• “Winter’s Masquerade”

    Sitting on the front porch, I didn’t expect myself to end up in Japan for Christmas Break. My parents are not very well off but we managed to get a good inn near Mt. Fuji. Truth is – I didn’t even expect to get a five star room during this time of the season.

    The lanterns floated by as the cold wind brushed it. Mt. Fuji looked so pretty from afar but somehow – there was something there that I couldn’t identify. The snow seemed to be too gentle when it should have been blowing in as anticipated.

    I didn’t know we’d meet here.

    Okay, what was that about, I shook my head away from the voice. It was deep and velvet unlike the demonic ones that were mentioned in other stories. Many said that Mt. Fuji was known for their Cherry Blossom trees but they didn’t say anything about voices being heard throughout the night. Then again – I’m not that good in Japanese; bringing the dictionary was the only way to set things right.

    Don’t try to ignore it. You can hear me.

    Jolting up, I began looking around to see the source of the voice. The only thing answering me was the wind chime hanging above the window. The snow blew a lot stronger now and closing my window became my best bet. Closing it and taking one last look outside, I set up my futon to sleep.

    Few hours later (roughly estimating), the window slammed open, rolling me out of the futon with half the mind to kick someone’s butt. Seeing no one, I inhaled sharply while fixing my bed.

    “That’s what happens when you watch too much action movies and action anime,” I made a mental note to lessen watching that kind of stuff a bit.

    While shutting the window again, this time I made sure that even a strong wind couldn’t open it. Hopefully, I thought to myself. I can get some sleep and enjoy Christmas Break before going back to third year.

    But the window slammed open again, causing me to jump and glare at it. Scowling and muttering a string of curses, I slammed the window hard and went to bed, not giving much thought if the window would open again.

    No matter how much you resist, I can still see you. Not only that, my voice is still in your head isn’t it?

    Jolting up, I saw nothing once again when the window slowly opened by itself. There was nothing outside to slam it and there wasn’t even enough wind to open it. My body shivered when the wind licked against my clothes and outside my window, there was nothing except a young European-looking man standing there below.

    Wait a minute, a young European-looking man!? I frantically looked out the window seeing him still there.

    He blankly stared at me with cold expression which slowly melted into a small smile. All I could see from the window was that he had cerulean blue eyes and platinum blonde hair which almost looked like white. In his hand, there was a snowflake which slowly formed into a huge stair case of ice.

    Whoa, back up! How did that happen? I mentally screamed at the frozen stairs. How did a whole set of stairs appear and hell, he’s climbing up!

    I tried to yell but nothing came out. His footsteps were light but the presence itself demanded respect and silence. The only thing my voice box managed to produce is hoarse yelp when we finally faced each other. His cerulean eyes looked like they were analysing me and heaven forbid he touch my assets. Because if he does, I’m going to show him what it’s like to piss me off!

    Instead of touching those, he caresses my face and offers his other hand. “Please,” –his voice prodded me gently. “Come with me.”

    I could imagine any girl melting at the sound of his baritone and velvet voice. My body seemed to move automatically while he led me down and the stairs returned into snowflakes when I was done stepping on them. Scowling, I realized that my jacket was still in my suitcase and it was hitting below zero temperature outside.

    “Who,” my voice quivered, “exactly are you?”

    “It’s alright,” he held my hand with a small smile. “I know where we can go.”

    In a few moments, snow began to build up around both of us. The wind blew faster and colder as snowflakes began to surround us like a spiral. Panicking, I hugged the guy without thinking what he would think as both of our figures vanished.

    00000000000000000000000000000

    Waking up, I saw a crystal formed ballroom. Forming that in one moment was completely impossible but heck – vanishing into thin air was also against logic. Checking to see if anything else was different, I saw that my blue tiger pyjamas turned into a silver blue kimono.

    “It’s beautiful on you,” he reappeared at the doorway, smiling faintly. “You should wear it often. It would look nicer if you would stop twitching and scowling.”

    “You’re going to be answering twenty questions when I’m done with you,” I scowled still while standing up. “First, who undressed me?”

    He snapped his fingers and some women walked in. “The Yuki-onna did. In English, you’d probably know them as Snow Maidens. You’d think they have a vengeance streak in them.”

    I saw seven young women stand next to him. All were ethereal and yet, he chose to plain and average girl me. The worst thing is that he probably doesn’t know how many times I’ve jumped out of windows, played with fire and maybe beat up a couple of boys just because they pissed me off.

    “Secondly,” I watched his eyes slowly. “Who are you?”

    Gently brushing my cheek, he smiled faintly. “Shirofuka Rue,” –his baritone voice forced my knees to melt under the intensity of his gaze, “a lonely heart who found a person with one like his.”

    “Look,” I headed for the door. “I think you got the wrong girl.”

    “I don’t think so,” he pulled out something familiar. “This blue studded bracelet is yours isn’t it?”

    Gaping in awe, I took the bracelet and clipped it on. How did he find this? The bracelet had fallen when I was taking the cable car going to the inn. By then, I thought it was a goner but here it is. The young man strode towards me while offering his hand.

    “Dance with me,” his voice echoed throughout the ballroom. “Then, you’ll understand why.”

    Hesitating at first, I inhaled deeply before deciding to take his hand. His steps showed no waste of energy and followed the music’s flow. Compared to him, the only thing that would equal my grace was a hippo but he made me feel light. The floor refracted the light causing everything to glitter and it felt like one of those…

    “Masquerades,” he finished my thought while smiling. “This is our Winter Masquerade.”

    Some guys are jerks but there are some who are REALLY different, I couldn’t ignore his gaze’s intensity. He had a stony gaze when looking at the snowflakes and the Yuki-onna but looking at me – it melted. Not noticing how close my body was, I continued dancing and everything else didn’t dissolve away like it would in a dream.

    “Now do you understand,” his cerulean eyes gazed into the ordinarily brown ones. “You’re different from many. That’s why you’re here today. Winter doesn’t necessarily mean death; it can also be a start of a small romance between two strangers with cold hearts.”

    In his hand, I saw a blue rose appear and while he tucked it into my hair. It was either – one: I was dreaming; this was a small figment and because I drank too much red lemon iced tea before bed. Two: it could be real and this guy hopefully wasn’t a rapist and three: this was a one-in-a-million chance fairytale that came true.

    The whole night lasted with us dancing to the mute melody of snow.

    0000000000000000000000000000000

    The next day, I began packing all my things since school started on January 4. The heck with it, I wanted to stay after seeing what had happened that night. How could everything be so perfect? The ice, the dress and even the guy was something only girls would dream to have.

    Watching the snow slowly melt away, I took one last look. Other than that – my life was different and so was his. Before leaving for home, there was something I noticed lying on the futon that was tucked away. Lying amongst among the bed sheets was a frosted blue honeysuckle that never seemed to wither. A white ribbon wrapped around it with a diamond in the middle and there was a letter attached to it.

    “No matter how much you say you detest me, it’s my voice you hear to keep you safe. On my side even though I look like I won’t remember – it’s your image that I fall asleep to every night. It’s your smile that brightens up my world.”

    - Shirofuka Rue

    “Remember me, call me and you will never feel the pain of loneliness again.”

    I guess he was right because, I packed my things into a suitcase. He saw through whatever was in my mind. The winter did bring two lonely hearts together and revealed so many things that were believed to be impossible. His voice actually made my heart sing…

    “Dear, we have to go,” a voice called from downstairs. “School will start tomorrow.”

    Taking one last glance, I turned around smiling. “Shirofuka Rue, I will never forget your name. Not in a hundred years.”