Okay, today is the first day of summer for me. WOOT WOOT! I passed (I just thought I'd throw that out there because a reviewer, I will not give their name, asked me why I study so much), with is what I'm usually worried about; I don't want to turn into my mom, who was a high school dropout. Also, I'd like to thank all of those who have reviewed one time or more on this story; there are so many ghost readers -_-.
Cutie Kyuubi,
Yes, her sister is weird. I figured that since I try to make my characters as normal as possible with their own little strange traits, but I also thought that if I were worried about my sister or brother, I would let nothing stop in my way to stop me from finding out what happened to him or her. Wouldn't you (that is if you have a sibling...)?
LAVENDEREXPLOSION,
I get that a lot lol. Either on my work published on here or in the stories my friends ask me to write, that is .-. I hope you like this story and that some of the stuff Hope and her jolly band of misfits do isn't offensive to you in any way!
"Youth can not know how age thinks and feels. But old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young."
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Kris' POV
Onward to the meeting of Kris' family!
Kris went to ring the doorbell, but faltered in her already shaky steps. "Can you ring the doorbell?" She mewed.
I nodded, rang the doorbell. "Here goes nothing..."
After a few seconds I heard a my mom's voice that told us she was coming.
Hope quickly looked at me and said, "you don't have to do this if you don't want to."
I nodded.
The front door opened, showing my mom in her ragged pink apron that usually was covered in flour or egg yolk. Her hair wasn't the angelic red that i once admired, her fur now was sprinkled with gray and white; her once livid green eyes were now glasses over, as though they had shed so many tears that they were beyond repair.
"KRIS, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" She screeched in anger and desperation.
"Mom, if I told you, you wouldn't believe me..." I started to say but just quit after a few words.
Mom seemed to not care if she was mad at me or not, she gave me a hug, that's tightness challenged a python's grip.
"All that matters is that you're here now." She whispered in my ear. "Your father and I were so worried. Jake and Karen went around the country looking for you, we thought that she hated you; when they couldn't find you they go t so depressed. It was horrid."
I just smiled, knowing that they cared was enough to know that they didn't forget me.
"What about the others?" I asked.
"Aqua and her wife, Ginger, watched your other brothers and sisters' kids while they were looking for you. Kelly and her husband, Danny, hired six detectives to look for you in this city. Derik and Lexi tried posting you as missing on the internet and other social medias. And the others just tried looking for you at your favorite hangouts and questioned your neighbors, friends, and even your enemies." She answered.
Hope just stood in her spot, shifting out of awkwardness.
"Mom, this is Hope. She is the reason why I am here." I introduced them.
"Please, I only came by you by pure coincidence. Now Mrs?"
"Oh, please just call me Jesse!" She released me from the hug to shake Hope's hand.
"Okay, well, Jesse, it's a pleasure to meet you. If I may say, you look quite dashing in that apron." Hope playfully winked.
I rolled my eyes. "Just met her and you're already flirting with my mom. Sounds like you're over Prince Charming."
Hope snorted. "Oh, yes you know it, Prince Charming has nothing on Jesse here!"
Mom laughed. "Oh, the company you keep, Kris. Come in, tell me what has happened over the past ten years!"
Hope and I followed Mom into the den, Hope went up to the fireplace and picked up the picture of Aqua and Ginger with their three children Craig, Boone, and Stacy.
"Who are these?" She asked.
"Well the fox with blue hair is Aqua; the white squirrel is her wife, Ginger; the robin is their son, Craig; the golden badger is their other son, Boone; and at last, the silver fox is their daughter, Stacy. Before you ask, they all adopted." I replied.
"Cool." She said.
Mom walked up to us, a steaming mug of coffee in each hand. "Drink up,your friend could use it, she is a bit bony." She implied.
Hope and I greedily snatched the mugs from her paws, and guzzled them in mere seconds.
"Now, tell me what has been happening in the past ten years!" Mama playfully demanded.
"What hasn't happened?" Hope snorted.
"What do you mean, Hope?" I asked the sacrastic raven.
"Well, to start off, you were trapped in a book, you've fallen in love, and you were considered missing for ten years. So I ask you, what hasn't happened?" Hope said thoughtfully.
"Touché." I replied.
"Hold up, your in love?" Mom asked, disbelief showing on her facial features.
I nodded. Mom got up and, dispite her older age, literally danced.
"Finally after three years, before you disappeared, of trying; you did it on your own!" She cried in glee.
Hope laughed at Mom's strange antics, I however was stunned. My mom was trying to set me up with all those party guests, she didn't invite them just to meet our family because they were wondering how we were. That takes some nerve; she could had invited a rapist or a serial killer and not have cared.
'She meant good. Most parents would die for some grandchildren, after all. So what if Mam just wanted all of us married, we would all be happy with a family, children or no.' I assured myself.
When Mama finished her dance she turned to me, placed my paws into hers, and said,
"tell me every single detail! Who is the lucky young gentleman, and just what does he look like?"
I rolled my eyes, my mom could be worse than a lovesick teenager at times; the only time she acted worse is when my brother got engaged, none of us knew he was courting. "Mom... It's Skips..."
"Skips... Why does that sound familiar?" She rubbed her chin as though she took the question deeply.
Hope facepalmed and mumbled what was most likely swears.
"Skips is the yeti you invited to my party that you threw in order to celebrate me getting the job in the park. He claimed that he was just my coworker, not some poor soul you drug from their home in hope of courtship. Remember?"
Mom smiled a victorious smile, one of her ideal mates for me had been my choice. "Well then, isn't that something!" Her brow then furrowed.
"What is it, Jesse?" Hope asked.
"What if he doesn't like you back or is taken now? You've spoke of your feelings for him correct; a lot can happen in the space of a decade?" Her brow crinkled further.
"Mom, that's like unicorns; it's not possible!" I insist.
Hope allowed an rowdy laugh to echo in the living room.
"What is so funny, Hope?" I asked the raven, whom was still holding her sides.
Her laughter ceased. "I've seen unicorns! Granted they were rude and no one wanted them around for long, they still existed. You should have said that the possibility of him not liking you was like the existence of an ugly girl."
"But there are ugly girls; either they are classified as ugly by their looks or personality." Jesse cut in.
"True, Mam, but everyone has at least one thing about them that makes them pretty and special. Hope was right about that; for even the most rude, obnoxious woman can have a single heartwarming trait." I said, looking at the dying embers in the fireplace.
Fire. Something that is beautiful, yet so deadly at the same time. It can save you from the cold one day; then burn you the next. Representing the creativity, purity, and passion that we all possess; along with destruction, the symbol of chaos and war. I couldn't help but be reminded of myself in a way. I had been in the realm of the dead, where everyone was against each other, unsure of who struck who down and who was the enemy; I was pure in ways that other women-that were my age or younger- had been defiled; I was fire in my own way.
Mom looked at the clock. "My! Already six o'clock, I'm sorry dear, but I think it'd be best if you leave. I have a plan; I'm hosting Ginger's birthday party next week, stop by and surprise everyone! They've wait long enough! Bye, dear, love you."
I gave mom a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Hope had to practically drag me to a taxi.
"Happy we came?" She asked, ruffling her feathers.
I nodded. "Yeah, they waited to long..."
Yet another late chapter, I'm getting pretty good at being late aren't I? I would like to ask that you all pray for my sister, she went into labor a little bit before I started writing this chapter; being thirteen years old sucks, I can't drive to see her :/.
Also, a friend of mine said that it was possible that some of the kids (or adults and teenagers for that matter) who read or skim this story could be in a situation at this very moment that Hope had when she was younger. So if you are experiencing domestic abuse, please call 1-800-799-7233. They can help you, some people believe that abuse is okay; they usually are the ones inflicting it though. If you are being abused, know that it isn't your fault; they are twisted or need help.
Kisses,
AntionetteEva