SCARLET SPRING

BY SIMMIC

PROLOGUE: WHAT BECOMES OF SNOW

And in the corridor he waited... A once fearless child, he now stood outside the bedroom, hands clutched tightly around the doorframe, head downcast. A wraith-like voice dared him to take a glance around the room.

He did.

A small futon lay in one corner of the room, barely concealing the broken tatami mat under it. By its side, several boxes were stacked together to form an end table. A ray of light filtered into the dark and gloomy room from a small window on the right. The room would have been no different from any other east facing room on that street had there not been a frail, almost transparent figure kneeling in front of the window.

His okaasan.

No...

He wanted to run away.

-Too late.

"Aisoku."

He stopped in his tracks, holding back the hot tears welling in his eyes. To deny or not to deny hovering in his head. He wanted to ignore that voice, yet he could not... Simply because it was the same voice that beckoned him to sleep every night, the one that told him how much she loved him every chance there was, the voice he waited so eagerly to hear again.

He looked into her eyes and saw a deep sadness, a soul in mourning. And yet there was still a small flame burning from within, a splinter of hope, a relentless spirit that could only be that of a proud mother's love for her son.

"Okaaaasaaann!" the little boy exclaimed, rushing towards his mother and wrapping his tiny arms around her in a tight embrace.

A warm smile crept across his mother's lips as she ran her slender fingers through her son's already ruffled hair and planted a tender kiss on his forehead.

They stayed like this for a long time, the child's head resting near her heart, savouring every second of each other's company that they had left. A strong gust of wind bellowed outside whilst a whisper of snow crept in through the gap in the windowsill.

"Hanii-chan," she said, breaking the silence. "When the snow melts... what does it become?"

A look of surprise flashed across the child's face, then one of confusion as he pondered the matter. Then he proclaimed loudly, "Water...it becomes water of course!"

"No." His mother sighed and then a mischievous grin flickered across her face. "When the snow melts...it becomes spring."

The simple child drew out a deep breath and a comfortable giggle broke out among the two of them. Moments later, he emitted a great big lion-like yawn. The yawn was contagious, as she did likewise.

He must have fallen asleep for the room was now completely dark. He remembered dreaming. A bizarre dream it was. Alone in a white forest, the boy was searching for something, yet he was unsure of what it was. The ground gave way beneath him and he plummeted through the deep snow. He kept falling and falling, yet the only thing he could do was scream.

A flash of light.

A voice, kind and pleading, came from above, calling out to him.

"Remember, no matter what happens, no matter how deep the snow gets, spring will always come. Promise me that you will never stop looking for that first sign of spring... No matter what, promise me."

Okaasan... he realised.

Stretching out his arms, he tried to grab onto something, yet all he felt was air and snow. He tried again and again, and finally, he felt his fingers tighten around something solid... a branch.

Then he felt himself being pulled up, higher and higher until he was back to where he had started. Lying on the ground for a long time, he repeated the same set of words again and again... "I promise."

He turned his head and saw his okaasan lying next to him. She looked so beautiful, sleeping peacefully, that he decided to just sit there and wait for her to wake up.

But she never did.

As Hanii-chan grew up, his memory of her grew fainter and fainter. First he forgot her scent and then her voice and finally her appearance. But he never stopped searching for the first signs of spring, not after the first time he failed, nor the second, or third, or even the fiftieth. Yet when it seemed as if he had finally found his spring, he realised that he was looking at the wrong direction, for he had long forgotten what spring was.

Okaasan: mother

Aisoku: beloved son

Hanii: Honey

Disclaimer: Most of the characters belong to Inoue-san, idea of what becomes of snow comes from "Fruits Basket"

Authoress' Note: Well, this marks the beginning of my very first fan fiction. I know that it is quite rude to ask people for favours the very first time you meet them but PLEASE REVIEW (just so I have an idea of how I'm going and um...for motivation)

Next chapter: Meet the love interest