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Touya was yelling again.
Something about Dad not paying attention.
Fuyumi could hear them from her bedroom, a whole floor away.
With shaking hands, she reached for the music box on her dresser and turned the tiny crank on its side until the contraption whirred to life and began to slowly chime out the notes to a tune Fuyumi knew by heart. The wooden snowflake on the top spun lazily in time with the music.
Touya had bought her the box last Christmas, saying that the dancing snowflake had reminded him of her. Fuyumi had stared at the little machine in wonder, turning the crank ever so slowly and gasping in delight when a beautiful melody had begun to echo from the thing in her hands.
“Once Upon a December”, the bottom of the box had informed her.
Fuyumi had looked up the lyrics to the song. They’d been in English, but Google Translate had quickly given her a comprehensible translation and she’d now long since committed the dream-like words to heart.
“Just look at me, Father!”
Fuyumi covered her ears, buried her face in her pillow and hummed along to the music, running through the words in her head to drown out the noise from downstairs.
~ Dancing bears, painted wings, things I almost remember ~
“Touya, enough! You are disrupting your brother’s training.”
~ And a song someone sings once upon a December ~
“No! No! Stop ignoring me! I’m right here!”
Fuyumi tucked her knees up to her chin and did not cry.
~ Someone holds me safe and warm, horses prance through a silver storm ~
Why couldn’t her family be happy? Why couldn’t people stop yelling? Why couldn’t they all like each other?
Why was Fuyumi all alone?
Where was her person that held her safe and warm, like in the song from her music box?
“Last warning, Touya. Get out of my way.”
~ Figures dancing gracefully across my memory ~
Fuyumi knew what was coming next.
“No!”
Bang.
~ Far away, long ago, glowing dim as an ember ~
“Have you learned your lesson, Touya?”
~ Things my heart used to know, things it longs to remember ~
“That I’m useless? You mean that lesson, Father? Well, I’m not! If you would only just look at me—“
Bang.
~ Someone holds me safe and warm, horses prance through a silver storm ~
Why did Touya never back down?
Why, when Dad threw him into a wall, was his first instinct to start yelling again?
Start screaming about being seen again?
~ Figures dancing gracefully across my memory ~
Fuyumi wished she could do that, sometimes.
Scream to her family to notice her.
To hold her.
To see her.
To love her.
To stop yelling stop yelling stopyellingstopyelling—
~ And a song someone sings ~
The downstairs was eerily quiet now.
~ Once upon a December ~
The music box spun on.