Knock Knock
"It happened again…my dreams…"
The whispers of a young girl seeps from the hallway into the small bedroom before her. The door's defense due to its high-quality material composition gives the whisper a hard time passing through–even her knocks are partially absorbed. Given the girl's ruffled nightgown and her droopy eyes, assuming that she had just awoke from her slumber prematurely is only logical.
Vex, please be awake…Lily wants to talk with you.
Knock Knock
"Vex? Are you awake? It's me, Lily."
Lily continues to softly knock, getting slightly louder each consecutive round, only to be met with the same unwavering silence.
"Sorry. Lily knows this is impolite but…"
Slowly twisting the door knob, she opens a crack in the doorway. As expected, the room is pitch black, except for the light of the starry night shining through the window near the one-person bed.
"I'm…coming in, okay?"
After giving a polite heads-up of her intrusion, Lily gradually brings herself completely into the room, being careful to close the door behind her and move gracefully in consideration of the time of night.
"...?"
It doesn't look like he is awake. Maybe he is sleeping under the cover?
"Vex, Lily really needs to tell you something…it's about what I've seen in my dream…again."
Lily continues to walk up to the bed slowly.
"Please, let Lily sleep in this room with you just for tonight. I only want to talk until I fall asleep. Even this spot on the fluffy carpet next to the bed is fine. I know that you are super tired as a busy adult and all, so you can just listen tonight and respond in the morning. Is that okay?"
Lily pauses her breath. Her request lingers in the air, becoming lost in the empty void.
"..."
Maybe he can't hear well since he is under the cover. I'll help him.
"Excuse me…"
In the purest of intentions, Lily gently peels back the covers–bit by bit. Bit by bit. Little by little…only to find a mass of pillows.
"Vex? He's gone? Where could have he–"
"Hmm, what are you doing here? Being naughty, huh."
"?!"
Lily's tail and ears spring upwards upon hearing the sudden voice of someone directly behind her. Bracing herself, she turns towards the fellow intruder to face her head-on.
The person, who is also a young girl, stands in the doorway holding her hands behind her back. Her dark pajamas make identifying her features difficult.
"Jan?"
When did she get in here? I was sure to sneak out the room while she was sound asleep!
"Why are you looking at me like that? I'm not a ghost, you know."
"Lily knows that…you just startled me a little. I didn't expect to see you here."
"Really? Neither did I. Why are you in this man's stinky room so late? This isn't where girls like us are supposed to be. My mom told me that when we grow up that we can do that."
"Sniff sniff…but it doesn't stink at all–?!"
Taking the opportunity while Lily is distracted by her nose, in a swift motion, Jan grabs Lily's arm and pulls her along like a play doll.
"Come on, I'll show you a much better place to hang out! Much better than anywhere in this house."
"We're going outside? But it's late and–"
Lily tries pulling away slightly, her body desiring its own agency. Her efforts amount to nothing more than struggling. It's as though the more she tried pulling away, despite how subtle she was, Jan's grip became just a bit tighter.
"Don't worry, we're friends, right? We can trust each other, right?"
"That's...true, but…but…"
"The place where we're going might have Vex there. You were looking for him, weren't you? That's why you snuck into his room."
"I-it's not like that, Lily was–!"
"You want to talk to him, no? Or would you rather go back to sleep?"
Whoa, Lily didn't expect for Jan to be this strong. Did she get it from her mother?…maybe she can teach me.
"...let's go, Jan. Lily's ready."
"Teehee, I knew you would be a fun friend to play with!"
Jan continues walking out of the room, into the hall pulling her friend along with her–all with a joyful smile.
__________________________________________________________
"Come on Lily, I know cats can't be that slow!"
"Wait!"
The two girls hastily transverse through the harbor that is the centerpiece of the town. Compared to midday, the harbor is not nearly as active, yet there are still enough people conducting business that prevents the feeling of total lifelessness.
Furthermore, the calm sea waters produce a quiet ambience that is only possible at this time of night. The ships and other water mobiles, as few as they may be, remain docked. They vary in size and type, making an attractive spectacle.
"I'm not…slow!"
Slightly trailing behind Jan, Lily does her best to keep up. Her brisk walk lacks assuredness, indicating that speed is not the issue that is holding her back. The inner workings of her mind continually wander.
There are many pretty ships around here. The colorful lights make them even prettier at night than daytime. Lily doesn't mind watching them slowly move through the water…
But should we really have come here? Lily wants to be a good friend back, but my heart is racing.
"...no, it's okay. Vex will understand."
"Eh? What are you mumbling about, slowpoke? I beat you here!"
"That's not fair–Lily was just following you. How could I win when you never told me where we were going?"
"Welllll, you can see it now, can't you?"
Following Jan's pointing finger, Lily's eyes spot a yacht that is stationed separately from the other water mobiles like it.
"What is this? It looks so cool…and huge."
"Come on, silly–why do you think I brought you here? Let's go inside!"
"But won't we get in trouble for not having a ticket? Boat rides require those, right?"
"Do you see a ticket collector person around?"
"Well, I don't think so…"
"Besides, my mom knows the people who run this ship, so we'll be fine. Stop worrying so much and have fun with me! Race you to the deck!"
Jan, not giving her friend even a moment to process anything, rushes into the yacht, boarding inside it.
"Oh no no, Lily won't lose this time!"
Lily casts aside the last bit of her hesitancy and dashes after Jan onto the yacht. Despite Jan's brief head-start, Lily manages to run neck-and-neck with her, as they both follow the bright signs that point towards their destination. Not even breaking a sweat, Lily gradually passes Jan.
"Wow, you really are fast, Lily. I expected as much, but don't think that I've given up!"
"What's that? You're too far behind, I can't hear you!"
"Then I'll yell into your ears as I pass you up!"
This…this is really fun. Lily is having so much fun with Jan! It's been so long.
The two girls laugh whimsically, their bright and joyful hearts contrasting the dark and subdued ambience of the night. Momentarily, they emerge onto the deck of the yacht, Lily now several meters ahead, doubling the previous gap. Feeling pride and accomplishment, Lily turns around, hands on hips, tail wagging, facing the breathless Jan who just caught up.
"See? I told you I'd win! Demi-humans are amazing, huh?"
"Haa…haaa…y-yeah. You…beat…me…fairly…haa"
"Okay Jan, I'll give you a moment to catch your breath. Just relax, okay?"
Lily looks around at the empty deck on top of the yacht, noting how barren and quiet it is.
Doesn't seem like there's anyone else here. Maybe that isn't so bad–strangers can be really scary at night. It's pretty cool how brave Jan is to come here without her mom…I don't think I can do that.
I couldn't ever.
Even now, Lily can't go anywhere without Vex, yet he can sneak away to other places without me.
Lily is still too weak…
"?!"
"Lily? Is there something wrong? You look–"
"Shhh, Lily can hear it! That voice, it must be!"
Lily runs to the edge of the deck, tightly holding on to the guardrail. She looks out into the sea, her ears and eyes rapidly moving like satellites, looking to pinpoint the distant familiar voice.
"There he is!"
Lily points towards a small water mobile that is gliding along the sea. It's too far to reach, but close enough to make out 3 people on board. One man in particular dons a deep purple cloak that appears black in the dark of night. Lily takes a deep breath–
"VEX!"
–and screams at the top of her lungs. A yell so sudden, Jan who was standing a few meters behind, leaped up involuntarily.
Who are those people? Where is he going? I want to go too!
"VEX! PLEASE WAIT FOR LILY!"
Despite her shouting, the miniature boat continued to steer further and further away. Her voice is powerless to turn even one single person's head to look behind them.
"Um, Lily, are you sure that's Vex? Shouting at strangers at night isn't a good idea."
"Yes, I know that that's him!"
"Your hearing surely is amazing–I don't hear a thing. But he certainly can't hear you, so it's best to just give it a rest and–"
"I know, I'll go to the dock over there and get as close as I can! He'll be able to hear me then!"
"Wait! We are supposed to stay here and play! Please don't go yet–!"
"We can play more later. This is important to me!"
Moving in haste, Lily turns around and jumps off the deck and onto the docks. Without taking the time to recover from the slight recoil, she sprints on all fours towards the dock closest to where Vex launched from.
"VEX! IT'S LILY! PLEASE TAKE ME WITH YOU!"
Every word that she yelled out, hoping to get it across the waters…only fell into the sea, sinking without being acknowledged. Even being somewhat closer, Vex is too far gone–it's too late. Feeling that her efforts were in vain, Lily falls on her knees deflated.
"...now how am I supposed to go back to sleep?"
"Lily! What in the heavens are you doing here?"
"?!"
The sudden voice of a mother's concerned scolding takes Lily by surprise, nearly causing her to lose her balance and take an unwanted dive. The woman wears a towel wrapped around her hair, a casual jacket and fluffy coral slippers. Needless to say, the wardrobe tackiness conveys deeper implications that one, especially a child, might find unsettling.
"Miss Joanne?"
"I was so worried about you girls…speaking of, where's Jan?"
"I'm here, mom. Right here."
Finally catching up, Jan makes her less than stellar entrance; not too surprised about the appearance of her mother, nor the look on her face.
"I assume that this was your idea?"
"...yes. I just wanted to take Lily somewhere fun to hang out."
"And you chose?"
"That super cool yacht over there…I thought I had your permission since you'd be aware of wherever we went."
"Jan, just because I have a tracker on you doesn't mean that you are permitted to go anywhere as you please. Going alone at this time of night is dangerous even for adults, you know."
"But I'm not alone, I brought Lily with me."
"Oh jeeze…how about this–we can visit that yacht tomorrow afternoon together, when it's safe. You girls can have as much fun as you want then, okay?"
"Okay, that sounds cool! Right, Lily?"
"Yeah…but will Vex be invited too? I want him to watch over us too, along with you miss Joanne."
"Of course, Vex is my special guest after all! I'll make sure to occupy him so that we boring adults don't get in the way of your friendly fun. Now that we have settled this matter, let's return home promptly–straight to bed."
Joanne walks behind the girls as they make their way back home through the night. As they walk, Lily's thoughts of worry cloud her mind.
Vex, please return by morning safely. Lily knows that you are her strong hero…but still…
"Everything will be alright, friend. I promise."
Jan softly touches Lily's hand, offering her own.
"...thanks, friend."
Lily accepts Jan's hand and the two continue to walk forward, smiles on their faces.