Regrets of Evil

Chapter 8
Bottle Wisher

"Princess, why didn't you try the bottle wishing?"

"Because," Rin said with a huff. "I don't believe in it."

Len wrapped the white ribbon around his fingers and made a bow. He pulled the ends tight.

"You have to believe in something for it to come true, Princess."

"I don't need to believe." Rin looked up at her servant. "Because you're the one who's going to make all my wishes come true. Right, Len?"

The sun was setting in a bloody red. Its decaying light glared against the sea in a terrible shine, making the water seem like blood. The wind swirled around the sands, bringing in fresh air from distant countries. Rin stood right at the water's edge, the salt water lapping at her bare feet. In her hand she held a tiny bottle with a hand written note inside. She looked down at the bottle, remembering Len's wish he had made all those years ago.

"My wish is a secret. When the bottle comes back, you'll know what it is."

Rin's gaze drifted back out to the setting sun. "But it never came back, did it? Len…"

She swung her arm back and flung the corked bottle out to sea. It landed with a little plop and bobbed away. Rin watched it go as the sun dipped lower and lower. Tears started coming again, but she quickly rubbed them away.

"My wish, little brother, is that we'll be reborn," Rin whispered to the sea. "When we are, you can tell me yours."

The sun was almost gone and Rin's little bottle was out of sight. The tide was starting to come in too. Rin pulled her coat closer and turned to walk away, but something caught her eye. Someone was walking down the beach towards her. Despite the diminishing light, Rin could see him quite clearly. He almost had a glow around him. He was dressed strangely, in old fashioned clothes of a hundred years past. He came to a stop in front of Rin and looked down at her.

"Rin…," he said quietly. "Did you make a wish?" He held out her little bottle. Rin gasped.

"But, how-,"

"We've been watching you for a while now, Rin," the man said. "You've made a lot of people suffer at your whim."

Rin bowed her head. "Yes, sir. I have."

"And you even let your brother die in your place, when you should have been the one at those gallows. You've committed many sins, little one."

"But I realize now what I did was wrong!" Rin protested, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "I regret it all…I'd do anything to take it all back and fix things…"

The man knelt down and looked into Rin's eyes. "You can never undo the things you've done," he said seriously. "But there is a way you can repent. We have decided to grant your wish, despite your failings."

"We? I don't understand, who are you?"

The man gave her a warm smile, full of mercy and love. "We are the Crypton and we watch over man. We received your brother's wish sometime ago. Come with me."

He held out his hand to Rin. She took it with a little hesitation. It felt callused yet smooth, like the hand of a grandfather. It was warm too, just like his smile. As soon as she touched him, there was a flash of brilliant white light. When Rin could finally see again, she wasn't on a beach anymore.

She and the man were standing in a lush field of soft grass and glowing white wildflowers. Near the center of the meadow stood a pool. Its surface seemed to be shining just like the flowers. The man led her towards the pool. The water was still and smooth like glass. It was deep, far too deep to see the bottom.

"We will grant your wish, but you must pay a price. You must sing at this pool until your sins have been absolved. If you ever stop singing, your sins will come back and you'll have to start again. But if you finish your punishment, your wish will come true and you might get to see your brother again."

Rin's head whipped up to look at him. "Len? I can see Len again?"

"Yes, but only if you sing. Here, I will teach you the melody:

"Summer flowers bloom and the fall changes leaves,

Winter turns life to death, yet springs becomes reborn.

Sing of the lazuli lying in the mountains,

The lazuli as pure as the sky

Lazuli, lazuli, I sing for you.

I sing of life, I sing of death, I sing to become reborn

Waiting and watching as the flowers live and die

Sing of the lazuli lying in the sky

The lazuli as pure as your heart

Lazuli, lazuli, I sing to you."

The man had Rin sing the lullaby until she knew it by heart. He gave her one last smile before vanishing as abruptly as he has appeared. Rin looked down at the silver water and let out a note. The water chimed in tune, creating a tiny ripple on the glasslike surface. The air was filled with the soft sound of bells before fading back to silence. Rin took a deep breath and started to sing.