Chapter 12

Fall 3, 2003

Choco wakes up in the morning to greet the crisp Fall morning air. She stretches her arms, then gets ready for breakfast. She grabs Uma-Kun, and walks out of the bedroom to see her father cooking in the kitchen. Yuki is still injured, so he is cooking with only one arm. However, something is different about today. Yuki is already done preparing breakfast, but he is still cooking. The smell of the dish Yuki is making is cabbage rolls, she only hopes that it's not for her since she hates vegetables.

“Daddy, what are you doing?” asked Choco.

“Oh Choco. Good your awake. Go ahead and eat breakfast, then take a bath. I left you some clothes in the bathroom, so get changed. Today is a very important day. We are going to see your grandfather today.”

Choco becomes excited to hear that she will meet another member of her family. She sits on the table and eats the chocolate pancakes that are on the table. She then rushes to the bathroom to take a bath and brush her teeth. However, the clothes Yuki left out are different than her usual clothes. Choco finds a black dress, black stockings, and black shoes. She doesn’t know why she has to wear such dark and creepy clothing, but she puts them on anyway.

She walks out of the bathroom, and finds her father also wearing all black as well. The cabbage rolls are packed to go, Choco is confused, but relieved that the rolls are not for her. Yuki then brushes Choco's hair, and uses a black ribbon to make a small ponytail, like the way Choco usually has it. After he is done, Yuki grabs Choco's hand and walks with her out of the farm. This is the first time that Choco has known Yuki to not wear his blue hat outside the house.

They take a very familiar path outside of Forget-Me-Not Valley. Choco notices that Yuki has a serious face; not an angry or upset kind of look. Almost a proud look on his face. They keep walking down the path until they reach a lonely grave. Yuki lets go of Choco's hand, and walk up to the grave alone. He rests his rucksack on the ground, and takes out the cabbage rolls to rest them in front of the grave stone. He then takes out some incense out of the rucksack and leaves them on top of the gravestone. It's hard for him to light the incense with only one arm, but he is able to manage. Yuki finally kneels down, closes his eyes, and starts to pray silently.

Choco looks around looking for her grandfather, but finds nobody else but them. She then walks up to Yuki and asks, “Daddy, where is grandpa?”

Yuki opens his eyes and answers, “He's right here. He's resting in peace right now.”

Choco looks at the grave, and notices the name carved into it. The last name matches Yuki's and her own. “You mean, grandpa died?” she asked.

“Sadly yes. He built the farm that we live in right now. It's like a gift that he left us.” Yuki looks at Choco and says, “Why don't you pray with me?”

“How do I pray?” asked Choco.

“Just put your hands together, and close your eyes. Speak with your heart, and he will hear you. At least that's what he told me when I was younger.”

Choco closes her eyes and starts to pray for her grandfather. She was looking forward to seeing her grandfather, but now she knows that she can't. After a few minutes, Yuki and Choco are done praying. Yuki stands up, and takes a long look at the grave.

“You know, I sometimes wonder what would it be like if he was still alive. I mean he would kill me if he found out that I have a daughter at my age, but I'm sure he would have had a lot of fun with you. After all, you are a member of the family.”

A tear falls from Yuki's face. Choco looks up at him and asks, “Daddy, what's wrong?”

Yuki sighs and says, “Choco, you know the other girls like me and everything. They want to go out with me, probably marry me. And start a family with me. But I never wanted to have a family of my own. I never told anyone why, do you want to know?” Choco nods. “It's because you can't lose something you don't have.”

Choco looks at Yuki again. His face looks very sad, almost like if he's going to cry. Yuki continues, “Choco, let me tell you s story. When I was your age, I used to have a happy family. I had a loving mother, and a hard working father. They were the greatest parents anyone could ever have. I always thought they were going to be with me forever. But that happiness ended too quickly. Atland fell in a recession, and dad lost his job. Since then, mom and dad argued a lot. Dad tried his best to get another job, but it was just too hard. Mom eventually found a job instead, but that only made the problems worse. Mom was working, but dad didn't know how to cook or clean. Mom would come home and complain that the house was not clean, or that the food was burnt. Eventually, it lead to a divorce.
“Dad still needed to find a job, so he asked a friend for help. Takakura told him about an empty lot in Forget-Me-Not Valley that he could use to build a farm. So dad got a loan with Takakura, and he built the farm. The problem is that Atland is too far away from Forget-Me-Not Valley. If he left, we would never get to see him again. But he needed to work, so he had no choice but to leave.
“I thought that things would get better from that moment, but it didn't. Mom started to miss dad too much. Even the letters we got every week was not enough to make mom happy. She begged and pleaded for him to come back to Atland and work out their problems. But dad needed to work. Mom was always so sad, that she eventually fell ill. She died when I was only 14 years old.
“Dad came to Atland to attend the funeral. He cried so much that day, he felt responsible for her death. But even then, he couldn't stay in Atland, he still needed to work. Luckily, I was old enough to live on my own. Dad sent me enough money to live and study. But as the years passed, the amount of money dad was sending me grew and grew. I thought the farm was doing good, and that he was making a lot of money. Well, technically that was true, but not exactly. Dad was so stressed from mom's death that he worked harder every year to take his mind off of the guilt. Because he worked harder, he made a lot of money off crops and animals.
“But then the accident happened, dad didn't survive. That's when I came to Forget-Me-Not Valley for the first time. It was early Spring, and a lot of people cried at dad's funeral. I remember it like it was only yesterday. After the funeral, I decided to run the farm in his place. But being here always reminded me of what I no longer have. I lost the only family I'll ever have. It just hurts too much to lose everything, and there was nothing that I could have done about it. So I made the ultimate decision, I decided not to start a family, and remain single forever.
“I've been terrified that one day, my wife would die on me. Or maybe something might happen to my child. Or even worse, something were to happen to me, and I pass that hurt to someone else. Instead of going through all of that, I decided the best thing was to be alone forever. I chose that path because I know that if I lose another family, I'm going to lose my mind.
“Choco, I don't know how you came to me. I have no idea who gave birth to you. And I have no idea what happened to your mother. But what matters is that you are here now. I may not be the best father for you, but I will do my best for you.”

Choco begins to cry uncontrollably. Yuki kneels down and asks, “What's wrong, why are you crying?”

Choco embraces Yuki. As she cries, she yells, “Daddy! Please promise that you won't die! I don't want you to go away! Please, you are the only one I have left! Please promise me that you will stay with me forever! I don't want to lose you!”

Yuki pushes Choco back, and looks at her. He wipes the tears from her eyes and says, “Choco. . . I am sorry, but that is a promise I cannot make. I can't decide when I am going to live or die, it's just a part of life.” Choco continues to cry. Yuki thinks for a moment and says, “Hey, please don't be so sad. How about I'll make you two promises instead, would you like that?” Choco stops crying, but tears still falls from her eyes. She then nods, and Yuki says, “Okay, this is my first promise. I promise to take care of myself better. I won't eat chocolates anymore, I'll eat healthy foods. I'll work out, and keep in shape. I'll do my best to live long enough to be a very old man. What do you say?”

Choco nods, and embraces Yuki once again. As he holds her in his arms he says, “Now for the second promise. I promise I will never let anything happen to you. I will protect you until the day that I die. Just please don't do anything dangerous again.”

Yuki and Choco continues to weep in front of the grave. Little did they know, the Witch Princess is watching them from her hut in her crystal ball. As she watched them share tender moments, she remembers a story of her own that makes her shed some tears. A story about the time she lost everything that mattered to her.

The Witch Princess remembers a time when she was a 10 year old child. Her mother and father were both still alive in those days. During those days, her name was just Princess. Her parents named her that because she was the only child they are allowed to have, so she was their little princess. Forget-Me-Not Valley did not exist yet. Instead, there was a town where hundreds of people used to live.

The Witch Princess lived in the same hut that she lives in now. One day, she was just lying on the floor reading one of her father's books on alchemy. Then her came into the house after a long day of work, and found her in her room reading. Curious to know what she was reading, he walked up to her, and sat down. He then asked, “What are you reading Princess?”

“It's a book about alchemy. It's very interesting.” said Princess.

Her father caressed her dirty blond hair with his left hand and says, “I'm impressed that you can even understand it. Alchemy is not something anyone can just pick up.”

Princess looked up at her father and says, “Dad, what's alchemy?”

“Alchemy is an art where you use spiritual energy and transmutation circles to break down matter, and turn it into something else.” said her father. “I used to be a master alchemist before you were born.”

“You can't use alchemy anymore?” asked Princess.

Her father raises his right arm, but his right hand was missing. As he looks at it, he said, “Alchemy may be a blessing, but it's also a curse. Because people fear something they do not understand, people who use alchemy are labeled as witches and warlocks. I wanted to have a child, but your mother couldn't have one. I gave up my right hand so that your mother could have a child. Without my right hand, I cannot use alchemy. But I feel that it's a fair trade. Your mother and I now have a beautiful daughter.”

Princess stands up and announces, “Well, I want to learn alchemy! That way, I can be just like you dad!”

Her father embraces her and begs, “Please, promise me that you will not practice alchemy.”

“But why?” she asked confused by his reaction.

“Because I love you. I gave up alchemy to have a child. I don't want anything happening to you because of that. Just promise me, okay?”

Princess looked at her father's serious face. She is not sure why he is acting that way, but she nods and says, “Okay dad, I promise.”

Even though she promised not to practice alchemy, she continued to read the books. But several days after that, something terrible happened. It was the middle of the night, and Princess was sleeping on her bed. Her mother rushed into the room, and woke her up. She wanted to ask what is going on, but her mother just silenced her, and carried her into a hidden room. She begged her to be quiet, and closes the room shut.

Suddenly, Princess hears a pounding at the front door. It wasn't long until it broke down, and a rush of people stormed in. A voice of a stranger demands, “Alchemist Richard! You are charged with the practice of forbidden alchemy! You know what the penalty is for this sort of crime!”

“I don't know what you're talking about!” said the voice of Princess' father. “I have not practiced any alchemy in ten years!”

The stranger continues, “Where is the demon child. We know she is here!”

“There is no demon child in our home, please leave!” yelled Princess' mother.

The stranger is not convinced. “Search the house! I want every square inch of this place searched!”

Princess could not see anything, but she can hear things being thrown around, glass breaking, and metals clashing. Luckily, Princess could not be found, the room was too hidden. One of the soldiers returned to the stranger and said, “We cannot find the child sir!”

“Looks like it escaped before we got here. I want a full search performed around the town!” said the stranger.

“What about the alchemist and his wife?” said the soldier.

“Kill them!” said the stranger. Suddenly, gunshots are heard from outside the hidden room. Princess wants to burst out, but she promised that she would stay still. She covered her ears trembling until the coast is clear. As soon as she knows it’s safe, she slowly opens the hidden door to see what had happened. Sadly, all she could find is her parents dead on the floor. She cries and mourns for their death, but she couldn't stay there for long. The people who murdered her parents are looking for her, and she needs to escape and hide.

She runs into the forest to hide. It took a few days before the people stops looking for her. Even though she escaped alive, she could no longer remember how to get back to the town where she grew up in. So she she had no choice but to live in the woods. Times were tough for Princess, as she grew older, she had no clothes to wear and she had to forage to eat. She had no choice but to make a cape and boots from animal skins to cover her naked body.

Ten years after the incident, Princess grew up into a young woman. By random chance, she found the town where she grew up again. But she was not happy to see it. The village was in the middle of a festival when she got there. The happy smiles she saw on the villager's faces made her blood boil in anger. She blamed everyone for the death of her parents. Since she feels that everyone has robbed her of her happiness, it was fair to take theirs away.

The old hut where she used to live was still standing when she arrived at the town. It was abandoned, and nothing inside was taken. So she grabbed some of her mother's old clothing, and wears them. She then gathered all of her father's alchemy books, and started looking for something she can use to get her revenge.

She found a pyro technique that she can use to destroy the town. She practiced the alchemic spell until she mastered it several hours later. That night while the town was asleep, Princess drew a large transmutation circle just like the one in the book she read. She then starts a small fire in the middle of the circle, and chants the words she memorized from the book. The circle started to glow, and a huge explosion engulfs the entire village into flames.

Everyone escaped the village alive, but they all no longer had a home to live. Only a few people ever saw the angry look on Princess' face. Ever since then, she changed her name from Princess to Witch Princess. The only building left standing after the fire is the hut, so she decided to live there for the rest of her life.

Recalling such a horrible memory causes tears to drip from Witch Princess' eyes. She wipes her face and says, “Yuki, I am going to make you suffer. Just you wait, the time is drawing near.”