16 - Fermentation

I was stunned. All that work, all that buildup, all that hope, dashed in an instant. Another cruel joke made by the goddess? I was furious.

Kana tried to comfort me and rubbed my back. I was still mad but it definitely helped. We returned defeated to the shop and ran into Pinnea, recounting our day's tale.

"Well of course you wouldn't understand him! He speaks his own language, he's never had to talk to you before! Silly darling. You can't just expect someone from a foreign country to understand you right away if you just -plop!- right on their doorstep, could you? Of course not! Of course not! My goodness!"

She roared her trademark laugh.

"Who knows, maybe you just need to give him some time!" 

She winked and opened the door to her business, where we could instantly hear moaning and other concerning sounds. Toast started barking, and I guessed he was thinking they were in pain. I'd know if telepathy worked!

"My my my, always so busy my girls are! And in the middle of the day no less! Busy busy busy!"

She roared in laughter again and shut the door behind her.

We didn't see Pinnea very often but our interactions were usually like this. I suspected she was wise beyond her years for some reason. 

Kana and I entered our own shop, desolate as always, and found Maja scribbling notes away in a book. She'd been very dedicated since our incident with the Moroza girl, and after her seeing Toast heal that monster something in me felt it was time to tell her about us. She'd had so many questions about Toast anyways, the guilt of hiding things from her was becoming too much after how close we'd gotten.

We closed the shop and assembled in my cramped room, and Kana made some tea. Toast had wiggled himself under the bed where he kept his toys hidden, and we could hear him shaking one to death. I sat on top of the bed and addressed her frankly, and spent the next couple hours telling her our story, and answering the myriad of questions it brought. Kana jumped in a few times with questions of her own. I particularly enjoyed talking about pop culture and media because Kana makes the most adorable face when she's excited, or confused, or mad, or-

She's always too cute!

When things began to wind down, and we could hear muffled sleeping sounds from under the bed, Maja got a tense look and her ears flattened as she spoke in a hushed voice.

"We don't keep secrets."

I wasn't sure what she meant until it was too late.

"Kana, the girl we found was a Moroza. I'm so very sorry that we kept it from you. We just weren't sure if-"

"Maja."

I interrupted her. I knew why she wanted to be honest. Maja and Kana were very close, almost like an older and younger sister. But Kana had grown a cold and blank expression that troubled me. 

"Kana, are you okay?"

She didn't respond. She sat quietly, unmoving, unblinking. Maja reached her hand out to touch Kana's shoulders when she spoke, just above a whisper, and we had to ask her to repeat herself. We didn't expect her to reply in a shriek.

"I HAVE TO TELL HIM."

"Tell who Kana? The old man? Why?"

"He deserves to know that he's living with a monster!"

Fury grew across her face. She pushed herself away from the table and bolted out of the room. Toast scrambled out from under the bed and pursued her.

We chased after them into the streets, Maja called out to Kana's back.

"Kana! Wait! We don't even know where that man lives!"

She continued looking down alleys, frantically searching for an old man she didn't know the appearance of. Running herself ragged as Toast nipped at her dress. We ran all through the North District, and approached the West. I called out in a desperate hope.

"He told me they've been together for over a year! Maybe it's fine!"

She slowed, then stopped. Toast had sunk his teeth into the hem of her skirt and was tugging playfully. Kana turned back to us with tears streaming down her face. She quietly crouched and picked up Toast, who began licking her cheeks.

"It won't be fine. It can't be fine. Because then that would mean-"

She broke down. She collapsed in the road with Toast in her arms, and wept like a child. Maja heaved and caught her breath before kneeling beside her and pulling her into a loving embrace.

Curious passersby gave us strange looks, and I did what I could to block their field of view from looking upon my angel's plight, or asked them to move on.

After some time we had coaxed Kana back to her room where she could lie down. Her eyes were puffy and swollen, and her cheeks were tinted a pink-scarlet colour that almost matched her hair. We offered to give her space, but she shook her head and pulled her blanket up over her mouth.

"Please don't leave."

Maja smiled and leaned in to give her a kiss on the forehead.

"Of course we won't."

Now isn't the time to be jealous!

Brushing her hair from her eyes, Maja insisted that in exchange for our company, we needed to know what was going on. Kana looked fearful, then downtrodden. 

"If I tell you..... If I tell you, you might leave me."

She darted her gaze between us, and we both assured her that would never happen. She pulled the cover over her head, took a deep breath, and poked her eyes out again. We settled in for her story.

"When I was little, I had a mama and papa like everyone else. I loved them so very much, and they loved me more. My mama had hair like mine, and my papa had eyes like mine, and we always had so much fun together. My mama always told me she worked so hard to get me, and that I was her precious treasure. She would protect me always. Whenever she said that, she would hold one of my cheeks in her hand, and kiss the other, and squish my face reeeeeeeaally tightly. I would do it back and tell her I'd protect her too."

Kana's eyes began to well up again.

"And with Papa, he would always ruffle my hair, and I'd yell 'you're going to mess up my hair!', and pretend to be angry, and he'd respond with 'It's already messed up!', and we'd laugh."

A tear rolled over her nose, across her cheek, and onto the pillow.

"But then one day, they came home from working... and they were different. They stopped talking to me, and I didn't understand why. I thought I had been bad. I tried everything to get them to talk to me, and they just looked at me. They looked at me with blank eyes, like....like they didn't love me anymore."

More tears started to fall, and all I wanted to do was hold her.

"I spent a week trying to make up for being bad. I did all the chores because they had stopped doing them. I made them food that they gobbled up but never thanked me for. I tried..."

Her voice cracked.

"I tried to kiss my mama on the cheek, but she wouldn't do it back! I took my papa's hand and put it on my head but he just pulled it away!"

Toast, who had been patiently laying near Kana's head, got up and burrowed under her blanket. She curled up more.

"The other villagers had noticed things too. Mama and Papa had stopped coming to work. They didn't visit the neighbours like they used to, and they didn't answer the door when somebody knocked. Eventually they started saying awful things about them. That they were possessed. That they were evil spirits. That they were.... Moroza."

Her eyes turned angry and I felt myself repressing a heavy realization.

"One night I got up to drink water, and I saw my mama's bed empty, except there was a lump under her blanket. When I went to check, it turned back into my mama and stared at me, and reached out and... touched my cheek. I started to hate them. The parents I'd loved so much were gone, and these imposters had come into our home. They made my memories dirty, and I started to think terrible things, that they had killed my mama and papa to take their place. Just for food, or who knows why. My mama and papa were gone and these -monsters- were pretending to be them. I got angry."

Kana closed her eyes.

"I told the village that there were monsters in my house. The rumours were already in everyone's ears, so they believed me and got angry too. A few of them told a few more, and soon the whole village was in front of my house, with weapons and torches. I think somebody knocked on the door to check, but of course they didn't answer. Everyone wanted to kill them before they killed us. Then someone threw a torch, and my house caught fire. The villagers made sure they didn't escape, and I heard an awful shrieking sound, and watched my home burn."

Kana ended the story just like that. We sat in silence for a moment until Maja kissed Kana again, and looked directly in her eyes.

"We love you very much. I'm so sorry that happened to you. Please know that no matter what, you are precious to us, and we will not leave you." 

I quietly agreed, and we let Kana settle in to sleep. Maja excused herself, and as I was about to do the same a small voice behind me called out.

"Mitsuta? Can you please stay?"

I was confused and delighted and sad all at the same time, but I managed to reply with a simple;

"Sure."

I sat next to her bed, where she had drawn the covers over her head again, and a hand jutted out from underneath. Her muffled tiny voice squeaked.

"Just until I fall asleep?"

I realized what she was asking and blushed, feeling my chest tighten.

I took her delicate hand in mine, and sat there the whole night.