When I woke up the next day, I had a huge-ass headache. I was so glad
it was Saturday so that I could spend the whole day relaxing anyway. I
still saw that woman in my mind, the teal-haired woman with the white skin.
Who was she? And why did she haunt my mind so? Only Mai was able to do
that, and she had good reason to.
"Hey, Joey!" Mai's loud, boisterous voice sounded. I was home alone; Serenity and Mom had gone shopping, so she came in without knocking and barged open the door to my room. I was laying in bed, and instantly covered myself with the blankets, being more naked then I cared to be around Mai right now.
"Gonna sleep all day?" She asked. "Its noon, come on!" She ordered, taking my hand. I immediately broke free of her grip.
"I just had a headache, let me get a shower." I said. Mai nodded and left the room, allowing me to pick up the change of clothes I brought over and hop in the shower.
As I started cleaning myself, I thought about the woman some more. She seemed so different and yet so natural, and what the hell was up with that fountain, was I hallucinating? Did Tristan or someone as a practical joke slip something funny in my food? Probably not, they wouldn't do anything dangerous, more then likely I was just daydreaming.
"Hey, Joey, you're like a woman when it comes to getting a shower." Mai opened the bathroom door and shouted to me while I was still in the shower. I grinned, got ready, and quickly followed her out the door.
"I'll drive, we're going for a ride." She said. We never had gone for a ride before, what was she up to?
"Hey, were you feeling okay last night?" She asked.
"Why?" I was confused. Did she know something about the woman?
"Nothing much, Tristan said he started having these strange visions when he slept last night, and they gave him nightmares. Something also happened to me, but I remember very little about it, only that I wasn't feeling well in the morning. Did something happen to you or was it just some kind of coincidence." So I wasn't just imaging things, but it didn't answer any questions. I told Mai about the fountain, and the woman. Although it happened only for a second, I could swear I saw a look of knowledge across her face, but in a flash, it was gone.
"You know something about it?"
"Just some stupid myth I heard when I was a kid, but that's all it is." She responded. "Let's go to Tristan and see if you're image matches his."
Tristan was sitting up in his room, but his face was extremely agitated. He looked like he was having mondo headaches like me.
"What the hells up with you?" I asked as a joke.
"These...these damn visions are interfering with my normal thoughts. I thought they would have ended after I woke up, but I still keep seeing them."
"Hey, ever see a woman with green hair?"
"Once, but I've seen so many that I can't remember much about her." Tristan looked like he was really having head problems: He was on his knees, and one hand was kept on the ground as if he would fall down if it wasn't there. Mai and I helped him sit on the bed.
"Serenity is coming over later tonight, I called her and told her about it, and she's gonna stay over tonight."
"I insisted." Mai said before I could retort. I couldn't argue with her, so I grudgingly said fine. Tristan looked quite pleased at the situation.
"C'mon Joey, Tristan seems fine and when he can stop seeing pictures like a crazy, we can all go to the movies. We're going to Varon's, come on." She dragged me by the arm and nearly flung me into the car.
Varon had come to town not long after we met him in America, and now he ran an antique armor store in the city. There were more buyers in the city then we thought, and Varon made a lot of money. He still exhibited antique collections of armor from all over the world, and we often came just to chat and look around.
When we came in, Varon was polishing a piece from Europe, and he went right over to Mai and kissed her hand. She batted her eyes at him playfully, and then smacked him upside the head.
"Don't kiss me." She ordered flatly. Varon rubbed his cheek as we started looking around. He went back to his work, and I was still having a headache, so we didn't stay long. I took a seat and got a soda while Mai and Varon chatted about something. Were they serious? Were they going out? Probably not, guess that meant the room was still open for me. I drifted off to sleep while waiting, and when I dreamed, I thought I saw the green haired woman again. I moved forward, trying to find her, but I fell on my face and woke up instead.
"Fuck!" I cursed. That was really embarrassing, and Mai had been watching, so she couldn't stop laughing as we drove back to Tristan's house.
Serenity and Tristan were up in his room, and she had a deck of Tarot cards. She had bought them once for fun, but I never got how they worked. She didn't take it seriously, and neither did anyone else I know.
"Hey guys, Tristan and I were just playing a game. I had to use these because someone stole my other cards. Tristan can guess these cards pretty well."
"What do you mean?" Mai asked.
"Watch. Tristan, what card am I holding up?"
"King of Swords." He answered after shutting his eyes and concentrating.
"He's right. He's gotten every one right since we started playing. Maybe those strange visions he's been having mean that he can predict the future?" Serenity suggested.
"That sounds really absurd." Mai said.
"Yeah, no one can predict the future, it just happens. Tristan just has dumb luck, with emphasis on the dumb" I said. Tristan responded by giving me a noogie, which cracked Serenity and Mai up both.
"Probably." Tristan said. "But when I beat your ass at cards next time, better not say I cheat!" He and Serenity went back to their card game.
"You're feeling better?" I asked.
"Yeah, I'm not having the visions anymore, or rather, I can stop seeing them if I try not to. I don't get it, maybe we'll ask Yugi and the spirit of the puzzle tomorrow." He said. Mai and I saw that the problem was under control, so we left and went back to her house. My father was assuredly drunk, so, rather then chance waking him up and earning a bloodletting, I asked to stay at her place. Mai seemed a little nervous at first, but I laughed at her, asking her what was up. She smiled, said nothing, and drove to her house.
Mai's apartment was about as big as the one my father and I lived in. She had only one bedroom, but the couch would suit me just fine.
Restlessly, I tossed and turned. That strange woman was haunting me. Once, I woke up in the middle of the night, hoping the get some air, when I saw Mai on the porch. She looked out at the moon, and she looked...almost different. Maybe it was just a trick with the light, or maybe my mind was playing tricks on my overactive imagination, but I could swear she was as pale as the woman in my visions. I wanted to go talk to her, but I was so awestruck at the similarity that I couldn't budge from the couch. She appeared to be holding something in her hands, and then she put it in her pocket, and walked away back to her room.
For some reason, I was so shaken by that incident. Was it something I wasn't supposed to see? And why did Mai appear that way? In the morning, she looked fine as always. I don't think it could have been the moonlight, she was paler then that. As she drove me back to my house so I could get some new clothes, I could swear that something had woken me up to see that moment. I had been able to sleep despite the visions of the woman except for that one moment. It couldn't been something practical, was it a coincidence, or was it something...more?
"Hey, Joey!" Mai's loud, boisterous voice sounded. I was home alone; Serenity and Mom had gone shopping, so she came in without knocking and barged open the door to my room. I was laying in bed, and instantly covered myself with the blankets, being more naked then I cared to be around Mai right now.
"Gonna sleep all day?" She asked. "Its noon, come on!" She ordered, taking my hand. I immediately broke free of her grip.
"I just had a headache, let me get a shower." I said. Mai nodded and left the room, allowing me to pick up the change of clothes I brought over and hop in the shower.
As I started cleaning myself, I thought about the woman some more. She seemed so different and yet so natural, and what the hell was up with that fountain, was I hallucinating? Did Tristan or someone as a practical joke slip something funny in my food? Probably not, they wouldn't do anything dangerous, more then likely I was just daydreaming.
"Hey, Joey, you're like a woman when it comes to getting a shower." Mai opened the bathroom door and shouted to me while I was still in the shower. I grinned, got ready, and quickly followed her out the door.
"I'll drive, we're going for a ride." She said. We never had gone for a ride before, what was she up to?
"Hey, were you feeling okay last night?" She asked.
"Why?" I was confused. Did she know something about the woman?
"Nothing much, Tristan said he started having these strange visions when he slept last night, and they gave him nightmares. Something also happened to me, but I remember very little about it, only that I wasn't feeling well in the morning. Did something happen to you or was it just some kind of coincidence." So I wasn't just imaging things, but it didn't answer any questions. I told Mai about the fountain, and the woman. Although it happened only for a second, I could swear I saw a look of knowledge across her face, but in a flash, it was gone.
"You know something about it?"
"Just some stupid myth I heard when I was a kid, but that's all it is." She responded. "Let's go to Tristan and see if you're image matches his."
Tristan was sitting up in his room, but his face was extremely agitated. He looked like he was having mondo headaches like me.
"What the hells up with you?" I asked as a joke.
"These...these damn visions are interfering with my normal thoughts. I thought they would have ended after I woke up, but I still keep seeing them."
"Hey, ever see a woman with green hair?"
"Once, but I've seen so many that I can't remember much about her." Tristan looked like he was really having head problems: He was on his knees, and one hand was kept on the ground as if he would fall down if it wasn't there. Mai and I helped him sit on the bed.
"Serenity is coming over later tonight, I called her and told her about it, and she's gonna stay over tonight."
"I insisted." Mai said before I could retort. I couldn't argue with her, so I grudgingly said fine. Tristan looked quite pleased at the situation.
"C'mon Joey, Tristan seems fine and when he can stop seeing pictures like a crazy, we can all go to the movies. We're going to Varon's, come on." She dragged me by the arm and nearly flung me into the car.
Varon had come to town not long after we met him in America, and now he ran an antique armor store in the city. There were more buyers in the city then we thought, and Varon made a lot of money. He still exhibited antique collections of armor from all over the world, and we often came just to chat and look around.
When we came in, Varon was polishing a piece from Europe, and he went right over to Mai and kissed her hand. She batted her eyes at him playfully, and then smacked him upside the head.
"Don't kiss me." She ordered flatly. Varon rubbed his cheek as we started looking around. He went back to his work, and I was still having a headache, so we didn't stay long. I took a seat and got a soda while Mai and Varon chatted about something. Were they serious? Were they going out? Probably not, guess that meant the room was still open for me. I drifted off to sleep while waiting, and when I dreamed, I thought I saw the green haired woman again. I moved forward, trying to find her, but I fell on my face and woke up instead.
"Fuck!" I cursed. That was really embarrassing, and Mai had been watching, so she couldn't stop laughing as we drove back to Tristan's house.
Serenity and Tristan were up in his room, and she had a deck of Tarot cards. She had bought them once for fun, but I never got how they worked. She didn't take it seriously, and neither did anyone else I know.
"Hey guys, Tristan and I were just playing a game. I had to use these because someone stole my other cards. Tristan can guess these cards pretty well."
"What do you mean?" Mai asked.
"Watch. Tristan, what card am I holding up?"
"King of Swords." He answered after shutting his eyes and concentrating.
"He's right. He's gotten every one right since we started playing. Maybe those strange visions he's been having mean that he can predict the future?" Serenity suggested.
"That sounds really absurd." Mai said.
"Yeah, no one can predict the future, it just happens. Tristan just has dumb luck, with emphasis on the dumb" I said. Tristan responded by giving me a noogie, which cracked Serenity and Mai up both.
"Probably." Tristan said. "But when I beat your ass at cards next time, better not say I cheat!" He and Serenity went back to their card game.
"You're feeling better?" I asked.
"Yeah, I'm not having the visions anymore, or rather, I can stop seeing them if I try not to. I don't get it, maybe we'll ask Yugi and the spirit of the puzzle tomorrow." He said. Mai and I saw that the problem was under control, so we left and went back to her house. My father was assuredly drunk, so, rather then chance waking him up and earning a bloodletting, I asked to stay at her place. Mai seemed a little nervous at first, but I laughed at her, asking her what was up. She smiled, said nothing, and drove to her house.
Mai's apartment was about as big as the one my father and I lived in. She had only one bedroom, but the couch would suit me just fine.
Restlessly, I tossed and turned. That strange woman was haunting me. Once, I woke up in the middle of the night, hoping the get some air, when I saw Mai on the porch. She looked out at the moon, and she looked...almost different. Maybe it was just a trick with the light, or maybe my mind was playing tricks on my overactive imagination, but I could swear she was as pale as the woman in my visions. I wanted to go talk to her, but I was so awestruck at the similarity that I couldn't budge from the couch. She appeared to be holding something in her hands, and then she put it in her pocket, and walked away back to her room.
For some reason, I was so shaken by that incident. Was it something I wasn't supposed to see? And why did Mai appear that way? In the morning, she looked fine as always. I don't think it could have been the moonlight, she was paler then that. As she drove me back to my house so I could get some new clothes, I could swear that something had woken me up to see that moment. I had been able to sleep despite the visions of the woman except for that one moment. It couldn't been something practical, was it a coincidence, or was it something...more?