Freja sits down on her bed and signals the girl to come sit next to her, patting gently by her side.
" I think it's time for a playdate! Let's call Ben and tell them to come meet us at the park."
"Eh? O-ok."
"Look sis I will do it."
Freja shakes her head in slight disappointment before grabbing Freya's phone and unlocking it. How many people have this girl's phone password!? Zero virtual safety. The little girl dials Ben's phone.
[RING. RING. RING.]
"Hello? Is this Grace again?"
"No it's Freja!"
"Oh hello Freja! Where's your sister?"
"She's a scaredy cat and was too scared to take the call herself so I stole her phone and called you myself!
"No I was not!"
The girl could be heard shouting faintly through the call.
"Oh? Haha you are so funny. Why are you calling me Freja?"
"I want to play with Becky and Hammy."
"Becky and Hammy? Oh you mean Rebecca and Hamel!"
"Yeah!"
"I see, well yeah we can arrange something. Are you free today?"
"Uhh…Yes! That's why I am calling silly!"
"True, true. So how about we meet in 3 hours? We can go to Black rose park."
"Sounds fun! Tell Becky and Hammy I said hi."
"Uh so can i speak to your sis-"
[BEEP!]
Freja hung up the call and smiled at Freya with a mischievous look.
"We are going to meet them at 3:30 PM at Black rose park!"
"Ok…I guess that's fine."
The girl is being dragged around by her younger, more energetic sister and even though it's tiring, she doesn't mind it all too much.
"Well Freja, I think it's time I go back to my room now. Let's meet downstairs to go to the park at 2:30 PM, okay?"
"Okay! See you later sis and don't think too much about Ben alright!?"
"Gah!"
"Hehe"
"I won't be! Goodbye."
"Goodbye sis…I love you."
"...I love you too."
The girl looks back at the little girl and sees her face begin to fill with complex emotions. She looks confused and distraught. It seems as though saying I love you to Amelia didn't feel the same. It isn't like she didn't mean it or that it meant less to her. She genuinely does love being around Amelia. However, both girls knew that it wasn't something either of them were familiar with. The girl closes the door shut and enters her room with a lot on her mind. She falls onto her bed and lays there in silence. It isn't long before she falls asleep once again.
[Amelia.]
'Hmm? What is that noise?'
The girl opens her eyes to be greeted with a void-like place that is pitch black. It is spacious and empty. There's nothing to see here other than herself.
[Amelia, isn't it time you stop this farce?]
"That voice again!"
The girl looks around to see where it is coming from, checking every angle for a hint.
[You won't find me, even if you keep on searching. After all, I am speaking to you from your heart.]
"Okay then what are you and why am I here?"
[I am you. Or rather your inner subconscious.]
"My subconscious?"
[Yes. To be more precise I am the you who was once stuck in the body with someone else.]
"With someone else? What could you possibly mean by that? That doesn't even sound real."
[Well it was. It was hell. I didn't know when it would be my turn or when I would leave and when I was forced away I was trapped here. I couldn't see, I couldn't hear. I couldn't feel. All I could do was exist here, stagnant and away from the world. Occasionally, I crawled out and woke up in the body of a girl called Amelia Christabel.]
"Are you saying you are some sort of alter ego of me?"
[You would be correct in thinking that, but you're wrong too. The Amelia you have become at heart, is not the one you are by nature.]
"For someone who is supposed to be me, you sure do speak in a lot of riddles."
[You are not who you think you are. Don't you feel the urges? The ones telling you to vent your anger and ruin, Amelia?]
"I urge you to shut up!"
[How rude can this girl be?]
"I don't know, aren't you supposed to be me? You would know just as much as I do."
[You are born from hate and trauma. It is something deeply ingrained in your being. ]
"Is that so? Am I supposed to care? All I know is that right now I am Amelia and that is who I have always been. Whoever you're telling me I am or whatever you're telling me to do, I don't give a damn! I am only trying to find peace in my life."
[..They are trying to get rid of you with Freya.]
"She is what?"
[You heard me. They are trying to get rid of you.]
"No, I refuse to believe that Freya would do such a thing."
[They trapped you in a book world. Did they even guarantee you a way out? Did the book ever specify a way out?]
"No."
[Do you remember how Freya treated you before you came to this world? You seem to hold her in such high regard now, but beforehand, she was your tormentor. The reason we came to be. You have no reason to believe in her so much. Doesn't she just piss you off? She hurt you and made you suffer all that time to then feel remorse for her actions, write a book and then trap you in it? Doesn't it make you want to kill her?]
"..."
[I can feel the animosity building up in your heart. The burning flame of anger is rising once again. What is it that you wish to do, Amelia?]
"...I wish to…I wish to make peace with everyone. I am no murderer. I may have hated Freya but I never could kill her, let alone anyone else. I just wish to one day understand her.
[You aren't a murderer?]
"...? Why do you sound so smug?"
[You-]
"Big sis! Wake up!"
Amelia is violently shaken by the little girl. She is very hot and kinda sweaty. She is still dreary and is barely awake.
"Guh…"
"It's 2:30 PM! You should have set an alarm if you were gonna sleep!"
"Why does the time even matter…"
"We were gonna meet Ben and his siblings, remember!?"
"Oh, shoot! Let me take a quick shower and get dressed!"
Amelia rushes into the bathroom to take a shower. It has to be quick, so she doesn't have much time to do everything. She gets dressed as quickly as her body can move and is "ready" to leave the house.
"Do I smell bad? Do I look okay?"
"You smell great! And you look about as good as you could for someone who got ready in 15 minutes."
"Well, good enough."
The pair leave and take the bus to Black rose park to meet with Ben, Becky and Hamel. It takes the better part of 20 minutes to get there by uber, so the girl sent a text message to Ben telling him she and Freja will be late.
"Hi Ben! Sorry we are so late."
"Hiya Ben it's nice to see you again! My sis fell asleep, that's why we are so late!"
"Really?"
Ben chuckles light-heartedly at Freja's words. The girl turned in embarrassment, unable to deny the truth.
"Mhm! She was slobbering all over the place when I found her too! A right mess she was."
"Freja!"
The girl covered the little girl's mouth and all she felt was the laugh of a cheeky gremlin vibrating on her hand.
"It's alright Freya, I'm not one to judge."
"Ugh I was just really tired. I have been sleeping better recently, but I have also been doing a lot more things I wouldn't normally do. Anyway, where is Becky and little Hammy?"
"Oh they are right there. It looks like Freja has already spotted them both."
Freja runs off a little bit further ahead to go greet Becky and Hamel. Seeing them happy and smiling already brings the girl great joy. No 10 year old should have to understand and comprehend so much at her age. Yet, she understood the girl and accepted her, even though it wasn't her sister. She doesn't know why she did accept her for who she was, but she is grateful for her being the only one she can come to.
"Do you wanna sit down and have a chat Freya?"
"Sure."
Freya and Ben find a bench nearby so they can watch the kids play together whilst they talk. The kids are currently playing on the monkey bars and Freja, being the oldest one of the 3, takes the lead with her longer limbs.
"Wow your sister is really something."
"I know. She's great. Don't get it twisted though, your siblings are doing pretty good too."
"Nah, don't sweat it. They aren't anywhere near your sister."
"..."
"Freya, how has school been for you? It's our final year this year and I lowkey need to lock in to get into somewhere good. I know you're usually top of the school when it comes to tests but I thought I'd ask anyway."
"School is…It has been amazing. I haven't been studying recently though."
"What!? And you still get full marks on the weekly tests? How are you so smart?"
'I can't exactly tell him that I have done these tests already. Plus whilst I wasn't as smart as Freya, I still came second or third very often.'
"Uh i guess the material we learn in lessons just sticks in my brain? I don't know."
"That's a genius for you!"
Ben has an infectious laugh causing the girl to giggle too. He smiles, causing her to smile too.
"You have a beautiful smile, Freya."
"You think? Hehe."
"Look! My sister and Ben are flirting again!"
"We are so not!"
The girl adamantly denies it, but we all saw it.
The little girl runs up to her sister with a cheeky grin.
"Tag! You're it!"
"Oh you are so gonna get it Freja!"
"Big bro don't just sit there, come join in!"
The group of 5 all begin playing tag, running around and playing with only the game on their mind. They didn't care about the time or anything like that. It was just them having fun. The two older siblings returned to a more nostalgic, fun and happier time. They made sure to go easier on the younger kids, but they still made sure to keep it competitive.
"Whew, I am tired."
"Me too."
"It's getting a bit dark out now, isn't it."
"So it is."
Freya responded to Ben completely gassed after having to chase around her little sister and friends.
"C'mon you old bag, just one more round!"
"Who are you calling an old bag? You're so cheeky Freja!"
"Haha!"
Freja runs up to the girl and just as she thinks she's about to tag her again, Frija embraces her. They are sweaty, with steam practically flying off the girl's skin. Neither of them cared. The girl sighed deeply and just sat there with the little girl wrapped tightly in her arms. Ben sat watching the scene understanding that the two girls were having a moment.
"Thank you for doing this with me, sis."
"Yeah? You are welcome."
"I love you."
"I love you too."
Freja hugs her sister tighter. Not letting go even the slightest bit. The girl understood that she missed her sister more than anything. She couldn't take that away from her. Although, today the girls grew that much closer.
"Hey big bro! Can we go home now? We are kinda tired after all that running."
"Yeah sure! One second."
"Sis, you can talk to Ben again. I will sit over there with Becky and Hammy."
"Ok."
Freja lets go of the girl and begins to trot towards Becky and Hamel who were sitting on their own bench across from them.
"Freya, Thank you for inviting me to do this with you. I had fun! Well I guess it was your sister who set it all up, huh?"
"Yeah, that girl is something. She has this charm that just leads you around and you can't look away from her for even a second. She suggested that we meet with you guys again."
"Really? Well I better thank her before I leave haha."
"I really am sweaty, I need another shower. To think I was so worried about how I looked before meeting you. I look messy right now anyway!"
"You were worried about how you looked in front of me, eh?"
"Ahh."
Ben looks at Freya before closing his eyes.
"Ahem, well I think you look great regardless."
"Thanks..."
The air surrounding the two was awkward and youthful. It was fun and tense. Neither side minded how things felt.
"We should get going now. My mother and Father will get worried about it getting dark so early especially when I'm with Freja"
"Well same here. I only live with my Mother so I shouldn't stay out too late with the little ones otherwise she will get lonely."
"Ah, I didn't know."
"It's fine, my dad was never around much when I was young so it's all okay."
"I see."
"Well let's get going. Rebecca! Hamel! We are going home now! Also Freja thanks for setting this up I'm sure the kids enjoyed playing with you! I did too!"
"Of course they did! I made sure to not beat them too hard!"
"Haha, she really is cheeky isn't she?"
Ben turned and looked at the girl, Irked at Freja's response but she wasn't lying.
"I told you so."
"Well we better go now too Freja!"
"Okay sis!"
The little ones all began waddling back to their respective siblings, clearly exhausted.
"Bye Ben!"
"Bye everyone!"
"Bye Freya and Freja!"
The two girls opted to get a bus ride home. It was a quiet one. Freja fell asleep leaning into her sister's shoulder. It takes about 50 minutes to get home on the bus. The girl looks out the window, admiring the radiating pinkish orange glow as the sun winds down for the day. The surrounding silhouettes from the buildings add to the aesthetic of the nightfall. It was calm. It was peaceful however a single thought lingered on the girl's mind ever since she had woken up.
'What was the person who spoke to me in my dream trying to say at the end? I am a murderer? I wouldn't ever dare do such a thing. Who could I have even killed? I have no memory of doing such a thing. Also all that stuff about me having urges and Freya wanting to trap me? It's all a bit hard to believe even if Freya was hard on me in the past. I guess I shouldn't take it to heart, it's just a dream.'
The girl takes a long sigh before continuing to sight see out the window of her hometown.
'I hope that what they said wasn't true.'
By the time the girls reached home the sun had almost fully set. She wakes Freja at a stop before the bus reaches their destination. The girls walk through the door to be greeted by their mother who was informed they were about to arrive back home.
"Hi you two, did you have fun?"
"Yeah, we did. A bit tired though."
"That's okay. I made you guys some food if you're hungry."
"Ooh thanks mum! What did you make?"
"Gyros."
"Oh wow okay that sounds amazing! Thank you mum."
"You don't have to sit downstairs with me and your father if you don't want to."
"No! We will today!"
Freja responds this time tightly hugging her sister's torso. Freya looks down at her and smiles softly. Freja looks up at her sister and grins ear to ear and lets out a little giggle.
"It sounds like you two got even closer. That's good to see. Well me and your dad will be waiting."
She walks off into the living room which is illuminating the dimmed kitchen.
"We are a bit sweaty. Do you wanna get washed up first?"
"Nah, I don't think they will mind."
"Okay, you're the boss Freja."
The two girls, after a short while, follow their mother into the living room. The family enjoy dinner without any hassle and for the first time in almost 3 weeks, relishing in each other's company. Freya's dad is scary, but he surprisingly isn't so hands on with things like this. It seems as though he loves his family more than he lets on. After eating, the two girls make their exit and say goodbye to their parents. They both take turns getting in the shower after today, finally freeing themselves up to go to bed.
"Hey sis! One last thing!"
"Yeah?"
Freya is getting Freja to dry her hair for her. She said she could do it and she entrusted her with it.
"Can we read the books together tonight?"
"Tonight?"
"Yeah."
"Hmm. Sure. Are you sure you won't fall asleep?"
"Yep!"
Freya shook her head knowing that she was most likely lying but she couldn't refuse the request of her sister. They entered Freja's room and picked out one of the books that she was given as a present.
[Habiki: The girl lost in light]
Freja lays against Freya's chest with Freya holding the book in front of her. She began to read the book outloud to the little girl like she had asked.
"Habiki was a warrior of legends, someone who the world looked up to as a brave adversary who slayed all those who defied her sense of justice. Are you awake?"
"Mhm…"
"Okay I will continue. Habiki was forever remembered as the girl lost in light. She was bright and emanating, like a star and when everyone was blinded by her excellence, she disappeared without a trace."
Freya looked at the girl in her arms and her body had gone limp. She was breathing rhythmically and she looked satisfied. Amelia placed the book on the desk beside her and began to shut her eyes, eventually slipping in and out of consciousness with her sister in her arms. The girl's final thought was how special today was.
"Thank you Frija. I love you."
With that she had fallen asleep. The girl felt blessed to have become Freya. This time, not because of her beauty or charisma, or even friends. She felt a bond she never could have experienced in her previous life. Sisterly love.