The uncontrollable cries from a young boy echoed off the dark, wooden walls.  A child of six had fallen to his knees beside the languid body of his recently deceased mother.  Her eyelids now hid the orbs of a unique green of which the boy had inherited, yet now they swelled and became reddened with tears.  There were streaks and bruises covering the woman's face and wrapping around her neck; the aftermath of being beaten and strangled.  As the boy wept; a shadow appeared on the far wall.  This shadow portrayed the body of a well-built and tall man with unusually large hands; it belonged to the boy's father.  The man pointed an accusing finger at his unfortunate child.
"If we never had you, I wouldn'a done that," he left the doorway only for a moment of pacing through the hall outside.  His large hiker boots could be heard approaching again before he continued, "Things was fine before she went and had you!"  Here is where he left the doorway completely, stomping through the rest of the house in a drunken rage.
"Mama..." the boy mumbled through sobs as his father slammed the main door shut.  With dark colored bangs over his wet eyes, he saw little and concentrated only on their last moment.  He remembered the last words she had spoken to him.  It was in this very room.
She rushed through his bedroom door and shut it again as she entered.  He could hear his father yelling from another room in the house.  Already her face was darkened with bruises and her lips damp with blood.  She sat hurriedly on his bed and lifted him onto her lap, holding him tightly.
"I've been saving this for you, Sora.  It's yours now," at this she placed a silver pendant attached to a long chain into his tiny hands.  "You keep that safe and make sure to only use it for a good cause.  That pendant will grant one wish to whoever holds it, as long as he's pure of heart.  It's been in my family for years and would have been yours when you were older, but it's got to be yours now," here she stopped to help Sora fixate it around his neck, making sure he tucked it under his shirt as well.  Once it was hidden well, she cradled her only son and began to cry.
"Please don't be sad mommy," Sora pleaded.  "I can wish for us to live in a new house after daddy leaves again."
"Oh, baby, don't waste this on me.  After tonight where I live won't matter anymore.  You'll have to take care of yourself.  Get away from daddy; forget daddy.  Forget me, too if you can," his mother pressed her lips to the boy's forehead.  "Just never give up hope, alright?  Believe in that pendant, too.  It's real magic.  Your grandmother wished for a beautiful field of flowers and that very spring all the empty patches of dirt on their farm sprouted roses and daisies and all other kinds.  Wishes can be dangerous Sora, so please be careful," she stopped here to smile at him.  "My wish came true as well.  Do you know what that wish was?" but before she could answer, the door was pushed in and the hinges were destroyed.  Sora could see his father's shadow in the entranceway to his room.  The figure staggered closer to the mother and child huddled together on the bed.  With one powerful swing, the man's hand came crashing down on the mother's face.  She was cast down on the floor as his powerful knuckles bent around her neck.  Only seconds passed before he left the room again, giving the beaten woman another kick as he exited.  Sora was staring into his mother's green eyes for the very last time.
"My wish was you," she manged to whisper.  After this, her eyelids shut and the present rushed back into Sora's mind with a jolt.
"I'll miss you mama," Sora whimpered.  More tears poured from his corrupted eyes as he began to stand.  Trembling, he reached full height and left his mother forever.  While passing through the front door, he knew his father had already left and for now he was on his own.  Sora reached a hand under his shirt and clutched at the pendant that was recently obtained.  Once outside, he used the light of the night sky to admire its silver make.  The ornament itself was just as big as Sora's diminutive hands.  It was imperfectly carved in the shape of a crescent moon; mirroring the one that hung in the sky over the child's head.  He grasped the trinket close to his chest whilst looking to the stars.
"I wish the people I love couldn't get hurt anymore."

***

A teenage boy's indigo hair stopped midway down his neck with bangs in the front that covered surprisingly bright, green eyes.  He was well over five feet with a thin figure and handsome face.  His attire was casual, consisting of a gray t-shirt and jeans that passed his ankles.  There were thick-framed, black glasses behind the mess of hair that was constantly in his field of vision.  At present, the boy was tying a brown sneaker in a hurried attempt to leave the house.  Ten years had gone by since he received the adornment that still hung around his neck.  He lived with his favorite aunt now, who had been home-schooling him since he was just a child.  His aunt never seemed to have any troubles with her life; they never even fought.  Over the course of her lifetime, she has had many close calls with death, yet each time she has emerged unscathed.  Sora had always loved his Aunt Shizuku, who was the sister of his mother.  
"Don't forget the eggs!" called a voice from the kitchen.  This particular voice belonged to a young woman around the age of thirty.  She was in good shape for her age, and usually had her hair up in a ponytail on her head.  Her hair was shoulder length, mostly straight, and russet in color.  Presently she wore a somewhat slimming pink dress that ended at the knee with off-the-shoulder, short sleeves; a common springtime outfit.  Much unlike her sister, her eyes were a rather dull, rather dark brown hue.  Overall, Shizuku Yasutomo was much less attractive than her departed sister, Risa.
"Do I ever?" came a clever reply from Shizuku's only nephew.  This response came while the front door opened and closed as Sora let himself out.  His good-byes were usually short if they came at all; talking wasn't something he enjoyed doing.  He had no real friends, but wandered places often.  For the most part, Sora had always been to himself and rather anti-social.
"Take c--" Shizuku was cut off by the front door slamming.  She sighed, rolling her eyes and returning to her school papers that needed to be graded.  "That boy worries me sometimes," she mumbled to herself.  She would watch him often, making sure he was safe from dangerous people and also from himself.  Since he was six years old, Sora would have random bouts of day dreaming at inappropriate times.  Sometimes he would stop in the middle of a busy road, completely unaware of where he was and what was going on around him.  Doctors had nothing to diagnose for it, saying it was simply a phase that would end in time.  It has not slackened for ten years.

As Sora made his way back from the grocery store, he decided that with so much free time, he should take a detour.  He loved being outside, alone, if he could.  On this particular day, the nearby beach seemed like an exeptional place to be.  So, he turned down the road that would take him to his new-found destination, walking at a steady pace with two plastic grocery bags slung over one shoulder.  He had a tendency to stare at the ground or even his feet as he strode down the sidewalk, with an occasional drift into the middle of the road.
Upon reaching the place of interest, Sora's first observation was that it was mostly desolate.  This was much to his avail, as crowds were something he preferred to avoid.  For a moment he stopped, standing with his toes at the very edge of where the sand met the boardwalk.  He surveyed the land before him with a feeling of content and stepped out of his shoes.  There were only a few people there in total: a father with his two small daughters, an older woman, and a teenage girl with long, peach-colored hair that seemed to ripple in unison with her skirt as the wind blew.  For only the second in which his eyes passed over her did the girl's head turn and their gaze met.  Sora's face pinkened in the glow of the setting sun.  Without further hesitation, he began to shuffle closer to the shore, dropping the grocery bags somewhere along the way.  He could still feel the stare of the mysterious girl lingering over him as he made his way to the water.  In an instant, his feet went cold and looking down, he realized that he had already stepped into the ocean.  Sora continued walking; his jeans now soaked to the knee.  This is where he stopped.  He became lost in uncontrollable thought and his vision began to blur.  The dazed boy fell forwards without so much as a flinch and completely submerged himself.  
Back on the beach, the girl he had made eye contact with earlier had still been watching him.  As he went under, she instinctively stood up and started hurrying towards the water.  As seconds passed and there was still no sign of his rising for air, the girl began to run.  Finally the soles of her feet hit wet sand.  She lunged forward and dove skillfully near to the area where she saw the young boy sink.  In only a split second did she resurface, clutching the drenched body of the ocean's victim.  In her powerful arms she carried him away from the water and let him roll onto the sand.  Immediately she began employing every technique she knew involving getting someone to breathe again, until finally he did.
"Mom..." Sora breathed inaudibly.  He had only just awoken from the dream he had literally fallen into.  Following this was a violent coughing spell in which much water and sand was rejected by his system.
"Can you see me?" came an unexpected voice.  Sora blinked rapidly, trying to empty the burning, salt ridden water from his eyes.  His ears still functioned properly, and so hearing this question certainly helped him to remember he had been on the beach.  He found this question peculiar in that most would first ask if he was alright, or perhaps if he could even hear them, as some do when they believe another person is about to be lost.  Finally he landed upon a giant blur of orange, blue, and pink before him, leaning over him with the glow of dusk behind it.  Although he could not tell what it was exactly, he found it lovely in itself.  The blur reached out to him and suddenly, it was no longer a blur.  It had placed Sora's glasses upon his face, and was revealed as the young girl who saved his life.  She became even more lovely to him now that he could see the perfect contours of her face, the brilliance of her aquamarine eyes, the shimmer of her now wet, peach-colored hair, and the glow of the red sun behind her.  
"Y-yes," he stammered.  Once his vision was returned, he found himself at a loss of words before this figure of beauty.  "Who are you, exactly?" he finally managed to ask.
"I'm Umi," she giggled.  It was at this point that Sora had also come to realize how melodic her voice was and how well it matched her appearance.  "And you are?" she inquired in return.
"Sora," he answered simply.  "Thanks for uh, saving my life and all," his face became pink as he said this.
"No problem, Sora," she smiled down at him.  "Need some help?" Umi noticed Sora struggling to regain his balance and extended a hand.  Sora accepted her aid and reached for the offered appendage.  As their palms met and Umi pulled Sora to his feet, their stare was once again returned by one another.  Both of them began to blush and turned away shyly.  
"You're pretty strong," Sora commented.
"Thanks.  You're pretty unstable," Umi teased.  Sora had stumbled as she said this, almost losing his balance again.  "Maybe I should walk you home," she suggested.
"Sure, if you'd like," it was here that Sora noticed that their hands were still clasped from when she had helped him earlier. They both let go and apologized in unison.  Sora turned and began to walk with Umi following alongside.
As they made their way up the street and closer to Sora's house, they were engaged intently in conversation the whole time.  Umi was fascinated to learn of Sora's home-schooling with his aunt, whilst Sora was entranced by Umi's tales of the many places her mother and she had moved to.  Over the course of this verbal exchange they each learned many things about each other.  The immediate attraction they both had felt when they met only grew deeper as time passed.  Finally they made it to Sora's front door.
"This the place?" Umi asked cutely.
"Yeah," Sora sighed.  "Guess this is good-bye."
"Only if you make it a good-bye," Umi riddled; Sora looked puzzled.  "What I mean is that I'd like to see you again sometime.  That is if you wouldn't mind, of course."
"No, not at all," Sora shook his head.  "I'd really like to, actually," he began to blush again.
"Aw, and here I thought you couldn't smile," Umi teased while Sora smiled at her for the first time since they had met.
"You're worth smiling at," he answered, continuing to do so.  In the light of the moon, Umi's aqua eyes seemed to sparkle as if they were misplaced stars.
"I can usually be found on the beach, if you wish to meet again," here Umi leaned over and kissed the unexpecting boy lightly on the cheek.  "But for now, good-night, Sora," and she began to walk back the way they had come.
"G-g'night," stuttered Sora.  After a dazed moment of following the girl with his eyes, he stumbled up the porch stairs and through the door back to his home.
Sora had but a moment to collapse on his bed and stare thoughtfully at the ceiling before the phone rang.  He waited two rings to see if perhaps his aunt would answer it.  After hearing no sign of her effort to pick it up, Sora finally stood up and got it himself.
"Hello?"
"Hello.  This is the county hospital calling about a Ms. Shizuku Yasutomo.  Is this her nephew, Sora Yasutomo?" the male's voice coming through the phone sounded official and calm.
"Yes.  What happened?  Is Shizuku okay?" Sora tried not to sound as worried as he was becoming.
"Ms. Yasutomo is fine, actually.  There was an accident this afternoon while your aunt was out jogging.  She was caught in a car explosion only a few feet from where she was.  It's miraculous that she's in such an uninjured condition.  She was unconscious when we brought her in, but now she's doing much better and will be escorted home shortly," the man on the other line finished his summary of the incident.
"Alright.  Thanks a lot... bye," he hung up the phone and went to wait by the window for his aunt's return.  The girl he met earlier that evening never left his thoughts.

The sound of keys jingling against the doorknob are what brought Sora back to consciousness.  The large door swung shut as Shizuku paid her final farewells to the hospital personnel who drove her home.  He forced himself off of the windowsill to check on his guardian.
"Shizuku," he called, hurrying towards her as she dropped her keys on the island in the kitchen.  "I heard what happened.  Are you alright?" as he came closer to her, he noticed that there was not a scratch to be found.
"Physically, I'm great.  Other than that, it's hard to say," she looked at her nephew with an unfathomable expression.  "Sora... why does this happen to me?"
"What do you mean?" Sora began to doubt the mental welfare of his aunt.
"This isn't the first time I've emerged from a terrible accident with no scars to show from it.  This may sound strange Sora, but do you have anything to do with my survivals?" Shizuku spoke softly, staring the boy hard in his green eyes.  After a pause in which neither of them said anything, she continued, "My sister gave you that, didn't she?" she pointed at the crescent moon pendant that hung from his neck.  Sora only nodded.  "I had a feeling;  I recognized it.  Mom used to wear it and I knew she had given it to Risa.  She didn't want me to have it, mom didn't trust me as much," she hesitated, noticing Sora's disappointed expression.  "Mom made the right decision though, Risa was much more responsible.  Besides, you saved my life with that thing," she nudged Sora playfully.  "What did you wish for, anyway?"
"I wished that the ones I love couldn't get hurt anymore.  I was six years old and I had just left the house that became my mother's coffin.  The man she married had already split," the grown version of this tortured child hid his emerald eyes behind the strands of dark hair that remain suspended before his face.  "I can't forget that night.  It comes back every day.  Every time I lose control of my thoughts and fall unconscious at spontaneous times; I see her dying again.  Sometimes... it's different.  Sometimes she comes to me and tries to talk to me.  Those aren't memories, they're new moments.  But I can never understand what she's saying..." Sora's fists trembled and tears began to bead from under his bangs.  He caught his breath and continued, "My mom's trying to tell me something.  She's trying to talk to me, but I can't understand what she's trying to say," his shoulders tightened and his fists trembled more, "What good am I?  She needs to say something and I can't understand what it is.  She'd still be alive if it weren't for me," at this point, the tears he was trying to withhold began to cascade down his pale face and he sunk to the floor on his knees.    
"Is that really what you've thought all these years?" Shizuku kneeled beside him and wrapped an arm of comfort about his shoulders.  "That's nonsense!  Your mom loved you more than anything in the world.  Having a child of her own was one of her greatest wishes.  I'm sorry, Sora, but Risa's death was your father's fault."
"I know that..." he wiped a tear from under his glasses.  "Sometimes I just wonder what would have happened if I hadn't been there.  It just gets to me when I think about it too hard, you know?  But I'd know better than anyone that it was my father's fault..." he trailed off, still drying the remainder of his tears.  
"Come on, cheer up!" encouraged his aunt.  "Where's the happy Sora I rarely ever see?" Shizuku playfully inquired.  Sora simpered at this, making his aunt grin in return.  "Aw, there he is!  That wasn't so hard.  It's been a long day, how about we make cookies before going to sleep?" she helped him to his feet.
"Ah, no thanks Shiz.  I think I'll just take the latter.  Like you said, it's been a long day," Sora gave his aunt a kiss on the head as his way of saying thank you and left the kitchen.  As his footsteps could be heard climbing the stairs, Shizuku smiled after him, shaking her head at this enigma of a boy.

Around noontime the next day, Sora had awoken and began getting ready to leave the house.  After showering, he pulled on a clean navy t-shirt and light jeans and spent an extra few minutes in front of the mirror making sure his hair looked right.  He wanted to look nice for his second meeting with Umi.  There was something about him on this day that made him particularly happy, and his aunt couldn't help but notice.  He flew down the stairs, frantically tied his sneakers, passed his usual brief good-bye to Shizuku and shut the door behind him before she had time to finish a reply.
  To Sora on this day, the beach seemed much farther than usual as he was so eager to reach it as quickly as possible.  For his entire walk, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself in glee of seeing his new acquaintance.  When finally it came time for him to remove his sneakers and journey down the sand, he merely kicked them off in an impatient manner and immediately began scouting the beach for the girl from yesterday.  He stopped midway to the water and gazed out at the ocean in temporary distraction until something pushed him so hard from behind that he nearly fell forwards.
"Miss me?" came an excited voice.  Sora turned around to be face to face with the very same girl he had been looking for.  He smiled into her glittery, aquamarine eyes.
"Absolutely," replied Sora.  
"I was concerned that maybe I'd spend my whole day at the beach missing you, and you would never come," pouted Umi.  She reached up with two delicate hands and swiftly removed his glasses.  "I know you'll miss these," she giggled and ran off with them towards the water.
"Hey, I need those to see!" Sora called after her, beginning to follow at a run.  As he sped up, she came to an unexpected halt at the shore and they collided.  The two hit the water at the same time, laughing the whole way through.
Finally, sunset arrived and the two lay beside each other on the sand; both were soaking wet.  Sora's glasses had been returned to the aid of his eyes many hours ago.  The couple had enjoyed an entire afternoon of water sports and were now glad to have a rest in the warm light of dusk.  Sora could barely tear his gaze away from the girl beside him.  The orange glow of the sun enhanced the vibrancy of her peach colored hair and complemented the watery tone of her gorgeous optics.  She sat up, hugging her knees and staring out over the horizon, admiring the pink clouds splashed in the sky overhead.  Sora sat up beside her, still enticed by the radiant girl that now turned her attention towards him as well.  The two exchanged smiles.
"I had fun today.  Thank you for coming back," Umi broke the silence.
"How could I have possibly resisted?" Sora asked in return.  Still they peered deeply into the faces of one another, moving closer with every passing second.  They each leaned forward, becoming closer and closer, so close, they could almost...
"Hey!  Did you hear about the fire?" shouted a voice from someone speaking to their friend elsewhere on the beach.  "There's a big fire at that house down the hill by Blossom street." as the stranger finished, Sora's heart sank and hoped he had misheard those last words.  Umi looked at him worriedly, having known it was his house after walking him to it the night before.  
"I have to go," Sora stated, scrambling to his feet and beginning to run off the beach.  Umi stood and began to sprint after him.
"I'll go with you!" she called, but was unsure as to whether he heard her or not.  Eventually, she caught up and the two ran as fast as they could down the shortest roads that would take them to Sora's burning house.
At last, they reached the top of the hill that led down to Sora's house and as the stranger had reported, the entire house was engulfed in flames.  There was already a team of firefighters working against the fire as the two arrived.  
"My aunt's still home," Sora said under his breath.  Umi stared into the boy's face with both worry and determination.  "Get out of here," he commanded without even turning to face her.
"No, Sora.  Let me help you.  You told me yourself I was strong," she pleaded.
"Go home, Umi.  There's nothing for you here," and with that, he started bounding down the hill to the house below.  He looked around frantically as the house came closer for any sign that Shizuku had already been rescued, but she was no where to be found.  Before the firemen could say otherwise, he ran straight through the fallen front door, covered only by flame.  He didn't stop.  Panicking, he squinted hard and looked in every room he could for his only family.  
"Shizuku!" he screamed through the clouds of black smoke.  His arms flailed in front of him in an attempt to make his vision at least slightly clearer.
"S-Sora!" came a hushed reply.  "Kitchen!"
"I'm coming!" Sora made his way to the entrance of the kitchen.  There was debris carpeting the floor and beams of wood blocking his path.  He kicked them over, making his way to the far corner where he could just see his aunt struggling to make her way closer to him.  After the removal of one last beam, they were reunited and without risking the intake of breath for another word, they began to hurry down the main hall and back out the front door.  Still only flame blocked this exit, and with one great effort, they burst through together and collapsed in the grass a few feet away from the porch.
"Why'd  you do that, you moron?" coughed Shizuku.
"'Cause I love you too much," Sora hacked back.
"Exactly!  I'd have been fine because of that wish you made, but look at you!  You could have been killed!" she brought him closer to her, and hugged him more motherly than she ever has before.  One of the firefighters approached them.
"Where's the other girl?" he asked whlie his comrades medically addressed Shizuku.
"What other girl?" Sora demanded, his heart beginning to sink farther.
"There was a girl that ran in right after you did, I thought you were together," he could barely be heard over the collapsing house.  Most of the roof was now beginning to cave in.
"Umi!" Sora screamed.  He turned quickly to his aunt.  "She'll be okay, won't she?  She's protected under the wish I made, right?"  Shizuku began to cry, shaking her head.
"Sora... you fell in love with her far after you made that wish," her voice trembled as she spoke.  Without any further hesitation, her nephew took off in the direction of the house again as both aunt and firefighters alike called after him to stop.  He was unstoppable at this point as he once again had to rush through the wall of flames that guarded the door.  Immediately he searched rooms, overturning every bit of wood or cloth he could find.  
"Umi!" he yelled, but there was no reply.  He raced to the staircase, only to find that the bottom half of it had already been destroyed.  This would not slow him down.  He jumped as high as he could, and grasped onto the beam of the railing.  Struggling, he pulled himself up and onto the remainder of the staircase which began to sway as soon as he did so.  Quickly, he scrambled up the rest of it and as his foot left the final stair, the rest of the structure fell into the flame beneath.  "UMI!" he blared as loud as his lungs could manage, this was followed immediately with a violent fit of coughing.  The smoke was only worse as he went higher.  He pushed his way through pieces of the fallen roof until finally under a pile of roof tiles and wooden poles, he found the crumpled body of the girl he met on the beach.  "Umi!" he choked, but she did not answer.  With haste, he gathered the girl in his arms and staggered to his feet.  The staircase was gone, he had to find another way down.  The window in his room came to mind, and quickly he began to make his way there.  Stealthily he avoided holes in the ground and places in the ceiling where it was beginning to bend inwards.  He reached his door and leaning back, he hauled his foot backwards then kicked at the door so hard that it fell inwards and the bolts from the hinges hit the ground with it.  The fire had found its way through the walls and into his room.  He struggled to open the window, but it was shut too tightly.  He had to find another room.  As he began to move towards the door of his room, part of the roof moaned and caved inwards, dropping mass amounts of debris in his path.  
Thinking fast, Sora began to climb the pile that was just added as an obstacle; this would take him to the roof.  As he made it to the peak of the flames, where the smoke was the worst, he frantically began searching around for a way down.  He was now closer to the back of the house, so even if there was no smoke blocking him, the people below could not see anyway.  The ominous clouds were so thick that breathing and seeing became near to impossible.  He stumbled about, looking desperately for something he could climb down, but he could hardly see as it was.  Suddenly, he lost his footing and began to slide.  He had not realized how close he was to the edge of the roof until he began soaring through the air; helpless.  There was nothing he could do but hold onto the girl in his arms as a way to protect her as best as he could.  As the whole of his body left the roof, he extended one hand, grabbing desperately for something, anything that he could use to save them from the fall.  
Then, out of the blackness of the smoke came something pallid and luminous; a hand had reached down and just in time had caught Sora by the wrist.  With his other arm, he held Umi close to his chest so she would not fall as this hand seemed to lower them slowly.  Sora could feel his vision blurring and his mind returning to a dazed state.  Everything in his field of view went white, but he could still see the hand that had saved his life and the body it was attached to.  In the whiteness that surrounded him, from above and still holding his wrist he could see the gentle face of his mother.  To him, she was hovering above with large, feathery wings protruding from her back.  Her bright green eyes glimmered down at him as she smiled warmly and comfortingly.  
"Sora," her voice was like the softest of whispers.  "You're alright now."

"Sora.  Are you alright now?" When Sora opened his eyes, he was looking into the face of his unscathed aunt.  He and Umi had been found safe on the ground in the backyard and were now being tended to somewhere in the front, farther away from the burning house.  "Sora?"
"I'm... fine," he finally answered, beginning to sit up.  He leaned on the ground with one hand, and wiped ash from his eyes and glasses with the other.  "Umi," he realized.  "Is she alright?  Is she still alive?!"
"This is good-bye," Umi began from right behind him.  "Only if you make it good-bye," as he wheeled around to face her, she smiled.  She smiled so warmly at him that he thought perhaps the actual fire had competition.  He turned his whole body in her direction so that he could hold her in his complete embrace of which she returned.
"I thought I'd lost you," Sora whispered.
"You were wrong, Sora," Umi started.  "There is something for me here," she pulled away just enough so that they could see each other face to face; eye to eye.  "It's you," she said softly.  They both leaned forward as their eyelids began to close and their lips met.  Shizuku merely sat beside them and grinned.  In front of them, the house still burned and continued to fall apart.  The lovers broke their kiss and turned to face the ongoing destruction.  There was nothing any of them could do to stop it, but the three of them thought to themselves that the most important thing had already been rescued; they still had each other.  As the three of them sat together and watched the house collapse, Sora thought to himself.
"Thanks mom...  I understand now."