The mundane-looking ritual room was silent enough to seriously doubt it was still in the same realm as the busy streets just a few blocks away from it. Yet, its silence was treacherous; an underlying paranoid feeling overcame everyone, that would enter it, it felt like it were embedded into the walls, floor, and even the windows themselves.
The faint scent of iron that hung in the air and entered Akane's nostrils uninvited, without giving her a break, only added to this eerie feeling. Her body was slightly tensed up while she held her phone up to her ear; a single sound would have probably been enough for her to jump.
"What… How did this happen…" Akane's words pierced through the room. "Yes, I will be there asap…" she said while already picking the bag she brought with her off the floor. "I love you, too, bye…"
Akane took a few swift steps away from the scary ritual altar, towards the room's only door, her steps sounding rather loud and uneven compared to her earlier methodical approach. She was already a few steps away from the house by the time the sound of the front door shutting could be heard behind her.
The air had suddenly turned again; the earlier warmth had been replaced by the same chilly climate of the previous nights. Akane used her shaky hands to button up her coat as the air blew through the street, as well as her short blue hair.
"That's really bad," Akane murmured to herself while wrapping her arms around herself and lowering her head slightly, "He would've probably come back soon, but I have to go, I couldn't forgive myself if I didn't."
*shrrrhs*
Akane stopped and turned her head left. "Hello? Is somebody there?" she said into the darkness while squinting her eyes to try and see into the open yard of the house to her left. Nothing more than a few thick hedges protected the house from her curious gaze.
"I could've sworn I heard something," Akane said softly to herself while looking around for a moment. The only sounds were distant cars and the rhythmic noises of leaves rustling in the wind.
"Must've been some animal or the wind," she said to herself while she stepped back onto the sidewalk and continued on her path.
…
Akane's surrounding environment changed drastically as she turned one last corner. Before, her only source of light was the white rays cast by the moon; now she could already see a few bright store signs as well as lit-up houses. The thing that caught her attention, though, was a particularly bright building.
I am almost there…
I hope this was the right thing to do.
Susanoo said that the ritual would need to take place right between sunset and the lunar culmination.
That should be around 10 to 11 pm if I'm correct…
That means Aqua missed his chance; he will have to wait for another 20 hours, regardless.
The silence and clarity Akane had in her mind were stripped away as she entered the bright building, bustling with people as well as loud sounds, even at such a late hour. "You're finally here," a voice to Akane's side said, sounding a bit distraught.
Akane's mind went blank for a moment as she saw her mother's disheveled appearance. She was all of a sudden completely unable to form the consoling words she had prepared, know where her hands should go, or even where to look, so she just did what she always did.
Her gaze fell to the floor, and she began to speak. "Mom… is this-" Her words were quickly cut off by her Mom. A shiver ran through Akane as her Mom wrapped her scorching hands around Akane's freezing hands.
"Let's go for a little walk," Akane's mom said, close enough for Akane to feel her mom's breath hit the top of her head.
…
"Akane…" After a few minutes of searching, they had found a sheltered bus stop; not ideal, but it would do. "A heart attack is something really serious, but I don't think I'll have to tell you that."
Both looked at each other for a long moment. Suddenly, Akane's mom burst out into a quiet fit of laughter as she looked at her daughter's facial expression. "You've never been good at expressing your emotions, especially not using your face," Akane's mom said as the quiet laughs she had tried to contain died down again, wiping the tears out of her eyes.
"And that is while you're such a great actress, I don't get it… Here, let me teach you," She said as she extended her hands towards Akane's face.
Akane reflexively closed her eyes, yet didn't pull away; her mom's hands were still warm compared to her own skin; however, it was not as drastic anymore. Akane felt the corners of her mouth being gently pulled down by her mom.
"See, this is how to look sad," Akane's mom said as she finally let go of her daughter's face.
"Mom, why are you so happy? Dad just had a heart attack…" Akane asked.
Her mom turned away from her and looked at the distant moon, her skin seemingly taking in all the moonlight, trying to shield Akane from it, not to ruin her skin even further. "I've heard somewhere that having a heart attack decreases the chances of having another one."
Akane closed her eyes and lightly shook her head. "That's a stroke, Mom," she said as she, too, turned to face the moon, her skin also being covered by its subtle glow. "A heart attack actually increases the chances of getting another one," she added a moment later.
"I wish that it were as simple as that for a heart attack." The loud wind whipped against the backside of the bus stop, making the old wood groan under the weight of the roof, while small droplets of past rain dropped out of it onto the floor; together, all these sounds almost created a small concert.
A distant owl joined the chorus of sounds; it was almost melodic by now. "Of course you know it… Why did I even think I could fool you?" Akane's mom mumbled, "You've always known more than everyone else."
"I don't understand, why did you act happy when you knew this?" Akane asked her mom, her eyes glowing with curiosity as she tried to get a peek at her mom's face.
"Nuh uh, I won't tell you," Akane's mom shook her head.
Akane gasped lightly, a bit taken aback by her mom's blunt response. "Wow, that's totally not fair, withholding information from me just like that."
A light pout crossed Akane's face as she noticed that her mom wouldn't respond to her. "Fine," she said while theatrically whipping her head around and crossing her arms in front of her chest.
…
A few minutes of silence passed by in which Akane's grip around herself loosened more and more. Her gaze, which was initially focused on the water droplets on their way to the ground, fell further and further to the ground — common behavior for her.
"Mom, be honest…" Akane finally broke the silence, which had begun to feel unbearable to her. "Do you think that this happened because of me… Heart attacks can be caused by stress. Did I cause this?"
Akane's mom looked back down, her eyes having to adjust from the bright moon back to the dark surroundings. "This is why I don't want to tell you." Her eyes adjusted enough so she could see the dark blue hair and the pale skin of her daughter. "Your intellect is a gift and a curse… On one hand you achieve so many great things with it,"
She could now make out smaller details in her hair and face, like patterns and depth. "Do you believe in fate?" She placed her hand on Akane's shoulder.
Akane sat still for a moment before she shook her head. "No… The idea of fate sickens me. It's the idea that no matter what you do, nothing will change the outcome of what will happen. It sounds horrible."
Akane's mom mirrored her daughter's action; now she was the one shaking her head. "You're wrong… Well, maybe you're right, for all I know. But this exact thing is what makes you think that something like this is your fault. And once you conclude that things only happen because of someone's actions, then you always look at your own actions first. All this while you know better than anyone else that only 3% of all heart attacks are related to stress. Am I right?"
Akane listened to nature's choir for a moment; she was visibly thinking about her mother's words. Then she spoke, her voice thoughtful and slow, "I never said that I believe in it, I only asked if you think it's my fault."
"That might be right," her mother said, "but even the thought being on your mind long enough to speak it shows me that something inside you believes it… But that something is wrong, you must accept that some things are just out of your hands… Back when you tried to kill yourself," the words left her mouth as she spoke about the weather, "I told myself that I couldn't have done anything… That was a big fat lie, but back then it was what kept me going… You must do the same… perhaps not with things you can change… but at least with the things you can't."
Akane slowly raised her head to look at her mom. Where Akane's mom had expected to see sadness or even tears, she saw nothing but confusion. "You're right," Akane sounded completely taken aback. It's almost as bad as when she found out about Aqua's secret past. "Tell me how I can try this, please," she added quickly."
"Easy, leave," Akane's mom said, her voice defined, "There is nothing you can do for him… But from the way you look, act, and talk, you have to be somewhere else, right now." She took her hand off her daughter's shoulder, leaving behind a warm spot surrounded by the cold world.
"What you leaving now would give me, Akane, is more valuable than you staying could ever be."