CHAPTER TWELVE: Lost Child

Dawn came so suddenly that Serah felt like she hadn't managed to get any sleep at all; The Dance Lessons seemed to take forever, for some reason, leaving a weariness in her bones that just wouldn't leave. Ignoring the sunlight shining onto her pale, and rather blank face, Serah let out a weary breath as she stared up at the ceiling of her bedroom. There were no classes today – a Saturday, and one Serah was determined to enjoy. She stared for a few minutes, wondering what it was that she was going to do for the day – even lying in bed as she was, she knew for a fact that she probably didn't have it in her to practice anything today, even though she really should.

"I haven't read a book in a while." Serah spoke, slowly turning onto her side to face the window to her right, where she slowly closed her eyes once again. This was true – what with everything that had been happening of late, there was practically no ability she had to read a book; After surviving a Kishin Egg's attack, then waking up the next day, and then dance lessons, there was a lot going on that drained Serah of her free-time. She'd been so preoccupied that she didn't even remember that she never received that Kishin Egg soul from the extra lesson, and even if she did, she probably would have decided that she wasn't going to get it. Minutes passed, before Serah dragged herself out of bed. Now that she thought about it, she could go to her favorite cafe, and read a book while she sipped on a glass of mango juice. While not the most productive way to spend her day, she felt it was probably the most fulfilling way she could spend it – after all, on Monday, she was returned to classes, and dance lessons were going to be in full-force then; Since Amanda inspected the leg-injury, she decided that the injury would be healed enough to work properly next lesson.

Judging by the way the sun was gloating as it laughed in that creepy way, Serah surmised that it was probably just after eight in the morning – and the cafe she liked would already be open. For living in a desert, the days were warm, while the nights were a freezing cold, even in winter and summer, this was the same. Serah dragged herself out of bed after a few moments, a faint yawn escaping her as she began to search through her clothes. Since it was a Saturday, and a day off to add to the mix, Serah decided she could wear something a little more delicate than her usual outfit. As she pulled on a pair of medium teal tights with bright blue trim, Serah decided on the little sky-blue spaghetti strap dress she had hanging in her wardrobe. However, as she looked down at her arms, she noticed the sagging skin of her upper arms, and despite that it was barely noticeable to other eyes, she quickly snatched up a skin-tight, long sleeved shirt, and pulled it on before she added the dress. She rolled the sleeves up to her elbows, looking down at the familiar bandages that wound up her forearm.

Serah let out a breath as she carefully removed the bandages, looking down at the gash that had only just begin to heal; Even in the sunlight as intense as it was, she could still see the pink tinge that edged the wound, and the tiniest hints of silver that was the mending skin. The suchers that held the two pieces of skin together so they could heal back in place were a familiar sight, due to the amount of times she had to re bandage the injury. Thankfully, a paper-thin scab began to sew across the gash, signifying that it was finally beginning to heal properly. She still felt irritation from the day that she got that, but she had time to cool down – she just hoped that brat would leave her alone if he did actually see her. Opting to leave the injury to get some air, Serah began to gather her belongings quickly – after all, the sooner she left, the sooner she could get to do something she loved. She quickly pulled her usual converse shoes on as she glanced out at the window; She didn't have any plans or anything for dinner – it would probably be a good idea if she did look at it on her way home. She made a quick attempt at selecting a particular playlist on her mp3 player, before she made her way into the other parts of her small house.

After a quick moment to collect her book, keys and purse, Serah closed the door behind her quickly as she took a step before she turned to face the door; As she carefully locked the door with her keys, a glimpse of pink and orange snapped up Serah's attention rather quickly. She looked down at the makeshift mailbox as the 'snip' of the door's lock clicking in place echoed quietly, and, as she bagged the keys quickly, she carefully picked the envelope up with her left hand. The familiar sight of the looped handwriting with a strangely connected F and Y was a thorn in Serah's side, however she begrudgingly slid it into the back cover of her hardback novel she had tucked beneath her right arm. Deciding not to be bothered with it now, Serah hopped down the front steps, and began the ever-familiar walk through Death City, and towards her favorite Cafe. There weren't too many people about for a Saturday morning, Serah noticed as she walked past Maka and Soul's place. Usually, the streets were a lot more crowded than this – was it possible that she'd woken up earlier than normal? She did wake up before her alarm woke her for once …

Serah's music player clicked over to Pre-Parade, and she could feel her mood begin to pick up as she picked up the pace. She liked the upbeat mood in the song, and it did wonders whenever she felt irritation or bitterness beginning to take hold of her. Something was eating at her though – Serah couldn't put her finger on what, but there was something that just prodded at her the longer she persisted with walking to her favorite cafe – had she forgotten something? She knew it wasn't because of that cursed letter she'd hid in the back cover of her book, that was for sure.

No matter – as Serah placed her gaze to the cafe situated around a fountain down a street to the right, she found herself with the intentions to brush aside her concerns; If she couldn't figure out what it was, then it probably wasn't that important to begin with. There was just two people sitting at the tables that surrounded the cafe, and plenty of free tables for her to chose from. Her favorite place was taken up, though, much to Serah's disappointment, however she noticed her other place was left free – A spot beneath the amethyst coloured umbrella next to the actual fountain. She paused for just a minute at the counter to order a drink, then, once she'd collected her Mango Juice, she made her way towards the empty spot. The stone wall her seat leant against was nice and cool against the warmer air of the desert, cooling the breeze that swept past without any real difficulty. It was also a spot that was out of the way, if not more or less hidden from view.

Letting out a breath, Serah placed herself in the small crevice between the fountain and the wall, her gaze slowly shifting down to her book as she took a sip of her Mango Juice. What was she going to do if she didn't improve, even with these Dancing Lessons? Yes, Lord Death, and even Amanda both seemed convinced that she'd be brought up to speed pretty quickly with the lessons – But of course Serah wasn't convinced. Fingertips tracing the edge of her book, where the corner of that bright, and irritating envelope scratched against her skin, almost as if taunting her with it's presence. Serah had a hard time not crushing the envelope into a scrunch of paper and throwing it away without so much as reading it. Why was the woman sending her letters all of a sudden, anyway? Serah wasn't completely certain, but the woman had never sent her any letters before now; It was strange, and not only that, uncomfortable for Serah to think about.

Finally, as the irritation of the envelope got to her, Serah grabbed the corner of the envelope with the pinching motion of her index finger and thumb, before she pulled the envelope from it's hiding place with a rather careless tug; The paper that formed the top right corner tore a little, revealing an equally as colourful page inside, much like the last letter she'd received. While she had the intention to just be rid of the letter in it's entirety, Serah couldn't help but let out a sigh as she decided she really had better see what the woman wanted this time. Pausing for just a moment to place her book on the table in front of her, Serah then gently slid her pinky finger into the small tear of the envelope, and proceeded to tear the side of the envelope open, much like one would do with a letter-opener. She carefully pulled the page out from the envelope, frowning to herself as she used her free hand to push her glasses back up the bridge of her nose.

Hi Serah,

I hope you're doing well for yourself – I don't hear from you, so I
have to just hope that you're making things work where you are
right now. I really do wish you'd send me something just to let
me know you're alright.

I visited Chicago today to complete the final transactions with
the house – The new owners have a little girl, about as old as
you were when we met; It reminded me of how much I really do
miss you. I was thinking of visiting you; You know, to see how
you're going out in the big world all on your own. I do worry
about you. I do have some things I want to talk with you about –
Things I'd rather not put in writing; I don't even know if you're
getting these letters.

But it's important enough were I'm going to arrange to fly over
and visit you - Are you still in this 'Death City' Andrew mentioned
all those years ago? I never believed him when he told me he
wanted to send you there; A place called 'Death City' was just
way too strange for me to believe back then. I guess, with
everything that's happened, I learned to understand.

I'll bring some Sherbert Toast with me – You still love that stuff,
don't you?

Please, write back,
Heather

A shadow appeared over the letter before Serah had even finished the last line, causing a blank look to cross her face. As she realised that someone was standing right next to her, Serah snapped her gaze to who was standing right there as she hid the letter from sight. Maka was standing right there, in a white dress with a pair of sandals – it must have been warm weather for Maka to wear something out of the normal. Serah blinked, and as she saw Maka beginning to speak, it was in that moment that Serah realised the headphones were still playing in her ears. She quickly put the letter back in the back cover of her book as Maka seemed to grin.

"... that means you're free today, right?" Maka's voice came as soon as Serah had removed the headphones, causing her to lift a questioning eyebrow.

"You'll have to repeat that, I completely missed half of what you said." Serah spoke, and she pointed at the headphones as Maka gave her a confused look.

"Oh, sorry!" Maka spoke, smiling sheepishly as she shifted on her feet. "You said to ask you today about hanging out for lunch – Remember?" Serah blinked as she thought, and she could feel a fractional smile across her face. Yeah, she did say that to Maka – Everything just seemed to drag her attention elsewhere today, Serah noticed. It was warm also, and early – she could get practice in later if she really wanted to.

"Sure, I'll hang. But I don't have anything to contribute to the lunch-hang out." Serah spoke honestly, and she saw Maka smile even more.

"Don't worry about it. We've got plenty, cause of Black-Star's eating habits." Maka spoke, a little pointedly when it came to Black-Star mentioned. Serah thought for a few moments, before she forced a smile to creep back across her face again, while all she wanted to do was curse. And here she thought she'd be able to avoid the annoying brat for the rest of the week. It also seemed like it wasn't just a small lunch hang-out like the last time in the academy.

"Alright, if you're sure." Serah spoke, and she saw Maka smile even more.

"Yep! I'm sure." Maka replied, causing a faint breath to escape Serah. Gingerly, she picked up her book once again, before dragging herself from the seat; It was only then that she noticed that Soul was nowhere to be found. How strange – The white-haired male usually hung around with Maka all the time, much like how all weapon and meister were; But Serah wasn't exactly complaining – It was a nice change. Picking up her mango-juice, Serah then proceeded to follow Maka away from the cafe, and onwards to Maka's place. It was just handy that the cafe served all their drinks in take-away containers; Considering how expensive the Mango Juice was from there, Serah'd be upset if she had to either down it without enjoying it, or just leave it there.

"What is that stuff, anyway?" Maka asked, eyeing the drink in Serah's hand with a strange expression. "Looks kinda weird."

"Mango juice, they call it." Serah answered, holding the cup a little higher so Maka could see properly. "It's more of a mix of purè mango and soda water with mint flakes. Kinda an acquired taste. It's for those that don't like straight sweet stuff."

"Sounds different." Maka spoke, putting emphasis on the word 'different', which caused Serah to giggle slightly.

"It's actually really nice. You wanna try?" She asked, smirking slightly as Maka's rather disgusted look was enough of an answer to her question. "In any case, if Black-Star's there, who else is gonna be there? I know Souls gonna be there."

"Well, mostly everyone I hang around with. Tsubaki, Kid, Liz, Patty – Oh, and Crona and Ragnarok are back, so they're coming too." Maka began to say, causing Serah to drop her gaze down to the ground after a few moments. Death the Kid … How she found that one to be problematic of late – Not so much that there were problems; Just that she could never understand how to deal with him, what with one moment him not even acknowledging her existence, then all of a sudden the next moment, he was apologising to her and going all weird. That's also disregarding yesterday evening when he said hi when she walked past him – Serah wasn't sure what to make of that one, so she preferred to ignore it for now. "Why'd you ask?" Maka questioned, causing Serah to smile slightly to herself.

"Oh, I was just wondering, after all, you should know I don't hang with anyone except for you, and Soul sometimes."

"Oh, I forgot to ask you-" Maka spoke, a smile across her face as she looked back to Serah. "How'd dancing lessons go?" Serah blinked, looking away from Maka as she thought on how she was going to word her response.

"Well, it was okay." Serah spoke honestly, glancing a the now confused Maka. "I just kept on tripping over my own feet all the time when we weren't sitting down and talking."

"Ah, so Lord Death's right! If you get the hang of it, your going to get better!" Maka spoke, and as Serah thought on it for a few moments, she had no real choice but to agree; After all, in that class she tripped and fell more than on that extra lesson with the Kishin Egg. Serah shuddered as she thought back on that Kishin Egg.

"Maka!" Soul's voice suddenly exclaimed, causing Serah to blink in confusion as Maka merely frowned. As Serah looked over towards the left side of the street, she realised as she saw Soul's approaching form that they'd already arrived at Maka's place. "What the hell's going on?! Why's Kid and Black Star in the house?!"

"I told you yesterday! We invited everyone over for lunch." Maka replied, irritation echoing in the tone of her voice. It appeared Serah's presence had gone unnoticed, which was not a problem for the young girl in the least – As she tried to come to grips with what Maka and Soul began to argue over, the colourful letter in the back of her book went completely forgotten, and hidden within the back of the book.