Make me love you

Don't tell me I'm in love,
I never wanted to fall again,
Because all I ever do is get hurt,
Countless memories,
And still I try,
The stubbornness making me cling,
To times that just weren't right,
And I try so hard to tell myself it's wrong,
But this stupid whispering of the heart,
It still goes on and on,
Drive me crazy, why don't you,
Make me fall,
Make me love you.

~Rei Shiori

Never expected

Red lanterns reflecting,
On black marbled tables,
That shone like stars,
And the echo of smiles,
And laughter reverberating,
I'm wondering,
When did I ever deserve this,
Beyond what I was imagining,
When I first stepped through the looking glass,
And it's a beautiful life,
When you know you're remembered,
And it's never the same again,
When it's something you never expected.

~Rei Shiori
 

I have a lot of 'thank you's to send tonight. It's been an awesome birthday and I'd never be able to really express how happy I am when you guys dropped that surprise on me. Thanks also to my boss, Natsukaze-kun for calling me at midnight just to wish me happy birthday. Thank you to Raccoon, Musica, Vivien, Nicole and Selene-chan as well for remembering my birthday. Also to a few other of my friends whom I cannot name here since I'm not sure if you guys mind being on my blog. I love you guys. Thank you for today.

Liar's heart for hire

Eyes wide open,
I'm dreaming while the truth is unspoken,
Falling in those beguiling eyes,
I forget all the past lies,
It's like my heart never revised,
And my memories forgot to realize,
That you're a liar,
And all those times,
Are now lying on the pyre,
Even as you're trying,
To throw me off the scent,
Of a liar's heart for hire.

~Rei Shiori

Next to you

Standing next to you,
I feel like I'm breathing for the first time,
Live again,
Not just another boxed in lie,
And it feels so natural,
So very right,
It's like seeing the sky,
Straining for the light,
And having it explode,
A cascade of fireflies,
Raining in my eyes,
And even when I close them tight,
I still see your silhouette,
Against the blooming night.

~Rei Shiori

Earth Heart - Part 12

Earth Heart

Alexa? Alexa! You did it! came Leo’s tired but jubilant voice. I what? I stared at the knife handle emitting sparks. The computer screens had turned dark the moment its sharp point hit the switchboard. Realization hit me. I did it. I saved our generation. I killed him…I refuse to acknowledge him as my father, so in my mind I killed the mastermind. I giggled at the pun.” Game over.” I whispered to the silent room. The metal doors whirred open.

~Rei Shiori

Earth Heart - Part 11

Earth Heart

The man nodded. As if sensing my hesitation to believe that he was real, not a thing made of wires and metal, he took a small pocket knife from his pouch hanging from his feedskin and slashed it across the back of his hand. The wound dripped blood, making me feel faint. I concentrated on his features, not his hand weeping blood on the floor. Strong nose with high cheekbones, this was the man my mother fell in love with, his hair, dark and sweeping down in waves past his ears, I remembered my tiny, chubby fingers curling in his hair, how soft it felt against my baby skin then. The same fingers grown long and slim in the past thirteen years were the fingers now curled in anger. “You did this to us didn’t you?” my accusation rang out, loud in the almost quiet room. He hung his head as if ashamed but his voice held none of the regret I expected or hoped for. ‘Yes, daughter.” came the neutral reply. No remorse, no anger, nothing at all in his voice. I couldn’t believe it. “You almost killed us, Father. You almost killed me, your own daughter. How could you do this?” I demanded. Leo’s signal was fading in my head. I had to hurry. He looked up at a screen and told me, in a matter-of-fact way, “Your boyfriend is fading away.” My anger exploded to life beneath my skin, cold icy anger, like a blizzard and like hail. I leaped forward and fired the gun, the metal warm in my hands. The bullet sank into his shoulder right above his heart. Blood spurted out but he still stood erect. Missed. I did a midair loop and whipped around again, aiming the gun at his chest. Quick as lightning his left hand shot out and threw something at me. I dodged, but the knife nicked my thigh, drawing blood and cutting through my feedskin. The pain was intense but short lived as I gave all my energy and focus to killing him. This had become a death match between father and daughter. “I want to live!!!” I screamed at him as I fired another shot. It didn’t miss. Not this time. The blood spurted out against my face, warm and metallic as he finally sank to his knees. The green eyes closed. Forever. I felt no regret. What father could stand to see his own daughter and many others like her killed. A sharp pain sliced through my ribs. I looked down to see the same knife he threw at me, whizzing past. “Oh, crap. Automatic too, huh?” I said to myself as the knife readied itself for another cut. It came close to my head, slicing off a lock of hair. The silky black strands fell like feathers to the ground. I gritted my teeth against the pain in my side and lunged for it. The knife rebounded against my hand and lodged deep into a switchboard a few feet above my head. A switchboard! 

~Rei Shiori

Earth Heart - Part 10

Earth Heart

Computers. Floor to ceiling full of computers. The ceilings seemed so high, so far away, like the sky. It made my head spin to see so many of them all at once; the flickering lights from each screen danced and made shadows across each other. The room was filled with the eerie hum of computers. I glided forward smoothly into the room. How could I find a switch, just one tiny switch here in a room filled with computers? The door whirred shut behind me, just missing my cybertrack by an inch. I wobbled, slightly thrown off balance. The seat I thought was empty spun round and I looked into green eyes that gave me another shock so like the one I received when I saw my mother’s face again. “Father.”

~Rei Shiori

Earth Heart - Part 9

Earth Heart

The metal doors yielded to my touch. In my head, Leo was still talking, telling me where to turn and where there were guards, but his signals were getting weaker now…I was running out of time. I passed room after room of other teenagers like us, all strapped to tables, all being drained. It only made me skim along the corridors faster. I imagined myself to be a cheetah, they ran fast, Leo told me. Or maybe a dragonfly across water. Yes, the thought made me smile a grim smile, but a smile nonetheless. A black dragonfly. The last door loomed before me, it was too easy. My sixth sense was tingling, telling there was a trap. I hefted the gun in my hands higher and pushed through the last door. 

~Rei Shiori

She has loved once

She has loved once.

How can you tell?

See that look on her face?

Yes.

It is one I know well

How?

Because for a year,
Someone I loved,
Dragged me through hell.

And?

For a year,
The face she wears now,
Is the one I saw,
Looking back at me,
From the depths of a mirror,
Smeared with tears,
From our disastrous love,
Yes, it's a look I know well,
May I never meet him again,
Or that bastard will know,
The imprint of my hand,
Can hurt as bad as the lies he sells.

~Rei Shiori

A little love

All she needs is a little love,
See the salty tears,
That clouds her vision,
Because every man she's ever craved,
Proved to be,
Another black hearted knave,
The lines on her palms,
Scored with scars from her hurt.

~Rei Shiori

Earth Heart - Part 8

Earth Heart

Disbelief and surprise coursed through my mind. She was supposed to be dead. Thirteen years ago they told me she had died. They lied. The thought hit me like a slap across my face. Tears ran down my temples as anger replaced my shock. I renewed my efforts to get loose. I had to reach her. I had to. The man, Lucius, stepped back to allow her to reach for me. My mother laid a hand on my shoulder, still smiling and suddenly something akin to an electric shock ran up my spine. I screamed in pain as the white hot agony raced along my veins. She removed her hand and stepped back. This wasn’t my mother. I panted and moaned as my body spasmed involuntarily in the aftermath of the electricity overload on my feedskin system. I watched her warily, she was still smiling. How could she…? The browned hand at the edge of my vision twitched. Leo was awake. Even through the haze of pain I could still think about him. I would remember this as a stupid detail later but to me, his survival was now as important as mine. I almost couldn’t believe it. What a time for a revelation to dawn upon me. I loved him. I loved Leo. Lucius was standing at my feet, his face impassive as he held a clipboard. Watching me. Watching him. I couldn’t get free…maybe, maybe there was some other way. I closed my eyes, red spots dancing across my closed eyelids. I heard Leo groan softly. This had to work. I reached out with my feedskin’s signals and felt Lucius’ and the woman who looked like my mother. I felt their signals. I sent out enough energy to blackout the entire cyber city through my own body into the air at them. My throat was raw from screaming. The pain was unbearable, like being fried alive by my own feedskin, burned on every part of my body that it covered. I screamed and screamed this I was hoarse. Slowly I opened my eyes, they felt hot and dry…so dry… two bodies lay on the floor, occasionally spasming and writhing. Their eyes were open but unseeing. I saw wires sticking out from the body closest to mine, the sizzling ends protruding from her chest where a large hole was burned. The familiar eyes were glassy and now that I had a closer look, I realized the truth. She wasn’t alive, she never was. The woman who resembled my mother was a robot. Her skin was silicon and her eyes were probably glass set with cameras. She wasn’t my mother. My mother was still dead. Tears leaked from the corners of my eyes for a moment. I took one last look at the body and decided that I had to move on. I looked around the room, my heart cold at the deception. Why was I targeted for this experiment? I wondered. I shook the cuffs around my ankles and wrists off and swung my legs to the floor. My head throbbed. It was a miracle I wasn’t dead. Leo was stretched across the other table, his arms and legs strapped down. I stepped over the two bodies on the floor and made my way towards him. A harsh gasp escaped from my throat. What had they done to him? My mind whimpered. I reached out a hand and touched the hand that had only a few hours ago been clasped around mine. Leo moaned and opened his eyes at my touch, light as it was. “Alexa,” it came out a husky whisper. I had to strain to hear him. “Leo, what did they do to you?” his chest rose and fell slowly, almost too slowly to be normal. Tubes, wires, a whole assortment of machines were connected to his feedskin and his eyes were glazed over, with pain, I thought. I reached to pull a wire out but he stopped me, his hand trembling with the effort. “Don’t. I’ll die if you do that, Alexa.” I froze. “How…?” I whispered. He smiled then coughed wildly. I felt tears prick my eyes. I couldn’t let this happen to him. “Switch off the main power. They’re draining us for our ability.” He whispered, his voice unnaturally rough. Our ability…alarm bells went off in my head. I stepped back and jumped into the air. The metal plates beneath my feet slid out with a click as I hovered in midair. They hadn’t taken mine. “Leo…what was your ability?” I leaned close to him. His eyes looked into mine. “I can bring life back to earth. I can make things…that flower grow again. They call it the earth heart.”

~Rei Shiori

Earth Heart - Part 7

Earth Heart

I awoke to an unfamiliar ceiling feeling totally disorientated and numb…almost as if I had been placed in the white tank again. My eyes widened in terror at the thought and I began struggled but to no avail. Something was clamping my arms to my sides. Panting heavily, I twisted and writhed. I was strapped to a metal slab, like an operating table. The cuffs around my wrists clinked as I tried to move them. Something caught my eye. A brown angular hand hung limply over the side of a table next to the one I was strapped on. I wanted to scream when a hand clamped over my mouth and twisted my head upwards. A cold face, all sharp lines and angles, stared at me, turning my head this way and that as if surveying an unknown creature. I whimpered at this strange woman. What if they had hurt Leo? Where were we? What were they going to do to me?! “This one’s a real one, Lucius.” a mild voice said. I turned towards the sound and a familiar face greeted my eyes. “Mama?” I whispered. The all too familiar face with its shock of dark wavy hair smiled at me. “Hello, sweetie.”

~Rei Shiori

Earth Heart - Part 6

Earth Heart

I awoke to an unfamiliar ceiling feeling totally disorientated and numb…almost as if I had been placed in the white tank again. My eyes widened in terror at the thought and I began struggled but to no avail. Something was clamping my arms to my sides. Panting heavily, I twisted and writhed. I was strapped to a metal slab, like an operating table. The cuffs around my wrists clinked as I tried to move them. Something caught my eye. A brown angular hand hung limply over the side of a table next to the one I was strapped on. I wanted to scream when a hand clamped over my mouth and twisted my head upwards. A cold face, all sharp lines and angles, stared at me, turning my head this way and that as if surveying an unknown creature. I whimpered at this strange woman. What if they had hurt Leo? Where were we? What were they going to do to me?! “This one’s a real one, Lucius.” a mild voice said. I turned towards the sound and a familiar face greeted my eyes. “Mama?” I whispered. The all too familiar face with its shock of dark wavy hair smiled at me. “Hello, sweetie.”

~Rei Shiori