Starlight

Prologue 4 - Bittersweet (Mei & Elysia POV)

(Mei POV)

"Here we are!" I say proudly, presenting the bustling evening cityscape to Elysia in all it's glory. She stumbles ahead of me a bit and slowly takes in her surroundings, I imagine she's probably overstimulated. Akihabara isn't necessarily the best place to settle down long term but I'm bound to find work at a local cafe.

"It's so beautiful, the lights really are like stars!" She reaches out to a neon sign with the word 'magic' written on it, I'm admittedly a bit jealous of her wanderlust, I never had such an imagination as a child... Maybe I've done a decent job as big sis after all. Judging by how ecstatic she is about the city, I can tell things are going to go well for us. I just need to stay diligent.

We're going to be okay, Ely.

--- 6 Weeks Later---

(Elysia POV)

"I'm hungry..." My tummy starts grumbling a bit, loud enough for me to take notice of over the sound of the pouring rain outside.

"Hm... It's so nasty outside, I don't want to drag you out into the rain, you'll catch a cold Ely." Mei says adamantly, big sis always looks so serious lately... We've been living in the big city now for a few weeks, everything is so big and bright. We never run out of new things to see, sometimes Mei takes me out into the city and gets me snacks, we've mostly been eating what Big Sis calls "secret snacks"... I saw big sis digging in a trash bin one night near our house, I tried looking for food inside the trash too but she scolded me. 'Don't touch the trash! It's gross!' she said. I don't mind if we eat trash food, I know Big Sis is doing her best... Plus it's such a waste if it all gets tossed away!

"Whatcha doin' big sis?" I ask, peering over Mei's shoulder. She's scribbling words down in a little notebook she's had since as long as I can remember, she always tells me to never touch it.

"Journaling..." She replies shortly, the sound of her erratic writing fills in the silence that follows after.

"Well I wanna journal..." I say, sitting back on my butt with a pout. It's no fair she gets to have her journal all to herself, maybe I want to have a secret book too! At least I have mochi... I caress the soggy fluffy cat toy next to me, our house doesn't do the best job of keeping rain out sadly.

"Ely.." She pauses to shut her journal and place it in a yellow plastic bag beside her. "You can't read or write yet..." She looks a bit disappointed for a sec before smiling at me. "I'm going to enroll you in school soon, I promise... I just need to make a bit of money is all." She murmurs before lying back onto her pallet. "You'll love it, you'll make friends and everything!" She says encouragingly.

"Will you be there?" I trace the lining of the floor, poking and prodding at it as water seeps through the bottom. "No... I won't." She replies with a sigh. "Why don't you lay down and get some rest?"

"This house sucks big sis! It's so wet and it smells funny here, I wanna go back home!" I yell frustrated, squeezing water from Mochi's plush head.

"I'm sorry Ely... I know I haven't done everything I promised. I'm going to make it up to you, just be patient." Her voice is even quieter now, Mei's been so mousy since we left the rice fields.

"It's been so long... I want my stories and I want our old kitchen and I our backyard again! There's no flowers in the city!"

Big sis lets out a deep sigh and rolls away from me. "I'm sorry.." Her voice trails off a bit into the ambient rain. I poke her after a bit and notice she's fallen asleep, she must be exhausted. I feel bad for yelling at Mei like that... I just hate all the water and this house is so tiny, back in the rice fields we had so much space to run and play and cook! But if big sis says she has a plan then I believe in her!

--- 7 Years Later ---

"Ely! Ely!" Mei's voice gets closer as fast footfalls accompany her excited yelling. She unzips the front door and stares in with a big smile on her face. "Get your stuff, I have something to show you!" She reaches in and snatches up a few bags then helps me out. I reach in and grab Mochi before turning to face Mei. "What are you showing me?" I ask curiously. She resists the urge to smile wider, I haven't seen big sis this excited about something since that time she found free steak samples from one of the food vendors in town... Not that I blame her, I was also pretty excited.

"It's a surprise." She exclaims, with extra emphasis on 'surprise'. I peer up at her as she kneels down to adjust my ribbons, tightening them carefully and patting down my hair. "Alright lets go!" She says, grabbing my hand and hastily leading me through the trees and into one of the alleyways outside the city.

We wander through thin corridors between building and across bustling streets for what feels like forever till I finally can't continue anymore. "My feet hurt big sis!" I whine, sitting down on the curb. A stray cat nearby leaps from a rooftop onto a dumpster cover, echoing loudly down the alley. Mei stops with me for a sec to catch her breath before speaking. "Just a bit further... I'll carry you then!" She plucks me up from the ground and continues down the path. Big sis isn't much bigger or older than me but all the work she did on the farm must've given her big muscles! After a while we come across a part of the city I'd never been in before, it's not as big and pretty as the places we usually visit. She puts me down and leads me through the streets to a tall thin building that looks like it's been smushed between two bigger and nicer ones beside it. "Come on!" She grabs my hand firmly and opens the door, pulling me inside with her. Upon entering, an empty counter stands across from us, to the left is a big potted plant with wilting leaves, and in the far corner is a small fish tank with only a few goldfish inside. "It feels like the grocery store." I say, taking notice of how cool it is in here.

"That's the A/C silly, and we're not at the grocery store." Mei says, her chest still rising and falling from the trip here. I can tell she's running off pure excitement and adrenaline.

"Well where are we?" I ask, looking around the room a bit more to inspect anything I hadn't already seen at first glance.

"We're home."

I tilt my head at her and look back at the door we came in from. "But what about-"

She kneels down in front of me and turns my head to face hers. "Who cares! There's a really nice man who said he'd let us stay if I work for him here. And it beats living in a tent, right?" She stands up again and leads me up a stair case to the right of the room. "Just down here." Through the hallway she opens a door at the very end, inside is a big empty room with a ceiling fan and a window that looks out at a brick wall, It's no starry sky view but she's right... It does beat living in a tent.

"So what do you think?" She asks, I turn away from the window, still resting my hand on the window sill. Her face shows that everything is resting on my next answer, is this what Mei has been working so hard for these past months?

"I love it big sis!" I rush to give her a big hug which she returns. "Now when you meet Mr. Sato, be sure to be polite and thank him lots okay! He's doing us a big favor y'know?" I nod my head with a smile and she ruffles my hair a bit before continuing. "It's a bit barren now but we'll get some tatami mats in here... maybe a couple dressers... A tv!"

I look up at her confused, "A tv?"

Mei lets out a chuckle and smiles at me. "Oh you'll make me feel bad if you keep saying this stuff, especially around others... Though it may make them pity us a bit more." She looks away in deep thought then turns to leave. "Get comfy Ely, things are finally gonna start getting a bit better around here."