The Yarian Chronicles: Second Life

Chapter 8

Verena opened the door, and as always greeted both of us with a hug. As we walked in, I realized the three of us were yet again alone, and that Nyes was out again. I was guessing he was keeping tabs on everything. I turned my attention back to the present company and we all went and crashed onto the couch.

"I'm so glad you're back today." V smiled.

"Do you ever leave this place?" The question had just popped into my head.

"No. It's not safe." She said it so plainly it sounded normal. But that couldn't be healthy, staying inside for god knows how long. She read my reaction and quickly explained. "I'm the queen now, I need to be careful. It isn't as bad as it looks. I have a private exit onto a section of the roof. It makes for good star watching. Sometimes if I stay up there long enough staring up, it can seem almost like home."

"I guess." It still didn't seem like a great life to me. Xan broke in quickly bringing a more lively happy tone to our conversation.

"So Zatti here shot my ring into her roof yesterday." It was a random enough comment to change the whole mood of the place. Xan told the story, with a little exaggeration, I might add (he told her I almost shot him in the face with his ring). But shortly we were all laughing again and having a good time.

"So what do you do all day here?" I finally asked. The question had been on my mind since she mentioned her house arrest. I couldn't imagine being locked in this tiny apartment.

"I have a harp in the back room, so I play that. I read a lot, watch TV, movies, and listen to music. I also have a treadmill on the roof, so I get some fresh air and go running. Lately Nyes got into video games so we were doing that too. It's easier than you may think passing the time."

"How long have you been in here?"

"In this specific apartment? Only a few months. We move around alot. We don't like to stay in any one place too long. We moved here when Xan finally tracked you down. Before that we were living on a lovely deserted island on the South Pacific, where I spent most of the day on the beach. I don't know how you can stand all the cold and darkness up here. It's quite depressing."

"I know. I've always hated it. I always joke about moving to South America."

"Maybe we can all go there next," She smiled. "It's because Yari is always warm and sunny. We don't get the seasons the same way they do here. It maintains a pretty warm climate all year round, and the sun is out most of the day too. When it rains, it's usually at night. Not like here, the sun setting at 4 pm in the winter. That's inhumane!"

"Maybe that's it then, my soul is just used to the sunshine and heat. I suspected as much." I joked.

The day rushed by and before we knew it we had to go. V invited us over again for the next day. And of course we accepted, and made plans to drop by after school. We gave her a hug and headed out to the car.

As we were sitting in the car, I remembered my girls-only movie date with Kate. I turned toward Xan and knew he already knew what I was going to ask.

"No way!" he answered.

"Oh come on! I promised Kate a girls-only night, and well, you're not exactly a girl."

"I can't let you go alone."

"Xan she's been really good about me spending all this time with you and V, she's my best friend, I can't renege on my promise."

"You should have thought of that before you promised her a girls-only night. You know the reasons I can't leave you go alone; I shouldn't have to explain this to you."