This Life is Mine

     “But looking in the mirror, I see someone that I don’t recognize!”

     Yuki’s entire life had all been an illusion.

     She had grown up in an isolated village. It was surrounded by deep, dense woods that stretched on for miles. The closest settlement was two days away. Yuki lived with her mother, Yana, in a cozy, two-story townhouse.

     Their village had been isolated for so long that it had long since lagged behind on modern technologies. No microwaves, no TVs, no Internet, no nothing. Cobblestone paved roads, clay ovens, outhouses near the edge of the village. Yuki would spend her days studying or running errands for her mother, buying bread from the bakery and sweeping the floor of their house.

     Yuki had been so happy and content with her life. Mother loved her dearly, and encouraged Yuki to study hard to become the doctor she wanted to be. Despite not having any friends, Yuki was as happy as could be.

     Or at least, that was what she thought.

     One day, Yana introduced her to some children around her age. Vint and Regen. Vint was two years older than Yuki, and was extremely stern and hardworking. Meanwhile, Regen was…a little annoying and sarcastic at times, but fun and supportive as well. Regen was one year younger than Yuki.

     Yuki often found herself studying or playing(on the rare occasion) with Vint and Regen more and more often. One day, Regen took Yuki out to the outskirts of their village, where the farmers lived. He introduced Yuki to the head of the guardsmen that protected their village from wolves. Sir Nicholas, a powerful hunter and warrior that had once taken down a massive grizzly bear.

     Nicholas taught Yuki how to use a sword. How to defend herself if she ever ran into wild wolves in the forest, or just any dangerous creatures. Yuki extremely enjoyed her lessons with Nicholas.

     But then one day, Yana pulled Regen aside to have a talk with him. And the next day, Nicholas was…gone.

     Yuki sobbed for hours over Nicholas’s death. The man had felt like her father to her, the father that Yuki had never known. His demise really hit her hard. Yuki had reached her lowest point.

     Which everyone else used to its greatest potential.

     One day, Vint heard Yuki practicing her singing in the bedroom. Vint complimented her excellent voice, and suggested that Yuki try out in the annual village talent show. Yuki agreed and performed. 

     Everyone fell in love with Yuki’s voice.

     Yana encouraged Yuki to keep practicing. Yuki happily obliged at first, happy to spend more time singing. But it was at a point where she spent more time practicing singing than studying that Yuki finally noticed the extremely subtle, but now noticeable, changes in her life.

     Her studies had shifted over from about science, physics, and math to more about etiquette, language arts, and politics. Yuki didn’t understand the sudden shift. She asked her mother why her studies had changed, and Yana responded very vaguely and dismissively.

     Yana started hosting more and more concerts for Yuki to perform at. Yuki quickly became a rising star in the village, known by the eldest grandmother to the youngest child. Yuki felt happy that her songs brought joy to the villagers, but something was missing. Something felt empty inside her. 

     When Yuki was 14, Vint became more cold and distant. More than she had been before, anyways. Vint stopped hanging out with Yuki and Regen as much, and often sparked furious arguments with Yana. Yuki didn’t understand why; she couldn’t even understand what they were saying half the time! But when Yuki turned 15, Vint disappeared one night and never returned.

     Yuki, again, was devastated by the loss. Vint had been her best friend and also like a sister to her. But Regen…although he showed some signs of sorrow and regret, many times he almost looked smug. As if Vint’s disappearance had accomplished one of his goals or something. Yuki quickly knew that something was terribly wrong.

     There had to be a reason that Nicholas dropped dead, and Yuki suspected it tied in with her mother. Vint’s disappearance seemed too suspicious to be a coincidence. Both Mother and Regen looked satisfied after she disappeared. Yuki didn’t understand why. She wanted answers.

     But she never asked. Yuki stayed in line, and played the obedient child. She went on with her studies, which were mostly politics and etiquette by then, practiced her singing and performed at concerts.

     Leading up to this day. May 15th. The day of Yuki’s seventh birthday. And the day of her biggest concert yet.

     Yuki had practiced the songs over and over again. She had every note, every word, every verse memorized perfectly. It would be the biggest moment of her life yet.

     “Are you done yet, Yuki?” Regen’s voice called from outside the dressing booth. “The attendants are waiting for you!” 

     “Almost!” Yuki replied. She finished tying her hair into a long braided ponytail, and straightened out her dress. But as Yuki passed by the mirror, she noticed something.

     Yuki knew exactly what her personality was, and how she looked. Bright sky blue eyes, cheerful beaming smile, slightly disheveled short hair, and a bit of a rebellious attitude. One who wanted to become a doctor so badly in life.

     But instead of that, Yuki saw a quiet, reserved, and obedient girl. With light dulled eyes the color of the sky covered with light cirrus clouds. Long, perfect hair gleaming in the light of the lamp. A ghost of a smile on her face, evidently forced and halfhearted.

     Looking in the mirror, Yuki saw someone that she didn’t recognize.

     Something stirred deep inside Yuki. A semblance of her past self, suppressed by the oppression of her friends and family that Yuki herself hadn’t even realized. A new question arose: What could she do? How could she regain her old self? Why would Yana and Regen and in the past, Vint, do this to her?

     Most could not be answered right then. But there was one that Yuki had a solution to: one she could convey directly yet subtly to her manipulative mother and ‘friend.’

     “I’m ready!” Yuki called. She stepped out of the dressing booth, and behind the deep red curtains that hid her from the eyes of the people. The curtains lifted upward, as Yuki stepped into the spotlight.

     Yuki closed her eyes, like she did at every concert. A flicker of hesitation arose within her, but Yuki quickly snuffed it out. She was doing this. It was time to show everyone that Yuki would not be controlled.

     “I’m not your pet, not another thing you own,”

     “I was not born guilty of your crimes,”

     “Your riches and your influence can’t hold me anymore,”

     “I won’t be possessed,”

     “burdened by your royal test,”

     “I will not surrender,”

     “This life is mine!”