Aurora 2025 with cover

Kay Shae

military building where her father works.

Time is irrelevant, but it feels like she has been on this stretch of the road forever. The pain is getting worse; she needs to rest but cannot stop. Stopping means death, and she will not die here in the rubble and soot. The sirens have stopped and are eerily quiet. She can hear a slight shuffling of her feet against the ground and something else. Unsure of the noises she hears, she pushes her tired bones past the silk shop. The once-amazing bolts of silk and the talented artisans are hollow to the ground caved in. Bolts dyed black with ash and soot cover the street. Tears well in her eyes as she sees what used to be the shop owner crumpled and impaled among her work and stones. Her blood stains a nearby kimono, and pieces of white fabric peak through the mess of deep black clots that have stained the fabric crimson. She hurries past, slightly, praying that the gods treat her and her baby well in the next life and that they do not suffer a painful death like some of the other townspeople. Hoping her prayers to the gods will rest the shop owner’s soul, praying she does not return as an onryō. There will be too many vengeful spirits after this is over. Whipping around, she hears a slight stir, shocking her to her core. “Hello?” her voice croaks out, unsure if she is hallucinating from the painful knots on her head. Smoke is the only thing moving about. She shakes her head and thinks, “I doubt anyone could have survived the shop collapsing on them.” Breathing out, she takes another step forward. Pushing ahead is the only way she will make it out of this alive. Another noise cries out faintly, and she tries to rush back to the rubble. Face planting to the ground from tripping over her feet on the loose stones. She catches herself with her hands, piercing her palms on the sharp rocks and glass. Gripping the ground, her hands bleed, leaving puddles as she pushes forward, back to the building. Someone else is alive!

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