"Wowww!"
By the entrance, a giddy girl in a dress excitedly exclaimed at the sight of the grand town of Somewhere; the cream-colored tiles spread on the ground, the black tiled roads bordered with red bricks, the ornately patterned night lamps, and the sophisticated Jacobethan buildings.
It was, indeed, a very beautiful sight. This mini 'Europe-town' also didn't fail to amaze Mari even though she had come to this place for the second time. The clear blue sky in particular made the whole scenery feel like a scene straight out of a Ghibli movie. Although, the day was still dizzyingly hot.
Mari wiped the sweat on her forehead, bumping slightly on her football cap.
Just before going to Somewhere, Mari had decided to change her fit because of how sweaty she was from all the contained heat within the house. Currently, she was wearing blue short hotpants and a simple white T-shirt, an outfit perfect for a hot day.
"So… where's your friend?" Mari asked, remembering why she came here with the blue dressed girl.
Ella turned back to look at Mari, "Oh… uh… I don't really know, actually… ehehe…" Ella nervously laughed as she looked away.
Mari looked at Ella with an unamused expression, quite irritated that a once simple request had been complicated. Mari sighed as she approached Ella.
"Ella, do you at least know a place where your friend will likely be at?"
Ella put her hand on her chin, and started to browse through her memories, "Hm… well… Uncle Harvey saw her at the Somewhere Theater, so… maybe we could start there!" Ella turned towards the town and took an exaggerated step in childish fashion, looking back to Mari with a smile, "Let's go!"
"Okay…" Mari then walked forward, walking closer to Ella who didn't seem to move from her current pose. Mari instantly noticed that Ella wasn't moving at all.
"... Are you okay?"
"Uh… where's Somewhere Theater?"
The football capped girl sighed.
Under the sunny gaze of the big yellow star up in the sky, the streets of Somewhere town currently had few pedestrians for obvious reasons. Due to the lack of trees and natural foliage within Somewhere, the heat in said town was a lot hotter than the suburbian Faraway town.
"So hot…" Ella wiped her sweat off her forehead whilst sticking out her tongue, hoping that it would help cool her off the marvelously hot heat haze the town was having. In fact, they had just passed an old man under a shop's shade that was playing a harmonica. What a fitting ambience for this sun disc of a town.
"Just a little bit more…" Mari was sweating profusely from the heat, her cheeks red, "Are you okay?"
"I'm okay…!" Ella looked back at Mari with a smile, though her face had flushed red from the heat. A few more steps after, Ella suddenly looked like she lost all the bones in her body and started falling to the ground, an indication of her passing out.
"Ella!" Fortunately, Mari had caught Ella in time before she hit the cream-colored stone tiles.
"I… feel dizzy…" The heat haze had gotten to Ella.
"Hold on! Let me find somewhere to take a rest…"
Mari looked around and saw a lemonade stand that was under a shop's shade. Thinking it was the most ideal place to go, she decided to shelter there. Placing Ella on a nearby bench and buying two refreshing cups of lemonade, Mari approached Ella to give her share of lemonade.
"Here you go."
Mari gave a cup of lemonade she had bought from the stand to the rose red Ella. After taking a very long sip, the once dizzy and weak Ella had regained her energy and clarity.
"Ah! That hit a really good spot!"
Mari sat next to Ella and took a sip from her lemonade cup. It was refreshingly sweet with a lemony aftertaste with the ice cubes touching Mari's chapped lips which gave the lemonade extra points from Mari. Mari let out a satisfied sigh after taking a swig and placed the cup right beside her.
"We should stay here for a while and rest first," Mari declared.
"I vewy much agwee with wuu," Ella mumbled with the straw still within her mouth.
"Hey, you shouldn't talk with a straw inside your mouth, that's not proper," Mari was now in big sister mode.
"Owkway," said Ella, the straw still within her mouth.
Silence fell between the two, which was broken with giggles and laughter.
For a long while, the both of them didn't speak to each other, enjoying the certain moment of summer. The cool shade, the occasional wind stroking their hair and faces, the distant playing of a harmonica and the pleasure of another person's company. It was like the familiar summers Mari spent with her circle of friends. Mari looked at Ella who was enjoying her cup of lemonade giddily like a child who was swinging her legs like one, too.
"You know, you remind me of a certain someone," said Mari.
"Who?"
Mari looked away and towards the distance with a smile, "A very cheerful girl who wears her heart on her sleeve. She would always speak about what's in her mind," Mari spoke with a soft gaze, "Oh, and she would always argue with this boy, despite being such good friends. It's really cute to see them fight over the smallest of things," Mari giggled, "To me, they're like my little sister and little… brother," Mari's smile disappeared, being reminded of Sunny.
"That sounds really nice, I wish I could have siblings. Or, anyone that feels like siblings,"
Mari looked at Ella, "Are you… an only child?"
"Yeah," Ella nodded, "I don't have a lot of friends, too, because of my piano practices."
Piano practice, huh? So that's why she played the piano well. Rather… she played a whole lot better than me, Mari thought.
"Is the friend you're looking for important?" Mari asked.
"Very!" Ella looked at Mari and answered enthusiastically, her eyes practically gleaming behind her sunglasses, "She's my most precious and bestest friend!"
"She must be a very special person, then," said Mari with a big sisterly gaze and a soft smile towards Ella, as if she were talking to a little sister, "What's her name?" asked Mari just before trying to down the remaining lemonade she had.
"Her name is Abbi!"
Mari spitted out her drink in shock of Ella's answer, coughing right after.
"What… did you say?" Mari looked at Ella, her face a mess with lemonade all over.
"... Abbi?" Ella looked pretty shocked from Mari's response.
"You… should've told me a long time ago."
"You never asked!"
"That's… true. Anyways, I know where your friend is," Mari said with a depressed expression.
"Yeay!... Why do you look sad, though?"
"It's… nothing."
The abandoned buildings of Nowhere daunted over them with big chunks of shadows from their sheer sizes, the streets empty. To Mari, this place looked depressing and dangerous, remembering Aubrey's recount of them finding Sunny. To Ella, however, the place brimmed with adventure and excitement.
"Wow! This place is so cool!" Ella jumped up and down.
"Hey careful, you might accidentally drop your snacks…"
The girl in a blue dress in front of Mari was holding a corndog on one hand and a cotton candy on the other, truly a combo that would almost certainly kill an elderly through diabetes or a heart attack. Rather, nobody would eat the both of them in succession just due to how dry their throats would be after consuming those snacks.
"Nah, I won't! I'm gripping them tight!"
"That really sounds like a disaster waiting to happen…" Mari sighed.
Ella took a bite from the corndog. It was… sublime! The sweet and corn flavor from the outer dough combined with the savory taste of the sausage inside gave a euphoric taste that would give any child a simple pleasure of happiness.
"Mmmm! It's sho gud!" Ella stomped her feet in an exaggerated demeanor of a child. Mari, watching from behind, couldn't help but smile at how adorable this girl was. It really felt like she had stumbled upon a younger version of Aubrey.
"You seem really happy just from eating a corndog, is it really that good?" asked Mari as she walked beside Ella and looked at her.
"It's really, really good! Well, I mean, I never tried any of these stuff. Mama always made sure I ate whatever the maids cooked," said Ella as she nibbled on the cotton candy, "Bweh! Too sweet!"
Mari giggled at Ella's childlike expression, "So… why were you trying to find Abbi?"
Ella's expression turned sad all of a sudden, "It's… well, we were best friends. We would play the piano together, have sleepovers, and do stuff together. She was my closest friend. But…"
"But?"
"One day, she stopped coming."
"... What happened?"
Ella shook her head, "I… don't know, she just stopped coming by. Did I do something wrong? I mean… I never had really close friends besides her so… maybe I said something that hurt her? Does… does she hate me that much?"
"I… I don't think so! I think you're a nice person," comforted Mari.
"Am I?"
"Yeah! I doubt Abbi hates you! She must have had her reasons. Besides, you can never go as wrong as… me," Now, it was Mari's turn to be depressed.
"... What do you mean?"
"I… did something, you see. Something that a big sister shouldn't do," Mari looked away uncomfortably, "and I… I don't think I deserve to be forgiven."
Ella looked at Mari with concern, "Is it really unforgivable if you feel bad about it? I think that if you reaaaaallly feel bad about it and say sorry, isn't that enough to make things up?"
"Is it?" While Mari's heart really wished that it were that simple, she couldn't bring herself to accept it as a possible outcome. The guilt of even wishing that kind of outcome was simply unbearable for her to bear.
"I think so!" Ella answered confidently with a big smile that would melt anyone's heart.
"I… I'll think about it," said Mari, "Oh, this… must be the place Aubrey told me about, if I followed the directions right…"
The Eddy-Brett Creative Hall casts its shadow over the both of them, as if it was welcoming the both of them under its wing. Apparently, the direction Aubrey gave Mari one of the times she visited and tried to persuade her to visit Sunny had come into use. Of course, though, she wouldn't bear to go inside, remembering who's probably inside the hall at the current moment.
"Wow… wait, is that a scarecrow on the security post?" Ella pointed out.
"It… apparently is."
"Anyway… Abbi should come here at one point… probably."
"Probably?"
"Honestly, I don't know. I'm just guessing at this point."
Ella looked at Mari with disappointment.
"... I-it's okay! I know another place that she will most likely be at," Mari turned back, "If I remember correctly… huh?"
As Mari turned back, a green haired girl with twin hair buns came into sight. She was bringing a paper bag filled with what seemed to be a bunch of vegetables, bread, and meat.
"Mari? Is that you?" asked Abbi in surprise, "And who's…"
"Abbi?" Ella turned towards Abbi, recognizing her voice. Her voice trembled as she called out her name.
Abbi looked at the blonde girl. She seemed familiar, too familiar. It took time, but Abbi finally recognized who she was.
Abbi's eyes widened in shock, dropping her grocery bag, "E-Ella…?"
Ella took off her sunglasses, revealing a pair of deep blue-pupiled eyes.
Abbi gasped, covering her mouth with both of her hands. Tears welled up ever so easily from her eyes, "Oh, gosh."
After fully realizing that the person in front of her was her dear friend Abbi, Ella started sobbing uncontrollably and ran towards Abbi. The snacks didn't matter much to her anymore as she threw them away instantly. She tackled Abbi into a very tight hug, one that was long overdue.
They stayed like that for what seemed to be an eternity, just like their friendship.