~New York~

Damini thoughtlessly played with the fringe of her skirt. She stared at the passing city buildings as the taxi cruised the street. She popped open her purse and opened up her bottle of pills. She knocked them back and got a quick sip of water in.

"What a shame." The cab driver muttered a bit louder than he expected.

Damini duly asked, "The traffic?"

The driver shook his head. "No, just another pretty thing popping pills. And you look so pale too, it must finally be catching up with you."

Damini was thrown off by the answer. "I have Blackfan-Diamond syndrome." She shot at the driver.

"Huh?" He was confused. Most people would be, it wasn't a common disease.

Damini snapped and raised her tone. "My bone marrow can't produce enough red blood cells for my body. Which means my skin gets paler, I struggle to breath, I get dizzy, I get headaches, I act like a bitch, and I get so weak I have to take a 20 minute cab ride instead of a 7 minute ride on the subway so I don't have to worry about not being able to get off at my stop."

"I'm sorry ma'am." The driver turned all of his attention back to driving.

~One Taxi Ride Later~

"Ahkmenrah?" Damini asked meekly. She walked up behind the man she believed was Ahkmenrah in a gray soft knit sweater and jeans.

He turned around with a large charming smile. "Mini, I really glad you made it."

Damini's face flushed and shade of red glowed on her face. "Well after the Gala and the confession. How could I say no? It was very romantic of you to do that."

Ahkmenrah smiled softly and a light blush dusted his cheeks. "Well if you're ready to tour the gardens I hear there is a beautiful part perfect for a picnic."

"Are you telling me you have a picnic set up as well?" Damini inquired with an arched brow. A playful look gave him away. "Maybe."

And so the two took a stroll through the botanical garden hand and hand. They both were impressed with the display of exotic plants and flowers. They especially loved the pond with an array of colorful lotuses floating on the pond. If there was one flower the both of them could agree on as a favorite, it was the lotus because they symbolized their heritages. They had spent about an hour and a half of roaming before Damini began getting tired. She didn't say a single word about it, though; she wanted to push herself for the sake of the date. However, Ahkmenrah could easily read that she was growing tired. He checked his watch for the time, it was just about 1. Though he wasn't hungry, never really did need to eat, but for Damini, he felt it be a good time.

"Mini do you want to have lunch now?" He asked suddenly snapping Damini out of her trance. "Oh, yes. That's sounds nice. I could use the food. H-" She was hesitant. "How far is it from here?"

"I'd say about 5 minutes, I'm guessing from the map." He fumbled with the small folded pamphlet. The map took up one whole side of it, but Ahk was focused on only one section of it.

"We shouldn't waste any time then." Damini grabbed his arm and dragged him forward to her.

Ahk folded up the map and slip it into his pocket. He freed his arm from Damini's grip to only slide it around her waist. Damini tensed at the sudden contact which made Ahkmenrah worry. "Are you alright?"

She nodded. "Just fine. I did not expect you to place your arm around my waist." Guilt washed over her features. "If you do not mind I'd like it if you wrapped your arm around my shoulders. I prefer that position instead.I apologize for asking you to move your arm. I just do not like the feeling I get from being held around the waist. It makes me feel like I'm a possession."

Ahk moved his arm without any complaints."A possession?"

The question wasn't directed to Damini but she answered it anyways. "Yes, it is like I am in a relationship where there is no feelings just physical needs. I do not know how to express this in English."

Ahk had gotten the message loud and clear but he was still a bit curious."I believe I understand what you're saying. What do you feel with my arm around your shoulder?"

"Safe. A small problem I had when traveling; men would often stare at me and follow me around. My caretaker, a very nice man, would put his arm around my shoulders and scare away the stares." Damini had a bright smile that lit up her face and gave a glow.

"Our spot is over under the hanging flowers over there." Ahkmenrah pointed over to the area where an empty blanket. When they walked over to the blanket, a small little card was standing in the center atop of a basket.

With a little help from Ahk Damini was able to settle comfortable on the blanket. As Ahk took a seat next her; Damini opened the basket and began taking out the food. Soon enough the entire basket was out and on the blanket. Ahk was able to order the all the food beforehand when he ordered the tickets for the garden.

Damini laid her back on Ahk' when she thought of something. "Ahk, you've never told me where you grew up."

"Hmm?" His mouth was full of food so he couldn't manage a proper response. He used his time chewing to come up with a lie. "Oh...a desert city with this beautiful river. A lot of people were able to farm in the area. The people were very religious; we really worshipped our gods. Anything that happened was for a reason. I was privately tutored and I was going to attend...Cambridge. I had a whole life and this set future...My jealous older brother decided to take it away. I was going to have the 'better life' and 'I was the favorite child'. My parents were going to give me control of their work and assets. My brother caused a lot of troubles and my parents didn't feel like he'd be the best fit. I haven't spoken to him since…how about you?"

"I was as you say 'home-schooled'," Damini stopped as if the words didn't fit, but she shook her head and continued speaking. "The company was the only 'real' school that I knew of. My caretaker was a former dancer. He was a lead male, the Nutcracker, for most of his career. He was my idol for as long as I can remember. I was expected to be excellent in my dancing and so he pushed me to be the best. I was having problems with...fainting and they found out I had a couple of health issues. I almost wasn't a dancer, but the company paid for my meds and treatment."

Ahk nodded, "Does that happen often?"

"No. It never happens, but everyone in the company knew me. They called me mladshaya sestra or little sister. My caretaker had started the collection, and everyone gave up part of their salary. It was really heartwarming to know they all wanted me to get better." From her tone of voice, Ahk got the vibe that she was eternally grateful for the efforts.

"That sounds wonderful. I for what seemed a lifetime was alone. Thankfully I can say I know the feeling of being really close to a second family. It was thanks to my brother that I ended up acting and I met the other actors. The other museum actors are all I have now, besides you."

"That's nice. I miss the company, but I hope that the school staff and I can become close. I'm happy that I have someone I can put my trust into."

"Right, I'm someone you can trust." Ahk couldn't help feeling like the worst person in the world.

Inkwolf: Hi guys I hope you enjoyed the latest installment of A Moonlight Path. This will be the last post for this year unless I get inspired for my next chapter. Speaking of which, I want to hear cute date ideas for the next few chapters. After I'm done with the cute date stuff I'll get back into the plot.