The Unfolding 7

‘It’s fine. I heard that the others are going to make you disappear…I’m glad you’re choosing to leave instead.’ Meisie looked like she was about to cry as she stepped forward and pulled Katy into a tight hug. She really must have been like a mother to Meisie, Risa thought to herself as she watched them. For a moment she considered taking Katy with them, but the elderly woman seemed like she was happy with staying at the village. For a few minutes, Risa watched Meisie and Katy exchange a few quiet words; then; she spoke up. ‘We ….should leave, Meisie.’ Meisie pulled away from Katy and closed her eyes briefly as she nodded. ‘Alright. Thank you, Katy,’ The older woman gave her a gentle smile. ‘You Don’t need to thank me.’ She turned around to Risa, a hint of amusement visible in her eyes. ‘And you’d better take good care of Shida, Witbooi.’ Risa managed a small smile and bowed slightly. ‘Of course.’ She glanced over at Shida questioningly, and the younger woman gave her a smile that seemed just a little forced. ‘I’m ready, let’s go.’ Meisie led the way out of the house without another word, and she remained silent during their short walk back to the mayor’s house. Risa wanted to say something to cheer her up, but in the end, she couldn’t think of anything. ‘How much stuff do you think I should bring along?’ Meisie asked as he unlocked the door, stepping inside first. ‘How are we even leaving?’ Risa took out her phone to check the screen, but the NO SIGNAL notification was still there. ‘I can’t call a taxi right now, so we’ll need to walk a bit first. So maybe you shouldn’t bring along too many things …. You’ll need new clothes and all that, we can buy that once we get to the town.’ ‘A…taxi?’ ‘A car that will come to pick us up. I’ll call one once we’re out of here; the other villagers would probably immediately know what we we’re up to if a car comes here again.’ They’ll know anyways, a voice in Risa’s mind yelled, but she told herself that things would be fine. They finished packing their things relatively quickly, which was partially due to the fact that Risa hadn’t really taken anything out of her bag to begin with. Meisie, Risa realised, was either not very emotionally attached to anything in the house, or most of the things didn’t actually belong to her. She barely even filled up one small bag, and when Risa asked If THAT really was all she needed, the younger woman simply shrugged, ‘You said we can buy clothes in your town, right? Then this is all I need.’ Risa nodded slowly. ‘Let’s go, then.’ Meisie left the key to the house on the dining table and followed her. As they left the house, nobody seemed to be out in the streets - not even the children who were usually playing there, which was something that seemed a bit strange to them, but Meisie told herself not to worry about it too much. The sky looks like it’s about to rain. That must be why they’re playing inside. Silence. It was a little unsettling, like things were going too smoothly. Risa occasionally glanced over at Meisie, not really sure if she was supposed to say something, but the younger woman seemed to be lost in her thoughts, so in the end, the Detective remained silent. Much to their surprise, they made it out of the village without anyone stopping them. It was like nobody had considered the idea of Meisie leaving ----I’m too loyal for that. They didn’t think I’d leave my only relative. Meisie squeezed her eyes shut for a moment and shook her head, wincing when she felt something touch her had gently. ’R -RRRisa…’ ‘Are you sure you want to leave?’ Risa asked, feeling like she needed to make sure of this now that Meisie suddenly looked like she regretted her decision. ’You …if you really want it, you can…’ ‘No!’ Meisie blurted out almost desperately, shaking her head once more. ’I don’t want to stay here, I don’t want to die. There’s so much more I want to do, I can’t let it end now.’ A heavy sigh of relief left Risa’s lips; relief washing over her with the force of a tornado. She stopped in her tracks and turned around to give Meisie a hug. ’If that’s the case, everything’s going to be to be fine. You’re going to be fine, believe me. I’m going to make sure of that.’ Meisie slowly raised her arms to return the hug, clinging onto Risa. ’Okay, I’m …gonna believe you, then. Thank you.’ Risa allowed Meisie to hold onto her for a few minutes. Then, when she felt a few raindrops on her skin, she gently freed herself from the younger woman’s hold. “Let’s go, we don’t know when they’ll realize that you’re gone.’ Meisie instinctively took ahold of Risa’s hand as they started walking again. She easily kept up with the Detective’s pace, and glanced over Risa’s shoulder whenever she took out her phone to check it. And then, finally, Risa noticed that the NO SIGNAL notification was gone. ’Finally,’ she muttered to herself. ’I’m gonna call for a taxi now, okay? Can we keep walking until we reach the nearest town? I’d rather not have to ask the driver to come all the way here…’ ‘Alright,’ Meisie agreed, listening curiously as Risa asked the driver to pick them up in the nearest town. Because it seemed like the villagers till hadn’t sent anyone to follow them, they walked a bit slower until they reached their destination. The taxi was already waiting for them, and as the back door opened, Risa motioned for Meisie to get inside. However, Meisie didn’t move. ‘Meisie….?’ ‘I don’t trust it.’ ‘What do you not trust?’ ‘The ….’ Meisie gestured at the car, a sceptical expression on her face. ’The car. Why would I willingly get into this kind of thing?’ Risa let out a barely audible sigh; maybe getting Meisie used to the “Modern World’ would be harder than she had thought . ’It’s not going to hurt you, believe me. See,I’m getting in too.’ She got into the car and then offered Meisie her hand. ’Come on, it’s fine. It’s safe.’ Although she never stopped looking so sceptical, Meise got into the car as well and clutched Risa’s hand between hers. Shaking his head slightly, the driver started the car. The drive to Risa’s hometown took about two hours. Despite her initial distrust, Meisie had soon closed her eyes and she was resting her head on Risa’s shoulder, and Risa was unconsciously stroking Meisie’s hand which had never loosened its grip. Then, they arrived and Risa gently shook the younger woman awake. ‘We’ve arrived, Meisie.’ Sleepily, Meisie followed her out of the car and, after Risa had paid the driver, into the Detective’s apartment. ‘Wow…this is ….so different.’ She looked around with wide eyes, not even putting down her bag first. Risa let her go ahead for a few minutes, a soft smile on her lips. Then she gestured for Meisie to follow her. ‘Let me show you around. Here’s the bedroom, this is the bathroom, and you saw the living room and kitchen already.’ As she opened the door to the bedroom, she put her bag inside, mentally making a note to unpack it later. Meisie stood a few steps behind her, remaining silent for a few moments. Then she spoke up slowly. ‘Uh, Risa?’ ‘Hmmm?’ ‘Thank you. I’m really glad you came to the village and took me away from there.’ Risa let out a small sigh, smiling a bit fondly. ‘You Don’t need to thank me for that. I just want you to be happy, too.’ A wide smile spread on Meisie’s lips, and to Risa, it looked as bright as the sun itself for a moment. ‘I’ll be happy from now on, I’m absolutely sure. Risa is by my side now, after all.’ And when she heard that, Risa knew she had done the right thing.