Hiroshima, Golden Messenger
Page 6
~ Six ~
“As one who was created for war I am more weapon than human. I did have a childhood since I was once a complete human, but as I grew I was chosen for an experiment. It was my extreme weakness and clumsiness that made me perfect. I was seen as the weakest in our village. For a long time I wasn’t even allowed to have a proper education. Everyone thought the knowledge would be wasted on me. That was me, a small weak child with no idea how to write or read and hardly able to speak any language properly. So it was my frail life that led the scientist to me. I had reached manhood when they cornered me. I had no clue what was going on. Since I couldn’t read I didn’t understand what any of the signs around me said, or the papers that were in the room with me. I could only sit, follow, obey, and answer if I knew what words to use. The scientists put me to sleep one day. As I slept they took me apart. I remember my dream that day. I dreamed of a long tunnel with a bright light. The farther I ran the more the walls changed. They had been stone at first, but soon they were made of steel with gears and screws holding them in place. The light began to waver and flicker like a television screen that was out of signal. It was terrifying and when I woke up I could hardly move.
“I would turn my head to look around the white room I was in, but that frightened me. When I turned my neck I heard a winding sound like gears spinning. I turned my head back, hearing the sound again. I lifted my hand and looked at it. My fingers were fine, as was my arm. When I lifted myself from the pillow I heard the winding sound again, but this time, as I looked at my torso, I found I was covered in metal. There were hollow holes in my chest, but no blood. It was then that the scientist returned and asked me how I felt. They asked me many questions, and I was shocked that I could understand them and also answer with many words I had never managed to say before. I also realized as I looked around the room that the words that had been nothing but scribble were logical. I could read, and speak, and part of me knew that I would be able to write. I then listened to all the scientists had done to me.
“They had removed many organs, including my heart. I had been pieced together like a machine, having no heart but a pump that helped my blood circulation. The scientists told me I would feel no real emotion, but when they saw I was sad and in pain they realized their calculations had been off. I could feel. But all I felt was pain and sorrow. I thought of how good it was that I could read and speak, but I felt no joy. I tried to remember what happiness felt like, but there was no good memory, for I had lived a life of an outcast. I had no happy memories to return to. I was an unhappy existence, an experiment gone wrong. They had hoped I would feel nothing. That way they could send me to battles and wars as a weapon. Because of my sadness I was outcast once again. The scientists kept me in a large cage that they considered a habitat. It was made like a village, but there was no one there except me. They would visit me and ask questions, prod me with needles, and sometimes put me to sleep. After these times I would wake up and find I had problems moving my joints or turning my head. I realized they were trying to get rid of my feelings. That frightened me. Fear. Another feeling I was not supposed to feel. It led me to rediscover what desperation felt like.
“I had to escape. The habitat was not at all homely and I had no idea why I bothered to stay there. If I was a weapon then it meant I had the ability to escape. I began to practice. Seeing what I could do. Tapping into the power source they had given me. I discovered what I was, and I used it. I broke out of that habitat and escaped. Yet I could not escape the feeling of sadness and pain, the regret of all that followed my escape. Everything brought a worse punishment upon my head and I began to wish I had never escaped and allowed the experiments to continue. I saw myself as nothing, and that was all anyone would ever see me as. Nothing more than a machine with ungodly strength and the ability to destroy at will.”
Hiro’s story trailed to an end. The house was silent and Soul gazed at him speechlessly. She had had no idea what his story would be like. It was more than she had expected and no matter what she had no clue what to say. The silence dragged on. Hiro stood by the wall, his arms crossed and his golden eyes on the wall ahead of him. He frowned.
“I have no real smile,” he said at last. “And no real laugh. They’re gone to me forever.”
“That’s awful,” whispered Soul.
Hiro looked at her. “I don’t require pity from you,” he told her. “What I’ve explained is simply for your curiosity to be stilled. You know what I am now, and why I’m what I am, so no more questions.”
Soul pouted. “Can’t I ask what village you’re from?”
“No.” Hiro scowled at the ground. “Besides… it doesn’t exist anymore.”
Soul gave him a sad look, but just then there came a knocking on his door. Hiro lifted his head, looking at the door in confusion. He never had guests. The fact that anyone knocked on his door was strange. Hiro looked uneasily at Soul. She watched him silently.
Hiro went to the door and pushed it open. He froze, finding there was no human at his doorstep. His eyes sank to the ground and he felt fear clench in his steel gut.
The golden kitty sat on his front step, smiling bright as always, and beneath it was an envelope with red writing on it. Hiro knelt and moved the kitty, picking up the envelope. It had his name written on it, and Hiro narrowed his eyes. He recognized the handwriting so he opened the letter and read the contents. This is what it said:
“To my old friend, Hiroshima, greetings. It has been but a day since you ran away from our fight. I simply wish to tell you that, as you are aware, that was not the last you shall see of me. I have much business to attend in the dark streets of many cities like yours, but I dare not see you again until I know, firstly, that you are strong enough, and secondly that I will have men to help me that will not die or scream when the lights go out. You know me. I need the dark. If my minions cannot handle shadows then they are no good for me. I am happy we met in battle. Now I know what I need to work on. Trust me when I say the next time we meet it will not end well for you. Sincerely, Enimito.”
Hiro stood up, looking down at the letter. He shook his head and went inside, shutting the door. “Your kitty found its way home,” he said, approaching Soul and handing her the kitty. “Keep it safe,” he said. He patted Soul’s head, ignoring her confused expression. “And stay inside. I’ll be back with some food for you.”
“Okay,” said Soul, watching Hiro as he went to the door. He slipped outside, shutting the door behind him. Soul slouched forward, hugging the golden kitty tight.
“What am I going to do now?” She whispered. “He’s exactly like mother said he would be…”
~ To Be Continued ~
Thanks for reading my story! I hope you enjoyed the first part of Hiro and Soul’s adventure. If you enjoyed this story I hope you will leave a review at your favorite retailer!
Thanks again!
E. L. Mendell
About the Author
E. Mendell was raised in a large family of nine. Being one of seven siblings she found inspiration all around. As soon as she could put words together she began writing stories. Starting with tales of her imaginary adventures, Mendell’s future was beginning to unfold. She started writing more and more. At the age of fourteen she was given an old computer on which she began over thirty stories, and completed more than fifteen. She also took an interest in art, using her gifts to create her own cover art and designs in her stories. However, writing remains her first love.
“I write to escape reality,” says E. Mendell, “and I hope everyone who reads my stories will see them as an escape as well.”
E. Mendell published her first book in 2012, at the age of 21, through Fifth Estate in Alabama. The Eysheus Saga, Book One, Blood River. Mendell reports that most of the series is complete and she is anxious to publish the next book before 2014.
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