Episode 7: Melody's Sadness"
By: Sakaki (Michael Jokoh)
(A happy family scene unfolds with a man and his wife taking a walk with their children. The children are a six-year-old boy and a two-year-old girl who is being pushed in a stroller by her mother. They pass by an alley and do not notice a pair of red gleaming eyes peering at them. They continue the walk undisturbed when suddenly a b-daman leaps out of the alley, the man comes to defend his family, and fires a b-da blast at his foe. The b-daman avoids this attack and fires one of his own, and this manages to hit the man, and knock him over. Then as if an invisible foe were attacking him he begins to spasm, and finally take his last breath. The man�s family cries over this and tries to futilely wake him up. The b-daman disappears and the baby in the stroller begins to cry�)
(Melody then wakes up and looks out her bedroom window, and she notices the rain. She sighs as a memory comes and resurfaces itself in her subconsus. A memory that she wanted to forget. Meanwhile in his own room Akira cracks open his piggybank.)
Akira:(Counting money): 7.00, 7.50, 7.75, 8.00, 8.57! (Sighs.) That headset I want is 15 dollars. If I want more than this I�m gonna�(Shudders.) Not that! I refuse to�.(Thinks.) Well I really need this headset�But is it worth�. Worth�. Worth asking Melody for money?
(The thunder claps outside.)
Akira: I guess it is. As long as she doesn�t make me her slave again�
(Akira goes to his sisters room. Her room is across the hall, and when he gets there he sees her sitting at the edge of her bed.)
Akira: Uh Melodybon?
Melody:(quietly): What?
Akira: I need a little extra cash.
Melody: Why?
Akira: Aw come on Melodybon just give me the�
Melody: Take it.
Akira: I just want to use it! I�ll pay you back and� What?!
Melody: I said take it.
Akira: Hey�You seem down. What�s wrong?
Melody: Nothing.
(Akira looks out the window and sees the rain. Then he looks at his sisters pained face, and begins to put it together.)
Akira: You�re not still sad over that? Are you?
(Melody simply turns so she can�t see him)
Akira: Oh come on! It�s been six years! You can�t still be sad over that!
Melody: Leave me alone.
Akira: Melody�
Melody:(Choking a sob): Leave me alone! Take the money and leave!
(Akira leaves, and Melody continues to look out the window.)
Melody: Daddy�
(Meanwhile Akira walks into the kitchen where Shiro is sweeping. Shiro notices Akira�s solemn mood and questions�)
Shiro: What�s wrong pal?
Akira: Melody.
Shiro: You haven�t been fighting again.
Akira: No�She�s sad.
Shiro: Why?
Akira:*Sighs* You see six years ago our dad was killed by a criminal. Since he was a b-da cop we knew he had some enemies but we didn�t know about this one, and the worse thing about it was that we never found the killer.
Shiro: Melody mourning still? She wasn�t yesterday.
Akira: It was raining the day of Dad�s death so rain reminds her and then she gets all mopey.
Shiro: Ah. Why aren�t you sad?
Akira: Cause I know Dad wouldn�t want me to be sad! He�d want me to have fun no matter what!
Shiro: That�s the spirit!, And I think I know how to help your sister!
Akira: How?
Shiro: We find out what she likes and cheer her up.
Akira: Really? That sounds crazy enough to work!
Shiro: Okay what�s one thing she likes to do?
Akira: Ummm She likes to help Mom cook.
Shiro: Cool. Now to be gourmet masters!
(Shiro and Akira start gathering supplies when Akira�s mom comes in.)
Akira�s mom: So what are you two up to?
Akira: Nothing Mom, we�re just gonna cook something!
Akira�s mom: You? Cook?
Shiro: That�s right Okasan we men decided to help you out!
Akira�s mom(Giggles.): Men? Well men just don�t ruin my kitchen! I�ve got some errands to run so the house is yours!
Akira: Okay mom.
Shiro: We�ll treat it with the utmost respect!
(Akira�s mom exits.)
Akira: What do we cook?
Shiro: How about Kokoro surprise?
Akira: Heart surprise?
Shiro: Yeah. My mom taught me this one.
(They put together a heart shaped cake using Shiro�s recollection to piece it together, and when it comes out of the oven it�s not what they expected.)
Akira (Discussed.): Is it supposed to smell?
Shiro: I don�t get it! We put all the baking soda in right?
Akira: Check.
Shiro: Batter?
Akira: Check.
Shiro: Flour?
Akira: Umm no.
Shiro: Then what�s in it?
Akira: Some stuff I found in the shed.
Shiro: SAWDUST?
Akira: YOU SAID A POWDERY SUBSTANCE!
Shiro: Well we failed
Akira: Oh well.
Shiro: What else does she like to do?
Akira: Play with the b-daman girls toy the Carrie toy
Shiro (Evilly): Perfect�.
Akira: Ummm Shirobon?
(Shiro gives Akira a menacing look.)
Akira: Shirobon?!?!
(Then Akira begins to scream as Shiro grabs him.)
(Later Shiro stands in front of Melody�s room.)
Shiro: Okay you ready?
Akira: I HATE this!
(Akira is dressed up as one of the dolls that Melody likes.)
Akira: Why me?
Shiro: May I remind you, YOU ruined the cake.
Akira: Yeah yeah� Let�s just get this over with.
(Shiro opens the door and Akira walks in. Melody hasn�t seemed to of moved from her spot near the window.)
Akira (Falsetto.): Me-chan!
Melody: (Depressed.) What?
Akira (Still falsetto.): You seem sad! Why?
Melody: You know why.
Akira: No I don�t! Tell Carrie all about it!
Melody: You know�
Akira: Yeah?
Melody: It�s not right to deceive a little girl. You might get her into believing something that isn�t believable. In that you�d end up breaking, destroying and crushing her dreams. A little girl�s dream is the most sacred thing that she has. You wouldn�t want to destroy that. Would you?
Akira: Ahhh�.
(A couple of seconds later, Akira comes out of the room.)
Shiro: So how did it go?
Akira (Depressed.): Not well. I think sadness is contagious.
Shiro: Oh man�
(Later Akira is eating a bowel of Chocolate ice cream, and Shiro is pacing around the room.)
Shiro: Okay now, what else does she like to do?
(Akira points at the fridge, Shiro glances at it and notices all the drawings. One catches his interest, as it is a house with four stick figure b-daman on it.)
Shiro: I know that these green ones are you guys but is this white one me?
Akira: I guess so.
Shiro: Well then a good turn deserves another! I have my best idea.
Akira: Oh-no�
(They are outside now and have a huge tarp over a huge easel and paper.)
Akira: What is going on now?
Shiro: We�re gonna make a larger than life portrait of your sister!
Akira: With that?! It�ll take years!
Shiro: Not with�(Shiro runs off.)
Akira: Eh?
(Then the white gale appears overhead.)
Shiro: Not with this! I�ll use the white gale to paint it!
Akira: Right.
(Shiro begins painting, as Akira cheers him on. Unknown to both of them Melody is watching, and is surprised that they went this far to cheer her up.)
Shiro: All done!
Akira: Shiro! The rain is making the paint run off!
Shiro: Ach! Tie the tarp tighter!
(Akira ties it tighter and Shiro paints again, but the paint runs off again. This happens three more times until..)
Shiro: I give up.
Akira: Yeah, we tried everything�
Shiro: We failed to cheer up Melody�
(Then Melody appears. Shiro and Akira both are surprised.)
Melody: It�s not a total waste! (To Akira.) Tie the tarp down at the ends!
Akira: Yes ma�am!
(Akira does so.)
Melody: Okay now Shiro paint it again. But this time cover the easel with a protective cover or something!
Shiro: I know! I have this big sheet of plastic!
Melody (nods.): That�ll do.
(The painting is done. Shiro lands the White gale and gets out to survey his work.)
Shiro: Wow.
Akira: Yeah Nice!
(The picture is of Melody smiling broadly.)
Akira: Melodybon you came outside!
Melody: I did didn�t I? And another thing is I�m not sad!
Shiro: Why not?
Akira: The painting cheered you up?
Melody: No it wasn�t the painting, it was the fact that I realized how much you guys wanted to make me happy!
Shiro: Really?
Melody: Now that I know you guys care there�s no reason to be sad. Thanks.
Akira: Anything for you!
(Then the downpour stops and the sun surely but slowly begins to come up. The suns rays illuminate the once gloomy neighborhood. Kids come out to jump in puddles, and to talk to friends. Shiro, Akira, and Melody run down the street and laugh and cheer as they jump in puddles too, And for once after a rainy day Melody isn�t depressed. She knows that while she is on the living world that Akira and Shiro do care about her feelings, and would do anything to see her smiling face.)
(Once inside Akira�s mom notices a new picture next to the family picture taken when her husband was alive. It�s a picture of a very wet Akira, Melody, and Shiro standing infront of the larger than life portrait. They all have big smiles, and Melody is laughing.)
Akira�s mom: With friends like that who can be sad?
-To be continued...-