When I was walking home from school I passed by a video store. I thought it was one anyway; there were movie posters, and advertisements of movies around it. I walked in and asked one of the people who worked there (they wore blue shirts) if this was indeed a video store. The man merely looked at me oddly and replied that it was. I thanked him and began looking around, just like I was in a library.

This video store fascinated me. It was indeed like looking through a library; all these movies, they were like reading books except you didn't read, you watched. I saw all kinds of movies; romance, horror, comedy. I didn't know what to choose, what to do. I decided to call Keely since I was so confused, and I haven't done this before.

"Hello?" Came Keely's voice on the other line.

"Keely!" I replied excitedly. Usually when I called her and heard her voice, I'd forget what I called her for in the first place.

On the other line she laughed. "Yes, it's Keely. What's up Kadaj?" She asked.

"I'm at the video store."

"Really now?"

"Yes," I replied excitedly, "There are so many movies here. I simply can't choose. Which type of movie would you like to watch?"

"Um, I don't know. Are you saying that we're going to watch a movie together?"

"Yes; we should. Like that last time. Do you still have popcorn?" I wondered suspiciously.

Keely laughed. "Yes, Kadaj, we still have popcorn." I could picture her smiling even though I couldn't see her.

"Alright. Well what movie do you want to watch?" I asked again.

"What are you in the mood for?" Keely asked back.

"I'm not sure. I kind of want to watch all of them," I replied uneasily. I paced through the aisles, feverishly looking at all the videos propped up on the shelves. Even though I didn't know what any of them were about, I was curious and wanted to watch.

"Well, usually horrors are fun, especially in the dark," Keely suggested. Oh yes, of course. Keely really did like horror related things. Those are usually the types of books she read too.

"Alright, well there are thousands of horror movies here," I replied, walking to the horror section. I chewed my bottom lip in thought as I gazed at all the titles. They were all so interesting!

"Why don't you pick one out at random?" Keely suggested.

"You don't seem too excited about this," I pointed out, noticing it in her voice.

"I am excited. Why wouldn't I be? I get to spend time with you," Keely replied, sounding more cheerful. "I just don't really care what movie you get."

"Alright...that sounds good. I'll just pick one out at random then," I replied and closing my eyes, I reached out for a random video. I picked one out, looked it over and thought it interesting.

"Ok, what do I do now?" I asked Keely.

She laughed. "You go to the counter and rent it. Come to my house when it gets dark, ok? That way it'll be much scarier," Keely replied. "Plus I got homework so I can't watch now," She added, and I could picture her rolling her eyes.

"These movies aren't...too scary, right?" I wondered nervously, getting in line.

"Don't worry about it; If they are, I'll be there to protect you," Keely reassured me with a chuckle.

"I sure feel protected," I added jokingly.

"Ah, shut up," Keely replied laughing. "See you later. Bye."

I hung up too and rented the video. I was so happy I ran home, and had to stop at our porch to catch my breath.

At that moment my mail man stopped by my neighbor's house (we never get mail) to place mail in their mailbox. "Hey Mail Man!" I called and waved at him.

He looked over at me and waved back, uncertainly.

"I rented a movie!" I shouted, loud enough for the whole world to hear.

"That's great Son," He replied, shaking his head and getting into his truck.

I grinned. "And guess what?" I cried, even though he was already driving away, "I'm going to watch it with Keely tonight!"

I turned back to my house and went inside, running to Mother. "Mother!" I cried, placing the video next to her on the table. "Guess what?"

She stared ahead with her empty eyes and I'm sure she turned towards me in a questioning motion, even if it was probably less than an inch.

"I rented a movie!" I cried out in delight. "And I'm going to watch it with Keely! Tonight!"

♡♡

I stood next to my window for hours, watching the sky. When it finally turned dark, I happily went back to Mother and retrieved the video from the table.

"I'm going to Keely now, Mother. If Father asks, I went bowling," I said to her, making my way out of the house.

When I came to Keely's house and knocked on her door, nobody answered. I rang the door bell a couple of times and looked through her window. Finally, I tried opening the door and found it unlocked. I strolled in hesitantly, wondering if I should have come in or not.

I stood there a few minutes when suddenly Keely came out of a room, wearing a towel around herself and her hair wet.

"Keely!" I exclaimed, sprinting over to her. She turned red and her eyes widened a bit but all the same I went up to her and kissed her.

"Kadaj...you came so soon," She said, looking surprised.

"Of course. You said when it got dark out, didn't you?"

"Well, yeah, but...," Keely looked around, then down at herself, "I'm in a towel."

"So?" I replied happily, and kissed her again.

She laughed and shook her head. "Just go sit down, and I'll be right back." Then she left quickly to her room.

I made sure I still had the movie and walked over to where her tv was. I examined her video system, trying to figure out how to work it. I placed my hand through this opening, only to pull it back quickly, for it almost got stuck.

Minutes later Keely came back and came up behind me, placing her hands over my eyes. "What 'cha working on?" She asked.

"I was trying to figure out how to work this, but seeing as how I can't see...," I replied, my vision still blocked by her hands. I heard her laugh and felt her kiss me before unveiling my eyes.

"Let me do it." Keely took the video and placed it in the system, then picked up a remote.

We walked back to her sofa and plopped down; Keely snuggled up against me and I set my eyes to the tv where the movie was starting to play. Unlike last time, I was going to watch the movie and try to understand it. There was already a bowl of popcorn on the table and I reached for some, giving half of it to Keely.

But there was something in my mind that was bugging me. "Keely?" I called to her.

"Yeah?"

"Are you my girlfriend?" I asked.

She chewed her popcorn and replied, "Uh huh."

"So that means we're dating, right?"

"Yup."

"Would this be considered a date?" I wondered.

"I guess. Why all the questions all of a sudden?" She asked.

"Just wondering," I replied, tossing more popcorn into my mouth. Was this what Yazoo did with his girlfriends? Or did they go on actual real dates, like how I sometimes read in books, where they went to restaurants and stuff? Would Keely rather do that than sit here watching a movie?

While I was watching, somebody suddenly got killed. The killer chopped and chopped at the poor victim's body; blood was going everywhere. I swallowed and focused my attention on the opposite wall for awhile, until that scene ended.

Keely took my hand. "You alright?" She giggled.

"Yeah, I'm just not used to watching stuff like this," I replied.

I was happy to be watching a horror movie with Keely but how could she stand watching it without flinching? I'd look over at her and she seemed excited, sometimes she'd even laugh. That made me laugh back, because she has got to be the weirdest person I know.

"What's so funny?" Keely wondered.

"You. You're laughing while somebody is getting killed," I pointed out, trying not to laugh myself again.

"Well, it's not because the person is getting killed specifically, it's because of how cheesy they acted out the death," Keely explained laughing more.

"Like you're an expert," I noted rolling my eyes.

"In fact, I am," Keely replied grinning up at me. Her cat like pupils widened and twinkled. Behind her green eyes I saw my own, and for a moment it felt again like we were the same person. I remember feeling that when we used to play with each other as children.

While I kissed her I thought to myself; Why did Father hate them so? Why were we banned so much from interacting with them? Apparently, the more I thought about it, the more Father seemed so wrong about it all. If we all once believed in the same thing, we all could've been family, right? But Father hated them from the beginning. But the real and only question was why? And this question has been in my mind for a long time now. For too long. Did Yazoo ever want to find out why? Did Loz? What was the big secret that for some reason, it seemed as if everyone knew except for me?

I think I've said this once before. There is too much mystery in my world. In every world, there are secrets; that's perfectly natural. The truth isn't available for everyone. But even knowing that, I have an uneasy feeling because I don't like not knowing things. Then I become curious, and that's even worse. If you don't know everything about someone then one day they can surprise you. Like Loz, whom for still unknown reasons, left. Yazoo left, and I only know part of the reason. Am I the only one who hasn't deserted Mother because I don't have a reason? Is it because I have no secrets? How I hate being obvious. Having mystery is so much more appealing, and it gives you a sense of security I guess. I would love to feel more secure. Even though certain things in my life are now making me happy, there are still bad things. Actually, a lot more. It's like if I enable myself in receiving desirable things I had to pay consequences and receive more misery. Am I suddenly hating my life all over again? There are...far too many questions...

"Kadaj..."

Keely's voice sounded heavy and I realized I had been kissing her for a while now; in turn I was out of breath and I had managed to pin her down on the couch.

"Oh...Sorry...I blanked out," I mumbled. A stupid excuse. Keely laughed and wiped her forehead, sitting back up.

"You sure do like kissing don't you?" She asked jokingly.

"Yes; very much so," I replied, untangling my hand from her hair. I was still embarrassed by what I did so I didn't look at her. Next time I'm kissing Keely I shouldn't reflect on the questions that rule my mind. But there were so many, and it was as if there were even more when I was around her. Was she a link, perhaps, in everything?

"We missed some of the movie," I pointed out. "Can you go back to it?"

"Um, nah, it's fine. We'll just watch it from here," Keely replied, finishing the popcorn.

"But...I don't understand the story now," I insisted.

Keely looked at me funny. "Kadaj, it's ok. It's not like this is the last time you'll ever watch this movie, or any other. It's just one movie," She said.

"Not too me. I don't watch movies. This is my second time; both of which I didn't watch all of it," I replied.

Keely paused it and looked at me. "This is your second time watching a movie?" She repeated.

"Yes, that's what I said."

"You're kidding, right?"

I stared at her. Why would I lie to her? She looked back at me and seemed perplexed.

"Tell me Kadaj, why is it that you can't watch movies?" Keely asked, in this strange voice that reminded me of my school counselor.

"Because Father says they're no good. And that it'll fill our minds with bad things," I replied hesitantly. I knew it sounded stupid, but it was the truth, and that was all I was willing to give to Keely. If she had to know about Father's harsh and embarrassing ways, so be it.

"Uh huh. And, what exactly else are you 'banned' from doing?" Keely asked, and for a moment I thought I recognized anger in her voice.

"Many things...I can't remember all of it...," I replied nervously.

"Do you often follow what he says?"

"Yes, I'm mostly the only one."

"So how are you allowed to see me?" Keely demanded. I suddenly realized what she was thinking about. The night Yazmin and Yazoo were found out; Keely probably knew all about that from her sister.

"I'm...not," I finally replied and my eyes swelled up with tears. But I did my best not to cry infront of Keely.

"So you don't follow Mother or whatever."

"I do! I do with all my heart!" I replied sharply. "She allows me to see you."

Keely looked confused now. "If she allows this then how come your Father thinks differently?"

"Because, Mother understands me now," I looked down and ignored the burning in my eyes. "Father doesn't know yet though, but she'll tell him one day."

"Kadaj that doesn't make sense." Keely looked at me worriedly.

I didn't reply to her statement. Of course it didn't make sense to her, she didn't even believe in Mother.

♡♡

Throughout the next few days Keely showed me lots of things I couldn't experience because Father never allowed me too. I felt bad, opening my world wider than that of which he allowed, but Keely persuaded me and I was sure it was alright with Mother.

We went to an amusement park once. That was lots of fun. Then the next day Lucy drove us all the way to the beach, and I marveled at the waves. We did lots of other stuff I guess people did everyday, like go to malls and even more movies, except these were displayed in very big screens. I never even knew I had time to do all those things, and it was a whole new world I hadn't known.

But with these new things, Keely often nagged me about Mother. I usually ignored her ideas and doubts, because it was a common thing to come from someone who didn't believe. But Keely was so passionate about it; she claimed all those things from the bottom of her heart. She said she was trying to help me, and that she cared. I knew she cared, but I didn't need help. I often didn't like people who offered me help. What kind of 'help' did they mean, and why couldn't they understand I didn't need any? I tried explaining to Keely that I was fine. She usually looked at me worriedly and dropped the subject.

The more I did fun stuff with Keely the more I had to lie to Father. I knew his trust in me was slowly fading, but if I told him the truth, it'd completely go away. If I had one wish, any wish I wanted, it would be for him to understand. But I knew he couldn't, and I abided by those circumstances.

On one of the rare occasions in which Keely was with me in my house, she suddenly asked me if she could see Mother.

"Why would you want to see her?" I asked her back, puzzled. Keely didn't believe in Mother. Keely thought Mother shouldn't rule my life. I didn't hate Keely for thinking that, I just respected her different ideals. However much Keely herself hated it, I was going to follow at least some of Father's rules, and I believe his biggest one was not allowing people to see Mother.

"I'm curious, that's all," She replied, shrugging. "Why can't I see her? Is she too holy or something?" Keely asked, swiping her side bangs.

I shouldn't do it, but then again, what could it hurt? I thought. It was then that I had given up on my conscience completely. Lately, Keely was my conscience.

"You can only take a peek. Actually, I want her to meet you...perhaps then she can understand why I love you so much," I explained to Keely and she smiled in reply.

I lead Keely to our dining room. There sat Mother at the table, and I displayed a smug smile. It didn't matter what I was feeling; Mother comforted me every time, automatically.

Keely walked forwards towards her slowly, staring directly at her. "Wow...," I thought I heard her mutter under her breath. It seems the image of Mother can be overwhelming to people who weren't accustomed.

"Mother this is Keely. The one I talk about so much," I said to Mother.

"Does she reply? Is she a robot?" Keely wondered, looking at Mother's back, front, and all around. I laughed. Was she looking for a button or something?

"Of course she replies. You just have to listen carefully," I explained, but it was going to be hard for Keely, since she didn't believe.

Keely sat across from Mother and stared at her, fascinated it seemed. I watched the two of them interact. It filled my heart with joy and I never thought I could feel so happy. I had thought I have already felt the maximum of happiness, but this was the climax.

"Keely, we should go. I never know when Father will come," I finally said.

"A-Alright," Keely replied, getting up slowly. She finally turned her head away from Mother and followed me out of the dining room.

"Mother probably thinks you're really beautiful," I told Keely as we walked towards my room to leave through the hole in my way. It was the most safe and secretive way.

"Hmm. Maybe," Keely replied, and it sounded as if she was lost in thought. Even when I kissed her good bye she seemed distracted, so after she officially left I went back to Mother.

I talked to her about Keely for awhile, then Father came home. He didn't ask me anything, but just went straight to his room. I shuddered at the thought, that if he had come any earlier, or if Keely had stayed any later, I would of have been caught.

♡♡

Keely now was obsessed with Mother. She still didn't really believe; she just wanted to know the how's and why's. How come we followed her orders? How come we could hear her? How come we worshiped her so? Why did we? Why did we listen? Why did we have her in our home? How? Why? She asked me constantly.

It was difficult to reply, and I supplied few decent answers. How can I explain something so natural to me? The things she asked...they were just there. I didn't know how. I didn't know why. And I didn't really care either. Keely however was so curious about the whole thing.

When I came over to Keely's house, Yazmin asked Yazoo and I stuff too. Yazoo replied easily, and automatically. I didn't know how he could do that. To me, it was hard to describe feelings of Mother. Like I said, they were just there. However telling the Sisters this information wasn't hard at all. I trusted them now, and sometimes I actually tried to understand Yazoo and his reason for moving in with them. I think I was getting close to knowing.

It was when Father didn't come back for a whole week that Keely got worried about me. I moved in with them temporarily, and Yazoo took care of me. I remember when I doubted him and questioned him for doing what he did. But I saw and felt that moving in with the Sisters felt nice and it was a good change. When they asked us questions about Mother they understood. That was the difference about our houses. Here, they had understanding.

One day I was picking up some stuff from my house and Keely came along. I let her look at Mother while I got my things in order. I looked about my room and wondered how on earth I had ever slept here. The hole in my wall brought tears to my eyes, but I'm not sure if they were happy or sad.

When I came back to get Keely, she was fumbling with Mother's chords.

"Keely! What are you doing?" I demanded, and she jumped, for she hadn't known I came in.

"Kadaj, I had a good idea. Why leave Mother all alone here? Let's bring her with us," Keely suggested.

My mouth dropped open but I thought about it. I've slept over at Keely's house for only a little while, but I've missed Mother so much throughout that time. I was used to knowing she was close to me and that I could talk to her whenever I wanted. Perhaps it was the best thing to do?

"Well...I guess we could try and move her. But be super careful; if one piece falls apart I'm literally dead," I warned Keely.

I put my stuff down and helped her find a way to move Mother. I felt excited and nervous, because I remember when I couldn't even think about moving Mother. But things were so much different now.

I looked under Mother to examine her chords carefully. However, when I came back up, I got the shock of my life. I literally felt my skin turn paler than usual, and my heart jump to my throat.

Keely was standing there, shaking and I could see tears filling her eyes every second. As thin and sharp as a needle itself; Right up against her throat with a familiar glint; was Father's sword. Father was standing there, holding the sword up with concentrated determination.

I was very scared and even though I wasn't the one with a sword to my throat, I trembled and started to cry just as hard as Keely.

"Kadaj," Father spoke softly, "What are you doing?"

"I-I-I'm sorry, p-p-please put the sword down!" I cried, in a desperate attempt to save Keely's life. I wasn't even sure mine was so safe at the moment.

Father didn't move. He had a twinkle in his eye, and I watched him stare at Keely, who was crying silently.

"Father, please!" I fell to my knees and looked up at him. He only looked at me for a moment. In that moment, however, he probably saw the desperation in my eyes.

In a flash that I barely caught, Father had removed his sword from Keely's neck quickly and she fell forward on the ground; the flash was a mix of white from his sword and red from Keely's blood.

Upon seeing Keely grasping her neck and gasping, blood trickling through her fingers, for a moment I thought she was dying. However, I couldn't move, and was afraid to do anything. If I helped Keely, would Father assume I wasn't loyal to him or Mother anymore? Then would he kill me? But if I didn't do anything soon Keely would die.

Suddenly Keely's head hit the floor softly; she lay motionless. A small pool of blood was forming on the carpet.

I didn't care if Father yelled at me, sliced me in half, whatever. I ran over to her and sobbed over her body.

"Stop crying. She's not dead," Father suddenly spoke up.

"You might as well have killed her," I replied in a hoarse voice. "Why? Why did you scare h-h-er–me like t-t-that?" I stammered, pressing my hand over her bleeding throat and holding her in my arms.

"I was going to kill her. Maybe that would have taught you a lesson," Father growled. "How many times have I told you, over and over again. Never show Mother to anybody. Now look what almost happened. We almost lost her."

Father walked to Mother and started examining her. I didn't listen to what he said and I didn't care about him anymore. The only thing in my mind was Keely, and what I was going to do with her.

"I n-need to call the ambulance," I said a loud, and looked around in an attempt to find the house phone through my blurry eyes.

"Don't you dare call anyone. Just take that wretch away from here." Father was still occupied with Mother.

I wiped my eyes, but the tears still came. Keely was very pale from loss of blood and she was soaked with it. My hands were covered in blood as well from pressing down on her wound, so I decided to lay her somewhere and look for some bandages. I picked her up and carried her, walking out of the room and away from Father and Mother silently. I'd deal with them later.

I lay Keely on my mattress carefully, then searched in vain for bandages of some kind. I found the crappy ones for small cuts. That wouldn't do for the deep gash across Keely's throat, which now started bleeding all over again. It was also hard to concentrate when my whole heart was crying in vain for her sake. I shouldn't of have showed Keely Mother. I never should have let her persuade me to move Mother either. I should...I should have...

I ran to my drawers and found a shirt. I tore it half, then into strips. I ran to my bathroom sink and soaked it in cold water. Then I ran to Keely and cleaned her hands, face, and arms. By the time I was done the strips of cloth were covered in blood, so I cleaned the strips too. I wrapped them around Keely's neck, using it as a bandage. Her blood soaked through them but it didn't spill. I wondered if I was doing the right thing. I wondered if Keely was going to die, and I wondered how I'd cope with that. I should've called the ambulance a long time ago. Maybe even the police. Father killed Keely. He should be taken away. But then, how would I deal with losing both Keely and Father? If I killed myself things wouldn't get any better. They'd probably take Mother away; Yazoo and Loz surely wouldn't take care of her properly.

I wasn't tired and probably wouldn't sleep, but I lay myself at Keely's side. I brushed her hair away from her face, and stroked her cheek. She wasn't dead; her whole face was burning. Then why wouldn't she wake up? I wanted her to talk, to move, anything. In my anxious waiting for her to awaken, I fell asleep without knowing it.

It felt like only a few minutes later, I felt shifting at my side. I woke up and automatically looked over at Keely. She stirred; her head turned the other way, away from me.

"Keely," I whispered in a groggy voice. My throat and eyes were very dry from crying, and they were both irritating me. My stomach hurt terribly from nerves.

Keely's head faced upward and she slowly opened her eyes a little.

"Keely," I repeated louder, and bent over her.

"Kadaj," She replied in a hoarse whisper. She coughed and grabbed at her throat. She was probably feeling like hell.

"Keely, you're alright," I said aloud, more to myself. With a grateful sigh, I rested my head with hers and closed my eyes.

"Kadaj...I...need to talk," Keely said with difficulty.

"No, you have to rest. We'll talk when you get better," I told her. She fell asleep again, and a few hours later she woke up.

I was still sleeping, I probably have never slept so much in my entire life. She woke me up by trying to sit up. I opened my eyes and watched her struggle; I placed my hand on her shoulder and pushed her back down gently.

"You can't get up. Haven't you noticed you're terribly hurt?" I told her.

"Kadaj...I'm fine now," Keely replied, still in a hoarse voice but much better. She rubbed her eyes and I examined her carefully.

"You sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure...," She replied.

"Good. That's, that's very good," I said and lightly kissed her pale lips. She looked at me for awhile, and tears came to her eyes.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Kadaj I need to tell you something."

"I'm sure it can wait, you still don't sound too good," I replied. "I should change your bandages too."

I stood up and prepared new bandages for her. In the meantime she managed to sit up by herself and lean against the wall. I saw her finger her wound lightly and wince.

I came back to her and started damping her face. It was almost as if she had a fever, her face was pretty heated up. I cleaned her neck for her and started to wrap the new strips of cloth around her neck again. I was very close to her and noticed her eyes were red from crying, and probably not being able to sleep properly. She had run down make up on her face that had dried on her cheeks, which added to the sadness on her face. I didn't like seeing her so sad.

"Keely, you can't stay here forever. You should go home soon," I told her.

"I need to talk to you first," She insisted taking my hand.

"I don't want you to talk. I want you to rest, go home, and get better. I can't stand seeing you like this."

Keely suddenly started to sob then and I didn't understand why. I wanted her to stop.

"Stop crying, it doesn't do any of us any good," I said softly, stroking her hair.

"P-P-Please, stop helping me," Keely replied, and stopped me from finishing up her bandages.

"Keely, I need to bandage you. You might start bleeding again...," I pointed out and stared at her.

"I don't care! I don't deserve this from you Kadaj!" She cried out shrilly. My expression turned into worry. I was afraid the shock and trauma from what she went through was making her delirious.

"Don't talk like that..."

"I don't deserve you Kadaj! You're such a caring person, you...you should find s-somebody

else-," Keely continued, not listening to me. I barely understood her between sobs and ignored her delirious exclamations. In an attempt to console her from hysterics I hugged her to me but she continued protesting.

"Don't, don't do this...I-I'm not who you think I am," Keely sobbed.

"I know exactly who you are," I replied, holding her head against my chest. "You're the one I love and trust the most."

But unfortunately that only caused Keely to cry even harder.