The Dream
He stared down at the multicolored ball in his hands, tracing one of its many intricate patterns with the tip of a small finger. His curiosity and awe of such a beautiful toy was pure and untainted. It was innocence in its greatest form and without knowing why, just the bright, pretty colors alone made him happy. He was sitting inside a room, surrounded by rice-papered sliding doors. Sound was absent in this room, but this did not seem to worry him. His preoccupation with the ball took over any sense of sense he had. At one point he wondered where
(mom, mother, mama)
Kaa-san was, but then he discovered a new pattern on the ball and the thought was lost.
Then, a bell broke the sound's absence. Or maybe there wasn't a sound, but he looked up nonetheless, only to spot a cat. It was a very oddly colored cat, its fur a few shades of blue with the longest whiskers he had ever seen. On its tail was a bright, yellow bell that completely fascinated him. The cat stared at him, its eyes glowing, luminescent, in the dimly lit room. The boy dropped his toy, struggling to stand up, his legs numb from having to sit for so long. In his movement, the cat darted from the room, through the door's crack.
("Wait, stop!")
The silence was golden; impenetrable. Not even the boy's untainted voice could break the absence.
Even so, he was heard.
Stumbling to the door, the boy sniffed at the cat's leave. Opening the door, he looked out
(such innocence is fleeting; one picture can destroy it in one breathe)
Perhaps this was Hell. He stood taller now, older, he could feel it. The cat lay on its side, dead just a few feet away from the door. Not far off, houses were burning, creatures stood over them, waving their weapons about in insane fury. He didn't know how, but he could understand their fury, he could feel their pain. It burned in the fires that ate the houses and people, it sung in the air as their blades slashed through nothing.
(" .")
His name. Turning back, there were people, all in a line and waiting for him.
For him. He was their leader and they would follow him to the end of the world.
(" .")
What was he hearing, was there anything to hear at all? He turned back around, with his friends behind him, waiting, the dead cat was gone and replaced. He smiled.
("You are --")
The not-so cat smiled at him, holding out his clawed hand. The bell on his tail jingled, but again it was unheard. The child-turned-man reached out to take that hand, smiling himself. With these friends and this ally, he could overcome anything and everything. Through these fires of pain, he would succeed with the greatest of prizes -
Opening his mouth, he made to speak without speaking. The not-so-cat knew anyways, for no words were needed between them.
("I will protect your smile.")