The Revenant Choir Sings

Chapter One

The sun, shone brightly through the green leaves in the blooming spring trees, gently grazed upon a figure. A young boy, about sixteen or seventeen years of age, lay sleeping across a worn out wooden bench. This had been his only resting place for many years. Signs of neglect, and mistreatment shown on his body, and yet, even with such a burden on his pale, weak shoulders, he still seemed at peace. He was homeless, a true…lost boy with no destination.

Invisible to the eyes of the heartless, he slept. His unwashed face was only clear in small streaks that shown signs of tears. His light hair, resting over his calm features. The only friend he stood by was the darkness, for it was all he knew.

While he slept quietly in the small opening in the forest, another figure watched from the shadows. Silently creeping out of its hiding spot behind the bushes, the figure was unrecognizable as anything else. Approaching the sleeping boy, gazing at his pale face, even in all its uncleanliness, it still held the rarest kind of beauty, which could only be seen by the most unsuspecting passerby.

Compelled to the sleeping boy by sympathy and pity, the figure came closer, leaning over the boy’s face, just staring. Unintentionally, in a quiet voice, he whispered.

“My dearest flower….you’ve finally bloomed into a rose.”

Moments later, as the whisper floated into the boy’s ear, his eyes opened. As his eyes came into focus, he caught a small glimpse of a man, but the sight disappeared. He slowly sat up, rubbing his sore body after yet another uncomfortable sleep. Thinking of it as a mere dream, and disregarded it. Bring his knees to his chest solemnly; he let the warm sun shower him with light. He hadn’t spoken in many a year, mostly because no one spoke to him. He was even beginning to forget how his own voice sounded.

Peaceful silence enveloped him as the figure once again fled from the shadows to watch the boy, in all his unnoticed beauty. He started to circle around him, but unintentionally made noise, making the young boy turn in fear and confusion. He forced his voice out, though it was barely audible.

“Who…Who’s there…?” he weakly called. Suddenly, something flashed behind him, causing him to cry out in fear and fall forwards off the bench. Feeling the motion of someone or something around him, he covered himself helplessly. But then, everything stopped. He still remained, in fear, trembling as well. Then, a soft and calm voice spoke out from in front of him.

“Are you alright?”

The boy looked up through an opening in the arms that were covering his face to see a man, smiling kindly at him. He had dark hair, and light eyes. He gently moved the boy’s hands down from in front of his face, and offered his own hand to him. “Did I frighten you? I apologize.”

Through eyes full of innocence, the lost boy didn’t move, only stared at the strangely calm and gentle person in front of him.

“Don’t be afraid.” He said, and motioned for the boy to take his hand. Eventually, he did. The first thing he noticed was that his skin was very cold, and pale, like his own. He gently helped the boy stand up, and they both took a seat on the bench. “You’re not hurt, are you?”

The boy glanced at himself, though he didn’t get injured through meeting this man, his body was still covered in old bruises and scars. Despite that, he shook his head.

“I’m fine…” he muttered, looking the other way. But in the back of his mind he could tell that the strange man was still staring at him.

Moments later, the sun emerged from behind the trees, showering the two with light and warmth. The man laid his head over the back of the bench, and let the sun warm his face. He let out a calm sigh and softly shut his eyes.

Turning back to look at him curiously, the boy scanned his seemingly perfect face, which seemed to shine in the sunlight, while his long hair fell back over the bench. Still with his eyes closed peacefully, the man asked a question, “Do you live near here?”

The boy turned around in confusion.

“Um…yes…around here…” he answered, trying to reply without giving away the whole truth.

“Are you sure? You don't seem like you are.”

“I-I am. I live around here.” He nervously replied, looking away again.

The man opened his eyes, and sat up, staring at the boy curiously. He seemed to be trying hard to keep his gaze away from the intense eyes of the strange man.

“Why won’t you look at me?” he asked, but as soon as he spoke, the boy seemed to become frightened. “Is something wrong?” he pressed, but received no answer.

Reaching out his arm the man gently tried to turn the boy around, but the moment he turned the boy around to face him, the unnecessary amount of strength he used scared the boy. He cried out in fear, and tried to pull away, causing the man to hold on tightly, pulling him back with more force than needed. He grasped the boy’s small wrist, and pulled him forward, close to his own face. Then he noticed small tears of pain and fright that had formed on the sides of his eyes.

“P-Please…d-don’t hurt me…” he begged as his voice shook, along with the rest of his body.

Seeing the pure terror in his eyes, the man loosened his grip, becoming concerned. He moved his face closer to the boy’s, hearing small whimpers escape his lips. Stroking the boy’s face with his free hand, he whispered apologetically,

“I…I won’t hurt you…I could never hurt you…” he slowly backed away from the boy.

“Who are you…?”

“That’s not important.” He said, brushing a lock of dark hair away from his face. “What is important…is that you tell me…who you are.”

“Wh-Why? I’m nobody important…” the boy questioned, becoming apprehensive and confused. “Why do you care about someone like me…?”

Turning towards him and coming close to his face again, “Because…” he began, then stopped, to ponder over what he wanted to say next. Then, with an expression of pure seriousness, but somehow still managing to remain calm, he answered. “Because…I already know everything else.”

Becoming confused and distraught at his words, the boy took a few steps away.

“Please…just tell me your name.” he pleaded, becoming sincere for a moment.

“Why won’t you tell me yours!?” he questioned.

The man gave him a look of concern, but his voice had an unsettling tone to it. “Trust me, its better if you don’t know who I am…” Then after a few more moments, he added one final plea. “…Please?”

The boy debated within himself over his answer, or whether or not to answer at all. How could he trust this man whom he’s only known for a matter of minutes? Hearing his pleading, though, the boy dropped his gaze, and whispered at a volume only someone like the man in front of him could hear.

“Teru.”