The Metal Children

Epilogue

"How are you, my dear little patient?" Wayne sing-songed in a small voice as he knocked on the slightly open door of Haru's bedroom in the studio apartment. It didn't look like it was occupied by one person anymore, instead, two mattresses laid across the floor, never mind a stack of books in one corner, a stack of CDs in the other. The heavy drape of curtains hung half open and sunlight crept in brilliantly the glass wall it was half-covering, which was comforting enough for Rayhan herself. It had been a week since she rested in the apartment, unable to properly walk yet, unless she did her levitating thing with her airbending, but it was too much of a mess and at some point, tiring.

Rayhan put down the book she was reading to her side, and sat up. She greeted him with a shrug. "Very bored," she whined, tucking her lock of curly hair behind her ear. The t-shirt dress she was wearing was heavily crinkled as the result of shifting on the mattress, and she couldn't wait to have her leg heal completely so she could wear pants again.

Wayne sat by her mattress on the floor. "I brought you some more of the healing juice, though, kept it in the fridge."

Rayhan cringed. "More of those yucky stuff."

"Hey, yucky green stuff is good." Wayne poked her with an elbow lightly, and then let his gaze fall upon the empty mattress where Haru had slept. "How's she doing?"

Rayhan lifted her shoulders. "Still doesn't speak much, and she spaced out a lot, but otherwise, she's just fine. Honestly, I don't know what's bothering Haru."

"She never mentioned anything?"

Rayhan shook his head. Haru had been unusually quiet after the fire at Refill, which she was barely a part of, to begin with. She had spent her nights tossing and turning on her mattress, if not, taking an advantage over the insomnia by re-reading her old fantasy novels. Rayhan had assumed that Haru was very affected by their loss, but there was something more than just grief and mourning - she was often as if she was drifting in deep thoughts neither of them could guess. "Oh," she said suddenly, and leaned over Haru's mattress to lift the head pillow up. There was a pair of red-framed glasses, a web-like crack on one lens. She reached out for it, and held it at Wayne. "It's obviously not hers."

"No, it's not." Wayne looked at the pair of glasses curiously, and then raised his eyebrows at Rayhan. "Since when have you become so nosey?"

"Life's very mundane when you're resting in a bedroom of a studio apartment for one entire week," she joked. "I need entertainment, you know. And I hate not walking."

Wayne shrugged. "Bet Haru will eventually tell us what's going on. Let's worry less about that right now."

She nodded. "Let's get me out of here," she said, pushing away her blanket that was covering her legs, and extended her arms. Wayne pulled her closer until he could grab her around her ribs and underneath her knees, and carefully lifted her up.

She was lighter than the rest of the days, he wondered if she had eaten today. The bedroom door closed behind them with a soft click, and she carried them to the living area, where the black couch was empty and the bean bag next to it was dragged by the window, occupied by Haru and her mug of hot chocolate. The studio apartment looked messier than usual — Sera, Faith and Alyssa had taken shelter there after Refill was all burnt down. There were boxes by the wall, of belongings they had salvaged from the fire, but the deaths of Bea and Asri was something they couldn't really replace. The studio apartment looked gloomy and dead quiet since their departure.

Wayne dropped Rayhan carefully on the couch, and went to the kitchen area. Haru turned, greeting her with a weak smile, and back to her view of the city through the glass window. "Where are the girls?" She inquired, referring to Sera, Faith and Alyssa.