When Omara King finally left Leadworth, she left a trail of ash.
It's been three years since it all fell apart, and Amelia Pond's wedding is the first time the town has really come back to life.
But a ghostlike Omara shows up on the night before the...
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I dropped my bag on the porch and knocked.
Straightened myself out.
Checked how my bandages fit around my hands while I waited.
When I looked around the porch, I could sense the distrust between me and this house. I spent so much time here, once upon a time. The people here once left the backdoor unlocked for me, and because of me they had once closed their curtains and put chairs underneath the handles.
Years had passed, but I could still remember it all like it was yesterday.
After a minute, the door swung open and Amelia stood in the doorway in a nightgown, looking shell-shocked.
It bore an eerie resemblance to the last time I was here, standing on this very threshold and staring her in the eyes. We didn't trust each other then, either.
"What are you doing here?"
"I just got into town."
She closed the door part-the-way, a look of deep distrust and confusion etched into her face.
"You..." my hand went instinctively to the pocket where I kept my little flip phone. "You invited me. Didn't you?"
"Yeah, but... I left you a voicemail inviting you," she said warily. "I didn't think you listened to those."
"Well, I do."
Now she was glaring. "You missed everything, the rehearsal dinner..."
"I know I did." I tried to appear apologetic. "Sorry. I couldn't get away in time. Don't worry, you had more fun without me."
She shook her head, closing the door even further, lips pressed together in a thin line. "Don't you tell me not to worry. And you aren't sorry, so don't pretend. You should have told me you were coming. No one's expecting you."
"I know. If I knew, my schedule ahead of time I would have told you. It changes so much nowadays, I was lucky to get away in time for the wedding at all."
This was the wrong thing to say, and I knew it the second the words left my lips. I could see she was close to slamming the door in my face then and there.
"I - " I fumbled with my hoodie pockets, and pulled out a tiny box. "I got this for you, in Tokyo."
Her eyes darted down to my bandaged hands as I handed it over, and took the box slowly.
"Are you... OK?"
I nodded earnestly. "I'm fine. Open it."
She did. A delicate silver chain, with tiny, pink glass petals hanging from it.
"The cherry blossom petals are hand-blown glass. They're everywhere when it's warm. They always reminded me of you."
I hadn't really meant to say that last part, but I couldn't take it back.
