The Science Of Words

Part 7: Strangers

"You know, I really don't know what to think of this." Tadashi says, picking up a piece of debris from my brother's door.

"Hmm?" I say, lost in my imagination. The sun is setting, the clouds are all purple and pink, scattering across the skye like the spots on a dog. And the colors are all pretty, the blues, greens, oranges, and yellows mixing up in the palette of the heavens, diving down towards the city skyline with splendorful twists and turns like an Olympic diver. It's the kind of sunset you could write a million unique poems about, a collision of the day and night.

"Ivrian?" Tadashi asks. From his voice it's clear that isn't the first time he's said that in the last few minutes.

"Oh, sorry. I was thinking."

"About the door?"

"No, the sunset. But I can think about the door now if you want."

"Wait, the sun's setting already?" Tadashi joins me at the small round window inlaid into the wall. "We should go. My aunt'll get worried if we're not there by dark."

"Yeah, okay. We can come back tomorrow."

We pop downstairs, and I reach for the clear plastic doorknob on the front door, then stop.

"I should probably pack a bag." I say. "If I'm going to stay at your house."

"Oh, yeah, I'll wait here."

"Cool. I'll be back in a second."

I run back upstairs to my room. I grab my school backpack, since we have school tomorrow, and grab my biggest bag from the closet. I stuff in most of my clothes and anything else in my room that looks useful or is important to me, because, with my family gone, I don't know how long I'll be staying with Tadashi. Thankfully, I don't have a lot of things.

I rush back downstairs. Tadashi's waiting by the door. 

"You ready? That's a big bag for one night." He observes.

"If it is one night," I say. "I don't want to spend one more night in an empty house, and who knows how long it will be before my family is back."

"True," Tadashi says, nodding. "Well, let's go."

We head out into the twilight. The sky has faded to a dark purple, and it hangs like a curtain pulled over the globe of the atmosphere.

"It's pretty how solid the sky is," Tadashi says after we've walked for a while.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Back in the country, the sky is filled with stars by this time of night. There's hundreds of stars everywhere you look. I mean, it's pretty, but it's cool to see the sky like this. It's so different."

"Oh," I say.

We walk up to the back door of the cafe and go in. The shop is dark, but there is a light coming from upstairs. We follow it into the kitchen, where Aunt Cass is making something that doesn't even look like real food.

She turns around when she hears us. 

"Why were you guys gone so late? I was worried half to death!"

"Sorry Aunt Cass," Tadashi says. "We lost track of time."

"Well, okay, but don't do it again." She says. "Have you eaten yet?"

"No," Tadashi says.

"Well, have a quick snack, but go straight to bed afterward." 

"Okay Aunt Cass," Tadashi says.

Tadashi grabs some chips from a cupboard and we go out and sit on the couch.

"Yeah, my aunt can be pretty strict sometimes," He says, rubbing a hand on the back of his head.