When the Sun Rises [Short Story]

[Namivyn]

I found this story one of my successful ones after gaining inspiration from an amazing writer. My style is loosely based on hers now, involuntarily 

[Enjoy this fanfiction story. You don't have to know Okami/Okamiden to understand this story ]

When the Sun Rises

I.

When the sun rose, a shriek of life filled the air. The Maiden held the child close until the moon raised and his eyelids shut, dreaming of fantasies. He came to her in the first night, when the Moon shines its brightest, and so does he.

In the morning, he'll wake to the chill of the breeze and a turquoise wall shines through his eyes. Life stirs in him, penetrating through the thick barrier that would enable him to feel its wind. The illusion prevents him to sense the outside air. He wails, and stares blankly but he does not know why. Only emotion he could feel is the one of happy dreams when the moon rises, though he doesn't know what happy means.

The crows fly as the sun's shafts beam her happiness on the birds' feathers. Despite dull feathers, it seems to make the black turn into a beautiful color. Many different colors swirl around the crows until they faded into the horizon. The boy cheers and looks at the sky, longing to glide in the air. The sun, too, added its colorful warmth to his skin.

"Kurou…" The Maiden names him. "A crow that shows beauty when the sun rises."

Kurou looks up when his new name is said.

II.

Kurou wakes to see the moonlight shine in the sky. The Maiden rests tonight when he refuses to disturb her since the dusk in Ryoshima Coast. He thinks of when her eyes had dark rings, but worry swept across her face. He was an infant then, but memories are implanted in his mind. He'd soon not forget.

Nippon's the land he lives in with a mortal shell. He's different from others with his bright blue eyes, when the inhabitants share brown eyes and jet black hair. His curly blonde hair straightens each day as it grows towards his shoulders, and the light skin is close to the make-up the women wear. The Maiden doesn't care that he looks different, because he's hers.

III.

The strange child did not understand when the Maiden weeps quietly in the corner, in the moonless night. He did not know sadness, and his expressionless face remains that way. His arm rests on the maiden's shoulder, tilting his head. He is unsure what to do, what to think, and not sure how to feel. He is only an illusion.

So is the Maiden.

IV.

The maiden's fading arms look like the purest star-engulfed gas as it consumes her body. She was created to feel, to know while the Crow watches without emotion. She couldn't embrace him in another hug, nor will her tears mean anything to him. She was made from the stars and she served her purpose as the brightest star would tell her.

With her last breath, she gasped," You're made for a purpose. The Mother of Life will protect you now. My time is up. Go! Go to the city—follow the Northern star. She'll be waiting. Her son will be waiting for you." She stops crying, a smile upon her lips.

Kurou's blue eyes widen and his lips try to mimic the strange bend she called a 'smile.' She pecks a kiss on his forehead and her eyes later with happy tears. He pulls his body closer to the fading woman, now grasping the concept of love and sadness. He wraps his arms around her and the Maiden disappears in his arms.

He does not fall to the floor. His palms clutch the fabric, but tears do not hit the edge of his long, slender fingers or the kimono itself. Crow stands like a statue, looking at the dark walls in silence. Never his eyes close to let droplets fall. Tears form, but he is just an illusion. The gods will disagree now that a soul forms within his frame. He holds on to the memories, but blocks the tragic one. To him, it'll be just a nightmare in time.

V.

The Crow walked out into the outside world when he had been sealed inside the cabin for four…five years. His soul chastises him for neglecting it, and the warm imaginary temperature is replaced by the cold wind that the Wind god rides on. He shivered a new feeling. He tightens his scarf that he wore for a long time. It feels warm to him; warm like the Sun goddess herself. Another feeling of loneliness overwhelms him and it was only minutes after the scene. He tries to hug the air, but feels only that freezing sense: touch is the name.

He regrets missing out on the exciting, but strange things in the outside world. He was just an illusion who now believes the Maiden forgot to introduce him to such. He sniffs the frosty air. He feels the cold breeze brush up against his skin. His bare foot feels the dirt that feels like mush. A personality of his Creator bestows itself upon Kurou and a similar resemblance is given to the child. He blooms late so he must learn to use his new gifts.

VI.
The moon falls when the sun rose into the horizon. Instead of that shriek of his infant's urge to live, it is Amaterasu's howl that told him to live again.