The story of Yafa

See you again

I fell backward into the chair. Astonishment couldn't even describe how I was feeling at that moment. My felt my stomach twist and turn as I looked at the concerned old lady. "D-Dead?" Leith nodded. She didn't seem to understand why I was so shocked and turned her attention back to cooking.

I sat in silence and stared ahead. If my friends died 300 years ago, then... Everyone...

My eyes stung and my vision became cloudy. "Oh dear, why are ye cryin'?" She asked. I'm... Crying? I lifted my hand up to my eyes and wiped away the tears. I knew she wouldn't believe me if I said that I was in John's hands a few days ago. As a turtle, nonetheless. 

Leith received no answer at my part, yet she looked at me with a compassionate look and continued to cook. By the time the food was ready, I had stopped crying. They... My friends... My family is gone and the only way to get them back is to find that tree again. But it was no longer where it was before...

"Help yourself!" The lady beamed as she put a steaming pot on the table and gave me cutlery. "Watch out! It's piping!" She warned me before she put the food on my plate. When I saw the food, I realized how hungry I had grown.

"This is delicious!" I exclaimed when I finished my fourth plate. Leith began to laugh. "My granddaughter thinks this is the best meal I can prepare!" I looked at her. "Well, she has good taste." Leight laughed again and nodded in agreement.

"What's she like?" I asked curiously. "Oh well, she's a beauty! Even if I say so myself. She is about the same age as you, 17 since last week. She is gentle and so caring. Sometimes, I think she forgets about herself a bit." Leith laughed. "But I think she'll like you. You'll like her too, of course! And I-"

The sound of a door being opened and closed again made the lady stop talking. "Talk about to devil." She said. "I'm home!" Someone yelled down the hall. "Grandma?" "We're in the kitchen!" Leith yelled back.

Just when I turned to the door of the corridor, a girl, not much older than myself, entered the kitchen. Her light purple hair was a complete mess. It looked as though she walking in windy weather conditions;

She didn't see me at first. "Grandma, my goodness, there are heavy winds today!" She whined as she tried to fix her hair. Leith nodded. "Yes, I had gone to the store. I almost flew off the road as I went. Such strange weather." 

The girl sniffed and shouted: "Oh! Grannie! Have you made your delicious stew?!"

Leith smiled. "But of course, half is already gone. This young man was lost." The girl looked at me now. She seemed surprised. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't see you there..." Now that she looked at me, I could take a closer look at her. She looked like someone I knew, but who?

I stood up and got to the same height as her. She was a head smaller than me so that she had to look up. Before she could say anything, I held out my hand so she could shake it. "Yafa." I quickly introduced myself. Even before she could say her own name, I had to gasp for air. I know who she damn looked like!

"Y/N?!"

The girl looked confused. "Who... Who is Y/N?" She asked hesitantly. Realizing that she was not Y/N, I apologized. "I'm so sorry, you just reminded me of... a good friend I knew way back when." I quickly said. The girl shrugged. "Happens more often, I think?"

"I'm Akia Laurence, pleasant to meet ya." She said, shaking my hand. "Akia... Don't hear that name every day, I suppose." I said doubtfully as I sat down. 

"Indeed," Began Leith. "But that's not her whole name. Akiandra is though. Her parents wanted to give her a special name that had Akia in it, but they didn't know what to add to it. So when Akia was born, Lance, her father, went to the town hall and gave her the name Akiandra. On the spot, just like that! When he returned to the hospital, her mother asked: "What name did you register?" to which Lance replied: "Akiandra." She sat in complete silence for a while before she whispered:

"Perfect."

I looked from Leith to Akia. "So... they didn't know her full name until the last minute?" I asked. "Nope," Akia answered with a laugh. She walked over to the chair that was across mine, sat down and began to scoop up food for herself.

"You know," Leith said. "Our family was a special one. There are more stories that you will no doubt hear in the coming weeks." Akia stopped mid-movement. "Why?" She asked, looking at her grandmother. "Well, since I think the boy is suffering from memory loss, I could hardly send him back to the streets. So, I thought... Since we have an extra room here... you know." Akia and I looked at each other in surprise. "Ah, it's like that." We said in unison.

"I assume that we will not part so soon."