When The Demons Amidst Her

Chapter 4 Beautiful Illusion

Zither was the only instrument that king wu could play. He was way too good at it, but once in the past, he meets someone amongst the crowd who was playing the zither too, but way too good than him, which made him think twice if it was a human who was playing it or an angel itself. When he looked through the crowd of people to find who it was, it was her.

The zither sounded as the flute harmonized, bringing along the gentle yet ever sorrowful tune of melody. It spoke of their tragedies, their pain, and the love they had for each other, crossing time and transcending words. It had taken them lifetimes before meeting yet again, and so, so many years before they realized the emotions they felt when they saw each other could be translated to one simple word, love.

As long as they were together, nothing else matters. As long as he was there by her side, he would be able to brave through all the storms and blades that cut into her. Because it was her, her with those clear eyes, he who was marred with her scars, her with a bright smile that made everything seemed okay. If it was for his beloved, he could die for her.

The echoes of their tune reverberated, bringing back all those memories he cherished. Sharing a smile, they watched as the sunset, bringing arise a new day.

He had never regretted the 13 years he spent playing the zither for her.

The one whom he always loved,

Whom he always met amongst the crowd,

With whom he wouldn't utter a word,

But still, talk a thousand things,

With just looking at each other.

Her beautiful amber eyes, which hold all the secrets of this world,

her heavenly hair, black as ebony and shiny as the stars,

Looking through the crowd, When her sight fell on me, it felt like heaven on earth.

When she played with the children amongst the people,

The giggles echoed everywhere, Making the places sound heavenly.

When she stood under the cherry blossoms tree,

The falling petals,

The scented places,

It felt like heaven.

When I fell into her arms,

When she creased my hair,

It felt like heaven.

When sat beside me, on the royal seat,

The scent of cherry blossom filled my nose,

Tickling me, it felt like heaven.

When I was disheartened, she was with me,

Always no matter what,

It felt like heaven.

Whenever I was with her,

It has always felt like heaven.

But now that she was gone, I would no longer feel like I'm in heaven. I could no longer feel her hand creasing my hair. I could no longer feel as if I'm home. I no longer felt as if I'm alive. It felt so hollow inside knowing that she was gone. It felt like death might have made a mistake. A mistake that can neither be reversed nor would someone raise their voice for her.

While still thinking of her, all the memories flashed within just a fraction of seconds. The only that King Wu loved the most was when he met her for the first time with her sister.

"The little girl looked around with curiosity, walking through the bustling streets with eyes that shone like tiny gems under the sunlight while holding hands with her brother. They were the disciples of a sect, and this was the first time she could come down from the mountains along with her master, under the watchful eyes of her older sibling. For the girl, it was the first time she had experienced the everyday life of the folks, immersing herself among the noises and the sound of her shoes clicking against the stone pavements as she skipped with joy.

Beside her, her brother could only stare with an exasperated gaze as he swallowed yet another sigh. As he watches the bright girl breezed through various stalls while tugging on his hand lightly, he could only follow her while hiding his smile. Her bright smile and joyous laughter infected everyone around her that even their master struggled to hide the twinkle in his eyes amidst his solid look.

The wind blew, bringing with it the smell of fresh grass and the brief whiff of ash among the shops that used coal. It was a beautiful day, a day for everyone to enjoy the warm sunlight with their loved ones as the sound of the girl's giggling drifted past everyone's ears like the tune of a bell".

"Still thinking of her- " a voice far from his imagination said. He came out of his memories, searching for his love, his savior. As he looked everywhere, finally his gaze fell on her, as she was holding her magnificent looking bow in her hand with a straight face, as she was still aiming towards Azazel. Azazel has already injured his arm before anything else would happen. He decided to leave and come back with much more preparation as he didn't know about the lady saving him.

"aargh-!!" Azazel groaned in pain.

"I will come back! Remember, I will take your soul away from you no matter what-" as he was saying, the lady launched another arrow onto the same place. He groaned in pain and, then he gave her a hateful look and vanished in the air.

I was looking at her gracefully beautiful face when she aimed her bow onto Azazel. Her aura raised to the sky making, it a brighter day. The shine on her face made me go blind, with those livid yet mysterious eyes made me go more deeply into it. After Azazel left, she swallowed her sigh, and then her gaze fell on me. Standing from a distance, she narrowed her eyes while trying to see who it is, trying to look through her memories in search of me.

When she found it, her eyes widened, and tears filled their place without leaving any space. Tears running down her eyes and then from her cheeks going down to the earth, each fallen tear left a mark as golden dust raised from their giving birth to the flowers. It was so magical to watch.

I felt as if I'm in my dreams. Her tears rolling down made my heart ache so bad that it made me sit on my haunches, making me bow to her, making me fall on my knees. She then ran towards me, the air pushing her back, pushing her tears away, wiping them all away, and then she reached to me. I was still in shock when she hugged me and cried, not uttering a word. We were only looking at each other as we did when we met for the first time. She looked at me with her swallow eyes, which tell so many things without speaking. The distance between us was all gone now. She was with me, and now I felt as if I'm in heaven again.

With my heartfelt warmth, I was back to life. She was smiling. And was all I ever wanted.

I was home again, I was with her, and now it felt like it was no longer a dream. And if it is a dream, an illusion so beautiful that sets one's heart on, then I don't want to wake up from this illusion. But he also knew that every beautiful illusion is an illusion at last. To make this illusion come true, he is ready to do anything.

And anything means anything.

-To Be Continued

When The Demons Amidst Her