Chapter Four

A New Friend!

. . .

"Here it is. Nami Middle."

I gaped. Was everything in this town breathtakingly beautiful?

Takeshi laughed. "Pretty nice, huh? It's really big, but I'll make sure you don't get lost."

I smiled. "Thank you."

He nodded, and then he asked, "Where are you gonna go now? Do you know how to get back to your house from here?"

I froze. How had I not thought of that earlier? I didn't know where aunt Maia lived!

"I guess not," he muttered, laughing again. He grabbed my hand. "I'll take you back to my dad's shop, then you should be able to find your way back from there, right?"

I slipped my hand from his grasp, pretending to run it through my hair while nodding and keeping up with his pace. He didn't seem to notice. I didn't like holding random boys' hands. It didn't feel right.

"Hey, do you play any sports or something?" he asked.

"No," I replied, "but I practice Kung Fu."

Takeshi smirked. "Wanna race?"

I laughed. "You're joking, right?"

His smirk remained. Unfaltering. As if it were mocking me.

"Fine then. Bring it. On three?"

He nodded, and started counting up. "1…2…3!"

And we sped off. Takeshi was the slightest bit ahead, and it aggravated me. Less than a foot in front of me. I could do better than this! But I decided to wait. Let him run full speed, stay behind him, and then at the last second put everything I had so that I beat him. Made sense, right?

Wrong. Seven minutes later, Takeshi and I swiftly entered the restaurant at the exact same time and there was no winner. Darn.

Panting, I mumbled a "Good job" to Takeshi, taking a glance at him. He looked just as tired as I was.

"You too," he panted, smiling at me. I smiled back. We both sat down in one of the tables, resting our bodies. I could barely move. He could barely breath. We laughed when we saw each other so fatigued. And laughed, and kept laughing. Then when we calmed down, we talked. We got along so well that it amazed me. It didn't feel as if we'd met just an hour ago. Rather, it was as if we'd met a long long time ago. We just clicked.

When the lights outside of the restaurant turned on, my eyes widened. "What time is it?" I asked Takeshi.

He looked at the clock on the far side of the room and replied, "Eight o'clock."

I nearly jumped out of my seat. "I still have to go to the pharmacy! Do you know if it's still open?"

He paused. "I think it is. It's right across the street. I'll walk you there if you want."

I smiled at him, already rushing towards the exit of the restaurant. "It's alright, I saw it on my way here. I'll see you… Monday?" I called.

He nodded, waving goodbye as I sprinted out of the shop. When I was outside, I scanned the street and all the stores on it until I saw the word PHARMACY written in capital letters on the far side of the road. It was slightly darker there, and it looked more isolated, which was odd, but I walked there anyway. It probably looked so dark because of how late it was getting. No big deal. Luckily for me it was still open, just like Takeshi had said, so I was able to walk straight in and get my brothers medicine without any problems.

When I walked out, however, I had no such luck. There were three boys who looked a few years older than me waiting by the door, and the second I walked out they made a move for me.

What fools.

. . .

When I arrived back at aunt Maia's, it was late; around 9:30 p.m. I used the key I had left under the doormat earlier today to get inside the house. I always lose my house keys, it's ridiculous. Walking in, I set the pharmacy bag on the coffee table and went up to my room on the third floor. I took off my ballet flats, making sure to put them in their proper place in the closet and then strode into the bathroom, grabbing the hairbrush. I walked out, sat cross-legged on my bed, and then started to brush through my long, black locks of hair; slowly, smoothly, softly. I've always found it so relaxing to brush my hair. When others slid their fingers through my hair, it felt so nice. It never fails to give my head a small tickling feeling where the hair met the skull. It was almost addicting.

The moment I came to terms with the fact that there were no more knots in my hair, I stood up once again and walked into the bathroom, dropping the hairbrush on the counter and grabbing my toothbrush, deciding to get ready for bed. I brushed my teeth, tied my hair into a bun (it gave my hair the most beautiful waves), and walked straight out of the restroom and into my closet, glancing through all the pajamas folded before me. I decided on a pair of short baby blue boxers and a white tank top, grabbing the white slippers to match. Once I was changed, I placed the slippers beside the bed, climbed up under the sheets, and closed my eyes, falling into a light, dreamless sleep. Or so I thought.

. . .

Everything was white.

The sky was white, the ground was white, even the air was white. It was blinding. When I looked down at myself, I noticed that I was even dressed in white. A long, elaborate ivory dress flowing from just below my waist to a couple of feet behind me, trailing along the ground.

But it was getting wet.

Was that snow? I bent down to touch it and felt ice. Crushed ice. So it was snow, I concluded, standing up. Looking at the sky, I realized it was white because it was covered, and I mean covered in clouds. Not an inch of blue sky could be seen for miles. And it was foggy, which only added to the colorless landscape.

"Come here, Kiriyuu."

My head jolted in the direction of the voice, my eyes squinting, searching for the source. There was someone else here. A woman.

"Here, Kiriyuu…"

I trudged through the snow, closer to the voice. Desperately hoping she could explain why I was here, or how I got here. I didn't remember anything.

I felt a hand take hold of mine, and froze, almost literally. She felt like ice itself. Her hand was hard, and cold. "I have something to tell you," she whispered in my ear. I whimpered. I was scared. I couldn't move. She was walking around, standing behind me now, when she whispered, "The snow immobilizes everything. It stops, it struggles, and it shields, but if left too long…"

"It kills," I whispered, my eyes widening. The woman was now in front of me, looking directly into my eyes.

She was nearly as pale as the snow, but soft, and smooth like marble. Her hair was just as long as mine, but white and thin like thread.

It was her eyes that gave her away. They were big, just like mine, with long silky lashes. They were also the most electrifying color of blue you would ever see, just like mine were.

She was me.