Flight of Tears

Part Four - Chapter One

Even seven years later, suicide after suicide continued to happen within the village. No one ever knew when their child would be taken, or if they would ever even see them again after school or when they went to bed. Many people longed to blame the priest, though through thorough examinations, he was announced blameless. Still, nothing bad had been happening until Karamatsu came on. Villagers overlooked Todomatsu, it seemed.

Karamatsu's heart ached for the families, who had lost their little children. Siblings were being torn apart, friendships were being washed away, and the chain-link fence behind the church was covered in ribbons.

Every time a child had died, their ribbon was always right next to the fence. With great care, the priest tied these ribbons to it, allowing them to blow freely in the wind. Knowing he would never be able to do anything to stop these suicides, Karamatsu began to feel quite hopeless....

~~~~
Karamatsu, his body worn from the years of losing precious child after child, took a watering can to quench the thirsty flowers around the church.

His church had become known around the world as a "cursed place of sorrow". Reporters would sometimes come to take photos of the hundreds of ribbons along Karamatsu's chain-link fence.

The sea breeze ruffled Karamatsu's black hair as he bent down to the ground, carefully watering a pot of withered snapdragons. Their fragile leaves were stiff and curled in places, some even completely brown.

He couldn't help but feel guilty for having rejected the church's plants. Over the years, he spent more and more time in the church, desperately praying that the little children would cease their frequent suicides.

Unfortunately, nothing was ever stopped. Many found it strange that the priest's child, Todomatsu, hadn't been killed yet. In fact, he and a girl his age were the only children left alive.

Karamatsu hated to admit that he rarely saw Todomatsu anymore. He was always off, wandering around the village after school. The priest never expected Todomatsu to be the cause of the town going to ruin.

"There," Karamatsu smiled as he gently stroked the petals of one of the snapdragons. "Perfection in this fallen creation still exists."

Suddenly, a shriek echoed loudly near the chain-link fence as the only young girl remaining, Lorina, staggered about, blood erratically pouring out of perfectly round holes in her body.

Karamatsu staggered to his feet, accidentally throwing his watering can onto the concrete path leading up to the church doors. This was the first time he had seen a child actually trying to kill themselves.

Lorina helped in pain as she threw her body against the hundreds of ribbons on the fence. Clawing desperately at it, so moaned out in pain as the sharp, steel wires dug into the exposed flesh on her arms.

"God help me!" Karamatsu gasped, rushing towards the young girl, whom he had seen so many times at his church.

Lorina always offered a kind, shy smile, sitting with those who didn't have anyone else to sit with. She was tender hearted, never once seeming as if she could be sad for herself. Her sorrow always came from her concern for others. Her love and compassion was certainly unique, too. The priest had never met such an innocent, beautiful, pleasant girl.

Yet here Lorina was, her soft blue eyes rolled back in her head as she pulled on the fence, cackling hysterically.

"IT'S ALL OVER NOW!" she screamed, beginning to climb up the fence.

Without even thinking of the danger the obviously possessed girl could bring to him, Karamatsu dashed towards the girl, wrapping his arms tightly around her torso. Pulling with all his might, the priest pulled the girl from the fence.

Her body slipped down through his arms a little, but the priest held her tightly in his arms, refusing to let her go as she kicked and screamed for help.

"SAVE ME, PLEASE!" the girl shrieked, choking up black blood. "WHERE HAS MY HERO GONE? WHY AM I SO ALONE? PLEASE JUST SAVE ME FROM THIS LIFE I'VE BEEN LIVING!"

Karamatsu cringed in pain from the girl's desperate cries as he carried her away from the fence. Lorina's lilac colored ribbon was still tied neatly around her left wrist.

"Lord, save this girl..." Karamatsu closed his eyes and prayed. "Please save this dear child..."

Yet somehow, with his eyes closed for only a few seconds, Lorina disappeared from Karamatsu's arms without him feeling a thing.

She began to desperately climb the fence again, using only her feet as she gnawed at her hands. The skin of her hands was peeled back smoothly like a sheet, blood squirting everywhere. She had bitten through a vein.

Legs going numb with fear, Karamatsu watched hopelessly as Lorina craned her neck around to face the priest one final time.

"Sorrow is meant to be with ones who create sorrow and destroy souls," Lorina hissed as she grabbed her neck, twisting it, causing it to snap and crack insanely.

With a single leap, Lorina's lilac ribbon came undone as she soared like a bird down into the ocean.

Tears filling Karamatsu eyes, he crawled queasily towards the ribbon in the grass. Taking it into his hands, he rubbed his thumb over the soft silk. Far, salty tears splashed onto the ribbon, turning it a darker purple.

Karamatsu couldn't keep a grip on his emotions at all as he pulled the ribbon close to his heart. He bowed over, sobbing loudly in despair, morning the death of another innocent youth.

He dug his hands into he grass, continuing to sob and sob, unable to comprehend why such events continued to occur for years.

"I failed here, just as I did fifteen years ago..." Karamatsu rasped weakly, his entire body quivering. "I've failed once again at making people understand just how much they are loved and appreciated in this world...S-So what's my purpose at this point? I-I can't keep living like this anymore...I j-just..."