季候風暴

Once upon a time, there was a little country behind the moon. A little girl lived in the country. This little girl had a white mask. She was a useless slave. She didn't have enough energy to work, and was too young to marry.  For her master, she was amerchandise, and a merchandise could not be sold. 

One day, a boy fell down from the sky. This boy wore a bird mask. He looked up from the soil he landed on. “Hello.”

“Hello," said the girl. She noticed that the boy was injured, so she brought him to the house. “Mr. Master hasn't come back yet. You can rest here before he comes back.”  

The boy thanked the girl. The house was big. There were many gorgeous relics and beautiful murals. The boy could not help but commend, “Your master is very powerful!” 

“Mr. Master is a great general and he's protecting our country. He is fighting the evil Crow Country. I hope he is safe.” When the girl talked about her master, her voice was full of energy. “I want Mr. Master to be happy, so I want to be useful to him.”

“Your master is important to you.”

The girl nodded. Thinking of her master made the girl fill up with happiness. However, when she remembered that she was a useless slave, she was suddenly so sad that she almost cried out.   

“Little girl, I don't know your name.”

The girl shook her head. “I do not have a name.”

“Let me see your face.”  

She refused. “You and me, people in this country cannot take off the masks. If we do, we will die.”

The girl wrapped the boy's wound carefully. The boy told her many things like singing mermaids and mysterious unicorns. All of the things the boy told her have never been heard by the girl before. She felt wonderful. There were many amazing things under her world.

They talked and talked. The stars were disappeared in the firmament. When the sky was floated gold, it was time to say goodbye.

“You can come with me. My country is located at the end of horizon.” The boy pointed to afar. He said, “You can walk around, travel the world.”

The girl answered, “I am not going outside. Mr. Master is my world.” 

“That’s too bad, but, my friend, you need to accept this.” The boy took out a red rope. There was a shiny bird ornament on it. He tied the red rope up with horn of girl’s mask. Slowly and carefully. "When you see it, please remember our friendship.” 

The girl was happy. “Thank you. I will value it.”

They said goodbye. The boy left with wind.  

———

When master came back, he saw the red rope. He hugged the girl happily. “You did a good job! You are friends with the prince of Crow Country. I can use you to find him.” 

The boy was the prince of Crow Country. Only the royal family had the bird ornament. 

Master brought her to a tower. It was the first time his face showed a glad look to the girl. “From now on, you are not a useless slave. You are useful for me.” 

But the girl was not happy. She saw cannons and guns hidden in the tower. She thought of the wound on the boy. The girl cried. Don’t come. Please don’t come. 

Master caught the girl like a little cat and hangs her out of the window. He shouted to the sky. “The prince of Crow Country, your friend is going to die. Come save her!” 

Wind poured into the girls' clothes. She was trembling with cold. A beat of rapid sound from the sky, got closer and closer. A huge crow came from sky. It caught the girl.  

At the same time, gunfire sounded very terrible.  

——— 

The girl and the crow flew on the sky, but then, they fell down into a forest. There was lots of grass, so they did not get hurt. 

The girl felt pain. She climbed up a tree, but she could not find the crow. Trees, trees and trees were everywhere. Then, she found the boy laid down in a pool of blood not far away. 

The girl ran to him. “Are you ok?”

The boy looked up from his blood.

Suddenly, the girl couldn’t breathe.

The boy’s mask had disappeared

 "Your mask……”

“Oh, it was gone when I came to find you.” 

The girl sobbed out. She was in tears. The boy’s body became transparent slowly. “I am Catnip," he said calmly. 

He raised his hand. The rays of sunlight passed through his hand.

“Please don’t forget me.”

Wind blew and stopped. The boy had disappeared.

The girl was alone.