Chapter 2: Followed by Shadows
Mayu slipped on her shoes and hurried outside for her afternoon walk, stopping at the doorway when she heard a voice. "Be sure to be back in time for dinner," Yuka called after her with a smile. Mayu turned and waved to her to let her know she heard her, before shutting the door and continuing on her way. The cool breeze swept in, hinting of the change from summer to autumn, the leaves just starting to change color. She ran down the sidewalk as fast as she could, a smile on her face as she approached a lovely park, with flowers, birds, luscious green grass and benches. She slowed to a walk after she had crossed the street, admiring the trees colorful leaves. The trees here were always the first to change. She trotted across the grass to a bench and sat down, looking around at the birds and squirrels. She smiled cheerfully, and looked to her left, seeing David walking toward her, hands behind his head. He sat down casually on the other side of the bench, watching the squirrels, which appeared to be talking over an acorn. The two said nothing, as it was most of the days the entire week they had done this. Simultaneously, the two stood up and walked side by side across the park, taking a dirt path that was lined with flowers and bushes and trees. They walked for a few minutes in silence, until Mayu spoke. "Yet another beautiful day," she commented quietly, glancing at him. She noted that the look on his face was peaceful, but his eyes were the same as always, sad, confused and burdened. He grunted in agreement, sighing inwardly.
Another moment of silence, and then she spoke again. "David, I won't force you to tell me… but it bothers me to see you so sad." He looked at her, a slight frown of puzzlement. Her eyes remained on the ground for a moment, but then she looked at him, seriously, yet still kind, caring… and concerned. David let his gaze fall to the ground, remaining silent for a bit longer. She watched him for a minute, but then her gaze, too, went to the dirt path. Finally, he sighed inwardly, looking towards the sky.
"Well, I don't know where to start… do you know who the Care Bear's are?" Mayu thought for a moment.
"I've heard of them, but not really…" David nodded, figuring that. Most people knew of them.
"I'll be rather blunt, then… I was an evil villain by the name of Dark Heart, and it wasn't until a month ago that I stopped. They said that they forgave me, along with some humans… but I don't know… I just doubt that they do, I feel I made a mistake by becoming good." Mayu blinked, looking at him once, but then looked ahead of them. He watched her out of the corner of his eyes, waiting for any sort of reaction.
"You don't doubt their mercy," Mayu spoke up quietly, looking at him. "You doubt yourself, and you have yet to give yourself forgiveness. You don't want to turn evil, but you're afraid you will." He blinked, stopping, and turning to her. She stopped and looked at him. They just stared at each other in silence, Mayu watching him for his reaction, and David searching her eyes, as if to better understand what she had said. David grunted, managing a small smile. "You might be right…" Mayu smiled, giving a small shrug. The two continued their walk in relative silence, admiring the scenes that nature had to show them today.
* * * * * * * * *
Christy gritted her teeth, slamming her fist into a telephone pole in frustration. "Where could he be," she called out angrily to know one in particular, glaring at the pole as if it was the cause of her problems. The twins exchanged glances, seeming tired and hopeless. "We've looked everywhere and asked everyone!"
"Not everyone," John spoke up, forced hope in his voice. "We've only asked the police and local store owners and employees; perhaps we should ask some of the locals." Christy's emotional state didn't improve, folding her arms across her chest and sighing to let out some of her anxiety. John looked around, the crowds quite thin, for most were returning to work or home, the noon rush finished. He spotted one woman walking towards them, a small grocery bag in hand. As she approached them, John politely got her attention. "Excuse me, ma'am, have you seen this boy?" He showed her a picture of a red haired, blue-eyed youth. She blinked, looking a little more closely at it. "He ran away about a week ago." The woman stood up straight, still staring at the picture.
"What is his name," she asked absentmindedly, a look of deep thought crossing her face.
"David." She blinked with recognition.
"Ah, yes, Mayu met a boy by that name about a week ago… as a matter of fact she's on one of her afternoon walks to go see him right now. My name is Yuka, by the way, and if you would like, you are invited to my house and we'll wait for Mayu to return. She might know something more about him."
"We would appreciate that very much, thank you, my name is John." The three young teens began to follow her down the sidewalk, Dawn and Christy introduced them as they went.
"You three aren't from around here, are you," Yuka asked as the approached the front door to her home. Christy and Dawn remained silent, the two girls allowing John to do most of the talking, since he was the one who approached the woman.
"No, we are not," John, admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "Dawn and I have grandparents who live in the country, though, and we were coming to visit for a month with David and Christy." Yuka nodded, leading them into the house, passed the broken clock, and to the dinning room.
"Please, make yourselves at home; Mayu could be home at anytime, but she's been late before." The others nodded, thanking her again, and sitting around the table. John looked up as a pink haired girl walked into the room; she looked about David's age, fourteen, but he couldn't be sure. She looked at Christy, Dawn, and then him, blinking. She smiled, nodding at him.
"Hello, my name's Nana." She sat down across the table from him, beside Christy. John returned the smile and the nod, introduced himself and his companions, as well as explained why they were there. Nana frowned, sitting back and folded her arms across her chest. "Mayu says that they just go on walks through one of the parks. She won't say anything more than that." She shrugged, unfolding her arms and placing her hands on her knees, smiling with excitement. "Hey, would you guys like to play a game with Nyu and I while we wait?" Christy said nothing, still staring off into space, and Dawn turned to her older brother for the answer. John nodded, thinking it would be a good idea.
"Sure, that sounds great." Nana got up and hurried away, only to return a little while later with a deck of cards in hand, and followed by another pink haired girl, but she looked more Yuka's age.
"This is Nyu; Nyu, these are our new friends, Christy, Dawn…" She pointed to each of them as she said their name and then pointed at John, her smile increasing. "And that's John." John blushed slightly, but looked at Nyu, nodding his greeting. Nyu waved.
"Nyu," she said childishly, with a grin, taking a seat beside Christy, while Nana sat beside John, who blushed a little more, but did his best to contain it.
* * * * * * * * * *
Late afternoon, the sun setting early, as it did during the very last few days of summer and first days of autumn. Mayu and David walked side by side down the sidewalk toward Mayu's home, as they usually did at the end of their walks. The two walked in silence, but between them was an aura of understanding and thoughtfulness. Mayu gave herself a small smile, looking at the beautiful array of colors at the horizon, stretching as far across the sky as they could. Even the sun wants today to last forever. She thought to herself, a small blush coming to her cheeks as David stopped and Mayu started toward her home. She turned halfway, giving him a big smile and a wave before she turned and ran to the house.
As she slid the door shut, Kouta appeared behind her. "Mayu, we have some visitors who would like to see you." Mayu's heart stopped as she turned to him, a strong feeling of fear sweeping over her. Kouta noticed the sudden change in her stature, and quickly explained that there was three teens present, who wanted to ask her about something. The purplish-red eyed girl smiled, nodding, and followed him to the dining room. "They seem to be friends of David," he explained as they went, looking back at her. "Apparently he's a runaway." Mayu looked up at him, nodding firmly. When she entered the room, she spoke as soon as everyone looked at her.
"He's in good health," she assured them with a small smile. "I think he's planning on going home soon… he appears to be happier and more peaceful now, compared to when I first met him." Christy smiled, nodding, very glad to hear all of that. Mayu sat down on the floor beside Yuka, her thoughts going to David, wondering if she'd ever see him again after he left with these friends of his. John seemed to read her thoughts, and smiled with understanding.
"Mayu, don't worry, we'll be sure to come back and visit you. I'm sure David would want too." The brunette girl looked up at him, and then smiled, nodding. Nana seemed pleased at this as well, but said nothing, turning to the table and looking at the cards on the table. After a moment of silence, Mayu stood up, speaking again.
"I'll tell David that you are looking for him when we meet tomorrow," she promised with a smile and a polite bow. Christy and the twins also stood up, also bowing politely and turning to Kouta and Yuka.
"Thank you for all of your help," Dawn said sincerely, Christy and John nodding in agreement. Kouta and Yuka smiled, nodding.
"Nyu," Nyu cried, hugging Dawn and Christy at the same time. "'Bye!" Dawn and Christy giggled, hugging her back as best they could. Nana watched them for a moment, and then turned to John, throwing her arms around his neck in a hug. He looked over his shoulder at her, blushing with embarrassment, the butterflies in his stomach going wild.
"You'll be back tomorrow, right," she asked, smiling at him and resting her chin on his shoulder. John chuckled, smiled, and nodded in reply.
"Of course we'll be back tomorrow," John answered, giving her a thumbs up. Nana giggled and released him, waving as he and his friends left the room, and then the house.
Mayu rushed to a window and watched the three friends go, a thoughtful expression creeping its way onto her face. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see Yuka. The light brunette, looked at her with a kind, understanding smile. "Everything will work out," Yuka assured her, giving a gentle squeeze to the girls shoulder. Mayu stared at her for a moment, and then smiled, turning to the window and looking out at the beautiful scenery of green grass, and trees with multicolored leaves.
The rest of the afternoon went by uneventful, Mayu continuing her studies and helping Yuka with dinner while Nana and Nyu cleaned the floors, and Kouta took care of the garden. Mayu was quiet most of the time, a bit more than usual, deep in thought. She attempted to make it not seem so obvious, pretending to pay attention to the conversation, and occasionally ask a question, but kept to herself, mostly. After dinner, she volunteered to the dishes by herself, and proceeded to clear the table. Yuka and Kouta were a little suspicious at first, and Kouta walked into the kitchen, asking her if anything was wrong. "No, I'm just thinking," she told him truthfully with a smile. Kouta watched her for a moment, but then smiled, nodding.
"All right; do you want to play war lords and fuzzballs when you're finished?" Mayu blinked, looking at him, and nodded. Kouta nodded in return, turned around, and walked away, leaving her alone in the kitchen to proceed washing the dishes.
* * * * * * * * * *
Mayu's eyes snapped open as soon as she was sure everyone else was asleep. She slowly and quietly got up, tip-toeing to the door of the bedroom. She grabbed her shoes and silently slipped out, creeping down the hall. As soon as she was outside, she slid the door shut, put on her shoes, and ran down the sidewalk as fast as she could. David's voice played in her head, at a time when she remembered asking him where he stayed at night. For the first few days, just wherever was convenient. I usually hang out at the beach, now. Mayu quickened her pace, steadying her breathing, and zipped around a corner, unaware of the shadow that followed her, stealth-like, quickly and quietly, keeping close to the shadows.