Bells

The children of Wammy House: Avon 'A' Blacksmith, Bran 'B' Bradford, Nate 'N' River, Mihael 'M' Keehl, L and Sani Wammy.

        Winchester, England 1992. Dong. Dong. Dong. A child is sitting on a bench looking out a window drawing pictures in the condensation from the cold winter morning. Overcast is across the area and the snow falls heavily but gracefully. Beyond the window is a church on the other side of the street. She draws a shining sun with a smiley face, a flowering tree with petals gliding in the wind as they fall off and a giant dove perched on top of the cross on the church’s roof. She admires her masterpiece as a reflection approaches her from behind. It stops right behind her saying nothing. He turns his head sideways and examines her picture with eyes as black as night, bags under them to match. He bites down on the nail of his right thumb and sits on the ground with his knees to his chest, back hunched over and only his feet on the ground; somehow he manages to stay upright and balanced. His restless toes wiggle as he stares at the drawing and then at the girl.

“Well, what do you think?” She pats down on the cushioned bench inviting him to sit next to her instead of on the floor.

“A strange scene for such a gloomy day.”

“I suppose. But do you not here the bells? They rang like this the day grandpa bought you here. Do you remember?”

            Looking out the window she sees the memory. An elderly man stands at the gate to the house with a small boy who holds the man’s hands tightly. The boy’s eyes wander as the man opens the gate and fixate on a girl sitting by a window with her eyes close; she is smiling and twirling her long black hair as she is listening to the church bells. When she opens her eyes, her ice blue eyes meet his charcoal black eyes. Dong. Dong. Dong.

“I hear the bells. They sound louder than usual.  Perhaps a funeral is going on. They sound sad.”

“You’re probably right. One day I will get married in that church. I will hear the bells chime. Ding-Ding-Ding.” She sings.

The boy walks over to the window to see if his deduction was right and sure enough he sees a hearse and mourners dressed in black heading into the church. He blows on the window and in the fog he puts his hand print. She puts her hand on top of his and she can feel the shiver travel through his body. He faces her and gives her a big grin showing the first sign of emotion in his eyes.

“Promise me, you will be there. I want you to hear the happy bells too and not the sad ones.”

            He opens the window and a rush of cold air flies into the room. The girl jumps off the bench and wraps her blanket around her tightly. The boy, barefoot and wearing a nightshirt and underwear, jumps out the window into the snow and rolls around. The girl runs to the window and shouts to him, “Hey, get back in here. You’ll catch pneumonia and die!”

            He stands in the snow with his head to the sky letting snowflakes land on his face. The girl gets frustrated and puts on her winter gear to go get him. As she heads outside she grabs a jar of candy to bribe him with. She goes to where he is in the yard and makes a candy trail from him to the living room so he could dry off by the fireplace. She waits for him but after five minutes she heads back outside. Some of the other kids saw the candy trail which lead to the boy. Angered, he knocks down the other kids one by one by kicking them. They run away as the girl makes it to the front door. She sees them scatter as her grandfather’s car pulls into the driveway. The boy turns around to see his father with another orphan, a boy shrouded in darkness with the only distinguishable feature being his light brown eyes and ash blonde hair. The man tells the boy to go inside with the girl while he gets a blanket and wraps it around the boy standing in the snow and carries him inside to the fireplace in his office.

            Sitting in his office inside the mansion that is now a school for gifted children the older man and his friend sit in chairs near a fireplace while a boy sits on the rug in front of the fireplace facing away from them, soaking the rug as he dries off.  He is working on a puzzle with no picture; just a white background and one-thousand puzzle pieces. 

“I found this boy wandering the streets of Winchester five years ago. I felt like it was fate meeting him that day. Roger, this school is meant to be for gifted students and it could be much more. We could raise many more children like him to become the world’s greatest detectives. Think about it, we already have a few children here who could rival him one day. Avon and Bran are already showing promise; they can become the first generation of L’ successors.”

“I know; I am amazed that he has solved some of the world’s greatest cold cases and he hasn’t even hit puberty yet. I fully agree with you, Watari that there are more children out there with the potential to be as great as him and bring to justice those who thought they could get away with murder.”

“They can’t hide from me. I am justice.” The boy says by instinct without taking his focus off of his puzzle.

            Famous inventor and founder of many orphanages throughout England including The Wammy House for gifted children; Quillish ‘Watari’ Wammy is the only one who was able to contact L directly. He found L abandoned on the streets of Winchester with his family nowhere to be seen. Taking him in as his own son, he quickly realized that he was a genius and could solve mysteries with ease. Raising him throughout the years he enabled him to solve crimes worldwide in secrecy. It wasn’t too long before the world noticed L’s presence and Watari assumed the role of L’s full-time personal assistant, father and communicator leaving his childhood friend, Roger Ruvie to manage Wammy House and raise the potential L’ successors.

 

            1996. The girl sits on the seesaw in the springtime by herself. The younger children play kickball, hop-scotch or tag, forming their own groups usually based on age and gender. She looks around the playground and doesn’t see the boys. She kicks up mud as she watches a dark cloud in the distance moves away and in its pale a double rainbow and sunny skies.  Suddenly, the sky becomes closer and the ground further away. She grips the seesaw as she turns around to face the other seat.

“Bran, what are you doing?”

“Aren’t I supposed to sit on the other side?”

“Well, yeah but not without me knowing!  I could have fell off and got a concussion and ended up in a coma for the rest of my life!” He lets out a sinister laugh or more like a snicker.

“Your fascination with death is amusing. Since you’re here, you’ve dealt with at least two so tell me, how did your parents die?”

“My mother died from a mysterious illness. As for my father, he died in a plane crash, according to grandpa. My father never knew I existed. It was my mother who found my paternal grandpa, Mr. Wammy before she died. That’s how I ended up here.”

“Wow and here I thought it would have been something more traumatic.”

“Well, what’s your story?”

“My father was beaten to death by a thug while my mother died in a train crash. I witnessed both and I survived both. Watari found me and now I am here.”

“I’m surprised death doesn’t scare you more.”

“Life is scarier than death.” Avon walks over to them. He was sitting in the sandbox and overheard their conversation. “Life is nothing but pressure to be the person people believe you to be and death is where you’re finally free to be who you want to be.” His unruly brown hair covers his barely visible green eyes.

“Avon, you’re not even an adult yet and you feel that much pressure already!” She puts her hands on his shoulders while looking him in the eyes. He just hangs his head and looks away.

“I’ll never be like L.”

“That’s our only purpose for being here, Avon. Unless you are 100% sure you can surpass him by being the world’s greatest detective or criminal, you should move on. We’re not kids anymore.”

“Don’t listen to him, Avon. I have faith in you.”

“No, Bran’s right.” He removes her hands from his shoulders and walks away. The numbers above his head fluctuate.

“Bran, how can you say that?”

“A test.”

“A test…his mental strength?”

“I don’t know what the numbers mean. They don’t count down or up; they just change to more random numbers every day. There must be a pattern to them though.”

“What are you rambling about now?”

“My eyes. They see red numbers and names, but why? When I look at you I see ‘Sani Wammy’ and numbers under your name. But they are random and have no pattern to them.”

“You’re so weird, Bran. I’m heading back inside.” He follows her but heads to his room. He looks in the mirror only to see his name, Bran Bradford, but no numbers.

            2003. Avon Blacksmith and Bran Bradford were part of the first generation of L successors. From the many orphanages throughout England that Watari owned, children with the potential to take his place-should a criminal get the better of him- were given a single letter as their identity; Avon became ‘A’ and Bran became ‘B’. Eventually a fourth generation came along and from it two boys became the best candidates. Nate ‘N’ River and Mihael ‘M’ Keehl were first in line to succeed L and since their arrival to Wammy’s House they have been each other’s biggest competition. They couldn’t be more opposite; Nate is dependent on others yet detached from those around him, calm, quiet and methodical while Mihael is independent yet thrives on the acknowledgment by others, very emotional, loud and cunning. Throughout their childhood, Michael always felt he was second to Nate and develops an inferiority complex as his hatred for Nate grew. L never decided on who was his true successor, but Mihael knew he would have picked Nate.

            L was a mentor from afar. He would video call the orphans and holds a question and answer sessions. Of course, he never revealed his face to any of them, besides the ones with a letter, so all there was on the computer screen was an Old English text of the letter ‘L’ in black with a white background.

Roger sits next to the computer screen on a chair facing the children. The younger children ask him many questions, while Mihael and Nate stay silent as Avon, Bran and Sani being veterans look on. Linda, a girl with a natural gift of drawing asks L what he is scarred of.

            “Well I suppose, monsters. There are many types of monsters in this world. Monsters who will not show themsevles and cause trouble. Monsters who abduct children, monsters who devour dreams, monsters who suck blood and monsters who always tells lies.” The children look around the room as if a monster is learking around.

“Lying monsters are a real nuscience. They are much more cunning than other monsters.” Sani looks to the ground while holding a textbook for her criminal justice class.

“They pose as humans even though they have no understanding of a human heart.” Bran looks around the room that's a sea of names and numbers.

“They eat even though they’ve never experienced hunger.” Mihael snacks on a chocolate bar as he leans against a wall.

“They study even though they have no interest in academics.” Nate sits on the floor in the back of the room in his pajamas an plays with a rubix cube.

“They seek friendship even thought they don’t know how to love. If I were to encounter such a monster, I would likely be eaten by it because in truth, I am that monster.” The children are silent as they take in the words that he says.

“Well, children, I think that’s all the time we have for today. Thank you for the call, L. Give Watari my best regards.” The screen cuts out and the children carry on with their day.

 

            2004. Avon committed suicide. The pressures of trying to be L were too much for him to handle. He drowned himself in the bathtub and it was Bran who found his body. His name and the numbers were no longer above his head. His test had worked and he finally knows what the numbers is-lifespans. Not long after A’s death, he leaves Wammy’s House to figure out a way to equate the numbers above people’s heads to how much time they have left before they die. Determined to surpass L by becoming the world’s greatest criminal, he devises a string of serial killings known as the Los Angeles BB Murder Cases in the summer of 2005. Using his gift of the eyes, he is able to find people with the initials BB that he could kill on the day they were supposed to die anyways.  He enlists the help of Naomi Misora and disguised as L helps her decipher the crime scenes, tricking her by leading her to every conclusion she comes up with from the clues he left at the crime scenes. However, Naomi found out that he would make himself the final victim so L could never solve the case with the murderer being a victim. Saving him from setting himself on fire the case is solved and he is thrown in jail where he dies of a heart attack, becoming one of Kira’s first victims or judgments in late 2006.

 

            2020. Sani Wammy is a defense attorney and is currently working and living in Japan. Growing up with L at Wammy’s House, she knew she would find a career in law. Not much of a detective, she decided her role was in the court room than in the streets. At first, she wanted to put away the criminals L caught but the Kira case is what sparked her interest in becoming a defense attorney instead of a prosecutor. She had an idea that she could prevent those who just need some reform from going to jail and being killed by Kira one day. These people are the youth of the world and she has traveled all over the world being the top attorney wanted in juvenile court. She didn’t take on many big cases at first, but she won every case she was on. Her biggest case would be the one where her track record would be tainted.

 

            2012. Sani was in Japan when she was brought the case of Micca Abandonato. A teenage father accused of beating his girlfriend, Ren Moto to death, butchering her and kidnapping their son who he lost custody of. A warrant was out for his arrest when he was found in Milan, Italy. Sani was his defense attorney while the prosecuting attorney was an old fling of hers from law school, Teru Mikami. Sani truly believed that he did not commit the crime, but the public was on Teru’s side.

“Where were you on the night Rena Moto was murdered?” Sani begins with.

“I was at the park by myself lying on a slide looking at the stars. I left my car parked ways away. When I decided to leave, I walked back to my car to find that the backseat was covered in blood; a butcher knife and shovel were thrown into my trunk too. Seconds later the cops arrived saying that they’ve been tailing my car all night and the trail of human remains leads to me. They handcuffed me and threw me in jail. When they identified the remains to be Rena’s, there was no doubt in their minds that I murdered her.”

“And did you, Micca Abandonato?”

“I did not murder Ren Moto.”

“No further questions your honor.” Sani sits own as Teru approaches.

“No witnesses to back up your story, your word against what the police witnessed. You have gotten into trouble before with blacking out behind the wheel of your car. Is it true that you lost custody of your child because you were too high to watch your two year old son wander out of your home and got hit by your car; the one you were driving at the time while trying to leave your child home alone?” Teru holds up a picture of the child with stitches along the underside of his left arm.

“Ren was supposed to be watching him! She blamed it all on me! She never told me that she left the house, even though she claimed that she did. I wasn’t high either; I remember falling asleep on the basement couch because of the medication I was on. Her cousin claimed to have seen me get into my car and back out, but there is no proof that I was consciously or unconsciously did this.”

“Well, your custody hearing says otherwise. No record of any medications prescribed to you. And now Ms. Ren Moto is not here to speak for herself on the matter because her remains were scattered across Tokyo in the parks where mother, fathers and their children go to spend quality time together. Did you or did you not drive to the park on June 25^th and see her there with another man and your rage overcame you and you forced her into your car and butchered her?”

“No! I would never kill her over something as petty as that. I didn’t even know she was seeing other people. The man the police saw her with and the one that a bystander saw drag her into my car was not me…someone who looked like it could be me.”

“Not a conscious you anyways and so you admit you’re capable of killing her if pushed enough?”

“I’m not a killer. I am the victim to a country that hates me, wanting love where none can be found, a child wrongfully taken from me and a girlfriend and her family who are manipulative!”

“And there it is, all the motives needed to kill her and flee the country with your son. No further questions your honor.” Teru makes his way back to his seat as Sani approaches her client.

“Micca, is it true that before the custody hearing, her family was very adamant about the child staying in his mother’s care in Japan and not in Italy with you?”

“Yes. On many occasions he male cousins would threaten me; telling me to go back to Italy while I still can in one piece. One of her cousins is a doctor and he gave me medication for my insomnia and hallucinations, but now I don’t really know what kind of meds he had me on.”

“And where are these records now?”

“They are gone, his office conveniently caught on fire during the custody hearing, destroying any proof of him prescribing me medication. I am Italian, I don’t fully understand Japanese, so I trusted he was giving me the right medication.”

“So there is no proof that you weren’t asleep from taking medication that night, something you thought would help you sleep might have been a drug planted in your system to take the fall for Ms. Moto’s negligence. And these hallucinations, have they ever made you become violent?”

“No, ma’am. It’s more of an annoyance. No one would believe me if I told them, but at times I see red numbers floating in the air and blurry red lines that look like they could be letters.” Teru leansforward in his chair for he is one of those who made the eye deal with the shinigami, Ryuk.

“I also see a flying demon that hovers around me but don’t bother me. He waits for something to happen, but I don’t know what. Death would be my guess because I see one at every funeral I go to. The doctors don’t know what it is, but it’s been a problem since I was a child.”

“And this man who claimed to see you with Rena Moto at the park, how did he identify you?”

“He picked me out of a line up by only hearing my voice.”

“So he never saw your face to identify you?”

“No.”

“No further questions your honor.”

            With no witnesses besides the police and the bystander and Micca, the jury is conflicted, some find no point in finding him not guilty because they rather not have Ren’s family grieve over not ever finding the real killer and not getting the justice they seek, while some believe that he did it and should be thrown in jail for Kira to deal with him while others believe he is not guilty by seeing the truths in his eyes and that he should be able to be with his son in a country where he is more welcomed. The verdict is read:

“We the jury find, Micca Abandonato guilty of kidnapping his son, guilty of fleeing the country while facing criminal charges, and guilty for the murder of Rena Moto.”

“Micca Abandonato, you will fulfill a life sentence in jail or for as long as Kira shall let you live. Court adjourned.” As he is escorted out of the court room, the bystander smirks at Micca and pulls a ring out his pocket, the promise ring Micca gave Ren and the ring that was missing from her finger when her hand was found in a pile of woodchips.

“You killed her! You killed her!” He shouts to the man as he tries to break free of the bailiff’s restraint.“The killer is right there, do you not see him!”

“Retrain him!” The judge demands.

            Teru is tempted to write down Micca’s name in his death note, but in his mind he believed every word he said knowing of the shinigami eyes and gods of death. He lets him live and waits for Kira’s order. As for the bystander, Teru manipulates his death so he would reveal that he killed Rena Moto. Backlash against Kira briefly arose when Micca died of a heart attack in jail before his court date to be placed on probation for the kidnapping and fleeing the country. Groups protested for legal reform of court systems where the accused’s true identity isn’t revealed until conviction without a chance for retrial due to a mistrial. With the father and the mother dead, the toddler was left without a home. Sani took it upon herself to find the child a home. None of the mother’s family wanted to take in a half- Italian, half-Japanese baby of a ‘murderer’. She took the child to Italy in search of his paternal family and left him with his aunt and uncle.