First Time In Forever

Rumi gets a mysterious job, Qithak goes missing, and mangoes are murdered.

I stand on the hill, finally remembering that I should probably say my thanks to Rui for keeping me alive. The sky above my head is slowly fading from the colour of robin’s eggs to the shade of shadows. I take a breath and taste the air, so full of sweetness like salt. I raise my arms and lift my face to the sky.

            I smile for the first time in forever.

=#=-=#=-=#=

            After a half-hearted prayer, I drink in a sweet last mouthful of cool breeze and sigh, turning back to the house.

            Qithak and I live together - as friends, mind you - in a little Launian house. It’s like all of the others, built from the red clay that lies in abundance on the banks of the river flowing west of the town. The architecture is simple; it’s basically a giant cube with cloth-covered windows and a curtained doorway.

            The faint wind tugs gently at the linen squares, shyly pulling them back just a bit. I can’t see much inside besides blurs of colour, but I know that the house contains much more. There are two partitions - one separating the house into a front room and a back room, and the other dividing the back room into Qithak’s room and my room. We each have a thin pallet to sleep on - not exactly luxurious, but better than having sharp roots digging into your spine. Aside from sleep, we hardly ever spend time in our rooms, so the only other item in each of our rooms is a box containing personal possessions.

            There’s not much in the front room, either. Just a couple crates to sit on, a few shelves, and aimless tools or bags scattered across the floor.

            Currently, there’s a small store of food, containing dinner with my name on it.

            I head quietly back up the path. Qithak and I aren’t exactly popular with the neighbors, so we try not to cause trouble.

            But being us, we do.

=#=-=#=-=#=

I enter the house, only to find my best friend brutally murdering his food.

“Um, Qithak?”

He ignores me, preferring instead to continue mauling the fruit.

“…Is that a mango?”

“Mmhm.”

“Uh… What are you doing to it?”

He takes a brief break from viciously clawing at the green and red splotched skin to look at me.

“Eating it,” he says as if it’s obvious.

“It looks like you’re…” He goes back to tearing the skin off the fruit. Qi takes one last stab at the round object, and juice spurts everywhere.

“YARGH!” he suddenly screams. I jump. After recovering from the initial shock, I kneel down and put my arms around him, clapping my hand over his mouth.

“Sssh!” I hush him as he writhes in pain, trying to get free of my grip.

After a minute, Qithak finally calms down and leans back into my embrace, one of my hands gently resting in his hair.

Unsurprisingly, the soft alabaster hair, lying on his head like a pile of shredded paper, has not calmed down.

I let go of him. “Gee, what was that? It was just mango juice!”

He takes a deep breath. “It… It was nothing.”

“Okay?” I raise an eyebrow, studying his face.

Qi hands me the mango. “I don’t… I don’t want it anymore.”

Our eyes meet briefly, and I see something in his blue gaze -- something I’ve never seen before.

Pain?

But then he breaks our eye contact, shoving past me roughly and storming outside.

Rage?

I stare after him for a minute, confused by his reaction.

But I know he won’t come back anytime soon -- when Qithak gets in a bad mood, he’s in a bad mood.

But…he’s never been angry at me before.

Then it hits me.

Vulnerability.

=#=-=#=-=#=

            I wake up, full of energy. Today will be fantastic! Today will be amazing! Today…

Why don’t I hear Qithak breathing heavily through the partition like I usually do?

…Today will be fabulous!

            I dress quickly, in similar clothes to my outfit yesterday -- dark brown pants and a cream blouse -- and hurry to the front room.

            Grabbing a handful of nuts and a plum, I look around.

            Where is Qi?

            Finally deciding that I don’t know and really don’t care, I grab my equipment and head out the door, pondering where I can go without being arrested.

            I ruined my chances of being allowed into the nearest market yesterday, and unfortunately there’s no way I’m travelling out of the village without Qithak. As much of a moron he is, he’s still my “big brother” and guardian. So I decide to risk it and head into town.

            It’s strange that I haven’t seen Qi yet. Usually we meet in the mornings - but occasionally he’s out doing something. That’s probably the case today.

            I spot a man I know - someone for whom I did “odd jobs” a couple years ago - and he waves me over.

            “Hi Green! How’re things going?”

            “Great. Listen, I have a job lead you might be interested in.”

            “Who for?”

            He shrugs. “Dunno. Hooded guy, told me to tell you to meet him at Shiloh’s Inn, ten o’clock tonight.”

            I sighed. “I haven’t done much in a while, I might check it out. Thanks.”

            I turn to go, but before I can, he grabs my shoulder.

“Keep an eye out for trouble, all right?” he says. “That guy… There was something I didn’t like about him…”

“I will. Thanks, Green.” I wave him off and blend into the crowd.

=#=-=#=-=#=

Strangely, I don’t see Qithak all day. But since I had nothing planned, I spend the day flitting about the market and slumping in shade as the heat pounds down. After all, my life isn’t completely about Qithak, so I try to have my fun while he’s away.

However, night falls too quickly; and soon, like someone has dropped a dark blanket over the village, the square is empty and silent.

            I make my way over to Shiloh’s Inn. I’m not sure who Shiloh is, as someone we call June runs the place. It’s not as much of an inn as it is a cluster of little red houses for rent.

            June recognizes me and tells me there’s someone waiting for me in house three, adding a wink.

            I stare at her disgustedly and mumble, “She is not for real.”

“Pardon me, sweetie?” She smiles toothlessly at me.

“Nothing! On my way,” I say innocently.

As I approach the doorway, my heart starts to pound a little faster. What if there isn’t just one guy? What if they’re heavily armed? What if…

Hopefully, my swift dagger, sweet words, and good looks will be enough to get me out of whatever mess I’m walking into.

I bite back a sigh as I realize what Qithak would say to that.

Stepping into the room, I squint. The lamp is burning out, and shadows stretch their cold fingers up the walls.

Against my greater judgment telling me not to, I softly call, “Hello?”

Nothing happens at first.

And then I see…

The eyes.

Two cold, hard, obsidian irises stare out of darkness at me, daring me to move.

Not knowing what to say (excuse me, I’ve never had a proper conversation with a pair of black eyes before, have you?), I mumble, “Umm… Hi?”

“Kiwarumi. I’ve been waiting for you.”

This is the creepiest thing that’s ever happened to me, surpassing that time when the mayor decided to go around flashing people and a two year old slapped him.

Or at least, so I think.

Until the man steps into the light.

“No, seriously, I’ve been here for seventeen minutes. You’re late, doll.”

He pulls off his hood with polished red nails to reveal long blonde hair and bright pink lipstick.

I thought “his” voice was a little high-pitched.

“So, jobs, jobs… You’d like one?”

“Um.” I’m still in shock from the discovery.

“Fabulous! I’ve got something… Hm… Where’s the letter…” She scrabbles through her bag for a moment before pulling out an envelope, several coins, and a thin bracelet.

The lady tosses the things at me. “Here you go!”

“Bu-“

As she turns and leaves, I notice she’s wearing blood red stilettos.

Who is she?

And what am I getting myself into?

=#=-=#=-=#=

I walk the twisted path home. After noticing suspicious noises coming from the floorboards of the inn house, I left quickly. Besides, I want to read the letter with Qithak. I’d figured out where he’d been, after remembering something he’d told me earlier - he had a job to do for a friend. He’d also said that he could possibly be gone for a day, but not any longer than that, so I’m not worried anymore. I’m anxious to read the letter - the lady didn’t even give me the slightest clue of what the job was.

As the house slowly comes into view, I notice that the door is wide open, the curtain that conceals it torn off.

That’s weird, I muse.

I quicken my pace and draw nearer to our home.

Upon entering, I notice that several boxes have been pushed aside, and there’s sand scattered across the floor.

I tentatively enter Qithak’s room. His pallet is pushed against the wall, and the rest of the space is empty.

Taking another step in, I see something by the window. It’s dark, and spots are spattered all over.

Is that…

Blood.

Something isn’t right.

Something is very wrong.

Author's Note

Okay, so this was supposed to be a filler, but I decided to tack on some extra stuff, so I hope it didn't get too long. All in all, it's a big mess of description, attempted suspense, and "humour."
Probably my favourite part in the entire story is the third little part of this chapter. I call it "The Mangocide." Will probably write a screenplay about that sometime soon. ☺
Thank you so much for reading this! It means so much to actually have people appreciating stuff I write! ♥♥♥
PLEASE tell me if there's anything I can improve or any errors. I will try to make this get better as it goes on, because right now I'm just getting the feel for actually writing a story THIS LONG! I'm probably still on an excitement high.
I LOVE YOU ALL!
*end of very unprofessional Author's Note*