Sorrow's Promise

Chapter 52

It was some time later when I woke up lying on a cushy sofa in the nicest living room I had ever seen. A kind-faced woman with light brown hair and dark-rimmed glasses was kneeling on the floor next to me.

"It's alright, sweetie," she smiled when she saw me glancing around nervously. "I'm Kairi's mom. You're at my house."

I had no memory whatsoever of making it here. My brain felt like it was in a fog, and when I first tried to speak, no words would come out. "What...happened?" I finally was able to rasp.

"You fainted, and your friends brought you here." My friends...oh yeah, I was with Donald, Goofy, and the King. Before I could ask any more questions, Kairi's mom held out a bottle that was in her hand and offered me the straw. "Here, take a drink. This should help you perk up a little. Then we'll get you to the table and get you some real food."

I wasn't going to argue with her about getting some kind of sustenance into my body. Taking a sip of the fruity drink, I craned my neck to try to take in all of my surroundings. "Where's Kairi?"

"Just in the next room, along with your friends. They're eating some breakfast." She held up the bottle again. "Drink some more."

She was right, the drink did help a little. After several minutes of sipping, I was feeling a little more awake, and was eventually able to sit up with the help of Kairi's mom. "Take it slowly, sweetie," she urged. "Don't push yourself."

My head swam slightly at the sudden movement, but calmed after a few seconds. I was just about to tell her that I was feeling a bit better when a deep male voice spoke from behind her. "Do you need anything, hon?"

I felt like my heart was going to leap right out of my chest. Kairi's mom and the man were carrying on some kind of conversation, but I was too terrified by the sudden intrusion of this stranger to hear. Who was he? What did he want? Tucking my knees up under my chin, I sank back into the couch cushions as far as I could go. When he began to walk towards the couch where I was sitting, my mouth went dry and I found myself shaking all over.

I was so focused on the man that I barely noticed Kairi's mom dropping back down to my level, her eyebrows knitted together with concern. She touched my arm, and I nearly jumped out of my skin.

"It's okay, sweetie. This is Kairi's dad. He's not going to hurt you."

Kairi's dad. Of course, that made sense. Kairi did say that she had both a mom and a dad. None of that made me feel any better, though, and the man leaving the room didn't really help much, either. I didn't really know these people at all, so how was I supposed to know whether I could trust them? What if my friends weren't really in the other room? What if this was all a trick, and I was all alone again?

My wild, racing thoughts were interrupted when a familiar figure strode through the doorway. "Hiya, Mel," Goofy called. "Glad to see you're awake. We've been eatin' breakfast, and it was real good, a-hyuck."

I had never been so happy to see that dog in my life. Despite my weak protests, he carried me like a baby to the dining room where everyone else was already finishing up breakfast. I kept a wary eye on Kairi's dad, but he stayed at a distance, and seeing all the smiling faces set me immediately more at ease.

I cried when they set a steaming plate of eggs, bacon, and pancakes in front of me, then cried again when I could only eat a few bites of the eggs before starting to feel nauseous. Everyone assured me that it was normal, and that I wasn't hurting anyone's feelings. Then Kairi's mom insisted that I be carried upstairs to one of their guest rooms, and I cried some more while she basically dressed me like I was a doll in a set of Kairi's pajamas. I knew she had to feel awkward about it all, as did I, but she was very considerate and could obviously tell that I didn't have the strength to do it myself. It was partially her kindness that caused the tears to fall.