Termino.
Nupitae
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The hands that attacked Hiro were old and rotten. Their infested dry skin reeked of a repugnant smell and the thought of their miserable touch laden with moral-breaking visions was enough for Hiro to quickly scramble to his feet and run away from the city, along the shoreline. With every step further the weight of his actions seemed to double.
The ship, the call, white space… He was tempted to stop and give up. He was close to his end; after all, constitution can only push a man so far. As the desolate cityscape receded into the black horizon, the hands began to accelerate towards their target. Possessed by a jumble of adrenaline, confusion and fright, Hiro bolted for miles until wilderness suddenly loomed ahead and the unpaved, awry path slowed him down. He was tired from all the running; in his fatigued mind, the hands were closing in on him.
The oak trees that soared above him into the sky called out to him to rest his weary bones under their blissful shade, just like he did during happy times at home.The jungle’s abundance of trees and camouflage stirred an unknown feeling in his silent heart. A smile crept up onto his face as a plan took shape in his mind. For the first time after the horror of seeing his wife amongst the dead on their wedding day, Hiro felt hopeful.
The idea was simple — divide and conquer. He was going to utilize the green backdrop as a maze of deceptive landmines he would maneuver across, making sure he got rid of every last one of those vermin. As the hands tried to catch him they got separated. At first only a few will lose track, but surely — if he kept at it — their strength would fall. Trees became vantage points. Grass lovers’ spots and moss made up a slippery slide that carried him faster than his feet normally could. Caught up in the precise and successful execution of his scheme, he didn’t notice the sky turning hazel, the colour of Yumi’s eyes.
When the hands had disappeared and Hiro was basking in his ability to find light in the stars in the darkness of the night, he had an inkling of something amiss — a glint in his peripheral vision that seemed out of place. Maybe if he had realized it a little sooner he could have avoided the impending event, but fate caught him at the very moment he let his guard down and his ego took over.
He walked towards the glint at a tepid pace, unsure of its significance. Out of the blue, the light sped towards him like a meteor. A hand, ghoulishly white yet unmistakably human tightly gripped his neck, forcefully claiming ownership of his mind. The last thing he noticed before the spate of overwhelmingly distasteful memories overcame him was the wedding ring on the slender finger of his wife’s hand artfully cutting off the air.
The sky is overcast with thunderous clouds threatening to pour any second and ruin the funeral proceedings. Hiro isn’t worried about the downpour- he is drowning in his internal grief. He has had me dressed in my white wedding dress.
He touches my cold forehead in a caring gesture before the lid of the mahogany coffin is sealed and my lifeless body is lowered into the warm embrace of the earth. An outsider would see Hiro’s heart of stone, but I see the cracks on the stone that are widening because of the weathering.
A bright hospital room, covered from top to bottom in white except for stubborn patches of medicine spill that refused to be silenced. I wish I had a tenth of that courage to fight my illness. The cause of my sickness is an addiction. I need it to survive. I feel its absence when I wake up in cold sweat at two in the morning. When I kiss my children goodbye as they go to school. When I’m talking, bathing, eating, drinking, thinking, breathing. It is essential to my existence. Hiro’s drugs consume me. I’m stuck in a loop of euphoria and suffering and I can’t even recognize myself, let alone others. The only thing I can say I know with certainty is the difference between cocaine and the stupid valium they give me at the hospital to supposedly calm me! I feel awful.
Where is Hiro? His absence angers me, and his empty words are daggers through my heart. He said that the pain would go and I could find happiness without drugs. He promised to be there with me. Till death did us apart.
We’re at a party, the biggest one in town. The room is lit up with disco lights, music blaring out loud for three streets to hear and of course, Hiro is the hero. It’s the first time since we got married that he has brought me along to one of these gigs.
He’s got a bevy of girls around him, coyly winking and doing other not-so-subtle things to get into his good books and get a fat discount on the prices. I know it’s business, but Hiro doesn’t have to be so close to those call girls. They aren’t his wife.
I’ve tried talking to him a few times, only to receive disinterested half responses. He doesn’t see my loneliness. I’m just asking for a little attention.
I hear him joking with his thick-headed buddies that I’m too chicken to try some. I know now how not to be alone! You know the saying, when in Rome… That night was my breaking into drugs and life has never been the same again. I walk over to him, make a line the same way I watch him do so frequently and snort it. My brain takes time to respond to the impact of the marvelous drug that just entered my system. It takes over all my senses. I am flying and all my worries are gone. I am a brilliant star that can light up the entire universe. Even Hiro’s usually rigid face seems to glow.
And once more, Hiro found himself surrounded by a world made of ivory: pews, flowers and the cross. He saw her clad in the beautiful wedding gown. The church was filled with friends, acquaintances and partners. This was the moment of the century. She walked towards the altar holding a bouquet of the freshest white roses with her delicate veil, trailing in her confident yet shy footsteps. Yumi’s face was glowing with happiness — her smile was priceless. It was unguarded, filled with raw emotion. He knew he loved her. Her walking down the aisle told him she did too. We make a perfect couple, he thought when she stood next to him. The pastor ambled up to them and began the vows.
“Ms.Yumi, do you take Mr.Hiro to be your lawfully wedded husband, to stay together till death does you both apart?
“I do,” Yumi said with a bright smile.
He turned to Hiro.
“Mr.Hiro, do you take Ms.Yumi to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
