Broken Arrows

01 | an unexpected collision

Lips red as blood, hair black as night, bring me your heart, my dear, dear Snow White.

—Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

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a/n: the use of 'okasan' in this chapter is the japanese word for mom. in case you haven't figured out, sachi + her entire family are japanese.

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The days following her high school graduation were rather dull. She made no plans to go out with "acquaintances," marathoned Netflix constantly, and hardly ever set a foot outside. She held a firm belief that if her summer would be anything to remember, an explosion would come along and spice up her life.

            Still, out of all the explosions and sparks she imagined, a crazy dog was not one of them.

            "Sweetie." Akemi Nakano, Sachi's honorary birth-giver, leaned against her doorpost with a soft smile gracing her lips. "Can you please go out?"

            Sachi was hanging off the edge of her bed, her legs hooked over the covers and her hands bracing her off the floor. Her hair fell in raven tangles, landing in a smooth pile on the floor, though they slid as she shifted her head to look at her mom. "Why?"

            "You're already looking paler, honey." Akemi bent down to place a hand against her cheek. "You're lacking Vitamin D."

            "I don't need to go outside."

            "Yes, you do. Not for long. Just take your bike out for a spin." She straightened, and Sachi pushed herself off the bed, landing with a roll onto the floor. "It's good for you to be active."

            "I am active." Sachi rose to her feet, dusting off her shorts. "Didn't you notice me hanging off my bed?"

            "That doesn't count." Akemi already started to retreat out of the room, assured that her only daughter would heed to her orders without her presence. "Please?"

            Sachi rolled her eyes. "Fine." She sounded moody, but she was mostly teasing. Mostly. She pressed her lips to her mom's cheek swiftly before grabbing her phone from her side table and wrapping her headphones around it. "I'll be back soon."

            "Stay out as long as you'd like." Akemi shot her a grin over her shoulder and exited the room with only a flourish to show her leave.

            With a sigh, she put her earbuds into her ears, letting them dangle through the air, as she left her bedroom.

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            Sachi had already tucked her headphones back into her pocket once she'd ridden out onto the hill. She sat on the seat of her bike, a birthday present from her parents in seventh grade, and surveyed the neighborhood: the clean-cut houses surrounded by picket fences and sculpted shrubs with no one hanging out on the lawns. It looked deserted, like there was nothing between Sachi and the long expanse of road that stretched beyond.

            She dug her feet into the pedals and kicked off, letting the bike glide down the road. She hardly needed to put in any effort; the downward slope did all the work for her. Her hands tightened around the handlebars, though she let her feet hang free. The wind blew her hair away from her face so that it hit the nape of her neck, occasionally flapping with each bump in the street.

            It was relaxing to move with nothing but the wind and the road to stop you. She was almost tempted to shut her eyes, but that would be going against her better judgment.