Reflective Fragments ~ Innocence tomb - vol. 1 ~

Chapter II

"At a slow pace, Yukie continues to gather up her hobbies and interest as she makes a random, out of place project for a school."

• • •

September 19th, 2002

(14:55)

Another day of school passed by for Yukie. The days pass as fast as the leaves that fall and swivel to the ground, only to grow back like the event never occurred. It was that time of year where the rain of September never seemed to blend in with the blazing warm colours of autumn, but a time where Yukie had a subtle quest before Halloween. 

"For this month, I would like you all to set yourself an individual project based on anything. You are free to choose any topic of your liking." The teacher announces.

All the kids set in the individual tables look at one another as if they were hoping the person next to them had some sort of idea. At the very end of the day, there was very little hints of information, ideas, or example. They were all left clueless.

As Yukie left her school, she wondered to herself, "What could I do?"

There were many things she could talk about, but what would be the most obvious choice? Yukie oddly found it easier when she worked in groups or when she was given a theme of the teacher's choice. It was a quick topic you could later expand on. This time... anything is the only option. Many of her fellow classmates asked her earlier if she had any idea of what could be a better possibility other than talking about their pet dog or a favourite hobby. Everyone had the same idea; primarily because most of them did not have the energy to gather extra work and stashed it away as a simple nuisance.

Putting that idea on the back of her mind, she recalled the errand Mei asked her to do while she was at work. Mei was an odd person to talk about. Many people around the apartments of their home wonder if they are mother and daughter or sisters. No one knew, and neither does Yukie herself. Many people suspect that they were most certainly relatives based on their appearance. They both have Raven black hair and emerald green eyes. Their looks were bang on the same, and it was adamant that Mei and Yukie were related somehow. It cannot be a coincidence that the two of them share the same reflection.

• • •

(15:28)

Mei asked her to buy groceries from the convenient store just near the library Yukie always browses from time to time. She wanted to make something new for dinner just for today in celebration of her promotion. Yukie, obviously, agreed to help Mei out while she had the chance. She wanted to make a potato salad. According to Mei, and the cookbook, it is said to be "just the best" and that was it. The information was subtle and vague, but one sentence is convincing enough to give it try. She needed quail eggs, cornichon, and mayonnaise. The rest of the ingredients were back home, stashed away in the fridge or cabinets. Yukie never knew what cornichons were until she looked them up and realised, they were simply just cucumbers. The only difference was: They call them cornichons... fermented.

Yukie made her way into the store with her schoolbag dangling onto her small, lanky shoulders. She moved out of the way of the customers to take out a shopping bag from her front pocket, disguised as an apple. Yukie found this so handy to just bring around whenever she needed. Now, no one asked her "Why do you have a plastic bag in your school bag?" whenever she took it out.

She walked around each section from the store in search of the ingredients for dinner. The store was tiny, as with most of the shops around the area of her street. It has this bright vibrate colour about it, matching with the cheerful music playing, virtually sounding like the music from an elevator. It seemed all joyful, but it has this unreceptive vibe that did not seem to link well with the scenery and music.