Chapter 1
"Can't Kiss It Goodbye"
Marion gazed at the numerous bodies trailing back and forth before her, suitcases, luggage, and duffel bags worn like an accessory. The constant mumbles of the chatting people around them had morphed into a constant hum, and she could faintly make out the logo of one of the landing airplanes from a distant window.
Uninterestedly, she turned to face Matilda, who lay idly on her chair, arms propped up on the tops of both her and Kanna's seats. Then to Kanna, who sat with crossed arms and legs, blowing a bubble.
Marion sighed, "I'm gonna go get something to eat."
"Wait" Matilda called out as Marion stood, she rummaged through her book-bag, slipping a few dollar bills out of her wallet.
"Get me something too."
Marion nodded, disappearing into the throng of people.
Kanna watched after Marion's retreating back until she was gone. With a pop of her bubble, she turned to Matilda to watch her fishing a sketchbook out of her book bag, slipping a sharpened pencil into the crook of her ear.
The woman with hair an exhilarant, orphan blue, and eyes similar to the calm, blue, ocean surface peeked at the drawings as Matilda flipped through the paper.
It was a fairly new sketchbook, one that Matilda had bought specially for their abrupt summer trip to China. Kanna's thoughts strayed, once again questioning everything about their trip.
It fit into their budget, they didn't even have to tap into their savings for it, despite having rented a cottage of some sort to stay in for the next two months. What disturbed her usually, calm mind was just why Marion had suddenly wanted to vacation in China.
Kanna pulled out of her thoughts when the nasally cries of a baby a few chairs down from her reached her ears, she watched with a small frown as a foreign woman attempted to quiet it down with a bottle of milk. Yet the baby refused it and she was forced to pull him out of the stroller and into her lap where she rocked him, to no avail.
Finally, when Kanna could no long stand the screeching, practically leaping up from her seat, she threw "I'm gonna go check out how much more time till the plane arrives" behind her before she was gone.
Matilda however, never even looked up from her drawing.
Matilda looked up from her finished picture, frowning at a few small aspects. She looked up for a model, when her eyes connected with a void that stood where Kanna should have been.
Snapping her head from left to right, Matilda quickly sat up. They couldn't possibly have forgotten her, right? Shoving her sketchbook, and writing utensils back into her book bag, she slipped away. Leaving behind five of their luggage bags.
Marion bought an ice-cream cone, grabbing two bags of chips for Matilda and Kanna as she made her way back.
As she casually stalked past strangers, a sudden, strange feeling washed over her. Leaving a tingling from her fingertips down to her toes when a soft voice chimed in her ears.
"Your sincerity resounds deep within you" it said, making Marion's hairs stand on end.
"You have the power to overcome your fears"
"Your love is endless, and your beauty as delicate as a flower." Marion parted her lips as to speak.
"I've chosen you, but, do you choose me?" Marion's emotion skittered about, sorrow, anxiety, fear, curiosity, desperation; and she wasn't sure whether they were hers or someone else's.
An invisible weight glued Marion's feet to the ground, yet this thought only registered itself somewhere in the back of her mind. Marion took the soft voice's question into consideration.
"Yes?" All too quickly the world became a blur, spiralling out of control until all that remained was a white light.
The goose-bumps that pricked her skin melted away at the warmth that ebbed at her as the light engulfed her whole.
As the golden warmth gradually disappeared, Marion's senses heightened, so quick that it left her almost dizzy. Her eyes focused on a creamy, white cottage just across from her that was steadily being eaten by strong, vivid flames. One third of its roof had already been charred to dust, and the lower body was morphing black.
The smell hit her almost as quickly as the noise, a putrid smouldering taste tainting her tongue, fogging up her lungs. The fire roared, blaring in her ears with its sickly calm rumbles. The intensity of the heat boiled and frightened her as she staggered a step back.
The famished flames moved onto the beautiful flower garden residing in the quaint cottage's backyard. Weeping flowers cowered under the strong flames when the small voice returned.
"I was the spirit that lay in that flowerbed of hibiscuses." Marion watched as the flames danced over said flowerbed, moving onto a patch of crocuses, and gladioluses soon after.
A glowing ball of light bathed in fuchsia red popped up before Marion's eyes.
"I don't want revenge. I'm not looking for some sort of justice so that I can move on. I just wish for a friend."
She announced, gently fluttering down. Marion lifted her hands, laying them side-by-side as the spirit gently dropped into her cupped hands. As Marion caged her in, rays of light immediately shot out from the cracks in between her fingers; painting the world in light.
Marion's eyes fluttered open as the world speedily came into focus, subconsciously she stilled her legs; her focus directed entirely on the creature that hid in between her hands. Peeling them open, the flower-spirit finally came into view.
A delicate, slender looking thing with bright emerald green gems for eyes, and deep, wavy red hair. Crowning her head was a halo of daisies and hibiscuses; and her petit frame was adorned with a crème rose chiton ending mid-thigh. The loose cloth cinched at her waist with a wiry, sea green belt.
Marion parted her pink lips, but the spirit beat her to it.
"My name's Helen, what's yours?" Before she had the chance to answer, a deep voice shouted out just across them.
Kanna looked up at the departure board, searching for their plane. Her eyes practically bulged out of their sockets when she saw that their plane had already arrived. Right on cue, the intercom dinged and a woman's voice made the announcement.
Kanna bolted back toward her gate, a string of profanities loitering her mind as she sent Marion a death threat in case she hadn't yet arrived.
The woman with eyes as serene as the ocean calmed in the slightest when her gate came into view, but her stomach lurched at the sight of their luggage bags. Neither Marion, nor Matilda were anywhere in sight.
Gritting her teeth, she power walked the rest of the way, digging her cell phone out of her black and white, rose-print, handbag.
She speed-dialled Marion first, impatiently pacing as she recognized the woman from before, standing in a small line leading down a tunnel, and to what she assumed to be the airplane.
When the muffled, but audible 'Rolling In the Deep' Glee version blaring from inside of Marion's lavender hobo bag two chairs down erupted, Kanna had to keep from cursing out loud.
Kanna quickly speed-dialled Matilda, sweeping her gaze over the seats to make sure she hadn't left her messenger bag behind; which she highly doubted, since Matilda never let it out of her sight.
She let out the breath she'd been holding when Matilda replied.
"Where are you?" She asked irritated "didn't you hear them announce our flight? Get here as soon as possible."
"What? They announced it…" Matilda's voice trailed off "Boss, we have a problem."
Kanna arched an eyebrow, "what?"
"I got lost."
"You what?" Kanna exclaimed.
"You two were gone, so I went to look for you!" Matilda tried to explain, but Kanna immediately intervened.
"Okay, whatever. At least you managed to take your phone with you." She muttered "do you know where Mari is?"
"No, and I'm still waiting for my chips" Matilda added, mumbling.
"Describe whatever's around you. We don't have much time."
"Um…" Matilda looked around, her eyes landing on a line of stores, naming out each one of them into her phone.
"Keep talking, I'm on my way."
A few minutes later, Kanna came into view, her normally calm expression hectic as she grabbed and dragged Matilda all the way back to their gate as soon as the two found one another.
"What about Mari?" Matilda asked as the two wound in between people.
"She could be waiting for us at the gate."
"Could?" Matilda repeated, casting the blue-haired woman an incredulous expression.
"Perfect time to test my luck, huh? Who knows, maybe I'm a gambling prodigy." She smirked, power walking ahead of Matilda.
When the two reached the gate, the passengers had already boarded. The empty seats strung an uneasy cord in both girls' heads.
"She's not here." Matilda pointed out, her expression frantic.
"Do we…miss the flight?" She asked.
"You go in. I'm gonna take another look around." Kanna met Matilda's worried eyes, "I'll make it. Don't worry."
"Just get the luggage and go in. If at least one of us makes it, all of this won't be a complete waste."
Matilda stood idly as she watched Kanna speed away, before returning to their previous seats.
She gasped when she realized that two of their luggage bags were missing.
"Someone…stole our luggage?" She let out a frustrated cry as she yanked the remaining luggage bags with her toward the airplane tunnel; where she flashed a man in uniform her ticket, before angrily slipping past the tunnel and into the airplane.
Matilda's anger had begun to ebb away by the time the stewardess checked her ticket to appoint her to her seat, by then she had returned to worry once again.
The stewardess pulled her out of her thoughts as she pointed in the direction of her seat, and Matilda grabbed her luggage bags once again, following tow, when a head of silvery-blonde hair popped up from one of the back seats, waving frantically at her with a pair of emerald green eyes.
Marion sat in her passenger's seat, slightly on edge. She quietly stared out the window, before turning to Helen with clouded green eyes.
"They'll make it" Helen said optimistically, and no matter how adorable she was, Marion just couldn't bring herself to accept it. She leaned over the seat once again, craning her neck to check for if they'd arrived, yet again.
At the sight of Matilda the tension seemed to ease out of her, a bright smile breaking her lips as she stuck her hand up into the air, her entire body quickly following through. When the two girls made eye contact Matilda expression turned into one of excitement.
"Mari!" She yelled, earning several glares and surprised head-turns as she quickly made her way to the petit blonde girl. Marion cast the others a nervous glance.
"Where have you been. We've been looking all over for you!" A flight attendant made her way toward the two girls, and Marion cast her a sheepish glance.
"I'm going to have to ask you two women to please be quiet."
"Yes, we're sorry. It won't happen again." Marion spoke quickly. As the woman turned away, Matilda's eyes widened.
"Kanna!" The attendant whirled her head around, casting the two a glare. Marion exaggeratedly shushed Matilda, handing the woman another apologetic look.
"Stop screaming!" She hissed.
"Kanna." Matilda repeated "oh my god, Kanna. She's looking for you" thankfully, she'd quieted to a whisper now.
"Outside. In the airport!"
"Are you serious?" Marion gaped, "but we only have…" her voice trailed off as she rummaged through her bag for her cell phone.
"Crap" she hissed, "four missed calls; and only about five minutes left until departure."
She immediately pressed redial, calling Kanna.
"I'll go look for her at the door."
"Wait." Marion called out pulling her phone away from her ear for a moment "put your luggage away first!"
Matilda quickly obliged, grabbing her and Kanna's bags as she stalked off.
"Where in fuck's sakes are you Marie?" Kanna exclaimed.
"Language. And I've been waiting in the airplane for the past half hour. Hurry up, boarding's almost done."
Kanna let out a cry of frustration, "I'll be there."
Marion flipped her phone shut, turning around to look down the isle for Matilda.
She almost face-palmed when she watched her clumsy best friend lose her balance as she tried to shove a luggage bag into storage as quickly as possible. As a result, the bag clambered down, smacking her straight in the face as the two toppled over.
"Helen, go help Matti. God knows she needs it. I'll go wait at the door."
Kanna swiped her forehead, disgusted to find a light streak of sweat matting the back of her hand. She pulled her cell-phone out of her back pocket, checking the time.
"Fuck." She cursed, only two minutes to go.
She looked up, her gate in sight. Kanna power walked like a robot dog on two legs, but she made it; she flashed the man her ticket, bolting through the tunnel to find a woman closing the door.
"Hold it, dammit!" She exclaimed, charging in with a second to spare.
Kanna warily stood straight, handing the woman her ticket. She didn't even show a change of emotion when Marion tackled her into a bear hug. Not until she was seated did she speak.
"Mari" she said as Matilda's face popped into view as well, "we are never doing this again."
Author's Note
Well, I decided I'd undergo reconstruction with this story. I'd been so excited that I'd be posting my Shaman King story at first, that I'd just assumed it'd get better as it went along. Which I'll admit, was kind of stupid.
'Little Girl' was somewhat of a disappointment, 'Little Girl' undergoing reconstruction will hopefully be better.
Review, Alert, or Favourite so I know that someone out there's supporting this story. If not, oh well. ;]
I ain't 'bout to beg ya'.