Two Souls, One Story

Luna's side

When she spotted a bus screeching to a stop, Luna turned off her phone without closing the internet app. This had to be the one containing her dear friend of almost 5 years. They had been planning this for months now, with her friend, Tanner, saving up money to fly to Washington so they could meet.

There wasn’t much in Wisconsin that either of them wanted Luna to go to see, but there was plenty to do in Seattle alone. Plus, this weekend there were going to be a ton of events.

Luna undid her loosening ponytail, gathering up her hair and retying it at the crown of her head with her scrunchie. Hopefully, the jumpsuit wasn’t too much. She is always either overdressed or underdressed when having her girls’ days with friends.

A girl with short hair and wearing all black stepped off the bus. She was looking around nervously and Luna shoved her phone into her purse to make sure the girl was her friend. Upon crossing the street and watching the girl’s gaze pass over her form, Luna knew.

“Oh good, bus was on time!” She bound over with a little swing in her step. If the hips swing then the hair follows suit, something she discovered and loved about wearing her hair up. “Thought it would be easier to meet up with you at the bus stop than risk you getting lost.”

Unable to contain her excitement, Luna rushed forward and all but tackled the other girl, squeezing her with the force of wanting to hug her for the last five years. She had a lot of hugging to make up during Tanner’s trip. “Nice to finally see you in person, hun!”

She watched as Tanner let out a loud laugh, “Dude, seriously, this is the most exciting my life has been since Jake started school.” She snickered. Luna still remembered the pictures Tanner had sent her of her son, plus the video of him saying “Bye auntie!” before running into the school. “We don’t really have much to catch up on since we text daily.”

“Well, I have the new update that I finally finished Bleach,” Luna declared, taking out her phone and waving it with an eye roll. “I couldn’t put my phone down last night after messaging you and… well, I finished that dumpster fire of an ending.”

Poor Kubo. Pressured to finish his work when it really should have ended almost 200 chapters prior. Luna could barely remember the names of anyone introduced, and most of their designs were… underwhelming. 

The two talked as they entered the cafe and Luna paid for their drinks. It was nice, calming even. Luna had spent the last couple of days staying up late into the night making sure her homework was caught up. Classes were eating her alive and this was her only chance to breathe.

Wincing at Tanner’s loud curse and praying the sets of moms in the cafe didn’t mind that their little Timmys and Amys were exposed to the swears, Luna’s eyes drifted outside. There was a tweaker outside, pacing back and forth on the street across from the cafe. He was shouting nonsense and making gestures to any passing car. 

Back in her city, Luna wouldn’t have paid much mind. She would put in her earbuds and walk away from the area as quickly as possible. But a repeated gesture made her blood run cold.

The man kept putting his hand against his side. Luna knew enough about anatomy to know that unless there was something seriously wrong with his body, that man’s hip did not start where his hand would stop. 

She had to get her friend out of there.

“Let’s leave. Now.”

Luna paid little mind as Tanner failed to pronounce Uwajimaya. Making sure her wallet, phone, and drink were all with her, Luna quickly left the building through the optional side entrance and towards the bus stop that could take them to the shop.