The Turn (Guardians, #3)

by Lola St. Vil

“My name is Redd. They used to call me Miku.”

My mother was born in Utashinai, the smallest city in Japan. Utashinai has only one high school and two hotels. But what it lacked in options, it made up for in beauty. The winters were pristine. Travelers would come from all over to ski on the spectacular slopes. But the best thing about Utashinai was the quiet. It was a great place to get away from the frenzy of Tokyo. While most residents enjoyed small town life, my mother, Mayako, hated it. She dreamed of being in the big city. She longed to spread her wings and see what the world had to offer. When she was sixteen, she got her chance. The high school closed down, causing her to have to travel to the neighboring city. There she met Jae Min, a Korean man who was in Japan on business. He courted her for weeks. He walked her to and from school, brought her gifts, and proclaimed his love for her. Finally, she gave in. They made love by the side of forgotten roads, cuddled in fields of flowers, and planned their future as winter fell. When Mayako found out she was pregnant, she wasn’t afraid. She had a life with Jae Min. She knew he would take care of her and her child. The only thing Mayako dreaded was telling her father. He hated Korean people. In fact, Japanese and Koreans had a long history of mistrust against one another. But surely this would be different. Her father would meet Jae Min, see what a kind, caring, and wonderful man he is. Then he would welcome Jae into the family. Mayako told Jae Min first. He looked bac...

She flew out to California, big belly and all, to see her love. When she got to Jae Min’s house, she was sure she had the wrong address. The house was actually a mansion. She rang the bell and a servant answered. She asked to speak to Jae Min. The housekeeper disappeared and a few minutes later, a beautiful Korean woman came to the door. “May I help you?” “I am looking for Jae Min.” “My husband isn’t home right now. He went to pick up the kids from soccer practice. Is there something I can help you with?” She had learned a good amount of English before having to leave school. Still, it was hard to process what the lady was saying. “Kids?” she repeated softly. “Yes, he went to pick them up. Who are you?” “And you are—?” “His wife.” She felt a sharp pain travel down her full belly. She cried out. The lady then looked at her sharply. “I knew one day one of his toys would follow him home.” “Toys?” “He goes on trips and picks up these worthless young things to play with.” “We are going to be a family.” “He already has one. You need to go home” “I can’t.” She shoved a few hundred dollar bills in my mother’s hand. “Do not come back,” she said as she slammed the door. Mayako ordered herself to stay calm. She walked back to the taxi. She told the driver to head in any direction. He asked if she was okay. She said she couldn’t remember how to breathe. Mayako knew she couldn’t go back home. She went from shelter to shelter. She soon settled in Korea Town, a few miles from downtown Lo...

She wanted to make sure her baby was healthy. She would use that child in some way to exact revenge on Jae Min. When she found out that she was having twins, she was overjoyed. Two beings that would be raised for the sole purpose of destroying a man’s life. She went into labor in the middle of the night. Her delivery was long and painful. She refused drugs. She wanted to be fully aware when she gave birth to her perfect weapons. But when she gave birth, she looked down at their tiny faces and she couldn’t find it—the hate that she felt for their father. Suddenly it was gone. He had given her two perfect little angels. Innocent. Pure. Pristine. How could she hate Jae Min? He had given her a gift more precious than a thousand mansions. She didn’t need Jae Min anymore. She had something more important: her daughter, Miku, and her son, Rio. Mayako said to the nurse, “These babies are my Kuuki.” “What does that mean?” the nurse asked. “Air. They are my Air.” From then on she didn’t give Jae Min another thought. Her only concern was for me and my brother. She worked hard and struggled to pay rent. But she always kept us fed, sheltered, and loved. Never did a day go by where she didn’t...

About three weeks after I wrote my father, my mom sat us down and told us she had cancer.

my father didn’t enter the factory, his wife did. Her expensive highlights and well-manicured nails made her look out of place.

Rio inspected me. “You okay?” “Yeah.” I hugged him so tight, I’m sure he couldn’t breathe. “I’m sorry, Miku. I wish I knew how strongly you felt about Jae Min. I didn’t know you wanted him in your life that badly.” “He doesn’t want to help Mom. Or us,” I cried. “Sometimes pain is the only thing people understand,” Jennifer shouted. We turned around just in time to see her pick up a hammer and swing right at my head. I managed to duck, but I lost my balance and fell into the meat grinder below. Rio shouted, “NOOOOOOOO!”

I

heard Rio struggle to get free, but he was caught. And even if he could get free, he would never leave me. He would never leave me. I couldn’t bear to watch, so I turned my head towards the window. That’s when I saw my father sitting in the back of the limo, facing me. I realized the man in the car didn’t want me. He didn’t love me. And worse, he knew. He knew we were dying and he sat there, frozen. I wished right then that my voice was a weapon. And that it would reach my father and force him to rip out his blackened heart with his own hands. I begged for my voice be a vehicle to administer one thing and one thing only—agony.

wish him ill will. All Rio thought about in the end was me. Imagine that; while in the deepest anguish and torture, I was his one and only concern. So much so that his dying wish was to shield me from the pain. Rio. My savior. My big brother. My Kuuki…

An hour after they found us, my mother overdosed on pain pills. Her suicide note only had two words: “No Air.”

Benny,

A Heed is a hidden power shared between twins.

A

power that can only be discovered when the twins touch in ...

A Dy is a hiding place inside the body. The important thing to know about a Dy is not how it gets in you, but how to get it out. You can’t expel the object from body. Someone has to manually go in and remove it. “You’re gonna take his heart?” “Yes.” “So we can get the Oxen.” “So we can go to war.”

“It’s my team, and she’s not the one sleeping with Rage.”

“Rio is alive.”

My Rah has been retuned. You are mine to hold, mine to love, and mine to kiss. “And when we kiss, when we finally kiss, the heavens will part so all the angels can glimpse true love…”