The Secret of the Violets

Saki tugged on the sapphire teardrop around her neck. It had been a gift, from someone she once loved very much. But none of that mattered now. The only thing that mattered was the envelope in her hand, as she tentatively reached towards the seal with shaking fingers. The envelope had been a gift to, in a sort of way. It contained instructions. Instructions Saki almost never wanted to follow. 

Before tearing the seal, however, a single tear dripped down Saki’s cheek. She was tired of The Violet Society. She was tired of doing everything they pleased, and she was tired of keeping secrets. Oh, yes, the secrets. It started out simply - just steal one credit card. Don’t worry, it’s for important business. But gradually, it became more complicated. Suddenly, Saki was dodging security cameras and becoming involved in plots she didn’t know a thing about. She missed her quiet life from before she became involved with Violet. She missed the busy streets of Tokyo. She missed her sister, Rie. 

Rie had been taken from Saki long ago, before Violet was even involved in her life. She had been kidnaped, and never seen again. A part of Saki always knew the organization she worked for might have been behind it, but she brushed it away. She knew it would hurt too much to face the truth.

Tears were streaming down Saki’s face now, as she remembered her old life. It was a simple life, but it was peaceful. It had just enough excitement to make Saki smile. But out of everything she had once had, she missed Rie, her twin, her second half, the most. She remembered how they used to cook together, making each other bento boxes with rice and eggs. Rie would slap the food down, but Saki’s had to be in a particular order - perfectly placed for the perfect bite. 

Saki’s sense of order would always come back to haunt her. Had she not been so careful, so particular, Violet would have never sought her out. She would be back in Tokyo, basking in the sun that was her simple life. She would be safe, and that was what mattered.

At this point, Saki always felt watched. She knew she was alright, she knew that Violet protected her, but she also knew it wasn’t what she was meant to do. That she would constantly be on the run from herself until she eventually died. After her work for Violet, it would be a hero’s death, but perhaps to all she had wronged it would be the death of a villain. 

Yes, it would be, Saki realized, with a shot of pain in her chest. To all that knew her, she may be a hero, but to all the people she had stolen from, all the families she had torn apart, even the people she had loved, she would be the villain of their stories. Violet could be right, and they might be villains themselves, but Saki thought that life was more complicated than that. She realized that people weren’t good or evil, just were perceived as such, and now she might always be perceived as something she didn’t think she was for the rest of her existence. 

There was one glimmer of hope, though, in Saki’s life - there was Rie. Perhaps it was just intuition, but Saki knew she was alive. Something in her heart and her mind just clicked. Maybe it was a twin thing. But Saki knew that Rie was alive. 

It was yet another secret she had to keep. Who knew what Violet knew about Rie. Maybe they thought she was dead. Or, more plausibly, they just thought that Saki didn’t know. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was that Saki knew, and she wouldn’t tell a soul. No one except for Ayumi. 

Saki remembered how when she first came to where she now was forced to call home. She was ruined. Without Rie, she had nothing. But then Ayu stepped in, and she began to heal. Not much, but gradually, Saki began to recognize her routines. Her sense of order came back to help her.

If only Violet hadn’t found it.

Friends aren't supposed to have secrets, but Saki and Ayumi did. Saki knew about Ayu’s though. She was a pawn in Violet’s game, after all. How was she supposed to end the game once and for all?

Saki knew Ayumi’s secrets, but she wouldn’t dare tell them. They were like precious metal - as soon as she let loose that she had them, everyone would need to know where and how she found them, let alone what they were. Saki valued Ayu more than that.

Still, though, Saki knew she couldn’t tell Ayu. It would only drive them farther apart, and when you had so many secrets, keeping a friendship together was hard enough already. Ayumi knew about Rie, but Saki knew she doubted it. When you haven’t seen someone for as long as Saki had, bad things are presumed. And when bad things are presumed, matters of the heart are doubted. 

But, nevertheless, Saki still believed what her heart and mind told her. And she still kept her secrets from Ayumi. She knew about her past, she knew about her connection to Violet, though Ayu didn’t herself, she knew what she was running from, and she knew why. Still, Saki suspected that Ayumi knew Saki knew all that herself. They just never spoke of it, and all was well.

When they did speak of secret things, the lies would catch up with them both. For Ayumi, about her past, and for Saki about her present, and her future. That she was working for Violet. That she had no other choice. 

Saki stared down at the letter in her hands, thinking, thinking desperately about how she’d always be the villain in yet another person’s story if she followed through with what the letter asked of her. How she’d have to keep yet another secret from the people she loved. How she’d be racing against herself, constantly being watched by her own reflection. How this letter would change nothing, only add to the suffering she already faced. 

Saki brushed away each tear as they continued to flow, wetting the envelope she held in her hands. Her heart beating rapidly, she quickly tore the signature Violet Society seal open. 

As she read it, her heart dropped.

It was from Rie. 

Rie, her twin, her dear sister, was alive. She knew it. She knew she was right. 

But more importantly to Saki, this was the first she had heard from Rie in years. Her dear sister was alive, and she was there with Saki once again. Oh, what Saki would have given for that. What she still would, for a way to see Rie again. Saki would trade all the secrets in the world for just one day with her twin. 

Saki’s eyes darted across the page as she read the letter. She breathed a heavy sigh and read it again and again, savoring the words.

And then Saki cried. Oh, she cried and she cried. Tears of happiness, for hearing from Rie again, but tears of sadness, as well, for having to keep yet another secret. 

In that moment however, Saki heard knocking at the door. Wiping away tears, she went down to answer it.

There in front of her was Ayumi. Ayumi, her best friend who always stood by her. 

“Saki...are you crying?” she asked, breaking the silence.

With that, Saki burst into tears, thinking about all the secrets she had kept, and all the pain she had felt because of them. She cried and cried, a flowing river of crystal tears. 

Saki thought again about Ayumi and how she was always there for her, but had her own secrets. She thought about how they never talked about them, for fear that it would drive them apart.

And she knew it did. She remembered what happened when she told Ayu about Rie, and how they didn’t talk for weeks afterwards. But she knew that she couldn’t feel so much pain anymore. That she couldn’t be the villain to yet another person, especially not to someone who meant so much to her. 

Ayumi gave Saki a tight hug, and wiped away her tears. “It’s alright, Saki,” she said, with hopefulness in her tone. “It’ll be okay.”

But Saki knew it wouldn’t. She knew she couldn’t suffer anymore. 

She knew what she had to do. For Rie. For Violet. For herself. As she cried, Saki tugged again at the sapphire necklace Ayumi had given her, as she realized how much it matched the droplets of water coming from her own eyes.

“Hey, Ayu,” she said, wiping away a final tear. “Can you keep a secret?”