~Mari~
I woke up and glanced at Aisling. I still couldn’t believe this was her house, it was huge. I wondered what she thought of me now, after all, I’d just been evicted. I turned back to Kaki, who was lying with his arm across my waist. He must have been tired, because he had fallen asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. I was a little surprised at how he had acted around Aisling and her family. He had seemed so shy, completely different than he had acted when we were alone.
I slowly sat up, making sure not to stir Kaki. I walked out of the room, back into the kitchen. I made myself a glass of water, and sat down at the table. Funny how I had been so tired before, and now I couldn’t get to sleep. I heard a shuffling sound, and saw Kaki standing in the doorway, rubbing his eyes. I stood up and walked over to him, he had been crying. “M-Mari! I thought you left me,” he sobbed. It was strange to see him acting like this in a sixteen year old body.
I pulled him to the table and sat him down. “Shh, shh. It’s ok now. See, I’m right here, I’m not going to leave you,” I assured him in a soothing voice as I stroked his hair. He nodded and wiped the last few tears from his eyes. He pulled me on his lap, and hugged me, trembling like a little kid. I hugged him back, “see? It’s all right now sweetie.”
“Thank you Mari, “he smiled. I went to get off his lap, but he held me there. He started humming a melody that sounded familiar, but at the same time like nothing I’d ever heard before.
“That’s pretty,” I told him. “What’s it called?”
He continued to hum, and I felt myself drifting off. “Sleep Mari, sleep.” He soothed. I fell into a deep sleep, still on his lap.
“Who are you?” The little girl asked me.
I stared at her for a second, “my name’s Mari. Who are you?”
She laughed and grabbed my hand, “come with me Mari.” She pulled me forward. In the distance, I could see a bright light. For some reason, I felt as if I should stay away from it.
I pulled my hand out of her grip, and she looked up at me shocked. “I can’t go there,” I told her. She screamed, and her face twisted into something not human. I was too terrified to scream, I just stood there, frozen. All of a sudden, I heard the melody that Kaki had been humming. The girl shrieked, and disappeared completely.
Kaki appeared next to me, “Come on Mari. Let’s go back.” He offered me his hand and I took it. Then I fell back into a dreamless sleep...
