Dusk Until Dawn

epilogue!!

4 months later...

"I'm home!"

I hollered as I opened the door to see Mr. Herbert, Mom, Ivory, and Mason cheering, in their Christmas gear. I gave them each tight hugs, as well as a small peck for Mason.

"You're not going to give me a hug?" Yukina lightly scoffed from behind. "Hmph. I see how it is. I drove for an hour to pick you up from the airport, waited for another hour for you to come out from the gate, and carried most of your baggage for you but it's fine; I don't need a hug."

I chuckled as I turned around. "Saved the best for last, obviously."

Yukina and I had our ups and downs, but she's been there for me the most.

I gave her a tight hug, and smiled as wide as I could as I looked around the house.

"It feels so weird seeing this house again. But a good kind of weird." I remarked.

"It was really quiet without you here. A good kind of quiet." Mason replied.

Mom and Mr. Herbert laughed at that statement, while I playfully rolled my eyes. God, how I've missed him. Seeing him in-person is better than seeing him through a phone.

Ivory clapped once. "Shall we eat now? I haven't eaten in 10 hours."

"You only care about the food, Ivory?" I joked.

"Yes. How did you not pick up on that, Maia?" She sarcastically replied.

I let out a laugh as everyone started preparing the table. I took off my jacket, and Mason came over to me.

"Still up for ramen after dinner?" He held out a fist bump.

I fist bumped him back.

-

My parents started preparing KFC for our Christmas dinner. Most families in Japan eat KFC on Christmas Day, and the reason has always been a mystery to me, but I'm not complaining.

As Ivory and I were taking care of the silverware, we started catching up on our lives. Ivory and I call once every week, since Ivory has actually been traveling around the country these past few months. She's been trying to focus on herself lately, and a way for her to do that is traveling.

"How's your jet lag, Maia?" Ivory began.

"God, I forgot how horrible it is. The number of times I almost fell asleep on the car ride home is astronomical."

Ivory laughed. "I get that. The jet lag from Hawaii was a nightmare."

"Is Hawaii still your favorite place you've been to so far?" I faced her.

She paused. "Of course. I was considering making a living there. The scenery, the people, the sights, the food... everything was just so... me."

"We should go there together someday." I suggested. "And if you do end up living there, that means I can go visit you more often maybe. Hawaii is closer to Japan than Nashville."

She nodded slowly. "Hm. That's definitely something I'll keep in mind."

I smiled as wide as I could. I missed Ivory so much.

A moment later, my parents brought over the tray full of KFC chicken. The whole house smelled amazing.

And to make things better, Mason picked up a huge cake full of cute Christmas decorations around it. His grandpa and Bennett came over as well.

I greeted both of them with a smile and gave them a hug. As our families greeted each other, I went over to Mason to admire the cake he was holding.

"Where did you get this? I don't know if I'll ever be able to eat this; it's so beautiful." I squinted my eyes as I took a closer look at the intricate designs of the Christmas decorations on the cake.