The Tale of Tara and Emiko

XXI

Emiko was one of the popular kids.

In every school she'd gone to, she always was. Maybe it was her personality. Her sunny smiles, snarky comebacks, contagious laughter. Maybe it was her grades. Straight As on papers, projects, posters, and presentations, instantly labeling her as the teacher's favorite. Maybe it was her looks. Her crystal blue eyes, wavy blond hair with pastel pink, purple, and blue highlights. Maybe it wasn't any of those things, or a combination of all of them.

However, while many people benefited from her popularity, she wasn't one of them. She used to be happy, since with every new school she gained a new fan club, but the joy she used to get from receiving so many friends all at once was disappearing, bit by bit.

Luckily, our little social outcast Tara Grey would change Emiko's mind. While Tara reaped the benefits of being noticed for once after miraculously befriending the social butterfly, she unknowingly helped Emiko realize that there was a place to be other than the top; that sometimes, it's safer to be at the bottom, because when you're at your highest point the only way left to go is down.

And down she went, in quite the fiery argument.

Now, after Emiko's sudden departure, Tara was one of the most popular kids, since she'd chosen to share the wealth among her closest friends, instead of hoarding it all the way Emiko had. The student body barely made note of Emiko's disappearance, though, which was strange.

Tara, however, felt like she needed to know more. Emiko's social media accounts had gone essentially comatose, with no new posts since the day of the fateful party that ended it all. The one where Tara almost drowned. The mansion Emiko used to live in was already up for sale despite it only being a few weeks after the end of school. Tara was certain Emiko had blocked her number. There was no indication of where she'd gone, and barely any evidence that she'd been here at all, since the posts on all her accounts were slowly disappearing, one by one, day by day.

It was like she vanished into thin air.

Tara clicked open her phone, searching for Zia's number. She was able to enhance the picture that led to Emiko's downfall. Surely she could help her figure out where Emiko'd gone-

Her number wasn't there.

Tara fished through her bag for the slip of paper with those nine oh-so-important digits written on it. She knew she'd put it there. It had to be.

It wasn't.

Tara searched late into the night, checking last year's yearbook, the online digital classrooms, and anything and everything that could still have some trace of the girl she wished she'd known better.

Nothing.

Exhausted, terrified, and curious, Tara fell asleep, resolving to figure this out in the morning.

...

Emiko yawned and sat up. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping. It was a great day to be a princess.

Then she remembered the bounty she put for Tara's imprisonment last week. Guilt crept up on her, festering in the pit of her stomach, an ugly, crawling feeling that made her want to scratch all her skin off.

I put a bounty on my best friend's head, she thought. My friend, who I trusted. Who trusted me.

Emiko slipped downstairs, trying not to suffocate and drown in her thoughts, running into her little brother Kyle in the mental haze. "Oh, good morning," she murmured before sitting down right there in the middle of the floor. Who cared if it was socially acceptable or not, she needed time to breathe.

"Hi there Emiko-oh my god, are you okay? Do I need to call a nurse?" Kyle asked.

Emiko nodded. "I'm good, I'm good. Don't worry about me. Go eat breakfast."

"Are you sure? You don't seem good."

"I'm fine, I swear. Just...give me some space. I'm not hurt, I'm not sick. I'll be okay." Emiko managed a feeble smile that she really hoped was reassuring. S̶h̶e̶'̶d̶ ̶b̶e̶e̶n̶ ̶l̶y̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶a̶l̶l̶ ̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶l̶i̶f̶e̶,̶ ̶w̶h̶y̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶s̶o̶ ̶h̶a̶r̶d̶ ̶n̶o̶w̶?̶She wasn't good at lying to her brothers, she never was.

Kyle nodded obediently, running off to the kitchen. Emiko pulled out her phone to check the news, which was a really bad idea.

Top Ranked Bounty Hunter Tara Grey Sentenced To Death On...

Emiko had to click on the article to read more, but it didn't matter. Her phone slipped out of her hand and fell to the floor, cracks spiderwebbing across the screen. She barely noticed.

"She's going to die, and it's my fault," she whispered. "I never meant for that to happen. I only wanted her to rot in a prison cell for the rest of her life, not for it to end so soon."

The worst part was that Emiko couldn't intervene, lest she risk revealing herself as Eon to the general public. Only Milo could know that.

Milo! Oh, he would know what to do. He would be able to help her...if only Emiko knew where he was.

"Hey, Kyle," Emiko calmly asked as she walked into the kitchen. "Have you seen Milo?"

"Milo?" Kyle thought for a moment. "Who's that, your imaginary friend?"

"What!?" Emiko was shocked. "Milo! Our brother, the bookworm, the one who got kidna-er, lost because of that princess I shouldn't have trusted a week ago. You really don't remember him? Are you sure you're not pulling a prank on me?"

Kyle thought for a moment. "Nope. Don't have a clue. And it's too early for April Fools, Em. It's only February."

"Alright, I know. I know."

"Are you sure you're okay? First you collapse in the middle of the floor, and now this? Talking about a brother you think we had? Are you sure you're well? Do I need to tell Father to come home early?" Kyle looked at Emiko with worried eyes. "I want to make sure you're okay. You're my big sister, and I don't know what I'd do without you."

"I'm fine, Kyle. Just a little tired. There's a lot going on right now, and I think I need some time to process all that." Kyle gave her a confused look, but said no more.

Emiko staggered back to her room, and even though it was barely ten in the morning, she cried herself to sleep for the brother only she knew she'd lost.