Fourth of July
Did you get enough, my little dove
Why do you cry?
4&5
The gentlest eyes, yet viewed so threatingly, peeked widely into the clouded sky, a shy smile on her lips as she watched the snow fall.
“It’s snowing.” Her cousin smiled next to her, standing up as she sat her legs over the wooden porch.
And I’m sorry I left, but it was for the best
Though it never felt right
11&12
He dodged her flimsy blow, ducking under her fumbling arms as he swung around to hit her stomach, sending her flying across the room. Her father, his and their elder watched on, all absent in thought. She made a cry as she slid against the wood.
He reacted with a dull, milky stare; lips tight.
My little Versailles
12&13
“A failure will always be a failure.”
As the words left his lips, her sorrowful purple depths widened, hand clutching her abdomen as blood trickled from the sealed slither of her lips. Her brow visibly trembled, knees wobbling.
The hospital asked, should the body be cast
Before I say goodbye, my star in the sky
16&18
“I’m so glad you’re okay!”
Her gentle and pleading voice that sobbed was like that of a dove as she tossed her body to his, arms locking around his shoulders.
He smiled that small smile, faint as the size of a sparrow as he moved his hand to caress her shoulder. Silently; I’m here, and I’m okay.
He was the hawk who was bound to watch over her. Not to soar like the other birds, but instead to be caged by traditional regulations.
Such a funny thought to wrap you up in cloth
Do you find it all right, my dragonfly?
16&18
His jaw strained and slacked against the shoulder of his comrade, two pulsing trails of blood escaping from both sides of his mouth. He managed to smile, after all, because she was there, leaning over to his face with shaky hands and a damp, numb face. And he had saved her. He had fulfilled what he was born to do from the start.
The mark on his forehead. The curse which forced him to look in one path, dragging himself across the trail with cold eyes like he was a caged hawk. It finally dissipated, the curls of the imprint fading away into his skin. He was free.
He could spread his wings. He could fly. But he had decided to turn back, to save his dearest cousin and friend. Right into the bullseye of the enemy.
Feather’s fell from the blanket of the horrifying night. The night of the war which felt like eternity. His body hit the ground slack, the blonde-haired boy who was holding him tensing and panicking as he fell from his arms.
His sweet sister shuffled over, muffled sobs bloating against her locked mouth as she looked down at the cooling corpse. Her hand reached out shakily, but then drew back in to clutch at her vest. She stifled a final sob, pulling herself to legs and using her sleeve to dry her tears.
It was war, and he had given up his freedom for her to live.
Shall we look at the moon, my little loon
Why do cry?
16
She stood numbly within the crowd of black-clothed villagers and comrades, tears now falling freely from her eyes. The blond haired-boy who stood directly behind her nudged her fingers with his, letting her know he was there for her.
Her head dropped as she stared at her brother’s grave, the smoke from the incense sticks layed neatly on his stone trailing past her eyes and into the sky, rising into the clouds with the other lost lives.
A hawk screamed above them, flapping towards the peak of sunset.
Make the most of your life, while it is rife
While it is light
Well, you do enough talk
My little hawk, why do you cry?
28
“It is Neij’s birthday, today. The third of July.” Hinata whispered to her daughter gently, leaning down as her five-year-old crouched by the stone of her uncle’s grave, smiling peacefully as she fixed up the vase of sunflowers she had just placed.
“Mama, do you think uncle likes them?” Her daughter asked happily, big blues wide and shining as she smiled at the gravestone.
“Of course.” She replied tenderly, soft purples relaxing as her eyes washed over the fresh sunflowers. Her eyes moved to stare fondly at the back of her daughter’s head. “Since those flowers have the same name as you, Himawari.”
Hinata raised her head to the sun, blue skies coating the village. Her hands lay rested on her knees, a nostalgic smile forming on her lips. Brother Neji, watch over her. Just as you did with me.
∞