There's Snow Place Like Home
My first Kirby One Shot
The girl sat at the table, the heavy weight of sleep pulling on her eyelids. Across from her, sat her two parents, mother and father, equally as tired, with an alarming look of concern in their widened eyes.
"What time is it," the girl groaned sleepily.
The mother cleared her throat nervously,
"Time for you to get eating, or we'll miss your train!"
The girl looked confusedly at her meal. Two perfectly fluffy scrambled eggs, a partially blackened slice of whole wheat toast, two long, red, greasy strips of meat the girl had never even seen before; it was all perfect. Everything was perfect. Too perfect, in fact.
"Why aren't you guys eating?" The girl asked, slightly slurred.
The adults' reaction was delayed
"Oh, no, uh… don't worry about us. We already ate. Heh," stammered the father, rubbing his stomach in an exaggerated motion. The girl look at her feet uneasily, still unwilling to eat.
The mother ran her fingers through the girl's hair.
"Aren't you hungry?" She asked, a slight tinge of worry in her voice. Almost as if in answer, the girl's stomach growled loudly.
"Y-yeah…" she stuttered.
"Good. Then eat up, we got a long trip ahead of us."
The numbing chill of frosty Spring air swirled and bit at the family while the crunch of freshly fallen snow filled the tense silence of the early morning. This was happening at about five in the morning; if not for the black and grey clouds permeating the sky, the sun would be just barely visible.
"You've brought all your stuff, right? You haven't forgotten anything," the mother was worriedly questioning the girl.
"Yeah. I've got it all!"
She threw her bag in the back, and jumped into the family car with her mother, while the father scraped snow and frost off of the car's windows.
"It's f-freezing in here," the girl protested, "Why didn't we b-bring my warmer clothes?"
"It won't be for long," the mother replied enthusiastically. "You won't need them where you're going." Looking back, she smiled excitedly, as the girl's tired face lit up, animated, practically electrified with excitement. All she had ever known was the cold, but now, she was going someplace so warm she wouldn't even need her clothes outside!? The idea alone was enough to warm her up. Even the chill winds of her father opening the door couldn't bring her down; she was practically bouncing off the walls at this point!
"Dad, Mom says it's gonna be warm where I'm going," the girl had practically screamed. The father scratched his ear awkwardly.
"Oh, yeah… nice and cozy. Heh. Uhm, lots of n-nice food there too." His voice had a twinge of distress and worry, but the girl was too distracted to notice. The next hour was filled with tall tales of green hills, rippling fields of ocean, and talking animals. And, though excited as she was, the young girl couldn't help but shake the feeling that something was very, very wrong…
The family had finally arrived! At first, the girl had no idea where she was, but gigantic signs so kindly placed on just about every visible surface in the surrounding mile constantly informed her she was at the IGTS, whatever that is.
Even the terrible stench of industrial smog, and the angry looks of gruff, bearded and dirty men weren't enough to deter her. Pushing through the large crowd, the girl could hardly contain her excitement. The girl even noted that further into the establishment, some men and women were parading around with large signs, containing big words, much too big for the girl to understand.
In time, the girl's parents were parents were able to catch up to her; in part due to her bright green, and very noticeable attire. The mother, flustered and breathless as she was, pulled the girl away from the crowd and into a loving embrace. (While the father struggled to catch up)
"Don't ever do that again!"
Now catching up, the father scolded her,
"Do you know what could've happened to you out there!? There are some very bad people out there!"
"Bad?"
The two parents had calmed down. Still catching her breath, the mother spoke,
"Yes. Bad. So stay close to us, alright?"
The girl was confused, but reluctantly decided to join her parents.
After that incident, their trek through the station was relatively trouble free, save for a few very angry men yelling at the girl or her parents, quick to be ignored and forgotten.
Right outside of the ticket collector's booth was another mob, this one the biggest of them all. It was all to loud and frightening, the girl hid behind her mother's shirt. The mob consisted of men, women, and even a few children, all covered in dirt and grime, with very messy hair, and torn clothes. Some had taken to yelling at and assaulting the ticket collector, but most had formed a blockable, as to keep those with tickets from getting to their train, the train, as they called it.
"STEP BACK," a man shouted at the girl and her parents. He rose a grimy fist as if to hit the three, but seemingly hesitated. "IF WE CAN'T LEAVE, NO ONE CAN!" He shouted, insistently, intent on his desire to block the family's progress. The man caught sight of the girl, and, seemingly transfixed, he stopped.
"Please…" was all the mother said.
The man ran his fingers through his hair, then sobbed and turned.
"Pack it up, boys," he said grimly. "We're going."
Two more dirty men, supposedly aquatintences of the first, spoke up in protest,
"You can't be serious! We... can't let them get away with this."
The first one, now turned to the family, was walking away.
"You two whatever you want. I'm done wasting my time here."
The family pushed their way through the remaining crowd, and handed their ticket to the (now slightly disturbed) ticket man.
"En-en-enjoy!" Was all he managed to choke out.
"Well…" the mother started. "This is where we have to say goodbye."
"W-why can't you guys come?..." the girl cried, tears now filling her eyes.
"Ohh, sweetie. We talked about this. We could only afford one ticket."
A flat, mechanical voice sounded throughout the building;
"Five minutes until IGTS vessel #N64 departs, again, five minutes until vessel #N64 departs. Thank you for choosing IGTS Transport Systems, and have a lovely day!"
The girl was now sniffing and wiping away tears.
"Will I ever see you guys again?"
The mother and father exchanged looks.
"I don't know," choked the mother, crying softly.
The two hugged, and then the girl embraced her father.
"I," he sobbed, drew in a long breath, then continued. "I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier."
"It's okay," sniffed the girl, hugging her father tighter, "I love you."
A few hugs and tears later, the girl was about to leave, when suddenly, both parents rushed behind her for one last embrace.
"We love you, Adeline." The mother said, calmer now.
Waving behind her, the girl soon disappeared.
The mother covered her mouth and nose and sniffed, while the father had burst into uncontrollable, shaking crying.
The two comforted each other, and eventually, they were both calm again.
"She's… safe now." Sighed the mother.
"That's all that matters."
Hearing sirens in the distance, and robotic voices warning of a possible threat, the two held hands, and walked to the car, preparing for a long night.
As the roaring jets above shook the Earth below, all that was on the couples minds was their beloved daughter. Giant, orange flares passed above, but whereas the mother closed her eyes and looked away, the father was undisturbed.
"She's safe now."
"That's all that matters."