In The Distance
The dark clouds surrounding the small house brought bad news. A young girl stands in the window and watches as the storm begins to kick up a down pour. Raining cats and dogs didn't do the storm liberty, raining cars and busses summed it up. A sudden crash of thunder and a flash of lightning force her away from the window. The sound of banging was echoing throughout the small house as she walked from the living room to the hall. Suddenly she heard the sound of squeaky footsteps, with no one else being in the house but her and not have gone out into the rain, it was obvious it was a stranger.
As the instinct to survive fills her head with thoughts of protection, she finds herself holding the lamp from the hall table. With the footsteps growing slowly closer to her the choice dawns that she was to either A. Yell to them, or B. Hit them...automatically her instinct sprang into action and she chose letter A. She swings around the corner and hits the person in the side with the bottom of the lamp. Until the stranger buckled over into the light she did not realize that it was a boy about her age.
His groan in the dark hall confirmed how young he was. "I'm.......sorry for trespassing." He groans. "My....name is Grey....I'm a traveler who got caught in the storm....the front door was open so I thought it was abandoned." He sits up and their eyes meet. "Apparently I was wrong...." She stares at him as he stands up. He was wearing a brown poncho and a wizard like hat with symbols strewn across the side. "I'm really sorry for trespassing miss.......If you want me to leave I understand." She looks surprised. "No it's no problem....you can stay here and ride out the storm." She walks to the hall table and puts the lamp back on then plugs it in. "What's your name?" Grey asks quietly. "Kagome....." She says and stands up. A sudden crash of thunder shakes the house and the lights flicker.
Grey and Kagome stand looking up at the lights. "Grey....." Grey turns to her. "Yes?" "Can you please help me unplug everything?" Grey looks at her strangely for a moment . "Uh sure...." He says as she quickly walks past him and unplugs the TV and computer. Grey walks over and unplugs two wall lamps. As Kagome unplugs the radio a huge crash of thunder echoes across the plain. A small zap escapes the plug and zings Kagome. "Ah!" She quickly yanks her hand away from the power socket and the lights suddenly go out. Kagome backs up into something and falls down with the object. "Grey? Where-?" "Behind you. We bumped into each other." Grey responds from right behind her. She looks back and they both bump heads. "Ow........" Kagome whines. Grey laughs and rubs his head. "We should find a flash light....." Kagome turns to him slowly making sure not to bump into him. "The flashlights are in the closet in the hall....I'll go get them....." She slowly stands up and looks around the pitch black room. "Grey?" "I'm here.......I'm standing behind you." "Ok....." She says and begins to walk foreword with her hands out in front of her.
She slowly feels for the wall and finally after tiptoeing and hand searching her hand makes contact with the closet door. "she opens the door and reaches up, grabbing two flashlights. "Grey are you still behind me?" He taps her shoulder gently. "Right here." He says calmly. "Here...it's a flashlight...." She pokes him in the chest with the flashlight thinking it was his hand. Grey takes it and Kagome lets go. They both turn on the flashlights. "There you are...." Kagome says turning around, finally able to see him. Grey smiles. "Nice to see you too." Kagome walks up to a door and opens it slowly. Stairs are revealed and Kagome starts walking up them. "Come on Grey. Upstairs is the safest place. Down here there is more electrical appliances." Grey nods and follows. "So where are you from Grey?"
"I'm from Windtoon...." Grey follows Kagome into a large room, probably the largest in the small house. The walls were covered with pictures of people smiling and laughing together. A small picture of a small girl swinging on a swing set catches his eye. *She reminds me of my sister Liena....that smile is just like hers* Grey thinks to himself and smiles at the picture. "Oh that's me when I was a little kid....I loved that little swing set...It's still out in the back by the tree if the storm didn't blow it away." She smiles. Grey smiles back. "Yeah it's really storming outside. I don't know when it's gonna stop." "It's rainin' busses...." Kagome laughs.
"So Grey, do you have any family?" Grey nods. "Yes. I have a little sister. Her name is Liena. I left her with my friends family and was headed back to Cowtoon, the home town of my friend, when the storm hit" "Aw....I'm sorry...Hey I have a question?" Grey looks away from the picture to Kagome who was smiling really big at him. He just stared at her not knowing what to say. "Uh.....yes....?" Grey barely manages to get out. "When the storm is over and you head out to your friends home town Cowtoon, can I come? I have nothing left for me here...My family left a long time ago...so I've been by myself since. Do you mind if I tag along?" Kagome smiles nervously. "uh........sure.......why not......" Grey smiles but speaks slowly.
*Yeah she's just like my sister.* He thinks to himself. Just then a crash is heard downstairs. Kagome looks over to the area where the stairs are. ".........What was that?........" Grey looks back over to her. "maybe something fell......or the door came open." Grey says looking back to the door leading to the stairs. "I'll go check." Kagome says and walks to the stairs. As she walks down the stairs she sees the front door open. "................." Kagome walks towards the door and suddenly feels something brush against her shoulder. "AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! NO!" She swings around and starts punching the person. "OW! Kagome! It's me, Grey! OW!" Kagome opens her eyes and looks at Grey who was holding onto her arms so she wouldn't punch him anymore. "..............OH MY GOSH! I'M SORRY!" She yells nervously. "It's fine." Grey laughs. "Don't worry about it. You were freaked out again, I understand." Grey smiles then looks past her. "Hey….well what do you know, the storm is over." Kagome turns. Her neutral look suddenly changes into a large smile. "It's over!" She runs outside. "It's Over!" She laughs and Grey watches and walks out.
Kagome laughs and walks past Grey. "Hey Grey?" Grey smiles and watches her walk past. "Yes?" "When are we going to leave?" She smiles innocently and asks. "Well I thought that if the storm didn't end soon when I walked into your home that I would stay there and wait until tomorrow…but now that the storm's over I guess we can leave today." Grey says and walks next to her. "Ok!" Kagome says and runs to the house but slips on the way. She gets back up and runs into the house. Grey stands and watches as his new companion prepares to leave with him for Cowtoon.