Kuki sat in her bed and glared up at the evil nanny who her mother had hired to keep an eye on her.
She was a stout,
pompous woman, who made the grim reaper look like Father
Christmas.
Kuki was almost afraid to look into her eyes in case
she was turned to stone if she did so.
This woman would literally just sit and watch Kuki as she lay in her bed. It was as if her mother thought that Kuki could do nothing on her own.
Her mother walked in the room holding a tray of food. She placed it on Kuki's lap.
"I want you to eat all of your vegetables." She said sternly to Kuki as if she were a child.
"Okay." Kuki replied quietly.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Yes mother, thankyou." Kuki corrected herself.
"We're going to be great friends Ms. Sanban, I can see that." The evil nanny said to Genki, she smiled. The doorbell rang.
"I'll be right back." Kuki's mother said and went to answer the door.
Kuki picked up a piece of broccoli and munched on it sadly. Ignoring the cold stares which the evil nanny gave her.
"Now then you little shrimp. I've got a black belt, and I can break you like that!" The woman ordered, snapping her finger. "Don't give me a reason to do it!"
"Ooh, I wouldn't irritate her Kuki, if she stamps her foot she can make an earthquake easy." Wally appeared.
"I'll be back in a moment with your pill." The nanny said, walking out of the room.
"I'll be back in a moment with your pill!" Wally mimicked, then it dawned on him. "Wait…Those are the pills! Kuki, we have to get out of here!"
He sat next to her, but she stayed motionless, chewing on her food. She had given up, just like everybody else around her had done.
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"Please Ms. Sanban, can I just see Kuki for a moment?" Hoagie pleaded.
"Hoagie, I said no and I'm standing firm on it, there's no way my daughter can see anyone today." Genki hissed.
"Can I just talk to her? She's a little troubled and I just wanted t…"
"I know about my daughters needs Hoagie, now please get your foot out of my door and escort yourself from my driveway."
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"C'mon Kooks, let's get out of here before she comes back!" Wally begged her, pulling on her arm. "Kuki! There's two of them now! And they've got pills! They're just turning you into another cruddy adult! You've started already! You just a piece of broccoli!"
Kuki just looked up at him sadly, tears were welling up in her eyes.
"I can't." She whispered.
He sat next to her on the bed and placed his arm around her. The feeling of pins and needles once again stayed under his touch.
"C'mon Kooks. Remember when your dad picked up the megabitch and threw her out of the window?" He grinned.
Kuki thought for a moment, then looked back at him.
"He never did that." She told him.
"Well…no, but you wanted him to didn't you? So did I…It was a few days after my funeral right?"
Kuki thought for a moment. Then nodded.
"Yeah, even when you didn't know it I was with you. I couldn't leave you alone Kooks, I was right there with you for every second of that. You just couldn't see me."
Flashback
Kuki's father was reading the paper on the couch, her mother was doing the ironing and her sister, Mushi and Kuki were watching the television.
"Oh, Kuki, don't you think it's about time you moved on? Your friend is dead! He's not coming back and that can't be helped." Genki scolded Kuki, who was sat on the floor, clutching Wally's old hoodie tightly. "From now on! I don't want to hear the name 'Wally' ever again. Your depressing everyone in this house."
Kuki stayed quiet and kept her eyes fixed on the screen, even though she was never watching it in the first place.
Mushi dropped her bag of crisps on the floor.
Their mother made a huge scowl and shook her head.
"Leave it! I'll pick it up in a moment, last time you cleaned up Mushi, everything was shoved under a rug." Genki hissed.
Kuki looked at her sister, who was obviously hurt by what Genki had just said to her.
"Dad, why don't we throw mom out of the window." Kuki suggested. "It won't hurt her, you actually have to have a heart to have feelings."
"Don't say things like that about your mother Kuki-Chan!" Her father scolded her as he put down his paper and walked out of the room.
"She might burn your head off." He muttered under his breath.
"Very funny Kuki! Your grounded for a month! How dare you speak to me like that!" Genki yelled at her.
Kuki payed no attention, she had learned to just ignore her mother when she was like this.
"Are you even listening to me?" Genki walked over and pulled Kuki to her feet, standing inches from her face.
She raised her hand and swung, Kuki suddenly felt a sharp pain in her cheek where her mother had just hit her. She heard Mushi gasp in shock.
Genki grabbed the orange hoodie in Kuki's hands and pulled it from her grip.
"No! Don't!" Kuki pleaded.
"Oh, that's what will make you cry? Well if this is the only way you will learn then I'm sorry but…" Genki walked out of the room. Kuki followed her.
"No, please don't take him away from me!" Kuki sobbed. Her father stood up as Genki walked out the back door and Kuki ran after her.
She threw the jumper into a brazier and picked up the matches, ignoring Kuki's pleading cries.
Her father, by now had pulled Kuki into his arms, trying to comfort her.
"Kani, you do it!" Genki said, handing him the box of matches.
"I'm not having anything to do with this, it's not right!" Kani yelled at her.
"Fine, I'll do it." Genki turned around and light the match.
Kani let go of Kuki and walked over to his wife.
"It's not right!" He repeated.
"What would you know about raising a child?" Genki yelled at him.
"Apparently nothing." He replied. He walked into the house and Kuki heard the front door open and close.
Genki threw the match into the brazier and turned to Kuki.
"It's about time you grew up!" She sneered and walked away.
Kuki sobbed as she watched her closest thing to Wally slowly burn and disappear into nothing but ash.
That was the last time she saw her father, well, he came to collect his things every so often but, that was about it.
She decided to write a letter, even if Wally couldn't read it, she had to get everything off her chest…
Dear Wally.
You were my best friend, if losing you wasn't hard enough, having my best memory of you taken away from me was terrible.
I know we'll meet again, someday.
I just wish that that day could be today. It's unbelievable how much I miss you.
Nigel, Abby and Hoagie seem to have gotten past it, why? Why can't I let go?
It's like everything that I need in life, to protect me from her has gone, You, Daddy,
Why is this happening to me?
I hope to see you, sooner, rather than later.
I miss you.
Kuki
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Wally held the note in front of her.
"You don't know how long it took me to read it. I found that while I was hiding in that cruddy shed all night." He told her.
"That's right, that's where I hid it…It was never the same in the KND after you, all of the life, and the…spirit…and the…" Kuki was lost for words, she was half in tears from the memories.
"The Wally?"
"Yeah! The Wally, it all just disappeared."
Wally gave a sad smile and ran his finger down the material of her nightdress.
"I should never have let my mother know she could hurt me so much, because when she knew she could, she did. She'd burn photographs of you or…or throw out some of the stuff that she knew you brought me. She just killed me inside."
Wally nodded.
'That's when I met Jason, he was there for me and, I guess I was just so emotional, I just fell for him." Kuki sighed. Then looked at the clock on her bedside. "Oh my gosh! The party!"
Wally gave a smile. "Let's go."
He disappeared while Kuki got dressed and was waiting for her outside her bedroom door.
"Careful Kooks, she's in the kitchen." Wally warned her as they tiptoed down the stairs. Kuki lost her footing and tripped the last few stairs, making a large bump sound.
"Kuki! Are you alright?" Wally pulled her up to her feet, Kuki nodded, just then Genki walked in.
"Where do you think you're going?" She asked.
"Out!" Kuki replied and turned around to open the door. But was blocked by the evil nanny.
She was dragged upstairs and forced into her room.
"Yeah? Well we're not scared of you fatso!" Wally shouted as the evil nanny locked the door behind her.
"We've got to get out!" Kuki told him. Wally nodded towards the window.
Kuki picked up her photo album and slammed it against the glass. Smashing it.
She carefully stepped out of the window.
"Hey Kuki!" She heard a voice and looked up. Hoagie was standing on the tree branch opposite her window.
"Hoagie? What are you doing here?" She asked.
"You left your dress in the restaurant. I remembered it and went back for it. Thought you might need it." Hoagie called back.
"Oh great! Thankyou, think you could give me a ride?"
"Sure."
