#deflcresco

“It’s snowing again.” Harmony whispers under her breath. She stands by her window, watching the outside world. Tiny, crystalline sculptures fall from the darkening sky and press against the frosted glass. Snowflakes idly drift further down to the bustling streets below. Streets filled with people moving to and fro their destinations. Always in a hurry. 

“Such a shame. They never pay mind to the world around them.” 

 An average day in Kyoto. People live yet another day, continuing their daily affairs as though nothing has changed. Life is always the same for hundreds of people. They pay little attention to the beauty of nature that surrounds them, They remain ignorant of beauty and tragedy that plague their existence. Unaware of the tragedies that happen every day. 

But today is not the same for some people, not when loss tears families apart, shatter dreams, and left friends to mourn. No day is average for the Kouga clan, not since that night. 

Yes, Harmony remembers that fateful night clearly. It was the night, that long and cold night when Kouga Kagero passed away. 

Kagero suffered greatly and became weak from it. Weak in the flesh, mind, heart, and soul. But she slowly improved over time when Harmony looked after her daily healthcare. She did what she could, using her skills that are different from what modern Japan would see, but it complemented her established treatment with her doctors. Treating the mind, heart, and spirit along with her body. , As Harmony earned more of Kagero’s trust, her skills blossomed. She could calm Kagero and put an end to the panic attacks as soon as they started. 

Day by day, bit by bit, Kagero became stronger. She would never be her old self again, but the important thing is recovery and moving forward into a bright future. The young nurse had so much hope for Kagero. So much hope...

But her hopes dashed away like the cold and unforgiving winter wind. 

Memories of that night still hurt Harmony. It hurts to remember! 

The night started like no other until it took a drastic turn. The television announced a name of a young man and his achievements with his beaming face on the screen. That was enough to trigger what everyone feared. It was a big one, an anxiety attack so severe that no one could help. This time, Harmony’s attempts to calm Kagero failed miserably. Havoc wracked the entire family. The desperate pleas for Kagero to wake up. Harmony worked hard to resuscitate Kagero, fighting for her life while angry voices shout at the dispatch when the ambulance took longer than they should. Harmony fought as hard as she could, but it was all for naught. 

She had failed. 

Kouga Kagero, age nineteen. 

Passed away at ten-twenty-six post merīdiem. 

Cause of death: Cardiac arrest. 

She was announced as dead on arrival.

 Harmony became blind to the chaos that ensued. She did not hear Mitsuki’s tears or the servants’ wails. She paid no attention to any of it. All that mattered was Kagero has died. Harmony failed her patient. No, she failed her friend. A friend she fought so hard to save. 

Her heart gave up at the sight of a man and upon hearing his name. Harmony knew of the attack and she kept an eye for a name, determined to seek him out. Well, now she knew who hurt Kagero. He took everything from her and ultimately her life. 

Eyes blink and she feels her cheeks wet from tears. She draws in a deep breath as she raises the mug of coffee on her lips. She looks over her shoulder to see soft fabirc resting on the table. It’s a shawl Harmony crafted for Christmas. It was meant as a gift for Kagero. She knows Kagero is gone, but she remembers the ways of how her tribe gave loved ones their last rites. One of them involved offerings and that influenced her decision to finish the project. A dull ache grips her heart. Tomorrow she will visit Kagero’s grave to leave the shawl as a goodbye present and an offering. Besides, winter is here and it will get cold. Harmony laughs to herself and shakes her head. She needs to laugh or she will cry. How she misses Kagero and her family. 

Harmony stepped away from the Kouga Clan, promising she would return when in need, but first, she must make things right once and for all. Rage and thirst for impure blood to spill and an evil heart to stop beating joined her sadness, tainting her mind with sinister plots. 

Harmony turns away from the window and approaches the table not far from her. Setting her mug on the table, Harmony picks up the open letter on her table. It came from an important family. It was an acceptance letter for a position as the family’s personal nurse. She will begin work in the following week. Harmony takes sighs, her next words are a soft whisper in a language that is not Japan or even English. It is an older language spoken by her family and tribe. 

“Great Spirit...Forgive me...” She sets the letter on the table and picks up the shawl so she can finish it. 

“Forgive me for I will take a life for a life.” 

_____________________________________________

Weeks passed peacefully until it happened. Another death steals the headlines.  Another prominent clan mourns for they too lost a beloved member. His body was never found. No fingerprints, no weapons, and no hair or anything that could identify the killer.  Harmony was questioned since she was the dutiful nurse who cared for the clan’s ailing members, but she had an alibi and bears the wounds from the supposed killer when she told her harrowing tale of how she and the young man were held captive and they took him away. They believed her lie.  Those wounds were made by her victim in his vain attempts to fight back before she jabbed a needle into him, knocking the man out. He would wake again, but he would never see the light of day soon after.

No one would expect the sweet, gentle foreign nurse to commit a grisly murder and mutilation to destroy the evidence in the wilderness. A healer with a kind heart is never the suspect. Never. An innocent witness who suffered greatly. 

   But one thing is certain, the only witness who saw his death made sure his death was far from quick and painless. He has suffered that bloody night. Alone and afraid, just as he has made Kagero feel. 

Like Kagero, he cried for help. He begged and pleaded but his cries went unheard. He has died in grave pain and his body torn. It had to be done to remove his hands and teeth. How she became ill from her actions, but...The crimes are avenged and he will never harm another. Kagero’s assailant will never walk free on this Earth again. Never again. 

Guilt haunted her for a while, but soon, it faded as she found her resolve in her secret. 

No. 

This is not a sin.

 Hearts are broken, but it was his doing. It is all his fault, just like his own death. In the end, an innocent life was broken and then lost, and Harmony made sure that his crimes would return to him.