Chapter 36

Slumped in Mika’s bed, covered by a blanket, Silva watched her friend hover around it. She wasn’t angry, not really… Maybe a little. But she was also exhausted. The weakness still lingered in her body and Silva knew full well, that with Mika’s help getting over it would not be hard.

That said Silva was annoyed. Not angry.

“… could have waked me up… Look at the result… Not thinking at all… Stupid...” Silva muttered, not bothering to be too discrete making sure that Mika heard it. She still could not believe that her friends… That Mika… Maybe not that hard to believe, in the end.

Still, that did not excuse them. Silva didn’t blame Steven too much as he probably thought all of this was hilarious, but still, he had gone too far this time. And Mika…

Silva continued to follow her friends movements. Mika was now fidgeting in place, squeezing her hands together. She really looked like she was sorry.

“… then don’t do it in the first place.” Silva continued to passive-aggressively jab at her friend.

The attempts to ventilate out the foul air from the room had left it quite chilly. Even with the green cardigan over the blue tank top, sweat pants, knitted socks and the blanket over her, she felt the cold seep into her bones.

“You are still not fully recovered. I still need to heel you more…” Mika tried to reason. Silva could tell, from the light shivers, that her friend was feeling the cold as well. “We have to fix you up more before my parents get back.”

Mika, of course, was not wrong. When Silva had regained her conciseness, in the heat of the moment, she had slapped her friend and that had cost her dearly. The only bright part about her vomiting for the second time this day was that she was in the bathtub and it was easier to clean.

Remembering how she had sullied her friend’s house, Silva felt depressed. The day had been one disaster after another. The horror of the Tainted Doll, the poor creature that the Doll had sucked dry, the fact that it could sense her… The chase, the people in that village… Silva did not think that the Doll would let them live.

These things however felt distant and alien to her. As if she had gone through a nightmare that had no impact on her daily life. And as she normally did with nightmares Silva tried to not think about it. At least for now. One thing, though, was made clear without a doubt they had to get stronger. She had to get stronger.

Putting that aside, right now Silva had a different kind of problems to deal with. For starters, she once again hadn’t closed her eyes during the teleportation. Then she had bled and vomited all over Mika’s rooms floor.

And that not have been the end. When Mika had tried to take care of her, as misguided as she was in her methods, Silva had slapped her. She did not doubt that her friend had only wanted what’s best for her but letting Mika see her body was not something she was ready for.

It was already bad enough that she had once stayed over and revealed herself too much back then. It was a wonder that Mika still liked her after that day. And now this…

At least, from what her friends had explained, while she was out Aramaleo had confirmed that their first job was done. It did make Silva wonder how many more they would have to do before they were even with that mysterious Employer. There was also the moral quandary to consider. Could they just leave others unprotected from the supernatural side of the world?

Especially now, when strange happenings were growing in number. And if they did help people, would they not get exposed? Would they have to wear masks? Silva did not want to wear colourful spandex and a mask. Though, from a small group they had, she probably had to least worry about this aspect of the future.

“Silva?” Mika’s questioning tone roused Silva from her trail of thought.

Silva knew, that she was being petty. There was no real harm done, so she should just get over it and apologize for her behaviour.

“Sorry… For this…” Silva gesticulated at the floor. Realizing that she was still under the blanket she repeated the gesture once more after freeing her arm. “And for hitting you.”

“No, it was my fault. I… I just didn’t want to wake you up. You were in such a bad shape… Still are.” Mika’s worried voice made Silva squirm.

“Do you-… Do you have enough strength left? I know you healed Steven before he left.”

“I have recovered somewhat. I won’t go overboard. Can I?”

For a moment Silva was not sure what Mika was asking for but then she raised a corner of the blanket. It was large enough for the two of them and the room was cold.

The sudden change surprised Mika. Silva observed her friends expressions change several times before she jumped in. Mika crawled right beside Silva who scooted sideways to give Mika more room.

Awkwardly Silva let her friend join her under the blanket. Despite the cold air that had come with Mika Silva now felt warmer. Even with the gap, she had tried to keep between their bodies she could feel Mika’s warmth calming her.

“How long till your parents get back?” Silva asked. Her traitorous heart was beating a bit too much and she tried to drown the noise out with her voice.

“Soon,” Mika replied. “We barely made it. Did you text your dad that you’ll be running late?”

“Yea…” It was lucky that her phone had not been damaged in the frantic chase.

“Silva?”

“Yes?”

“Can I hug you?”

Silva was not sure that it was a good idea, but when she glanced at Mika’s face she saw a single tear sliding down her cheek and all of the objections evaporated from her head.

Instead of answering Silva was first one to move. She slowly changed her pose bringing her knees together and facing Mika. After a moment of hesitation, she put her hands around Mika’s waist and pulled her friend closer.

Silva’s heart almost broke when Mika broke into sobs. She felt her shoulder getting wet and all she could do was awkwardly pet Mika’s back while trying to calm her down.

"It's okay, we are safe. Everything is going to be all right. I am here." Silva whispered in Mika’s ear. She was not sure what to say and every line she managed to speak felt cheesy and unsuitable. Still, she did her best to be there for Mika.

“I… I almost lost you, Silva…” Mika kept crying. “I was so scared. When you… When I saw… I was so scared.”

Mika’s hands found their way around Silva. Now they were even closer and Silva painfully felt Mika’s laboured breathing.

At one point Silva felt her own eyes tear up. It felt painful. She wanted to say something more. Something that would return the smile in her friend’s face. And she couldn’t.

Silva settled her head on Mika’s shoulder and for once she let her own emotions out. She wanted to speak, but now, when the dam had been broken, tears gushed and drowned out any words or coherent thoughts.

When the healing energy entered her body Silva realized that at some point Mika had calmed down somewhat. They were still hugging and she still felt Mika’s wet cheek on her neck. There were no doubts that her friend was still crying, only silently now.

The only reason Silva had not realized it sooner was her own unrestrained and disjointed words. She remembered herself trying to apologize. To do better. To be there for Mika and many other things that came out as only pure emotions.

Embarrassed Silva kept her friend in hands. The energy entering her body helped. It circulated around her empty and tired body. This blessing filled out the desolate corners of her being, it refreshed the overspent muscles and melted into her heart. Soon Silva’s breathing calmed down and sleep brought her to its domain.

When Silva woke up she found her head resting in Mika’s lap. The room was dark and the only light came from the window. When she looked up she realized that Mika was sleeping. A droll slowly extended from the corner of her mouth with strands of hair stuck all over her face.

Silva felt at peace. She snuggled in Mika’s lap and pulled the blanket up to cover her friend more. Mika turned her head reacting to Silva’s careful movements but did not wake up.

After making sure that Mika was fully covered Silva closed her eyes. It was rare that she felt so comfortable and she did not want to waste this moment. She took a deep breath and grabbed Mika’s hand under the blanket.

Now well-rested Silva did not feel like sleeping, but her heart still demanded more healing and she intended to give it what it wanted.

Right now Silva was still not ready to do anything more. She was aware that Mika had been slowly becoming more and more than just a friend.

However, Silva also did not know where she wanted to take their relationships. She was unsure of what she felt was romantic love. Were their relationships not similar to those between sisters? That too was love. Silva did not have a sister, but she imagined that what she felt now would be similar to what she would feel for a sibling.

After pondering the problem Silva came to a conclusion that it came down to if she wanted to kiss Mika or not.

For a moment Silva peeked at Mika’s lips. The droll was now almost down to the chin. At the moment the beautiful girl looked goofy and vulnerable. Her lips were red and inviting.

Silva’s cheeks slowly gained a red tone and she squeezed Mika’s hand tighter. She took another couple of deep breaths to calm down, but the faint body aroma, that she had ignored before came to the forefront.

This fragrance messed with her head even more and the, not so surprising, conclusion was that she would not mind kissing Mika.

A sigh escaped Silva’s lips. Being aware of her own desires was supposed to make things easier, but she sure did not feel like being closer to any solution to knot inside her.

Silva kept thinking, her mind spinning in circles. Sometimes she recalled today’s earlier events, but soon, to her relief, she returned to her, supposed, love life.

When turning her head for the umpteen time to look at Mika’s face Silva noticed that her friend was starting to stir. Soon Mika’s eyes opened and after blinking the sleep out she returned Silva’s gaze and started to gently smile.

“Morning!” Mika quietly whispered.

For a moment Silva lost her ability to speak, and when it returned…

“You have droll on your chin.” Silva pointed out.

“Uh, oh, sorry!” Mika hurried to clean her face with a sleeve.

“And morning…” Silva returned belatedly. She had messed up.

“Um, I hope you didn’t mind that me laying you down this way. It was easier, um, to heal…” Mika explained.

“No, it’s fine.” Silva shook her head earning a giggle from Mika. “How about your parents?”

“They already came and went. They are visiting their friends now. Won’t be back for another couple of hours.” Mika replied after checking time. “You are fine now, so, if you have to leave, then… But! We could watch a movie or something…”

It was time for her to get back home, but after a minute of consideration, she decided that a movie did sound nice. And if she played her cards right Mika would even make something for them to eat.

"Only if you make something tasty."

Mika's face bloomed into a smile.