¿* Pinked * Memories *?

¿* Chapter Two * Seravi's Prayer *?

¿**? Early morning, in Seravi's house...

Seravi was sitting in his usual spot at the table quietly sipping his tea. Cha-cha and Riya had just departed for school.

"You're so deep in thought Seravi," Elizabeth called out to him from atop the table where she was sitting.

Seravi opened her eyes and put down his cup. "I don't know Elizabeth, something feels wrong..."

"Was it connected to what happened to you yesterday?" she asked him.

¿**? flashback, yesterday before supper

He had just finished cooking the meal for the children when--

'SERAVI!!!!!'

He heard a scream inside his mind. He went to the children immediately, thinking it might be one of them. But when he looked in on them he saw that they were sitting around the table happily making noises, but no trouble whatsoever.

He turned to the window outside. The sun has already set for a while now, darkness once again covered the land.

He turned back to the children and called them to their meal then.

"I just...I don't know Elizabeth... something feels wrong... very, very wrong..."

¿¿* *??

¿**? Later that day

Seravi's continuing train of thought was broken when Cha-cha came in through the door and greeted him happily, and as usual, she was followed by her two friends.

The two boys behind her were having a conversation and debating as to what they should play for that afternoon.

Shiine came in and looked around the cottage, as if looking for someone. He frowned and was about to say something when Cha-cha suddenly burst out. "I know! Let's play ball!"

"Ball!!! Yeah!!" Riya said and turned into a little white wolf.

The two went out immediately, leaving Shiine behind.

"Ah! Cha-cha! Wait for me!!" Shiine called out as he dashed through the door after them.

A smile crossed Seravi's lips. Everything looks to be in order, so what was this feeling that had been bothering him all day?

He was to find out... soon enough.

It was already early evening, they had just finished their meal. The day had gone by without presenting the trouble that Seravi alone was feeling.

Shiine and Riya was about to leave when Shiine remembered to ask Seravi the question that he was about to ask earlier that day.

"Mister Seravi? Has my teacher been here?" he asked casually.

"Dorothy? Hmm, now that I think about it, not yet..." he said.

"Oh... I see..." Shiine frowned, beginning to wander in deep thought.

"Don't worry Shiine," Elizabeth piped in. "She's probably at the castle already waiting for you, half-insane with hunger,"

Seravi laughed for the first time that day. "You're probably right Elizabeth! You're going to get in trouble if you don't go home soon," he said referring to Shiine.

"Alright, goodnight Cha-cha! Goodnight Mister Seravi, and to you too Elizabeth, Goodnight doggie!!"

Shiine rode away in his broom for home with a big lump on his head.

¿¿* *??

¿**? Still later that night...

Seravi was already in his pajamas and was going around his cottage turning off lights. He was yawning every now and was very sleepy already...

"See Seravi?" Elizabeth reminded him. "Nothing went wrong with this day... you worry too much..."

Seravi entered the room that he shared with Cha-cha and placed Elizabeth on his desk beside his bed.

"You're right Elizabeth..." Seravi said, tucking himself in. "I worried over nothing..."

He had just closed his eyes when frantic pounding on the door opened them again.

¿¿* *??

"MISTER SERAVI!!!!" Shiine pounded on his cottage door. Tears blurring his vision and running down his cheeks. More kept coming.

"MISTER SERAVII!!!!" he called out again, pounding his door with all of his might, he was crying freely and he didn't even mind the mucus flowing down his nasal cavity.

The door opened and showed a very furious Seravi holding a still-smiling Elizabeth.

"Do...you...know...what...time...it...is...?" Seravi hissed to him, grumpy because of not being able to even get a wink.

But Shiine didn't mind this. He hugged Seravi's legs and started crying more.

This snapped Seravi out from his anger. "What's the matter Shiine?" Then it hit him. Dorothy.

"What happened Shiine?!" Seravi asked him, kneeling on the floor to level with him.

"It's...m....ssss....do...do....doo...waaaaahhhhh!!" he cried once again.

"Get hold of yourself Shiine and tell me what happened!" Seravi scolded him, a tone rising in his voice, he was beginning to grow more nervous than him.

"I'm so-..sorry... sniff sniff. Teacher Dorothy didn't come home yesterday... and today... she's gone...waaaaaahhh!!!" and sniffed like crazy.

"I came back... and she still wasn't there... I waited for her... and never showed up... she never came back from her walk!! She---she---"

It was as if it came to Seravi all at once.
The scream that he heard...
That heavy feeling in his stomach... so it was Dorothy's absence that bothered him all along...
He hadn't noticed. And now, it may already be too late... She... she might be...

"No!!" Seravi cried outloud. Without a moment to waste, he dashed back into the cottage and went to his basement, leaving Shiine to crawl inside, still sniveling and wiping his tears.

"What's going on?" came the sleepy voice of Cha-cha, emerging from the shadows.

"Cha-cha?" Shiine asked in his still quivering voice. "I-it's my teacher... she's been gone for 2 days and I hadn't noticed till now..."

"Huh?! What happened to Miss Dorothy?!" she asked, snapping awake.

Seravi came back to the room, with a crystal ball in hand.

"Teacher Seravi!" Cha-cha said in her loud voice, "What are you going to do?!"

"Be quiet!" Seravi hissed to the both of them. Shiine stopped his sniveling and froze.

He placed his two hands atop the crystal and commanded to it, "Show me my pink-haired Dorothy!" he bellowed.

The crystal ball glowed and blinked for a moment, but still remained clouded and unyielding.

"Where is that pink-haired witch?!" he cried out again, his voice now more desperate than ever.

Still the crystal ball remained cloudy.

".........."

"........................"

"No..." Seravi stepped back from the crystal ball, as if frightened by what it had revealed.

"No..." he said once again, he began shaking his head.

"What's happening?" Cha-cha asked Shiine.

Shiine was sobbing quietly, but somehow managed to tell Cha-cha. "W-when the crystal ball doesn't show anything... that means... that means... the person is..." he buried his head in his arms. "I k-knew it... that dream... when she said goodbye to me..." he stopped and started crying once again... "Ohh, it's all my fault... I hadn't noticed till now... she's.... she's...."

"What Shiine?! Tell me!" Cha-cha pleaded, raising her hands and closing her fists.

Seravi's vision clouded involuntarily. He looked around the room and saw Elizabeth where he had dropped her, tangled in an odd position on the floor near the door.
In his mind's eye, Elizabeth became her... golden hair becoming pink and and now she was lying on the floor, her neck twisted at an odd position, cold, lifeless...

Shiine raised his head and looked at Cha-cha, braving himself to go on, "I-it means, it means the person is... my teacher is..."

"No! She can't be!!" Seravi cried out. He leaned back into the wall for support, his eyes were wide with denial. "No! No! No!"

"Teacher Seravi...?" Cha-cha asked, her voice quivering in fright.

Seravi staggered towards the door. His energy draining. He opened the door and started out towards the night.

"Teacher where are you going?!" Cha-cha asked, running after him, she grabbed the edges of his pajamas and started pulling him to get his attention.

Seravi paused for a moment, tears making its way down through his cheeks. Then he turned to look at her, he now had a softer look in his eyes.

"That's right, I'm still in my pajamas. Cha-cha, please let me go," he requested.

Cha-cha slowly released the garments of his pajamas.

He snapped his fingers and they turned into his white robe uniform.

"I'm going to search for her now, please go back inside the cottage,"

"At this hour of the night?! Teacher, why can't you wait until-"

"She may be in danger... I'll need to go to her right away... I can't waste anytime--" Poof! his broom appeared and he was already atop it.

"It's late, sleep and don't wait for me. Don't come after me either, I'll be alright..." Seravi continued, giving them his instructions.

"But Teacher!! Teacher, don't go!!" Cha-cha protested, afraid to be left alone in the middle of the night.

Seravi rose, higher and higher onto the night sky.

"Teacher!!" Cha-cha yelled after him, the birds sleeping in the forest awoke.

He was slashing through the darkness, flying as fast as his broom could take him, he was heading there... wherever... towards where his Dorothy was.

And to the night air, Seravi silently bid his prayer...

Dear Dorothy... he thought.

The image of the young blonde haired Dorothy he so cherished was replaced by the pink-haired one.

The single woman in my heart...

He thought about the times when they fought over such petty things, and almost killed each other...

Wait for me...

As long as she was alive, there was still hope for her to return her hair's original color... so he just chose to wait for that time to come, but...

Please... don't let me be too late...

If he was made to choose between having anyone else and the current pink freak...
.........
..............
Of course he'd still choose his Dorothy...
(He can always dye her hair afterwards...)

I'm coming soon... Please... hold on... Let me find you...

He loved her. It could never change.

Please let me find you...

I promise... I'll never tease you about your hair again...

Just be alright...

Please... be alright...

¿¿*!*??

¿¿***?? Ok, I checked last DEC 29 and saw 3 posts. I'm not going to post chapter 3 until I get 6 posts ok? I'm glad about the response of the readers out there, I really enjoyed writing this story, I'm glad that you like the story too.