By Stephanie Washington Once Upon A Crime, There Lived A

*Akayuki By Stephanie Washington Once upon a crime, there lived a notoriously dangerous young woman. Her hair, powder white, showed her origins from the snow. The eyes she had been “cursed” with were red with anger and the need for revenge. She hated men for what they had done to her body, for the amount of abuse that she suffered for just one night; unforgivable. Years of guilt turned her into a murderer; a skilful assassin. Her village that dwelled in the snow would have been proud if she hadn’t worked for the wrong side. They nicknamed her **“Ethos Abstractra”. But they say that she would tell someone her real name before she killed them. Nothing more. No sound. No blood. And no mercy. ***“Shiro”. She says her name is “Shiro”. February fourteenth, Shiro hunted. February fourteenth, Shiro found her victim. February fourteenth, Shiro had a witness that stood only a few feet behind her. Shiro turned to face the judging eyes she had known since she was a child. With her face full of hate, she prepared to kill those eyes. But as she turned, the orbs that stared back were those cut from glaciers. His hair, onyx like a raven. Those eyes. Their breathing turned into vapour as they watched one another. “It feels good, doesn’t it;” he hesitated, “taking a life?”It was silent. It was as if that angel had taken his oceanic eyes and swam in hers. The man simply nodded and trudged through the snow. Shiro didn’t move. Not knowing what to do, she peered at her hands and realized that the hate she had, her desire for revenge, and most of all, the fire that had burned within her eyes had disappeared. And the feeling she swore never to feel again had returned. February fourteenth, Shiro fell in love. So on February fourteenth, the sound that echoed through the night had come from Shiro’s M9 Beretta. Blood had littered the fresh layer of snow. And the last of her mercy that Shiro had was scarce. But it was used to let that man walk away with his life. *Red Snow **Neither good nor bad ***White (in color)

Words: 350