Venus Butterfly

Chapter One: Catalyst Confession:

San Diego, California, July 1st, 2010, 11:00 p.m.

Allison Parkman sat in her dull, plush green recliner in her living room with company. Her mismatched blue and brown eyes looked dulled over with sentiment.

�I didn�t know her too well,� Allison said in a drunken haze as she held onto her glass of half-empty Scotch, �I felt so lonely after returning to America. I always wondered if I had stayed. He insisted that I leave.� Allison chuckled to herself, �I never forgot about her, though. I always bought stuffed animals placed them in her room in this house as birthday present every year.� She buried her head in her hands, �I only held her once in Japan.�

Becky, who sat across from her on the couch, looked at her curiously. �What are you talking about, Ms. Parkman?� she asked.

Allison gave her a dazed-over look through her pale, bony fingers, �Anna,� she said, �I�m her mother.�

Becky�s jaw dropped as her eyes widened. �What?!� she yelped.

�I am Anna�s mother,� Allison repeated. Usually, she spoke gibberish when drunk. This time, however, felt like a true confession of a deeper sort. Those words from Allison�s mouth drove Becky Campbell to make that call.

���

Meifu, Japan, July 2nd, 2010, 3:15 p.m.

Anna�s phone buzzed on the side table in the apartment living room. Tsuzuki had just walked in while his wife was down the hall in the shower when he noticed it.

�Anna-chan, your phone!� he shouted, �Anna-chan!� The phone kept buzzing.

�Anna-chan?� Tsuzuki asked. Suddenly, the phone stopped. Tsuzuki looked around, rather nervous. What should I do? His eyes trailed back to the phone as he bit his lower lip.

�Asato-kun?� he heard seconds later. The shinigami leapt around to see Anna standing in the hallway in a bathrobe.

�Oh, it�s you,� Tsuzuki said, calming down.

�Yes,� Anna said looking puzzled, �You�re home early.�

�Yeah,� he said, �I forgot something this morning.� Anna still looked at him oddly.

�You look like you saw the devil, is something wrong?� she pointed out. Tsuzuki cleared his throat.

�You have a missed call,� he pointed out.

�Hm?� his wife asked. She walked over and picked up her phone. Tsuzuki watched as she dialed her voicemail. The message lasted for five minutes and Anna lowered her phone with a pale face.

�Anna-chan?� Tsuzuki asked. His wife didn�t speak; she wandered back to their bedroom. The shinigami�s face filled with worry.

Anna-chan�, he thought, unaware of what was to unfold next.