The unwanted sleepover

The words he wrote on my notebook keep rewinding in my mind. The most disturbing part is I come to realize it is not the first time Marygold’s words have this effect on me. He always says these things that make me ponder and feel kind of helpless. Where does this unsettling ability come from?

     As I stand still, a faint purple light scans my head until having registered images from any angle of view.

     I know the director is right. That he barely knows anything concerning myself. I can’t remember having ever said anything about me to anyone. It is not that I have a secret to keep or that I do not trust others. It is merely… pointless.

“It is okay Miss Andersen. Please have a sit, we’ll make additional controls.” A researcher asks me.

     Breaking a peaceful atmosphere to utter words designed to draw the attention to myself… That seems like a nightmarish crime.

     I sit on the edge of a medical bed and let the researcher make his routine check, making sure that I am in perfect health after this afternoon’s test session. Since the incident with Tenchi, they have added more exams to leave nothing to chance. The remaining difficulty being that the side effects happen to trigger long after the inhalation, just like a landmine waiting to be stepped on.

     If Marygold doesn’t even ask for a precise fact he wants to know, how can I possibly find something to say? But if I do anything about it…

“Thank you Miss Andersen, you can go now.”

     I stand up and leave the room, joining the corridor. According to what said the researchers earlier today, they have almost obtained all the needed results. Which means our collaboration will soon be no longer required…

     If I do nothing about it…

My steps slow down to a stop and I raise my arms to press them along my stomach.

“That is odd… Why do I have a feeling of heaviness? My health state has just been checked…”

     …Will I have to leave?

***

This evening, though it is a bit early to go to sleep I lie down and snuggle up against my blanket.

“Exhausted?”

     Niji tilts his head to the side as I answer him shaking slightly my head. He stares at me before making a few steps on the sheets, taking one of my fingers in his beak.

“Come on! Play with me then.”

     I bend my finger and try to move it to free myself. The grip around my finger is not tight enough to hurt me but he doesn’t release his grip either.

     But I eventually give up, looking elsewhere. In direction of my notebook on the desk.

“…”

     Noticing my lack of resistance, Niji releases my finger.

“What are you thinking about, Aurora?”

     I mid-close my eyes.

“I have something to do…” I whisper.

“Mmh? Then… Do it?”

     Clearly not having a clue of what I am referring to, Niji gazes at me with an interrogative expression. As if noticing something, he leans in closer before adding.

“Wait. Aren’t your cheeks looking a bit rosier than usual?”

     Without answering the latter remark, I stand up and make my way in direction of the door, a pillow between my arms.

“Where are you going?” He follows my every step while the door opens. “Hey, girl! Where are you goddamn going in pyjamas?!”

     Though, the door already slides back behind me while I hasten my pace.

     My figure dressed in sea green pyjamas powdered with snowflakes soon disappears in the corridors of Amahara Corporation in a more or less straight trajectory.

     It only takes me a short time to reach the latest floor. My snowy hair swaying in the wind behind me, I soon catch sight of his silhouette. He is just leaving his office.

     A cushion flies in his direction, crashing against his face as he barely has the time to turn his eyes in my direction.

     While the director catches the pillow, revealing a dismayed expression, I stand still and point a finger in his direction. At least, in what seems to be his direction.

“Marygold. Do not even try to run away.”

“Miss… Andersen?” He frowns, taking a glance at my flushed cheeks, than at my pyjamas. “Are you drunk?”

     I slightly puff out my cheeks at his words.

“Wait…” Marygold muses. “No, I’m pretty sure you’re not the type to drink. In that case it’s probably…”

“Don’t call me this way. Use my first name.”

     Though I am still speaking in a low voice, my tone is almost complaining.

     For a brief moment, the director doesn’t answer.

“You… Well, well. Aurora, I suggest to accompany you to the healing department.”

     Softening his tone, he takes a few steps closer to me, and I can’t help but lower my head. I don’t want him to take me there. This is not the reason I have come to see him…

“I’m just concerned about you.”

     Once he is a step away, I can feel his hands against my shoulders. It is an oddly comforting pressure that makes me raise my head, so I can meet his gaze.

“I want to talk with you.”

     As I softly ask him, he half-opens his mouth, seeming to hesitate briefly.

“And what do you want to talk about?”

     I take a deep breath, feeling like if I don’t say it now I will ever be unable to say it.

“My parents died in a snow avalanche when I was eleven. They always told me we should do our best to keep the world as beautiful as it is. They also told me the director of Amahara Corporation had a son and that they would be happy if we married one another. Since their disappearance I have promised to comply to their will and be the worthy heiress of the Andersen family.” I pause, looking for my next words. I never said this much, and my thoughts are messy. “A robotic maid took care of me, and I stayed at our mansion with her. I have never spoken to anyone else until I came to Japan.”

     Is there anything else valuable I can tell him about me? Anything that… that will give him the feeling that he… That is strange, my mind is very fuzzy.

     Silent, Marygold doesn’t say a thing, simply listening to me. It is like the roles have been inverted for a short while.

     I feel I am about to doze off… but before it happens I have to say at least one more thing to him.

     Leaning in closer, I rest my hands against his chest so as not to fall, already fighting the urge to close my eyes.

“And I find your warmth comforting.”

     I softly whisper after having remembered it, gazing at Mr Leafeyorb until I can no longer resist and lower my head until leaning it against his chest.

“…”

     The director being at loss for words, he holds my gaze until I close my eyes. Soon, I can feel his arms securely wrapping my waist.

     We stay like that a long moment as I gradually fall asleep.

     I am under the impression that he whispers something, though I can’t make out his words anymore. Vaguely, I feel him lifting me up and carrying me to the safety of his office.