January 5, 2007
Today was just another ordinary day in this strange house. I awoke this morning, blankly staring at the empty bed next to me. I have been spending my nights alone since about November, Manior finally sleeping in his room with Demare like he was supposed to. Come to think of it, it was probably closer to noon when I got up today, because I thought it was strange that everyone had let me sleep in.
Anyway, I got up and did my usual morning routine, got dressed, and went down the stairs. Only, it was more like I fell down the stairs, because I ended up missing one of the steps and I slid right down the last seven or eight of them.
It was at that moment that I should have known today would not be like any of the others, but I gave it the benefit of the doubt.
I picked myself up, most of the members of the house out doing their own things. The kids that started going to the public school had left and wouldn't be back until around 4pm, Tai-bo and Merrimack were off at their respective work places, Sora was out running grocery errands, and Juubei was off somewhere patrolling the house. Manior was downstairs with the other children who had decided to be home schooled, Trisha offering to be their teacher since she completed her last year of school about a month ago. For once, I had the house more or less to myself for at least 3 more hours, and I was going to take advantage of this.
Sora was kind enough to make lunch for me before she'd left, so I brewed myself a cup of tea and sat down in the living room area to watch a movie while I ate and relaxed. Just as I'd picked up my sandwich, there was a light knock at the door. I stopped, listened, and checked the clock, figuring it must have been a solicitor. They usually came by around this time, and everyone had learned to simply ignore it. Once again, I was about to take a bite of my lunch when the knock came once more, sounding more urgent than it had at first. Perhaps this was someone else... Maybe one of the kids had gotten hurt and was in need of medical attention.
...As horrible as it may sound, I could only be so lucky. Not that I don't love my family, but sometimes I wish we'd moved while Neko was still alive so that there would be more room in this house.
I gave up on eating for the moment in favor of hiding myself of the nuisance outside, pulling the door open quickly to tell the man that had been knocking that I wasn't interested in hearing about anything he had to sell, that we had enough junk in the house, and that I wasn't interested in selling the property. I shut the door in his face, and was about to return to my food when the knock came yet again. How aggravating... It was one of THOSE telemarketers. The kind that wouldn't take no for an answer, and wouldn't leave you alone until you at least saw the product and heard about what it did. Great... just what I needed to start my day.
I pulled open the door, and the man had a nasty look on his face.
"That was rude," he'd told me.
"I'm sorry, I'm trying to eat my lunch. You interrupting me is also rude," I shot back.
"Well, I believe this is yours," the man said, pulling a little girl perhaps not much older than 3 years of age roughly by the arm from behind his back.
She had stark white hair, with what looked to be a hint of lavender, tied up in tiny messy pigtails on the top of her head. Adorning her pale, frail body was a dirty black dress that came down to about her knees, her dust-covered white tights and scuffed up black shoes giving her a complete monochrome look. Around her neck was a beautiful black velvet bow with some sort of gold ornament decorating the middle. Her blue and violet eyes looked terribly sad, tears dwelling in them, probably from the mistreatment the man was giving her.
"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talk about," I assured him as I looked the man over more closely. In his other hand was a gold-wired birdcage, a tiny bird resting on a swinging perch. The poor creature didn't look happy. "I've never seen this girl in my life."
"Doesn't matter," he said, thrusting the cage into my hands and practically shoving the girl at my feet. "They're yours now, and outta my hair."
Before I could protest, he was moving quickly down the walkway, and I couldn't help but think of how suspicious he was being. I wondered if it might have been some sort of kidnapping job, where they took the child and gave them to unsuspecting people in hopes to frame someone else.
The girl was sniffling on the ground, having toppled over from the shove. If I were cruel, I would have just left her outside, but I have a terrible soft spot for girls, especially the little ones. I gave in, picking up the sobbing girl in one arm and pushed the door closed with my foot before carrying her to the couch. After setting her down, she kept pointing to the bird in the cage, so I opened it up, and the creature immediately flitted out to comfort the child. A hummingbird! She had a hummingbird for a PET. How does one feed a hummingbird...? Wasting no time, I decided to ask the girl were her parents were.
She only looked at me with teary eyes, and babbled something that sounded like "I don't know." Great... Maybe she was abandoned before the man had found her. Whatever the case, I decided that it would be better to call that missing children's center in case something had been reported. I asked her what her name was.
"Ee...mee." Then she pointed to her avian friend. "Rere. Re...re...ss."
So not only was she lost, but she couldn't say her name. The bird, however, seemed bright for being an animal; it flitted to a piece of paper inside of its cage, which had their names printed clearly along with a short message.
You have been selected to be the new caretaker of Izumi and her daemon, Relentless. The House welcomes you among the guardians, and wishes you the best of luck.
PS: Try not to let Relentless escape. If he is too far away from Izumi, they could both perish.
What was that supposed to MEAN? I didn't want to keep the bird captive, as hummingbirds were generally wild creatures. He seemed content where he was, however, so I didn't give it much more thought. I proceeded to call the missing children's center, and they could give me no information in regards to her description.
Which meant she'd been brought to me on purpose.
Not knowing what else to do, I gave up. Izumi looked as though she hadn't eaten in a while, so I let her have my sandwich, and I made some sugar water for her pet. Afterward, I gave her a good soak in the tub, washed her clothes, and got her ready to meet the others. I have to admit that once she was cleaned up, she looked quite adorable, and she even seemed much happier and more at ease. Maybe that was all she needed... a little bit of attention.
Nevertheless, everyone seems to have taken well to her. That is, everyone except Demare, who appears to be missing, since I haven't been him all day. The rest of the night was pretty much a blur... The only thing I discovered that Izumi could actually form some words, particularly the ones she was hearing off the TV. This one learns quickly, but only time will be certain if that's true.
Now, she's sleeping on my bed as I write this, and we're going to go out tomorrow to get her one of her own. I'm not sure where we'll put it yet, but that will only be temporary. Once we move, I'll probably just have her share a room with Manior until one of them needs their own, but for now... maybe I'll make some room in here so she can stay with me.
Today was just another ordinary day in this strange house. An ordinary day... but a delightful new beginning.
