Celeste waved from the driveway as Daniel pulled away. He told her he would call her tonight after she finished dinner with her father. At least something had gone right today. She had been calm on the outside, but she was seething beneath. How could John embarrass her like this? He could have just told her he wasn’t interested anymore and leave her alone. Why did he even go to all the trouble of proposing to her? The whole thing was screwed up. The more she thought about it, the more it enraged her. Did he think I couldn’t handle the truth of him falling for another woman? Well, it was over and done with. As much as it was going to hurt, she needed to pull herself together and be there for Daddy tonight. She knew how upset he would be. She walked around the bend and froze.

Anna smiled from the front door and gave a half-hearted wave. Celeste dropped her keys and stared dumbly, unsure of what to say or do.

“Hey,” Anna said.

Celeste ran to her and swept her up in a hug. Sobs racked her body. She needed to feel something real. To the nine hells with what happened between them, she missed her best friend. Anna returned her hug, squeezing her gently. Celeste sputtered and finally found her voice, “I’m sorry, whatever I did, I’m sorry─” “Oh no, no, honey─ it wasn’t your fault.” Anna pulled herself away and smiled shyly. “It was all mine, I’m sorry.” “I was so worried about you, and Gabe barely told me anything,” Celeste rambled. Anna looked away and her lower lip quivered as she briskly rubbed her hands together. Celeste looked down realizing that she was in a thin hoodie and jeans. Celeste grabbed Anna’s hands and warmed them with her own, “Your hands are like ice,” she exclaimed. “I am so sorry, let’s go inside, let me grab my keys,” Celeste said.

They removed their shoes and walked up the stairs to the living area. They slipped into the house shoes by the stairway and crossed the living room to the couch. She sat Anna down and then walked to the back returning with a blanket. She draped it around Anna’s thin shoulders and sat next to her. She had lost weight since the last time Celeste had seen her. She looked at Anna in the light and gasped. Her skin was pale and sickly. It looked as if she hadn’t seen the light of day for quite some time. Anna was dressed in a simple dark grey hoodie with skinny jeans and high tops. A black patch with a purple kitty face stitched on it was crossed over her right eye. Celeste beamed inwardly. At least some things hadn’t changed. “Anna, are you OK?” she asked, resting her hand on Anna’s leg. “I mean, I know that you weren’t OK but I mean are you OK now?”

Anna shook her head and placed her hand over Celeste’s. “I had to come see you, just so, you know…you didn’t think that I hated you.” Anna looked at the ground, finding it hard to meet Celeste’s gaze. She swallowed a few times before continuing, “I mean, I did hate you for a while. But, it was for the wrong reason.” Celeste felt shocked. “What did I do, Anna? Whatever it is, I never meant to hurt you.” Anna shook her head and smiled. It wasn’t the same smile like before, there was something sad about it. Something mature. “You hurt me, but you didn’t.” Celeste stared at her friend feeling extremely confused and hurt. Why would Anna actually believe that she would do something like that to her? She was stunned into silence, unable to hide her shock. “Please, believe me. I never did─” she struggled to say the words, “that to you. I would never─” “Listen,” Anna cut her off, “there is something you need to know. I don’t have much time, so I need you to really listen, OK?” Celeste inclined her head, “Of course, but you’re really starting to worry me. I haven’t heard from you in so long, I thought─” “I don’t have time for this, listen,” Anna hissed. Celeste quieted, she had never seen Anna so intense before. Things had changed more than she realized in the two years they had not spoken. The door chime went off and Celeste jumped looking down the staircase to the front door. “Shit,” Anna was on her feet in seconds and ran toward the back doors to the balcony. “Anna, wait. What is going on? Where are you going?” Anna turned toward her, her face grim. “We’ll talk later, but right now you cannot trust anyone, do you understand me? No one. Promise me, Celeste.” She nodded, more confused than ever. “Okay, but Anna, what in the blue hell?” her words died before reaching her lips as Anna pulled the doors open and leaped from her balcony. She stared from the living room and then down to the ground where the blanket had been tossed aside. Her eye caught something glittering on the floor and she bent down and picked it up.

Four Years Ago - Continued

“Hey, you OK?” Anna’s voice floated over Celeste’s head as she blinked rapidly into focus. She looked around, realizing that she was in Anna’s jeep. John was crouched next to her holding her hand. She glanced down and snatched her hand away, angry and embarrassed. His arms went up in surrender and he cracked a slight smile. “Sorry, damn. I just wanted to make sure you were still alive. You fell pretty hard, and your hands are like mini refrigerators.” She crossed her hands over her chest and sulked.

This was the last time she did anything like this, she was swearing off clubs for a while. Nope. Now that she thought about it, more like, indefinitely. Celeste knew she shouldn’t have let Anna talk her into it. She turned to Anna, her eyes pleading silently. “Can we go home? I just want to go.” Anna looked to John, “I think she’s right. If Scott knew we were here, he’d seriously spaz.” John backed away from the jeep and nodded as Celeste pulled the door shut. “Sure, no prob. You got my number if you need anything.” Anna inclined her head and waved at him. Celeste was so embarrassed she couldn’t stand it. She could tell he was looking at her, but she trained her eyes on the side mirror instead. The jeep roared to life and they peeled out of the parking lot.

They kept a steady pace down the road and Celeste relaxed, watching the dashed white lines blur past the passenger side. Anna hooked her phone up to the car and turned up the music. They were halfway home, when Celeste turned the volume down and looked over to her friend. “Anna?” she looked at Anna’s face and white knuckles as she gripped the steering wheel. Celeste reached out and grasped her hand. “Tell me what happened. Ever since the club, you’ve been hiding what you saw.” Anna flicked her gaze to Celeste, then out the driver’s side window. “I don’t know what I saw, okay? It was dark.” Celeste didn’t buy it, not for one second.

“We’ve been friends now for how long? Come on, lady.” Anna sighed and exited the highway. They turned down Main Street and made a left. She knew exactly where Anna was headed. They pulled into the parking lot and finally stopped. “Let’s just grab some boba and hang out, ‘k?” Anna’s voice sounded strained but she turned toward Celeste and smiled. She messed up in her attempt to hide her fear and a single tear fell down her face. Celeste snapped, “shyah suh wo la,” she shook her friends arm and started sobbing, “Anna, bàitu?” she begged. Anna looked over quietly to Celeste’s outburst in Mandarin and plea to hear the truth. She sighed and her arms dropped from the steering wheel.

Anna’s voice was barely a whisper over the passing cars that sped down the highway, “Wo hai pa.” Celeste gaped at Anna’s confession and wrapped her arms around her. Anna cried as she leaned into Celeste’s arms and they sat there for several moments, just holding one another. She had never heard Anna admit to being scared, never in all of their years as friends together. “Please, Anna. Tell me what you saw? I need to know.” Anna swiped at her eyes and gently pushed Celeste away. “You’re going to think that I’m insane,” Anna said. Celeste went to say something, but Anna cut her off. “I know you are going to ask anyway, but I just want to say that I did take my eyes off of my drink for, like, a minute, so some asshole could have slipped something in my drink for all I know,”

“Anna─”

“And I know I couldn’t have seen what I did, because that doesn’t make any sense, how could it have? You floating there, a foot off of the ground?”

“Anna,” she was more insistent, trying to grab the rambling girl’s attention as she grasped at her hand. Anna snatched it away from her and continued, “and your eyes, Celeste, your eyes weren’t right. They were gold. Not yellow, but pure, liquid gold,” her eyes hollowed as she stared out of the passenger side window behind Celeste.

Her blood ran cold as she heard her friend describe in detail what she had most feared. She didn’t want to hear this, not really. She wanted Anna to laugh off her craziness, tell her it was all in her head and then they grabbed some boba tea and went home. She didn’t want to watch Anna shiver, or hold herself as she looked to her friend with fear and hatred. She didn’t want to be analyzed by those eyes─ those cold, hollow eyes. “and your body?”

“Anna” she yelled. The girl jumped and let out a small whimper as she stared doe-eyed at Celeste. “Would you listen to yourself? This is crazy.” Yes, she would convince Anna that it was nothing. Not just to her, but herself. “Come on, I’m your best friend. You’ve known me since we were kids.” Anna shook her head up and down hiccuping as she swiped at her face. “You said you took her eyes off your soda, right?” This made more sense, it wasn’t that Anna saw anything it was just drugs that’s all─ some guy’s plan to try to drug her and take advantage of her. She had heard these stories all the time. Celeste relaxed, calming herself. “Listen, it was probably just some skeezy guy that wanted to take advantage of you, OK?” Her stomach twisted as Anna broke into a grin and nodded. She was so quick to buy into Celeste’s story that it broke her heart. She knew the truth, she had known it for years. There was a reason why people walked the other way down the street, or shuddered when she was near. They sensed the evil that followed her─ that was a part of her. And now she was going to protect Anna, from ever knowing about it. She would carry this burden alone. She smiled and soothed her friend with little lies as they walked toward the warm glow of the café. The darkness was following her again, she needed to know how to control it, how to make it go away. She had done it as a child, and now she needed to do it again. She sent Anna to the front to order for her and said she was running to the bathroom. She ran inside and locked the door, her phone already in hand. She searched up the incantations and spells online that she had looked up while in Japan. It was time for another visit home.

* * *

Present Day

Celeste’s front door opened, and she stuffed what Anna dropped into her pocket. She looked down and saw her father peer around the door up at her. Her dark mood dissipated as she watched him break into a grin and stride up the stairs two at a time, “Hey there, old lady,” he called. She laughed and stuck her tongue out at him, “Ha-ha, very funny.” He chuckled, slipping off his shoes and swept her up in a big hug. She always felt so small when he did that. It was a good feeling.

“I have a surprise, darling daughter,” he boomed as they walked toward the stairs. “And what is that, father of mine?” Celeste chimed in. It was a game they had played since she was a girl, calling each other by their proper names. He grinned, patting her arm, “Well, now where is the fun in that?” His eyes scanned the room and he stopped on the open doors that led outside. “Enjoying the night air?” he asked, turning to her. You cannot trust anyone, do you understand me? No one. Promise me, Celeste. Anna’s words popped in her head and she paused, looking at her dad. Surely Anna hadn’t meant her father. She grinned and bobbed her head up and down. Her stomach clenched at the lie, but she managed to stay calm and look normal. He mirrored her smile and slipped into his shoes then descended to the bottom of the stairs.

“Alright, just be careful. I’ll be outside when you’re ready,” he called up as he closed the front door. At least he still kept his sunny disposition, especially on this day. It was a strange time of year for the both of them. It eased over the years, but she knew Mother’s death had hit him just as hard. She really hoped tonight could get better, especially after finding what she did at John’s apartment. She dismissed the thought and walked into her room. The box was exactly where Luci said it would be, and she pulled the lid off.

* * *

Scott paced by his car, trying hard not to go back into Celeste’s house. Don’t worry, she’ll come, he thought. Of course, it was more to just soothe himself than believe it. She had lied to him upstairs, he could tell by the change in her voice. In the consulting industry, you thrived on being able to pick up lies. And his BS meter was off the charts. He wasn’t sure what she had done, but it was odd that the doors were open and he couldn’t be sure, but he thought he saw her shove something in her pocket.

His phone went off and he reached into his pocket and looked at the screen. Luci’s picture popped up and he rolled his eyes. She was winking as she blew out a ‘smoking gun’─ which was her hand. “Luci, is there a reason why my picture of you has changed? How did you even?” “Totally swiped it at lunch, boss man. I just wanted to let you know that the flight was changed and you are ready to go whenever you like. Heard about your success with Yamamoto, we’ll celebrate when you get back.” He cracked a smile. “Thanks, Luce I owe you. How’s dinner next week sound?” There was silence on the other end, just enough to make him feel uncomfortable. “Sure,” she said at length, “I’d like that.” The click was friendlier than usual and his heart raced with excitement.

He heard the front door shut and he shoved the phone in his pocket and reached into the car. He pulled out the ikebana arrangement and smiled at the lily magnolias, sweet peas and the yuki-yanagi that spread out around the delicate pot. Yuki-yanagi, the snowy willow, was Celeste’s favorite, but they were a pain in a half to find, considering the time of year. They usually grew in Japan around March or April, luck was on his side, and he had found a mom-and-pop shop that still had some in Tsukaba City. He rose up and saw his daughter walk toward him. He gaped from the side of the car at the angel that graced his presence.

Her hair was pulled up into an elegant bun, and kanzashi were placed in the side, draping down the length of her face. White flower blossoms were pinned into her hair. The silver decorative combs that surrounded her bun were stunning. Red, white, and green flowers hung down from the large group of white blossoms and were adorned with bells. He remembered Kotone had told him the colors were used for a celebration, Luci had chosen well.

The bells made a soft jingle as she slowly made her way toward him. She wore a Meiji era kimono that was true to fall fashion with the bush clover design along the hem and sleeve front, and rose in color. The cushion, which was tell-tale of the era, was at the bottom of the hem and touched the white straps of her zori. The wooden sandals clanked musically as she shuffled toward him. It was one of Kotone’s kimono, the crest of Inoue on either side of her breasts. She reached him finally and he found his voice again, “You look absolutely lovely, Celeste.” She flushed a slight pink and looked down at his hands. He had almost forgotten the arrangement. Her eyes widened, “Are those yuki-yanagi?” she squealed, “How did you even find those this time of year?” He chuckled as she took it from him and walked back toward the house. “Let your old man have his secrets,” he joked. She grinned back at him and stepped into the house. Celeste returned a few minutes later and they got into his car and pulled out of the driveway.

* * *