Anima's Ghost: The Summer Before (Song Line Echoes, book 2)

Chapter 6: The Warehouse

The boys all come back just as Grandma Powell finishes cooking dinner. All three of us are inside, Daisy and I getting glasses, plates and silverware, so we hear them even before they open the door. The house isn't actually built for so many people, so there's no formal place for everyone to eat, and we end up back outside on the back porch. Some of us sit at the patio table, some of us sit in rocking or lounge chairs, I end up on the outdoor sofa. No one braves the ground though, with Leylina skulking around hoping someone will break my no human food rule.

Most of the conversation is provided by the boys – Spyro catching up on what he's missed in the last week and plans being made for the coming weeks. Rune's the first to finish eating, so he clears away the rest of the plates two or three at a time as everyone else finishes, but he must just leave them in the sink because he always comes back out too quickly to be doing the dishes properly. Leylina eventually settles at my feet, while I struggle to stay awake.

I must fail, because I wake up just before sunrise, in the bed in Grandma Powell's spare room, still wearing the dress from yesterday. The door's only open a crack, and Leylina and Ghastly are curled up in bed with me. I sit up and look around, spotting my suitcase against the wall by the door.

I brush my hair, then leave the room. Spyro's bedroom door is cracked open too, but his room is just as dark as the rest of the house. I wander through the quiet house, just looking around at first, Leylina trailing behind me. I find a spot under the stairs with photos on the walls and a couch tucked in the corner. There's no lamp or light in this little corner, but my eyes have adjusted well enough to the dark that I can make out the pictures of kids and parents, families and friends. Lifetimes reflected, time remembered, memories that won't be forgotten because they've been captured. I touch the glass covering one of the photographs gently, too softly to leave a fingerprint, wondering how many of these pictures were taken with film cameras, and how many with digital.

Leylina whines to be let outside, so I go to the back door, surprised to find the curtain already partially open, but more closed than it had been during the day yesterday. I look outside first, spotting Spyro sitting on the patio, all the lights off, watching the sunrise.

I hesitate for a minute, thinking he probably wants to be left alone right now. Why else would he be up this early, when I'm pretty sure he didn't go to bed as early as I did? But just when I decide to let Leylina out the front door instead so I don't disturb him, she paws at the door. Just once, thankfully, lightly – she knows to be gentle with glass doors – but it's enough to get Spyro's attention, and by the time I'm done telling her quickly to stop, he's already looking at me. He smiles, motioning for me to come out, so I open the door, letting Leylina trot out ahead of me before stepping outside and closing the door behind me.

"Good morning," he says, then almost laughs, "It's actually a little weird to be saying that to you when it's actually morning."

"Mm, barely," I point out. The sky's only just starting to lighten. "Tomorrow I'll probably be able to wake up at a normal time. What are you doing up so early?"

"I always watch the first sunrise when I'm in town. And then go back to bed for a few more hours." He motions to the spot next to him in the sofa, inviting me to sit down. I only hesitate a moment, just long enough to look around and make sure Leylina hasn't wandered far and doesn't seem to be interested in wandering far, before sitting down next to him. "Do you remember much of last night?" he asks. "You looked really tired even before you passed out on us."

I feel my cheeks heat up, just a little bit, in embarrassment, "I remember you guys talking about Huntington and Gatbsy's parents' party. And going places, but at that point almost everybody was talking at once and too fast, I couldn't keep up."