Chapter 4, let's see more!
"Trivia! Come!" A stern voice called.
She nervously walked over to her daddy whom was standing next to the door with mommy. They looked ready to leave. Mommy then approached and fussed with her hair before taking her hand and the family left out the door. She dreaded this day of the week. It never ended well. They were off to see that mean person in the white coat again. They always tried to force her to talk. The walk over to that scary place was long, too. Noticing her daughter's sad face, mommy decided to try cheering her up.
"How about we get some ice cream, okay?" She asked.
She brightened at this but daddy glared at her.
"Ice cream is a treat she gets only when she's been good." He said, firmly.
Her face dropped but this time, mommy stood her ground.
"Oh Jimmy! She hardly ever has any. Why not let her have some for the sake of having it?" She asked.
They glared at each other and the little girl looked down at her feet nervously, unable to look at either of them. Back at home, these arguments never ended well and daddy always won. It scared her every time. But, this time, he let out a conceded sigh.
"Fine. I'm feeling generous today... but don't expect this to happen regularly." He said, handing his wife some money.
She was excited! She was finally getting some ice cream! Mommy took her over to a nearby cart while daddy waited by a bench, checking his watch. The three flavors were always the same: chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla. The woman at the cart smiled at the pair politely.
"What flavor would you like?" She asked the little girl, already knowing the look of an excited child that was just told they could have some ice cream.
She wanted to say one scoop of each. She loved all three flavors. But she also knew that her mother was the only one who could tell her.
"One vanilla cone, please." mommy said.
And the little girl frowned. Just vanilla on its own? That always felt so boring to her. To the little girl, vanilla always needed something to go with it... otherwise, it always seemed such a... trivial flavor. But then, she was getting ice cream for the first time in a long time so...
"Is it for her?" The lady asked mommy.
"Yes." she said.
The lady looked the little girl in the eye. She knew the look of a child that did not want the flavor her mother was requesting. Mommy became nervous. She did not like it when people pressed her daughter too much. Unfortunately, it was because of shame and not because of being protective. The little girl tried to say something but only a rasp came out. The lady raised her eyebrows. Her mother looked tense and was about to pull her away but the lady immediately stopped her.
"Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't realize you couldn't talk. Here, just show me." She said, leading her back to the cart.
She was nervous but at the same time, this lady seemed so much nicer than most people she had ever met. The little girl hesitantly pointed at each flavor and the lady smiled in delight.
"Ah! A fellow Neapolitan lover! That's my favorite, too. Having any of these flavors on their own is just boring, right?" She asked.
The little girl nodded. Mommy looked nervous but... she had never seen her daughter this engaged with someone before. The lady gave her one scoop of ice cream each and mommy paid her.
"Sorry about that. We were just on our way to the doctor about her voice." She said.
"Oof! Doctors! Is she sick?" She asked.
Her mother hesitated and the little girl looked troubled. Was she sick? She had always been like this. Did that mean she's always been sick?
"Well... yeah. She hasn't talked yet." She said.
"She hasn't or she can't?" She asked.
"She just hasn't" Her mother said quickly.
"Well until then, maybe you guys should find other ways to help her communicate." She said, looking at her sympathetically.
"There's nothing wrong with my daughter!" Mommy said defensively.
The ice cream lady suddenly understood this situation more... she hated seeing this. A mother ashamed of her child's disability. She hated that she had enough experience with this to where she was able to immediately ask the little girl instead of the mom... and when to stop the mom and engage with the kid instead.
"You're right, ma'am, there isn't. She's fine just the way she is." she said, running her hand over the little girl's head.
Fine? The way she was? But didn't she need to talk? Mommy shoved the money into her hands and grabbed hers.
"Keep the change." She said before walking away, dragging her daughter with.
The lady looked at the little girl.
"Come again." She said directly to her.
"What took so long, Carmel? We'll be late." daddy said.
"Nothing, Jimmy... Nothing at all. Let's just go." mommy said.
They walked in silence, the little girl eating her ice cream while lost in thought about the woman. There was feeling she felt when that lady talked to her, actively looking her in the eye, and asking her to show her instead. Most people got impatient with her. That was the first time anyone had ever done that... was this what it was like to make a friend? Neapolitan... that sounded so cool.
Ruby woke up confused. She was on an island and... wait, she was Ruby, not a little girl on the way to a doctor with her parents. She had woken up, first, having pulled her hood over herself with Neo asleep with her back against hers... she was never going to be used to being outside of her body, much less be in someone else's... but today, she felt a little more... at home? Like she actually knew this body a little better? She looked back at Neo who seemed to be smiling in her sleep.
"Well at least one of us is having sweet dreams." She thought before looking over at her sister and Blake.
Blake slept closely to Yang whom was still sprawled out in a dead sleep. Blake also looked to be sleeping heavily, curled up snug, her back against Yang's side. Ruby got up and stretched, noticing the sky was starting to lighten. She didn't mean to sleep for a shorter time than everyone else but then she had to remind herself that Neo was in her body which was currently exhausted. Ruby, however, felt relatively well rested if a bit weirded out by experiencing someone else's memories.
"Does Oscar go through this, too?" Ruby wondered.
She then thought back to everyone else who were still up there... and probably in Vacuo by now.
"I hope Penny and the others got to Vacuo safely... I hope everyone is okay." She thought.
She grew sad... It would have been so exciting to see Penny try food for the first time... or see how she reacts to coffee and so many other firsts that she wouldn't be there to see. But she also hoped that she was okay and taking care of everyone... and she hoped that she wasn't grieving her thinking she was dead.
"How do we find our way back?" She thought, looking around.
She then looked up at the cliff, seeing the giant tree. Maybe that place would have answers? Well... all she needed to do was wait for her friends to wake up.
End of chapter 4.
