The Lightning Bender | Book 2: Healing

7: Two Lovers

Hiko walked with his hands in his pockets and his head held high. He was in a fairly good mood today. His days of training with Washi were going well although they have not yet started on actual Lightningbending. He thought he'd deserved a break after spending all of his time up at the top of that mountain. Besides, it had been five days since he had last seen another human being and surprisingly, Hiko missed them. As he strolled through this new village he saw a takoyaki stand, which he immediately walked to as it came into his peripheral view.

"One bag please." Hiko said politely to the worker. He exchanged a few yuans for the bag of his favorite snack. Hiko was about to walk away when the worker called him back.

"I'm sorry, my boss asked me to give this to every customer today." The man reached into his stall's drawer and pulled out a small flyer. Hiko took it, his unusual cheery mood pushing him to do so. "The Badgermole troupe are coming to perform tonight."

Hiko looked down at the flyer.

The one and only Badgermole Troupe is coming to Saka Village to perform

"THE SECRET TUNNEL: A TALE OF TWO LOVERS"

Hiko was intrigued but at the same time reluctant. He had never seen a play before and didn't plan on starting today. But he was in such a good mood he decided he'd go to Saka Theatre that night.

As the sun was setting the stage was being set for the play. Hiko entered the venue and sat down on his designated chair near the front row. If he was gonna start watching plays now, he should have the best experience as possible he thought. After a few minutes of waiting, the lights dimmed and the curtains slowly drew open. The opening act was pretty boring for Hiko. It was a lot of exposition and setting up the main story. When it was twenty minutes into the first act the main characters were revealed; A handsome man named Shu and a beautiful woman named Oma were introduced. Hiko watched as the two reenacted the tale of the two lovers. He was quite familiar with the tale as his mother used to tell it to him every night before he went to sleep.

"I will never leave you!" The woman cried as she hugged the man, sobbing loudly. Hiko cringed in his seat but nevertheless he enjoyed the performance. Drama was something Hiko usually got out of his way to avoid, but seeing it on stage was something cool for Hiko. He'd never be able to do all that over exaggerated crying and confessions of love. The curtain opened up once more to reveal all the actors lined up. They raised their hands together and bowed to a standing ovation which Hiko joined. He was surprised by how much he actually enjoyed the performance. The effects were decent but he found the man to be pretty monotonous. The woman however was definitely the star of the show. Hiko watched as the people started walking toward the exit, he stayed behind hoping to meet the actress who played Oma. After a few minutes he saw her walking down the stage, her makeup was gone and she was wearing casual clothes contrasting her very eccentric appearance in the play. She was wearing a huge hat which covered half her face. Hiko ran up to her, startling the actress.

"Hey! I'm Hiko and I just wanted to say I loved your performance! I- Hey what's wrong?" The woman was covering up her face even more, tilting her hat downwards. Hiko bent over trying to see the woman's face only to notice her eyes. "Wait." He pulled the woman to face him making her reveal her face.

"M-mom?!" Hiko stepped back, his face contorted with a mix of anger and shock.

"Hiko... I-uh..." The woman stammered as she rushed to fix her hat again.

"Don't you hide your face!" Hiko shouted as he grabbed the hat and threw it to the side.

"Hiko, please..." The woman's voice was low and her face looked desperate and sad.