The smell of freshly baked goodies wafted through the door as it was opened, engulfing Sakura in a cloud of warm, sweet air. "Hello my dear," Two large arms circled round Sakuras shoulders and pulled her into the chest of the old woman before her, "You must be Sakura Iris from my grandsons guild Fairy Tail. Come in, Come in." The small girl did as she was told and entered the small cottage, its insides were furnished quite simply with standard wooden furniture however crocheted quilts and mats were thrown around here and there giving the place a bit of colour. A large fire also crackled in the middle of the room, in front of it sat a large red armchair and a low table.
"Do sit down. And please call me granny,"" The friendly woman placed a cushion on the floor by the fire for Sakura to sit on before offering her some freshly made cookies.
"Thank you very much," Said Sakura taking a cookie and beginning to nibble at it. It was truly delicious. She watched as granny plumped up the cushions on the armchair opposite her then sank into it with a sigh of comfort.
"Thank you for coming today," Said granny, reaching over to the table and grabbing the book sat on top of it, "I get a little lonely here all by myself."
"That is fine. What would you like me to do?" Sakura asked after finishing her cookie- which may have been the best one she had ever eaten.
"Well I thought you could read me a little story, I wrote it myself in honor of you. I hope you like it," She passed the book to a surprised Sakura, the small girl had been expecting to do house work, not reading aloud. Nevertheless she opened the book and looked at the scraggly handwriting inside, if this is what she had to do to help then she would do it. She took a deep breath and began to read...
"Valley Of The Dolls
Whiteness… Nothing but the colour white. A blank abyss that stretched beyond space and time. A cold, bleached horizon that had been abandoned by the sun. An infinitive chamber in which I am trapped within. An unfathomable universe that existed solely for me, with no beginning… No end… And no escape…
Sunlight sliced through the blinds and illuminated the white walls around me. Where am I? I have no memory of this room. I sat up in the bed I had mysteriously awoken in and glanced around the pristine room, the only sound that existed in this small room was the repetitive beeping of the shiny metal boxes which were bordering the walls. These boxes had blinking green lights dotted around them and plastic tubes wriggling out of their sides. Sliding out of bed I went over to the machinery and examined it, it looked like it belonged in a hospital. Maybe I am in a hospital. But why? I ignored my suppressing questions and headed over to the door that would hopefully give me some answers. The door handle was refreshingly cool against my sweaty palms, for some reason I was scared to open the door and see what was on the other side. Gathering up my courage, I opened the door, only to find it lead to a deserted corridor. The walls of the corridor where white and dotted with evenly spaced doors, much like the one I had just come through. I made my way to the stairs at the end of the corridor and descended them as this was the only way that seemed to lead somewhere outside. At the bottom of the stairs was a lobby, however no one was there. There was no sign that anyone else even existed in this world with me, but that is impossible. My mind suddenly flashed, like a light bulb being turned on for the first time, and uncovered the depths of a memory lied within. It was a memory filled with dark figures, people I didn’t recognise, haunting words filled my ears ‘Just because something is impossible doesn’t meant it isn’t possible’. That doesn’t make sense. Nothing makes sense. My only memory is of something as stupid and as insignificant as those words. Suddenly a single ball of glowing light appeared before me, it hovered before my face before moving towards the glass door of the lobby which lead to the world outside. I am not entirely sure why I ever decided to follow that light, maybe it was my curiosity or the fact that I had no other guide, but I have always known that it was the one thing that ever helped me in this world. I walked slowly past the desk and various couches and bookshelves to stand next to my guide. The door in front of me was open, letting a soft draught into the lobby behind me. The ball of light drifted down the street and stopped at the end of it, almost as if it was waiting for me. The sun was bounding against the burning tarmac beneath my feet as I followed the ball of light around the unfamiliar streets towards an unknown destination. As the houses passed by I began to notice that the world around me was completely silent, there were no joyous cries from children in their gardens or the sound of cars lazily rolling down the street. In fact the mere creation of the objects, that would cause these noises, didn’t seem to have happened as there wasn’t a single person or vehicle in sight. I am not sure how long I chased after my guide, it seemed to feel like an eternity, we had left the town far behind us and were now making our way across emerald fields. Time flitted by but the light never wavered. The legs I had been walking on never grew tired, not even when we climbed the largest hill we had come across on our travels. The ball of light seemed to glow brighter as we scaled the hill. A while later, there isn’t a correct way to measure time in this world, the top of the hill became visible, a single stone on its peak. As we neared the stone began to have much more meaning as it turned into a headstone of a grave. Why was the little ball of light taking me to see a grave? Clouds floated further up the hill, casing shadows over the headstone on top. As I neared the grave the bunch of wilted wild peonies became visible, the flowers resembled the life of the one buried beneath them- beautiful yet mortal. The glowing ball of light quickened its pace and rushed off ahead of me to rest upon the graves headstone. I began to sprint, the droplets of water that were clinging to the grass now soaked the skin of my bare feet. As I ran the breeze tugged at my loose hair and billowed my dress out behind me. I came to a standstill in front of the headstone and held out my hand for the ball of light to rest in, we were all each other had. The headstone was made out of smooth white marble which glowed in comparison the black inscription:’ Here lies the beloved daughter of Mr and Mrs White who will lie among our memories and glow like a never ending flame. Rest In Peace, Sakura Iris.’ My heart skipped a beat as I reread the words. This can’t be right. It isn’t possible.
I am Sakura Iris.
"
As the story came to an end Sakura noticed the quiet snores coming from granny, the story had sent the kind woman to sleep. The story had spoke of a girl who had did without realizing it, although Sakura and the girl in the story shared the same name they had nothing in common when it came to their life's story. She had no idea what granny must've been thinking about when she wrote this story and could not come up with a reason as to why she would write a story for someone from her grandsons guild. Granny must have really meant it when she said she got lonely. However it was nice to know she sought comfort from writing books, it was a nice way to escape into your own world.
Sakura closed the book and put it down on the table, she then picked up one of the crocheted blankets and tucked it around the sleeping old woman. She looked so small and vulnerable all curled up like that, Sakura thought. "Goodbye, thank you for having me here," Sakura said to the sleeping woman even though she knew she wouldnt be able to hear her she still felt it was only polite to do so. Eventhough their time together had been short it had been enjoyable, and with that last thought Sakura left the cottage.
"Do sit down. And please call me granny,"" The friendly woman placed a cushion on the floor by the fire for Sakura to sit on before offering her some freshly made cookies.
"Thank you very much," Said Sakura taking a cookie and beginning to nibble at it. It was truly delicious. She watched as granny plumped up the cushions on the armchair opposite her then sank into it with a sigh of comfort.
"Thank you for coming today," Said granny, reaching over to the table and grabbing the book sat on top of it, "I get a little lonely here all by myself."
"That is fine. What would you like me to do?" Sakura asked after finishing her cookie- which may have been the best one she had ever eaten.
"Well I thought you could read me a little story, I wrote it myself in honor of you. I hope you like it," She passed the book to a surprised Sakura, the small girl had been expecting to do house work, not reading aloud. Nevertheless she opened the book and looked at the scraggly handwriting inside, if this is what she had to do to help then she would do it. She took a deep breath and began to read...
"Valley Of The Dolls
Whiteness… Nothing but the colour white. A blank abyss that stretched beyond space and time. A cold, bleached horizon that had been abandoned by the sun. An infinitive chamber in which I am trapped within. An unfathomable universe that existed solely for me, with no beginning… No end… And no escape…
Sunlight sliced through the blinds and illuminated the white walls around me. Where am I? I have no memory of this room. I sat up in the bed I had mysteriously awoken in and glanced around the pristine room, the only sound that existed in this small room was the repetitive beeping of the shiny metal boxes which were bordering the walls. These boxes had blinking green lights dotted around them and plastic tubes wriggling out of their sides. Sliding out of bed I went over to the machinery and examined it, it looked like it belonged in a hospital. Maybe I am in a hospital. But why? I ignored my suppressing questions and headed over to the door that would hopefully give me some answers. The door handle was refreshingly cool against my sweaty palms, for some reason I was scared to open the door and see what was on the other side. Gathering up my courage, I opened the door, only to find it lead to a deserted corridor. The walls of the corridor where white and dotted with evenly spaced doors, much like the one I had just come through. I made my way to the stairs at the end of the corridor and descended them as this was the only way that seemed to lead somewhere outside. At the bottom of the stairs was a lobby, however no one was there. There was no sign that anyone else even existed in this world with me, but that is impossible. My mind suddenly flashed, like a light bulb being turned on for the first time, and uncovered the depths of a memory lied within. It was a memory filled with dark figures, people I didn’t recognise, haunting words filled my ears ‘Just because something is impossible doesn’t meant it isn’t possible’. That doesn’t make sense. Nothing makes sense. My only memory is of something as stupid and as insignificant as those words. Suddenly a single ball of glowing light appeared before me, it hovered before my face before moving towards the glass door of the lobby which lead to the world outside. I am not entirely sure why I ever decided to follow that light, maybe it was my curiosity or the fact that I had no other guide, but I have always known that it was the one thing that ever helped me in this world. I walked slowly past the desk and various couches and bookshelves to stand next to my guide. The door in front of me was open, letting a soft draught into the lobby behind me. The ball of light drifted down the street and stopped at the end of it, almost as if it was waiting for me. The sun was bounding against the burning tarmac beneath my feet as I followed the ball of light around the unfamiliar streets towards an unknown destination. As the houses passed by I began to notice that the world around me was completely silent, there were no joyous cries from children in their gardens or the sound of cars lazily rolling down the street. In fact the mere creation of the objects, that would cause these noises, didn’t seem to have happened as there wasn’t a single person or vehicle in sight. I am not sure how long I chased after my guide, it seemed to feel like an eternity, we had left the town far behind us and were now making our way across emerald fields. Time flitted by but the light never wavered. The legs I had been walking on never grew tired, not even when we climbed the largest hill we had come across on our travels. The ball of light seemed to glow brighter as we scaled the hill. A while later, there isn’t a correct way to measure time in this world, the top of the hill became visible, a single stone on its peak. As we neared the stone began to have much more meaning as it turned into a headstone of a grave. Why was the little ball of light taking me to see a grave? Clouds floated further up the hill, casing shadows over the headstone on top. As I neared the grave the bunch of wilted wild peonies became visible, the flowers resembled the life of the one buried beneath them- beautiful yet mortal. The glowing ball of light quickened its pace and rushed off ahead of me to rest upon the graves headstone. I began to sprint, the droplets of water that were clinging to the grass now soaked the skin of my bare feet. As I ran the breeze tugged at my loose hair and billowed my dress out behind me. I came to a standstill in front of the headstone and held out my hand for the ball of light to rest in, we were all each other had. The headstone was made out of smooth white marble which glowed in comparison the black inscription:’ Here lies the beloved daughter of Mr and Mrs White who will lie among our memories and glow like a never ending flame. Rest In Peace, Sakura Iris.’ My heart skipped a beat as I reread the words. This can’t be right. It isn’t possible.
I am Sakura Iris.
"
As the story came to an end Sakura noticed the quiet snores coming from granny, the story had sent the kind woman to sleep. The story had spoke of a girl who had did without realizing it, although Sakura and the girl in the story shared the same name they had nothing in common when it came to their life's story. She had no idea what granny must've been thinking about when she wrote this story and could not come up with a reason as to why she would write a story for someone from her grandsons guild. Granny must have really meant it when she said she got lonely. However it was nice to know she sought comfort from writing books, it was a nice way to escape into your own world.
Sakura closed the book and put it down on the table, she then picked up one of the crocheted blankets and tucked it around the sleeping old woman. She looked so small and vulnerable all curled up like that, Sakura thought. "Goodbye, thank you for having me here," Sakura said to the sleeping woman even though she knew she wouldnt be able to hear her she still felt it was only polite to do so. Eventhough their time together had been short it had been enjoyable, and with that last thought Sakura left the cottage.
