A drop of water

Chapter one

She sat down at her computer. It was New Year's Eve and yet she was stuck at home. This didn't bother her though, it had never been a special day to her. Just another day the only difference being that it was time to replace the calendar. She didn't even do that until a couple of weeks into the year when calendars went down seventy five percent at the stores.

Turning on the computer, the blue haired girl waited for it to start up. She was the only one of her friends that spent time regularly on a computer. Actually she was the only one of them to own one. Although she knew if she showed a couple blondes that they could use the internet for shopping they'd be on one all night. Still it would only be temporary. They preferred trying the clothes on.

Makoto would rather be in her kitchen and she knew Rei had trouble enough with a television set nevermind a computer. Not that the raven haired girl was dumb but she grew up with little technology. The shrine was lucky enough to have indoor plumbing.

Ami typed in her password and pulled up a web search she'd been working on. Her messenger came up and there was a message sent to her an hour ago.

ZGEM: I know who you are

Ami blinked looking at this message feeling not only confused but suspicious as well. She didn't know who this person was, she'd never seen this screen name before. Maybe it was someone from one of the forums she belonged to playing a joke on her. Yeah that was probably it. She checked this persons profile but there was no information there. So she decided to message them back.

blueladybug: Who is this?

Then she went back to her research. She'd been going through her forums asking people for help with it too but she hadn't gotten any useful replies. Of course she realized it probably sounded like a silly question. She'd asked those on the forums if they thought there had once been life on the other planets of the solar system and if they knew of any information leading towards their belief. Basically as far as she felt it was a simple inquiry. Nothing sounding too fishy and there was always strange requests online anyway.

Twenty minutes later another message popped up.

ZGEM: Someone you used to know

She wasn't sure she liked this. She considered her response carefully, and then sent a reply.

blueladybug: Could you be a little more specific?

ZGEM: you're smart. I'm sure you could figure it out

Ami had an uneasy feeling about this. It was just a little creepy but she was certain it was nothing more than a practical joker.

blueladybug: I don't believe you know who I am. I think you're just playing games.

ZGEM: You want some proof? Alright. You wear glasses when you read or study but you don't really need them. You like to wear them though, almost like a fashion accessory. You use them as a cover, they help to shield you away from those who don't know you.

She stared at the screen. Wait... no that couldn't be right. How on Earth did this person know that? Sure she wore her glasses like that and even her friends knew she didn't really need them but... that she used them to help shield her emotions.. that was on a personal level she didn't let anyone know of. It was true though. They gave her just that little boost of confidence. They helped her feel like she was wearing a mask of sorts that made her someone else. Someone who wasn't afraid to say what they thought.

ZGEM: What? No rebuke?

Ami had to think. How exactly did you reply to something like that anyway? She had to think of something, so she started typing.

blueladybug: I don't know who you are and I don't think I need to be listening to this

Immediately another message appeared on her screen.

ZGEM: Hiding already are you...? Ami-chan?

She felt herself stiffen at the use of her name. Her name was not on her profile. She never used it online. She only went by her screen name. She brought out her mini computer and hooked it up to her desktop hoping to trace whoever this was but before she could even get the first couple of keystrokes in one last message came up on the screen.

ZGEM: Well I better go now. I'm sure you'll find me eventually but it's a bit too early yet.

Then the user went offline. This didn't deter Ami because she was sure she could track it still or find out some sort of information but as soon as she started looking, every file that might have suggested someone did have that name was gone. Everything had been erased.