#fff197

[seekers-who-are-lovers]

Island in the Sun

Note: Always indebted to @flashfictionfridayofficial so glad that it exists. Once again here’s my entry for this week’s prompt An eternal summer #FFF197 to dabble on my head canons. In my universe, people like Shigeki Suwa should pay for the consequences. Lily’s image doesn’t exist. Episode 12 doesn’t exist (don’t get me wrong I love it.). AU-Canon divergence.

Fandom: Buddy Daddies

Characters: Rei Suwa, Kazuki Kurusu, Miri Unasaka, Karin Izumi

Pairing: Kazurei established (Kurusu Kazuki/Suwa Rei)

Words: 778

Rating: T

Rei has never been on a French beach. But like they say, there is always a first time for everything.

Unfolding himself from the car, the first thing that hits him is the blinding sun in spite of his aviators. As soon as he puts his feet down, white sand fills its way immediately into his footwear. It is a pair of camouflage flip-flops Miri has chosen for him when he and Kazuki casually browsed the Rakuzon website months ago for their impending escape along with the midnight-blue beach shorts that he is wearing right now.

He can taste the salt in the sea breeze blowing his jet-black hair gently. It is dry and humid, and he cannot say if he likes the temperature at all, so he lets his ebony vest open refusing to shed it off. Using a walking stick on a beach is not practical but needs must.

“Not too fast, Rei, your wounds!” Kazuki, freshly tanned, calls out. To hell with my wounds, Rei thinks, the bandages on my legs are gone. He limps his way to the shore ignoring Kazuki’s pleas. Exactly three months and a half ago, they were still in Japan and got involved in a car accident where the three of them supposedly died. In this “bad business” meeting different sorts of people is usual like the one-eyed supplier of cadavers. God knows the methods Rei used to ensure the man’s silence.

Now, they are on an island called Groix in Brittany, walking along its coast and renting a house on a cliff. Rei was in a coma for a week and after that 16 days in a rehabilitation center, while Kazuki arranged their new life in France with the assistance of his sister-in-law, Karin.

His rumination stops as the right car door slams and Miri comes out. The child is wearing the biggest black sunglasses Rei has ever seen on a human face. Her summer hat can’t keep still on her head. Kazuki makes a fuss about the yellow ribbon that is quite not attached to it. She insisted on donning her uneven black-striped swimsuit an hour ago inside the car.

Rei thinks he must commend their five-year-old daughter’s toughness. She’s been braving the long stretches of journey, and abrupt and lightning-speed changes in their lifestyle, at times violent, ever since leaving their country and her newfound friends.

Trailing behind them is Karin, who their child finds attached to each day the longer the young woman stays with them.

“Aunt Karin is so beautiful, and she creates these pretty dresses!”

Corresponding with her secretly before the accident required too much effort even leaving Kyutaro-san out of the picture. Perhaps, they will see him again in the future and apologise to him why they left without telling him.

He takes a look at Kazuki, finds his satisfied smile as soon as the view of the beach lays out before them. The sun and the sea. An eternal summer only for the three of them. Away from everyone they refuse to see. Finally.

Miri cannot wait to dip her toes to the water. It is not as if Fukuoka doesn’t have its own beaches. Still, France is far away from Japan. The Atlantic is much colder and wilder than the Pacific Ocean.

“It is a ginormous bathtub, Papa Kazu!” Her small hand intertwines with Kazuki’s own.

“It is, yeah!” Kazuki answers with great enthusiasm. “The half-day travel was worth it, Karin. Thank you again for finding this place,” Kazuki touches her shoulder, squeezes it.

Karin, in turn, holds his brother-in-law’s hand back. She’s been their host for the duration of their house-hunting in France even willing to put her studies on hold to accommodate them.

“I am relieved that your crazy plan worked out,” she sighs.

A “mysterious hacker” turned over a huge file of classified intel that convinced the Fukuoka Prefecture police to raid the Suwa’s ancestral home. They are consequently conducting immediate arrests of the organisation members concerning a number of attacks on the civilians that has happened since the 1990s. And the final nail on the coffin? Shigeki Suwa is languishing in a jail cell awaiting sentence because of two counts of murder, including killing his ex-wife. The news has made Rei’s long-winding recuperation at the hospital worth something, but his temporary immobility is debilitating.

Still, the fight is far from over.

“We are not safe yet, Kazuki, as long as he’s alive. We are going to continue to run for our lives.” One can sense the disappointment on Rei’s voice. If he could, he himself would put the bullet on his father’s head. He’d love to see that day happen.

[on-noon]

The Forest Has Something New

for @flashfictionfridayofficial

[#FFF197 An Eternal Summer]

On first Monday of September, my friend's father took us stargazing. As I lay in the field, I turned to June.

I said, "This summer has been perfect. I wish it never ended."

"Look, a shooting star," June's dad said.

Once we started yawning, we drove back into the suburb where we live.

I woke up the next morning, my room bright from the sun. I went upstairs for breakfast. Kyle was at the table.

"Aren't you supposed to be at school?" I said, "Hey, where's the pop tarts?"

"We don't have pop tarts. We never have pop tarts. And school ended yesterday, remember?" Kyle said.

"Your school starts today. I don't have to go because I'm not a freshman, though."

After looking at my phone and looking around the house, I realized Kyle was right. School ended yesterday, it was the first day of summer. Somehow I traveled back in time.

The next day, I went to a start-of-summer pool party.

I hadn't seen most of my friends there for the whole summer, since this same pool party, and it was nice talking with them.

I got some drawing done, something I felt I missed out on doing last time I went through this summer.

When July came round, I went on the family vacation to the Grand Canyon again. I had forgotten how hot it was.

I started missing school around then, but only barely.

Come August, I worked the same job at the State Fair again. It was nice knowing what to do, not messing up people's orders when there was a line twenty people long and growing.

And then on Labor Day, June's dad took us out stargazing again. We didn't see a shooting star, though.

The next morning, I checked the date. It was June 8th. Again.

Again I went to the pool party.

I wandered through the woods, where I wouldn't have to worry about accidentally knowing someone I hadn't met.

I still worked at the State Fair, just a different job. It felt less stressful, I knew how to work a job now, but I couldn't predict most of what would happen.

And then stargazing, and back to the beginning of summer.

I skipped the pool party, faked sick.

Every day, I'd go out into the forest, sometimes taking my sketchbook and drawing the animals. I liked seeing the forest change day by day.

When we went to the Grand Canyon, I miss the forest in my backyard, I wonder what's happening there.

I don't work that summer, I just hang out in the forest.

As summer after summer repeats, I explore more and more of that forest.

I feel like I'm faking whenever I talk with my family, pretending to be the person I was ages ago.

Once I told them I was repeating summers, predicted everything that would happen. But it's just easier to pretend everything's normal. I have lots of practice.

Sometimes a get a job, a new one to give me more novelty, but I always feel odd. I shouldn't be this used to working at 16.

I shouldn't know the forest this well either, but no-one can see how much I know of the forest over this summer. How I know every deer, squirrel, and bird. I know where all the nests and dens are, I know every type of bug. I know every stream and every tree.

But still I venture out there, see what this ant colony does on that day, or where that bird flies to this day.

The forest always has something new to find out, even in an eternal summer.

[writingwordsanddrawingpictures]

So, I did a thing...

As any of you who, for reasons best known to yourselves, still follow me (and aren’t a porn bot!) you’ll know that it’s been a couple of years since I posted anything original, either writing or art. Fair to say I’ve been in a slump and I’ve not really done anything creative for *gestures wildly* reasons...

However...

I saw last Friday’s FFF prompt - An Eternal Summer - and it spoke to me. More to the point, it wouldn’t give up so I started typing on my phone while waiting for some rice to cook (rock & roll!). I then had to leave it to one side (work and other commitments getting in the way), but picked it back up again this Friday (armed with the new FFF prompt as well - What Comes Next) and ended up writing until about 2am.

It’s ended up being rather more than a flash fic at around 3,200 words (so I hope you don’t mind being tagged in anyway @flashfictionfridayofficial), and as I said, it’s the first thing I’ve written in a couple of years, and it’s rough, but I hope you enjoy it.

An Endless Summer / What Comes Next?

People often say that they wish things could last forever - a day, a night, a holiday - but they never stop to think what the consequences of that could be. Me? I was living them.

Years ago, when I was in my awkward early teens, I had an experience that changed my life. I'd never been a popular person, certainly not one of the 'cool' kids as I was far too shy and, dare I say, nerdy. It was the start of the summer holidays, and I'd been looking forward to the break from school - not so much the place, more the other students. People can be cruel, especially if there's something different about you, and teenage girls can be some of the worst offenders. Anyway, I was going to be taking a trip to the countryside to visit some distant relatives and, hopefully, de-stress. It was a gift from my parents for acing my exams, plus I think they didn't want to face having me around the house for the whole summer. It was somewhere down around Devon and Cornwall, I can't remember the name of the village, but it was a picturesque place with winding, tree-lined country lanes that made you feel like you were in Middle Earth and you were going to stumble across a group of hobbits heading off on an adventure around the next bend. My relatives' place turned out to be a small farm on the edge of the village - not what I'd expected, but a world away from the city I'd come from. For some reason, I'd never really heard my folks talk about these relations - a pair of sisters, I thought - other than in slightly hushed tones as if they were the black sheep of the family. The reality, as I experienced it, was that they were warm, welcoming and very friendly. We hit it off from the moment I turned up with my backpack, and I loved helping them out on the farm with the animals and crops. They were more family to me than some of my closer blood relations - funny how these things work - and they took me under their collective wing, teaching me a lot about life including why they were treated the way they were by the rest of the family. But, I digress. I need to set this down so there's at least some record of why things are the way they are now, and my role in causing it. Even though I worked hard at the farm, I still had plenty of time to explore the surroundings. The 'sisters' had told me some of the local folk tales, and cautioned me about certain areas, but I didn't regard some of the folksy warnings as being serious - I mean, fairies, goblins and that aren't real... One afternoon I was wandering through a local wood and came across a beautiful clearing. The sun was breaking through the leafy canopy, giving a gorgeous dappled lighting to the place. I could hear sweet birdsong and, if I was still, I could see a rare red squirrel on one of the nearby trees was eyeing me nervously. "Don't worry, your nuts are safe around me." I told them, giggling to myself. To my surprise, they settled down on the branch they were on and just regarded me with curiosity. Slowly, I set down my small day pack at the foot of a sturdy oak and pulled out my sketchpad. "You don't mind if I...?" I asked the squirrel, feeling a little foolish. I still swear to this day that the squirrel gave me a small nod, while repositioning slightly, as if to say 'okay, but this is my best side'. I don't know how long I was sat there under the broad branches of the oak, sketching my subject in the most perfect light, but I became aware of a presence behind me. "Oh! You've captured Peter's cheeky character so well there!" A melodious voice exclaimed behind my right ear. "Thank you, I... Wait... Ahhhhhh!" I jumped, remembering I was in the woods and had no idea who this was. I scrambled, clutching my pad and pack to my now heaving chest, and turned to where the voice had come from. I swear it was a trick of the light, but the figure I could see was bathed in a greeny-golden aura and I'm sure I saw slightly pointed ears. The most surprising thing was just the sheer feeling of positive feelings that were radiating from this figure - beauty, confidence, serenity, playfulness...actually, a lot of playfulness. I was awestruck. Then I blinked, and saw someone about my own age, still beautiful, but slightly rugged with it. Dirty knees, some grass stains on their wispy skirt and top, which looked really out of place with their boots. They - she, I think - regarded me curiously, head cocked to the side almost like the squirrel earlier. Then she looked concerned. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to startle you. I thought you'd heard me when I walked up, but I think you were too engrossed in your drawing - which is beautiful, by the way." Her voice was strangely deep, not what I was expecting it to sound like, but it was also warm and soothing like a warm bath at the end of a hard day's work. "I... I... Thank you?" "Do you think I could have a closer look at it, please? Peter tends to be so shy, so I'm surprised he was such a willing subject for you." The mellow sound of her voice was definitely calming, although my heart was still pounding for some reason. "I... I guess so. Wait, Peter?" "I may have named him when I first saw him. I come here a lot, so it seemed rude to not name my friends." While my brain was struggling to comprehend what it was hearing, she stepped closer to me, extending her hand. She moved with the poise and grace of a dancer, but carefully as if trying to not spook a scared animal. She succeeded. "I forget my manners, I'm Faye" I blinked again, gave my head a little shake, then placed my hand in hers. "R...Riley." "A pleasure to meet you, Riley. That's a lovely name. Suits you." Faye said, looking into my eyes which felt like she was gazing into my soul. "Th...thank you. Faye's a beautiful name too." I could feel my shock and nervousness ebbing away, even if my heart was still pounding in my chest. She smiled at me, and I'm sure I felt my heart melt. It wasn't a 'million dollar smile', but it was sincere and just made me feel...happy. She nodded to the pad I still held in a death-grip. "So, can I?" "Huh? Oh, hell. Of course!" We sat back under the oak tree and talked. Faye complimented my art, which I tried to brush off until she insisted, so I showed her some more and her face lit up. I clumsily complimented her, which she seemed to like. Turned out she was a local - had always lived in the area, and loved spending time outside, whatever the weather. A proper outdoorsy girl. I explained about being there for the summer, and enjoying the mix of farm work and exploring the outdoors... I glanced at my watch. "Hell! I need to get back." "So soon?" Faye seemed disappointed. "Sorry, I've got jobs to help out with. Can I... er... Could I maybe...?" "Tomorrow? Here? Absolutely!" She grinned. "Perfect" I said as I dropped my pad back into my pack. "Oh, what time?" "Whenever you can. The trees will tell me when you're here." She winked at me and I'm sure my heart briefly stopped. "Huh...? Okay, sure. See you tomorrow, Faye!" "May your feet guide you safely back, Riley." I was a little late back, but the 'sisters' could see I was happy about something, so let it go without comment. My meetings with Faye became the part of my day I looked forward to the most. She just made me feel more at ease than anyone else I'd ever known, including my parents. We'd talk, laugh, play silly games and just enjoy each other's company. She even managed to persuade me to draw her. It's not something I do, as people are so hard to get right, and it took a couple of sittings, but I finally got something I was reasonably happy with. "Can I see? Can I see? Can I see?" Faye was practically jumping up and down with excitement and anticipation. I knew I couldn't put this off any longer. "Okay, but just remember I've done the best I can - I'm no portrait artist." "Show me! Show me! Show me!" I opened the pad and handed it to Faye. She looked down at the paper and her face shifted into a look of utter shock. "What's wrong? Don't you like it? I knew this was beyond m..." Faye pressed a finger to my lips, still staring at the picture. A tear formed in the corner of her right eye, rolled down her cheek and dripped onto the edge of the page. She closed her eyes, still keeping her finger on my lips. My heart was pounding fit to burst. I reached out my hand to her shoulder, and she was trembling. What had I done? My mind was going into overdrive with all the ways this was going to go wrong. Faye's finger briefly pressed harder on my lips, then she lifted it away. "Faye?" I asked, worriedly. Without saying anything, she turned to face me, then threw her arms around me, holding me tightly. I could feel her still shaking, her warmth, and the pounding of her heart as well. We stood like this for an eternity, or so it felt, neither of us saying a word. Me, too scared to, Faye, I didn't know. I felt her cheek move against mine, followed by the warmth of her breath against my ear. "It's beautiful beyond words. You are such a special person, Riley, and you have a rare talent." I felt tears start to roll down my cheeks, and held her tighter. It was hard heading back to the farm that evening after such an intensely emotional afternoon. I think the 'sisters' could tell I was struggling with something, so I was given a free pass on the jobs for the evening, and they both came to see me individually later to see what was wrong. I was torn - I knew they were genuinely trying to help, but I couldn't put into words what I was feeling. In retrospect, I know they would have known exactly what I was feeling, but that's hindsight for you. I didn't sleep well that night. I had so many things running around in my head. The end of summer - and my time there - was looming like a black cloud on the horizon, and I didn't know what to do. I wanted to stay, but knew I couldn't. I wanted to keep seeing Faye, but I'd be so far away from her. What had happened to me? I'd sort of had friends, but I'd never had someone I felt so close to, so much a part of. The following day was a blur. I was on autopilot during the morning until I'd done all the jobs I'd been asked to do. Then I grabbed my pack and set off to our clearing. It was still as beautiful there as the first time I saw it, and I think that's what started the first of the tears. I sat down under the oak and then the floodgates opened. It wasn't fair. The first time I'd felt comfortable, the first genuine friend I'd made, and it was all going to disappear in a couple of weeks. I sobbed my heart out. As the tears subsided, I realised there were arms wrapped around me, holding me tight, and a warmth pressed against me. "Oh Riley, my dear." "Faye?" I croaked. "I'm here. It's okay." We sat like that for a while, then Faye moved round to sit in front of me. She gently placed her hands on my cheeks and rested her forehead against mine. "Faye?" "Yes, my dear?" "I... I wish this summer could last forever." Silence. Strangely, not even any birdsong. It was like the world was on pause apart from the two of us. "An eternal summer? Would that make you happy, Riley?" "If... If I..." I sighed "Only if I could spend it with you." I heard Faye's breathing hitch in her chest. "I... I would also like that, Riley. It's been lonely." "Then I wish for an eternal summer, together with you." "Are you sure, Riley?" "I am, Faye." I heard Faye exhale, as if she'd been holding a breath in for an eternity. "Then it shall be so, this I promise." Faye took one of her hands from the side of my face and lifted my chin up until I was eye to eye with her, the tips of our noses now touching. "I promise." She tilted her head slightly to the side, then kissed me on the lips. I was not prepared for that! It was the first time I'd been kissed on the lips, and the passion I could feel behind it was incredible. I placed a hand on the side of Faye's face and kissed her back. My world was exploding, and I didn't care. I now knew what I'd been feeling, and I wanted to say it out loud. I pulled back gently and looked at Faye. "I..." She softly put a finger on my lips and leant forwards so she could whisper in my ear. "I love you too, Riley." And then she whispered something else, a name I think, and I was overcome with a flood of emotions, images that made no sense, and a cacophony of voices. All was still. "Faye? I don't feel..." The next thing I remember after that was waking up in my bed at the farm with the 'sisters' sat nervously by the bedside. I don't know what happened, but I'd apparently been out cold for a day. Someone had brought me back - although they couldn't say who, and when I asked "Faye?", they shared a knowing yet scared look. I was on bed rest for the following day, which really annoyed me, but I wasn't given any choice in the matter. I resolved myself to going to see Faye the next day, but the best laid plans, and all that... I was in one of the barns when the 'sisters' came to find me. They'd had a phone call and my folks had been in an accident. My mum was okay, but dad was in hospital in a bad way. I needed to go back now. I hurriedly packed up my backpack, thinking about Faye and my folks, and headed out to the 'sisters' truck for the ride to the station. On my way to it, I spotted a fox sat next to a package wrapped in a wispy fabric. I'll swear the fox nodded at me, then the package, then back at me. Getting the message, I grabbed the package on my way past and received another nod from the fox before it wandered off. I ran the rest of the way to the truck and jumped up into the flatbed so I could get my last lungfuls of fresh air before the train ride back to the city. As we drove, I checked the package I'd picked up. There was an intricately carved stone of some description threaded onto a  thin strip of leather to make a necklace; my sketch pad, which I'd forgotten I'd left with Faye; and a note, written in the most beautiful hand I'd ever seen: Riley, my love. I know you have to go back, but I will be here waiting for you to return and enjoy our eternal summer together. If you feel lost, hold the stone and think of me. Keep it close to your heart. May your feet guide you safely back. I couldn't make out the signature, but it looked too long for 'Faye'. I'd decipher that later, I decided as I tied the necklace together around my neck and stowed the note, my pad and the fabric into my pack. The journey home was uneventful, and I spent the rest of the holiday before school resumed going back and forth to the hospital. Luckily, my dad was always stubborn and managed to make a decent recovery. No-one noticed anything odd with the weather until about October... Everywhere was still experiencing summer weather, even though it was supposed to be autumn. Climate change was the answer that satisfied people... ...until it was 30 degrees on Christmas day. And it didn't stop there. It was summer in January, February, March, April...all year round. That meant far less rain, rivers and reservoirs drying up, crops starting to fail... Not in the first year, there were still ways to mitigate at that point. But the longer the summer lasted, the bleaker - ironically - the outlook was. Being on an island, desalination plants were trialled, and were successful in some areas. That's where the deregulation of sewage release into the sea came back to bite firmly on the arse. During this time, I studied, I worked, and I joined a gym to keep up my fitness. I also learnt to box, which definitely helped reduce issues at school. I also missed Faye terribly. I tried calling the 'sisters' to see if they'd pass a message on for me, but as soon as I'd mention Faye, they'd get nervous and change the subject. I didn't remember about the eternal summer promise until our 7th year of summer. Scientists had given up trying to find a cause, and were just fighting to keep us alive. We ended up going underground instead of going ever skyward, because it was cooler. There were also some underground watercourses that were still viable. For now. I tried and tried to contact Faye, but to no avail. The 'sisters' had vanished, and a lot of villages had either been abandoned or demolished in the pursuit of going underground. I studied the necklace, note and fabric, having no other leads. The carvings were similar to some designs said to relate to the 'Fair Folk', or Fae. That set me off to learn everything I could about them. Maybe it was coincidence, or maybe they did exist. I also studied contract law, hoping if they did exist it might give me a hand in bargaining. Either way, I'm here, ten years on from a wish I made as a teen that's completely changed the world. I am not a 'chosen one', I don't have years of combat / magic training to make me a force to be reckoned with. There is no prophecy foretelling my defeating this problem. I'm a woman with an eclectic mix of skills, a desire to put things right, and a need to find the Fae I love - whose real name I now remember. I will move heaven and hell to solve this, or die horribly in the attempt. What comes next? Where do we go from here? Cornwall seems a good place to start.

@contes-de-rheio, @bookishdiplodocus, @pheita, @siarven, @aeschknight, @madammuffins, @esbarrison-author

Hope you guys don’t mind being tagged here

[jlilycorbie]

FFF197: Homecoming

Prompt from @flashfictionfridayofficial​

A wave of grasshoppers heralded my return to my favorite old haunt, to the twisted tree and the creek. At least, I called the meandering drainage ditch a creek as a child. Ankle-deep water trickled by, and tiny fish darted through it. Though I dreamed up many ways for them to get to the creek, it turned out they were placed there by mosquito mitigation.

The tree loomed large in my memories. It was a skinned knees and splinters kind of place. A frogs in your pockets and mud in your shoes place. A little pocket of deep shadows and shallow water in the blistering heat.

It was smaller than I remembered.

Little peeping frogs still lurked in the grass and splashed in the water. There was still room in the hollow place at the base of the tree for me to settle on the cool ground. I leaned back and closed my eyes, listening to the hot wind in the leaves above. Fruit swelled on the branches, now in reach, but still green and astringent. For the first time in years, I felt like I could fill my lungs completely.

When I opened my eyes, I saw a bee visiting a nearby flower. I extended a hand toward her, and she landed on my fingertips. "Did anyone tell you Granny Wisdom died?" I asked. "I don't know where your hive is, but Granny loved you. You may have noticed the gardens have gone to seed. That's why. She told me it's traditional to tell the hive when you lose a family member. Could you pass the word?"

The bee waited until I'd said my peace, and she took flight. The bees probably understood that she was family even if other people didn't. Just the babysitter, my parents said when we moved far away. I spent afternoons after school in her cottage or following while she worked in her garden. I spent long summer days rambling through the property or sitting in her kitchen while she cooked up jams and jellies or watching quietly when women came with hushed stories and left with smiles and secret parcels.

I'd come out in memory of an eternal summer, of handfuls of frogs and jars of fireflies. Of days harvesting and canning. But I looked around and found an audience. To my left, a fox. To my right, a hare watched with wide, wise eyes. "It's true," I said. "She's gone. I'm so sorry, someone should have told all of you." I leaned my head back against the trunk and looked up into the branches, where a masked face looked back. "Don't worry. I know all of this belongs to someone who will live here. Someone who will love it."

We never lost touch. I promised to write her when we moved away, and I did. Not as often as I should have. Not as diligently. But I did write. And she wrote back. An unbroken connection through the years, even if I always promised to visit and somehow never found the time. I collected all of her letters, her cards, her recipes, her advice, in a book I called Granny's Wisdom, because I thought I was clever.

We talked on the phone more often than we wrote. I came back once when she was sick, and I stayed with her until she was well again. One day I got a call regarding Greta Wisdom. It was her real name after all. "She's not sick again, is she?"

"No," said a man who sounded distracted and vaguely annoyed to have to talk to me. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but Ms. Wisdom has passed away."

Back before she was Granny, her cottage and land weren't much. She still didn't have much money when she passed away, and while she never lacked friends, she didn't have any family. She left what she had to me, and on the heels of that news came investors hungry for the land.

All of them wanted to raze the house, to parcel out the land. It would be easy, and it would make my life easy, too. I could have done it from a distance, even. Never laid eyes or set foot on the land again. But I already worked remote. Easy enough to come back one last time, to say goodbye properly.

Other creatures came, and I delivered the sad news again and again, to possums and coyotes, to the snake that lived under the porch, to feral cats and songbirds and crows.

And also to the young woman who waited on the porch, eyes brimming and shoulders slumped. "Is it true?" she asked.

"It's true," I said, and I let her inside. 

She coughed out a laugh as she looked around the kitchen with its hanging bundles of herbs and shelves of preserves and canned homegrown vegetables and volumes filled with Granny's tight, neat handwriting. "It's just like I remember," she said. "I'm sorry, I'm Miranda."

"Miranda? Wait." I left her stranded in the kitchen so I could retrieve a package with her name on it waiting in another room.

She stood in the middle of the room, rubbing her arm, and she said, "Hey, you aren't Imogene, are you?"

"That's me."

Miranda smiled then, just a little. "Granny used to talk about you all the time. She kept saying we ought to meet."

"Yeah?" I glanced around the kitchen. "Would you like to stay a while? Have some tea? Talk about Granny?"

Her smile grew. "I'd love to. She always used to say she'd leave this place to you. Did she really?" I nodded while I filled the kettle, and she asked, "What are you going to do with it?"

I thought about my afternoon wandering, about my childhood roaming. About the house and about investors. I didn't know the answer until she asked. "I'm going to stay."

[fivepointpalettes]

hello pretty please some colors for either Alfred or Apophis whichever you want bestie anyways thanks ily

Hi, of course, both it is, then! Hope these work for you, but do let me know if you'd like something else! 😊💖

#090907 | #93100d | #e3d9f7 | #e6dfd9 | #103512

#fd6e3c | #4b1311 | #344606 | #eeedf3 | #072018

#f77d53 | #0c2d25 | #031303 | #0c1d0c | #f5ddd5

#f0d8bf | #e94a12 | #e4ded0 | #242d0b | #0a1310

#6e1c00 | #0e1210 | #28312e | #ffe8d4 | #304e09

#dc430e | #0d0e07 | #4a1311 | #4f481e | #dad2f2

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#f35e45 | #d6ad17 | #191120 | #060c0a | #511334

#202449 | #f2602d | #eeb655 | #170412 | #030001

#f5ddc3 | #0e0005 | #281832 | #d46352 | #253a4d

#c14646 | #2a425c | #250010 | #542841 | #f7eec5

#243733 | #fff197 | #2a102f | #09091d | #4a1132

#02020d | #f76e66 | #f7ab13 | #132030 | #26051d