[Legacy of a Martyr #2] Liberation from the Masquerades (A Key Keepers novel)

Episode 65

Aunt Sarah had come by to check on me and Phoenix. She had dropped Ali off at his friend's parents' house since her sister had something to tell them. Aunt Sarah was supposed to go to a meeting, but her client had to cancel at the last minute.

We were in the kitchen right now. We were going to have hot chocolate since it fit the cold weather, and we were feeling lazy.

Truth be told, I felt sort of sluggish when I woke up this morning. If I didn't need to take care of my siblings, I probably wouldn't have gotten out of bed today.

It also felt like it was probably going to rain today. Ali would definitely not be happy about it.

"Do you have any idea why that girl wanted to talk to Ali?"

Aunt Sarah shrugged. "She wouldn't say. I just get the sense she had big news for them."

"Oh? Any guesses as to what it could be?"

"Zip." She turned the stove off. "Chastity has me utterly stumped. Normally, I'm good at guessing these sorts of things."

I claimed the closest hot chocolate. "How did Ali seem to be doing when you dropped him off?"

Aunt Sarah sipped her hot chocolate. "I think he was feeling as lousy as we are. Not that he'd just say so. I was tempted to have him ask if he needed to be there."

"He hasn't really had time to recover from everything he's been through in the last couple weeks, has he?"

"Not really, no." She sighed. "My Lany puts on a brave face for everyone, but these things do take their toll. I'd be surprised if he rebounded before the end of the week."

I would be skeptical, too... I slept beside him, so I could keep a closer eye on him than the others. He also crashed after our last battle. I wanted to say he was doing better the first time around, too.

"Me, too..."

The door swung open. The girl who'd given me the candy for Ali came in. Her cheeks were red. "It's nice to see you, Mrs. Sarah."

"Nice to see you, too, Chastity." She smiled. "Thank you for giving him a ride home."

"It wasn't any trouble." She glanced behind her. "He didn't seem to be feeling good."

So, Aunt Sarah was right...

"I thought both of you would want to know this, too." She ran her fingers through her hair. "I got my memories back..."

Aunt Sarah gave her a hug. "That's great, dear. It must be a great weight off your mind."

"My name was Sakura Koizumi."

My aunt's eyes got big. I wasn't too sure why that would happen, though...

She came up to me and got on one knee. "Can I give you a hug?"