Selphie insisted on stopping at her house before going to Mrs. Elly's because she said it looked like a couple of sparrows started a family in their hair. She forced a brush into Danari's hands, and rushed into her bathroom to touch up her makeup.
Danari ran Selphie's brush through her hair, and felt her stomach somersault again. She couldn't get her mind off of all the time she spent with Sora, Riku, and Kairi, but each time she thought back on a memory, she realized how empty it was. They all grew up together, played on their off-shore island together, but there were no details. No inside jokes, no moments of tenderness, no emotion. They were her best friends, but for some reason Danari felt like she was going to meet them for the first time.
"Ready?" Selphie said and popped out of the bathroom holding a small leather purse.
"Do you sometimes feel…? Nevermind. Let's go." The thought that Selphie might feel the same way about their old friends loosened the tightness in Danari's chest, but the way Selphie always talked about them convinced her that she was alone on this one.
"I wonder how different Riku will be this time," Selphie said, once she closed her front door behind them.
"What's that mean?" Danari said. Perhaps there was a chance Danari wasn't crazy after all.
"Well you remember. He was all moody and stuff last time they came home."
"Wasn't he always moody?" Now that Selphie mentioned it, Danari thought she knew what Selphie meant, but just like always, those memories seemed barely out of reach.
"What are you talking about? You of all people should've notice the difference."
"You know me. I can't remember anything that happened a month ago."
Danari's shoulders were tingling like they always did when she was about to get sunburnt, so she was glad when they came to the small house with the red terra-cotta roof. Most of the houses on this gravel road looked like that, but the intricate painting of the galaxy on the front door marked this house as Mrs. Elly's.
They walked up the three stars leading to the door, and Danari took in a deep breath before pressing her finger against the small round doorbell. She heard music like wind chimes coming from behind the door, then a thump, followed by hasty footsteps. Perhaps it wasn't too late to bail. There was still time to convince Selphie to play ding-dong-ditch and avoid this whole ordeal, but then the door flew open and Danari found herself face-to-face with a jubilant Mrs. Elly. Her smile was so wide, Danari thought it was permanently melted into her apple-like cheeks.
"Come in! Come in! I'm so excited to see you girls! Tidus said you were on your way, and I think they're all waiting for you upstairs," she said, and ushered Danari and Selphie inside her foyer filled with spinning mobiles. She gave them a tight squeeze, but her little arms couldn't fit around the both of them. "You're both so adorable. This way! Oh, my I almost forgot, I have some cookies in the oven. Danari, sugar, you wouldn't mind giving me a hand."
"Of course not," Danari sputtered, but only after Mrs. Elly had grasped her hand and emphatically pulled her to the kitchen.
The whole room was decorated in earthy colors, and the counters were covered in little trinkets that made it look like a gift shop. Mrs. Elly grabbed a chicken shaped pot-holder and pulled open the oven door. Coconut and vanilla swirled into Danari's nose, and her mouth watered.
"You can put these on a plate once they've cooled off a bit. Oh, I've dropped one." Mrs. Elly leaned over to pick the fallen cookie off the floor while attempting to balance the hot tray of cookies on one hand. Danari rushed over, snatched up a cow shaped pot-holder, and took the tray from her, just before the other cookies slipped off of it.
"Gracious! You're quick on your feet, aren't you," Mrs. Elly said. "I should have you around the kitchen more often."
Danari smiled, and felt a warmth cluster in her chest. She laid out the cookies like a pyramid, and stuffed two in her mouth when Mrs. Elly wasn't looking. Most coconut cookies crumble, but Mrs. Elly's cookies were so moist that Danari thought they could be pies. All twenty-seven cookies were able to fit on two plates.
"Wonderful. Take one of those up with you," Mrs. Elly said, and pushed Danari back towards the foyer where the stairs were.
Danari appreciated her brief moment with Mrs. Elly, because it helped her nerves settle a little bit. Walking up the stairs, Danari even felt a little excited to see her estranged friends. She heard four voices coming from the second door down the hall, so she pushed the door open.
It was a small room, with zig-zag wallpaper and beige carpet. Tidus sat in a simple oak desk chair, and Selphie was leaned against the desk behind it. On the twin bed beneath the window sat two boys Danari had never seen before, yet she recognized them immediately. The boy with spikey brown hair and a black shirt was Sora, and the taller boy with long silver hair was Riku. How could she have so easily forgotten what her close friends looked like?
"Hey, guys," Danari said. Riku eyebrows were furrowed, and Sora stared at her with his mouth hanging slightly open.
"Sora's mom finally let you go, huh?" Selphie said. She never let tense silences last too long.
"Yeah, she had me bring up some cookies." Danari held out the plate, but only Tidus took one, so she handed him the whole plate and sat on the floor next to Selphie. "So… where've you guys been?" Danari tried to sound casual, because she figured they had heard that question one too many times already.
Riku kept staring at Danari with the same, muddled expression. Sora let out a single laugh and said, "Oh, um. Here and there."
"They're not telling, again," Tidus said. "Sora's mom said the police will try to get it out of them tomorrow."
"Didn't work last time, did it?" Sora said, jabbing Riku in the ribs with his elbow.
"What about Kairi? Did she come back with you?" Danari said.
"So you're one of Kairi's friends," Riku said, and his expression softened.
"Well, yeah," Danari said.
"Oh! Well, she's coming later, I think. She hadn't decided yet before we left," Sora said. He sprung off of the bed, put on a goofy smile, and stuck out his hand. "I'm Sora, by the way, and this is Riku."