Chapter Sixteen:
Pictophilia:
March 3rd, 2010.
8:00 a.m.
The young man awoke to the
warm sun on his face. He felt a small shiver down his back.
Last night� Wow!
Could anything come close to being better than Heaven?
He couldn't get the colors out of his
head.
The distant sound of
splashing brought the young man back to reality. He sat up in the wispy, tall
yellow grass around him. The cool blue of the lake ahead of him delivered a soft
siren song to his ears. The coolness stirred his heart. Yet, the sight of
ginger-brown haired nymphs bathing awoke an old fire in his belly. Such
perfection had to be an illusion. They made the lake look so inviting.
Suddenly, one of those
lasses looked up and saw him. The lad froze in the moss.
She can see me! What do I do? What do I do? The nymph watched him, curious.
"Do you want anything?" she
asked. The lad�s expression on his face went blank. The other six nymphs stared
at him now. The playfully flowers in their hair made his heart bounce in little
notes. He probably should walk away now. He leaned over the bank. Their fresh
combined vanilla scent made him twitch. A nymph with her reddish-brown locks
intricately woven with white lilies reached out to touch his cheek. She looked
into his deep amethyst eyes.
"You're looking for
someone, are you?" she asked. The young man felt his cheeks redden. He nodded
for he could not answer in words. The nymph's milky lips curved into a smile.
"I know where she is," she
whispered. The lad trained his attention upon her.
"Where?" he asked. She
leaned in and kissed him on the lips. He gave in without the thought of
resistance. As he drew his eyes close, her bird-like voice floated through his
mind. Complete
me!
The lad opened his eyes to
find himself floating around in blackened waters again. His nymphs vanished and
he found himself alone. The scent lavender brought back so many memories of the
moments he made love to his White Rabbit. Her hair smelt just like this very
water. The young man's thoughts ran loose in his head. He noticed a small, pale
hand beckoning him. His eyes followed it to a harmful of irises resting on
reddish brown locks. The lad felt his head stir.
White Rabbit?
His body floated over to see.
--------
April 7th, 2010.
10:00 p.m.
Tsuzuki, Tatsumi, and Hisoka looked around. The bright
lights that would give anyone a headache. Tsuzuki gave his surroundings a look
of disapproval.
"What� the hell?" he asked. Loud music pumped overhead.
They went from calm and traditional to loud and fast.
"Why are we here?" Tsuzuki asked.
"You know why," his former partner replied. The other
shinigami felt his skin crawl. This rave felt like an STD paradise. Everyone
looked like fairies, angels, or Goths on the dance floor. Tsuzuki nervously
chuckled.
"Well�" he mumbled. �This is rather�"
"Rather what?" Tatsumi asked with a poker face.
"Rather�" Tsuzuki began again.
"Yeah," Hisoka agreed with a nod. The pounding Jpop remix
music didn't help either. Tsuzuki paused when he felt someone tap him on the
arm. He turned and saw a pretty young thing staring at him, smiling. Her long,
puffy dress looked like someone threw up cotton candy and Pepto-Bismol all over
it. The pink flower in her hair looked like it was eating her head. Tsuzuki face
got consumed with shock at the heavy amount of make-up she wore on her face. Her
giggling gave a clear indication of how sober she wasn't.
"Yes?" the shinigami asked. This girl grinned at him.
"I love you!" she cooed. Tsuzuki gave her a blank stare.
"Okay�" he said. �That's nice, but I don't even know you.
I mean we just met and�" Tatsumi put his hand on his shoulder.
"She's high on pills," his former partner said.
"Huh?" the older shinigami asked.
"See, look," the secretary said. A goth girl walked over
to the pink fairy girl. Tsuzuki's little fan turned to her.
"I love you!" she squealed. The two girls shared a kiss.
"Ecstasy," Tatsumi said. "It gives them the feeling of
love and happiness with so much energy to burn off."
"Oh�" Tsuzuki mumbled. He
paused when he saw something�or rather someone�watching him from the other side
of the club. A pair of dark golden eyes peered out of one of the VIP rooms at
him. Unease crept into his heart. Is that�? When Tatsumi looked up, both Tsuzuki and Hisoka had
vanished from sight.
"Guys?" he asked, looking around. Now where did they go? All Tatsumi could see was wasted and horny partiers in the club.