Gaara: A Study

His name is Gaara, and he loves only himself.

Gaara; ^{a name spit from the lips of the woman who bore him, a woman who died bringing him into this world as he was ripped from her body. She named him} Gaara^{: A demon who loves only himself. She named him} Gaara ^{so that he would not only be reminded of the} thing ^{that he was by the fact that the parasite inside him wouldn't let him sleep or feel pain; he would be reminded of his mother's hate and pain every time someone said his name. She planted a seed that he could never claw out, a seed so deep that he would spend the majority of his life trying to dig his fingers around the roots of the parasitic plant.}

Gaara ^{has his mother's hate, her soft features and her large eyes, his father's hair and his uncle's tendency to lie. Gaara is six years old and has no friends. He's never fallen and scraped his knee or been careless with scissors and with every inch of his body he longs to feel pain that will eventually heal instead of pain that will always hurt. The closest thing he ever felt to real pain was when he carved the symbol for} love ^{above his left eye. He'll never love anyone but himself.}

Gaara ^{scares his sister and makes his brother angry. He is twelve years old and hasn't slept for more than an hour since he was four years old. If he could kill himself, he would, because he has no purpose. The only way he feels alive is if he watches someone die. An ugly voice inside him that keeps him awake at night keeps tally of all the times he's ever felt} alive.

Gaara ^{is sixteen and has killed at least one person every day since he was seven years old. His father is dead and it's the closest thing he's ever felt to happiness. He doesn't care that his brother and sister are grieving. He tells them to shut up with the noise. He's meditating in the other room and he can't concentrate. His sister tells him he's being a monster. He says that if they don't be quiet he'll kill them. They shut up because he means it. Gaara isn't really meditating. He just can't sleep.}

Gaara ^{is seventeen. The voice in his head still says nasty things he can't ignore and it makes him get up in the middle of the night so he can feel} alive ^{again. He still feels dead.}

Gaara ^{has his father's bitterness, his sister's way of holding a grudge and the same burning hate for the place he came from as his mother. Since no one would take the chance, he loves only himself. He will live alone so there will be no one else to love. And he will continue to listen to the voice in his head. There is no one he loves more.}

^{His name is Gaara. And he feels} alive.

Rainbow and Ribbon

NOTE: THIS IS THE FIRST INSTALLMENT IN A MINI-SERIES. MORE TO COME LATER!

My name is Derek. For twenty-five years I have held a position as the head of security at the Alberton Hotel. Lots of people come, and lots of people go. Me, I’m just content at my post as long as they let me bring my cat Ribbon. There is a story behind that, but it is getting late, and perhaps you want to go to bed. No? Then let me tell you about the most magical thing that ever happened to me. Why don’t I call it...

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Rainbow and Ribbon

THE BEGINNING

I’m the late-night security guard at the hotel. My job is fairly straightforward. I go behind the security desk, keep an eye on the surveillance cameras, and wait for any late-night arrivals. If any come, I bring them to their rooms. Not many do. The most exciting thing that ever happened on my watch was a man trying to sneak out of the hotel without paying his bill. So when I was told to keep an eye out for a late-night arrival, I was surprised. Normally, the people who come in the night never make a reservation, and trust to chance that a room. Apparently these people planned ahead.

After 11:00, it didn’t seem likely that anyone was coming. Still, my job was to wait for these people, so that’s what I did. For about another half-hour everything was absolutely silent. Or to put in other words, everything was normal. Then, at exactly 11:31 p.m. the door opened, and in came the strangest man I had ever seen. He wore an indigo suit, green gloves, a red tie, yellow shoes, and had flaming orange hair. But the oddest thing about him was his skin. I was a brilliant shade of blue! Of course, I stared.

“What’s the matter?” he said, “Haven’t you ever seen a rainbow before?” I shook my head to indicate that I hadn’t. Or at least, not one that looked like a man. “Well, now you have. Help me with my luggage, will you? Oh, and be careful with the cages.” He pointed to two large cages, which were covered with a thick cloth that looked like a piece of the sky. In fact, when I looked closer, I saw that there were tiny clouds moving on it. I mustered up the courage to ask, “What’s inside there?”

The Rainbow answered, “Why, my pet Cloud-Birds of course! Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of them,” he said noticing my confusion, “they are quite common pets where I come from. Almost every Rainbow has them.” He laughed. “Next you’ll be telling me that you don’t have Lightning-Cats or Thunder-Dogs. Thunder-Dogs are not as common of course, the sound is almost unbearable to all but the extremely deaf after the first day. However, Lightning-cats make very good pets, if you don’t mind the static shocks. But I would like to give someone my Lightning-Cat, because lately she has started to stalk Windy and Raincloud.”

I guess that he must have seen the confused expression on my face (I’ve never been very good at hiding my feelings), and elaborated, saying, “Windy and Raincloud are the Cloud-birds, and the Lightning-Cat is named Ribbon.”*

After that, I don’t remember much. I dimly recall bringing him up to his room, giving him the key, and just as the Rainbow was about to close the door, he seemed to remember something. I remember he asked me for my mailing address. After that, it was all I could do to just get back to the hotel security desk.

I guess I must have blacked out, because when I woke up, my little win-dow was looking out on a beautiful sunrise. I assumed it was all just a dream, that I must have fallen asleep waiting for the guest to arrive. I left the building convinced that I was in deep trouble for falling asleep on the job. When I got home, there was a package on my doorstep. I brought it inside, and opened it. There was a letter attached to the top of a cat carrier. I opened it, and read:

This is a present from me to you, so that you will always remember your adventure. Please take good care of her, and just so you know, she is a proud, independent cat. Remember me, and if you should find that she is troublesome, please return her by writing RIBBON on the back of this envelope.

YOURS,

R

I opened the cat carrier, and saw a beautiful golden cat open her eyes to stare at me. She yawned, then went to sleep.

“Hello, Ribbon.” I whispered.

That was how I met my lifelong friend, Ribbon the Lightning-Cat. Ribbon is a wonderful pet, If you don’t mind static shocks. But it seems that the story would be better if I told you about the first time I learned what Ribbon could do. If you’re still interested in my story, perhaps I could tell you about it. Maybe we should wait for tomorrow however, as it is even later now.

Tomorrow you will learn about the first time Ribbon saved me.