The child

You looked at her and smiled, lost in thought; "My life really took a turn for the better!"

You remember when you arrived at Yamaku, a couple years ago... No friend, no love, no goal. Why even have goals? Back then, you expected to keel over and die at any time.
Then days passed.
Weeks passed.
Months passed.
You had a few scares here and there, but it seemed you weren't about to die, after all.

Then you made friends. You found some new goals. You even found love!
Lilly.

When you met her, love was the last thing on your mind, but even still... It was hard not to daydream about it.
The most beautiful girl you ever saw. Or perhaps you just spent too long alone in the hospital, that any pretty girl would look like the most beautiful to you, but even after meeting many different girls at Yamaku, that feeling never changed. She had some unearthly beauty, some kind of aura, you couldn't really explain it... You felt like she could make anyone fall for her, even those who weren't into girls.

And she was kind. Lovely. A nice person, all around. You could not imagine that a girl like her would fall for you, not in a million years.
Yet it happened!

Sometimes it felt like it all happened decades ago, sometimes it felt like it happened last week. But when you look at her, you know it happened at least eight months ago; The child growing inside her is the proof of that.

You found friendship, you found love, and with her, you found these new goals. Marriage, family, living together...
You weren't there quite yet, you still needed to find a good job, buy a house and all that.
Lilly told you not to worry about this so much, that things would work themselves out in time... You knew she wasn't worried, because her family was quite wealthy. Even if you never found a job, you knew the child wouldn't ever lack for anything.

You had not seen much of her family; You had seen her sister Akira a few times, and you weren't too sure what to make of her; Sometimes she seemed friendly enough, yet sometimes she felt a bit sad, cold. Like she didn't want to get close to you, perhaps because you were dating her sister? She was a bit of an enigma.

And... That was it for the family meeting. You had not seen her father or mother just yet. Apparently, they were always busy with the family's business, so even calling them on the phone, or having some kind of video chat on the computer, seemed out of the question.

Well, Lilly assured you they would come to see the child, so you'd get to meet them in just a couple months!
She was always evasive when you asked about them, you weren't too sure whether she was nervous about what you'd make of them, or... What they'd make of you. In any case, there wasn't any need to worry about this just yet.

Lilly stood up from the couch, and as usual, you move to assist her, even if she always tells you she's fine to walk on her own.
This time she invites you to follow her; You look at the clock, and yeah, it's getting late.

You follow her to the bedroom, and after undressing, you get in bed with her.
She lays on the side, allowing you to come close to her, spooning her, with your hand on her belly.
She seems extremely warm, as she always does; The first time you noticed it, you insisted to take her temperature, but it seemed fine. With time, it started worrying you, and you wanted to bring her to an obstetrician, but Lilly preferred to go to her family's doctor - a former obstetrician - who practiced from her own house. After a series of tests, she said everything was fine. Even when she touched her, she said it was all normal... Sure as hell didn't seem normal to you. Well, it was the first - and only - pregnant woman's belly you ever touched, so it's not like you had anything to compare it to. If a doctor said it was fine, it was fine, you supposed.

She seems to be even warmer than usual this time; Used to be around the belly, but now, all of Lilly seems burning hot... Yet she doesn't seem the least bit bothered.

You feel the baby's kick, like it was trying to dig out of her to come out early. "Calm down, baby, you'll get out there soon!", you tell him.
Baby...
You'd like to have something else to call the baby, but Lilly didn't want to name it just yet; She said it was bad luck to name a child before the birth, something like that. A family tradition. Well, a wealthy family had to have some kind of eccentricity, right? Lilly said she had a name in mind, but she didn't want to tell you just yet.

"I love you!"

Hearing those words surprised you; Not that Lilly's shy with sweet words or romantic gestures, but something in her voice felt a little off. Probably just your imagination... These times are stressful, for sure.

"I love you too!"

You give her a kiss on the base of her neck, then you get closer to her, closing your eyes, waiting for sleep to come.




.....




You wake up a few hours later, still sleepy; You know something's wrong right away, because Lilly isn't there next to you.

You're also laying on some kind of wooden plank and not a bed... Which was worrying enough already, even before you realized that you were chained to said plank.
You pull on the chain trying to free yourself, but it seems solid.

"What the hell?", you yell, at no one in particular. "Let me out!"

Your eyes aren't adjusted to the dark just yet, so you don't see more than a few feet away.
You hear something behind you, moving closer; Your ears seem to be a little better, now that your eyes can't see much. Lilly often told you something similar. But now is not the time to think about that...
You try to turn your head a little to look behind you, but the chains holding you in place make it impossible for you to do it.

"Who's there?"

Whoever is walking seems to have come to a stop, so you wait to see what's gonna happen.

"Nice to finally meet you. I'm Lilly's father".

You try to make sense of those words, but... Simply can't. What is this exactly? Some kind of interrogation to make sure you're worthy of their daughter?

"What do you want?"

Even in this situation, you try not to be too confrontational - You don't want to ruin any chance of a good, married life with Lilly - but your words come out a little strong, angry.

"It is not about what I want... It is about what needs to be done".

He's now in front of you, and your eyes see a little better now, allowing you to see someone else beside him; Lilly's mother, presumably?

"I don't get it. Where's Lilly?"

"Our precious daughter is about to give birth... It will happen tonight."

"Is she at the hospital?"

Right after asking this, you feel like it's a silly question given your situation, but nonetheless, you're worried about her.

"Do not worry about her. We're taking care of everything".

Taking care of everything? What the hell does that mean? You now think back to that whole family doctor thing... Does the Satou family refuse to go to hospitals and the like? Is this what this is about, and they chained you because... they thought you wouldn't agree with this? No, that's impossible...
Lilly would never hide something like this from you, especially when it concerns your child.
You have no secret for each other.

"Why am I here?"

Before they can answer any question, you see a third figure coming in, next to these two; Lilly? No... Akira.

"Hey there, kid..."

That's how she often greets you, yet this time, her tone is different.

"Akira, what's happening? Let me go!"

She ignores your question.

"I'm sorry, really. You're a good kid".

"Sorry for what? Tell me what's happening already!"

You hear a faint sound of metal on metal, but the father speaking distracts you from it;

"Tonight, a child will be born. A child of great promise. A strong child... Who needs to be made stronger".

You felt uneasy up to this point, but now you're beginning to panic. You try to break free from your restraints again, in vain.

"What's going on? Tell me! What have I done?"

Akira comes closer to you. She has some kind of hooked knife in hand, the blade engraved with strange symbols.

"You haven't done anything, kid... It's not your fault".

"WHAT?"
This time you yelled.
"What isn't my fault?"

"There needs to be... A sacrifice. For the child".

"WHY?"

At this point, Lilly's the only one they'll listen to...

"Where's Lilly? I want to talk to her!"

You hear some footsteps behind you.

"I'm so sorry... It has to be done".

Hearing Lilly's voice makes your heart skip a beat.

"Lilly! Thank God. What's happening?"

You hear a strange sound, coming from the father.

"Blood... Shall be shed. To empower the child."

You can't believe you're hearing this; She's as mad as they are?

"Fear not! You will not die, not... Truly".

"What do you mean? I don't understand anything... Let me out!"

You move from confusion, to anger. From asking questions, to asking release.
While Lilly's slowly walking to join with her parents, Akira, her, is coming closer to you, blade in hand. Lilly keeps talking, and strangely, her voice soothes you...

"You will be stronger than you've ever felt, even before the heart attack".

You suddenly start feeling cold, and you realize that Akira's now holding the blade at your throat; You never noticed when she did it.

"Lilly, please! Tell them to stop! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"

"Your body will die," Lilly replies. "Your soul will live on... Forever"

You let her speak, wanting to hear what she has to say.

"Your soul will be reborn, in our child. You will have a new chance at life."

"I DON'T WANT THAT!"

You struggle against the chains again, but you feel weak, powerless. Your words are ignored, just like your feeble attempts at escaping.

"You will not be alone. I will be there with you, always. And... Him".

"What are you talking about? Who?"

"There will be another soul, joining in with you."

"Who? What other soul?"

You see everything more clearly now; Your eyes seem to have adapted to the dark, but also... Akira's blade seems to be emitting some strange, purple light.

"It's a surprise!" Lilly says, smiling gently... Like this was just a silly game.

"Please, tell..."

"I will see You soon"

You're about to ask another question, when you feel Akira's blade slicing your throat;
It doesn't feel cold anymore. It's strangely warm. Your entire body feels warm... Just like Lilly did.

You close your eyes, waiting for death to come. Somehow, you still see, even with your eyes closed. More clearly than you did with your eyes open.
You look at the room you're in. At Lilly, and her family. Somehow, you understand everything that's happening. Why it's happening, how it's happening.
You feel like you know everything.
You look at Lilly, who, for the first time ever, seems to be looking at you too.
You smile at her, though your body is long dead.

"I'll see you soon, Lilly. We'll see you soon".