Hikari no yami.                                     By  Mihatenu watashi

Shinku raised her head slowly from her pillow, a misty haze hung relentlessly against her eyes, and her body no longer felt like it was connected directly to her, instead , it was as if she hung close by ,ready to re-enter if  necessity presented itself. She lifted a hand experimentally, casting it out towards the fog surrounding her bed ,As her fingertips came into contact with the black, the fog expanded , and  eloped yet more of her immediate surroundings. Dazed and confused Shinku glanced around herself, searching in vain for any sign of a gap in the abyss.. she found none.  Shifting her body free from the linen , sitting up on her haunches, she reached up both her arms, as if to praise some heathen god which lay encased within the shadows, and in sheer confusion ,began to shriek. It was then , as if from the very suddenness of the sound, in very depths of the gloom , there seemed to emerge a voice, sobbing softly.. and very faintly there could be heard the soft flapping of feathers. Beyond her hands Shinku could just make out the falling patterns of raindrops , the water cooling her face with an ethereal warmth. She cupped her hands , as if to catch the sensation, and began to giggle softly form deep within her chest. “are you here?” she queried cautiously ,retracting her  arms and falling back once more upon the sheets , a look of intense curiosity and wonder upon her face. “are you ?!….. have you come to me?”  . She began to  trace the folds of the fabric with her hands, as an impatient child  fiddles with items of its clothing. Drawing another harsh breath she prepared to shout once more, but was abruptly silenced by distortions in the gloom. To her right the mist began to slowly drift aside , and she  instantly  found herself being surrounded by hoards of blood red petals , falling in their dance of distress towards the ground below. She turned sharply, facing the place where the cloak of fog was fading, staring intently, she raised her hands once more, opening her arms wide as a broad smile overtook her features. From the cavern of mist footsteps could faintly be heard, approaching at a steady pace. Shinku closed her eyes as a  tall, slender figure emerged from the murky darkness, her slight frame was accented by her fabulous white wings, which were visible from just behind her shoulder blades and fell gracefully down the whole length of her body , the tips of the longest feathers resting gently on the ground below her feet. Winding all around her midair , glittering white ribbons floated , and mingled slightly with her stylish short hair.
A gasp escaped her lips as the figure approached, gently extending her arm toward shinku’s face.. and brushing away the tears which had begun to fall from her lashes.
Shinku fell into the angels’ her warm embrace, holding tight to her arms as if never to let go. And within this state, shinku knew that somehow she would never leave.

A loud persistent knocking resounded through doorframe, the bell had been broken long ago, and no one had the time nor the ability to repair it. A thin stream of light echoed around the walls from the single window on the far wall  landing on shinku’s face and slowly awakening her from slumber.
She groaned and clung even more tightly to her pillow trying to hold onto the dream that was rapidly fading form her memory. She rolled over and opened her eyes staring intently at the familiar figure lying on the futon beside her, Even without the wings, she was still absolutely stunning. Blinking hard to rid her head of such thoughts., she leaned over and shook her room mate on the shoulder.                                 “ Jiki….Jiki” she whispered “ Okaeri , its morning time again” Jiki yawned and opened her eyes, smiling “ ohayo” she said sitting up in bed and pushing the sheets from around her. “geeze, why do they always have to knock so damned early?, wake up call or what?!” .Shinku sat up in bed rubbing her eyes and watched as Jiki got up and began to make a pot of coffee in the make-shift kitchen.
The apartment was small by any standards, a one room affair with the only separate room being the toilet. Its was small and cramped, but then again where wasn’t in the centre of Tokyo? It was perfect for the two of them, during the day it gave them little area in which to study and sit around, large enough only to fit a small desk and a sofa , and at night they simply unfolded the futons from the cupboard  for an instant bedroom. They also had an area dedicated to the  fridge and of course the microwave. They did have a stove, but the last time that Jiki had attempted breakfast she’d almost blown up the kitchen , not to mention almost gassing the pair to death.
Despite it’s size, the apartment was in a constant state of disarray, so the pair very rarely had company, Which suited Shinku perfectly most of the time.