Here it is:
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Rukus
“I’m Rukus, the goddess of sleep,” she said, floating outside the window. It was in the hallway leading to the kitchen, which my mom always left open in the summer. I had gotten up out of bed a minute earlier for a midnight snack. The sight of her had stopped me in my tracks.
I gaped at her figure. She was so small, almost childlike, and wore adorable pink pajamas with a yellow embroidered flower design. The latter took me by surprise, but then I thought it probably wouldn’t be so strange for a goddess of sleep to wear sleepwear, now would it? She snapped me out of my thoughts by tilting her head cutely to one side.
“Hey, do you have any lemonade? I ran out about two houses back, and I’m parched!” She said, bluntly. Her voice was high-pitched, yet not annoying. I let myself be amused a little at her frankness, then stepped up to the windowsill and removed the screen. It was cheap and came with the apartment, so it had always been easy to pop off. It had worried me for a while after my mom and I moved, but then I realized that we had nothing of real value for anyone to steal. Dad had taken all of it with him to Costa Rica.
I stepped over to the left and let her pass by me. She hopped off the windowpane into my humble abode. Her pinkish hair flew out swiftly behind her with the motion, and I caught a glimpse of yellow contrasting her purple streaks. She must’ve seen my gaze because she slipped her fingers through the locks and flipped her hair proudly.
“Do you like it? I’ve always thought the dandelion was a nice touch. Don’t you think so?” She said with a smile. I regarded the flower tucked behind her ear. It did look cute.
“Uh, yeah. Yeah, it’s nice,” I responded in a confused tone. Then a thought struck me. “Hey, why did you choose to ask me for lemonade, anyway? There are tons of other houses, but you chose this run-down apartment.”
“That’s for me to know, silly!” she said, giggling. She was hiding something from me, I knew it, but her demeanor was incredible. She didn’t seem like much of a goddess, but there was something in the back of my mind that wanted to trust her, and it was overpowering my uncertainty, so I just went with it.
She hummed to herself as she walked over to the refrigerator. I noted the irony. I had always been a loner, but had awoken feeling a little lonely that night. And now, as though sensing my distress, it seemed someone had come to cheer me up. I smiled to myself and leaned on the old yellow countertop. Maybe that’s why I wanted to trust her so badly. As I lost myself in thought, she helped herself to some of the homemade lemonade in the fridge.
“Mm, this is good! Hey, what’s your name?” she said, “You’re pretty nice, you know. The last person I asked for lemonade screamed at me, though I can’t imagine why…” She trailed off in thought with a feigned innocent look on her face. I laughed at this and she joined in, too. She sure was a playful one. A goddess, huh? That must be a pretty good gig.
“I’m Melissa, but everyone calls me Lissa,” I said, “I’m more likely to answer to that.”
“Okay, then. Lissa it is!” She proclaimed. She then placed her glass neatly in the sink and walked back towards the window. I followed her, and my overgrown T-shirt creased against me as I went. As she plucked off the screen, she turned towards me.
“Since you’re so nice, I think you deserve a reward!” she said cheerfully, “What do you wish for?” I was taken by surprise. Was a glass of lemonade really worth a whole wish? She must’ve been really thirsty! At first I thought she was joking, but then I saw her apprehensive look and decided that maybe she was serious, so I played along. I scratched my brunette head and stared up at the ceiling, trying to think of something to wish for. Why is it that I always look up when I’m thinking? Oh well, that doesn’t matter.
“Well, I could use a day off, but other than that I can’t think of anything,” I said, bringing my hazel eyes back down to earth.
“A day off? From what?” she asked. I replied that I was taking a summer school class to get ahead in my studies of German and she grinned from ear to ear.
“A day off it is!” she proclaimed and hopped out of my window. I blinked with disbelief, bid her farewell, and walked back to the kitchen. I washed the clear glass that she had used, set it on the silvery metal rack to dry, and grabbed an apple to satisfy my hunger. After eating, I yawned and stretched, heading back to my room down the hall.
I flopped down face-first into my tan-colored pillow and mused for a moment about how she could possibly grant my wish. Then I rolled over and snuggled under my covers, letting sleep take me once again.
The next morning, I awoke to a surprise. I stretched under my fluffy brown comforter and lazily rolled my head to see my alarm clock, which rested on the counter across the room. I gasped apprehensively. My mother had let me sleep in; as a moment of panic came over me, I jumped out of bed, intent on rushing to class. But as I did so, an unexpected chilly air nipped at me.
“It’s summer,” I said to myself, “why is it so cold?” I shivered and grabbed a robe to keep warm. I was about to go scold my mom for letting me sleep in, but as I came into the hallway, a wondrous sight crossed my vision. I approached the window in disbelief. Outside was something totally impossible.
“Wow,” I said to myself, “a snow day in July.”
“I’m Rukus, the goddess of sleep,” she said, floating outside the window. It was in the hallway leading to the kitchen, which my mom always left open in the summer. I had gotten up out of bed a minute earlier for a midnight snack. The sight of her had stopped me in my tracks.
I gaped at her figure. She was so small, almost childlike, and wore adorable pink pajamas with a yellow embroidered flower design. The latter took me by surprise, but then I thought it probably wouldn’t be so strange for a goddess of sleep to wear sleepwear, now would it? She snapped me out of my thoughts by tilting her head cutely to one side.
“Hey, do you have any lemonade? I ran out about two houses back, and I’m parched!” She said, bluntly. Her voice was high-pitched, yet not annoying. I let myself be amused a little at her frankness, then stepped up to the windowsill and removed the screen. It was cheap and came with the apartment, so it had always been easy to pop off. It had worried me for a while after my mom and I moved, but then I realized that we had nothing of real value for anyone to steal. Dad had taken all of it with him to Costa Rica.
I stepped over to the left and let her pass by me. She hopped off the windowpane into my humble abode. Her pinkish hair flew out swiftly behind her with the motion, and I caught a glimpse of yellow contrasting her purple streaks. She must’ve seen my gaze because she slipped her fingers through the locks and flipped her hair proudly.
“Do you like it? I’ve always thought the dandelion was a nice touch. Don’t you think so?” She said with a smile. I regarded the flower tucked behind her ear. It did look cute.
“Uh, yeah. Yeah, it’s nice,” I responded in a confused tone. Then a thought struck me. “Hey, why did you choose to ask me for lemonade, anyway? There are tons of other houses, but you chose this run-down apartment.”
“That’s for me to know, silly!” she said, giggling. She was hiding something from me, I knew it, but her demeanor was incredible. She didn’t seem like much of a goddess, but there was something in the back of my mind that wanted to trust her, and it was overpowering my uncertainty, so I just went with it.
She hummed to herself as she walked over to the refrigerator. I noted the irony. I had always been a loner, but had awoken feeling a little lonely that night. And now, as though sensing my distress, it seemed someone had come to cheer me up. I smiled to myself and leaned on the old yellow countertop. Maybe that’s why I wanted to trust her so badly. As I lost myself in thought, she helped herself to some of the homemade lemonade in the fridge.
“Mm, this is good! Hey, what’s your name?” she said, “You’re pretty nice, you know. The last person I asked for lemonade screamed at me, though I can’t imagine why…” She trailed off in thought with a feigned innocent look on her face. I laughed at this and she joined in, too. She sure was a playful one. A goddess, huh? That must be a pretty good gig.
“I’m Melissa, but everyone calls me Lissa,” I said, “I’m more likely to answer to that.”
“Okay, then. Lissa it is!” She proclaimed. She then placed her glass neatly in the sink and walked back towards the window. I followed her, and my overgrown T-shirt creased against me as I went. As she plucked off the screen, she turned towards me.
“Since you’re so nice, I think you deserve a reward!” she said cheerfully, “What do you wish for?” I was taken by surprise. Was a glass of lemonade really worth a whole wish? She must’ve been really thirsty! At first I thought she was joking, but then I saw her apprehensive look and decided that maybe she was serious, so I played along. I scratched my brunette head and stared up at the ceiling, trying to think of something to wish for. Why is it that I always look up when I’m thinking? Oh well, that doesn’t matter.
“Well, I could use a day off, but other than that I can’t think of anything,” I said, bringing my hazel eyes back down to earth.
“A day off? From what?” she asked. I replied that I was taking a summer school class to get ahead in my studies of German and she grinned from ear to ear.
“A day off it is!” she proclaimed and hopped out of my window. I blinked with disbelief, bid her farewell, and walked back to the kitchen. I washed the clear glass that she had used, set it on the silvery metal rack to dry, and grabbed an apple to satisfy my hunger. After eating, I yawned and stretched, heading back to my room down the hall.
I flopped down face-first into my tan-colored pillow and mused for a moment about how she could possibly grant my wish. Then I rolled over and snuggled under my covers, letting sleep take me once again.
The next morning, I awoke to a surprise. I stretched under my fluffy brown comforter and lazily rolled my head to see my alarm clock, which rested on the counter across the room. I gasped apprehensively. My mother had let me sleep in; as a moment of panic came over me, I jumped out of bed, intent on rushing to class. But as I did so, an unexpected chilly air nipped at me.
“It’s summer,” I said to myself, “why is it so cold?” I shivered and grabbed a robe to keep warm. I was about to go scold my mom for letting me sleep in, but as I came into the hallway, a wondrous sight crossed my vision. I approached the window in disbelief. Outside was something totally impossible.
“Wow,” I said to myself, “a snow day in July.”
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P.S.: Sorry about the awkward formatting, but you know what Gaia does to that. =P (I ended up having to center it all because Gaia won't recognize my tabs! GRR!)
