Chapter 22

Melody and Melodies

🔥🌹✨🔥✨🌹🔥

"Sin I swear, if you're eating the cookie dough I'll hang you from my ceiling like a dream catcher." Melody says while whisking a bowl of cream. Sin who's exactly doing what Melody is saying immediately stop, looking around for an excuse.

"Uh.. nope! You can count on me." Sin gulps down the last bits of cookie dough in her mouth as she replies. The shorter demon turns around and sets down the cream on the counter, beside another bowl that contains the cookie dough. Her rich red eyes flickers from the cookie dough bowl to Sin's face, which made the girl break eye contact and looks away; whistling.

Without warning, Melody reaches up with her gloved hand and grabs Sin's face and pulls her to look at her. Sin's eyes widened in surprise as blush spreads across her face in sudden embarrassment. Melody looks at her lips, which made Sin even more flushed with reddened cheeks.

"You ate it didn't you?" Melody says as her eyes looks back up at Sin's lilac eye and blue orchid. Sin's voice gets caught in her throat as Melody let's go of her face, taking away the bowl of cookie dough; giving it away for Niffty to handle it.

"Uhh.." Sin stammers but Melody shrugs her shoulders and picks up her glass of milkshake but her eyebrow narrows as she looks at the glass. She turns her head to see Angel nearby where the glass was;

"Did you really just added salt in my drink?" Melody asks as she sets her glass down, Angel who's holding in his laugh, stutters.

"U-Uh.. pfft- I mean; y- no..?" He slips his tongue as he makes a beeline out the kitchen down but before he do anything else; Melody picks up her glass again and just drinks the whole milkshake until it's empty while looking at Angel straight in his eyes. "What the f-" He was about to cuss but stops once he feels a clawed hand on his shoulder, making him shudder in fear.

"Get him out of here." Melody says as she leans her cheek on her hand, waving away at Angel. Sin looks up to see those pink star forehead demons again, it nods as it drags Angel out who's screaming bloody murder. Once he's out the doors and his voice is muffled, Melody's eyes turns lidded as she slowly close her eyes. What Angel added to her drink was not salt; it was crushed pills of sleeping pills.

Sin watch as the girl slowly accidentally drop her head off her hand and eventually she leans forward and passes out on her arms on the counter. Sin glances around, not sure what to do. Niffty had disappeared to who knows where. She shrugs as she picks up Melody in bridal style, she widens her eyes of how light Melody is.

The space buns girl walks out of the kitchen by pushing the door using her back, in the lobby there's only Husk and Slither who's by the couches. She walks over to the office and pushes it open with her back again, mentally sighing in relief when there's no one in the room.

Sin walks to the usual couch that Melody always naps on as she looks down at the sleeping girl, her long eyelashes caught her attention. She looked so peaceful sleeping, it reminded her of something that Melody used to say when they were little as Sin sets Melody carefully on the couch;

×××"What do you do in your free time?" Ava asks the doll-like girl beside her on the swings. The cheery girl hums as she slowly swings herself, she smiles brightly as she had thought of answer.

"Well I really like singing, dancing and drawing! Sometimes my mama let's me design and makes dresses with her but most time I draw!" She giggles, realising how much that is. Ava couldn't help but smile,

"Is there nothing that you do doesn't sound tiring?" She asks, watching the girl tilt her head like a cute doll.

"Well I sleep a lot! I love sleeping!" She giggles, Ava chuckles.

"Why is that?"

"So I don't have to hear my mama and daddy yell- oh and sleeping let's me stop feeling." She answers, as if she's tired of emotions and feeling them. Ava's eyes widens upon her answer, the way she answered was as if it was nothing big of a deal. But we all know that's a red flag.

×××

Sin sits down beside the couch on the floor, watching Melody breathe in a rhythmic way. Maybe she could use it again, to enter her memories. It's time to find out the question she been asking herself for years and thus; there goes the girl — falling into the depths of broken memories.

   A little girl with long black hair holds her father's hand that is much bigger than her own. She giggles and smiles as she tells her father about her new friend but her father paid no attention to her whatsoever. The fatherly-act he been putting on was just a mask he puts on when he's in public; nobody should know how much of a broken family they are.

The man who's in his mid 30's glances down at her one and only daughter, actually getting a bit annoyed at her loud giggles and high pitched voice and how many questions this little brat keeps asking.

The two walk until they reach their house, pushing the black painted metal gate as he lets go of the little girl; letting her run off to the door on her own. She tip toes as she grabs the doorknob, twisting it as she enters; hearing her mother's muffled giggles in the another room.

The cheery girl skips to the room her mother is in as she pushes the shoji Japanese doors to the side, seeing her mother on the phone and her back facing her.

"Mama!" She cheers, the woman jumps in surprise as she turns around and immediately ends the call by putting the phone back in its place. The father walks up behind the little girl, his eyes glaring up at the mother.

"Who were you calling, Katzuna?" His deep rough voice asks, the woman sweatdrops as she looks off to the side.

"I was calling a friend, John. Stop accusing me as if I did something wrong." She says, a tint of nervousness in her voice. The little girl looks from her mother to her father that's behind her.

"Mama that sounds like a lie." The little girl giggles, thinking it's a joke. She always knows when someone is lying and at the time; she was too young and pure to know the dangers of liars. Her mother's eyes narrows down at the little girl in disgust and in anger. But little girl doesn't notice it as her nose caught the smell of Takoyaki in the living room, her attention immediately gets swoon away as she cheers and runs to the living room.

The father watch as the daughter disappear off to the other room and then turns to his wife.

"You're lying again." He says as he crosses his arms. The woman scoffs,

"Why do you believe that little girl? She's a curse and you know it!" She blurts out in defense, the man drops his hands to his side as he clenches his hands into fists.

"She's not a curse, Katzuna! She's your daughter! I don't know why she have those eyes but she's still human!" He shouts, the woman rolls her eyes.

"You're saying that as if you care about her, John! You don't even care when she walks out there on her own and being friends with these random kids!" She shouts back, her Japanese accent clearly showing. The two continue to bicker with each other but the little girl can't hear a thing due to her listening to the radio in the other room as she stuffs her mouth with Takoyaki and squealing in happiness.

This little girl is too pure and innocent to be handling these things, well; nothing lasts forever.

It's been a few weeks and she would go out and play with her friend who's named Ava Forest and her friend who's an old man named Mr. Brown. They would learn a lot of things together, play together and even laugh with each other. Yet again; nothing lasts forever.

One day after she gets home from playing with her friends, her mother get her all dressed up in a more fancier victorian dress and told her to wait downstairs. The little girl was did as told as she stands there, in the hallway and by the staircase. Watching her father picking up luggages and outside the house; putting them in the car trunk.

Soon her mother walks down the stairs, the girl looks up at her mother in confusion.

"Where are we going?" She asks, the mother who's busy looking at herself in the mirror and fixing her hair; replies without looking at her daughter.

"We're going back to Osaka." She says, the little girl's smile drops instantly into a frown.

"What? Why?" She asks, her voice cracking a bit. Her mother rolls her eyes and walks out the door; not answering her daughter. The girl frowns as her cheery personality slowly breaks, she walks out the door and looks up at the house. She slowly blinks away tears that are slowly raising up in her eyes and turns on her heels; walking towards the car as she gets in and so did her father.

The car drives off as it passes the orphanage house and the park she always goes to, for the first times in a few years in her little life; her smile breaks as she deeply frown. The slowly sit properly on her seat as she stares as her dress, she looks up to her parents who are in the front seats.

Now that she's noticed, her mother always makes her wear these uncomfortable dresses so she could look pretty for her mother; so people could compliment her and mostly her mother. Oh how much the little girl wish she could pull the dress off from herself due to how tight and uncomfortable it is, with the uncomfortable lace that itches her soft delicate skin.

She grips her skirt as she looks down, tears slowly blurs her vision.

Sin who's invisible for everything and everyone around her sits on the seat beside the little girl, her heart is breaking into millions of pieces. That day when she was laughing and playing around with Kana; she seemed happy and didn't say a single thing about this. It also makes Sin a little bit mad at herself, how did she not notice? Why didn't Kana tell her about it?

Everything blurs as it shape shifts into another place that seems to be in a Japanese traditional house. Kana is sitting out in the porch of the garden as she swings her small legs, enjoying a bowl of snacks on her side. She seem to be spaced out as the silence around her is filled with the sound of the water running in the koi fish pond nearby.

The girl sigh as she reach her hand into her bowl of snack to grab another cookie but suddenly feels something soft instead. The girl knits her eyebrows together in confusion as she turns her head, seeing a gray cat instead. Out of fear reflex the girl squeak as she backs away, the cat only stare at her back.

"Mochi? Mochi?" A sound of a little girl's voice calls out. Kana looks around to see a little girl who's shorter than her, her hair is short and a beautiful colour of brown. Fair skin and blue eyes, she seem to be looking around for something as she fidgets with her hands. "Neko? Mochi neko?" She calls out again, oh; she's looking for a cat.

Kana turns to the grey cat as she picks it up like a baby and walks over to her gate where the girl is passing by.

"ねえ、あなたはこの猫を探していますか？ (Nē, anata wa kono neko o sagashiteimasu ka?/ Hey, are you looking for this cat?)" She calls out and the girl jumps anxiously, she turns to the said girl and looks at her hand, her eyes widening in happiness. But the shorter girl froze for a moment, as if thinking of something as she stammers a little bit.

"Um.. 私は日本語が上手に話せません (Watashi wa nihongo ga jōzu ni hanasemasen/ I can't speak Japanese very well.)" She stutters here and there, Kana makes an 'o' shaped lips.

"Then, do you speak English?" She asks, looking at the little girl's appearance, she seems to be from America. The girl smiles widely as she nods repeatedly. Kana couldn't help but smile back as she opens the gate. "Here, your cat." She reminds as she hands the cat carefully to the other girl.

"Thank you so much!" She giggles, Kana replies the same.

"What's your name?" Kana asks as she watch the girl pet the cat in her arms. She looks up and slightly bow.

"I'm Marcy White, nice to meet you!" She introduces, Kana smiles.

"Kana Katzuki!" She smiles as the two start chatting with each other, Sin who's on the side watch the two laugh with each other until its been a few minutes and Marcy had to go because her dad is probably looking for her by now. They wave goodbye to each other as Marcy skips away. Kana watch until she disappears from sight, a smile never leaving her face. The little girl giggles to herself as she turns to her side and runs in the house, a big smile on her face.

Time passes for a year, Kana is sitting on top of a piano as Marcy gracefully plays the big instrument, the room is only filled with the sound of the beautiful piano notes and Kana's low humming.

"Kana, why don't you try singing?" Marcy suggests as she looks up at the other girl and stops playing the piano. Kana is caught off guard as she shyly scratches her chin with her index finger,

"Um, I don't know about that.." Kana mumbles as she looks away, she always loved singing but her parents always told her that it's pointless and she should just stop. Marcy stands up as she turns around the piano and in front of her best friend and holds up her hands in hers.

"You can do it! I know you can, you have the most beautiful voice I've ever heard." Marcy smiles, Kana's eyes widens as she smiles slightly.

"I'll try." She says as Marcy smiles and goes back to the piano. Sin watch as Marcy plays the piano, it takes a few minutes before Kana starts singing. The room sounded like angels singing.

Marcy looks up at Kana while her hands still playing the piano with the biggest smile on her face. The two seem to be having so much fun, the time skips again. This time Marcy is on the verge of tears as she stares up at a tree, Kana who had promised to play with her best friend at the park comes running.

"I'm here- Oh, Marcy what happened?" Kana asks as soon as she sees her friend crying, immediately holding her friend's shoulders. Marcy tries to blink away the tears as she points up the tree, her small grey cat being terrified of the tall height.

"I don't want him to get hurt!" Marcy says as a tear drops down her cheek, she looks around to find an adult but there's not anyone around in this park as much. Meanwhile Marcy is too busy looking around, a sound of a cat meowing in front of her made her turn back around.

There stood Kana with the cat in hand, her dress is a bit messy. Marcy widens her eyes,

"Kana did you climb-?" Marcy asks as she turns to look up the tree and back at her friend. The girl only shrugs as she gives the cat to her friend and fixes her dress back in place.

"A simple tree climbing isn't that hard! I can climb up a house if I wanted, too!" Kana giggles and Marcy couldn't help but smile too.

Days passes into weeks, weeks into months and eventually it turned into years. Kana have to go back to New Orleans, Louisiana to get herself in school. Surprisingly, Marcy's family is from there too! So, the two decided to go back together and go to the same school.

The two stick together like glue but it's glued perfectly, as time goes on; Kana isn't so sweet as she used to be. Now she is a bit rough around the edges when needed, especially when someone hurts Marcy. They won't walk away so easily without a few pain to follow them along the way. They were the perfect Yin and Yang symbol.

A few months after getting back to New Orleans, Louisiana; while walking back home from school. That's where Ava met her again and same goes for Marcy. Their friendship bloomed even more and they would give cute nicknames for each other as a token of their friendship.

Years passes down like a waterfall, Ava no longer kept in touch with the two. She had go off on her own path, Marcy worked at a local restaurant as a waitress, loved by everyone around her. Well, for Kana; it isn't so pretty.

She is now a matured 23 years old woman, dated only once when she was 18 and it ended in just a few months; after that she never got herself into any relationship.

Her parents are running out of money, going poor every day they live. Kana been working here and there, in bars and restaurants; singing and giving performances for all the audiences. But of course, she had to wear contacts or dark glasses to hide her eyes; there's been a incident lately where a woman is accused of being a witch and with her looking nothing like human; doesn't help.

But her parents took advantage of it, they accused their daughter of being cursed by a witch. Calling her a demon and a curse. People start hunting down the girl everywhere she goes, all she wanted was her dream to be achieved and nothing more and nothing less.

Someone is even willing to pay her parents a million worth of money to tell them where her cursed demon of a daughter is. Truth to be told, they don't even know themselves. Kana had run away from home and tries to survive in a world where everyone sees her as a prey.

Sin watch as Kana chokes out a man that's trying to hunt her down with a rifle. Her dress is a bit tattered and her hair is a mess. The man chokes and dies from lack of oxygen into his lungs, more people start coming her way. She had no choice but to pick up the man's rifle and run away.

Having to kill these people for her own safety, she hates it. Every night, she pray to god that her friends are doing just fine and healthy. She even pray for Ava's health. Even though the last time they spoke, it was a one sided argument about Ava's toxic boyfriend. Even when she's going through all of that; she still thinks about her best friends.

The only two people who been there for her. But then one night, Kana finds herself running in the woods and that's where she met her end. Sin couldn't bare watching it for the second time. Everything blurs as she is now in hell, Kana is not even surprised that she ended up down there.

But because of her being new, other sinners would try to hurt her and shove her down like she's nothing. At first she didn't mind as such, until one day; she snapped.

She recognized her power, her ability and her will of making someone else suffer. She doesn't know who she is yet, but one of her powers that she doesn't use as much came from her lovely times with Marcy; singing.

Whenever she's in a turf war with a demon that's trying to steal her territory; she would use her voice. Singing makes her stronger, more controlled of the demon inside of her that's waiting to slaughter everyone around her. It's an ability that earned herself the name of 'Melody'.

But she wish to keep that power aside, because it came from the sweetest memory of her best friend that she holds dear to. She don't want to use it for violence, at least; not yet.