The flower island

Island girl

She was sitting outside, barely in sight of their house. The older boy was like her big brother, or maybe a father for she knew him for all her life. He had found her a long, long time ago in the bamboo woods. She had been there all on her own, alone with the trees around her and the light shining through the little green leafs.

The girl was thankful, yes, she truely was. She blinked in the warm and friendly light that shone from the sky and smiled while remembering the time when China simply hold her in his arm, sung a sweet lullaby for her and waited until she was asleep. Japan had laid next to her, on that time.

With this thought a sigh escaped her soft, heart-shaped lips and her fingertips stroke the stone underneath her. Japan had not liked China all the time, but this was a fact no one did ever realised.

Neither she nor Vietnam or Korea or Hong Kong or or or... No one could see behind the mask of that boy. She had loved him once and still, she loved him like a sister does.

But she could not understand why he was fighting the one who raised them all. Who protected them with his life and who held his hand above them, wipped the tears away when the young nations fell down.

Slowly she stood up and walked along the path that lead to the ocean of her island. 

She was glad that China liked to visit her often but at this moment he was not beside her.
She did not worry about him for he was a strong and wealthy nation or maybe he just played this role to calm her. She did not realised that at all.

The sun had rised only a hour ago and she loved the way the sunlight reflected itself in the blue water. Partially the water shone turquoise and she could see the colorful fishes. She knelt on the edge of the wooden path and looked at her reflection. 

The flower in her hair, a pink lily, sparkeld in the light and her brown hair flow over her slender shoulders. The darkbrown eyes that remembered the elder ones at chocolate seemed not worried at all.

She was calm. She was happy. She was beautiful in her own special way although she did not knew that. 

Some cats, her little friends sneaked to her and cuddled themself at her. The island girl laid herself down on the warm wood pallets and cradled the kittens inside her arms.

A little, laughter faded in the air as the pets licked her cheeks and she kissed the top of the nose of the littlest. The grey kitten was her favourite one and she loved it a bit more than the others.

A shadow apperaded behind her, she did not noticed. She was still too innocent and a piece far too naive to see that the sky was getting darker and not until the kitten winced she regognized that something was wrong.

The birds did not sung anymore - but it was not silent at all.

Were there planes on the sky? She looked up but on this moment the sky was clear again, and there were no military machines, there was no sound of war. Was she hallucinating? 

Taiwan looked aroung - the kitten were gone. "Lucky?", she called out quietly and stood up.

She stroke her hair back and walked the path back to the house, in search of her cats.

When she entered the house everything was quiet.

Of course, she thought, China had left yesterday in the everning - for a meeting with Japan. And Vietnam would come tomorrow like she promised. The only one who would visit her today was Korea.

The girl took a look on the calender. 

It was the seventeenth April 1895. 

She entered the living room - a very open space with windows at three of the walls. She could see the sunrise and the sunset everyday, could take a look at the stars while lying on the couch or taking a teabreak in the afternoon.
The room laid quiet but the glass of the windows were clouded and there was a silhouette in the right corner.

"Taiwan.", the voice sounded weak and beaten and it clinched her heart to hear this familiar voice.

"China?", she asked and stepped forwards, sank to her knees and looked at the young men. "Don't.", he raised his red hand and she could see the blood on it and all over his body.

"Are you...alright?", she asked softly and reached for her white handkerchief. Gently she tooked his hand into her own and bandaged it. Chinas dark, normally brown and green, now nearly black eyes were widen in horror. "Run.", he whispered and she laid her head on the right sight, her eyes were asking her big brother. What did he mean by that?
"I am...so terribly sorry...", the older one lifted his bandaged hand to her cheek and this touch brought tears in her eyes. "Why?", she took his shoulders and tried to lift him up but he was to heavy for her.

Then, suddenly, he pushed her away and that made the tears flow.

"Big brother...", she whispered and stiffened when two arms wrapped themselfs around her waist. "...what?"

"Hello, Sis.", a tender but dark voice whispered next to her ear. "Japan.", she said, her voice sounded neutral for she did not really knew if she should be afraid. Of course she should be.

Japan was the only one who would dare to mangle China like that. And his grip was tigh like he would never let go of her.
Taiwan searched for the gaze of China in which she founded so much guilt that she could not bare it.

"I am sorry.", the long haired man repeated. "You...have to go with Japan."

"What? Why?", she asked in panic. 

"That's the price for the peace.", Japan said with a 

low voice and pulled her even closer.

She tried to free herself and for that she received a bite in her neck that made her winced in pain and made China look away immediatly. 

In defeat she brought her hands to her face and buried it inside it. 

The sky outside was getting darker as she started to sob.

It was the seventeenth April eighteen hundred ninety-five. Japan occupied Taiwan in the Treaty of Shimonoseki after winning the Sino-Japanese war.