Subuki Gaiden
an excerpt

“It’s so beautiful…” She was entranced by the vision before her; a delicate flower, floating above her hands. Tiny motes of light drifted around it, and the barest shimmer of gold touched the tips of its petals, resting there like molten sunlight. It called to her, somehow; she felt its tug in her soul, pulling her towards it. Her fingers twitched, eager to feel the satin of its petals beneath their touch.

“What are you?” she asked, reaching for the blossom as though it could respond. She gasped as her fingertip grazed the edge of a single petal; it answered, though not with words. The flower burst open suddenly at the touch, spilling a soft, soothing light from its core into her outstretched hands. She tried to look into the centre of the blossom, but it was bright, much too bright; as her hands wrapped around the stem, she heard a whisper slip through her mind, and she knew the name of the flower she held.

“Ikebana.”

The light wavered, and a smile traced her face. Gently, she loosened her grip and released the stem, dropping the flower from her numb fingers. It slowly drifted towards her feet, but the light grew brighter and shattered before she could see it touch the ground.

“Ohh!”

Subuki shot out of her bed with a gasp, her blankets snarled around the lower half of her body from her restless twisting and turning during sleep. Her heart was pounding, and her eyes darted around the room suspiciously searching for intruders before she let out a long sign.

“Just another dream,” she mumbled, dropping her head into her hands with a groan.