A World With/Out Home

Chapter 9: A long wait. (Part 4)

Kyle opened his eyes surprised. He had asked for a pleasant dream before he slept but didn't expect it to come true. That ordinary day at the Villa had been so calming that his heart yearned to go there himself. Stranger still the dreams were becoming more probing. Where at first he could barely recall their faces, now he was even pulling information that wasn't in the open. The feelings of Estile and the others, the history behind their steps, it seeped into his mind so naturally it was frightening. At this point he could say for certain that they were more than just dreams. No amount of hallucination could feel so fleshed out, and more than that, he wanted to believe it, that the lives of the Mercenaries of the Ever-Garden existed. The only problem with that was reality. If they existed then where were they or for that matter when...?

With the brightening of the outside world Kyle pushed the dream to the back of his head. No matter how interested he was in them or the mysteries they held, his responsibilities were in the present and currently in the form of 22 hungry children. Like he had promised breakfast was made up of mostly pancakes and some egged toast as requested by the list. Most of it was easy to make but there were things like ice-cream which he had only ever eaten sparingly himself. Still, watching the children happily eat their food eased him and he'd do whatever he could to make up for his long time disappearance.

With the morning chores done the children headed for their classroom leaving Kyle and Maila to themselves. The issue was that there simply wasn't much to do. When it came down to it, both of them had busied themselves the day before as a distraction leaving almost nothing left. A few hours passed and Maila had moved on to knitting while Kyle had already finished the lunch preparations. Seeing as there were still quite a few leftovers pancakes Kyle turned to Maila,

"Do you mind if I pop by the front office? I'll just drop by and say hi to Melissa like usual."

"Sure, just don't be too long," she looked up from her needling. "Though I don't think there's anyone left to kidnap you."

Kyle smiled wryly, "I hope not."

Before long he had a basket ready with a suitable amount of snacks and was about to leave when he felt a tug on his shirt. He looked down to see a familiar yellow head.

"Where are you going?" Gira asked having perfectly snuck up on him.

"Shouldn't you be in class right now?" Kyle asked her in a reprimanding tone.

She pouted her lips, "I needed to use the bathroom. Where are you going?"

"I'm just going to pay Melissa a visit," he smiled to her and gently brushed her hair.

"No!"

"No?" Kyle blinked surprised at her selfishness.

Her grip tightened, "The last time you left you didn't come back for a week!"

"That's because I had something important to do." His expression softened and he crouched to match the girl's height, "I really won't be long this time."

"Really?"

"Really. Now hurry back. If you don't your teachers are going to be mad."

"O-okay," Gira slowly let go and stepped back. Her eyes lingered on Kyle for a long while before she turned to take a few more steps away. Just as Kyle was about to look away she suddenly rushed back and hugged him. "Please don't leave us."

"Huh?" For a moment he couldn't react. More than just her words, her tone stunned him. The sound of her voice was filled with a wishful pleading as if he really would just disappear forever. "Gira what do you mean? I'm not going to leave for good."

Her arms tightened around him to almost painful amounts, "You could. Just like Jana, Talia, and Agret. Don't go."

The small girl was practically in tears. In the end he realised that many of the children had been holding back and especially for the younger ones it was hard.

Kyle wrapped his hands around her warmly, "It's okay Gira. I'm here to look after all of you. I might not always be around but I will always come back. I'm not going to disappear."

"Promise?" she pulled back and held out her pinkie.

"Promise," it had been a long time since he had done a pinkie promise. "Now go wash your eyes and head back to class. I'll be back before lunch. It's a good one so use that energy so you can eat as much as you want."

"Okay!" she smiled and bounced away.

Once she was gone from sight Kyle stood up and looked to Maila who had been listening in from around the corner.

"I'm guessing my week away was a bit more serious than you let on."

Maila nodded, "I didn't want you to feel guilty, you did what you had to but some of the children were really worried you weren't coming back. Like I said they got attached." She leaned against the nearby wall and sighed. "When the people they love keep vanishing one by one it's hard for them not to be scared."

"This might be over my jurisdiction but was there ever another caretaker like me?"

"Like you, not exactly," her expression became tender. "But there were others. None of them became as attached as you are, especially so quickly. The longest was for just under a year."

"Did they just leave?"

"Some couldn't handle it. I kicked out quite a few I didn't like and the few good ones... many of them died." Maila's eyes drew back. "Protect the children... and when the demons came they really did take that all the way. In a way I'm glad you're so weak. I won't have to worry that you'll end up the same." She looked up to see Kyle's wide eyes. "It's not like you're cursed. It was just two. There's still one alive but..., never mind him."

"I'm not sure how I should take that," Kyle turned his eyes away. In truth if he could, he would follow Lillia and Tai all the way. To know there were others who not only wanted to but had actually gone and died was a sobering thought.

"Don't think about it too much. Just make sure you keep that promise to Gira," Maila smiled sweetly like an older sister to a younger brother. "Now if you're going to visit Melissa hurry up."

"Ah right, I'll be back soon," Kyle nodded and quickly made for the door.

Maila once again alone picked up her needle and thread but didn't move. Seconds passed before she sighed, "I really hope you make it all the way. Don't leave me alone again." No one heard her words and wiping her eyes Maila continued her work.