"No, no, it's not true," Willis shook his head.
"Kari, what should I do now?" Hanna whispered to me.
I sat next to Willis. "Sometimes, Willis, the truth hurts. It's painful to know that someone you love might die. It's painful to know that someone you love is hurting. Hanna is hurting just as much as you are. Just think about it Willis, if it wasn't for you, she might have already been dead. You're the one keeping her alive. You have to be strong, no matter how scared or weak you may feel, you have to be strong. If you become scared, so will Hanna. She needs you. Hanna, she needs your love. Hanna can't cope with the pain without you. You have to help her."
"I'm scared to see her die," Willis sobbed.
"Don't you think she's scared to die? Willis, you are the one that can help her. You have helped me so much, now it's time you give your help to the one you truly love. Now it's time to give Hanna all the support and strength you have given me."
"Hanna!" he grabbed onto her leg. I could tell that he was truly hurt.
"I know, I know. Willis…Stay strong. Stay strong for me," Hanna softly smiled.
"I'll leave you guys now," I began to walk away. My arm was pulled back. I quickly turned to see Willis holding me back.
"How…How did I help you?" Willis questioned.
"You were there when I told everyone about my depression. Willis, you comforted me when Tai was in the hospital. I don't know what I would of done without you."
"Willis…" Hanna whispered.
"I'll do what ever I can to help!" he decided.
For the rest of winter break, Willis and Hanna stayed over at my house. The weeks quickly went by. Soon, it was Christmas Eve. I left Hanna and Willis with Yolei and T.K. and went out to do some last minute shopping with Davis, Ken, and Jordan.
"Why did you need to do last minute shopping? It's not like you to leave things until the very last moment," Davis wondered.
I pointed at a man dressed like Santa. "I just knew you would want to tell Santa what you wanted for Christmas."
"Don't you mean Ken?"
"Hey, don't get me involved with this. Unlike some people, I do have to do some last minute shopping!" Ken frowned.
"Are you serious?" Jordan demanded.
"No."
"I'm planning on baking some holiday treats. I didn't forget to buy presents," I explained.
"Chocolates good!" Jordan smiled.
"I like kisses," Davis decided.
"And, I don't think he means chocolate ones," Ken laughed.
"I'm baking cookies. I don't make chocolate," I giggled as we continued to walk down the street.
"It's kind of cold out here. Kari, are you sure you're warm enough? I mean, everyone has layers on and you just have that little sweater," Ken pointed out.
I looked at myself. I was wearing a sweater over a normal t-shirt and a skirt that went down to my knees. I also had on my winter boots. Slowly, I turned to Davis and grabbed onto him. "No, I'm fine."
"Don't think that I'm leading you. I don't even know what store we're going to!" Davis told me.
"Sorry, we're just going to the store around this corner."
"Remind me again why we came along?" Ken questioned.
"Because, I want to make sure Kari gets chocolate chip cookie mix," Jordan grinned.
I quickly turned to her. "Great! Who said I was baking the cookies for you? You know, I do have a family. People these days…"
We walked into the store. I grabbed a couple of different types of cookie mixes. I was going to have fun baking them later on today. After I purchased them, we walked out of the store. We walked Jordan and Ken to the subway station and Davis walked me home. I quickly ran up the stairs and into the door to see Tai placing presents under the tree.
"Hey Kari, want to help me?" Tai wondered.
"Well, I was going to make some cookies…"
"Cookies? Go ahead. I wouldn't mind some once they're done. You'll give me one or two, right?"
"Of course," I smiled at him.
I walked to the kitchen. I placed the different cookie mixes on the counter. I looked over at Tai to see him bringing out a radio from our bedroom.
"Do you mind if I play some Christmas carols?" he asked.
"Go ahead!" I nodded as I began to make the cookies.
Tai finished putting the presents under the tree as Christmas songs echoed in the room. After he was done, he helped me with the cookies. Soon, we were finished.
"Mom and Dad won't be home until late. They went out for a romatic dinner," Tai told me.
"How nice! We should get to bed. I can't wait until tomorrow!" I clapped my hands.
Tai patted my head. "You really want to know what you got, don't you?"
"No way!" I stared at his eyes. "It's my first Christmas with Davis. I can't wait to spend the day with him. I can't wait for tomorrow because of all the fun things that will happen."
Tai pushed me in our bedroom. "Lets get to sleep." He shut out the lights.
We quickly fell asleep.
"Time to get up," I was being softly shook by someone.
"Huh?" I turned to see my dad. "Morning already?"
"Tai's waiting for you. He really wants to open his presents," my dad smiled.
I jumped up. "Right!" I ran out of the room and sat by Tai under the tree.
"Go ahead," Mom nodded.
"Yes!" Tai grabbed his first present and ripped it open. He turned to me and noticed that I didn't pick up a present. "Open the one from me."
I picked up the small, wrapped box. Slowly, I opened in to find a silver bracelet with small pink and blue jewels on it. "It's so pretty. Thank you so much…Tai."
"It was hard to find you the perfect gift. I'm glad you like it."
We continued to open presents. After we were done we had breakfast and spent a few hours with our parents. Finally, around three, Tai and I got ready to leave. When we were finished, we headed for the concert place to see everyone else.
"Merry Christmas!" I yelled as we walked in.
"Kari!" Davis jumped up.
"Hey guys! I'm glab you two could make it," Sora smiled.
"Sorry, Kari took forever to get ready. Also, we had to make sure we brought all the gifts," Tai explained to her.
"With that said, lets open our presents," Matt decided.
"Yeah!" Yolei agreed.
Everyone began to open their presents. After all the presents were opened, we thanked each other. I looked around, I was missing a present. I didn't get one from Davis. He slowly walked up to me.
"I wanted to give this to you myself," Davis handed me the small box.
I opened it to find a small, diamond ring. "Oh, Davis! It's so beautiful!"
"I thought you might like it. It took me forever to think of something to get you, but when I saw this ring, it called me. It was perfect for you."
"It must have cost so much."
"Nothing costs too much when it comes to you."
I reached out and hugged Davis. "Thank you so much!"
"Got it!" Izzy shouted.
"Got what?" Davis questioned.
"You can never deny it again. You are softer than soft. I got it all on tape!" Izzy laughed.
"Play it again!" Mimi smiled.
I giggled a little. I poked Davis in the side. "It's about time you let the others know. You can't keep things hidden forever."
"There's a mistletoe right above Al and Josh's heads. Who should be the one to tell them?" Davis pointed at it hanging from the ceiling.
"Al! Josh!" I called. "Look up!"
They slowly looked to see the mistletoe. It was shocking to them.
"M-m-mistle…T-t-toe?" Al stuttered.
Josh turned to the girl and softly pecked her on the cheek. Al turned almost as red as a cherry. She was dazed, I could tell.
"She likes him," Davis whispered in my ear.
"How would you know?" I demanded.
"Josh likes her too. Look, they're so red."
I smiled at them. I knew it must be true. They were perfect for each other. It also meant that Al couldn't try to take T.K. away from Yolei. It would work out better like that.
I turned to Davis. "I'm going to go see if Ken and Jordan like their gifts. Want to come along?"
"Of course," he walked next to me.
"Of course I like the gifts," Jordan smiled. "I couldn't ask for better friends."
Ken looked at me. "I see that you're wearing Davis's gift. Who gave you the braclet?"
"Tai did. Isn't it pretty?" I showed it to Jordan.
"It really is. Your brother must love you," she giggled.
We began to walk towards the others. Davis talked to Jordan while I talked to Ken. While walking, the two of them split apart and came back together. I didn't really know why until I was stopped by Jordan and Davis. They made us look up to find the mistletoe.
"No wonder you two split apart," Ken smiled.
I looked away from them. When under the mistletoe with someone, you're supposed to kiss them, but it would feel so weird kissing Ken. After what happened in the Dark World a few months ago, it would all seem so wrong.
"You better start kissing," Jordan told us.
"But just a little peck on the lips. Anything else I'll kill you…Ken," Davis agreed.
I turned back to Ken. We both leaned in and lightly kissed each other. I had a bad feeling about this, and, like always, my bad feeling was right. I could sense that I was being pulled away from reality and I was going into the Dark World.
"Kari, you're back!" a girl chirped. She slowly walked up to me. I noticed that it was my guide, Manny. I was confused.
Ken extended his arm in front of me. "Stay away from Kari!"
Manny didn't listen to Ken and still walked towards us. Ken swinged his arm and hit the girl down.
"That wasn't a very smart idea, Ken," a boy's voice laughed.
"What's going on?" Ken demanded.
I saw a figure. "Ken, don't be afraid. That girl you hit is Manny. She's Kari's guide through the Dark World. Like her, I am a guide, but not Kari's. I am your guide."
"Why? Why does Ken need a guide? He still has a pure heart," I decided.
"Ken has some other things he has to figure out. You do too, Kari," Manny stood up.
"What's your name?" Ken asked the boy.
"You have to give me a name. I am created with a body and mind, I have no name," he explained.
"Me? I have to pick? Can't you pick it yourself?"
"I guess I could. How about Ike?"
"Whatever…"
"That's a nice name. I like it a lot. I am pleased to meet you, Ike," I smiled.
"How can you trust these people? They might be evil!" Ken shouted.
"We're not evil. We're here to help," Ike said.
"Manny helped me find my heart. She made me understand that I need Davis to protect me from the darkness," I told Ken.
"What do you mean by I have other things to figure out?" Ken frowned.
"I'll explain everything to you," Ike decided.
"Kari, lets leave them alone," Manny started to walk away. I followed her.
"Please, just, please stay," Ken looked at me.
"If that's what you want," I nodded as I walked back to him.
Ike seemed to be a little puzzled. "You want her to stay?"
"Yes," Ken agreed.
"Oh boy. I don't think you want Miss Kari to hear what I have to tell you."
"Why?"
"Well…" Ike began to whisper in Ken's ear.
He was shocked. "Really?"
"Yes."
"Excuse me, but what are you two talking about?" I questioned.
Ike grew a cheesy grin. He scratched the back of his head and let out a soft chuckle. "Nothing."
"You know, Ike, you remind me of someone."
"Really? Who?"
I thought for a second, but couldn't think of who.
"D…Davis!" Manny shouted.
"Yes! Davis! Ike reminds me of Davis," I nodded.
"No!" Manny pointed. "Davis is here!"
"Darn, there goes my little talk," Ike frowned. "Great! Jordan is here too. What's going on?"
"Major malfunction!" she shrieked.
"Oh," I started to get dizzy.
"Kari?" Ken looked towards me.
I closed my eyes and opened them again. Everything seemed to go blurry. I saw the figure of Ken and looked passed him to see Davis's figure. I turned to the right of me. Ike and Manny were starting to panic. Walking up to Ken was Jordan. I was confused. In my mind, I was panicking, but I wouldn't let them know I was.
"Stop it Kari!" Manny demanded.
"Stop what?" I wondered as my head began to pound.
"You're doing this to yourself and us! If you don't quit, all of us will be destroyed!" Ike explained.
"Destroyed?" Ken was shocked.
"Yes, that's what will happen if Kari keeps panicking like this. She doesn't show it outside, but it's in her mind. I'm connected to Kari's mind, so I am affected by it. Just like Ike is connected to you!" Manny told the boy.
"But I'm not in a panic. What's going on with Ike?"
Ike fell to his knees and pointed to Jordan. "We're not only connected to you. We're connected to the ones you love. I'm connected to Jordan through heart. I'm also connected to anyone else you love, including your brother, Sam."
"What about Davis?" I screamed.
"Davis and Ken aren't worried like you two girls are. Look at the expression on Davis's face. He's showing that he's scared. He's not locking it inside!"
"The more you lock inside, the more you get hurt," Ike frowned.
I began to cry. I didn't know what to do. I was so scared. Why were Davis and Jordan here? What was going on?
Lock it inside. It won't hurt. Don't worry about letting anyone know. Always lock things inside. Let the darkness feed on your light. Let it feed on your heart!
I screamed from what I was hearing.
"My turn!" Ike jumped up. "Kari, Davis isn't able to talk, so I'm going to do him a favor."
"What?" I looked up.
Ike began to glow with an orange tint. "You can shine with me!"
"Take Davis's light! Let him help you through this!" Manny told me.
I looked at Davis. He was softly smiling at me.
"Davis…" I whispered.
"Sweet Kari, don't worry. We're not going to let anything hurt you. I'm here to protect you. Don't be scared. Tell me what you're feeling," Davis said.
Jordan nodded. "This is our battle too! We're always going to help. We want to protect the ones we love. We don't want to see you get hurt."
"Jordan…" Ken looked at her.
"So, you think you can stop the darkness? You know it will always crawl in your heart. You'll grow weak and die with it! You can't stop that from happening! No one can!" a voice echoed.
"I know that voice," Ken was puzzled.
"You can try, but you will never bring us down. The darkness will rule. We will consume your hearts and take over your mind! No one will stop us after that. This is more than depression!" another voice laughed in an evil way.
"That voice…Who is it? I know I know it," I tried to remember.
"Sam!" Ike yelled.
"And the broken heart of Tai!" Manny shouted.
"What?" everyone screamed.
"You did this to me Ken! It's your fault I'm dead!" Sam decided.
"If it wasn't for you, Kari, I would have the perfect life. If you would just listen!" Tai nodded.
"I didn't do anything!" we told them.
"That's the point! You killed us!" they agreed.
"But, Tai, you're still alive," I was confused.
"Kari, that is the darkness in Tai's heart. All the hate he has towards you. He blames you for everything that went wrong in his life…Including when he got hit by the car!" Manny explained.
"Sam has no one else to blame. He doesn't want you, Ken, to live a happy life," Ike joined.
"So, we're going to take your lives and use them for our fun!" Sam snickered.
"We'll kill everyone and let darkness live on! Everyone will live in darkness! They will have to suffer with us forever!" Tai smiled.
"Will that solve anything? Making other people suffer, that won't solve your problems. You have to find solutions," Jordan frowned.
"If you keep surrounded in darkness, it will just grow. The more darkness, the worse the problem gets," Davis thought.
"If you keep the darkness, you'll just get hurt more! Hurting people will hurt you!" Ken yelled.
"I've hurt many people. I know that I hurt you, Tai. You have to understand, I didn't mean to. I was hurt to, when you told me how I broke your heart. I let your pain be mine as well. I didn't want you to go through things alone. Sam, if Ken could have done something for you, he would have. It's not easy to tell a car to stop! We all suffer, but we get over it. Ken is depressed because of your death, Sam. He's suffering, but he's living with it. He's not telling everyone that he's going to make them suffer like he has. Izzy was tortured by Jennifor, but he decided to forget about it. He had his little revenge, but it was nothing more than a song. Izzy forgave her in the end, he didn't make anyone suffer. Mimi was hurt when she had to move to America, but she got over it. She came and visited us. We just try to make everything better. If we get hurt, we just look on the brighter side. If we can't find one, our friends help. If you don't have friends, you do now! I'll be your friends! I'm always willing to help, that's a promise. If you want to not hurt, you have to tell how you feel, you have to let it out. You can't keep secrets, you can't lock things inside! You have to let everything out!" I told them.
"How can you understand how we feel?" Sam wondered.
"Because, I let other people show me their pain. I don't only hold the hurt I get, but also the hurt from my friends and family. I let myself take the blame and get hurt. I make it where I suffer before anyone else. I don't think it's selfish, but I don't think it's safe. It's a bad habit, I guess. I get myself involved so they don't have to hurt alone. I got myself involved with the problem between Hanna and Willis because I wanted to help, just like I did with Izzy and Mimi. No matter what, even if I'm not involved, if they hurt, I hurt. I don't want them to feel alone. I don't want them to feel like I have. I want them to live life the best they can. They deserve it!" I let a small smile grow on my face.
"You tried to help me with my pain, but I just pushed you away. I now understand. I no longer can take my anger out at you, it was really my own fault," Tai disappeared.
"I misunderstood myself. I've been telling lies, haven't I…Kari?" Sam questioned.
"You claim to be of the darkness, but that's not true. Sam, you are sad, that's it," I nodded.
"I just wanted to be with my borther, just a little longer. I wanted him to have a better life, but I just hurt him. I'm sorry. I won't do this again," Sam left.
"All of this, just because of that kiss," Jordan giggle.
Ken looked at Ike and Manny. "Does this mean the Dark World is going to be destroyed. Is this the last time we'll ever come here?"
"You will always have sadness in your heart. Darkness also grows there. I'm sorry, but this world will never leave. It will forever stay, but you can make it better. You can make it stop growing. Use the Dark World to your advantage. This is the connection between you and Kari. Let it stay that way. Let this be the place to learn new things. Let the sadness and darkness grow, this place with turn bad again. Keep a smile on your face and think of the good things, this place will be more positive," Manny tried to explain.
"As long as the ones you love stay by your side, you should have no problem. Let their light help you. If the darkness tries to take over, take their light and let it help you. They are your light when you are the darkness. They are the protectors. Just remember something…"
Before Ike could finish, I opened my mouth. "Even though they help and bring joy, they also bring pain. Davis is my healer, he's my pain, but I'd never want it any other way."
"Um, yes," Ike laughed.
"We better get back though. We don't want the others to worry," Ken decided.
"What about Davis and Jordan?" I asked.
"They'll be back once you two are back. Get going," Manny shooed us.
Ken gave me a hug as we began to leave.
"Come and visit when ever you want!" Ike waved us off.
"We will!" Ken and I agreed as we left the Dark World.
"Kari!" Davis smiled at me.
"Hey there. The Dark World is finally stopping. It's no longer going to take over. It will be a place of light. It will have a new meaning," I decided.
He took me in his arms and held me tight. "I'm glad to hear."
"Well, wasn't that a merry Christmas?" Ken laughed.
"All we needed was Santa to make Davis happy," Jordan giggled.
"What's with people and thinking I want to see Santa? I told you, you're thinking of Ken!" Davis started to yell.
"And I told you not to bring me into these types of things," Ken reminded him.
They began to yell back and forth.
"So, that was the Dark World?" Jordan questioned.
"Yeah, you just got to see it on a better day," I nodded.
"You must be right, it didn't seem too dark to me," she agreed.
We spent the night at the concert place. We played a game of truth or dare and even hide and seek. We felt being childish. After all, winter break will soon come to an end, then we'll have to go back to school. Great, school!
