By Lady Fenix

“Here you go, Miss Hino. Box number 1267.” The clerk said and stepped back with his ever present service smile.

“Thank you.” Rei murmured and looked at him.

The clerk’s smile began to faze slightly when she didn’t say anything but waited. His brow rose slightly in confusion. “Yes is there anything else I can do for you?” He inquired with a pained expression.

“You could give me back my passport.” Rei suggested and nodded towards the small book in his hand.

“Oh yes. Silly me. Here you go.” The clerk’s laugh sounded forced as he handed her back the passport.

“Thank you.” Rei took the passport and stuffed the thing back into her bag. She thought she managed well to keep the annoyance from showing in her voice. Getting in to the vault where her father kept his safety box had turned into a hassle that had taken nearly half an hour to settle.

“You can leave now.” She told him when he just kept standing there. Ok so maybe she wasn’t good at hiding her annoyance.

The man blushed and cleared his throat. “Yes of course. If you need any help don’t hesitate to contact us at the desk, miss Hino. Once again we are sorry for taking your time.”

It was sheer force of will Rei kept herself from tapping her foot in impatience. While she might understand the procedure it didn’t mean she had to like it, especially when she was already pressed for time. Rei glanced at her watch. Quarter past twelve. She had forty five minutes before she had to be at the Holden building to meet Martin. She sighed. For someone who had the entire morning to finish the errand her father had sent her on, she was certainly running out of time. She really hated bureaucracy. Taking out the key her father had given her, Rei looked at the box the clerk had indicated. It was not large, in fact it belonged to the smallest group of safety boxes in the vault. Pulling out the plastic containment, which hardly weighted anything, Rei sat down in one of the tables and studied the content: a white envelope, a folder and a disc. Her eyes lit up as she saw the envelope and brief hope flickered in her violet eyes at the possibility that Marcus might have left her a more specific information of just exactly it was that he wanted her to do. The hope vanished quickly when she picked up the envelope and felt its content however. It was something hard, something metalic and heavy. Her heart sank. Not another key!

Her fingers dug inside and her heart lurched when she touched the content. Slowly she pulled out the object and held it up. Her heart was beating rapidly as she looked at the golden band. The smooth surface of the ring caught the cold light from the florescent lamp above and changed it to warm golden color. While the band was plain on the outside, delicate inscriptions were carefully wrought on the inside and a lump formed in Rei’s throat when she read the content. Sakura, my heart and my happiness.

It was a twin to the one that was in Rei’s jewelry box in the shrine back home. The one that said: Marcus, my love and my life.

As Rei stared at the golden light reflected from the ring, a vision came to her. It was inside the church where she had visited only a few days ago when they held the funeral service of her father. The place was still packed with people but the difference this time lay in the atmosphere. It was so much more joyful. A couple was kneeling at the altar in front of the priest. Wearing the traditional white wedding gown and black tuxedo, they stared into each other’s eyes completely oblivious to their surrounding. Solemnly they gave their vows and exchanged rings.

Ching!

Rei jerked. The vision shattered like pieces of glass into million shards and once again she was back in the starkly painted white walls of the vault. Staring over her shoulder Rei saw the very same clerk that had followed her in, escort an elderly couple through the thick special made glass door that led to the vault. The trio disappeared around the corner into the next aisle but the magical moment was already broken.