FS93: *Munches on granola bar* Oh, hey! You're back! Sorry Elodie isn't here, but she had jazz band practice after school. So, it's just me. And my music. ...And this granola bar... Anyway, this is the first of a few slow, uneventful chapters. Hang with us though, it gets more exciting in a couple of chapters! Thanks for coming back, and for the reviews on the previous chapter! We love reviews, hehe! ^^
Chapter Three: Journey to the Past - The Orphanage
"I was born here in the Satellite," Elodie started as she and Naomi walked through the streets. "My parents were killed in the Zero Reverse accident that split Satellite from the City before I was even a year old. I have no clue how I survived when they didn't, but here I am."
Naomi silently followed Elodie as they turned a corner, and the two girls found themselves in front of an old, wooden building.
"This is where my story begins," Elodie said, gesturing to the house as they approached it. "I spent the earliest years of my childhood here, in this orphanage. Again, I have no clue how I wound up here. I'm guessing someone found me and brought me to safety after Zero Reverse."
A flash of movement caught Naomi's eye, and she zoomed her focus in on one of the front windows as a curtain fell back. She caught sight of a tiny face as it vanished from behind the glass. Only a few seconds later, the front door burst open, and a small group of children, along with two teenage girls, came running out of the house and down the porch steps.
"ELODIE!" the children cried as they rushed toward the two visitors. Elodie knelt down and held her arms out to them, laughing and smiling, greeting each of the kids by name as they surrounded her like baby chicks around a mother hen. Noami hung back aways, surprised by how excited these kids were to see the psychic, unsure of how to react. She watched as the other two girls approached the group: one a tall and skinny blonde, the other a rather plump brunette, both smiling widely. Elodie stood and greeted them enthusiastically, laughing and hugging them as they exchange a few pleasantries. They seemed to be old friends.
'Elodie thought her life was hard?' Naomi thought skeptically. 'She has no idea what the word means!'
"Elodie, who's this?" the blonde girl asked, looking pleasantly at Naomi over Elodie's shoulder. Elodie turned and smiled, beckoning Naomi toward them.
"This is a new friend of mine. I bumped into her last night, and I thought she would like to meet you guys."
'You thought wrong!' Naomi thought coldly, glaring at Elodie out of the corner of her eye.
"Oh, that's lovely," Blondie said with a polite smile, extending her hand. "Well, my name is Rachel."
"And I'm Sabrina," the brunette chimed in.
Naomi shook both girls' hands without smiling. "Naomi."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Naomi," said Rachel pleasantly before turning back to Elodie. "So what brings you both here this morning?"
"Oh, we're just passing by," replied Elodie with a small shrug. "I thought we would drop by and say hello."
"We haven't seen you in for-EVER!" a little boy exclaimed, clinging onto Elodie's arm. "We missed you!"
Elodie laughed. "It's only been a couple of days since I was last here, Hal. But I missed you guys too."
Naomi turned away, feeling a little angry at Elodie. Had she brought her here just to show her how much better she had it? What was her deal?
But as she turned, Naomi found a little girl staring curiously up at her. She was a tiny little thing, couldn't have been older than six or seven, with curly blonde hair, light blue eyes, and a small, round face. She was dressed in a lacy blue flower-print dress with white stockings and black buckle shoes. Naomi thought she looked like a porcelain doll brought to life.
"Naomi is a really pretty name," the girl chirped a little shyly.
"Um... thanks," Naomi muttered awkwardly. She tried to give the girl a smile, but she thought it might have turned out to be more like a grimace.
"My name is Chisaki," the girl said.
Naomi's smile softened a little. "Chisaki. 'A thousand blossoms'."
"Uh-huh. Nana says I was named that 'cause I was born in spring. Your name means 'honest and beautiful', right?"
Naomi blinked in surprise. "Yeah. I suppose it does."
"I bet you were named that 'cause you're so pretty," Chisaki told her with a smile. "And I'll bet you're honest, too."
Naomi stared at the girl in shocked amazement. Her voice was tiny and squeaky, like that of a mouse, but the things she was saying made her sound much more intelligent than her years. Her eyes shone with innocence and curiosity, and Naomi couldn't help but feel almost envious of the girl; what wouldn't she give to be like that again!
"Will you two be joining us for breakfast?" Sabrina suddenly asked, bringing Naomi's attention back to the group.
"Oh, yes!" the children cried. "Please stay with us!"
"Well, I don't know," Elodie said uncertainly. "We have a lot to do today..."
"Pleeeaaase?" begged Hal, still pulling on Elodie's arm. "C'mon, Elodie, can't you stay with us for just a little while?"
"Yeah!" Chisaki agreed. She pulled at one of Naomi's gloves. "Please, Naomi, say you and Elodie can stay."
"I..." Noami found herself caught without words. She had not expected such a warm welcome from complete strangers, and she wasn't sure she was comfortable about eating with these people.
"Well, Naomi?" Elodie said, turning to her. "I guess it's up to you. What do you think?"
Naomi glared at the psychic; she was leaving the decision to her? How kind of her - not! Naomi looked from her, to Rachel and Sabrina, to the children, and, last of all, to Chisaki. Then she sighed.
"I guess a small breakfast wouldn't hurt," she muttered.
"Yaaaay!" the children cheered, and the next thing Naomi knew, she, Elodie, Rachel, and Sabrina were all being ushered inside, the kids pulling at their arms and talking excitedly. They were herded into the kitchen, and Naomi saw an old woman and another girl cooking pancakes, eggs and bacon. A brutish, rather ugly teen boy was setting a large dining table in the adjoining room.
The other girl, whom Naomi now noticed was Hispanic, turned, saw her and Elodie, and gasped. "Oh my goodness! Elodie!" she cried enthusiastically, dropping her spatula on the counter and running over to them. "Nana, Elodie is here!"
Elodie and the girl embraced tightly, laughing and smiling, and the old woman, Nana, turned away from the stove. With a slight shock, Naomi realized she was blind.
"Hi, Nana!" Elodie cried, pulling herself away from the Hispanic girl and rushing into the woman's open arms. "It's good to see you!"
"And you, my dear Elodie Melody," Nana replied with a heart-warming smile, her voice deep and rich. "It's been so long!"
"It's only been a couple of days, Nana. I've been busy," Elodie said apologetically, pulling back to look into the face of her foster mother. Nana couldn't look Elodie directly in the eye, but she gazed warmly into her face and patted her cheek a little clumsily.
The brute boy chose that moment to come into the kitchen. "You still working on that bridge with your three guy-friends then?" he asked Elodie.
"Of course she is, Patrick," the Hispanic girl snapped irritably. "The construction has been going on for almost a month now!"
"It's okay, Chanel," Elodie said to her before turning to the boy. "And, yes, Patrick, we are still working on the bridge. We're almost done with the main road, in fact. We should reach New Domino's shore in a couple weeks, and then we're planning on having a bunch of smaller runways connecting the main bridge to other areas of the city and Satellite. There's even going to be some Turbo Dueling lanes and-"
"You are helping build the bridge?" Naomi blurted out, staring wide-eyed at Elodie. Everyone turned to look at her.
"Well, yeah," replied Elodie nonchalantly. "My friends and I designed it, or helped to, anyway. That's why that gang was after me last night; they wanted to discontinue the construction."
Nana's sightless, alarmed gaze snapped onto Elodie. "What was that, Elodie?"
Elodie suddenly looked a little sheepish, like she had said too much. "Nothing, Nana. It was nothing."
"Elodie Jean Kumari," Nana said in a clear, loud voice, "were you chased by a duel gang again?"
Naomi gave the psychic a rather perplexed look. Again? Just how often did duel gangs come after this girl?
"Don't worry about it, Nana," Elodie hurriedly said in a calming voice, as though trying to avoid a scolding. "It wasn't anything I've never dealt with before." She turned to smile at Naomi. "Although, they would have caught me, if it wasn't for my friend here."
"Really, Elodie, why is it that there is always someone after you? Your luck is going to run out one of these days!" Nana sighed. Then she added, "Who is this friend of yours?"
Elodie took Nana's hand and pulled her toward Naomi. "Nana, I would like you to meet Naomi Mori. Naomi, this is my foster mother and my other childhood friends, Chanel and Patrick."
"You can call me Nana, dear," Nana told Naomi, reaching out and taking both of her hands. "Anyone who is a friend of my Melody is welcome in our family."
"Um, thank you," Naomi said uncertainly, not sure what else she could say without sounding rude. Or really stupid. She glared slightly at Elodie, wondering why the deck she had brought her here. But if Elodie noticed, she didn't acknowledge it. She took in a deep breath through her nose and closed her eyes.
"Mm, is that blueberry pancakes I smell?" she asked hopefully, turning towards the stove.
"That's right, chica!" Chanel chirped happily. "My special recipe!"
"You made it just in time," said Rachel, walking over to the cabinets. "I'll get a place set for you and Naomi, Elodie."
"That would be great," Elodie said earnestly. "Thanks, Rach."
"Come on, Naomi," Chisaki squeaked, pulling at Naomi's arm. "You can sit by me!"
"Uh... okay..." was all Naomi could say; she had kept herself isolated from people for so long, she had almost forgotten how it felt to be around other people, or how to talk and act around them. Feeling slightly bemused and perplexed, Naomi found herself being all but pushed into a chair at the table, with Chisaki climbing into the one next to her. Elodie sat on her other side, and Naomi shot her a dark glare.
"You never told me you were one of the people building the bridge," she muttered accusingly.
"It never came up," Elodie whispered back. "And honestly, I thought you knew. Is it really that important to you anyway?"
"No," Nomi shot back. "I don't care about that bridge. In fact, I think it's really stupid!"
Elodie raised an eyebrow. "Aren't those contradicting statements?"
Naomi didn't reply.
"We'll talk about it later," Elodie said before turning her attention to the large plate of blueberry pancakes before her. It was obviously her favorite breakfast. Naomi couldn't blame her, either, as she took a bite; she had to admit they were good pancakes. In fact, everything was good. It was the best breakfast she'd had in a long time.
There was much talk and laughter all around the table as everyone dug in. Nana spoke about how much better the orphanage was getting on now that they had the support and protection of the Public Security Bureau, which explained the grand breakfast. Elodie talked more about the bridge and her friends, though the only name Naomi heard was Crow, as Chanel teased Elodie about liking him, to which Elodie denied. Noami listened quietly, though the others tried to include her in the conversation, and she thought the name rang a bell, but she didn't dwell on it; she was busy wondering why Elodie had said she had been through the same pain as she. Elodie had obviously lived a wonderful childhood with these wonderful people, and the longer Naomi stayed, the more confused and annoyed she got.
At long last, Elodie swallowed the last bite of her fourth pancake and set her fork down.
"Thank you very much for the breakfast, Nana," she said as she and Naomi got to their feet. "It was delicious. But we really do need to be on our way now."
The children all groaned and pleaded for them to stay, but when Elodie firmly said they had other places they needed to be, they were complacent. They were happier when Elodie promised to be back again soon, and they all hugged her good-bye. Naomi received the shock of her life when the children all gathered around her as well.
"Bye, Naomi!" Chisaki peeped from the midst of embracing children, her blue eyes shining as they looked into Naomi's green. "I hope you will come back soon as well!"
"Uh... Naomi said, completely taken aback by their affection. This all felt so entirely alien to her, but at the same time, it was... nice. "We'll see," she finally answered with a slight smile, patting the girl on the head. The way Chisaki beamed at her, one might think Naomi was her best friend.
"It was wonderful to see you again, Elodie," said Nana as she got to her feet and opened her arms to her foster daughter. As Elodie raced into them, Naomi thought she looked rather like a small child running to her mother. She could see that there was a strong mother-daughter bond between the two women. When was the last time she felt something like that? Had she ever felt that?
After releasing Elodie, Nana turned in Naomi's direction - Naomi had no idea how the blind woman knew where she was - and smiled at her just as warmly as she had to Elodie.
"And it was a pleasure to meet you, Naomi," the old woman said. "I do hope we see you again. You're welcome anytime."
"Um, thank you," Naomi replied a little awkwardly before quickly following Elodie out of the kitchen, down the hall, and out the front door.
When the orphanage was out of their sights, Elodie picked up her story from where she'd left off.
"I lived in that orphanage until I was seven," she said quietly. "Then I ran away without looking back."
"You ran away?" Naomi cried incredulously. "Why on Earth would you do that?"
Elodie jerked her thumb back over her shoulder. "Things weren't always the way you say them back there. When I was a child, it wasn't even close to being that wonderful. In fact, most of my childhood was miserable."
"Why? What do you mean?"
Elodie sighed and stopped. She stared off ahead of her, her hazel eyes glazed and misty, like she was staring back through time. "When I was little, I was extremely timid and shy. I was afraid of just about everyone and everything."
"You?" Naomi said with a disbelieving snort. "I highly doubt that."
"It's the truth. And it made me the perfect target for bullies. Actually, I've felt like a huge target most of my life, as you probably saw last night. But anyway, Nana and the girls you met helped me out a bit, and it was bearable for a while... until my psychic abilities came out."
Elodie bowed her head, her bangs swinging over her eyes. "All the other kids became afraid of me. They treated me like an awful disease or monster, like something to be avoided at all costs... well, most of them anyway."
Naomi felt a chill go down her spine at the sound of her tone. That never boded well.
"A few of the boys formed a posse against me, and they did everything they could to make my life hell. I was in a constant state of terror. I could never rest peacefully, for fear that they would attack me again, whether verbally or physically didn't matter. I was... in a vacuum of fear, and I couldn't escape, no matter what I did. I still have some of the scars they left me."
Elodie turned her head and pointed to a pale, thin line that ran along her hairline, in front of her ear. "This is from when one of the boys went knife-happy on me."
Naomi winced a little at the sight of what had once been an apparently deep cut, but when Elodie shrugged off her jacket and turned her back to her, she gasped in horror at how the skin across her shoulder blades and the back of her neck wrinkled and twisted in a painful scar.
"What on Earth did that?" Naomi exclaimed.
"Scalding water," Elodie replied grimly. "Get a cup of it thrown on you, and it's gonna leave a mark. It took more than a month for that to heal. It was one heck-of-a month for a six year old."
Elodie pulled her jacket back on, and then knelt down and took off one of her boots and her sock, showing Naomi a second burn that covered her heel, the bottom of her foot and the back of her leg.
"This was a present from Patrick, the big brute you met back at the Orphanage. He shoved me into a burning furnace after my back was healed. I couldn't walk for another month," she added a little sourly.
"Patrick did that?" Naomi cried. "But... I don't understand! You were just talking to him like you were old friends! And... he did this to you?"
"I learned to forgive and forget," Elodie replied simply as she pulled her sock and boot back on. She looked back up at Naomi and continued, "Believe me, it took me a while to forgive him and the others - it took years for me to get even close- and it was even longer before we got on good terms. But life goes on, and it's too short to hold grudges. It was a relief to finally have closure."
"But closure isn't always possible," Naomi argued bitterly as Elodie got to her feet. "There are some things that are impossible to forgive."
"Like what?" Elodie asked sharply, her gaze suddenly seeming to pierce Naomi's soul. "What do you mean?"
Naomi looked away, unable to keep that x-ray-like stare. "Nothing."
"You meant something," Elodie insisted. "What did someone do to you that was unforgivable?"
Naomi stubbornly didn't reply. Neither girl spoke for what felt like an eternity. Elodie locked onto her eyes, and though Naomi tried, she could not look away again. There was an unnerving, x-ray-like quality in the almost hypnotic blend of green and brown as the psychic stared into the smaller girl's eyes, trying to find the meaning of the pain in her heart. It was seriously starting to freak Naomi out.
Elodie, realizing Naomi wasn't going to give her anything more, finally averted her eyes. Naomi felt her taunt muscles relax slightly and she breathed out heavily, relieved to be released from the psychic's hold, but she didn't dare let her guard down. She watched Elodie suspiciously as the latter walked away a ways, down the street until she was in the middle on the intersection.
Elodie stopped and turned back to Naomi, spreading her arms out to gesture to the streets around her. "After I left, the streets of Satellite became my home... of sorts. I lived much as you do now; sleeping on whatever space I could find, wandering around with no where to go. I tried to find someone to take me in, but every time I thought I had found friends who would take care of me, and a home I could live in, I was tossed out like a misbehaving pet. No one who took me in actually cared about me; they had heard there was a psychic out on the streets, and were only thinking of how they could use to me their advantage. When they discovered how helpless and scared I really was, they didn't want anything to do with me anymore. Many of the rougher ones even tried to kill me."
Naomi stared at her. "Is that what you meant when you told your Nana that what happened last night was 'nothing you've never dealt with before'?"
Elodie lowered her hands and nodded. "That was exactly what I meant. I lived out in the streets for five long years. One gets tired of being repeatedly stabbed in the back for that long of a time period, you know. I eventually grew to fear and mistrust all people, and I did everything in my power to stay away from them. But they kept coming for me. Duel gangs would chase me and hunt me down like a dog, much like you saw last night. There were times I got away, and times I didn't. But that whole five years, no one tried to help me or save me. I had no friends. I was scared and helpless and alone, and for a child living on the streets in Satellite, that was incredibly dangerous."
Naomi knew that was true. She'd been in her share of street chases and rumbles with gangs, and she knew just how nasty things could get in Satellite. But, until recently, she'd had friends who would help her and protect her when she needed them. Elodie hadn't had that luxury, and for the first time, Naomi felt truly sorry for the psychic.
"Don't feel sorry," Elodie said softly, sensing what Naomi was feeling. "There was nothing you could have done, and those days are well behind me. I've learned to accept the past and learn from what happened to me, and now, thanks to my friends and the lessons they've taught me, I've never been better."
Naomi frowned. "I don't get it. If so many people hurt you, how were you able to make friends?"
"It wasn't easy," Elodie replied. Then she smiled. "But that'll all come later."
Turning around and gesturing to Naomi to follow, Elodie said, "Come on. There's another place I want to show you. No people here this time, I promise."
As the mysterious girl walked away, Naomi bit back her questions and followed her, continuing their journey through Elodie's past.