The Beginnings of it All

It was the fall of Spring and the plains sparkled with beautiful flowers, all the animals peacefully grazing and hopping. It was clear that today will be a perfect day and the birds made it crystal clear by chirping in sync with such charm and splendor. Karma was not expecting more.

He called over to his friend Sen, ‘Hey, today looks really good. How bout we go out and search for treasures?’

They were friends since they were babies, and long since their families were also very close to each other.

‘You know that we aren’t supposed to go past the fence, remember what happened to Kirita?’, replied Sen looking a little scared.

‘I know. But he was careless and got lost. No other 16-year-old had gone past that fence since Kirita. A quick peek won’t harm, right? Plus, if we make it back, your crush would be impressed.’

Sen sighed and replied with a smile, ‘Yeah, Hinami might be impressed, I guess. Okay let’s go, but we should be back before the sun goes down k’?’

‘Yeah of course’, Karma dashed toward the fence.

‘Hey wait for me!’

Karma was long gone before Sen reached the fence.

Past that fence was a never-ending forest of giant trees. The smallest of those trees can be the height of 10 people on top of each other. The area it is in, District 3, is currently a restricted zone in America due to the Great War, so that means humans are supposed to keep out. Karma was trotting over the giant roots, trying not to step on them. The scenery was quite the sight; Sunlight streaks beaming down from the canopy, deer, and rabbits hopping through the trees, birds chirping on top branches, it was very peaceful. He wondered, how could Kirita go missing in a place like this?

Karma was reaching uncharted territory, ahead of him he saw an opening leading to a field of greenery. He got through and he could see a lone tree on top of a hill covered with short grass. He could see that there was also a person sitting under the tree. Being his curious self, he climbed up the hill to see who this person was, which was difficult as it was quite steep. Right when he reached the top and looked up, the sky had turned dark. ‘Did I seem to miss the atmosphere change?’ he thought looking deeply puzzled. He could see that the person he saw was a girl in an elegant dress as if she were from a rich family. Her hair was maroon, tied in a neat knot, blue eyes, and she was just sitting there staring at Karma’s direction. Karma had never seen a girl this pretty. He thought to himself, ‘It’s now or never’ and went up to the girl to talk to her.

‘Hello! What’s a girl like you doing in a place like this?’

She looked up at him, ‘What do you think about the view?’

Karma was confused, ‘What view? This forest?’

She sighed, ‘No! Turn around you idiot. There’s no way you wouldn’t have seen it.’

Karma turned around. There, in the distance past a colossal lake, was a bustling city filled with roars of vehicles, tall and impressive buildings, and small people walking along the bank. He was so amazed that his mouth was open for a solid 30 seconds. But also, he felt a chill down his spine. Was this place here before? And if this area is supposed to be restricted from humans, how is there a city full of them there?

‘Hey, you better close that mouth before a fly goes in.’, joked the girl.

Karma finally came back into his senses and sat beside the girl.

‘The view is awesome! By the way, I did not tell my name yet, haven’t I? It’s Karma, pronounced Kar-mah’

‘That’s a name you don’t hear every day. My name is Rena, pronounced Reh-na’

‘So, Reh-na, you don’t seem like you’re around from here.’, Karma pointed out while chuckling

Rena had a ghosted face but answered with a smile, ‘No, you’re right. I’m not from around here.’

‘Oh? So then, where are you from?’

Rena hesitated to give a proper reply, ‘Well… you will get to know soon.’

‘Huh? How are you so sure?’

She laughed, ‘Are you always this curious about a person?’

Karma chuckled along as well, ‘Well, everyone calls me that. You see, my family doesn’t believe in luck or god, so when something happens, we always try to go asking questions about it.’

‘Oh? So then, by the looks of things, you are like the black swan of your family?’

‘Yeah, exactly. Everyone calls me, ‘Black Knight’’

Rena giggled, ‘Knight?’

‘Yeah, I have saved many people from very dangerous situations, even from death sometimes. I guess it’s because I’m able to predict bad events or something like that. Many people from my family have that ability.’

Rena seems to be enjoying this conversation, ‘Oh is that so? You know, I’ve never met someone who is so undoubtedly talkative about himself.’

Karma laughed, ‘Yeah I do tend to get carried away. Hey, what about you? What is your family about?’

She looked a little scared, ‘Well, before I say that, there’s something I need to ask you. You said you were called the ‘Black Knight’ right?’

Karma started to get a little worried, he could sense a bad feeling coming within him, ‘Yeah?’

Rena looked at Karma dead in the eye and held his hand, ‘Well, could you be my Black Knight in shining armor for a while?’

Karma blushed a little but was also confused. ‘Black Knight in shining armor’, Why does that sound so familiar? He set these questions aside and worried about her.

‘What do you mean? Are you in trouble?’

Rena now standing up told, ‘Yes, I am in danger. I still didn’t tell you about my family, did I? Well, I am from the Amane family and they are hunting me down as we speak. I’m scared Karma.’

Karma was confused as ever. He had never heard of a family called ‘Amane’ before, and why would they be looking for her? But one thought was in his mind that kept hitting him. Oh no… she couldn’t be one of them, right? There’s no way.

Karma stood up and asked her, ‘Rena, I need you to be a little clearer. Who are the Amane’s and why would they be hunting you? Are you the only one being hunted?’

Karma hesitated, ‘Are you a…’

Before Karma could finish, he heard footsteps coming from the forest. There was shouting as well.

‘Hey, Karma! Where are you?’

From the voice, Karma knew that it was Sen. Immediately, Rena took Karma’s hand.

‘Listen, Karma. I have to go now. I think you are most the perfect one so far, the one who will break this cycle of misery for good. I can’t explain everything to you at this time. For now, here is something to catch you up.’, explained Rena as she handed him a crimson-colored rose.

‘Wait, Rena!’, Karma wanted to know more but was worried about her the most. He could hear Sen more clearly. Rena had run down to the edge of the hill

‘It was nice to meet you, Karma’, she told with a smile and winked at him.

Karma stared into her blue eyes for a moment and everything went blank. He started seeing visions of the past flashing past his eyes as if he was in a trans. He fell to the ground and heard the clicking of a recoil trigger just a foot away from him.

He heard a gunshot.

The flashing bang both blinded and stunned him, causing him to fall to the ground, thinking about nothing but Rena and where that gunshot was fired. Karma’s vision came back and he saw Sen standing in front of him, holding a P9i (small but deadly if it hits the right organs). Karma got scared and feared whether it was Rena who Sen just shot, and if he did, Karma felt a chill, because Sen never misses.

‘Run, you pathetic little brat!’ Sen shouted

At least by that Karma tell that Rena got away. However, Sen was already preparing for another shot.

‘No! Don’t do it!’, Karma tried to force Sen’s gun and take it away.

Sen had missed the shot again.

‘Come on, we are getting back home.’, Sen looked disappointed and worried. Karma looked back and said to himself, ‘I will come back here. Just wait for a while, Rena. I’ll come back and save you. I promise’

As they head back home, still with the moon directly above them, Karma asked Sen, ‘Do you think she’s human?’

‘Of course, I do! Listen, anyone outside that fence is considered a human and right now we are as well. I don’t want to be someone like that. Someone who is killed on sight by our people. You should have done that to her.’

‘I know, but the way she talked, the way she looked, she didn’t seem like a human.’

‘That was just your imagination, can we please head back home without talking? I’m just so mad right now.’

Karma was sure now. He was slightly hazy and confused at first, but now it all makes sense. He knew exactly what to do. She was right all along. But he had not tried to fix anything to any avail. He felt extremely guilty. But this will be the one. The one which he finally takes back revenge and breaks this cycle. All that matters to him right now is to get back to her. But one thought kept bothering him.

How could I have forgotten? What made me remember it all now?