In Charlotte's Eyes

ONE: [P] Lullaby Fades In

The night came and went. The call of a sea bird outside woke Parker up from his slumber. Groggy, he groaned and sat up in his bed, hands behind him for support. Removing his eye mask, he looked to his left, at the opposite bed. Peni wasn't there. He looked around the room and noticed that the door to the balcony was open. He concluded that that's where his sister was.

With a drawn out sigh, he turned and stood himself up. He trudged to the balcony, the sun shining on his body with warmth. Peni was sitting in one of the two chairs, staring out. When he poked his head through the door, she brought her eyes to him. She was grinning. “Good morning, Parker.”

He smiled, too, closing his eyes. “Good morning.” He tilted back into their cabin.

Peni jumped out of her seat, following him. “Ready for another fun day, huh?”

Parker snickered, amused by how pumped up she seemed. “Once I get up to speed, hell yeah.”

She moved past him to the front door, leaning on it with a hand on the handle. “Ready when you are.”

“One sec.” He grabbed the leftover energy drink he had from yesterday and downed the bit that was left. “Okay.” He nodded. “I’m ready.”

“Great!” She turned the knob open. “We’ve gotta make the most of this day and do as much as possible!”

He chuckled. “Right, right.”

The two stepped out together. When Parker stepped out, their neighbor's door also swung open. The same one he had met yesterday. Well, met was an overstatement. Peni had already turned the opposite direction.

When the woman stepped out herself, she made eye contact with him again. Feeling a bit frozen, Parker awkwardly stared for a second. He felt obligated to say something. He smiled nervously, like he had the morning before. “Good morning.” He snickered, unnerved. “Again.” He waved.

Peni stopped and turned around, noticing their neighbor. The woman looked from Parker, to Peni, then back to Parker. She hummed, seemingly amused. A small smile came to her. “Good morning. Have a good day.”

“Thank you. You too.” The exchange ended, and she walked the opposite direction. Parker turned around and looked down at his sister. “Alright, let's go.”

“Uhh, okay..?” At first they didn’t address the interaction. But after a few moments, Peni quietly questioned, “Who was that?”

“I dunno.” He casually replied. “Just our neighbor.”

“You said “again”. This isn't the first time you've met her.” She squinted her eyes, trying to piece together a puzzle in her head.

He chuckled awkwardly. “I met her yesterday morning, while I was waiting for you outside.”

“What's her name?”

He shrugged. “Dunno.”

“Well-..” Peni hummed, a puzzled frown on her face.

“I said good morning to her yesterday. That was all.” He explained, hoping that would make Peni understand the situation. He didn't really get why she seemed hung up about their neighbor, anyway.

Peni seemed like she was going to say something, but she opted out. “Hm.” She crossed her arms instead.

The sunlight shone on them. “...”

“...”

“You know, she kind of looks like-”

“Yeah.” She interrupted swiftly. “But enough about that.” She cheerfully beamed. “Let's go out and have some fun!”

Parker smiled lopsidedly. “Yeah.”