Autumn was Misa's favorite season. Even here in Los Angeles, where the changes in seasons were essentially undetectable, a faint feeling hung in the air like the whispered secret of a future winter. There was just something about that sense of foreboding that felt comfortable and familiar to Misa. Usually, she liked to spend as much time in fall as possible outside or with the windows open, even if it was chilly. This year, however, she kept herself indoors with all of the windows shut tight. This year, she was waiting for Light.
Misa was a social butterfly, and she knew that it wasn't healthy for her psyche to stay locked indoors alone so much. Light, however, changed everything. Misa just didn't feel right going out among people, making new friends, when a voice at the back of her mind would always be telling her that he could need her right at that moment, or he could be coming home to see her.
She knew that was a silly notion, because he almost never called her, let alone came home to visit her. Still, the very thought of letting him down even the slightest bit chained her to the apartment.
It was such a cold, empty, lonely apartment, no matter how she decorated it. She spent half her time there rearranging the furniture, trying new curtains, putting up decorum for the different seasons, but only his presence brought warmth inside.
In an attempt to distract herself, Misa busied herself with some rudimentary household chores. There was nothing to clean, because it was all pristine from the day before, so she turned her attention to her clothing. Misa dug carefully through her drawers to the bottom and pulled out a little-worn skirt, which she decided perhaps she should hang instead of keeping in a drawer. There were slight wrinkles where the pressure of the skirts on top of it had creased its folds, which meant it needed ironing.
The ironing board took some trouble to come out of the closet, but she didn't mind, as it was a distraction. Once it was out, she plugged in the iron and set it down on top of the ironing board. It would take a few minutes to heat up. She supposed it was better to pretend that she was waiting for an iron, though, than to think about whom she was truly waiting for.
Misa carefully picked her skirt up off the bed and was almost to the ironing board when the phone rang. The skirt fell from her hand into a crumpled heap as she raced to the phone.
She snatched the phone from its receiver and hit the button without checking the caller ID.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Misa!" A familiar young female voice came over the phone, causing Misa to smile. Sayu Yagami was certainly no replacement for her brother, but she had always been friendly to Misa. Talking to somebody was better than talking to nobody. "Is Light there?"
The smile dropped from Misa's face. "No, sorry, he's working," she said, doing her best to mask her sadness with an even, cheerful tone.
"He works too much. He's always too busy to talk on the phone." Misa could hear a slight pout in Sayu's voice.
"He hardly even comes home, either. I mean, we're supposed to be living together, but I barely even see him."
"Really? That's terrible! I mean, I know his job is important and all, and it means a lot to him, but he should spend more time with you. He's not being a very good boyfriend."
"He's not a bad boyfriend, he's just…dedicated to his work," Misa declared. Though Misa was bitter that Light didn't come home more often, she still found herself defending him.
"Yes, but he should be dedicated to you," Sayu insisted.
An awkward silence fell. Misa debated saying goodbye, though something kept her desperately clinging to a chance at conversation.
"So, how is school going?" Misa asked, attempting to change the subject.
"Things are going really well," Sayu said. "I have some pretty close friends, and we hang out a lot, but…" Here Sayu cut herself off, as if she had said too much.
"But what?"
There was a pause. Misa could picture Sayu deliberating about what to say, if anything.
"They all have boyfriends and I don't," Sayu admitted in a rush. "Not that that's…bad, or anything," she added, "it's just…they spend a lot of time with their boyfriends and go on double dates a lot and stuff. They always invite me to come with, but I just feel so awkward, being the fifth wheel and all. So I get kind of lonely on the weekends."
Misa didn't know what to say to that. She'd usually invite the girl over in this case, but…
But why couldn't she? Misa was lonely too, and bored. Light wasn't going to be coming home any time soon, and she knew it. If he needed her, he could always call, and she would be right there.
"Do you want to come stay over here tonight?" Misa asked Sayu. She knew it was short notice, but it was Friday, and from the sounds of it the girl had no plans. It didn't take much planning to take a train to Misa's apartment for a girl's night in.
"You mean, you're not…busy or anything?" Sayu sounded genuinely surprised.
"No, I'm free," Misa said, once again hiding the sadness in her voice.
"Really? Okay, I'll go ask my mother, then!" Misa heard a thumping on the other phone, and then a muffled shout from Sayu.
A few moments later, Sayu's voice returned. "She said I could come! What time should I be over?"
"Can you get here around seven?"
"If I leave right after dinner, I can make it by then," Sayu confirmed. "I better start packing now!"
"Okay, I'll see you, then!" Misa said cheerfully. "Tell your mother I said hi, and have a safe trip here. Goodbye!"
"See you soon, goodbye," Sayu replied, before hanging up.
Misa clicked off the phone and placed it back on the receiver. It took her a moment to realize that she was grinning from ear to ear.
Seven o'clock didn't come fast enough. Misa managed to find herself various tasks in preparation for Sayu's arrival, though, which helped to pass the time. For dinner, she ordered herself some lo mein and egg drop soup, and she made sure she had extra fortune cookies to share with her guest. She took her time with eating and had more than enough time to triple-check the apartment before Sayu came. Six forty-five found her sitting on the couch, staring at the door with anticipation.
As soon as the clock hit seven, there was a knock on the door. Misa leapt up and unlocked it as fast as she could, opening the door to reveal the petite brunette she had been waiting for.
"Hi!" Sayu greeted eagerly.
"Hello! It's so good to see you," Misa said, pulling her guest into a hug. She released Sayu and stepped back to let her into the apartment. "How was your trip here?"
"It was good. The train was crowded, but it's nothing I'm not used to."
"Here, let me take that," Misa offered, gently pulling the backpack off of Sayu's shoulders. She set it down next to the couch and turned to smile at her guest. "So, what do you want to do? I have a great cable system here, so there's lots of movies to choose from, if you're up for it."
"Do you have The Garden of Hope? I've been dying to see that movie, but I didn't have a chance to see it in theaters."
"Let me check," Misa said, picking up the remote. The two girls flopped down on the couch, and Misa checked the movie listings. Sure enough, it was available, and Misa selected it without hesitation.
Misa had seen the movie and loved it, but she didn't get much of a chance to watch it the second time around. She found herself talking to Sayu through the whole thing. About halfway through, they were laughing so loudly that the dialogue was inaudible. She got up to get the fortune cookies during the dramatic confession, and by the time she looked at the movie again, the credits were rolling.
"So, what should we do now?" Sayu asked, after they had crunched their way through the last of the cookies.
"Do you want to get catty about the girls on T.V. while painting our nails?"
"Sounds great," Sayu agreed with a giggle.
Misa grinned and retrieved her container full of nail polish bottles, all of which were black or some shade of silver or red.
Sayu scoured the array, carefully selecting a shade of silver for her own nails. Misa looked to pick a shade for herself, but Sayu dug into her bag and procured a bottle of green polish.
"You always wear red," she pointed out. "You should try a different color. Brighten things up a bit."
The younger girl took Misa's hand and began to neatly apply the cool lacquer to her nails. With her free hand, Misa changed the television to a frivolous show. It took mere seconds for them to find something wrong with the show's females, which gave the two a great deal to giggle over.
Two episodes and a great many giggle fits later, Misa blew on her now green fingernails, admiring them. The green was different, but it looked nice, and Sayu had done quite a good job on them. Now, Sayu was bent over her own toes with silver nail polish in hand. Her brown hair greatly resembled that of the teen girl bobbing around in the commercial that was playing.
"Hey, you would look cute with braids," Misa declared. "May I?"
"Go ahead," Sayu consented over her shoulder with a smile.
Misa retrieved a brush from her bedroom and returned to brush through Sayu's soft hair. She carefully parted her hair down the middle, then divided one side into three even sections. The smooth hair slid easily through her fingers as she worked it into a braid. By the time Misa had finished both braids, Sayu was wiggling her toes around, admiring her work.
"How do I look?" Sayu asked Misa.
"Come see for yourself!"
Misa pulled her up off the ground and led her into the bathroom, setting her up in front of the mirror.
"Hey, you're right! This looks pretty cute," Sayu said, admiring her braids in the mirror.
Misa took a good look at the two of them in the mirror, Sayu with the braids Misa had put in and Misa with Sayu's green nail polish glinting off of the hand resting on the other girl's shoulder. They both had big smiles on their faces. Misa felt happy in a way she hadn't for a long while.
"You know, I always wanted a big sister," Sayu said, turning her gaze from the mirror to Misa.
"I thought you and Light got along well," Misa said, a little surprised by this declaration.
"We do, but he's a boy. I just wish that I had someone to talk to about girl problems, you know? And do all this girly stuff, like we are."
Misa felt her smile get bigger. "I've always wanted a little sister," she admitted.
The smile Sayu gave her made her feel like she already had one. She knew that with Sayu around, waiting for Light wouldn't be so bad anymore.
Suddenly, Misa had an idea. "Wait here," she told Sayu as she hurried into her bedroom. It didn't take her long to locate her pair of silver snake bracelets. They were supposed to come as a set, but it was a sacrifice Misa was willing to make.
Misa returned to Sayu, her prizes clutched behind her back. "Close your eyes," she instructed the younger girl. When Sayu obeyed, Misa clipped one of the bracelets around her own wrist, then took one of Sayu's hands and attached the other one. "Okay, now open them!"
Sayu looked at her wrist in amazement, admiring the bracelet.
"We have matching ones, see?" Misa put her wrist next to the teen's. "They're sister bracelets. Whenever we're apart, we can wear them and remember that we have a sister. So that way, we'll never get lonely!"
"I'll wear it every day," Sayu declared. She threw her arms around Misa.
Misa shot up straight in bed. Sunshine filtered through the windows onto her crisp white sheets, illuminating her hands. Her fingers looked strangely wrong. After a moment of grogginess, she realized that her nails were painted a blood red instead of Sayu's green.
"No," Misa declared, staring in disbelief at her hands. She leapt out of bed, dashing to the other room. No trace of Sayu's existence was there.
Misa sunk down onto the couch, putting her face into her hands. She could feel tears forming in her eyes. "But it was so real," she whispered meekly.
A sudden thought hit her, and she scrambled to the phone. Maybe that dream had come to her for a reason. Maybe it was a sign for what was to come, the bond she and Sayu were to share in the future. Maybe tonight, it would all happen for real.
It felt like an eternity of rings, but finally Sachiko answered the phone.
"Hello, Mrs. Yagami," Misa greeted.
"Hello, Misa! This is a pleasant surprise." The woman did sound glad, but there was a certain tired weight hidden underneath.
"May I please speak to Sayu?"
There was a pause, and Misa heard something that sounded almost like a sob.
"I'm afraid Sayu can't make it to the phone," Sachiko informed her. Misa could hear her voice shake, though it sounded like she was trying to keep an even tone. "She might not be able to come to the phone for a while, actually. She's very sick."
It felt like the ground was tumbling from beneath Misa. "I'm very sorry to hear that," she said, her voice hollow. "Tell her…tell her I called, okay?"
"I will," Sachiko promised.
There was a silence through which Misa held back her tears.
"I should go check on her now. Please take good care of Light," Sachiko finally said.
"I will," Misa told her. "Goodbye, Mrs. Yagami."
"Goodbye, Misa."
Misa heard a click, and she brought the phone down from her ear. She stared at it disbelievingly, tears seeping out of her eyes.
Misa never cried for very long. Soon, her eyes were dry. She hung the phone on its receiver and moved into the bathroom. Leaning her hands on the counter, she stared at herself in the mirror. The girl who stared back at her was the ghost of the one in the dream. Her eyes looked swollen and red, with bags underneath, and her face was lined with worry and sorrow.
Misa splashed herself with cold water, then dried it and reached for her foundation. She had to look good for Light.
Waiting for Light was all she had left.