Come Winter

Chapter 13 Forget the past

Himi strode along the path, snow flicking onto the bare skin of her legs. She shivered and her breaths came out raspy and hoarse. She couldn't believe what she had said and done. Yuki knew...he knew. No doubt when Ginny saw what she had done, and had said what she had said, she would turn up at school tomorrow with her mums silvers knife set. Himi groaned at her idiocy. She kept going, fearing that Yuki would turn up in whirl of snow and ice, to get his revenge.
"Himi?" She turned to the side to see Mr.Dresty standing in the garden of a small cottage. It looked very sweet, with rose bushes and what looked like snowbells and tulips. Mr.Dresty looked excited.
"Someone sent me a letter, claiming to be my grandson!!! He said he'll take some time to come to Mossy Hollow and see me, but I'm so happy." Himi smiled with all the happiness she had left in her heart.
"I'm really happy for you, Mr.Dresty. I guess I was right about her being happy where she was." Mr.Dresty smiled happily, light and laughter in his eyes. Himi considered telling him, possibly warning him about Yuki's powers, and for a revengeful measure, that he was probably in Ginny's room at the boarding house.
'Doing who knows what?' Thought Himi spitefully, then she shook her head. She wasn't going to stoop down to their level.
30 minutes later after talking to Mr.Dresty, Himi arrived home. She stopped at the door, then pulled a crumpled piece of paper from her blazer pocket. Imato had given her his address,
"You know, if you wanna stop by." He had said uncomfortably, shoving it into her hands. "But if so, it'll be really messy. We only moved in last week."
Himi replayed this in her mind like a video recording.
'Why not?' She reasoned. She was done with Yuki. He was a jerk, Ginny was a back-stabbing freak, and Medio and Tickles, were unable to do anything. She wouldn't loose anything. She quickly opened the door.
"Mum!!!!" She hollered through the door.
"Yeah!!!!!" Hollered her mum from the other side of the house. There was the thick smell of roasted onions and honey soy sauce.
"Going out!!! Be back before dinner!!!!!" Called Himi.
"Awesome!!!! Safe walk!!!!!"
Himi ducked quickly into the corridor to trade her blazer for a long brown coat, and she continued out.
Himi wondered what Imato's parents were like. She skipped along the roads and the paths, till she reached a house, 2 stories, and seemed to have an attic. The front yard was kinda creepy. Gargoyle statues and tombstone like things dotted the lawn.
'Perhaps his parents are freaky art enthusiasts.' She mused, and trotted up the stone path slicing through the lawn. There weren't any cars in the driveway, and all the windows were closed. Himi lifted her hand to take the handle on the door knocker shaped like a gargoyle, when the door smashed open to reveal a flustered and red Imato.
"I saw you come up the driveway in my room! I was just cleaning it, sorry!" Himi laughed.
"Caught you off guard. Should I have called?" Imato grinned, and showed her in. The inside looked even weirder than the out. Paintings of mythical creature like monstrosities and people with deformations littered the walls of the corridor. There were boxes stacked dangerously upon each other, and Himi had to find space amongst them to move past.
"My parents aren't home. Mum works full time, and you know about Dad." Himi gestured to the paintings
"Your parents like these kinda things?"
Imato blushed. "No, only dad does. He is addicted to creepy paintings, you should see my collection of rejected paintings he has given to me for my birthday. Mum says he is just "eccentric", but I just think he is weird."
Himi laughed, then throwing a flirty look at him, tiptoed up the stairs.
"Hey!" Laughed Imato, following her up as she laughed at him from the higher stairs.
She kept going, up the stairs, and onto the landing, which had no windows. Just dark shadows and 4 doors, presumably bedrooms and bathrooms. Himi hid behind a doorframe as Imato reached the landing.
"Himi...come out come out, where ever you are!" Himi stifled a giggle, then Imato pounced on her.
"See you've found my room." He unlocked the door with a brass key, attached to a keychain with 3 other keys. Himi fell into a room with music posters, and lava lamps. Looked really neat for someone who had a 5 minute warning.
"So," Imato sat on his bed with rocket ships stitched into it,"what was up with your friend? Being murdered and all."
Himi sighed and slumped onto a beanbag across from him.
"Medley, she was blue eyed and mouse haired, and like a mouse, shy and unsociable. She hung out with me, Ginny and Medio. We found her dead in her dormitory in the boarding house. We," Himi thought about the memories of investigations, "we tried to find her murderer." Imato stared at her shrewdly.
"You could've been hurt." Himi signed heavily. She knew that, Desunoto could've ambushed her and the others. Bug he didn't, and that made Himi wonder suddenly, "Why?" He had a bunch of teens trying to track him down, why not finish them?
"Himi?" Imato cut through her thoughts. Himi blinked rapidly, and smiled at him.
"I feel better though. I'm not as sad." She was surprised, and her hear raced in excitement as Imato slowly padded to her, and being forward to her.
"Forget about the past. It's good to move on."
And then they kissed.