Still Unforgiven

Chapter 2: On the Highway

       I never imagined travelling would be so hectic. As soon as I walked over to join Light’s family before they left, they immediately threw me into their scramble to pack up whatever was left of their necessary possessions. I helped, of course, but still, it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting when I stepped on their property. Once the last thing had been shoved into the back, everyone claimed their seats and we were on the road. I glanced around at everyone in the SUV, struggling to decipher what was happening between the excitement that Light and her brother were emitting and the indifference of her sister and father. Yet, the scene didn’t last too long; Once Light’s parents had picked up the final items they needed before leaving the town and got on the highway, everyone had just about settled down. In the front seats, Mrs. Tutalachi spoke to her husband in hushed tones as she drove, and Mr. Tutalachi studied a map of roads, nodding every once in awhile as he listened to her. In the middle was Hitachi and Linu, Light’s younger brother and older sister, respectively. While Linu was leaned back in her seat, drowning out the outside noises with headphones, Hitachi was eagerly glancing around like a child discovering the world for the first time, only breaking his gaze to speak to either his parents or Light and myself. Which brings me to the back. I was trying to remain calm, but it was proving to be much harder than what I originally anticipated. Although I was excited to finally be able to do something outside of Alensville, I was not nearly as excited as I was nervous. Not only because I was about to be stuck with a family I had only known for a year, but there was another, much more concerning reason bouncing around in my mind. Before I left the house, Mom had warned me to keep quiet about my hometown, and then when I greeted Mrs. Tutalachi, she warned me in a similar way. Although Mom was a lot more nervous and serious with her warning than Mrs. Tutalachi.
“Helloooo? Anyone home?” Light waved a hand in front of my face, promptly breaking my train of thought. I stared at her blankly, confused, to which she only responded with her light-hearted laughter. I stuttered for a moment, stumbling over some sort of strong response back to her laughter, but she cut me off and repeated the question I missed.
“What’re you looking forward to the most? When we get there, I mean.” She offered a smile, the sweet, confident one she almost always wore and almost always made me embarrassed or nervous. I shrugged, unable to really pinpoint anything past all of the anxiety building up. For a moment her smile faltered, but it instantly came back as she poked me and shook her head. “Always one to be indecisive, huh?’
“I’m not indecisive. I just,” I hesitated, carefully thinking over what I could say as an excuse, “I don’t know what to expect.”
She laughed at me again, melting any of the confidence I had in my response. After she caught her breath again, she began to recount all of the great things she could remember about Levigne, her excitement becoming more obvious the longer she spoke. I couldn’t help but to chuckle as she gestured widely and exaggerated her speech. Although I didn’t notice at first, her rattling on about what she was looking forward to had calmed my nerves exponentially. I was still nervous, of course, but not nearly as much as earlier. I guess that’s why it was so easy for me to befriend her last year.
X X X
       As the hours dragged on, silence overtook everyone in the truck. There were some whispers here and there, but for the most part, everyone had taken their attention to each other and directed it elsewhere. I glanced away from the window momentarily to look at Light, who was doodling on a sketchbook she’d brought. To my embarrassment, she happened to look up at the same time that I had looked over, catching my gaze and grinning to silently tease me. I immediately turned away, struggling to brush off the interaction, but to no avail. She poked me to get my attention, inching closer and holding her sketchbook close enough between both of us so I could see it.
“I have to hand it to Mr. Kreskivich, his art class really helped.” I nodded as I studied all of the random doodles, slightly amazed by how much she’d improved within a year. For a moment, I thought she was going to say something else, but instead she pulled back her sketchbook and turned towards the window. But she’s not moving back to her original position. One side of my brain was screaming at me to put more space between us again, but when I started to move, she glanced at me, frowning ever so slightly, so I stopped. After a few more trees and signs passed our vision, she finally put out what was on her mind.
“Sorry if I made you feel obligated to come along, by the way. I didn’t mean to, I just…” she hesitated, lowering her voice so only I could hear, “I don’t hate the tribe, but I know not all of them like me...I just want one person, outside of my family, to be there that I know won’t hate me.” She sighed, slowly dragging her fingers on the seat and staring blankly at the floor. I frowned, slightly confused at her earlier sentences.
“Why would they hate you? It’s not like you can control...her, especially if you were still a kid...” She shrugged as if she had no definite answer, but her eyes told a different story. I prodded for information, but she refused to give anything besides “I don’t know”. As much as I wanted to know more, I relented and returned my attention to the world flying by outside of the car’s windows. Yet, the question continued to roll around in my mind, refusing to remove itself from the spotlight. I mean...I know she said before that she moved because of what happened to her friend and her, but...why would that make them hate her? I shook my head slightly, physically trying to rid myself of the question, but again, it resisted, and as we passed the border between Maievera and Iwata, more and more questions regarding the person sitting next to me entered my mind.

Chapter 3: The Lands of Tagaida

       By about 2 PM on the second day of driving, we passed the border between Anasteria and Tagaida. To my surprise, Tagaida’s weather in the summer was very similar to Maievera’s: humid and hot. Mrs. Tutalachi explained, after Hitachi had complained about it, that their hometown, Levigne, wouldn’t be nearly as hot since it was farther north. She wasn’t wrong either because as we approached the town, the temperature dropped significantly, although it was still warm. Despite all of the sudden activity going on within the car, my attention was concentrated on the landscape surrounding us. Although the weather was similar, the landscape of Tagaida was far from the landscape of Maievera. I heard Light snickering at me, undoubtedly at my awed expression, but I ignored her, continuing to stare at every little detail of the land. Off in the distance, near the town, was an enormous mountain with snow covering every inch of the land surrounding it. Farther out from the town, dull grasses were sprouting through the once-icy ground, ancient trees were revitalizing their vivid leaves, and every once in a while, an animal, elks and the sort, would be grazing or searching the muddy ground for food. Behind me, Light leaned in towards me, gazing out of the window over my shoulder.
“It’s pretty amazing, huh? No offense, but I’d way prefer to be living out here with how beautiful the landscape is.”
I glanced back at her, chuckling at her direct statement. “None taken. I don’t think even the park back at home could compete with this.” Although the land provided a good distraction, as we entered the town, the anxiety that I’d been feeling before returned and nothing I would do or see could calm my nerves. Light noticed, of course, that I was kind of freaking out, but even her efforts did nothing. I shook off her persistence, assuring her and myself that it would be temporary. I hope it’ll be temporary, anyway. Mrs. Tutalachi pulled the car into a small, makeshift lot in front of a large house and announced we’d arrived. It took about an hour to unpack everything and settle where everyone would be situated for the month, but after all was said and done, Light hooked her arm around mine, announced we were leaving, and dragged me out of the house.
X X X
       “Where are you taking me, exactly?” I resisted slightly, uncertain if I wanted to go around the town quite yet. I barely feel comfortable standing in the house. She laughed off my question and tugged my arm harder, making all of my efforts to resist futile.
“Around town. If there’s anyone who can show you around, it’s me.”
I sighed, allowing her to take the lead. As she practically ran around pointing at everything in sight, I noticed a lot of people staring at both of us, most of which had a strange look across their face. I slowed Light down, pointing out quietly that people were watching. She glanced around herself, frowning a bit as she nodded and lowered her voice. Yet, even so, people still watched us, some even with such a focus that I had that familiar unsettled feeling return. In particular, it was the people who stared at me so intensely that made me squirm out of Light’s grip and instinctively cover my face from view.
“Why’re they staring at us?”
Light, most likely just as uncomfortable as I was, shrugged at my question, although again her response lacked honesty. I was about to push her for an actual answer when she abruptly grabbed me again and pulled me in a definite direction down the street.
“Wha-Hey! I can walk by myself you know, you don’t have to drag me.”
She let go of me, but she rolled her eyes and huffed at me, the impatient side of her rearing its head. “I know that. I just…” she hesitated, rethinking her word choice, “I want to see someone.”
I frowned, slightly confused but annoyed at the same time. As much as I wanted to snap out a response, I held my tongue and continued to follow her as she weaved in and out of the crowd. She brought me to a decrepit house, the oldest one I’d seen up until then. She slowly crept to the front door, knocking softly on the wooden door. I tilted my head, still confused, but even more so with how strange she was suddenly acting. “What are you-”
The door flung open, promptly hitting Light and knocking her into me.
“Our little Star! My dear, how have you been?” The old man who’d stepped out paused in his reunion, realizing what he’d accidentally done, “Oh, my sincerest apologies.”
Light glared at him, flustered, pulling herself from my grasp and stomping defiantly at the man. “Why’d’ya do that?!”
“I promise, that wasn’t my intention, I just couldn’t control my joy,” his features wrinkled into a grand smile, “I mean, it has been ten years since the last time I saw you.”
At that point, Light had softened up a bit, accepting his answer once he’d finished speaking. Who is this? I studied the old man as he spoke to Light, noting that they didn’t share enough features to be blood-related. The most prominent difference was their hair; While Light’s hair was a mixture of a blue and green--the same color mix that her father and brother had--, the old man’s was a deep purple lined with silver streaks from age. The man’s lime green eyes met mine momentarily before he redirected his attention to Light.
“And who’s this with you?”
Light glanced back at me, taken aback by the old man’s question. I shifted my weight, silently wishing he wouldn’t have directed the subject of their conversation to me. Light stumbled over an answer, that flustered look from earlier returning to its place on her features.
“Oh, uh, he’s…” she shrugged, laughing nervously, “he’s a friend...from Alensville, the place we moved to.”
The old man nodded, stroking his grayed chin as he mulled over what she’d said. He smiled again, stepping out more and extending out a hand in my direction. “A pleasure to meet you. I’m one of the elders of the tribe, Rahagnall,” he chuckled at my outward confusion, “but you may call me Elder Raha, if you’d prefer.”
I nodded, mentally taking note of it as I shook his hand. To my embarrassment, he waited a few seconds for me to state my own name, but in my nervousness I had forgotten and he asked for my name instead. He grinned at my sudden change in personality, grasping the opportunity to tease me.
“If you’d like to be known as Star’s friend, then don’t worry about telling me.”
“No, no! I-I’m sorry, I just didn’t think about it…”
He chuckled, reassuring me that it was fine and he understood that I might have been a bit lost in all of the sudden newness.
“It’s Omaru…” I finally mumbled out the simple response he’d been looking for.
“Omaru?”
I nodded, a little confused why he was so taken aback by it. He glanced around the area, noticing that people were eavesdropping, and ushered us inside to continue the conversation. Once inside, he studied me carefully, forcing that uncomfortable feeling to return again as I stood there. It was a few minutes before he spoke up again.
“Why are you called that?”
“Huh?”
“Your name. You don’t look like you’re from Nihon…”
I flinched slightly, shaking my head immediately at his suggestion. “I’m not,” he tossed me a confused gaze, so I continued, trying my best to give an explanation, “I’m not really sure how my parents came up with it, but I’m pretty sure neither of them are from there.”
He nodded, accepting my answer and sighing. He glanced at Light, who’d been quietly observing our interaction. He stepped over to her, requesting a moment alone to speak with her. Although I wasn’t exactly jumping to follow his request, I wandered off to another room, struggling to reach for a viable reason that he’d be so keen on discovering my origin. A good thirty minutes passed until they reemerged, and, when I pushed for an answer, they waved off my questions. All Elder Raha could offer was a warning similar to what Mom had told me.
“I suggest you try to blend in with our people here. If all possible, refrain from mentioning that you’re from Anasteria,” he released a disappointed sigh, glancing at Light knowingly, “unfortunately, some of our tribe’s members are less than friendly towards outsiders, especially those of mixed descent.”
I frowned slightly at the last part of his sentence, uncertain if he was suggesting that I was mixed or just simply mentioning it, but accepted his words nonetheless. After a few moments, he shook his head and replaced his serious expression with a smile.
“Well, you two should be on your way, it’s getting late. Oh, and Star, tell your parents I look forward to speaking with them again.”
We said our goodbyes and began to make our way back to the house. Yet, halfway back, Light hesitated, claiming that she had forgotten a place in particular. Although I offered the possibility of showing me on the next day, she still pulled me along to the last place. To my surprise, whatever place she was about to take me to was actually outside of the village’s center.
“Are you sure that this is fine…?”
“Of course. It’s not that far.”
I glanced back at the town, still slightly hesitant, but continued anyway. I hope she’s right.