Identity Crisis
Posted on Fri Dec 20th, 2024 @ 7:36pm by Captain Kiyoshi Shingoen
Edited on on Sun Dec 22nd, 2024 @ 1:12am
1,291 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
Cold Cases
Location: Alcatraz - San Francisco - Earth
Timeline: 17 years prior to launch
The sand beneath Kiyoko's toes felt warm, moist, and perfect. Almost as good as the late afternoon sun on her young face. What little breeze there was lifted her short black hair, hair that was shorter than her parents desired, but at least gave her the freedom to wear She could hear laughter behind her and more than one person talking, but she couldn't make out the words.
She didn't hear the person coming up behind her, who suddenly grabbed her shoulder to spin her around.
Reina stood above her younger sister with a bemused expression. Kiyoko was curled into a fetal position, her blanket over her head. Shaking her gently hadn't worked, which didn't bother Reina at all. That meant she could resort to more drastic measures. That meant she could have fun.
She pulled the covers completely off and tossed them on the floor. Then without mercy, she began to tickle the sleeping form. She leaped away from the bed five seconds later when a small fist swung towards her face.
"I WANT TO GO BACK TO SLEEP LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!" came a pouting voice.
"You need to get up little one," Reina answered in a voice sounding eerily like their mother Hisano. "Don't forget we are going to see Alcatraz this morning and Mother has fixed your favorite, Tamago kake gohan"
The twelve-year-old uncurled from her position and sat up quickly. She hadn't been anticipating the monthly family outing like the rest of the family. She hadn't been looking forward to much the past few months, but she couldn't turn down rice and raw eggs. It had been that way since she was five or six and her mother always used just the right amount of soy sauce.
"You can go now," she ordered, "I'll be down in a minute."
Reina rolled her eyes but exited the room nonetheless. Kiyoko had been acting weird of late and she'd been told to give her some space.
Kiyoko took off her gym shorts and tee shirt, leaving herself in a dilemma. She was expected to wear a dress. She hated dresses. She always had. She didn't know why, both her sisters did, but she didn't. She looked through her closet and found a compromise that she figured would be acceptable to all sides.
It was a pair of grey slacks and a maroon blouse.
She took the steps down to the first floor and made he way to the kitchen where most of the rest of her family had already gathered.
"Good morning," Hisano greeted. "Your breakfast awaits my dear."
"Hey," Benjaro, her favorite sibling said, "it's about time you woke up. And I see you're wearing that outfit I got you for Christmas."
"Well, you know, "she said managing a smile.
Takeda, her father gave her a disapproving stare but said nothing. He sat at the head of the table as he always did sipping his coffee. Only after he finished did he speak up.
"Come everyone, it is time to go."
Dutifully the family gathered their things and headed out to their almost new hover car. They left their Pacific Heights home, ten minutes later. It had been rebuilt about a century before but the contractors who had done so meticulously followed the design its creators had used in the mid-19th century had used as many original materials as they could If one had not experienced both buildings it would have been impossible to tell the difference.
The only noticeable difference was instead of a ferry that crossed from the mainland to the island, there was now a site-to-site transporter. It wasn't authentic, but it was a lot more convenient
Kiyoko had studied the history of the park in school. She was especially enthralled about the time it was a prison. She had let her imagination run away with her more than once wondering how barbaric that time period must have been when crime, violent crime was so rampant and punishment so severe.
The Shingoen family was not the only family there that day, there were a score of other families in attendance. Kiyoshi noticed she was an observant young girl but the only one that stood out to her was a blond boy around her age or maybe a year or two older or younger. He was half a foot taller than her, one of the tallest in his family. She couldn't see his eyes from the distance she was, but she could see his blond hair. And she could see he was cute. From the way he carried himself, he was happy and got along with his family His family wasn't in the same group as hers, so she tried to put him out of her mind.
**********************************************
The tour had gone as she expected, just like all the other times she had been there. Then, it was her favorite part. They had fifteen minutes to explore dependently, without a tour guide and the rest of the Shingoen clan. She got to be alone something that rarely happened.
She was only slightly surprised when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She had lost track of the time a thousand thoughts running through her adolescent mind. She whirled around ready to defend herself, but it was only her brother Benjiro.
"Easy little sister," he said holding up his hands in mock surrender. "Father is looking for you, and he is impatient. Again."
"He is always impatient," she replied. "Why does he hate me?"
"He doesn't hate you. He just doesn't express himself that well, with any of us. Plus he views you as an enigma."
"Why?"
"Because you are different than the rest of us. He can't pigeonhole you or put you in a set category he's come up with in his mind."
"Is that bad?"
"He thinks so. I don't. I think it's kind of neat he can't put a set label on you."
"What's bad though is I can't put a label on myself. I'm so damned confused. I feel like I'm lost.
"I get it, but don't worry about it. You'll figure it out. Why were you here in the cell? Did you know it is a replica of the one that Frank Morris was supposed to have been held in?"
"Of course, I do. You know your little sister does her homework and not just the homework from school."
"Should I ask why?"
Kiyoko shrugged her shoulders. "Do you really want to know?"
"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't."
"Okay, but you're going to think I'm a weirdo, that there is something wrong with me."
"I would never think that Little Sister."
"Okay. Fine. Well, I think there is something wrong with me. I feel like I'm trapped inside a cell that is just as real as this one, only I don't know how to get out. I don't even know why I feel like I do."
"Have you talked to mom and dad about how you feel?"
"Mother wouldn't know what to say and Father would say I'm just being a little girl-chan."
"Then what are you going to do?"
"I don't have a clue, I just know I need to figure it out."
By the time the two siblings made their way to the transporter pad to rejoin their family, the sky had turned menacingly gray, which mirrored Kiyoko's mood.
She truly didn't know what to do and was feeling increasingly helpless.
A Post By
Captain Kiyoshi Shingoen
Prison Warden, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
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