Chapter Four
A Wisp of a Memory
Kay had gone back to MIB Headquarters, leaving Ember alone. She felt more lost than ever. She closed her eyes and thought. There was a tiny wisp of a memory; a man trying to save her from a room with a glass wall. As soon as it had come, it was gone.
Ember silently slipped out of the apartment and walked calmly down the street. This place felt strange compared to her life in the future. Suddenly, there it was. Central Park. She had felt drawn to this place after getting that memory. Ember walked slowly, observing every detail of nature. It was so-
"Hello, Ember the Sarlokian."
She turned around to see Orrin's familiar face.
"Orrin? Aren't you supposed to be with an agent?" Ember asked incredulously.
"I didn't like him."
"You were only with him for, what, forty minutes?"
Orrin looked at her like she was being extremely stupid. "Forty minutes can tell a lot about a person."
"And how did you know I was a Sarlokian?"
The prince looked at his feet and closed his eyes. He mouthed something that Ember couldn't make out.
"How did you know?" she pressed.
"I was curious about Agent Kay. My father told me he was the most feared human in the universe. I wanted to know what made him that way," he began. "I began to follow him around, and I saw when he found you in front of the Chrysler Building. I convinced my father to take me with him to visit the Men in Black. I listened in on your story."
"You what?!"
Orrin froze. He looked warily at something behind Ember. Slowly, she turned around to see Kay walking briskly toward her.
"Damn it, Ember. I come home and you're missing!" Kay shouted. He betrayed his angry expression by hugging her tightly. "Don't you ever do that again."
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
Agent K broke from the hug and looked at Orrin. "What are you doing here? Agent E is in a lot of trouble because of you."
"I didn't like him," Orrin repeated.
"Orrin, I swear, if you're not back at headquarters-"
The alien was already gone.
"You could've gotten yourself hurt. What would we do if someone hurt you?" Kay lectured Ember. They were now back in his apartment.
"I wouldn't have gotten hurt, Kay. I'm twenty years old. I think I can handle-"
"You 'think' you can handle it. Do you know how worried I was?" He paused and sat next to her on the couch. Then, he continued, "You're my responsibility. The MIB would have my neck if you were killed."
"Is that the only reason you care? Your job? Not the fact that I'm- at least half of - a human being, but just that I'm your insignificant responsibility?" Ember argued.
Kay was suddenly quiet. He looked at her with an unreadable expression.
"You are more to me than a responsibility. You are more to me than a job," he whispered.
"What am I, Kay?" Her voice cracked. It sounded like a genuine question.
"You are the Key."
That night, as Kay slept, Ember crept into his room. She was still wearing her yellow dress from the first day she'd arrived. She slipped under his sheets and rested her head on his chest.
"Hmm?" Kay mumbled groggily. He draped an arm around her, only half conscious.
Soon, he was fully awake. Ember had already dozed off. Having her sleeping next to him like this would have made him feel uncomfortable if not for all that had happened. He brushed a golden brown hair out of her face and thought of how lonely she must have felt all this time. Everything she had ever loved, it seemed, had been ripped away from her.
"Goodnight, Ember," Kay whispered.
He had no idea what would await them the next day.