Midnight Wings

[1] XXXVI : [1-VII] : The House That Built Me (Attachment)

One day, Lasory asked to speak to me, and seemed a little more serious.

"I have some exciting news... perhaps somewhat scary," he said, adding a wink at the end since he knew my nature. "King Lockwood Sekari would like to meet with you."

I think it goes without saying that I was at least somewhat, erm, off-put.

"There's some things we'd like to discuss with you, and I promise the time will be worthwhile for you, as well."

"How?"

"It's then that we can explain to you everything behind why you're here - why we took you in, that is."

He smiled, knowing that it would be an ordeal for me, and I, not knowing how to say no, and being the cat whom curiosity so brutally murdered, sighed and agreed to come along.

Almost every night, my ghost friend Lydia appeared, and we got to talking a lot more. She sometimes showed around during the day, and especially loved to mock me when I was around Kino, like when I was looking at girly stuff in the shops in the city -- she gave me an earful then, but I of course couldn't reply to her because obviously nobody else can see ghosts.

During our nightly talks, we both opened up and got pretty deep. I think she saw into some of my memories, but for the most part didn't know a lot about Earth, so I would tell her stories from school, tell her about Gabriel and Sage, my mother, what life was like, how different things were between these two worlds.

Of course, she was totally stunned to know that where I came from was a plain old world without any magic or monsters or anything fancy like that. Just some humans with metal and some explosive powder.

She and I also started to get close. Of course not like with Kino, but we had a lot in common, at least in terms of being bookworms who got the boot in life. 

She was also the only one I was able to talk with about what was weighing on my mind. Lydia put it in much simpler terms than I could come to on my own:

"It's your attachment. There's a reason for you to care about this world, and your reasons for caring about the one you came from aren't stacking up anymore."

In other words... I see myself as a part of this world now. I could go back to my mother, and I really want to, but that's all I'd get going back. Here I have people I can consider a family. People who consider me family.

After she disappeared, I lay awake for a while and eventually decided... what could go wrong?

~

I made another important decision that next morning about what I was going to do if I decided to stay here.

Myu and I sat under the rai tree as always, and she made an insensitive joke about me having Kino's children and her being an auntie, and I don't think I've ever been redder in the face. Then she pointed out my face and said that must mean I want the same things, and at that point I just plain erupted with laughter at how careless she was with some of these comments.

"Hey, Lydia?"

"Yeah?" I sobered up from my laugh.

"Do you still want to leave us?" Myu asked, her eyes beady and pleading.

While it's true that at one point I wanted to find a way to get back home and make sure Mom is okay, I've given up on that.

I smiled. "Of course not." I ruffled my fingers through her purple hair. "I'd never leave my little sister like that."

Myu's face lit up when I called her that, and she threw her arms around me.

"Are you gonna be a Messenger for Father?"