I... I don't know what I'm supposed to say. I am so tired, and so hungry, even though I just ate.
Forgotten Friday #193 - 忍者 / Ninja / 雷ひびき / Kaminari Hibiki
Who is Ninja?
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| Official art by Diseasedcandy |
Freddi remained silent. She wasn't thinking, just looking up at the sky while she slowly let her hand fall until her phone was dangling next to her leg. She had a feeling Emily would just stay on the line.
The gaudy emerald artificial grass was brushing against her bare ankles as the metal branches painted brown swayed. Like clockwork, a shower of biodegradable paper flowers swirled through the air.
As much as she hated Earth, the park was the one place she felt any kind of happiness towards the dying planet. It was artificial to the point of comedy, but so was her world. She picked up the phone and sighed.
"Ms. Murphy," she trained her eyes on the storefronts across the street. "Do you know how I got here?"
"Yes!" Emily's answer came too fast, as if she had been waiting for the question. "And I'm going to do my best to find the person who did it!"
"A person did it?" Freddi trained her eyes on the dusty plastic models of cakes and pastries in the front window of the bakery. The models were faded. She remembered being a teenager and imagining eating the bright purple cakes and neon pink donuts, just to be told that they were sculptures - representations. The real cakes were a tasteful lavender and the donuts a nice rose. But now, all of the idealized products were all a dingy pastel… just like the illusion of commerce in her "parents'" store.
"Yes." Emily took a deep breath to steady herself. "My boss and the people who brought you over likely used the same person. It was all done in secrecy, but I think I may be able to find them if I lie and say I want to bring someone over for myself. Or, if I'm lucky, my boss will have a phone number."
Freddi tried to force herself to acknowledge the attempt at humor with a short laugh, but she couldn't. She broke her gaze away from the shops across the street and turned towards the swaying effigies of trees. She took a deep breath before asking, "Can I come by your work sometime? Tell my 'parents' I need to discuss your order with you or something?"
"Of course!" Emily's voice was too excited. Freddi realized how hypocritical it was to be upset that Emily was more interested in the adventure of finding the people who ruined her life than actually helping her. The fun of the adventure was more or less the only reason Freddi went on adventures. Almost all of them could have been solved in half the time if she had relied on adults… but then there wouldn't be an adventure.
Emily realized that she probably made a mistake being so excited… but she couldn't help it. "You're a part of this team. I want your help every step of the way if you'll give it. It'll be like the person who did it is the missing kelp seeds!"
Freddi froze in place. Her eyes widened as her jaw dropped. She didn't understand how or why Emily would just know that one of her earliest adventures was finding kelp seeds. Honestly, she had kind of pieced together that kelp seeds weren't a thing that existed on Earth. She closed her eyes before quickly responding. "Sounds great. I'll help. Goodbye."
Freddi quickly whipped her phone from her ear to in front of her. She opened the search engine and typed in her name. The only results were her social media pages. She looked up at the sky and sighed. She was hoping that magically, she'd find the page from which Emily learned who she was… but there was nothing.
How did Emily know about the kelp seeds?! Keep reading A Spectrum of Apple Skins!
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