DISCLAIMER: I do not own Digimon. If I did, I would be stinking rich and would likely have better things to do than write stories. As a matter of fact, the only things in this story I can lay claim to are the cat Nefertiri, the girlfriend Jennifer, and a can of pink paint. Feel free to use all three, but you are responsible for the litterbox. (Okay, that was bad. ^^;)
In Loving Memory
Mmrroooww...
Carrie sighed and opened her eyes. A furry white face blinked into view. With a kiss on the nose as a good morning, the cat jumped off her chest and sashayed out of the room importantly.
Carrie groaned and reached for her alarm clock. She had woken up half an hour before the alarm. After tossing and turning some more, she flopped on her back with a defeated sigh. It was no use. She was awake now.
A shower revived her completely and now she stood in the kitchen in her business suit. Another loud meow attracted her attention to the white cat circling her legs.
"Nefertiri! It's all your fault. You woke me up. Didn't you?" She picked up the cat with a smile as it purred happily.
"You know what baby?" The cat fixed its yellow eyes on Carrie. "I think something exciting's going to happen today. I can feel it."
She was sitting on the cross-town bus to her office, enjoying the sunlight coming through the window, when she felt eyes on her. She looked around the bus from her seat: a man reading the Tokyo Daily Standard; an old woman clutching a large purse, fast asleep; two children in school uniforms--there. Her breath caught in her throat. Sitting directly across the aisle, staring fixedly at her, was a man with the bluest eyes she'd ever seen.
When he continued to stare she turned uncomfortably back to the window. She got off the bus hurriedly at the next stop, though it wasn't hers. She moved through the crowd almost at a run for five minutes before she collapsed on a bench, panting and shaking.
Why was she so disturbed? Some creep had been staring at her, that was all. Probably just trying to get a reaction. She ran her fingers through her light chestnut hair, trying to control her breathing. Those eyes...they bore right through her.
Finally Carrie got up and headed for the nearest coffee shop, walking in a daze. She wasn't even watching when she ran into another woman, dropping her briefcase and scattering papers on the sidewalk.
The woman apologized and began to pick up the mess, giving Carrie a chance to look at her. She was wearing jeans, cowboy boots and a fringed jacket. Her hair was dyed a pretty pink with sparkles in it. As the woman got up their eyes met and a strange expression came over her face. Carrie found herself getting nervous again.
"Once again, I'm so sorry."
"That's okay, I wasn't really watching where I was going," Carrie stammered, unable to take her eyes off the stranger.
"MIMI!" Carrie glanced up to see another woman, the same age as the cowgirl, come running up to them. She had shoulder-length brown hair and brown eyes. "I'm glad I found you. I've just talked to Joe and--" She stopped midsentence when she noticed Carrie standing there and looked between her and the woman called Mimi with an intrigued expression.
"Who's your friend?" The woman asked Mimi in a somewhat tight voice.
Mimi smiled. "Sora, this is..."
"Carrie." Carrie prompted.
"And Carrie, this is my good friend Sora. Carrie and I just ran into each other. Literally." They all laughed.
As the three of them went in the shop for coffee, Carrie felt much more relaxed. As she talked to the two women over cappuccinos, she felt like she'd known them all her life.
"Oh, look at the time. I'm sorry Carrie, but we have to get going." Sora cast a meaningful look at Mimi, who looked about to protest. She said goodbye to the girl and asked for her phone number.
Once the two women were a few blocks away from the coffee shop, Sora sat down on a bench and pulled out her cell phone.
"What are you doing?" Mimi asked.
"I'm calling Tai." Sora responded as she flipped the phone open.
"Wait, are you sure that's a good idea? We should at least talk to him in person. In case he faints or something."
Sora studied Mimi for a moment. "You're right. That's a better idea. We'll go back, get everyone together, and then tell them. Then we can all deal with this." She put her phone away and stood up. "After all, it's not every day someone comes back from the dead."