Sam parks his car in the driveway behind his dad being as careful as possible. I hesitantly reach for the door handle praying to whatever god that will listen and not lock me in again. After giving the handle a small tug, a small click is heard as the door swings open slowly. I stare in confusion as Sam leaves me behind and walks into the house without a second thought. I blink a few times before getting out of the car. I go to place my hand on the door but it swings shut on its own causing me to pale.
'There's no way that just happened.' I quickly turn on my heel and enter the house, closing and locking the door behind me. I walk to my room and close the door leaning my forehead against it.
"You're imagining things Kat, just breathe." After taking a few breaths I push away from the door and walk over to the night stand. I open it, taking out a large envelope and sitting on the bed with one leg hanging over the edge. I pull out all the files and spread them across the bed sheets. I grab my glasses off the nightstand and place them on the bridge of my nose, skimming through the documents. I pull out my mothers will and stare at the symbols littering the white paper. A sigh escapes my pink lips as I pick up another paper. I scan over the names, phone numbers and addresses marked on the lined sheet. Some names were crossed out, others had circles around them. I find my mothers friend, Melany, amongst the circled names. An arrow points to her name with small red writing saying "GO HERE!" I look at the number and address next to her name, quickly writing them down onto a sticky note before putting everything back into the yellow envelope and back at the bottom of the drawer. Taking out my phone I decide to give the number a call hoping that I can get some answers to this whole thing. After three rings a woman picks up the phone.
"Hello?"
"Hello, am I speaking with Melany Ward?"
"Who's askin'?"
"I'm Katana Fisher, Alexandra Fisher's daughter." The line goes quiet for a second before the woman on the other line laughs.
"No shit!? Your little kitty Kat!?" I chuckle as I lay down on my bed with my arm behind my head.
"Yes ma'am, the one and only."
"Well I'll be damned, how have you been holding up?"
"I've been doing alright, I'm living with Uncle Ron and Aunt Judy for the time being."
"I see, had enough of your old man. Well if you have the time, could you come over to the shop? There's something I got to give ya." I raise a brow as I slowly sit up.
"Is it something that belonged to my mother?"
"Yes. She left me very specific instructions to give it to you after she passed away."
"If-" I take in a shaky breath before responding. "If it's alright with you, could I stop by right now?"
"The sooner the better. You have the address to the shop?" I grab the sticky note and read off the address to her. "Seems like you have the old location, Ima tell you the new one so be ready to write it down." I place the phone between my right ear and shoulder as I use my left to write down the new address. After confirming that it is correct we say our goodbyes and hang up. I quickly check the time, making sure it isn't too late to head out. I take off my glasses and place them on the night stand before walking out of the room. I call out to Uncle Ron but the house is quiet. I called out again but no one responded back. I go up the stairs and down the hall towards Sam's room hoping that he's here. I knock loudly on his door, waiting patiently for a response. Some shuffling is heard from inside before footsteps approach the door. Sam swings it open and looks at me with a smile.
"Hey Kat, there's something you need?"
"Yeah, do you know where Ron and Judy went? I kinda need a ride somewhere."
"Yeah they went to get some take out for dinner. I can take you on one condition." I narrow my eyes at the sixteen-year-old hoping it's nothing as embarrassing as last time.
"What are your conditions Witwicky." I say with a pout. He smiles as he walks out of his room and down the hall. I follow behind him with my arms crossed, waiting for his answer.
"On the condition you clean my car. Don't tell my parents but I'm gonna go to a lake party this weekend, they think I'm going to hangout with Miles." We walk down the stairs towards the front door as Sam gets his keys off of the console table.
"Why not just tell them you're going to this party? I see no reason to hide it from them." He stops and turns around to face me. He places his hands together in front of him as if he is praying.
"Please do this for me and I'll do whatever you want, I just don't want them to tease me anymore."
"Why would they-" Then it clicked he was going to this party to see a girl. A wide smile spreads across my face causing him to panic. "Oh, I see now. Well in that case, because I'm the nicest cousin I'll clean the inside of your car and only the inside. Can't afford to wet my prosthetic again."
"Alright that seems fair-"
"And I want Miles to give me back my Breaking Benjamin Phobia album."
"..." Sam looks back at me as we exit the house and approach his car.
"I know he has it Sam, I got that the last time I came to visit last year. The day I left he was over and low and behold, the album was gone." I enter the car after Sam does. He struggles to start the car as he starts to sweat. I squint at him as I cross my arms. "You helped him take it didn't you"
"I-I have no idea what you could be talking about. Miles just wanted to check out the new CD player I got and listen to some songs on it."
"Sam." I say calmly as he pulls out of the driveway and onto the street.
"Hmm?" He says nervously.
"You don't own a CD player, I do. You have a black MP3 that you can plug into your computer to download music."
"Alright fine, yes we snuck in your room when you were gone. I swear I didn't mean too, it's- Miles promised to um, help me with printing out some pictures for uh, uh my scrapbook."
"Right, scrapbook. You're such a bad liar Sam. He gave you pictures of a girl from school, didn't he."
"How-how'd you know that?" He asks panicked as he stops at a red light.
"Should really learn how to whisper properly. I'm surprised your parents didn't hear." He sinks into his seat as he mumbles under his breath. I laugh as I lightly punch his arm. The light turns green and I tell him which direction to go. Once we arrive at the shop he unlocks the doors, allowing me to get out.
"Need me to wait?"
"Naw. I'm gonna be here awhile. You can go ahead and head back. Don't forget to let Judy and Ron know I'm here, ok." He nods in response before driving off. I turn around towards the shop reading the sign.
"Ward's Electronics." A small smile finds its way across my lips as I push open the door. A small bell rings as I enter the shop causing the older woman at the front desk to look up. A smile spreads across her face as she speaks to someone before walking around the counter. She brings me into a tight embrace, catching me off guard. I slowly wrapped my arms around her, pulling her as close to me as I could.
"It's been a while, kid." We pull away for a moment before she grabs my wrists and pulls me towards the back of the shop. She pulls up a stool next to one of the workbenches, motioning me to take a seat. After sitting down she leans against a small table, her palms pressed around the edges as she relaxes her posture.
"So, what was the thing you needed to give me?" She gives me a once over before walking further towards the back of the small work space.
"She left this with me three days before she passed. Almost like she knew she was gonna, you know." I purse my lips together not wanting to dwell too long on how my mother died. She returns with an object wrapped in a dark blue fabric. She holds it out to me with both hands trying to be as delicate as possible. I look at her before looking at the items in her hands. I reach out with both hands, placing my left hand under the object and my right hand on top of it. The fabric is soft, and smooth under my finger tips. She lets go, turning around to sit on top of the table.
"It's so soft." I shift it between my hands feeling the weight of the object.
"It ain't much, but she insisted you should have it." I slowly unwrap it and drape the fabric across my leg. I lower the sword onto my lap, admiring all the tiny details. I glide my fingers across the black scabbard, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill.
"A katana. Of course it would be a katana." A red dragon is carved, wrapping around the majority of the sheath along with those symbols from the will. I furrow my brows in confusion wondering what the connection between the two could be. Firmly grasping the handle with my left and pulling out enough of the sword out of its confinement. I inspect the blade, catching a glimpse of my green eyes from the reflection.
"Wait, this looks like-"
"Not to interrupt or anything but I got a shop to run kiddo." I blush in embarrassment and quickly sheath and wrap up the katana.
"Thank you, Auntie Mel." She hands me a black harness to place around the wrapped sword.
"Don't mention it Kitty Kat. Oh, before I forget." She digs into her pockets and tosses me a set of keys. I catch them giving her a confused look. "It's one of my bikes, A Harley Davidson to be exact, so don't scratch it."
"I'll try not to." She gives me a glare before chuckling and giving me a light punch to the shoulder.
"I gotta get back to work. You can exit through the back. Take care you little shit." She walks back into the shop, leaving me alone in the back. I strap the sword against my back and make my way towards the exit. After leaving the building I see the bike Mel mentioned earlier. Picking up the helmet off of the handles, I quickly put it on before starting up the bike and driving out of the back alley. I continue to drive until I reach a small clearing overlooking a lake. I stay at the clearing letting the fresh air seep deep into my lungs.
'It's always after quiet moments like this that things go south. "The calm before the storm." mother used to say. I never believed her until that day. I don't remember much of it. It all happened so fast. Only things I could remember were fire and pain. Lots and lots of pain.'
I look down at my hands as anger and annoyance washes over me. After clearing my head I begin my drive back to the only place I have left to call home.
'I don't know where to go from here. I was hoping to get some questions answered but instead of answers I got more questions. More puzzles to pieces together. For now all I've gathered is that my mother was being tracked down. By who, I have no idea. She knew she would die, that's why she left the katana. That's why she hid the will in our secret hideout away from home. She wanted me to find these clues. All I gotta do is put them together.'