Haunted Ch6

Chapter Six
I awoke in the morning with a foot dangling in front of my face. I blinked owlishly and groaned, wishing that the night could have lasted longer.
“Goooooood morning!” chimed someone from above me. I gazed upwards at she who had spoken, snuggling into my old dusty blanket.
“Who’re you?” I muttered sheepishly.
“Watashi no namae wa Yamamoto Himoko desu! Hajimamete! Dozo Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!” she said in rapid-fire japanese.
“Wha…wait what did you say?”
“I said ‘My name is Himoko Yamamoto! Nice to meet you, love me well!” she giggled.
“’Love me well?’” I asked incredulously.
“Well, frankly, it’s translated ‘Please treat me well in future situations’, but ‘love me well’ is funner to say.” Suddenly a dark-haired japanese girl poked her head over the edge of the bed, smiling widely at me. I knew that smile…
“HEY! You’re related to Kiyoshi Yamamoto aren’t you?” I asked.
“Hai! Watashi wa Ki-kun no anee desu!” she piped.
“Eh? I don’t speak japanese. Er,,, except for I know the word Gemuya.”
She laughed uproarously and tossed a pillow down on top of me. “Game store? I’m sorry; that was quite funny. Ok. I said I’m Ki-kun’s sister.”
“Ki-kun?”
“That’s my affectionate name for him. He’s a little teddy bear, isn’t he? Oh and forgive me. I enjoy speaking in Japanese and often times I will spout off for little reason beyond it amuses me.” She smiled; again I marked that smile as being Kiyo’s.
“So what is on the schedule for today?” Tasha asked poking her head out from under her covers. “Are we doing anything cool? It’s an off-week.”
“Really?” I thumbed through The Midnight Fox, the book we were reading for English. “I don’t know…I have no idea what’s around.” I sighed. Being new to the town was kind of hard, especially with very little guidance. I rubbed my nose thoughtfully, and looked around at the girls surrounding me. “Well…what do you guys want to do?”
“I think we should go to the mall and shop around for some clothes for you. I mean…you can’t just wear those dirty jeans and Kiyo’s old sweatshirt forever,” Tasha snorted.
“What? Why?” I asked, clutching the sweatshirt to me.
“Because its just not what you do! You simply must have clean clothes!” Himoko said.
“But that costs money, and I don’t have any,” I murmured abashedly. I shifted with self-conscious discomfort.
“Hey Tasha,” Himoko suddenly piped. “I was talking to Kiyoshi last night and guess what he told me!”
“What’s that?” I asked with Tasha.
“Well guess what today is?”
I looked around; I had no idea what day it was and I had neglected the time for so long that it didn’t really matter.
“It’s December 9th.” She paused and watched Tasha get confused and my face slowly brighten.
“’S almost my birthday,” I said quietly, a bashful smile crossing my lips. Tasha suddenly started squealing and hugging me; the action was too audacious for my timidity and I pulled away with a small cry.
“That’s awesome! When is it?” Tasha asked excitedly.
I mumbled ‘the fourteenth’ and glared playfully at her, as if daring her to attack me again. But she only tilted her head. “What?” she asked.
“The fourteenth,” I said louder.
“Oh! Sorry, but you spoke so quietly. But, wow! That’s only five days!” Tasha squealed to Himoko.
“Oh really?” she replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes with a smile.
“But,” I interjected shyly, “what does that have to do with anything?”
“Everything!” cried Tasha. “We have to buy you gifts!”
This time it was me who rolled my eyes. “What is it with you people and buying gifts?”
Tasha looked at me with such confusion that I could feel myself getting more confused each time I looked at her. “What do you mean?” she asked.
“What do I mean?” I asked, having forgotten what I said with her overwhelming cluelessness. “What did I say?”
“You said, ‘What is it with you people and buying gifts’,” Himoko mimicked, rolling her eyes. I recognized the movement as mine and blushed deeply at my audaciousness.
“Well….I didn’t really know…well why do you people want to buy me gifts?” I demanded, feeling closed-in and slightly irritated at everyone’s insistance on buying me gifts. I had lived with the same pair of pants and shirt for years, and I could well do it again. I could even wash it here…so what was the deal? “You know you really don’t have to. I’m perfectly fine!”
Tasha suddenly brought her book down on my head. I squeaked and fell backwards in fear of her action. I stared at her fearfully, my wings slowly encasing me in a protective gesture. “Oh dear. I’m sorry Aurelie. But really, that’s what you do with friends and family: you buy them gifts.”
“We’re neither friends nor family!” I blurted, my wings shifting. I stared at them and they stared back in total astonishment.
“We…aren’t friends?” Himoko asked despairingly. “Why…I thought we were. We were all being perfectly friendly, weren’t we?”
“Well…well yes,” I admitted. “But I don’t know why anyone would really want to be friends with me. I mean…I am a wretched little creature.” I felt the muscles in my face tighten in shame, and my wings drooped to the floor. I bitterly wished that my wings would simply disappear and that they would never come back. I wanted and yearned desperately to be normal, without my straw-like flaxen hair always brushing in my face, my plum-colored eyes blinking shyly, my black wings sprouting from the shoulder joint.
“Why would you ever think that?” insisted Tasha, planting her hands saucily on her hips. “There’s a reason we’re being nice to you and you better realize that you aren’t a ‘wretched little creature.’ You are a fine girl that we are trying to befriend. Why did you think that?”
“Well…because…” I answered, realizing that there wasn’t really a reason for my thoughts. They were just there.
“Well?”
“I…don’t know.” I said softly.
“Well don’t,” Tasha growled. “You are our friend whether you like it or not. Right Himo?”
“Hai hai!” piped she from above me.
“I…ok,” I finally said with a heavy sigh. “And I can’t deter you from buying me gifts?”
“Of course not,” Himoko giggled. “And even if you said no, we’d surprise you! You simply couldn’t deny it then! So desu ne?”
“Oh…umm…how do I reply to that? I know what it means,” I added excitedly. I thumped my brain furiously as I tried to recall its meaning. “Or I did,” I regettedly admitted.
“It means ‘Isn’t that right?’ and one would reply with, ‘hai, so desu!’ And you simply must be enthusiastic about it, or else it loses its luster.”
“Oh. I think that was slightly different from what I heard. Erm…so dess…something.” I attempted to repeat in poor accent.
“A, so desu ka?”
“That’s it!” I exclaimed. “So dess kah. Is that right. I remembered it!” I smiled widely, ignoring the difficulty with which I had repeated the simple phrase.
“Your accent is funny,” Himoko giggled. “Honto omoshiroi desu.”
“What’s that mean?”
“It’s very interesting.”
I beamed widely as I nearly squealed, “so dess ka?” I tried to follow her instruction of being fervent about what I said. She started laughing and I blushed furiously. “Was it that funny?” I asked, offended.
“I’m sorry, but really…your accent is quite humorous. Gomen nasai. That means I’m sorry. I commend your enthusiasm,” she added with a giggle. “I think you’ll be a fine hen-na gaijin someday.”
“What’s that?”
“I’m not telling,” she smirked. “Ask Ki-kun.”
I grumbled at this but said nothing.
“Anyways,” spouted Tasha. “Where to get her some clothes?”
“I say we stop by the mall,” Himoko said thoughtfully. “Then, we can go find something decent to eat; not like that awful mall grease. We can go through the shopping district of XX too. Wouldn’t that be lovely? And we can pick up all sorts of gifts for our Aurelie. But of course, we’ll have to send her alone, so that we can acquire some surprises for her special day.” Tasha and Himoko both commenced in an insane bout of giggling that aroused some of the lazier girls from their slumber.
“Sharrup,” someone muttered from beneath a stuffed pillow.
“Sorry,” Tasha said hastily, and we all looked at each other, silly smiles plastered on our faces. There was a sharp rap on the door.
“Hey, girls?” someone called.
“Kiyoshi,” Himoko and I said at once.
“Aw, can ‘t fool you, can I?” he asked, laughing to himself. “Well can I see Himoko-chan?” He asked.
“Nan’ desu ka?” she asked quickly, hurrying to the door.
“Eeto, Kyo, ore wa auri-chan no puresento o kaitai. Tanjoubi wa kanyoubi.”
“Ah hai hai! Watashi-tachi wa kaimasu o hanashimashita. Eeto…marru to resutoranto to fukuya e ikimashou…anata ikitai?”
“Hai! Sugoi! Ore mo ikimasu. Daijobu da ka?”
“Daijobu da! Shimpainai, Ki-kun. Daijobu daijobu. Ah, Ari-chan mo ikimasu.”
“So da ka? Sugoi yo!”
“Ureshi, ne?” Himoko laughed. “Anata wa honto omoshiroi…”
“So da ne…Demo…Kano wa kakkoii da, ne?”
“Watashi ga hanashinai!” She snorted. “Ani, anata wa baka.”
“E? Unesai yo!” They both laughed. “Ore wa baka nai!”
“E? Itsu anata wa ‘ore’ o hanasu ni hajimete?”
“Zutto.”
“Ja nai yo! Bakaro. Eehh…Ja, matte, kudesai. Eeto…Ari-chan!” She appeared to be beckoning to me.
“So dess ka?” I called uncertainly, calling the only thing I knew how to say. Himoko burst into laughter at my response and yelled, “Ari-chan! Kiyoshi is going too.”
I couldn’t suppress a wide smile as I gazed upon his grinning figure. That meant more time for me to be around him, and more time for me to be happy. That made the whole trip worthwhile, in my humble opinion. He stepped over the many piles of clothes and bedding until he reached my old and rotting mattress. He leaned down and ruffled my hair fondly, chuckling.
“So we’re going out for your birthday, hm? Coolness. What do you want?”
“I…” I thought for a moment and realized protesting gifts wouldn’t help. “I…don’t know.” I scratched my nose nervously.
“Well we’ll just have to fix that, ne?” He straightened up and I blushed.
“So the first stop is the mall!” Tasha said. “After we get dressed. That means OUT!”
“Huh?” Kiyoshi said, looking around. He had an embarrassed and clueless look on his face. “What….Oh.” He backed up slightly, his face reddening as he went. I giggled, picked up my pillow, and pegged it at him.
“He—oomf!” He took it full in the face and stumbled backwards. “Nrmf!”
“OUT!” Tasha yelled again, laughing. “OUT!”
“Ikuzo, teemee!” Himoko shouted with her. He turned and scrambled out the door on all fours, the pillow lying forgotten on the floor.
Within five minutes we were all dressed and ready to go. I brushed my ivory hair from my face as I saw Kiyo sitting against the wall, his legs spread apart and bent at the knees, and his arms draped over his joints, his hands clasped together. “Yo,” he said.
“Hello…we can go now,” Tasha said. I shyly waved hi.
He rolled onto his feet in one deft movement and stretched. He was wearing his tight black shirt again today. I blushed and avoided looking at him, a tiny smile on my face.
“Ready to go?” he asked me, regardless of the fact that Tasha had already stated that we could go. I shifted nervously on my feet and nodded. He slung his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close, following Tasha and Himoko as they marched down the hallway towards the door. I blushed and laid my head on his shoulder as we walked out the door.
The four of us strolled down the slush-covered street, the cars covered in wet snow. I could hear Tasha and Himoko up ahead, debating on where to go first. A heated argument arose as they yelled at each other.
“Wet Seal!”
“GAP!”
“Wet Seal!”
“GAP!”
I blinked. I didn’t know what either of those places was.
“Oh for god’s sake!” Kiyoshi said, rolling his eyes. “We’ll just get in the mall and she can choose what looks good to HER! Ok?”
“Oh. Good idea!” Tasha said. “But she’ll surely choose GAP.”
“No, she has better taste than that. It’ll be Wet Seal.”
And so the argument began again, with Kiyoshi smacking his forehead in exasperation.
“Oh…Kiyo, what does umm…what was it…er…Himoko what did you call me again?” I asked in hopeless confusion.
“WET SE--What, hen-na gaijin?” she called back, mid-argument.
“Yeah that one! Thank you!” I turned back to Kiyoshi. “What does Henna guy-jin mean?”
“Hen-na gaijin?” He chuckled. “It means weird foreigner. Basically it's a foreigner who’s almost Japanese….but is obviously gaijin, or foreign.”
“Hey!” I laughed strutting forward to yank on Himoko’s long charcoal hair. She broke down into a fit of sniggering and said, “Well you will make a good hen-na gaijin, especially when…” She smiled jeeringly at Kiyoshi, but she didn’t finish the sentence.
“When what?” I asked imploringly.
“Noooothin’,” she replied innocently, looking up at the sky.
“When what?” Kiyoshi now asked, pursuing the subject.
“Hanashimasen,” she replied, pronouncing each syllable seperately.
“Aw come on, Himo-chan! Pleeeease? Onegaishimasu?” Kiyo pled.
“Oh lord, Ki-kun, you know I can’t stand those puppy dog eyes!”
“Precisely why I use them.”
Himoko grumbled slightly then piped, “Well, I was saying that Aurelie will make a fine hen-na gaijin when you two get married, of course!” With that she squealed with childish laughter and sprinted ahead, just out of Kiyoshi’s tackling range. He and I looked at each other blushingly and both decided to leave our words unspoken and instead chase after his sister.
“Oneechan!” he yelled. “Anata wa hidoi yo!”
“So da ne?” Himoko laughed.
Tasha soon followed suit and we ran all the way to the mall where we fell onto a bench in breathless laughter, our sides tickled with pain.
“Well now that we’re here, let’s head over to Wet Seal.”
“You mean GAP.”
Panting slightly from the chase, Kiyoshi rolled his eyes and said, “Let’s just walk around and go into wherever she wants to go.”
“Oh fine then,” Tasha pouted. Himoko squeezed her ear reprovingly and we all lounged for a few more minutes to catch our breath.
As I sat on the bench, people started to gather around me, whispering and staring. I clutched Kiyo’s arm fearfully and stared back, my eyes wide in hopes that they would not advance.
“Hey…could you please go away?” Kiyoshi asked the crowd, scowling. “She’s not exactly fond of attention.”
The crowd made no move except to shuffle a little closer. I squeaked and ducked under his arm, wishing for protection. Some little kids were asking their mother where to buy the wings, and the mother advanced to ask me.
“Excuse me dear,” she said gently. “Where did you buy those marvelous wings?”
I couldn’t speak, only squeak and shake my head. Kiyoshi cleared his throat and said, “Not at this mall.”
The woman tilted her head. “May I inquire where?”
I found a remnant of my frightened voice and whispered, “I was born with them.”
The crowd was silent, then a few nervous chuckles broke out amongst the people. A few shook their heads in disbelief, while others simply sized me up speculatively.
“Very funny, girl, but we aren’t children here. Where did you get them?” demanded a man. I jumped backwards at his stern voice and stumbled over the bench, toppling to the ground. Scrambling up, I faced him, my chest convulsing in horror. No, not Him. He sounds like Him. Slowly the image of Master slid over the man’s face and I screamed.
“GO AWAY!” I cried. “NO! NOT AGAIN!”
I turned and ran, spreading my wings as I went, people crying out in terror and disbelief. My friends tore after me, yelling for me to stop. I felt the shirt rip further around my shoulders where my wings tore through, beating furiously. I managed to rise unsteadily into the heated air of the mall, looking for a place to land, away from everyone, where He couldn’t get me. I saw spiral metal decorations hanging with chains from the ceiling, huge and spinning in the circulated air. I flapped furiously until I was level with the great metallic abstraction. I clutched the metal rim and stood on the edge of an orange circle. It cut into my feet and stung, bleeding, but I paid no attention. He was here. He would get me.
“Aurelie! Come down!” Kiyoshi cried in terror. I shook my head and the whole contraption wobbled. I clutched the side anxiously and stared at the crowd. I couldn’t see the man. People were screaming at me, but I couldn’t discern one cry from another. Everything seemed blurred and terrible.
He’ll get you, a voice whispered in my head. Fly. Fly now!
I looked down, the breath caught in my throat. I saw Him hurrying towards Kiyoshi, shaking his head. He was smiling that manic grin, that horrible terrible smile that haunted my dreams.
“KIYOSHI!” I shrieked and leaped into the air. My wings worked feverishly…I plummeted through the thick air…Kiyoshi stretched out his arms…Master backed away…slowly Master’s image faded and was replaced by that of the frightened man, whose face was contorted in a shout…Himoko and Tasha clutched each other and stared at me in rapt fear…I landed with a rustling thump in Kiyoshi’s arms as I snagged his shirt with outstretched hands. Time lost its surrealism and came crashing down around me.
“Aurelie!! What the hell did you think you were doing? Are you ok? Jesus! That could have killed you!” Kiyoshi begged, clutching my shoulders. I blinked, my breath coming shallowly. I choked on my words and simply held his shirt in my fists, staring at him with wide and frightened eyes, and reddened cheeks.
He flung his arms around me and buried his nose in my hair and I continued to stare at the spot I had been.
“Where’s Master?” I croaked. “He was…I thought…I…I’m sorry…”
“Don’t apologize,” Kiyoshi bid me. “Just never do that again.”
“Ok,” I replied and suddenly I was overwhelmed with the urge to cry. The people were crowding around his, pulling at my shirt, my wings, insisting on an answer to their persistent pleas of “Are you ok?” I felt tears roll down my cheeks and my eyes burned with the hot wetness.
“Please, go away!” Kiyoshi shouted. “She’s fine! If you crowd her, she’ll get upset again!”
The crowd, this time, stopped plucking at my clothing and backed up. Tasha and Himoko broke through the swamp of faceless people and flung grateful arms around me.
“I thought you were going to die!” Tasha cried. I convulsed as I suppressed a sob.
“It’s ok to cry,” Kiyoshi whispered. “Just let it go.”
With his affirmation, I let out a wail and began shaking uncontrollably with tears. He held my head close to his chest with one arm. The crowd still stood at a distance…watching…staring.
“They’re only concerned,” Kiyoshi assured me, reading my feverish mind. I buried my face into his tight black shirt and hiccupped, my crying subsiding again. I will not cry, I decided stubbornly. I will not show him my weaknesses! I mulishly rubbed my eyes and stared up at him apologetically. With my heart pounding within my chest, I turned to the crowd. I quickly sniffed then announced shyly, “I’m alright. You can go now.”
The crowd all looked at me, and slowly it dispersed until only a few people were left.
I felt a hand on my shoulder: Kiyoshi smiled down at me gently. “Do you want to go home?”
I smiled and shook my head. “No…I want to be with my friends.”
“That’s the spirit, Aurie.”
I gave a half-hearted chuckle and brushed the hair from my face. “Let’s go,” I urged, taking Kiyoshi and Himoko’s hands. Tasha bit her lip moodily. “Why do I get left out?” she muttered, following behind us.
“Cause I only have two hands,” I replied.
We wandered about the mall. I saw many stores exhibiting clothing certainly unfit for winter weather (or any weather for that matter). As we exodized through the mall I kept an eye out for anything that I liked.
Something blue caught my eye.
It looked soft, and the shade was exactly what I liked: a grayed, pale blue.
Breaking free of my friends’ hands I sprinted over to the window and pressed my hands to the glass. Shortly the rest of my group arrived behind me.
“Look…” I said, staring at the sweatshirt before me. Something about it just appealed to me to no end. Slowly my eyes took in the entire outfit: gray jeans, the blue sweatshirt, and a red scarf. As I took in the outfit, I felt my heart fall. I couldn’t get that; it was bound to be far too expensive. I drew back from the glass and suppressed a sigh, for fear of making them guilty. “Well…let’s go,” I murmured, turning around to leave. Kiyoshi clapped a hand on my shoulder and steered me back around.
“Oh-ho no, my dear. You aren’t getting out of it that easily,” Tasha grinned. The three of them thrust me into the store and placed me in front of the cash register.
“This fine young woman,” Kiyoshi said, his hands still placed firmly on my shoulders, “wants to buy that ensemble in the window!”
I struggled to nod my head. Numbly I watched the girl at the desk smile and ask, “What’s her size?” I was aware of her looking over my wings with a wary eye. “And how can we accommodate….those?” Her lips split into a smile and I shivered.
“We’ll just cut a flap when we buy them,” Kiyoshi said. “I think she’s probably a small size.”
“Alright then,” the girl said. She ducked out from behind the counter and led us to the rack of clothes. She picked out a small size and handed it to me. As I took it, she seemed to be measuring me up. She leaned in close suddenly, her eyes eager. I stared at her apprehensively.
“Can I…touch your wings?” she whispered, probably noting my apprehension.
“Um…” My mind was alight with all of the possibilities: she could bind them and keep me hostage, she could tear them off, she could seriously damage them…”Yes, I suppose,” I murmured. My friends looked at me in astonishment, but I only saw that for a split second. I screwed my eyes shut and tensed my muscles to fly if I had to, but I didn’t need to. I felt her hands, her slender fingers, probing my feathers and tendons. I heard her breath catch as she said, probably to herself, “they’re warm…” I sighed and kept my eyes closed, trying to keep myself from launching into flight. I prayed she wouldn’t hurt me, but the voice in my head told me to distrust her. I thrust my hand into Kiyoshi’s and gripped it hard. His warm fingers enclosed mine and I heaved a sigh. Suddenly her touch lifted and I opened my eyes in surprise.
“Aren’t…aren’t you going to…” I started. Kiyoshi squeezed my hand and shook his head. “Never mind.”
“Your wings are very beautiful,” the woman said in awe. “How did you get them? Is that even possible?”
“I was born with them. I don’t know how it happened.”
“Who were your parents?”
There was a long pause as I shifted my weight. “I don’t know.”
“Oh…I’m sorry…” she murmured. “Hey, this is going to sound weird, but when you try on your sweater, can I come with you?” At my wide-eyed look, she quickly amended, “I’m an anatomy major in college. I would like to see how it works.”
“Oh…I suppose,” I said shrugging. I felt my wall of distrust start to melt like butter. My friends smiled at me; two of the smiles, as I ever noted, were identical.
“That’s awesome! Thank you so much,” she laughed. I nodded mutely. “Here, I have the key; let’s go.” She gathered a few sizes into her arms and jogged ahead, obviously eager to examine me. Kiyoshi laid a hand on my shoulder and leaned forward to whisper in my ear, “I’ll be near if you need help.” I nodded numbly and followed the girl. Either I was going to my doom, or I was just going to be just fine. I prayed with all of my heart that it would be the second scenario. I followed her into the cubicle and took off the sweatshirt.
She stared at my shoulders, where the two joints met. The black feathers sprouted from the base of the wings, which diverged from the clavicle area of my shoulder. They laid flat on my back, but she asked me to extend them. Obediently I spread the primaries and stretched the muscles until I had expanded my wings as far as I could in the little dressing cubicle. She examined them carefully, making notes on a notepad she had in her pocket; she made little sketches, feeling the bones and tight muscles. She asked me to flap, so I flapped. She asked me to bend, so I bent.
“Can you really fly?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“How is that possible?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do your bones break easily?”
“Sometimes.”
“Do you mind if I…uh…examine your pectoral muscles?”
“No, I suppose.”
She felt my chest and I saw her note that there was double-muscle packed there. She also noted that I had no breasts. She felt my keel and my spine, and then slipped the new sweater over my head.
“You’re a very interesting little girl. My name is Cat.”
“I’m Aurelie.”
“That’s a pretty name,” she chimed as she measured how much longer the sweater would fall if my wings were not there. “Hey Aurelie, do you mind coming to my class tonight? Where do you live; I’ll come pick you up.”
“I live at XX Academy.”
“Hey, that’s not too far from my house. It’s at 7 tonight; you can bring your friends if you’d like.”
‘I would like that,” I smiled.
“It looks like this is going to fit! Would you like me to cut the slits?”
“If you would, I would like that very much.”
“You’re very polite, Aurelie. How old are you?”
“I’ll be 17 Saturday.”
“Really?? You’re so small!” she cried in astonishment. “I’m 19. I go to XX Community College.”
“Oh I see.”
“Where are you from?”
“No place I want to go back to.” I smiled at her as I said my usual response to that question.
“I won’t ask why then,” she said. She slid the scissors in and cut the sweater carefully. “There. Can you get your wings through?”
I stretched my wings through the flap she made and shook the dislocated feathers until they were orderly again. I smiled and thanked her, and put on the tan pants that went with it. “If you give me that shirt, I can sew a button for the flap tonight. Would you like that? I’ll give it to you when I pick you up.”
“That’d be great. Thank you!’
“In fact, whenever you get clothes here, I’ll do that for you for free.”
“Thank you!” I happily pulled off the sweatshirt and pants and handed them to her. I slipped Kiyo’s old shirt and my old jeans back on. Cat took the two articles gladly and we came out of the little cubicle.
“Everything alright?” Kiyoshi said, nervously twitching his fingers. I ran up and gave him a hug.
“Everything’s fine. I’m going to the community college tonight to her anatomy class and she said you guys could come if you’d like. She wants to show me off.”
Kiyo bent down and whispered in my ear, “are you sure you want to do this? You ought to keep a low profile if you don’t want…you know, Him to find you.”
“I know,” I replied quietly, “but Cat’s nice. She wouldn’t let anything happen to me.”
He frowned and wrapped his arms around me. “Neither would I.”
Himoko’s face suddenly poked over Kiyoshi’s shoulder and giggled, “Stop the mushy stuff and pay already!”
“Augh!” He jumped backwards as he let go of my waist and fished into his pocket. He threw his wallet at Himo and she snagged it. “Righty-o!”
I watched Cat ring my shirt and scarf up at the register and thought in amazement how different life seemed to be. Not counting the breakdown I had thirty minutes ago, but still, life seemed good. I hoped it didn’t only seem so.