🦋💀四苦: Fallin’ Eisei 💀🦋

[Abigail]

Abigail Spencer, clad in a beautiful black kimono, the left side crossed over right as was the tradition in life, knelt on the ground, encircled by scattered white roses. The shimmering light of a silver moon shone behind her and cast a halo of Heavenly light around her head. Before her, she carefully lit a single orange-yellow beeswax candle with a dhoop stick.

She inhaled slowly, deeply, taking in the aromatic scent of burning incense for a few moments as she acclimated herself to the subtly beautiful change in atmosphere around her, bringing new light to an intimately familiar darkness.

Behind Abigail, to her left was a small makeshift shine, made up of brightly coloured flowers. In particular four red spider lilies stood out, nestled among the vibrant cherry blossoms, chrysanthemums and roses, laid in memoriam. The centrepiece of the shrine was a publicity photo of Yusumi Mitsu and Kai Sachiko, holding hands and smiling at each other. A picture of ignorant bliss, ornately framed in precious gold. In front of them was an ihai spirit tablet. On the right of the ihai, rested a beautifully decorated black candelabra, with two of its seven candle holders, the second and the sixth, vacant.

Behind Abigail, to her right were wooden trays of traditional courses of Japanese seafood and rice cuisine on a portable multi shelf metal service trolley, more than enough for two people.

Four brightly feathered and white faced Tennyo - Angels - in lively coloured kimonos laboured either side of Abigail, one pair presided over the food and the other tended to the shrine. With Abigail’s candle lit, she softly blew out the dhoop stick and inhaled some of the fragrant smoke that the flame’s forced extinction produced. One of those who tended to the shrine came to Abigail and lit her own dhoop stick from Abigail’s candle. They exchanged a warm smile but no words as their eyes met briefly.

The Tennin then carried the burning incense stick over to the candelabra, knelt down before it and lit each of the five candles it held, the highest and most central one first and then the two on the left, followed by the two on the right. The second Tennin then quickly extinguished her partner’s flame with a thumb and forefinger pinch.

As the two caretakers disappeared into the shadows, the moon behind Abigail flickered wildly, momentarily disrupting Abigail’s halo. Abigail closed her eyes and relaxed completely, a smile spread across her face as she opened her eyes to the unseen beauty of Heaven all around her. The light shifted to a deep purple and settled once more around Abigail, granting her an almost otherworldly glow.

Eternity, clad in a beautiful black kimono, the right side crossed over left as was the tradition in death, approached from Abigail’s right. She also wore a traditional wooden Deigan mask, with gold flecked eyes and teeth. With all the grace of a disembodied spirit, Eternity moved swiftly beyond Abigail and came to rest at the shrine of the two familiar friends, Kai Sachiko and Yusumi Mitsu. She dropped to her knees in mourning and snuffed out the tallest and most prominently positioned central candle held in the candelabra. With a heavy sigh, full of unspoken regret, Eternity pressed the flame quickly into its own pool of hot wax, extinguished it both painlessly and immediately.

Subete no shi ga kono yō ni nareba, subete no nama wa dorehodo kanbi ni narudarou, she grieved, silently.

Eternity shifted her focus from the four remaining flames to the four red spider lilies. She cocked her head curiously to the left and plucked out a pair, leaving a pair untouched.

Eternity straightened her head again. She rose to her feet once again and skipped back towards Abigail. She carelessly sacrificed a few of the scattered roses around her beloved underfoot, breaking through the delicate beauty of the boundary around Abigail. She held out the two spider lilies to her Archangel, and offered her a choice. Abigail plucked the furthest from her and closest to Eternity from Eternity’s pale hand, with a smile and a slight nod.

Eternity returned the smile and nod graciously before she stepped behind Abigail and knelt down to plant her spider lily in Abigail’s soil black hair carefully, affixing it with love to the left side of her head. Once she was satisfied, Eternity moved to sit to the left of Abigail. Eternity stretched her legs out in front of her, as Abigail turned and set her own spider lily in Eternity’s luminous pink and wild hair, also securing it gently to the left side of her skull.

Abigail then slowly gripped the chin of Eternity’s yellowish beige demonic mask and softly shook her head before lifting it clear from her lover’s head. Abigail smiled brightly as Eternity’s truest and most beautiful face was unveiled once more, not a lost and vengeful soul but rather a found and loving heart.

Abigail set the mask aside and paid it little mind, much more invested in Eternity’s evergreen eyes, glistening emeralds settled in freshly fallen snow. Abigail’s face glowed with a fresh red warmth, and a bright twinkle in her eyes as she gently cupped Eternity’s right cheek. Eternity turned briefly towards her touch and kissed Abigail’s palm before turning back to hold her gaze. Abigail leant forward and their lips met in a soft sweet kiss that stopped time itself.

The two Tennyo returned from the shadows and played wholly unfamiliar but most pleasant little tunes on a couple of flutes in perfect harmony and resonance as life and death melted into each other’s relentless kiss, deepening their love with each precious second that passed here in their own private Heaven.

Only after their lips finally parted did the Tennyo servers approach Abigail and Eternity. They brought forth their food and drink offerings for the pair. They set the wooden trays down between Eternity and Abigail and retreated into the shadows, so they could enjoy their dinner date in the kind of peace and tranquility that was only available this far East.

There was a bountiful selection of fish, rice, vegetable and noodle dishes spread across the traditionally small portioned multi course Japanese meal. Abigail started with the safer and more familiar choices of rice, vegetables and noodles. It was enough of an adventure simply trying to feed herself with chopsticks. She hesitated to challenge her distinctly Western palate much more than her well travelled partner, whereas Eternity fearlessly plucked at the finely chopped Tiger puffer sashimi, with the grace and elegance of a seasoned local.

“I just wanted ta thank ya,” Abigail said, “Not only for all this, but for everythin’ you’ve done or tried ta do these last few months. Patchin’ me up after High Stakes, believin’ in me that I’d not only heal an’ reset but come back stronger after Nat put my ass through glass.”

“I have always believed in you, Angel. And I always will.”

“I know, an’ that is just one of the many, many, many, many reasons I love ya, Sephie.”

“I love you too,” Eternity plucked some pufferfish from its Chinese cabbage and green onion bed, “Speakin’ of, there seems ta be a lot of that going around right now. Flower finally found her peace in the hurricane that almost destroyed your family.”

“Cyrus fuckin’ Daniels?” Abigail considered the rice porridge for a moment, “Yeah, believe me I ain’t thrilled that red is apparently Viv’s favourite colour, but ya can’t help who ya fall in love with as they say, I know I certainly couldn’t,” Abigail smiled before savouring her first taste of the porridge. She was pleasantly surprised by how much she enjoyed it. “So what else could I do but suck it up an’ try ta turn the other cheek on the whole thing, y’know? I just wish it hadn’t done a number on Ricky’s anxiety about failin’ ta protect the woman he loves when it mattered most.” Abigail sighed. “Thanks for helpin’ me put out that particular fire when ya did, by the way.”

“I couldn’t let your baby brother give up on his soulmate,” Eternity twirled the puffer piece into the soy sauce and citrus juice ponzu dip. “Incredible things happen when you don’t give up on your Forever, I should know,” Eternity winked at her very own blessed Forever.

Abigail embraced the unique glow she always felt in Eternity’s presence. It brought an intense warmth to her cheek and made her heart quicken, as butterflies filled her stomach. “I appreciate ya never givin’ up on me, even though I really wouldn’t have blamed ya if ya had after my abysmal performance in the Heiress so far. I tried ta work as well as I could with Tytus. I thought I could balance out his power like I’m used ta with you or my brothers, but I don’t know. Somethin’ just never clicked an’ always felt missin’ with him. He just wasn’t family, I guess. Or maybe he just wasn’t you, beloved.”

Eternity took several moments to chew over not only a particularly delicate slice of puffer, but also Abigail’s thought process. She swallowed slowly and took a sip of sake to wash it down before she answered. “A rise is only as impressive as the fall which preceded it, Angel. Life is all about sunsets and sunrises, an endless eternal cycle. A delicate balance, one half day, the other night. Both necessary. First half of the tournament was your nightfall, they have yet to see your daybreak. But it is coming, I promise you.”

“God, ya have such a wonderful way of lookin’ at the world, Sephie,” Abigail leant forward and snatched another quick kiss from Eternity. “Thank you, you’re right, the game is not over, we’re only at halftime. I can bounce back, I will bounce back, with you by my side.” Abigail smiled as she savoured more of her rice porridge. She discovered it was so much easier to digest new culinary delights when she opened herself up to new perspectives and ways of thought.

“They consider fugu lucky,” Eternity held out a piece of Tiger puffer for Abigail, pinched between a pair of chopsticks. “And yours needs to change.” Eternity smiled.

“Yeah, it does,” Abigail nodded and pushed aside the apprehension that it may not be expertly prepared and that she might drop dead from accidental poisoning, because she wasn’t as happy to tempt fate as Eternity had always been. She plucked the offered slice from between the chopsticks with her teeth. She was surprised by the tenderness of it. She swallowed as she held Eternity’s gaze, completely trusting her. “Ain’t like my luck can get any worse, right?”

“No,” Eternity shook her head slowly and laughed softly, which in turn made Abigail laugh and quickly they were united in fits of laughter over something stupid and wasn’t even that funny, but that’s what love and life was all about, finding all the little joyous moments everyone else missed.

🦋💀🦋💀

“Thoughtfulness is the way to deathlessness, thoughtlessness the way to death. The thoughtful do not die: the thoughtless are as if dead already.”- Gautama Buddha.

🦋💀🦋💀

After their dinner date, the four candles left at the flower-laden shrine of Mitsu and Sachiko continued to burn in the background, to the left of Bella Morte. Embraced by Eternity under the soft ambiance of deep purple lighting, Abigail languished in blissful peace.

Abigail sat with her back pressed up against Eternity’s front, both women had their legs stretched out in front of them. Eternity’s legs sheathed Abigail’s. Abigail had her right arm folded across her chest, her forearm held by Eternity. Abigail’s left hand was also entwined with Eternity’s over Abigail’s thigh, her left knee lazily bent, her entire body language spoke of Her Archangel’s unparalleled ease in Death’s company.

Well, it really don’t happen too often, but every now an’ then the decisions the suits in the back make genuinely surprise me. I mean who woulda thought that the first Pay-Per-View of this Japanese tour would feature Bella Morte reunitin’ after what feels like a damned age?

Certainly not me, especially not after the awful run of rotten luck I’ve been havin’ so far in this tourney. As much as I’m sure I’ve disappointed Tytus Rost, believe me I’ve disappointed myself infinitely more. I can an’ should be doin’ much better, I know that, but as I’ve been reminded of lately, loss builds more character than gain. So, the mostly makeshift teams I’ve been facin’ have sent me crashin’ an’ burnin’ down the Heiress points table, nothin’ I can do about that except make the best of a bad situation.

Somethin’ I’ve been doin’ my whole damned career, an’ my whole fuckin’ life, let’s be real honest for a second here. I ain’t in the business of makin’ excuses or dancin’ around the obvious ta protect a fragile sense of ego or self-worth. I’ve been less than stellar recently, an’ as much as I don’t like it, that is just the stone cold truth of the matter.

Last week Allen Chaney managed ta best Tytus Rost an’ in the process left a lotta questions unanswered between maself an’ Nat Walker. Now I could waste everyone’s time by kickin’ up a real stink about that, but I ain’t gonna ‘cause I’m better than that. An’ Nat’s a smart cookie, she knows as well as I do that there will be another time an’ place for us, likely sooner than any of us expect.

There’s always another time and place for us, always.

I’ve been left with no choice but ta start once again at the very bottom. If I hadn’t already been here several times throughout my career an’ my life, such a reality would break me, but as it is I absolutely refuse ta be broken. Y’all may have pushed me down inta the dirt an’ already be diggin’ a grave for my World Champion aspirations, but the joke’s on y’all ‘cause now I have not only nothin’ left ta lose but also with the tag round over, I have my true life partner back by my side. Someone I trust more than anybody else on the women’s roster ta have my back in my darkest an’ most tryin’ times.

Y’all can keep your uneasy alliance BS, I’m all about my true blue ride or die in life, death an’ everythin’ in between. A lotta folk would write Kai an’ Yusumi off as Performance Center furniture not worth frettin’ about but not me or my beloved.

Abigail squeezed Eternity’s hand and turned into Eternity’s sweet kiss for a few sacred moments. Once they break, Abigail is left to catch her breath whilst Eternity speaks, softly in tongues, both familiar and unfamiliar.

Kai, watashitachiha hitotsu no shita de hanashimasuga, gokai sa rete imasuga, anata ga seiyō o chōshō suru subete no nansensu nimokakawarazu, watashi wa pafōmansusentā de jūbun ni anata to supāringu o shite kitanode, anata ga kono jinsei de dare yori mo hageshiku, yori hageshiku tatakau koto ga dekiru koto o shitte imasu.

Anata wa sō shinai koto o sentaku suru dakedesu.

Pātonā no hon no happa o ichi-mai totte, nanika no tame ni tatakawanaito muda ni shinu koto ni narimasu. Sore wa odoshide wa naku yakusokudesu.

Yusumi, my sweet majo-kko.

Stood so bright and brave against the evils of the world. Preaching love and friendship to all but those of us you would condemn and banish from your world simply because neither my Archangel or I fit neatly into your naive view of all that is good, all that is fair and all that is just. We will not be exorcised, we will not be exiled because we are not evil, just misunderstood, like your friend Kai.

Life is never fair, and Death is always just.

The Land of the Rising Sun meets the Sea of the Falling Moon and the tidal wave will lift all ships to heights never before seen, but not to Heaven, no never to Heaven for that is our Kingdom and we will not share. We will never, never, never, never share!

Welcome home girlfriends, behold how deeply the fire drowns and the water burns your house, your home, your country and your earth. Scorched, cleansed by the most beautiful extinction event of them all.

Why wait until November, when the most beautiful death can ravage random partners now?

False heroes, liars, deceivers, all shall be exposed by Bella Morte in due time.

Until then, your secrets are safe, taken to our grave and abandoned besides weak hearts, broken bodies, loose tongues and forgotten souls. Dance with us under the silver moon until the sky turns a glorious imperial shade and we are given our due course of savage blasphemers and their pretty little pets, all six of their legs entangled in eight strands of the finest silk, four in the East and four in the West.

Eight eternal torments stretched across all of our suffering!

They are born, then they age, then they sicken and finally they die!

Callooh, Callay! Joyous Night! Joyous Day!

Defective spiders, ineffectual gods and false kings all!

Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we learn to lie and deceive.

Time will separate gold from leather and leather from silk, we promise.

Put us in Coach, we can play! We can play!

We will play, oh how we will play!

All day, from sunrise to moonfall.

Minikui jinsei kara to Bella Morte…

Majo-kko to usotsuki no koibito ni wa shi o!