The next day, Sasami thought she did well on the Latin test, or at least marginally okay. Before dinner, Sasami was mopping the floor and studying with Kaatje at the same time.
"Define melancholy!" Sasami said to Kaatje, looking over her shoulder at the vocabulary list on the counter.
"Umm...a feeling of loneliness and sadness?" the redhead tentatively guessed.
"Yes," said Sasami. "Now use it in a sentence."
"Okay, umm...Sasami is feeling melancholy because she misses her sister," teased Kaatje.
"Hey!" protested Sasami. "I am not. You know I wanted to come here."
"No, really, you do seem pretty upset lately."
"It's fine, Kaatje. Really. I'm very happy here."
"That's good."
"Yes...that's just what Annike said."
"You were talking to Annike?" Kaatje said surprisedly.
"Well, yes, is there something wrong with that?"
"No, not at all, it's just that she's a little young to understand and stuff."
"Why not? She's nine. She's nice, I like her a lot."
"That's good."
"Yes. You're sounding a bit repetitive, Kaatje-chan." giggled Sasami.
"Well, sorry!" said Kaatje in mock defense. The two girls laughed and continued their work.
Before dinner, while Kaatje was helping David with some schoolwork, Sasami was laboring over a letter she was working on. She was trying to send it to her family, but she was finding it quite difficult to determine just what to say.
"Dear Friends,
Hi! I hope that you are all well. I miss you a lot, but I like it here. I hope that you are all keeping the house nice and clean and that you're all getting fed properly. How is Ryo-oh-ki? And I hope that nobody is fighting. I am doing okay in school-and I'm getting a very good grade in science, Washuu-chan! I am also doing well in gym class and Latin.
Please don't anyone write me back, because I just wanted to send this letter so you would know I was doing fine. Be good! ^_^ -Sasami-chan ."
It wasn't very good but it was the best she could do at short notice. She quickly addressed it and slipped it into the envelope.
"What are you doing, Sasami?" said Annike, appearing on the stairway.
"Oh, nothing...just mailing this letter!" said Sasami, smiling nervously.
"Who's it to?" the younger girl inquired curiously.
"Oh, nobody!" said Sasami, feigning extreme cheerfulness. *sweatdrop*
"I'll walk with you to the mailbox," she offered.
"Umm...okay!" Sasami said, slipping the letter into her jacket. The two girls walked out of the door.
"Wait up!" cried Annike, hurrying to catch up. "You're writing to the people you used to live with, aren't you?"
"Umm...yes," admitted Sasami. "Don't tell anyone!"
"I won't," promised Annike.
"I just miss them so much!" Sasami sighed.
"I know how you feel," said Annike. "I felt like that when I went away to camp last summer."
The other girl smiled. "Thank you, Annike-chan. Come on, I think it's dinnertime! Race you!" The two of them giggled and laughed as they ran pell-mell up the street.
"Want to go play video games at the orthodontist's office after school tomorrow?" asked Kaatje of Sasami as they brushed their teeth.
"Sure, okay," said Sasami, rinsing her mouth out. "Do you want to come, Annike? We can come and get you at the elementary school."
"Oh, I can't, but thanks for asking. I'm staying late to work on a project."
"What project?" asked Kaatje curiously.
"About Ancient Greece," she said. "I'm doing a Hyper-Studio presentation on the Greek gods and goddesses."
"That sounds really neat," said Sasami. "Can I see it when you're done?"
"Sure!" Annike said excitedly, brushing her hair. "I'll bring it home on a disk, okay?"
"Great!" said Sasami delightedly. "I bet your mom will want to see it too."
"Yeah, she's right, Ann," Kaatje said. "Come on, let's get into bed."
When they were all in bed, Kaatje and Annike's mom came in to say them goodnight.
"Night, honey," she said, kissing Annike on the forehead. "Love you."
"Love you too, Mom," said Annike. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Sami," she said next. "Love you."
"Goodnight, Mrs. van Leyden!" said Sasami happily.
"And goodnight, sweetie," she said to Kaatje. "Sweet dreams, all of you."
"Thanks, you too," the girls said.
"Goodnight, Sasami, goodnight, Annike," said Kaatje.
Goodnight, Kitty, goodnight Annike," Sasami said.
"Goodnight, Sasami, goodnight Kaatje," Annike said.
"Goodnight!" Kaatje leaned over and flicked the light off, and Sasami was once again left staring at the stars.
But tonight she couldn't sleep. She finally got up and went to get a glass of water in the bathroom.
She leaned down and turned on the faucet, bending her head down to drink. She straightened and looked at herself in the mirror-and jumped back in fright.
"Tsunami?" she squeaked, staring into her adult form's face.
"Hello, Sasami," said the ghostly image. "Yes, it's me. I came to tell you of what is to come."
"Oh," said Sasami, terrified and startled.
"You're here for a reason. It's important to the future." And suddenly Sasami was looking not at Tsunami, but at a giant timeline. A pulsing blue line labeled with her name was verging out from a small cluster of glowing lines she recognized as representing Aeka, Ryoko, Tenchi, Washuu and the others. It was going up, trying to reach a more violet-tinged line labeled Tsunami.
"You think you know what's to come?" Tsunami's voice said. "You haven't yet begun."
Sasami gulped. The picture of Tsunami was back.
"You need your friends all around you," she said. "You must try to put the lines right. It cannot be done alone. The question is now how, but who..." And on the timeline reappearing Sasami saw next to her line, a reddish glowing labeled Annike.
"What?" she gasped.
"Don't worry," said Tsunami. "You don't need to worry about this for a long while. Just keep in mind...be sure to balance the distance." And then the mirror went blank and then, finally, showed her own reflection. She spun around and walked out of the bathroom, her feet cold against the tile.
"Huh?" she said, bumping into someone.
"Oh!" said Annike. Sasami stepped back and stared at her. For a minute she had the same translucent, glowing quality as Tsunami...and then it faded.
"Sorry," said Sasami, ducking quickly down the hallway.