There She Is!! - Paradise
A tribute to SamBakZa's animation, "There She Is!!"
Bricks.
Since their invention, bricks have been used as building blocks. The ancient Egyptians built the pyramids out of giant sandstone slabs. The knights and nobles of the Dark Ages constructed massive castles and fortifications using trees and stone. Even to this day, cities all over the world have been and are continually being built out of iron, metal and brick. It has always been a resource to create, to build, to inspire.
It's just like the love that Nabi shares for Doki and it has been used against it's destined purpose in life.
Three months later...
The grey, cold brick still sat in the middle of Nabi's apartment. Over the weeks, more have joined with it. The window had many holes, almost too much for the whole pane to be physically standing without falling apart. They were covered with tape and cardboard, a slap-dashed, jury rigged job. Nabi couldn't tell his landlord. Not when the damage was indirectly his fault to begin with. He hadn't even removed the bricks from his home. Whether it was out of pride or sheer indifference, all Nabi knew was that the ingots of concrete served as a reminder for his actions and the consequences that had arisen.
The paint peeled away from his front door. Hateful messages almost doomed to stay forever were immortalized in spray painted graffiti. Phrases like, "Disgusting," "Hell" and "Shameful" were always reminding Nabi when he entered his home every night.
He was cracking. He was under the pressure of a thousand scowls and a thousand sets of glaring eyes. They pierced into his soul and were constantly judging him.
Lord knows his patience and his resilience would eventually wither.
Nabi was forcefully thrown out of the market.
Doki was waiting by the door when it slammed open and she knelt by his side when he hit the ground hard. Her look of concern stood in stark contrast to Nabi's angered expression.
"And stay out!" were the parting words of the market's owner. He swung the door shut with a loud bang. The ever present anti-interspecies sign hung from the wooden frame.
"You can't just throw me out like this!!" Nabi shouted at the top of his lungs to the now locked door. "I've been your customer here for three years, dammit!" He punctuated his rightful anger with a swift kick to the middle of the door.
"Nabi, please let it go. It's not worth it." Doki said, worry etched into her voice.
"I'm fine! I-I'm fine." he said, letting his breath slow down to an even pace. "I heard they have rats in the cellar there anyway. Let's go."
The summer months with Doki had been some of the best in his life. He was certain, more so that she would always be there for him. No longer fearing the repercussions, they openly displayed their interest with each other in public. They showed that they could fit into society, that an interspecies romance such as theirs should not be feared.
But the generosity and goodwill from others turned cold alongside the inevitable autumn.
"It's starting to really get chilly out." Doki said, sitting alongside Nabi on a park bench. "I should probably start wearing more warmer clothes like a sane woman would."
"I tell you, my scarf does go a long way. Warms during winter, shades during the summer. It sure does come... in..." He trailed off as a group of pedestrians gathered around the two. They were whispering, no doubt condescending things that would make them think twice said aloud.
Nabi put a protective arm around Doki. "Don't worry." he said as he turned to her. "I'll handle this." He looked to the crowd. "Can I help you ladies and gentlemen?" he said, biting back the sarcasm in his voice.
"You can start by leaving our town!" a raspy voice croaked. An old man with a walking cane stepped out from behind the crowd.
Nabi's eyes narrowed. "And why should we?"
The old cat gave a stare of his own. "You are breaking tradition that has been set by our forefathers generations passed! This immoral whoring of yourselves will not stand without ridicule!" he said in an almost hissing sort of voice.
"We are citizens of this city too." Doki interjected. "We've done nothing wrong."
"Oh, but you have! Years ago, this would have been considered a misdemeanor at the very least. It does not matter that you are citizens, we will never stand to see the likes of you!" He punctuated his sentence by nudging Nabi in the forehead with the walking cane, setting off his self-defence.
Swiftly and faster than a heartbeat, Nabi grabbed the end of the cane with force. Shocked, wide-eyed silence followed, both from the crowd and the old man.
Don't play into these games, Nabi. he told himself. It's what they want.
_ _He slowly and calmly let go of the cane and grabbed her hand. "Let's leave, Doki. These bigots aren't worth our time."
"Anti-interspecies is not only bigotry, it is nothing but harmful to good men and women!"
A bunny man with a megaphone was leading a small protest on the side of the street. Various people, both of feline and lagomorph were in attendance as well. Boseu, Pizza, even Il-ho's gang were holding picket signs and passing out flyers, all of which depicted a red heart surrounded by the smiling faces of a cat and a rabbit.
As the leader with the megaphone kept saying whatever came to mind in his amplified voice, Sam looked over the railing of the sidewalk overpass nearby.
"Il-ho, Yi, you might want to see this." he said in his ever present muffled voice. All three looked down to see a protest of the opposite nature going on as well. At least a hundred cats and rabbits were attending. They too were passing out flyers and rallying behind someone else with a megaphone, the only difference being that a dozen people were holding a large banner of the anti-interspecies sign.
"This is going to make things Hell for Nabi and Doki." Il-ho stated with dread.
Doki just got off of a subway ride from a clients house. She was on her way home with a pet rat in her arms, with Dochi riding along her shoulder.
Just an upset stomach. Doki spoke inwardly as she looked at the rat she was carrying. We'll just get some medicine into you and you'll be alright in an hour or so. It had been a slow day and Nabi was at work for the moment. She considered it a fairly good day despite some of the protests going on.
That was until one of the Anti protesters saw her walking down the street. Picket sign in hand and finger pointed, he shouted:
"There she is! That's the rabbit girl dating that cat!"
Doki looked back and stared angrily into his eyes. "Just who do you think you are?!" she shouted angrily.
The protester wasn't having any of it, however. Others ran from across the street to join him. "After her!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.
Abandoning her resolve, Doki held tighter onto the rat and ran. "Hang on tight, Dochi!" she said to the hedgehog on her shoulder.
Dochi, however refused to listen. He squeakily growled at the chasing protesters and jumped onto the sidewalk, puffing his quills out in defiance.
"Dochi, no!!" Doki screamed as she turned on her heel to reach the hedgehog in time. She would risk being trampled to save him.
The protesters, unfortunately didn't slow down.
Oh dear God, how could you let this happen to her?
Nabi got the call during work. He was just getting done with his usual route when his cell phone rang. It was an unlogged number, but he recognised it as Hana's. When he answered, Nabi could only describe the tone of her voice as refined hysterics.
"Doki's been hurt. Badly." she said, keeping her voice reserved, but with a hint of worry. "She's in the recovery wing at the hospital on Main Street. Get here as soon as you can." With that, she hung up the phone and left Nabi to his own devices.
He begged Bosue to be off of work early. "Doki's in the hospital. She needs me there, right now."
Bosue looked at him gravely. "Only if you let me know what went wrong. Take the rest of the day off."
"I will." Nabi said gratefully. "I promise."
He made his way to the hospital in a hurry, his face painted with worry. "What could have happened?!" he said out loud to no one in particular. He finally made it up to her room after checking in with the front desk, only to be filled with sorrow at the sight.
"Nabi, you made it!" Doki said cheerfully from the bed, Hana sitting in a visitor's chair right beside her.
Nabi walked inside, still catching his breath. "How did you end up like this?" He looked to see that the only visible damage was to her left ear. It was completely bandaged up, no doubt due to the fact that it must have been bleeding profusely. Hopefully, that was all she sustained.
"Protesters." Hana said icily. "Those damn Anti protesters saw her on the street. None were charged with assault, seeing as they claimed that it was an accidental injury."
"They got off scott free?!" Nabi said with unrestrained astonishment.
"Yes!" Hana said, sharing Nabi's anger. "I don't know how, but it turns out that..."
Whatever was said next was lost on Nabi, for his emotions and his logic waged an internal war inside his head. Doki was hurt because of their relationship. He loved her, he knew that already. He would do anything to make her happy. Her personality and good natured heart towards, well everything was an anchor to him. It kept him going throughout all of the hatred most spat in their way.
He would do anything to also keep her safe. Nabi couldn't let this happen again. Continued relations with Doki would cause further harm to her. In his mind, he saw rapid images of her steadily but surely being broken and bruised, beaten and bloodied because of them being together. In the end, he was right. An interspecies relationship will wear down on those involved.
So with that, whatever Hana was saying was wordlessly interrupted when he turned and ran.
And in his apartment, he sat across from his broken window and wept at what he had to do.
I apologize for leaving abruptly yesterday. Meet me at my apartment at three. We need to talk.
Doki was released from the recovery wing early in the morning. When she made it to her home, she saw that Hana had taken care of retrieving Dochi shortly after what happened. The hedgehog was halfway covered in bandages and was hardly moving. He acknowledged her entrance with a weak and tiny squeak.
"See what happens when you take on someone much bigger than you?" Doki said without malice as she knelt down beside the box he lay in, tears forming in her eyes.
She spent the afternoon tending to him. Unfortunately, the client's rat that she was supposed to take care of ran away in fear when Doki was hurt. Hopefully, he would be found and tended to as well.
It turns out that Dochi's injuries were healable, but only if the hedgehog had the strength to withstand the pain. In his current state, she was unsure. When three o'clock approached, she saw the text to her phone. Seeing little progress, she used a small tranquilizer to let the hedgehog have some deserved rest. Hopefully, that would also help with his healing.
She made her way to Nabi's apartment, wondering all the while why he left so suddenly the other day. Maybe something came up. He could have been scared. I remember him telling me what happened to his parents years ago. He must have been so afraid.
_ _When she finally made it to his complex, something was odd. For one, the graffiti was completely gone, painted over in the original door's color. Two, she saw Nabi standing there with paintbrush in hand. He usually stays in his apartment until she knocks. It looked liked he was waiting for her. Finally, she was shocked and dismayed by the anti-interspecies sign on his door.
"What's going on?" Doki said, fear and trepidation plain in her voice as the sky was blue.
Nabi looked at her for the briefest of moments before casting his eyes down to the ground. "I'm sorry." he said, nearly breaking the stoic tone of voice. He had to do this. "We have to end it."
Doki had a feeling where this was going. "But...why?" she said, very nearly on the verge of tears herself.
"...Because I can't see you hurt anymore. Now please... Go home."
On that final note, Nabi walked into his apartment and shut the door.
"Nabi." Doki said, as the tears fell.
She cried the entire way home. She hoped that they could weather this storm together, but it turned out to be too much. Months of dating, of "I love yous" disappeared in a puff of smoke. All of her emotional barriers were broken down and exposed, only to be mercilessly beaten. She didn't want to say goodbye. Not when they've been through so much.
When she got home, she heard rapid breathing coming from where Dochi lie. She quickly rushed over and knelt down to see that he was in a critical state of shock. Doki quickly got what she needed and administered the meds to him. All she could do now was wait and hope that he could fight through the pain.
While she knelt there, she pulled out two ticket stubs from her pocket. They were given to her as a gift from her parents. Fortunately, they had no qualms against interspecies and supported it wholeheartedly. When they heard of the protests and the rising crime rate in response, two plane tickets to the city called Paradise were sent to her as soon as possible, a city rumored to have no protests, no bigotry. A city where everyone lived in harmony and interspecies was treated with kindness. She was going to show them to Nabi when she arrived at his apartment. If only he had known.
Unbeknownst to her, Il-ho was watching everything she was doing through her window. Only one thing would make her like this after what had happened. He ran off in anger, knowing that Nabi had to be dealt with.
He walked the streets in self pity. He knew that what he had done was abhorrent and went against everything that he stood for. He knew that Doki would be heartbroken for the rest of her life, but he did it to protect her. That's all that mattered to him.
Nabi was so lost in thought that he barely registered the growing, hurried footsteps in his direction.
"You son of a bitch!"
Pain blossomed from Nabi's left cheek as the insult was punctuated by a swift punch in the face by Il-ho. He fell to the ground hard. I guess I deserved that. he thought to himself from the pavement.
The rabbit grabbed Nabi by the collar and lifted him up with brute force. "How could you do this?" he said, rage in his voice. "I trusted you. She trusted you!"
Nabi said nothing. He knew that an explanation wouldn't justify the means.
"Say something, dammit!" Il-ho said, seethingly.
Silence.
He narrowed his eyes and drew his fist back. "Then I'll make you."
"Stop!" came an amplified voice.
The protesters from the other day, the ones in support of interspecies, were nearby. "What do you think you are doing?" the leader with the megaphone yelled. "That cat is a hero!"
Sure enough, Il-ho looked to see flags, banners and signs, all showing Nabi and Doki side by side with the word hero in bold letters.
The bunny held Nabi by the collar as they approached. He turned the other way and began to drag the cat off. He still had some sense to beat into him.
However, the Anti protesters stood in his way, all waving picket signs and emblems of the ever present anti-interspecies motif.
While Il-ho stared at them, he felt a nudge and a shove from behind. Instinctively, he threw a right hook in defence. He then stood in shocked silence as for an abrupt second, he saw that he had just hit Yi. The bunny with the eyepatch stumbled backwards in pain as both sides of protesters converged at the sign of the first attack.
And chaos ensued.
Dochi had stopped breathing.
Doki was very and truly close to being destroyed. Her tears fell in rapid succession as her day slowly turned into her own personal Hell. Her sobs came quietly, but shortly grew in volume, soon becoming uncontrollable. She screamed. She yelled and screamed, letting the pain and sorrow of her voice be heard to a world that didn't care. She needed comfort. She needed Nabi.
She reached for her phone as she continued crying. She dialed his number. It rang once. Twice. Three and four times.
Nabi was thrown in jail for the night as punishment for the riot. He stood in the same cell with Il-ho and remained silent throughout the entire night. His keys, his personal belongings, even his phone, were all stored in a box somewhere at the police station. It rang, with no one to pick it up.
It rang with no answer.
Doki then did the only thing she could. She walked to her apartment's rooftop and stood at the ledge. She had given up everything. Nothing mattered to her anymore. As a final testament, she held her phone out and let gravity drop it to the ground. She felt her hopes and dreams fall alongside it.
She spent the rest of the night burying Dochi in the apartment's lawn and packing everything she owned into a suitcase. She grabbed her passport and one of the airline tickets before leaving her apartment and shutting the door.
As she made her way to the bus stop at dawn, she passed the shattered remains of her phone on the concrete. The twisted metal and electronics representing her final goodbye to the one she loved.