Page 25 of Cherry Moon

“Akira…”

Slowly, I turned to find nothing in the large shower cubicle with me.

Still, I said, “Who’s there?”

“It is coming, Akira.”

“What—”

“Do not falter. You are full of so much light, so much love, no matter the darkness within you. Do not let your pain win. Yes, I know you’re hurting, but think of what you have done here. You have broken one wheel of shadows, now you can break another. You have not given up in the face of adversity. That tells me you are a warrior, so full of strengths a punch can only dream of gaining.”

I stumbled into the wall, then slid down to my arse.

“M-Mum?”

Oh, shit. No, no, no. That couldn’t be her voice. No, no, no. She wasn’t here. She wasn’t here. She wasn’t here.

It didn’t sound like her, but those were the words she’d said to me when I’d finally met her during the afterlife drama.

This voice was different. As lovely as hers, but with a deeper tone. Kind of genderless, really.

Mum…

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”

What was this, test Akira to the max day? I mean, for bollocking hell’s sake! How many more emotional gut punches did I need to take?

“No,” the voice answered. “Your mother is at peace. Your mother is not here. A new path is. Yet remember her words. Remember who you are.”

I pushed my wet hair out of my face, the water pounding the top of my head. “You’re… You’re not her?”

“The path is waiting. Not yet. Not yet. Not yet. Remember who you are.”

Those words sank in now, pissing me off. “I know who I am, cheers.”

The voice repeated the same stuff.

I snarled, summoning my babies and sent them out to explore the immediate area. They found nothing.

Once again, the voice repeated itself.

“How about you just tell me what’s up, bruv?” Ooo, I hadn’t used that word in a while.

“A choice will present itself to you,” the voice said. “You will see, you will decide. The world needs a warrior.”

I saw a flash of Sakura. A flood of pink light turning cherry-red filled the cubicle, and a warm wind blasted me in the face.

To hell with this. I got to my feet, dried off, quickly dressed in a pair of black jeans and a powder blue tee, and rushed toward the bedroom door. I wasn’t staying in here alone with creepy voices.

Fuck mysterious paths.

Fuck cryptic bullshit.

Fuck being told a test was coming.

And never tell me to remember who I am.

Wanker. It was lucky to be a voice and not standing before me with a tongue to be cut from its dirty mouth. I didn’t care if it wasn’t a threatening voice. Talk bollocks to me, face the consequences. End of.