Ch.18                     "URAINA'S TAPE."

          Mr. Rainori stretched the sofa and started to lie down.  Sora, Yolei and Kari shared a queen-sized bed while their Digimon shared the floor with a quilted blanket.  "Yolei, what you suppose Von disliked us having this room?" Kari asked.

          "I'm not sure.  But the room doesn't seem to have been used at all.  I checked the drawers and there wasn't anything inside them.  There doesn't seem to be belongings either," Yolei answered.

          "It doesn't seem right to intrude.  I mean, we shouldn't have come here."

          "Don't worry about that, Kari.  It's hospitality here in Japan to invite strangers and help them.  Besides, I don't think that this room is reserved for anyone.  It must just be an extra bedroom in case there are visitors like us," Sora assured Kari.

          "I'm still not sure.  And what did Von's dad mean when he said that she's not coming back tonight?"

          "I think he meant Von's sister.  They did say that they are still trying to find her," Yolei answered Kari.

          "Which means that this room could be reserved for her return," Sora concluded.

          Meanwhile Tai, Matt, Izzy, Joe and T.K. shared Mr. Rainori's room.  Next door was Von's bedroom.  Ken, Davis, Cody and Von shared the room.  Davis was already fast asleep, snoring.  The others couldn't even begin to sleep.  Ken and Cody forced their eyes shut while Von stared straight in front of himself, at the plain and dull ceiling.  Von started to imagine the ceiling being transparent.  He imagined that he was out in the open because he saw a glowing crescent moon and stars shining.  He imagined his eyes twinkling, reflecting the light the stars emit.  Then, in his daydream, he heard his sister.  He heard her say, Isn't the sky most beautiful at night?  I just wish I could fly and stay with them in the heavens forever.  Von got up and walked to the window.  He peered through the window, thinking that his sister was there, just outside.  He was disappointed though, he saw nothing but the white snow.  The sky had not cleared.  He couldn't see the night sky either.  Not knowing that Ken and Cody weren't asleep, Von kept staring through the window, waiting for the blizzard to break and Uraina to return.

          Davis shifted his body and began mumbling, "Digivolve Imperialmon....  Digivolve.  Go get the Emperor."  Ken and Cody got up, awakened by Davis' sudden words.  Von didn't react though; he was too involved with his daydream.  "Why aren't you asleep, Von?" Ken asked, walking towards him.

          Von didn't answer.  He continued to daydream uninterrupted.  "He can't sleep with Davis' snoring either," Cody joked as he joined Ken toward Von.

          "Von.  Von," both of them called out and patted his shoulder.  Von's daydream faded.  He woke up from his daydream, startled to see Ken and Cody beside him.

          "What were you doing, Von?" Cody queried.  "There's nothing out there."

          "Yeah.  There's nothing out there," Von repeated.  "We should probably get some rest now."

          "I don't think we could.  No offense but Davis' snoring is not quiet enough to allow us to sleep."

          "You should have said that earlier, Ken.  I've got some earphones in the drawer.  We could connect the wires to the stereo and listen to soft music.  I'll go get them," Von replied and walked to his drawer.  "There should be three pairs," Von said as he opened the third drawer and looked inside.  He paused for a moment before he reached for the ear phones.

          "Von?"

          "Yes?  Oh.  Here they are," Von stated as he grabbed the pieces and closed the drawer.  He handed them the earphones and moved the stereo closer to them.  "Okay, they're connected.  How about listening to a tape?"

          "Fine, as long as it doesn't have Davis' snoring," Cody stated.  "It's this button, right?" Cody asked as he pressed the play button to play the first tape.  Von paused.  He was daydreaming again.

          This time, Ken and Cody noticed it.  Cody stopped the music, ejected the tape, "It's not the music, right?  It's not that bad, is it?"

          "No, it's not bad at all.  In fact, it's my little sister's favourite."

          "What's the name of the song?"

          "I never heard of it before," Ken said.

          "I asked her.  None of us know.  She said it was a secret gift to her.  Even the name of the song is secret."

          "Why was it in the stereo?  Would she have taken it with her?" Ken asked.

          "Three nights before she went missing, she showed me the tape, and played the tape in the stereo for me to hear.  She told me that she had it for years.  She said that she wanted me to hear it because she thought that I would be able to tell her the name of the song and who might have sent her it.  But I didn't know.  I told her that.  She wasn't disappointed thought.  Instead, she asked me if I could find out the name of the song and who sent her the tape for her.  I promised her that I would.  She thanked me.  She gave me this," Von said and pointed his index finger to an airplane that was hung to the ceiling, "her model airplane, that she had since she was seven.  She told me not to tell Dad.  She didn't want him to know that she accepted a mail from an unknown sender."

          They stared straight up.  "She loves to fly....  Her dream had always been to fly....  She always had that dream...."  Silence filled the room.  No one knew what they could say so they said nothing.