[ARC]Aruka

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Sadaru. The pretty young girl was oblivious to the world; kept and chained to a chair in her homely little room, Sadaru only has her toys to play with. She has no understanding to what emotions are, she only knows play. Poor little Sadaru was so feeble- she can barely crawl to look out the window. This was her predicament for years to come; not knowing what feelings are, she never knew she had so much hatred and misery in her heart.

On the day of her 18th birthday, Sadaru’s stepsister bought her some stale cake. Naïve and unknowing, she ate the cake heartily, thinking that finally, she was acknowledge by someone. The cake tasted uncanny, but she kept on, thankful for the small token for her birth. The awful, sour and moldy round of desert made her feel sick; gagging on her every bite she took. She did not understand why, what was this feeling? Sadaru was lost in wonder, was the cake bad? It couldn’t be. The cakes she saw on her books in her mini-library in her room were almost the same, save the greenish stuff that were growing on the icing and cake. Sadaru pondered, as she cried and cringed out of pain; her fetal position easing her self somewhat, holding on to her stomach as if life depended on it. Sweat, pools of sweat damped her body. Her eyes could barely open from the aching cries of her hollow shell.

‘Light, where’re the lights?’ she tumbled and struggled on the floor, groping for light as if it were tangible. Sadaru felt alone and in pain, why does she feel so? Where was everyone, why was she left alone?

Laughing, where was all the laughing coming from? Sadaru tried helplessly to get up, but a sharp stabbing pain hurt her back and yet again, she was miserable on the floor. More laughing; why was she laughing? Sadaru snapped a she?

Propping herself up with her hands, she sat upright against the wall. All was familiar; right, she was still in her room. Sadaru felt at ease, but the eerie sounds of clinking chains brought a fretful leap in her heart. And there she was, her stepsister glaring down at her with the most vicious eyes she had ever seen.

“Oneechan,” muttered Sadaru, as she slowly slipped up the wall to stand. She watched her stepsister ruefully round her, tapping her fan impatiently. “N-nani..?” the girl clasped her hands together, watching as the apologetic glare turn into hate; and that’s when Sadaru saw the faint devious smile on her face.

Eyeing the atrociously beautiful lady before her, Sadaru was able to see her entirely for the first time. ‘What is she?’ she asked herself, wondering why her stepsister wore such dark garments, and her nails painted as blackly with her physique so endowed in pallor and death.

Upon noticing the girl’s curiosity, the lady licked her lips in deceit. “My, my Sadaru-chan, what’re you thinking of?” petting her stepsisters head, she gently pushed the stray strands away, revealing to her the seamless beauty of the shattered Sadaru.

“You’re pretty,” she said, lining her fingers under her chin as she scanned her face thoroughly, “Do you want to be free?”

Surprised, Sadaru’s big blue eyes brightened up into something more radiant than the awkward torch light in the room. The older lady grimaced, ‘How beautiful,’ her thoughts angrily spat. She was already on the verge of choking her to death, but knew better to even lay a hurtful hand on her. Smiling forcefully, she continued-

“I’ll let you see the world, if you promise not to return” she sternly said tightening her grasp on her chin, “never again, understand?”

Sadaru was confused; why did she want her to leave? The girl wound her eyes around her little room; it was her world, her only world. Never in her life had she seen anything from outside, but the promise of something better than these four corners appeased her; and without knowing it, she had herself nodding to her conditions, Sadaru never bothered taking it back.

Stepping out the gloomy stone castle, Sadaru felt defeated when she saw nothing but dead trees and a gray wasteland. Sighing, Sadaru continued to walk down the cold stone path, everywhere she looked, no sign of life was to be seen. Why did her stepsister bargain her for freedom, when her gloomy room was nearly the same as of this moor? She saw a couple of people working out in the farms, but they look so weary and hopeless. Sadaru wasn’t surprised, this place was so dead, and nothing could ever be grown in the land. Was this the reason she was locked up?

For hours, Sadaru walked aimlessly bound for nowhere completely forgetting about the illness she suffered from the stale cake she had.

At the end of the road, nothing endearing was sought; only a small broken well was there. Sadaru run to the well, hoping that there was water to quench her thirst with. Luckily, the well was full of it, and it was clear too. Searching for a bucket, Sadaru hurriedly sent it down with a pulley to get some well deserved drink. She was happy and content, at least her long walk was to be rewarded by a drink of fresh water.

Sitting down the well’s rim, Sadaru placed her hands in her dress’ pocket, staring out the empty land before her. Now she understood why the food at home tasted so bad; there was no place to get some properly grown vegetables there, no life form could ever survive in such a place. Sadaru felt pity for the place; how amazing it was that only now, on her 18th birthday did she experience so many emotions. Heaving another deep sigh, Sadaru spoke her mind aloud-

“I wish this place wasn’t so gloomy. This place is a waste without life and beauty surrounding it.”

Taking her cue to leave, Sadaru drew her hands out her pocket and clumsily took her loose change with her. She shrieked; her last money went falling down the old well, and there was no way of retrieving them. Upon touching the waters, there was a sudden flash of light and Sadaru was blinded for a moment.

And to her surprise, a big change has happened.

From then on, the gloomy wasteland was no more. It became the beautiful unknown land where people dwelled in peace and harmony. Amazing was it, but there was a strange phenomena in the land that no one could explain; but the land was captivating nonetheless, with a huge castle like structure vacating the former old castle where Witch Kuromi lived. The beautiful woman was no where to be found, nor was her stepsister whom she kept locked in her dungeon.

The change was much needed. With Kuromi gone, everyone living in abundance, the world was now a better place to live in. And they all lived happily ever after.