silverwolf1213

Oji-san died on Monday, August 1st, 2011 at around 11:30 at night.  His wife had watched him wither away on his death bed for hours before she finally agreed to turn the machine off.  I didn't really want to hear the details, but I found out anyway from my mom who heard from her siblings.  The doctor had removed the ventilator, and for a few moments, my grandpa had been choking and gasping for air that wouldn't enter his lungs.  He died with his wife by his side, holding her hand just before he left.  Supposedly, it was the first time Oba-san cried during those three days.  She was such a strong woman, and I'm almost happy that I didn't have

Walking through the village to work felt utterly exhausting.  My legs felt like lead, and it took all my willpower to keep my eyes from drooping.  I was hoping that once I started running around the restaurant during my shift, I'd be more awake.  But just as I entered the building, I saw the near emptiness of the dining area, and I groaned.  It was just before the lunch rush, the calm before the storm, on a Monday.  I was in for a rather boring first two hours of my shift. Hiroshi was already serving the only customer in the place – some middle-aged woman who had nothing better to do but come to a small café and order a black coffe

I don't remember getting up that next morning.  Or dressing for work.  Or arriving at the busy café to begin my shift.  The last memory I could pull from my mind was going to sleep after a miserable evening of looking between my family members, hoping one of them would burst from their seats and start laughing, exclaiming that everything was just some terrible prank.  Even now, as I shuffled to the back of the small diner to sign into work, I was waiting for someone in the family to crash in and tell me it was all a joke; then they could embarrass me in front of the customers and my coworkers. I would take that humiliating joke over fee

My eyes were reading his lips.  My ears were hearing what he was saying.  But that didn't mean my brain was registering the news. Beside me, my younger sister was silent.  I wasn't sure she even really understood what our father was telling us.  I mean, Maiko was only eleven, so I really doubted she completely knew what Otou-san was talking about.  I didn't even understand, and I was seventeen. "Oji-san… Oji-san has cancer?" Maiko whispered as she looked to our dad with astonishment clear in her deep brown eyes. Okay, so maybe she did comprehend.  And heck, her voice was intoned with quietness that I hadn't even realized she could ach

Deep in the Land of Silver, the sun slowly began to drift behind the horizon.  Large pointed mountains settled on the outer border of the country obscured the remaining rays of sunlight, making night come sooner than expected.  The land littered with rough mines and rocky plains was slowly stripped of the light of the sun, casting shadows among the already dark caves. Nestled in the center of the country sat a small yet prosperous village.  Kagayaku Village, as it was called, was surrounded by silver mines, allowing the town's main export to be easily collected and produced.  The wealth of the village depended chiefly on the production of si