Words: 300
Remnant ash littered the ground. The air was stale with dust and lingering cinders. The soil harshly downtrodden with old footprints; the unusual emptiness of the open field had evidence of cremation and ceremony. An individual landed in darkness with only the moon to illuminate the despondent grounds. His eyes glowed dark amber, darting across the mound of empty land to witness deafening silence. Even the stridulating of crickets did not sound.
Silver hair swayed as the yokai turned his head. Keen hearing picked up chatter, fields away.
“It’s a pity. Kagome was a nice girl,” a raspy voice.
An old woman replied, “I know, poor girl didn’t even have family.”
“That kind of sickness is always terrible.”
There was a split second of silence, “you think her lover knows?”
A tone of surprise, “she had a lover?”
“She was always waiting by that tree and met a man in the shadows.”
“To hide in shadows and meet in secret? Must’ve been a scandal.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter anymore, she’s already dead—”
His breath hitched. Jaw clenched. The coldness of his heart halted.
That night he howled, screamed and bellowed to the heavens as he knelt on the dirt and soot that covered her grave. The stone slab etched her name, but it seemed to laugh at him in mockery. He lost all sense of reason; crimson flooded his eyesight and his sharp nose became dull in stinging pain. The last memory of her burned away in his mind, striking wind hammering his senses.
The last words he said to her echoed, repeating, like an eternal loop—
“Love is weak. You make me weak.”
Elongated teeth drew blood as he bit down, frenzied claws dug into the dark soil.
He will bring her back.
No matter the cost.