Five hundred years later....

Once upon a time, there was a legend. It was the legend of two young boys, bound by a promise, though separated from their personal life decisions. They both wore light blue ribbons, beautifully tied on their wrists by the other, reminders that they were to never ever be left all alone.

Some say it was a true story, whereas others would mock it, calling it foolish folklore. Though, two young boys were together, life after life, though they were always apart. In heart and soul, even if they were to never even cross paths in some lives, they were always together. Always.

Some might wonder as to how such a story could end in such a tragedy. The eldest brother, slaying his pure brother out of love...? Such actions could not truly be love, now could they? Surely not....

Hopping along happily together, side by side, two young twin brothers wandered up the hill to a cursed town. In this town, it was once said that a lonely priest spent his life tying hundreds of ribbons to his fence outside of his church, representing each and every suicide in the town.

"Osomatsu, slow down!" Karamatsu begging his brother as he bent over on his knees, gasping for air. "This hill is really steep!"

"Oh, don't be silly!" Osomatsu grinned, rubbing his index finger under his nose. "You say that when we haven't even gotten to the main incline yet! Come on! Be a man!"

"But I'm not a man!" Karamatsu whined a little. "I'm just a boy!"

"That's a pretty petty thing for you to say," Osomatsu sighed as he walked back a few steps to get his brother. Gently, he grabbed Karamatsu by the wrist and began to literally pull him up the steep hill.

"Be caaaareeeefuuuuuuuuul...!" Karamatsu whined nervously, his eyes darting all over the place. "What if there are snakes?"

"Probably are."

"And rats?"

"Definitely those."

"What about hungry vultures...?" Karamatsu's voice trembled a little. "Or ghosts..."

"Vultures will only want you if you're dead," Osomatsu chuckled, "and I don't think we're going to come across any ghosts up here. Besides this town has been abandoned for over four hundred years! What could possibly go wrong?"

"Right..." Karamatsu exhaled, his knees knocking together once they reached the very top of the hill. An old, rotting, wooden sign with an extremely faded arrow pointed to the left, which led to a visible, yet overgrown with weeds, sort of trail.

"I'm gonna regret this..." Karamatsu mumbled, beads of sweat dripping down his forehead. "Osomatsu nii-san...I'm scared..."

Osomatsu, who was now several paces ahead of his brother once again, turned around, smiling broadly at his brother. "But it's all an adventure!"

"Our parents are gonna kill us..." Karamatsu exhaled, though he sprinted towards his older brother.

It didn't take long for the two boys to arrive in the old town. And creepily, everything looked as if it were in good condition. There were no plants taking over the old buildings, and there were no signs of rotting wood, or anything actually "old" , despite its age.

"There's that famous church!" Karamatsu exclaimed, suddenly growing excited. He took off towards the church, while Osomatsu took his time.

As Karamatsu turned around the corner of the church, he saw a single gravestone, with a large plaque in front of it. Osomatsu approached his brother from behind, and they read the words on the plaque in unison.

"For a tender-hearted man, who held to his morals until the day he died. His final tears of misery were relieved May 24th, 2018. May his tears take flight, this very night, as our beloved priest is held tight the arms of an angel."

"Interesting...." Osomatsu mumbled, the two walking towards the chain-link fence, which prevented people from falling into the ocean below.

To Karamatsu's shock, there were only two, light blue ribbons tied to the fence.

At that moment, Osomatsu removed the two ribbons from the fence. "Are you ready to rest?"

Karamatsu nodded his head, taking one of the ribbons from his brother. They each tied their own bows around their wrists, being careful to ask the other for help.

"Such an ugly bow," Osomatsu grinned at his little brother. "But thank you for being with me in this life. Thank you..."

"I really wish we didn't have to leave," Karamatsu smiled sadly. "But this is how things were meant to be."

"May our tears take flight together!" the brothers spoke in unison, as they climbed the fence, jumping down into death.

~ The End ~