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Okay so, prior to my previous claims where I wished and desired for home ever earnestly, I decided instead, in a spur and a glance to the sidelines, that maybe a short detour along the way to the bus stop wouldn\'t be so bad.

A detour to where exactly?

Well just off to pay a few old friends a visit. Dropping by occasionally to those that were there in my time of need was a habit I dare not lose without a fight. Besides, Mr. Black and Mrs. White do get lonely quite easy.

I suppose they\'d appreciate a few new faces too.

Ria was certainly eager. Adalia was… well I think she was enthusiastic about it too in her own… special way, I guess.

Point being - The Neplims were a hard offer to turn down and the results irrefutably speak for themselves.

Didn\'t even make it ten steps into the park before a blurring black ball hurled and latched itself onto Ria, clinging around her chest, purring and meowing in delight.

The Phoenix took it all in stride, and embraced the fuzzy welcome with open, cuddling arms - her locks of hair burning to their brightest yet as she cooed and fawned over her new feline friend.

"Didn\'t take you for the aww-ing type," I remarked.

"Now, now, don\'t be jealous sweetie," Ria said, rocking a contentful looking Mr. Black in her arms. "You\'ll always be number one to Mama Ria."

Adalia, in the meantime, whisked herself away from sight once again. Took a few moments of glancing around the place to find where she wandered off to this time.

And there she sat, legs crossed amongst blades of grass and the blooming of flowers, twirling her hand around while Mrs. White tentatively reached out for it with her paws - swiping and missing.

Nearly called out to her but luckily stopped myself in time to notice the tender smile curving her lips ever so slightly. Her head tilted, her cloudy eyes gentle. I couldn\'t recall a single moment in time where I\'ve seen Adalia smile before for any occasion.

A blank expression, a faraway stare, I\'ve grown accustomed to seeing that sight in every passing day.

This though? This was nice, too.

Course, there was still that sliver of apprehension I\'d feel when her eyes would find mine… in time, I\'m sure it\'ll go away in time.

"Still not tired, Adalia?" I spoke out, taking a step into the meadow.

The moment her gaze turned at me that smile had all vanished, back again to the way it always was.

"Not… tired…" she spoke, her hand still swirling across the greens. "Neplims… are nice…"

"So I\'ve heard."

"They… bring happiness, so much… happiness… to many people..."

"Yep."

Adalia stopped swaying. "Don\'t bring Ash… here…"

"Too late," I delved my hands into my pocket. "Remember I asked you about Neplims that time?"

"Oh…" Her gaze fell. "I\'m sorry…"

"Don\'t be. Apparently it\'s what Ash wanted to know… so… lose-lose as it is, in the end it\'s what she wanted."

Adalia made no movement, nor spoke no words. She was always like that when there was nothing that needed input on. Unlike me, where everything always needed another word, another thing to say.

Could learn a thing or two from her.

I still had something to say.

"After Cleansing," I tightened my lips. "Finally found out what A.E. stood for."

Adalia raised her eyes back up. "Yes…"

"Know what it means?"

She shook her head.

"Your sister?"

"No one… knows…"

"Does it have to do with Elves - were Elves cleansed or something?"

"I don\'t… know…" she repeated.

"Then who does?"

Wanted to come off as casual and I ended up with a plead. Didn\'t mean on pressuring her… I just… well, everything always needed another word… and she, as always, had nothing left to say.

Or so I thought.

"Terestra… might…" Her arm began swinging again, her gaze away from mine. "She... might..."

That\'s right. How could I have forgotten? I had two living legends as parents… why on Earth wasn\'t I asking them? Alright… that\'s another question added to the list… when dear ol\' dad knocks on that door, I\'ll be ready.

"Nice one, Adalia," I said, nodding my head in thanks. "I didn\'t think of that."

"It\'s… okay…" whispered her voice as I turned my way back towards Ria. "I hope you find… what you\'re looking for…"

We spent another while at the park before the flashing rumbles in the clouds up high signaled the end to our little meet n\' greet. With great reluctance, and after a bit of back and forth arguing as to why a cat in the house was not a necessary accommodation, Ria cut her losses and bid an emotionally-charged farewell to Black and White.

"You can visit them again anytime, you know," I said, upon seeing the devastated look on her face.

"Oh yeah, you\'re right!" She piped up, suddenly strolling along with a lot more spring in her step, and hailed the bus with a flourish.

Damn, if only it was that easy to cheer Ash up too, wouldn\'t even be here if that was the case, sadly, I can only dream.

And dream I did. The ride back home burrowed me with thoughts aplenty to keep me occupied in the silence. Mostly I thought of the questions I wanted to ask, the things I wanted to know, and how I would word them when I finally got the chance to meet them.

The truth, first and foremost, that\'s what I wanted more than anything. Terestra, Kronocia - whatever else… I don\'t care if it took an entire sermon, Dad better get comfy on that couch there because his heroic ass will be sitting on it for hours to come.

I still haven\'t really sorted out my feelings about it, whether or not I was actually mad at them for hiding the truth, or if I even wanted to be mad at them in the first place.

Was it strange that I was so mellow about the whole fiasco? At this point in time and even back then, I wasn\'t mad… just surprised. When will the rage come, if it\'ll even come at all?

Guess I\'ll find out in due time, for now though, Ria nudged me on the shoulder, standing up from her seat.

"Our stop, let\'s go," She said.

The walk back home was also done in silence. Even more thoughts to cram up the tight space in my head. By the time we reached the front porch, it was already bursting at the seams.

Surprised there wasn\'t any grey matter leaking out of my ears.

Still, I needed some me-time.

"Not coming in?" Ria asked, already midway through the doorway.

Adalia took a glance, saw me there sitting by the steps all by lonesome, and understood at once, as she always does.

"We\'ll… leave you…" She muttered, passing by Ria and into the hall. "I\'ll… feed... later…"

From the corner of my eyes, I saw Ria raised a brow.

"Nostalgia?" She asked, her head dangling sideways. "Melancholy?"

"Headache," I answered back. "I\'m fine. Meet you inside later."

"Oh, you better. I\'m not done with today just yet… I still got one more thing planned for you so you better not be late for that."

Grumbled and groaning, I whispered, "More?"

"One more," She said, her smile scurrying away with a swing of a door. "Enjoy."

The only thing I could enjoy right then was the chilly wind that breezed past. The sway of the leaves and the chirping of the birds. The calm before the storm.

Yep, just can\'t stop thinking about it. My patience was not patient any longer. Questions needed answering, but they weren\'t here.

Call? Text? Please leave your message after the beep.

That\'s another one that\'ll be going on the list.

Ghosting is a serious offense in modern society. Weren\'t you guys living in this world long enough to realize that?

Okay… there\'s the anger I was looking for.

Not good, bad time to be down in spirits. I need to somehow take my mind off it - a long shower maybe, some shows I could watch, or perhaps even a long, long nap…

Anything was better than thinking.

Then something caught my eye, and thinking became the least of my worries.

Something? No. More like a someone. Gradually approaching, past the meadow, along the concrete path, towards the steps where I sat.

How? What? Where? Why? - The four horsemen of questionnaires, running laps around my head endlessly and bolting ahead into first place was the fifth and most enigmatic of all: Who?

Who art thou over yonder, ambling so apprehensive towards me? You, with hair ever golden and bright, dressed in a dress so elegant and white. You with a…

Shit.

"Oh, so this is the right house," She gasped in relief, a trembling hand clutching her chest. "Augh… this would have been so awkward."

Dreaming. I\'m dreaming. Time to pinch myself - ow! Okay, I wasn\'t dreaming. She was there, she was really there, standing across from me.

I couldn\'t believe my eyes. The last I saw of her was a meandering emaciated husk, condemned to wander an empty complex to a slow agonizing end. Now I could hardly recognize her.

Skin and bones no more. Hollowed eyes then, now so full and bright. They stared at me, those hazel brown pupils with more emotion than I ever saw within them back then.

"I don\'t suppose you… recognize me, do you?" She asked, wrapping a finger around a strand of her hair. "I\'d be quite embarrassed if you didn\'t. Very, actually…"

Recognize? Whether she was gaunt and lifeless, or springy and healthy, I could never forget her face. Never forget her name. It was burnt into the back of my head, a nightmare to pester my dreams.

"Amanda…" I heard myself whisper out loud.

"And you know my name, too…" Amanda said, her expression positively glowing. "Mmm, I don\'t think I ever got yours, actually…."

My mouth was chattering about like I was in sub-zero temperatures, forget my mind bursting at the seams - it just got goddamned nuked to orbit. I didn\'t know what to say, what to ask, what to do.

And the amusing part was - neither did she. Amanda stood there over me, shifting about rather uncomfortably. I suppose she came at me woefully unprepared.

Luckily the four horsemen miraculously survived the fallout, the first of which managed to rear its ugly head into the spotlight and outta my mouth with a breathless, "How\'d you find me?"

"Ahh…" She smiled faintly, her left hand wrapped around her right, timidity in the way her fingers fiddled around with each other as she spoke again. "You smelled funny…"

I\'m so gonna smash that cologne bottle.