Actually, you might not know of this (like you had any reason to). But I was planning to end this story at 23 chapters, where my present age stands (there you have it! I have disclosed one of the major question marks in the whole of the story i.e. how old is Mikamiko the Storyteller, actually? Except, of course, for Arf, who is my friend and a very supportive one too ^_^x ). But that is beside the point. Anyway, I no longer care about how long this story spans, but I am going to end it soon. I do realise how bad it feels to wait and wait for a new chapter to come out, only to face disappointment each time cos the author is sooo lazy to update her chapters. I have personally faced this situation myself when I waited for my favorite manga series to come out. Imagine, I had to wait for around three months for each new book to come out, so trust me, twice a month isn't that bad, is it?
Ironically, even though I have had the experience, I am so sorry to say that with immediate effect, there will be a one month lapse before I update a new chapter. This applies to any other stories penned by me that you might be reading as well. That is due to the fact that I am busy with my job, and so I do not have as much time to sit around and think about the next story's under goings, gormen nasai!!!!!! Let me offer you a few kowtows of apology instead. Besides, you wouldn't want to read the product of a poorly done rush job, would you? Naaah...
I realise as well how sad it is to see the ending coming, but don't you fret! I am going to write a sequel, for sure! I have even thought up the names, and drawn sketches of the new characters already! It basically evolves around the children... oops... I think I have said too much already! I should leave this to the last chapter, shouldn't I? Hahaha.
By the way, if you would like to have an email which informs you of updates once they are done, just write to the address below with the subject heading "email me your updates" and it will be done. Please remember to state the name of the story, for smoother processing of your requests. Alright, enough of this bullshit. Let's start the real stuff. Oh. And prepare yourself for déjà vu......
The group stared disbelievingly at the mess, wide-eyed and white-faced.
It seemed that Eva had used a major portion of her energy and chi to attack Arian. Too much, indeed, for she couldn't even heal herself, and neither could Mariteus, nor Fabian, save her. Her internal organs had bled so seriously that the sight was enough to reduce powerful gods to mere, quivering men. Not to mention the fact that she had just experienced twenty, sweat-filled hours of labour to give birth to her babies, and by Caesarian section, no less. And there she lay on the floor, with her wide-open belly, as if whatever amount of blood she had in her blood vessels had been transferred onto the white marble floor where she laid on. Why were the openings left as they were, and no prevention was made to stop more blood from flowing out? You might ask. But that was because the Fire Goddess herself didn't want them to waste the time salvaging what would be a lost cause.
She held up a shaking arm and beckoned Mariteus to her side.
"What is it, Eva? What is it you desire? Tell me! I will do anything you want me to! I really mean it this time!" Mariteus held onto her hand firmly, trying to give her some strength, of which she was in obvious need. But this was a truly futile action, as they all knew, but didn't dare to voice out.
Eva shook her head weakly. She did not want anything from him (not for herself, that is), not at the moment. Time was too precious to waste demanding things that she knew he could never give her.
Eva turned towards Mariteus, then seemed to change her mind. Hesitating a little, she turned the other way and beheld Mikamiko with pleading eyes, for what she was about to ask her to do was a great responsibility, a great task. It could not be done without heavy sacrifices being made; such was the gravity of the matter.
"Speak your mind, Eva! I will oblige you with anything. Mariteus will too!" Mikamiko could somewhat take a guess of Eva's intention from the look in her eyes. And she was careful not to mention the word "we" to refer to herself and Mariteus, for fear of aggravating Eva's injuries.
Of course, this little act of kindness did not escape Eva's notice. It had been proven numerous times that her mind-reading prowess was at its strongest when she was in her most vulnerable state, physically or mentally.
Now what is the reasoning for that?!! She wanted to scream out loud!
"I...I need a very big favour from the two of you..." Eva ventured uneasily, trying to think of a good way to put it to them.
Mikamiko sensed her difficulty, and her woman's instinct told her that it had to be the babies.
Not daring to voice out her suspicions, Mikamiko peered questioningly at Eva.
Eva nodded her affirmation.
I just cannot fathom the irony of it all! Even in my wildest imagination, I could not have guessed that the one who understands me the most at my hour of need would be my worst rival in love! Eva's thoughts galloped like a wild horse the point of no return.
The truth hurts so badly and cuts me like a knife...I can understand now why he loves her so deeply, and why he is willing to risk his life for her! I can never measure up to her! Even if she is just a mortal, and I am the Fire Goddess... Even if I had known him centuries before he had even laid his eyes on her.... Even if I love him so much more than I love myself... It doesn't matter how many "even if 's" there are... It makes no difference when it comes to love... You can never force love, it just has to come naturally... And it has taken me two deaths and two reincarnations to realise this undeniable truth!
"Eva! Eva! Wake up! You mustn't sleep now! If you close your eyes now, you might not be able to open them again!" Someone shook her hard, her teeth rattling along with the movement. She wanted to resist that someone. How she wanted to rest like this, forever, and not have to worry and ache over the things that weigh her down every single day in her tragic life as the Yisheigai Fire Goddess. And yet, it was just as difficult to put down the weight, just like that. And thus she forced herself, with as much strength that she could muster, to open her eyelids. This was indeed a Herculean effort, for they were heavier than anything to her.
"Eva! I promise to bring up your children, as if they were my own. Even if I will eventually come to have my own, I will still treat yours better. I swear this upon my life, and upon my future lives as well..." Mikamiko knelt down by Eva's reclining (and rapidly declining) body, trying to make her promise as heart-felt as she could.
"Please, you do not need to swear like that! I am contented that you have given your word to bring up my children properly!" Eva's tears rolled around at the rims of her eyes at the kind tone of Mikamiko's voice.
"Eva, hush now. You should rest a bit more, so that your healing process would not be hampered! Damn it! How I wish I could steal some of that bastard's healing power for you! Why is it that the worst people get the best of everything? This is so unfair!" Mariteus gritted his teeth with such strength that they could have snapped, if not for the fact that they were stronger than metal themselves.
"It's no use. My time is up, just like the last time..." Eva looked up at him, with shining eyes and all.
"Baka Yaro! How can you be so pessimistic? Dying once is enough! I forbid you to repeat that history! You can do anything you want, but that!" The agitated Mariteus seemed to have lost his mind to anger, for he shook Eva violently to convey his unwillingness to accept the fate that was impending, waiting for them with an ugly, evil expression on its rapidly changing face (and ignorant of the distress and pain caused by this action to Eva).
"You know me. My other designation was Goddess of Consistency. Haha..." The HaHa soon turned into a never-ending coughing fit as her intake of air became constricted as each second passed by. Ahh. She had never really understood what a precious commodity time was, until now.
"No!!!! Eva!!!" The Sea God screamed. He could not imagine how he would feel if Eva died for a second time. He didn't want to.
"Let go of me, Kor-Kor." Eva said in a cool, quiet tone that nobody dared to disobey, not even her Kor-Kor himself.
He reluctantly let go of her hand, his mouth full of muttered buts.
"Listen carefully, all of you." With the same tone she spoke, looking round at the remaining four people in the room (yes, including Fabian and Danae, who seemed to have faded into the background, but were actually taking care of the new-born babies while looking on with heavy hearts). That certainly got their attention, all right.
"Everyone has a duty, and a mission in his or her life. Whether it is for gods, goddesses or mortals alike, this is still a fact." She paused to catch her breath, as well as let the message sink in.
"And I have fulfilled my mission, as the Creator has deemed. So. It is now my time to leave this place, in search for, perhaps, greener pastures." She held up her hand to silence Mariteus, when he started to sound a protest.
"I know this is hard for all of us to accept. It is even harder for me, but I know when it is time to leave. No one knows it better than myself. Even if my stay on Earth was a relatively short one, I still am reluctant to leave it. It is only on Earth that I finally do not have the huge responsibility of governing the Fires, that I can finally enjoy life to the fullest! And that, to me, has made it worth my stay here. And it is just as well that I have a change of environment... Skylar has done it. So had Fabian. In fact, Kor-Kor himself has taken the lead into changing his destiny with his own hands. And I do believe I have the strength and ability to change my destiny as well."
And they all knew how true these words were. They had experienced it themselves.
"I guess, at the end of the day...the only one left behind is that idiot Arian..." She chuckled. At the same time, she felt just a tiny bit of pity for her younger brother, however estranged their relationship was. For he did not have the strength to take his fate into his own hands. All through his life, he retraced his tracks over and over again, never inching forward for one step at any time at all. And he shall suffer, if he keeps hiding behind his cowardly mask and his resignation to fate. But who was she to speak? She had more to worry about, rather than spend her pity on someone who would never appreciate it. In fact, he would kill her as many times as necessary if he knew of how she thought of him. Hehe.
Oops. She's drifting away again. And this time, the shouts to keep her awake seemed so far away; she could barely register it in her mind. It was just a single tiny drop in a deep, deep ocean.
With her last effort to remain conscious, she turned towards Mariteus. I can finally make that request to him, now that I have dispelled with the necessary. She could vaguely remember thinking that.
"M...Mariteus..." She clutched on to his arms with her dear life. She really had to get this out, before she slept away for eternity. If not, she might never rest in peace, and morph into an evil spirit that would become the subject of a Grade B horror movie.
"I am here, as always!"
"I wish to ask something from you, e...even if I declined to just n...now."
"Anything for you!"
"P...please do not forget me. E...even if you can't look at me as a lover...but still... remember always... that y...your dearest M..Mui-Mui... I...have a...always loved you... ever s...since my memory existed......"
"......! Even if I were to fade to dust, and the dust was scattered into the sky, into the sea, onto the ground... I will never forget you, and all that you have done for me! It has been my greatest regret, that I could not reciprocate your feelings! Forgive me, Mui-Mui! Forgive me..." Mariteus held Eva close to his chest, his clothes soaking up the blood that her body was still leaking up till then.
"...T...thank you. I f...feel s...so relieved... I w...will never forget the w...way you c..all me M...Mui-Mui. A...and the way you are holding m...me now. Or the look of your eyes. The touch of your skin, your hair, your everything. A...as I f...fade into the a...air. As I m...make that inevitable journey towards the U...underworld. It will s...stay forever e...etched in m...my mind... and my heart This is for real. Farewell... We might never meet again, but I never regretted being your sister, even if it meant that I could never have your love......"
And her body fell limp and cold, just like that.
The fact was still unregistered in their minds, for they stayed rooted to the spot for close to a minute.
But whatever their minds could not register, the surrounding atmosphere did. So did her dead body. They had no chance to think, or react, and it combusted spontaneously, just like that. If any of them entertained any thoughts of keeping her intact in a glass coffin, forever preserved in her beauty, he would have been bitterly disappointed. All that remained of Eva was a pile of red ashes scattered on the floor. And that would be the colour of the ashes as long as they existed, as if a sign of protest against the world that took away their owner’s life without her consent.
And the same thing happened to every living thing within the radius of eight miles. (Except for the four, of course) Trees, birds, even the pollen in the air was caught up in a continuously raging flame, spreading with wild abandon to the edge of the forest, ending only when it met the blue waters of the ocean. And that in essence summed up the story of Eva’s life. No one could control her, nor contain her fiery temper, except for her true love, the Sea God.
The fires were not allowed to burn for long. After flaring up for a few minutes, they stopped abruptly, as if some higher being was controlling them. Could it be that Eva had used the little time that it took to transit from the ground to the Underworld, to stop these fires from getting out of hand? No one really knew, but Eva herself. And she was no longer around to answer the questions.
He looked up from his mother's treasured possession, the all-seeing Crystal Ball. And he smirked, the ugly expression marring his otherwise perfectly-sculpted face.
"Looks like your beloved daughter won't be opening her eyes again. Ever. Hahahaha. And I have rid myself of that meddling bitch goddess once and for all. Nyahahahaha! One big step closer to killing off that moron of a girl as well! A hole in the chest is a small price to pay for such a great reward, isn't that right?"
He paused a little, appearing to be expecting an answer from his...err, audience.
"Well, I guess you won't be answering that question, would you? Oops!" He gasped, smacking his palm onto his forehead, his face a mask of mock remorse "You can't speak, I forgot!" He swaggered towards his mother, who was lying deadly still on the couch.
"Ahh...I see that you are quite agitated. Your vein is throbbing on your temple, for Yisheigai's sake. That's no good for your health. You should learn to relax more, or you might just say farewell to us before you know it. Just like some daughter of yours. I think...I know just the remedy. Why not just hand over your rule of the Gods to me? It will lighten your burden tremendously, I am pretty sure. Then you can be on your merry way to Hades without any effort on your part! I will be delighted to help you! What do you think?"
And of course his listener could not reply at all. All she could do was listen to his insults and seethe in rage silently, while staring vehemently at him. Stared so hard that she could feel the capillaries at the back of her eyeballs straining and hurting, and her face was cramping up as well. She couldn't even lift a finger to scratch the itch on her nose that was DRIVING HER CRAZY!!!
Why oh why did I fall into his trap? I don't even know what the trap is, till this day! I guess I had under-estimated his intelligence, yet again. Or over-estimated his tolerance level, whichever it is. I must be getting senile... I suppose it serves me right to have landed myself in this state… I keep thinking to myself what a tragic and useless mother I am! I have to witness my children's deaths over and over again. No matter how many times I have experienced it, I still have not become immune or used to the heartache that inevitably accompanies the loss! Just as well... or I would become a female version of that incorrigible son of mine. Oh, dear Creator, what has become of him? Has his conscience been eaten by a beast? Where did I go wrong, tell me! Tell me...tell me..." Ulaine mumbled, falling into a light sleep in the midst of her "tell me 's".
And the incorrigible son in Ulaine's eyes strode majestically to the window, looking down at the throngs of people shouting their admiration, adoration and whatnot of him in impassioned voices. All for a tiny glimpse of their object of worship in the famous Yang Building he owns.
Good. He grinned widely. Everything is in place. All I have to do now is to get the opposition out of the way... and the opposition is weak. For one thing, those Earth Gods have not put up with a bit of resistance to whatever I am doing. This is odd, but I have better things to do than worry about them...
He was silent, in one of those rare moods of thoughtfulness as he tried to come up with a plan to topple, or rather, convert his strongest opponent.
"Mariteus..." he whispered in an agonized voice, his face twisted in pain.
"Why? Why do we have to resort to fighting to each other? Why can't I just tell you how much you mean to me? I do not wish to hurt you... no, I would rather inflict the damage upon myself than upon you... but there is no other way... no other way...
I have decided... That tomorrow shall be a day of truth! I will let you know how much your existence, your love, tortures me so! How I yearn for you every time your name is mentioned, ever time you pass me by, every time I think about you! That, is the only way I can pull out that eternal thorn in my heart. It might have been bonded with my flesh a long, long time ago... Nevertheless, I am willing to risk bleeding to death... For that one in a billionth chance at reaching out at you...
After tomorrow, no longer shall anyone accuse me of cowardice, and weakness, for not trying to fight my way out of this... this predicament!
"And you will no longer think of me as a useless son..." He whispered, to the already dreaming Mother God.
The Creator: Now dear girl. What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in the Underworld by now, after curbing those forest fires?
Eva: Creator! I was looking all over the place for you! Now would you kindly explain to me what you wanted to achieve by doing this?!! Why do you take away my life as and when you like it? I am not someone to kill off as and when it suits your fancy!
The Creator: Well, this was done to help you build a stronger character! At least you have experienced something few have had the chance to go through!
Eva: Keep your experiences to yourself, thank you! I would rather lead a boring-as-plain-water life than go through so many deaths and reincarnations! As for a stronger character... hah! I was killed off before I ould reap the fruits of the lessons learnt!
The Creator: Alright, alright. I apologise, ok? But it is of no use when you complain to me; I am not the mastermind and plot thinker! If you want to blame someone, blame it on her!
Eva: And who, pray tell, is this "her"?
The Creator: If I told you... I would be killed off as well.
Eva: Suit yourself. You're dead either way. (Gathers a Fire-Chi ball between her two palms, and assumes an attacking stance)
The Creator: NO, wait! Chotto matte!! I'll tell you who it was! But you must not divulge to her that I was the one who leaked the information......
Eva: You still dare to talk conditions with me? I shall tell her if I want to! (Starts to make a show of hurling the Fire-Chi ball towards her)
The Creator: It was the AUTHOR! THE AUTHOR! OKAY? Are you satisfied now? Don't say I didn't warn you, she could write off anyone in this story, even herself! Even if you have a Fire-Chi ball, it doesn't make any difference, you hear?
Eva: That's better... (Fire-Chi ball vanishes as she snaps her fingers) Now you know never to keep secrets from me. And since I am already dead, I am unafraid of incurring the wrath of this... Otto, you say?
The Creator: The AUTHOR! A-U-T-H-O-R! The one who creates you, and this story! Mark my words, don't make her incensed, or she will vent her anger on all those around her! So don't you drag us along with you, you hear?
Eva: Like I would care what happens to you...
Mikamiko the Storyteller: Hey cut it out! You're disturbing my peaceful slumber! I am horrible when you provoke my sleep, I tell you!
Eva (stares horrified at the resemblance between Mikamiko and The Creator)
Mikamiko: Stare what stare? Kiam par issit?
Eva (still stares at her)
Mikamiko: Why do I chap her anyway? Let me get back to sleep. Now quiet, the two of you!
The Creator: H...help me, Mikamiko! (Clings on to her like what like that)
Mikamiko: Aiyah, you are very the troublesome leh. Get off of me lah!
The Creator has turned into a human version of cling-wrap.
Mikamiko: Ne'mind. Doe wan to let go issit? I force you to.
Proceeds to do a very wriggly version of the Macarena. The Creator had no choice but to uncling herself.
Mikamiko: Hah! Must end this before she starts again. (Clears throat)
End of transmission. Di..Di..Di..Di~~~~~
Wahahaha. We meet again, stranger! So, you have come in search of some answers, haven't you? I am happy to oblige. Always at your service! What a barefaced liar I am!
Gormen Nasai: A Japanese term, translates loosely to "I'm sorry", I think.
Chotto Matte: Another Japanese term, translates loosely to "Wait a little!", I think.
Baka Yaro: And Yet another Japanese term. Who ask me to be a Japanese Fanatic? Well, back to Baka yaro. It basically means an idiot, or a fool.
XX Like what like that: Singaporean slang. XX refers to the verb i.e. action for that particular situation. So in the above example, "clings on to her like what like that" simply means the subject in question clings on to Mikamiko like (fill in the blanks). Here, the reader is given the choice as to what she thinks clings to things most aggressively. Some examples include cling-wrap, octopusses, insurance salespersons e.t.c. e.t.c. This term is applicable to almost all verbs. A few examples include: chase after boys like what like that, sticks her nose up in the air like what like that etc etc.
Stare what Stare? : Another Singaporean slang phrase. It means "What are you staring at?" but has a more aggressive implication to it. Widely used by gangsters and punks. Has been known to lead to many a street fight.
Kiam par issit? : As explained in the last chapter, Kiam Par refers to having an attitude that asks for a beating, while issit is the economised version of is it.
Chap (Pronounced as CH-UP, as in opposite of down ): Refers to care about something, or someone. Not to be confused with the English version.
Ne'mind: Economical version of Never mind that.
And so, that ends today's lesson in "How to read Mikamiko's weird language?". Until the next session... thanks for listening to me.
More lessons on
The Yisheigai Intro
Chapter 23
Chapter 25
The Yisheigai Gallery
The Storyteller's Tent
The Cursed Living Doll
