Hi everyone, well it's that time.  What everybody has been waiting for, the final episode for Flat.  I can't believe it has come to this and I can't believe the story is through.  I really enjoyed writing this series and I thank each and everyone for taking the time to read and comment my story.  But now, it comes to this.  The episode that everyone has been waiting.  Flat episode 24.  Please, leave me as much feed back as you can, I would love to hear the shocking and compelling ending that I have created so please, I encourage all of you who read this to leave a comment.  Thank you and now, enjoy the final episode.

Flat

Episode 24:

 

YOU’RE ATTENTION PLEASE.  THE TRAIN HAS NOW STOPPED AT HIROSHIMA STATION.  PLEASE BE SURE TO TAKE ALL OF YOUR BELONGINGS WITH YOU AND ENJOY YOUR STAY.  THANK YOU.

-With the word of the announcer, the race began as passengers started to gather their belongings from above and begin in line to leave the train.  Sakagi had trouble with this since this was her first time riding a train.  She wasn’t use to normal train procedure, trying to reach for her bag but with all the people rushing to get off and the people being rude and bumping her back to her seat, she kindly had to wait till everyone got off before she could get to it.  Folding her arms as she peered out the train window frustrated that she now had to wait, but even more frustrated that now she would have to wait longer to see Sota the whole reason why she came.  She was happy to see that she was going to finally see him again after so long since his departure.  She couldn’t wait to see his beautiful shining face, the gleam he had always brought to her, his white shiny hair that had glinted in the sun and moonlight, the smell that was familiar, she couldn’t wait, she couldn’t wait to get off this train.-

Sota…it’s been so…so long…since we last…saw each other…I hope…you are doing well…I can’t…wait…to…see you…again…

-Lost in her train of thought she looked around and saw that everyone had left, feeling a bit embarrassed she laughed a little and quickly got her bag and exited the train in an orderly fashion to the Hiroshima train station platform.  The train blew a loud hollow whistle as the air from the propulsion filled the platform and began to roll to its next destination.  Sakagi stood there as she looked out upon Hiroshima, Sota’s new home.  Looking upon the city and looking upon where to look and where to go.  Looking at the map she had wondering where it was from here, looking upon the red X she had made indicated Sota’s house.  She had never been to Hiroshima and she wasn’t going to let it be a screw up of a trip.  Looking around the area of the platform to see if she could ask someone to help her, near the exit of the station, she saw an information booth.  A smile grew upon her face slightly as she grabbed her things and quickly ran down from the platform to the information booth and looked at the man sitting aback against the wall reading the daily news printed on the newspaper.  She didn’t want to disturb the man but it was the only way to know where to go.  She said softly in a shy voice…

“Um…excuse me…sir…”

-The man heard the soft voice and looked all over wondering if it was his imagination or if he was hearing things.  He turned around to the window to see her there, staring back at him.  He stared at her for sometime not doing his job for a moment until she asked again…-

“Um…excuse me…I was…I was wondering…do you know…how to get to…this…this place…”

-Pushing a map through the hole in the window as she marked Sota’s house on it, with a big red X.  The man finally hesitated a bit then got to his work, grabbing the map from the hole and looked at it for sometime before looking back at her and saying with a smile…-

“Yes I do…first you want to go straight upon this street.  You’re going to keep going until you reach the shopping district.  Once you reach there, you take a left and you are going to go down two streets from there where you will take a right.  After that…”

-The man continued on his directions as Sakagi listened to every detail, wanting to get there with ease.  She had a pretty good memory and had a good deal of remembering details but she didn’t want that to stop her from getting to Sota.  She knew she had a good sense of memory but didn’t want to take that as a risk…-

“…then you go straight down that street and you should find this house miss.”

“Thank you…so much…sir…”

-Bowing her head in gesture to the man.-

“It’s no problem.  Have fun in Hiroshima.”

“I will…thank you.”

-The man handed her map back, Sakagi took it and ran off into the city.  With a big smile on her face, a song in her steps, and a determination in each breath she was ready and willing to see Sota again.  Her hands clasped her suitcase firmly not wanting to let go as her speed met up with the back draft of the wind.  The wind pushing her back as it forced her pace to a slow run.  Out of breath charging into the city as she was ready to battle.  Her outfit, frilly and blowing into the wind as it caught up and started to slow her down more.  She didn’t care though, she was so happy, happy to be in Hiroshima and happy to see Sota again, after so long.  The smile grew and grew upon her face as she ran down the busy collective street, dodging in and out of the people as she ran to her goal.-

Sota…I’m here…I’m coming…wait for me…

-She started to laugh, smile and be happy for the first time in a long while.  The excitement grew and grew as her body gave and gave more to her needs.  The pain started to grow but she ignored it the best she could.  Feeling the muscles ache and tense up as her energy was slowly, but surely, spent from her body.  The adrenaline pushed her to continue giving her to energy to soar and do the impossible. Her breath got shortened as her legs started to burn.  The passion, the drive was slowly quivering as the weight from the suitcase added to the effect of the burning sensation streaming through her legs.  She wanted to run, her mind told her to run, but her body didn’t consent.  Her body slowly shut and came to a halt, her breath quickened and lost sight as she inhaled and exhaled quicker than she did before.  From all this excitement, she had forgotten where she was.  Quickly getting out the map, she looked at the street signs and buildings, then looking back at the map.  Looking frantically back and forth like, somehow, the buildings and signs would meet to her needs of remembering.  Sadly, nothing came to be.  She drew a blank.  Nothing came to mind and nothing was familiar to her.  Her memory of the man and his directions quickly left her mind.  She was lost.  She was lost in the huge city that she had never been too before.-

“I’m lost…”

-She said defeated as she tried to look at the map again and familiarize it with buildings and street signs, but to no avail.  She was lost, she had to accept defeat.  She looked around as the people were passing her by, not taking any notice of the girl.  A shadow, a stranger in a familiar crowd, their eyes gazed upon the figure in ridicule and judgment.  Too much worried about their own self and lives to give a darn about the girl that stood before them lost and hopeless.  No one stopped to say hi and no one stopped to give her a hand.  She tried to get someone’s attention, trying to ask but her shyness didn’t allow her too.-

“Umm…excuse me…sir…umm…oh dear…um sir…can you tell…me…darn…excuse me…miss…can you…ooohhh…this is hopeless…”

-Giving up as she wandered down the street, her face looking down in shame like she was banished.  The mark of a hung man loomed over her as the shameful act was now in full effect.  Clutching onto the briefcase for dear life, between both hands, as her lonely soul passed through the crowd, passed the people, passed the looks of the on goers, and passed through the crowd.  A few minutes of walking down the road she was on, her mind, her body stopped.  Her body didn’t move and, instead, her mind was telling her to look up.  She did as her mind and body told her too, peering at the building and reading the sign…-

“Murazan’s Antiques…”

-Blinking at the old sign staring back at her.  The years that had been there were finally showing.  The sign looked old and worn out, abandoned of its youth and shown the true color of it, dark and brown with rot and mildew.  Inside, the building was empty, shelves were bare and dry.  The floor dusty and seemed to not have had a human enter its abode.  The room, dark and dank from the smell of worn and use of the building.  Dark and eerie like it had been abandoned for months.  Her face pressed against the windows, her hands shielded her from the blazing sun, magnifying her vision as she looked more into the building.  She could see nothing more than a few shelves, abandoned and down trodden, a counter, unused and unvalued with money.  Her hopes were gone more down the drain of ever seeing Sota and instead, fixed upon her life in Hiroshima, wandering, lonely wadding in the Pacific Ocean.  Sadden, she turned her body away from the store and tried to march away.  But, strangely, her feet didn’t follow and instead, went back towards the entrance to the shop as she was now face to face with the door to the inside.  She wondered why she was in front of the door or why her body moved her here and disobeyed.  She peered in the window again, looking at the same old dark dank store she knew before.  No life had appeared in it, it was empty, but her mind wanted more than just emptiness.  Her warm gentle hand touched the cold metal doorknob and turned it. Opening it up as she heard the bell ringing for the customer, alerting everyone of the intruder.  One foot stepped inside and then other, touching the unmoved dust that had been shifted by the wind and her intrusion.  Now inside the belly of the dead, she seemed to see no movement, no sign of anyone ever having stepped foot inside.  Her mind didn’t care, it wanted more proof.  Frightened and scared, she shyly and softly talked into the dark…-

“Hell…hello?  Is…any…anybody here?”

-Nothing, nothing but the stench of old used wood and the smell of filth.  She wanted to turn around and go back the same way she came in and just take the risk of walking around aimlessly in the city but, she couldn’t.  Her mind and body told her no and stood its ground.  Wanting to leave badly knowing her mind wouldn’t until she asked again…-

“Hello?  Can…can someone…help me…please?

“We’re closed.”

-Finally, a voice emerged from the ashes.  Echoing from the back as she looked over to where it could have come from.  Looking over at the counter as the curtain shifted a bit from the movement of someone, or something.  The curtain moved as the sideshow attraction appeared.  She didn’t know what to expect or see as the figure moved from behind the curtain into the light.-

“God darn it!  Why out of all things…oooo…he makes me so frustrated sometimes!  God if only…if only…”

-A grin appeared on his face as he thought of the certain destruction of the man.  Dunaro continued to drive, ready for the total annihilation.  His mind, focused on the task at hand, his heart pounded with vengeance, his body ready for combat.  He didn’t care about his well being or what would happen to him, he was ready for revenge.  Moving in on his kill, the prey, man.  The man on the phone, the man who is anger got him so worked up for was now ready to meet the predator.-

“I can’t wait to see the look on his face…when he sees me!”

-The drool of meat was lingering in front of him.  His body couldn’t wait, his hands couldn’t wait, he couldn’t wait.  He wanted him now, he didn’t want to wait.  The car passed by, speeding by the blurs of houses and buildings and making its way to a halt in front of the house.  He came to a complete halt and turned off the ignition in his car expecting for this quarrel to be very long and enjoyable.  He opened up his driver side door and came out.  Getting out and slowly looking up at the house in front of him.  The house, familiar but unusual as he glanced with a sick smile upon his figure and slowly slammed the door shut.  Looking upon the house not taking his eyes off it as he fixed his suit up a bit.  Brushing any dust and lint particles from himself, fixing his tie to make sure it was straight and unwrinkled, his pants were flexible and ready for anything.  He began to stretch and work out the kinks he had in his neck and fingers, cracking the bone as he began to walk up the path to the house.  His mind raced with all sorts of images, how he wanted to do this, where and how much he could damage before leaving.  All this and more as he came to the door and rang the doorbell.  Waiting a bit as he started to get himself ready.  The door, slowly opened, peering inside the lovely estate as…-

“We’re closed miss.”

“Oh…well…you see…I was wondering…”

-Her face wanting to look away from the man that she was now looking at it.  The face, shocked in horror as the eyes didn’t want to look, but too frightening and curious to look away.  The eyes scanned and appeared at a big fat man, hobbling to the store front with a crutch on his right side.  A left foot that wasn’t there, an eye patch over his right eye making him look more like a pirate than anything.  Scars going up and down his arms like in he was in some freak accident that left him disfigured for the rest of his life.  The man looked at her and saw she was nervous and shy, a smile grew upon his face and came to her in a cheerful tone…-

“May I help you with something?”

-Sakagi looked at the man as his demeanor had changed slightly.  He wasn’t so bulk and scary looking anymore.  His appearance, horrible to the naked eye but his presence was sure kind and warm.-

“Um…yes…I was wondering…if you knew…umm…ummm…how to get…here…”

-Shakingly walking up to the old worn out counter and taking the map out of her pocket slowly.  Hesitating that he might bite her hand off with the slight notion of a blink of an eye.  She took the map out and unfolded to him, displaying it on the counter and revealing it to him as he peered at the map and scanned it for a bit trying to make sense of it.  Looking it over and then back at her.  Sakagi blushed with the wandering eye of a stranger, seeming to take more interest in her than what was on the counter.  Scanning deeper, thinking as he said to her in a soft tone…-

“All you need to do…is take a right at this block, go straight for about…hmmm….2 miles I say…then take a left and follow that road straight down.”

“Oh thank you so much sir, thank you!”

-Her eyes widen with excitement as she was just minutes away from her beloved Sota.  The man looked back at her with a smile and a little giggle to himself at her excitement in all of this as he smiled and replied back…-

“Don’t mention it.”

“Thank you thank you sir!”

-Continuing to thank the man, bowing her head in respect many of times grabbing the map from him quickly and running to the door to the light.  The ringing of the bell was loud and heard for the last time at the shop as she grabbed her suitcase that she had left outside and hurried on down the street.  The man’s face lit up as he watched her excitement grew from his information that he relayed to her.  Laughing to himself as he watched the youth spring from the old into the new as he said to himself out loud…-

“This is the reason…why I should have kid sometime.  Well it’s time for me to close shop…for good I guess…”

-Looking over his beloved store, staring at the empty shelves that covered wall to wall and the ones standing, the dusty floor that hadn’t been swept or been touched other than the girl coming in.  Looking at how old it was, it almost matched his age as he turned around and hobbled back behind the curtain talking to himself more…-

“…heh…Takamichi would be so proud…yes he would…”

“Sota!  I’m coming!”

-Her enthusiasm rushed to his house, her anticipation drove her, her love for him grew with each new step on dirt her feet haven’t touched.  Pacing down the sidewalk with suitcase in front of her, in hand, banging against her firm toned legs as she ran toward her love more.  Her heart raced, her feet matching the pace wanting to hold him in her arms again, to be able to talk to him, to be able to smell him, to be able to feel him, to be able to love him again, like she did before.  Her life was in him, her life was about him, her life was him.  She couldn’t stand being apart from him for that long.  She would do anything for him.  The blush grew more as she thought more about her Sota.  The rise and surge of energy bursting out of nowhere as her foot hit the pavement hard.  Rushing to his house she passed by the busy people and onto the street that Sota lives on.  She could feel him, she could feel the aura of her love for him grow more with each step.-

“Sota!  Sota!  Sota!  Sota!  Sota!”

-She continued to chant as she smiled and laughed and blushed running down his street.  Her pace quickened, her heart beat raced as she got to the intersection…-

“Sota…”

-Yuki said as she came out of her way from the intersection.  Leaving her home as she started to think to herself how much she has missed Sota so.  She hasn’t seen or heard from him since that fatal day.  She smiles embarrassingly as she gives him a hug, Sota blushes a bit at that and decides to not be rude, hugs her back as they stay like that for a while.  Sota letting go as Yuki stayed hugging him, he looked down finding it a little weird as her eyes are closed as she seemed to be lost in an infinite time with him.  He blinked down at her as she blinked a little and looked up at him looking down at her with a confused look on him as she let go and blushed a little to it, trying to hide it away from him.  They both look down to the side sort of an awkward silence, no one wants to talk situation.-

“So…”

“Yes?”

“Let’s…let’s get out of here ok?”

 

-Smiling at her, trying to break the silence and the awkward situation that was there, she smiled in return and nods and together they walked out of the hall and eventually out of the school.-

Those were the days…that I wish I could have back...and feel again…

-Coming up to the intersection as she reached the center of the four way pass reaching as far as the eye could see on all four paths.  She turned to see a girl running toward the way her back was turned too.  There was a passion, and fire built up in her eyes, she could see it even from that distance.  She knew she was striving for something and she could see the determination that no one was going to stop her.  It didn’t occur to her that she was running right toward her.  Her body completely froze to her, her feet didn’t budge all she could do was call out to her and try to make her stop.  It was going to be like stopping a speeding train or a bullet but she had to try.  Waving her hands out to her, flailing in all directions as she yelled out to her…-

“Hey!  Miss!  Please!  Stop!  You’re going too fast!  Slow down!  Why are you in a…”

-And with that pause, Yuki’s eyes widened as the girl ran straight into her.  She was ready for the impact, she ready to feel the pain that her brain hadn’t registered yet, she was ready to taste and feel the dirt on her.  Her eyes squinted and closed as she waited as the girl ran into her.  Sakagi running toward the intersection, her heart raced more, ready to explode as the excitement continued to build up for a lovely reunion as she got to the intersection, head strong in what her mission was as he she ran right through the intersection.  Not seeing Yuki at all, going right through her.  Yuki passing through her as they collided neither one feeling any pain or a budge of the other.  There was nothing, Yuki was like a ghost passing through Sakagi as she stood still frozen as Sakagi continued to run off to his house.  Yuki opened her eyes slowly and saw the girl running through her and off in the distance.  She couldn’t believe it, she went through her like nothing.  She stared down at her hands, shakingly and scared wondering if there was something wrong with her.  Frozen in time, her hands quivered as she didn’t believe what her eyes saw, but knew.  The house on the left of her, Sota’s house.  She stopped and checked on the map and saw the red X mark was on his house.  She was here, she was finally here, she couldn’t believe it.  She was so excited, she couldn’t believe it, all her hard work and determination paid off.  She was ready to see Sota again.  Her mind raced with the figure of him as she raced to the door and opened up thinking he was expecting her as he yelled into the house…-

“Sota!  I’m here!”

-No reply back, the house seem dormant and empty.  She looked around confused and curious to why no one was home.  She called out into the house again…-

“Sota?  Are…are you here?”

-Still nothing, the faint must of dust and uneaten food had lingered on the table in front of her.  She couldn’t figure it out, she started to explore the downstairs a bit.  Checking each nook and cranny of the downstairs, in the kitchen, around the table and around the front yard, nothing, not a mouse was found.  She didn’t understand it, didn’t he know she was coming today?-

“She was so beautiful…”

“Huh?”

-Looking around as she heard the voice, distant and faint but enough to hear in this library state of a house…-

“She was so smart…and funny…”

-She stopped talking and listened to his voice as she followed it.  Going to the staircase and looking up at the top saying softly in the dark…-

“Sota…is…is it you?”

“Why did they take her away from me…my love…why?”

-Following the voice as she made her way upstairs slowly.  Letting her footsteps creak against the old decrepit wood, placing her hand on the banister as she used that as a guard rail scaling up the stairs listening to more…-

“Why did she…have to…die?...why did she have to…die…so suddenly?... scaring you…scaring you…”

-Creeping her way up the stairs as she made it to the top hearing the rest of the conversation, loud behind a door near the staircase down the dismal rank of fear.  Staring at the door with fear as she thought if she opened up the door, she would see the fires and brimstones of hell come unleash from the room…-

“Scaring you…scaring you…how about this love…does this scare you?”

-Her eyes widen with fear as she wondered what was happening behind the door.  She didn’t want to know, she didn’t want to know, but she had to know.  Her love for Sota was to great to not be worried or fretful to see him.  Her heart raced, the beats of each drum of her heart switched from excitement to fear.  Pumping blood in her system hard, letting the adrenaline sink into her to run if need be as she placed her hand onto the doorknob.  Feeling the chill of the coldness that had haunted the air space in his home…-

“Do it!  Fire!”

-She heard him say in a fit of rage as her heart couldn’t take it no more.  She hastily opened the door going inside as she saw Sota with the gun to his head with the most sinister look on his face as he was ready to pull the trigger.  Her heart stopped and said to him in all that fury in rage, in her fear…-

“Sota?  What are you…”

BOOM

-Sota pulled the trigger, the gun fired into his head.  Blood painted the walls in a dark deep red color as she looked in horror at the sight of Sota, his eyes wide and afraid.  The pain had rushed through him and his brain felt it, he looked upon her at the sight of her seeing this, he was ashamed, angry and frustrated at himself with what he had done.  His body began to register, his brain, malfunctioning, losing from lost of blood and the relay messages to his heart to keep pumping.  He felt weak and tired as he stared out into the world and slumped down to the floor.-

“Sota!”

-Sakagi running up to him and picking his corpse up from the pool of blood that had started to accumulate under him.  Lifting his head up and placing it on her lap as she pet his head and looked down on his face, his eyes closed, his mouth parted opened, the blood pouring out of his head and staining her beautiful dress as she looked down on him crying screaming at him…-

“Sota!  Sota!  Why Sota why!?”

-The tears came pouring out of her eyelids, becoming rain down on Sota’s head as she bawled out all of her emotions, all of her hate, all of her fear onto him.-

“Don’t die Sota…please…don’t die…stay with me…stay with me…I don’t want to lose you…”

“Sa…Sakagi…”

“Sota!  Please…don’t talk…don’t talk…rest…you’ll be fine…please…hang in there…please…for me…”

“Sa…Sakagi…don’t…don’t cry…please…I…I don’t…I don’t want to see you cry…not for me…”

“Why not!?  I love you Sota!  I love you!”

-Her tears were the only defense against her sanity.  It was the breaking point between her and going insane.  Her mind raced to think of something but in Sota’s mind, nothing.  It was blank, ready for death.  His eyes blurry with the slowly decent of his imprisonment as he saw the blurry vision of Sakagi, above him, crying to her heart’s content.  He could see how sad she was, but the hearing, not so good.  He was slowly going deaf, muting her sadness as he looked out onto his bed as he saw the 5 girls.  Looking back at him as each one slowly faded away, disappearing into particles almost like going back to Mother Earth as one by one, slowly, they faded away.  Yukito stood there looking at him as a tear went down her face.  She looked at him with a smile and said softly to her as she slowly broke into particles…-

“I love you…Sota…and I always will…I will miss you…thank you…for everything…”

-Her body slowly broke into the particles that he saw with the other 5, rising to the ceiling and then slowly, fading away.  The vision was going hazy, his sight was going dark as he saw with one last breath and stand he slowly reached toward the sky and said in a whispering breath…-

“Yu…Yukito…”

-Dead.  Dead on sight.  Dead upon arrival.  Dead like a doornail whatever you want to describe it.  He was dead.  Sakagi saw this and watched and then looked at the silent love that was now Sleeping Beauty.  His eyes closed, his lips parted as he was light, limping on her lap as she looked down on the once person known as Sota and said in almost a hoping tone that he would wake...-

“So…Sota…Sota please…wake up…don’t…don’t leave me…”

-The tears began again, her eyes quivering as she didn’t want to believe, her mind didn’t want it as she closed her eyes and screamed into the house…-

“Sota!”

-Outside, at that same intersection, still there, Yuki stood.  Frozen with terror and fear.  Her eyes fixed and gazed upon the body she was in.  Soon she felt an ease, a calming sense of relief as her body, as well as the other 5, broke down into particles and slowly faded into the sky.  Leaving there, nothing more of a Yuki at Shishiwakamori High School.  No more of Yuki that knew Sota.  No more of a Yuki at all, she never existed, she was never a presence, she never was real, she was instead a figment of his imagination.  There was no one there standing at the intersection anymore, no imprints of a person standing there or walking.  A clean sweep of a ghost of a boy’s mind.-

“…I wish I could stay in business long enough.”

-Inside the building that was once known as Murazan’s Antiques, behind the dust and dank smell and feel of the place, behind the counter that he onced stood, behind the curtain that was his private area there he sat.  Carving away at a make shift table top.  Dark with only the high beam of a light that covered the whole table and the surrounding area.  His hands busy at work with something as he continued to talk to himself…-

“I really liked this place…but now…I guess…it’s going to be nothing more than another empty retail store.”

-Carving more away at his work as there he had, sitting, portraying, becoming the model of his work, a wooden frame of a waterfront, sailboats sailing across the wood.  The birds, probably seagulls, flapping against the breeze of that morning, the sun shining on a bright sunny day and the clouds cascading over the voyagers.  The picture frame, the original picture frame.  He looked at it and smiled saying more…-

“Oh well…I guess it’s just business.  I guess I can finally retire now and focus on my real antique…”

-Looking back at the picture frame that was being modeled and displayed for him as he finished carving a duplicate, a complete replica of the original.  He smiled and looked at his work making sure every detail was correct and to the nook.  He gave it’s approval as from the darkness, 3 beautiful women came in and clinged and hung on him like w****s ready to have a night with their business.  Dressed in scantily clad outfits, beautiful and busty and curvy to any man’s fantasy was now clinging to Murazan as they said in unison to him…-

“I love you Murazan.”

“I know you guys do…and trust me…I had to lose a lot before I got you girls…”

-Looking at the original picture frame that was being displayed before him like a show girl on the runway.  Looking at it as he said…-

“A price of a life…and it’s yours…a price of a life…and it’s yours…"