Ephemeral

Wooden Swords

Wooden Swords

Nya didn't want to admit it, but she was having fun that day. She didn't want to admit she was happy on what was supposed to be one of the worst days of her life. She didn't think she was one for pampering and spas but it was refreshing.

Facing her brother with a smile, however, was a fear no amount of relaxation could coax out of her. She hoped that a villain would show up and the whole day would have to be canceled, she felt even more guilt hoping for a threat to the city to occur.

The group ascended the stairs leading up to the monastery. The sun was setting, and the moon in all its glory was taking its place. The full moon always calmed Nya. It was like an old friend. The cherry blossoms feel delicately around them, creating a trail to the gates. It was perfect. How could it be perfect?

Skylor grabbed her hand, breaking out into a sprint to her room. She threw open the closet doors, and hanging on the back of one of them was an aqua blue dress embroidered with gold details.

"He got it! Great, I thought he would blow it." Skylor said in relief.

Nya wandered over to the dress, running her hands over the silk. She was in love with it instantly. Typically, she would refuse to wear a dress. She said she didn't like them, but in all reality, she was afraid people wouldn't take her as seriously if she looked feminine. Dresses still weren't her thing regardless, but she liked dressing up from time to time. Jay knew that.

"He did a pretty great job, with my help of course." Skylor crossed her arms, a content look on her face. Nya let a smile creep onto her lips. All of this for her, she almost couldn't believe people went out of their way for her. Kai loved her, she knew he did. They just never had the means to go all out like this, and she had always told him she didn't want it anyway to spare his feelings.

"You get all dolled up, we will meet you outside." Skylor gave her a side hug, exiting the room.

Nya slipped on the gown, smoothing out the folds with her hands. She took a deep breath in, trying to work herself up to look in the mirror. She turned around quickly, almost like she was ready to fight her own reflection.

There she was, Nya. She didn't see a woman she had only seen in photos. Nya. She crept closer to the mirror, fiddling with the tie in her hair. Her hair barely went passed her shoulders, it was an improvement from how it was a month ago. Nya had always kept it short. It was more practical for her, and Kai knew how to handle it better when they were kids. She had decided to grow it out, she needed a change.

Nya tried all different things with her hair. She looked away for a moment to dig through her dresser drawers for a clip. When she looked back up at the reflective surface she swore she saw a man's face staring back at her. His eyes were a spectacular green that seared a hole in her head.

She jumped back from the mirror, but he was gone as soon as he came. Nya inspected it but decided the stress of the day had taken a toll on her mind. Maybe she just had a weird thing with mirrors.

She quickly finished up, taking no time to exit the room. Nya wandered down the dark hall, a hall full of the memories of their time at the monastery. Their time as a family.

The doors came up in front of her, and all of a sudden she was nervous. It was just a birthday party. One of the first birthday parties she had ever had. She had always regarded birthday parties as some sort of bad omen. "You are doing so good Nya." she played in her head. With that, she pushed open the doors.

Everyone in the courtyard turned to look at her as she entered, and Kai was among them. She couldn't tell if she was excited, or she wanted someone to hit her over the head with a baseball bat at the sight of him. She tried to observe the courtyard instead of focusing on his presence.