Chapter four: His Name is Kakashin

Pitch black is all around me and I hear a distant voice calling my name, "Vila... Vila..." Each time it gets louder. "Vila!... Vila!..." I then see a fuzzy figure in the distance waving to me. "Vila!" Wait a minute, that sounds like Sommi! The figure begins to run towards me and becomes more distinctive. It is Sommi!

I sprint as fast as I can towards him. I can't believe it! "Sommi!" I call back to him. "Sommi! Sommi!" Our distance from each other shortens to the point where I begin to reach out to him and he to me. "Sommi!"

"Vila!" I can see that big smile on his face.

As we are just about to touch hands, we suddenly freeze in our individual positions. My feet start to slide under me and Sommi pulls further away, stuck in an unmoving trans.

Something is thrusting me backward! "Sommi! Sommi!" I bellow as my body squirms to move forward but to no avail. The darkness consumes me and now he is nothing more than a small speck in this vast void. I try calling out his name with all of my strength, "Sommi!" Why has my voice stopped working!? Why has it gone mute!? Nothing is coming out!

My eyes pop open and I jolt up from the couch. Looking around some, I realize that I'm back with the Vielms now... Was that a dream? It all seemed so real...

The sun hasn't truly started to peek over the horizon yet, but its light is still seen from underneath.

"Are you alright Vila?"

I jerk to see who's behind me. It's just Arikon. "Uh, yeah-I'm okay," I answer as I'm still contemplating over that odd dream.

"Well, go get ready. You still have a date with this 'Vensen' creep."

I nod with my long, thick, and yellow locks in a tangled mess.

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Dawn has officially come as the bright morning star climbs its way into the sky from the horizon. The beams of light flash in all directions and give off a nice warmth. The gravel from the trail grumbles and shifts beneath us as we trod upon it to our destination on the outskirts of Kai village. We stop at the foot of the hill and split our ways from there. The men hide within the forest around the lav as I look up to where a place of comfort used to be.

My grey boots follow suit within their ranks as my magenta dress catches the slight and warm breeze. I quickly make sure that my dagger is hidden underneath my grey rain tank and before I take one step up the slope, Melek puts his hand on my shoulder.

"Be careful Vila, don't do anything reckless," He says to me with concern.

"I smile to him gently and reply, "I'll be alright. You'll protect me; won't you?"

I see a hint of red on his face before he walks off into the bushes.

The smile on my lips fade as I look back to the unseen top of the hill. A deep breath fills up my lungs with courage and I walk up to the house. The lav is before me now with the je-il closing off the inside. I hesitate and let the ambiance sink into my body... I'm not so sure if I should do this... My foot goes over the threshold as I gently push the cloak away for an opening into the small building.

Before me stands a man in a black trench coat with blood-red eyes and a sullen face. He stands in his black knee-high boots with his arms crossed and tightly wrapped in the sleeves of the zipped up coat. The hair on his head is probably the closest aspect of him that's "normal" since it's short, scruffy, and has a faded orange color to it. I know that some people from Zemfen* have hair and eyes like that. He looks at me with his scarlet eyes that have thick, black eyeliner surrounding them and speaks to me in a deep monotone voice, "Nice to finally meet you, Vila."

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The aura of this man makes me stop midway through the door hole. I freeze in place to stare at him with no words in my mouth.

He speaks to me again with a slightly firmer tone, "Step inside completely, you're letting a draft in."

I make my other leg take the last step inward and stay there at the je-il with a blank mind. I don't know what I should do now. "Are you-Vensen?"

He stares at me with his dull eyes and answers seriously, "Vensen is a friend of mine, he has a habit of leaving out specific important information. You, however, may refer to me as Kakashin."

I timidly bow my head as a greeting to him, and he does the same with that glum stare of his.

Kakashin's body remains in a stiff position as he continues to have a talk with me, "I'd like to discuss with you about your friend, Sommi."

"Oh, he's actually my father," I say to correct him. I've been forcing this lie through my teeth for years now, but this guy makes me feel queer about it for some reason.

He slightly raises his brow and lifts his chin up to show a sign of interest. "Your father?"

"Y-yes sir."

A short moment of silence passes before more words utter from his lips, "Come closer, it's difficult to see you in this lighting." This time his words are soft-spoken and full of a curiosity that I can't seem to understand.

My body is numb from standing in one place before this strange man, but I force it to move anyway. My grey boots gently scuffle against the wooden floor as I take baby steps towards him. About halfway across the room is when I stop in front of him and am reluctant to look him in the eye. "So-about my father?"

"Yes, him, I suppose this is where I tell you why we're having this conversation in the first place."

"I wanna know if he's okay," I burst out, forgetting my manners for a split second.

Kakashin then looks at me a bit puzzled. "Is he okay?"

I nod.

"What do you mean?"

I stutter a little as I try to explain, "Well, in the letter you said, I mean, Vensen-said that Sommi won't be harmed if I go by the terms he asked for."

Kakashin looks to the ground with a look of silent rage and grumbles something under his breath. He then gazes back in my general direction and answers, "Either he made a threat that he cannot hold to, or he's keeping another important detail from the rest of us."

That didn't make any sense to me. "I'm sorry, I don't think I understand, Sir."

His eyes turn to me directly. "I was actually about to ask you where he is, or at least, get some clues from you myself."

Now I'm confused. "I'm sorry Kakashin-kan, but I have no idea either. Maybe if you and your pal didn't clean up the mess that he made, or whoever made it, then someone could have picked up the sent with the cujom." My voice brings up a little attitude as I say this, after all, he's starting to test my patience a little without trying to explain all of this to me. The least he can do is give me some context as to what's going on, like, I don't know; say that he's an old friend of Sommi or something?

He widens his red eyes and answers, "Mess?" He looks away again and says something under his breath with enough force for me to hear him this time, "Damn him."

"Who?"

Kakashin looks to me again. "Listen Vila, the life you knew with Sommi was a lie."

"A lie?" I respond a bit startled. Does he know about the incident that happened in Dakima?

"Well, not all of it." He continues, trying to explain it to me.

"Why should I trust you anyway? For all I know, you could be lying to me about everything that you've mentioned so far!" My voice begins to rise against him.

"Vila, please calm down," Kakshin speaks to me with that firm tone again.

My anger subsides for the time being and I start to listen to him once more.

"Please, understand that this isn't easy for me either." His voice has gone back to that sweeter tone. "Your life won't be peaceful from here on out, he'll make sure of it."

"Who?"

"Don't worry, you'll get to meet him soon enough, he's already contacted you before."

So many thoughts and questions run through my head. Should I really believe this guy? If he doesn't know where Sommi is, if his claim is true, then what did happen to him? I don't know what to do! Where should I search now?

"Come closer," Kakashin says in a calm voice.

I look to see a new face on him, it seems more-comforting.

"Please, come closer, I still can't see your face too well."

My feet take slightly bigger steps than before towards him, but with caution still. "Who are you?"

His face becomes more human as he answers me, "An old friend of an old friend." His eyes examine me for a while as I stare back at him in contemplation.

Do I actually know this man?

He finally lets a soft whisper pass his lips, "You are so much like your mother."

My eyes widen to this revelation and I raise my voice in excitement, "You knew my mom!?"

Kakashin widens his eyes with a look of regret for a slip of the tongue.

"Have you heard from her lately? Is she alright?"

He takes in a painful swallow down his throat and hesitates to answer.

Suddenly, we both hear a faint scream coming from outside just beyond the door.

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Zemfen- The only continent in all of Fupum and is located on the other side of the planet from Aishy. It consists of only two countries: Ridjia, and Garmul.