Marinette closed the kitchen door behind her and walked to the hall. The door of the living room was slightly open, so you could hear the sound of the TV. Marinette started to think about Adrien. He was very kind, actually, although he didn't believe a thing about her story. He did try to comfort her, which was cute. She could see in his eyes that he didn't believe anything she had said. He probably thought that she was crazy, or something. But his own story about seeing shadow shapes with eyes was also pretty psycho. He probably made it all up, so it wouldn't look like he was scared. Boys always try to act cool!

But what I told him is true, she thought. Or am I going crazy? Maybe I see things that aren't there. Maybe I have a terrible illness in my head. A growth, like a jellyfish, that slowly dissolves my brain. She shook her head. Again, such a strange thought. The last few days she had been awake at night and thinking. That should stop right now. There was nothing wrong with her parents.

"Papa, mama, I'm going to bed." She called out to the living room, as she ascended the stairs. There was no response. "Papa, mama, goodnight." She waited for a bit. The only sound that came from the room was the TV.

Marinette sighed. Were they that addicted to that thing, that they couldn't even wish their daughter a simple 'goodnight'? Angry, she descended the stairs and walked back into the hall. She put her head through the doorway and looked into the room. The couch was empty. There was no one in the room.

"Mhhm?" Marinette furrowed her brows. How was that possible? Where were they? The TV was still on, so they couldn't have gone far. Marinette looked at the screen of the TV pensively. There was a broadcast of an advertisement called HAWK-LICORICE: big, yellow letters and under that a pointy wolves head.

"HAWK-LICORICE, the tastiest licorice of your life," A sweet woman's voice said. "HAWK makes you a different person. Do you also like HAWK?"

That new licorice brand is everywhere these days, Marinette thought. Some kind of manufacturer had put a lot of money in this. In her backpack was also a roll. Hundreds of these were handed out at school last week, as an advertising stunt. But she still had no idea where her parents were.

"They wouldn't have just left, without saying anything?" Marinette muttered. "Plagg is already asleep upstairs. They would never leave him alone."

She walked to the hall. "Papa? Mama?" It stayed quiet in the house. There was a worried feeling in her. What now? Marinette suddenly got a hunch. She walked to the front door and opened it. She saw it immediately. The car was gone. So, they went away with the car. But where?

Maybe somebody got ill and they didn't have time to warn me, Marinette thought. They didn't know I was talking to Adrien in the backyard. She suddenly remembered that her uncle Cheng had heart problems the last time they had visited. It was the brother of her mama. Yes, that should be it. Maybe uncle Cheng was in the hospital and her parents were there. Marinette felt relief over her body, now that she had a statement for herself. But it was weird that papa and mama didn't leave a note.

I should check on Plagg, Marinette thought. And then I'll also go to bed. I'll hear what happened in the morning.

She closed the door and walked to the living room to turn off the TV. She left on a small light, for when her parents would return. When she was upstairs, she gently opened the door to Plagg's room. A streak of light from the corridor shone on the bed, exactly on his face. In his sleep he had kicked off his blanket. An arm suspended over the edge of his bed. His head lay oblique on his pillow and he had his thumb in his mouth. Marinette smiled. Little brothers of five are the most adorable when they're asleep. On her toes she walked into the room and pulled the blanket over him. While she bended over Plagg, she was surprised to see a mess on his pillow and mouth. She first thought it was a shadow stain, but now she saw how black his mouth was. From his mouth ran a thin trickle of black saliva. On his pillow were black stains. Mama is not going to be happy with that. On the ground next to the bed was a wrapper of HAWK-LICORICE, completely empty. That little rascal ate an entire roll, Marinette thought. He probably got that from my backpack. I've only eaten one myself!

For a moment she felt anger rise in her, but when she looked at the innocent, sleeping face of her little brother, the anger dulled. "Well, it's only a roll of licorice," She muttered. Smiling, she got out her handkerchief to wipe Plagg's mouth. Suddenly he opened his eyes and he looked straight at her. His eyes shone weird in the weak light.

"Shh, sleep," Marinette whispered. Plagg made a weird sound. He was growling. Marinette looked at him in shock. "Don't be like that, go back to sleep, Plagg." She stroked his cheek. Plagg growled again and he suddenly bit Marinette in her hand, extremely hard. With a scream she jumped backwards.

"What are you doing? Stupid boy!" Plagg said nothing. He kept looking at her with a weird shine in his eyes and he growled again. Marinette sucked on her hand, groaning. "Screw you! Don't even think for one minute that I would ever put you in bed again!" She slammed the door behind her and went into the bathroom. Incredulous, she looked at her hand. The teeth prints were visible on her hand and some parts were even pierced. She put her hand under the cold water. That dulled the pain a little bit.

What the hell was going on with Plagg? Maybe he had a nightmare. Maybe his tummy hurt, 'cause he ate too much licorice. Whatever, it's still no reason to bite your sister.

After a while, when she had stepped into the shower, did her anger slowly leave her. Plagg probably didn't even know what he did. He sometimes dreams with his eyes open, but never as fiercely as this. Marinette decided to forgive him. She stepped out from under the shower, wrapped herself in a towel and went to her bedroom. On her way, she stopped by Plagg's room and put her ear against the door. She heard him growl angrily, like he knew she was at the door. Shocked, Marinette stepped away from the door. At this moment she wouldn't open that door even if there was gold behind it. It was like her little brother wasn't in the room, but something else, that had crawled into his skin. Again, such a crazy thought. The umpteenth time today. Marinette didn't want to know anymore. She fled into her room, put on her pj's and crawled into her bed with wet hair. She laid still for a while and listened with a hold breath, afraid that she would hear the sound of little bare feet walking in the corridor. Afraid that Plagg would come into her room, growling and then…

"Stop!" Marinette whispered at herself. There was nothing wrong. Her little brother just had a nightmare, that's all. And now I'm going to bed, Marinette thought. Even if the whole world collapsed! She turned in her bed and closed her eyes tightly.

Two hours later, she woke up to the sound of a car that stopped in front of their house. Papa and mama? Marinette thought. Her alarm clock said one fifteen. With her head full of sleep and her eyes half closed, she stepped out of bed and to the window. She pushed open the curtain just a bit and watched. Yes, it was them. The car was parked next to the sidewalk, under the lantern, which always shone in her room. Downstairs in the hall clicked the lock from the front door. The door opened. Light fell in a rectangle on the garden path. Marinette couldn't see her parents, but she did see their shadows.

At that moment, she wanted to scream. But nothing came out of her mouth. Her mouth opened. It's not possible, whatever she saw. Somehow, her sleep, like a thick, woolen blanket in her head, had to threaten her. The shadows she saw were not from her parents. Her eyes transferred the image to her brain, but her brain denied to believe her. 'Malfunction!' Said her brain. 'Our excuses for this malfunction. A moment, please.'

Marinette closed the curtain. With stiff movements she walked back to her bed. She stepped in and pulled the blanket over herself. She closed her eyes and pushed the image out of her memories. She just had to forget it all. Tomorrow morning she would wake up and everything would be fine. Right now, she had to sleep. Because when you sleep you forget things that couldn't possibly be true. Things that can't be true.