurted.

"Painful?" Dalphiro asked, obviously bemused as Nikan laughed from behind him. "I would not anticipate that you will experience pain, no. I can imagine it would be the exact opposite feeling. Wounds that you were never aware you harboured will be healed for the first time. But that's enough for now. He's here."

The excited murmuring of the crowd fell into silence now, and she could hear footsteps from behind Dalphiro. He turned to face the footsteps, standing in her line of sight so she could not see what was going on.

"Chieftain, we have returned with Stellaphiro." A soft voice said, and was followed by the gruff snort of another speaker. "As we would not reveal the truth of the necessity of his appearance today, he was very difficult to convince-"

"I am right here in front of you, Allbeth." A beautiful, angry voice growled, cutting off the first. "I am not a plaything. If I am to be exiled, I would prefer to not be taunted by the company of the clan in which I am not welcome."

"Stellaphiro my son, I am sorry for the hardships that you have endured here within the clan. The laws of our society can be harsh and unforgiving, and as your father I am the most guilty for the scorn I have allowed to fall upon your shoulders." Dalphiro spoke, voice quiet. Somehow, past the pounding in her ears, Chiharu heard shuffling in the distance. Exiled? She thought. For what?

"We are all aware of the laws, Father. If there is nothing that can be done, why have you summoned me before you?"

"I have a gift of sorts for you." Dalphiro responded. "Take with it a sincere apology from us, your people, as well as a larger, more everlasting sorrow from I, your father, for having to leave you as you were. You are welcome into our clan once more, and no longer need to remain in the shadows."

"What...?" The voice sounded confused for a moment, but was cut short as the entire crowd parted to either side to allow a clear path. Dalphiro stepped aside, bowing, leaving a clear space between them.

Chiharu looked up at the young man standing in front of her. His clothes were in poor condition and he looked underfed. A scar stretched across his nose and cheeks, and his hair was short and messy. When her eyes locked with his, she felt her muscles tense, and her heart began to pound so hard she felt it would leap from her chest.

She felt her eyes widen and his beautiful, dark eyes did the same, his lovely face wearing an expression of the greatest pain she had ever witnessed. His mouth hung open, and he looked as though he had seen a ghost. She was sure she looked the same, as she was overwhelmed with a feeling she had never experienced before. Her throat tightened and her shoulders began to tremble violently, her whole body filling with heat as her eyes clouded with tears. His ears pulled back, and she watched as tears began to cascade down his face.

And then they were both running.

Their bodies collided, her arms wrapping around his neck and his around her torso as he collapsed to his knees. She felt him convulse with sobs as he locked his arms tighter around her, and she buried her face in his neck. In any other scenario, she would be frightened at the lack of control she had exhibited for a complete stranger, but this was different. The moment they made eye contact, she remembered him. Not in her mind, but in her heart.

In her soul, she remembered him.

"Chiharu Nekama, please never leave me again! I was not As I Am without you here!"  He sobbed, pulling her even tighter against him. She ran a hand through his hair, trying to steady her breathing enough to speak.

"I'm so sorry..." She whispered in a trembling voice, her body still shaking. "I knew you were missing all along. Without ever remembering you, I knew that I didn't have you. I'm so sorry we were apart!"

"I do not care, as long as you are really here with me. Were this a dream that I could wake from, I would want to sleep forever!" He looked up at Dalphiro, face shining with tears. "Father, tell me this is truth. Neither she nor I is dreaming, we are together in the waking world, and we are both alive? I haven't died and met my Bonded on the after plane?"

Dalphiro gazed warmly down at them, his own eyes glistening. "Boy, you are both alive." He responded. "You have one another here on this mortal plane."

Stellaphiro turned to Chiharu, eyes gleaming, and the widest grin she had ever seen spread across his face. He reached out and pulled her face close, pressing his forehead against hers. "I have no way to express to you the way I am feeling." He said, exhaling slowly. "I only barely remembered you, and the way the Bond felt, but I now understand why everything felt so empty until now."

She nodded, sniffling. After several moments of silence, the Dark Ones dispersed a bit, beginning their quiet conversation. She and Stellaphiro rose to their feet together, still trembling. She suddenly felt physically and emotionally exhausted, and just wanted to go fall asleep somewhere.

Nikan made his way through the crowd, escorting Dalphiro. She could see him beaming at her as he approached. "I've never seen such a clear display of the strength of the Bond before what we witnessed today." He said, grinning. "You are the physical examples of the fact that the Bond is more than the familiarity of being raised side by side. I'm honoured to have witnessed that."

"As am I. Witnessing something so breathtaking, and something that is also the redemption of my dearest son, was truly a great thing."

Chiharu looked at Stellaphiro, who had a slipped his hand around her wrist, as though afraid that she might slip away through the trees and disappear. Never in Chiharu's life had she been so confused and overwhelmed, and never in her life had she been so satisfied with the result of something. The only thing she knew was that Dalphiro had been right.

She hadn't been prepared for this.



By Vixie Bee