Molly's Point of View

The next morning, Mommy, Daddy, Grandpa, and Aunt Miku were at the table when I woke up. "Good morning, Molly. Breakfast is almost ready," Mommy greeted.

"Yay!" I cheered.

Grandma came into the room with a plate full of chocolate chip pancakes. "The first batch is done. Eat it while it's hot." She set the plate down and went back into the kitchen.

"Hoshiko and your Aunt Umi are going to come over in a bit. You can play with Hoshiko on the island," Mommy suggested.

I turned to Daddy, who was taking a sip of "Can I go to The Secret Place?" I wondered.

Daddy choked on his coffee? "What Secret Place? There's no Secret Place," Daddy replied when he recovered.

"Oh, that little cave that you used to go in with Riku and Kairi? Could that be what she's talking about?" Grandma inquired.

"Wait, how did you know about the cave?" Daddy asked.

"You weren't very discreet," Grandma answered.

"Did anyone else know about the cave?" Daddy questioned.

"You didn't so well at keeping it a secret, Son," Grandpa chuckled.

"You can go to The Secret Place if you want to, Molly. Just be careful and give a shout if you think you're in trouble," Mommy said.

"Are you going to come with us, Aunt Miku?" I inquired.

"No. I'm going to the mall with my friends," Aunt Miku explained.

"Oh. That's too bad," I sighed.

"I'll come next time," Aunt Miku promised.

It wasn't long after breakfast that Aunt Umi and Hoshiko came over. "Hey, stranger," Aunt Umi greeted Daddy.

"Umi, I'm glad you're here and not he who shall not be spoken lest my day becomes ruined," Daddy smirked.

"Oh, stop. My husband is not that bad. At least he hasn't suggested that I move back in with Mom and Dad," Aunt Umi teased.

"Oh, stop that. My baby boy can move back in anytime he wants," Grandma stated.

Aunt Umi laughed. "He's one big baby, all right."

"Cut it out. This is just temporary. Kairi and I will find a place of our own soon. We just need to figure out where. You know that I've always been on the go, so we've never had a chance to settle down anywhere together," Daddy commented.

Hoshiko tugged at Aunt Umi's clothes. Aunt Umi looked down. "Mommy, can I play?" Hoshiko requested.

"Of course, sweetie," Aunt Umi agreed.

"I was going to take the girls back to the island if that's alright with you," Mommy mentioned.

"I don't know, Kairi. Nakago still doesn't want Hoshiko going on the island," Aunt Umi sighed.

"Who cares? We played on the island, and it was fine," Sora scoffed.

"Sora, enough. Quit acting like a child," Mommy scolded. Daddy didn't say anything and left the room. I had never seen Daddy so annoyed with anyone before, so it was frightening for me. "I'm sorry. He means well. I think he's a little sore that he's always traveling, and you and Nakago are so close to Mom and Dad. I'll talk to him later. Now, what should we do with the girls?"

"Mommy, can we try asking Daddy about going to the island?" Hoshiko asked.

"He's working right now, Hoshi," Aunt Umi replied.

"Please?" Hoshiko tried.

"All right. I'll call him, and you can ask him," Aunt Umi said. She pulled out her cell phone and called Uncle Nakago. "Hi. I know, I'm sorry. Hoshiko has something that she really wants to ask you." Aunt Umi handed Hoshiko the phone.

"Hi, Daddy. Yeah. Yeah, okay. Well, I'm with Molly and- yeah. See, Aunt Kairi suggested that we go to the island, but Mommy said you wouldn't want me to go to the island, but I really want to. We'll be super-duper careful this time. Please, Daddy? Can we go with Molly and Aunt Kairi to the island?" Hoshiko pleaded. There was a pause. "Yeah, but that was only because Aunt Miku tried to climb the paopu tree. Okay. We'll be careful. Okay. Thank you, Daddy! Okay, bye." Hoshiko gave the phone back to Aunt Umi, who put it up to her ear.

"Are you sure? I thought you couldn't stand him. Well, I suppose so. All right. I'll tell him. Why don't you come by later after work? We can all have dinner together. Alright, I'll see you later." Aunt Umi hung up the phone. "We can go if Sora is willing to come. Nakago is still worried about the girls falling into the water, and since Sora is the strongest swimmer, he's only comfortable if Sora is there to help if anything goes awry."

"Now you have to ask your dad," Hoshiko demanded.

"I don't know. He seemed really angry," I mentioned.

"Come on. I asked my dad, and it was fine," Hoshiko pointed out.

"Yeah, but I don't know. I've never seen my dad like that before. I mean, I've seen him angry, but not so angry that he doesn't say anything," I shuddered.

"What? He was just a little annoyed. If I asked my dad, you should be able to ask yours," Hoshiko huffed.

"I'll go talk to him. You don't have to worry about it, Molly. I'm sure he'll come," Mommy said before she left to speak with Daddy. They both came into the room shortly after.

"So you'll come?" Aunt Umi asked.

"Yeah. I still think that your husband is a no-good-" Daddy started, but he stopped when Mommy gave him one of her famous glares. "Anyway, he has a point. I am the best swimmer, and it won't hurt for me to be there. Besides, I'm also a faster rower."

"Thanks, big brother," Aunt Umi smiled.

Daddy put his arm around Aunt Umi's shoulder. "Don't mention it, little sis," He replied.

"Let's go!" Hoshiko cheered.

"Alright, alright. We're going," Aunt Umi stated.

When we got to the island, I went to The Secret Place with Hoshiko. "Wow. This place is cool. What's that door?" Hoshiko asked.

"I can't tell you. It's a secret," I answered.

"I bet you don't even know," Hoshiko huffed, rolling her eyes.

"I do too know!" I shouted.

"Yeah, right. If you won't tell me, then you don't know," Hoshiko taunted.

"Well, I suppose I can tell you, but you can't tell anyone. It's a keyhole. My dad probably locked it up," I said.

"What are you going on about? You're crazy," Hoshiko sneered before leaving The Secret Place without me. I wasn't sure what that was all about, but I stayed behind. I touched the spot where Mommy and Daddy had drawn a picture of giving each other paopu fruits. The longer I looked, the less real it felt in the worst way. A part of me had trouble accepting that these were done by Sora and Kairi, my parents, and not Sora and Kairi, the video game characters. I looked around and realized that everything about this place felt fake. The drawings, the paopu tree, even the island. I sat there and started crying as my entire reality collapsed. I couldn't tell what was fake or what was real.

"Molly, are you okay? I saw Hoshiko playing alone, and I thought I should check up on you." I turned to see Daddy crawling in the cave. "Hey, what's wrong? Did Hoshiko do something?"

"No. I'm just so confused. Everything I've ever known has been a lie. Video games aren't supposed to be real life, and now they are. I can't even tell my own parents apart from fiction," I sobbed.

"Oh, Molly," Daddy sighed before pulling me into a hug. "You're okay, butterfly. I know that this can be a lot to process. I wish that we could have told you sooner, but due to the circumstances, we couldn't. Hey, do you want to stay here or go back to Grandma and Grandpa's?"

"I want to go back to Grandma and Grandpa's," I replied.

"Okay. Let's get out of this cave, and then we'll go," Daddy agreed. Daddy picked me up and headed over to Mommy and Aunt Umi when we left the cave. "Molly got overwhelmed. We need to head back."

"Is she alright?" Aunt Umi asked.

"She's fine. She's just had a lot of changes lately, and it seems like they caught up to her," Daddy answered.

"Okay. Hoshiko! We're leaving!" Aunt Umi called.

"But I wanna stay here!" Hoshiko whined.

"Maybe some other time. Your cousin needs to go home," Aunt Umi stated.

Hoshiko trudged over to us, holding a seashell. "Look, Mommy, I found a seashell!" She smiled.

"That's very nice, dear. Let's get in the boat," Aunt Umi urged.

Hoshiko frowned but went in the boat anyways. When we got back to Grandma and Grandpa's house, I felt frail. My understanding of the world had been completely shattered by a drawing. "Can I have some time alone in my room?" I requested.

"Sure, Molly," Daddy answered.

"What's wrong with you?" Hoshiko demanded.

"Hoshiko!" Aunt Umi scolded.

"What? She's really messed up," Hoshiko grumbled.

"Go ahead, Molly. I'll come and get you in a bit," Daddy urged. I went to my room and broke down again.