Little Moments

1- At Risk of Death

I don't know what took us to that place. Okay, we don't believe that the house is haunted, but it was still an abandoned house, it was the middle of the night, and we were without an adult who could protect us.

"But we don't need them. We can protect ourselves," says Kayla, when her sister, Mikhayla, asked why we were here.

I thought that she was right.

Lewis was the only boy in the group. One of his friends, Jack, refused to come. He says that we are too curious and that will be the death of us. I hope he was exaggerating.

As we are walking, we find the scarecrow. Our first reaction was to run, although Kayla is trying fight to protect the rest of us. Mikhayla falls off the stairs, so Nataly and I run to help her, but I was very worried about Lewis, and almost went back to help him.

I don't know why I'm so worried about him and not Kayla, although both of them are facing the scarecrow. Maybe because I've known him for a long time, or because Kayla was a warrior and Lewis was not.

But Nataly stopped me from going back to help, and we helped Mikh get away from there.

"We need help!" Nataly yells.

But I will not leave Lewis there with that thing. Was it courage, madness or something else that urged me to go back? I don't know, but that was my final decision. Both Nataly and I go back to the house, while she tries to stop me from going back.

"Wait, Franny! You'll end up dead!" She calls to me.

"Better to die in fight than live knowing that I left my friends to die without helping them," I shouted back, while still running. "What's the problem, Nataly? Mikh is the one with the fear, not you. Kayla is your sister! You will abandon her to save your life?"

"I was following the orders."

"So? Stop being the super-behaved princess for one moment and help!"

"I never would have thought that you would ask to me disobey orders."

"The risk of death makes us all do things we never would've thought we'd do."

"All of this is not for Kay," she says. "It's for Lewis, is it not? Don't you like him?"

"Of Course! He is my friend, like you three."

"You know what I mean."

Of course I understand what she means, but now is not the time for those feelings to come out. And she is only seven years old! Why does it interest her?

"I was just joking. It's called friendship. One strong and rare friendship. When we are Star Friends, we are the most important things in each other's lives, after our families."

But the scarecrow is approaching us, and I drag her to the nearest door.

She turns on the lights, that surprisingly work in this abandoned place, and she starts to cry. I can tell she is scared, and I join her for a little bit. Dry blood is smeared on the entire floor, and I spot it on the walls and ceiling too. There are heads of kids stacked in a corner, all with scared looks on their faces.

The scarecrow is approaching, guided by Nataly's crying. I couldn't find another exit, so I was ready to fight. We need to get out of this place and search for Lewis and Kayla.

Why am I so sure that they are alive? I don't know, but I trust that they can handle themselves, and go with the gut feeling that they are okay.

Nataly tries to help me, but she doesn't look very well.

Suddenly, Lewis appears. He has a sword in his hand, but I couldn't see Kayla. He attacks the scarecrow without fear and commands to us leave, but I will not leave him alone this time. The three of us fight together, all protecting each other, and I start to understand what Nataly is saying about friendship. For we are true friends; we make the impossible possible.

The scarecrow was beating Nataly, so I run to help her. Lewis also came in our direction. I was trying protecting Nataly, when the head of the scarecrow falls down and disappears. I see Lewis, holding his sword, before he falls. I catch him, but now I'm not sure what to do.

I hear a laugh.

Kayla is in the doorway. I think that she is planning on making a comment about the scene before her, much like her little sister, but she limits herself to smile and asks, "Are you okay?"

"I'm alive. And you?"

"I am too," she laughs again.

She approaches Lewis, after Nataly and smiles.

"They are alive."

She pulls little bottle out of her pocket, and gives some of the liquid for both. It doesn't seem to have an effect on Nataly, but Lewis was waking.

"Franny!" he calls to me, before opening his eyes.

I smile and ask, "Are you okay?"

He smiles too and nods his head. I hear Kayla laughing again.

"We all are all right. Thank goodness," she exclaims happily.

We all laugh. Nataly is awake, so we head back to the city.

When I think about all that happened that night, I still feel the power of our union, our friendship, that Kayla calls love, a love for our friends. It is something great and powerful, something inexplicable and eternal. But she was laughing when said it so I don't know if she was serious or just joking.

But one thing is right, Lewis and I promised to protect one another, and no matter what happens, we are together. I hope that something like this event doesn't happen again; nothing with monsters and magic. This event was enough for one lifetime, but in the end, I guess it is something we can all learn to laugh about.