If We Hold On Together

Posted on Tue Apr 16th, 2024 @ 1:39am by Lieutenant Commander Kurumi Ebisuzawa & Yaeka Sakuragi
Edited on on Thu May 30th, 2024 @ 8:20pm

1,252 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Junichi Koyama
Location: Gamma Zednor Detention Center

It had been an hour since Kurumi had been returned to her cell. She looked rather worse for wear from the 'questioning'. She had finally woken up and was trying to ignore the throbbing in her head and side. The door finally swung open and two bowls were pushed in. The door slammed shut.

"Must be feeding time..." Kurumi sighed as she stumbled over to the bowls. They contained a sticky substance that resembled some sort of porridge. One of them must have been for Yaeka.

"Hey Yaeka..." Kurumi said. "Seems like dinner is served."

Yaeka emerged from her corner. She seemed to enjoy being in that corner, or rather she felt safe there. Kurumi smiled as she held out the bowl to her. She observed Yaeka's hand shaking as she took it from her. "Yaeka. Whats up?" she asked.

"I don't often...." she turned away.

"They don't feef you much do they?" Kurumi asked. Yaeka shook her head. It was obvious they didn't care about their prisoners. It was the worse violation of Human rights that Kurumi had ever seen, especially against such a young child.

Yaeka wasted no time in scooping the porridge with her hand into her mouth. Kurumi watched in shock, she was scooping it up so fast. "You must be hungry..."

Yaeka didn't respond as she continued to literaly shovel the porridge into her mouth. 'When did these bastards last feed her?!' Kurumi wondered as she dipped a finger into her own bowl and tasted it. It had no taste whatsoever. It was cold and thick. Quite frankly to Kurumi it was disgusting, yet she watched as Yaeka wolfed as much as she could down. 'She must not know when her next meal is. I need to get her out of here...'

"Hey Yaeka..." She said.

Yaeka looked back at Kurumi. The porridge was all around her mouth and some had dripped onto her clothes. "Do you want mine too? I'm not that hungry."

"You... don't want... it?" Yaeka asked.

Kurumi shook her head. "No. I think I'm good." she said as she held out the bowl. She could see that Yaeka's was empty. Yaeka dropped her now empty bowl and quickly took Kurumi's. She wasted no time in making the most of it, wolfing it down as fast as she could.

She stopped half way. "T... Thankyou..." she said before continuing.

"You're welcome." Kurumi smiled. She was indeed hungry herself, but she could last a little longer. Plus Yaeka came first in her opinion.

The hours seemed to pass. Kurumi past the time by going over several escape plans in her head whilst she watched Yaeka. She watched as Yaeka began to fall asleep. She rose to her feet and carefully wandered over. "Sleepy?" she asked.

Yaeka only yawned in response as her eyes began to flutter. Kurumi gently held out her hand for Yaeka to take. Yaeka looked up at her, their eyes meeting. Kurumi could see the deep sorrow, the pain, the helplessness in her eyes as she looked at her. "Want to come and sleep with me?"

Kurumi gave her a soft smile, allowing the girl to know that she was safe with her. However what she wasn't expecting was for Yaeka to hold out both arms as if asking to be picked up. Kurumi hesitated for a moment. She remembered when her son was young and did the same thing. It was the universal language of young children to be picked up, to be embraced, to be loved. Something which Yaeka had been void of for a long time. Kurumi had to hold back the feeling of wanting to cry as she gently placed her hands under her armpits and lifted her up.

Yaeka was still very light. She held her close to her chest as she embraced her. She could feel her breathing on her neck, it was still shallow and weak. But she could also feel that Yaeka had wrapped her arms around her, seemingly not wanting to let go.

Gently Kurkmi took her to the bench and sat down with Yaeka starting to nod off in her arms. She laid her down, resting her head on her knee's. Gently she began to run her fingers through the young girls hair. Her other hand held Yaeka's, not too tightly, but tight enough that she knew she was safe.

It had been many years since Kurumi had done this. It almost felt so natural to her. It was like an old memory resurfacing. It was a familiar feeling, one that she knew she was good at. She couldn't help it, but gently she began to sing out a song in a slow yet soothing melody.

Don't lose your way, with each passing day.
You've come so far, don't throw it away.
Live believing, dreams are for weaving.
Wonders are waiting to start.
Live your story, faith, hope and glory
Hold to the truth in your heart.

She continued to run her fingers through Yaeka's hair. Gently twirling and pulling the knots out. Her hair was so soft, so gently and so beautiful. She looked down at the young girls face. She seemed to be relaxing, finally soothing as she continued to sing.

If we hold on together, I know our dreams will never die.
Dreams see us through to forever, where clouds roll by.
For you and I.

Kurumi took a few breaths. It was hard to breathe with the beating she had received earlier. However she continued her song.

Souls in the wind, must learn how to mend.
Seek out a star, hold on to the end.
Valley, mountain, there is a fountain.
Washes our tears all away.
Words are swaying, someone is praying.
Please let us come home to stay.

Kurumi returned back to the Chorus of the song. She could feel Yaeka holding her hand tighter, taking comfort in her song and her words.

If we hold on together, I know our dreams will never die.
Dreams see us through to forever, where clouds roll by.
For you and I.

Kurumi's heart poundered in her chest as she felt the young girls frip tighten. She could also see that tears had started to form in her eyes. She obviously had been through a lot and had not had anyone be this nice or kind to her in a long time, if ever. She closed her eyes trying to remember how this felt when she had sung to her own son, and how much she missed him and how much she loved him.

When we are out there in the dark, we'll dream about the sun.
In the dark, we'll feel the light, warm our hearts, everyone.

If we hold on together, I know our dreams will never die.
Dreams see us through to forever.

As high as souls can fly, the clouds roll by.
For you and I...

Once she had finished she looked down. Yaeka had fallen asleep and was now sleeping peacefully, her heads resting on Kurumi's knee's. She couldn't help but stroke a few of the hairs out of her face. She also noticed that for the first time since they met, Yaeka was... smiling.

"Don't you worry little one..." Kurumi whispered. "I will get you out of here. We've just got to hold on together..."

Posting by

Kurumi Ebisuzawa
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Myogi

Yaeka Sakuragi
Child

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