CHAPTER 116

Naia lifted her head, water running in streams down her hair. "That's a very good question," she admitted, then sat up. The birds above her flew away and vanished in the bushes of the garden. "I've asked myself that same thing more than once."

"You're all in on it, aren't you?" Kisa hopped into the fountain and scowled. The water was freezing. "It's some kind of sick joke between you guys, isn't it?"

The nymph shook her head. "No, it really isn't."

"Well I think you're lying, and that's good enough for—" she grabbed for Naia and her hands moved through the nymph, her body now made of water.

"Stop," Naia said calmly, placing her hands on Kisa's wrists. "Your anger is misplaced."

Kisa pulled away and swung, but Naia let the hit connect, spraying water everywhere. She swung again and again, her rage and frustration building as she shrieked at the nymph.

"Why doesn't anybody know who I am?" she yelled, then fell to her knees. The water parted beneath her, and she dug her nails into the cool stone of the fountain, hoping the marble would crack beneath her fingers.

Naia slid her arms around Kisa and held her tight, stroking her hair. While she did this, the back door opened and Yuki came out, covered in fresh paint.

"I saw what happened," she explained, then pointed at one of the windows up above. "From my room. And I heard what you said."

Kisa sighed in exasperation as the kitsune sat on the edge of the fountain. "Okay, fine, you busted me. I tried to start a fight, but clearly everyone here can kick my ass, so—"

"How old are you?" Yuki asked, then brushed a strand of hair away from her face. "'Cause you're acting like a toddler."

Kisa drew back and hissed.

"The same thing happened to me," Yuki told her. "While your memories are gone, mine aren't. I spent years with everybody here, and I have so many memories with all of them, but theirs were taken away. I know what you're going through—for the most part, anyway. It sucks. But it wasn't their fault, or mine for that matter. I almost made a terrible decision because I didn't know who to blame for it."

Kisa thought back to what Tink had said. "Did you actually try to kill Mike?"

"Yep. Within a few seconds of meeting him, actually." Yuki waved her hands over the water and a figurine made of ice appeared, which she picked up. It looked similar to Yuki, but this one had an eyepatch on and her face was a mask of rage. "I failed, obviously. I even trapped the guy in another dimension and turned everyone here to stone."

"Wait, what? Stone?"

"It's true," Naia added. "Even me."

She thought again of her fight with Tink, then looked at Naia and Yuki. She had spoken more with them just now than she had since she arrived. Why was that? Was she naturally aloof, or was there more to it?

"I turned everyone to stone and then got into a huge fight with a bunch of nasty witches on the front lawn. Almost died, actually. These were all things I did because I was broken and angry."

"So, what, is there a moral to the story? Stop being such a bitch?" She couldn't help it, the words just slid out of her mouth.

Yuki dropped her figurine in the water and summoned another. This time, it was Kisa, her hackles raised and her face frozen mid-scream. "Nobody is asking that. I mean, yeah, would be nice if you'd calm down a bit. The point I'm trying to make is that the choices we make, no matter what our mood, can permanently affect our lives. And right now, being angry with everyone won't help you find the answers you seek. This isn't just a safe place to stay. It's a home, and the people here are family. We may not be best friends, but we sincerely want to help each other."

This time, Kisa managed to hold her thoughts in. The kitsune was right. Being mad at everyone wasn't going to help her. Still, the idea that her memories had been messed with was sorely upsetting. "So how am I supposed to act? I don't remember anything about myself, other than I used to dance."

"I can see why knowing who you were is a foundation for who you are today." Yuki waved her hand over the figurine in her hand. It was still Kisa, but now she was curled up in the window of the house, a smile on her face. She held it out. "However, we often forget that today's choices don't have to be about yesterday. We can move forward as the person we are, the person who makes us happy."

Kisa regarded the figurine, then took it. Obviously the kitsune had spotted her sleeping in the window. "I'm not even sure this is who I really am."

"Then maybe it's something we can all figure out together." Yuki passed her hand over the surface of the water, and ice sculptures of everybody appeared, one at a time. "It doesn't have to start with everybody, not all at once. But I think you should at least try."

Kisa wiped her eyes, then set her figurine down and watched it bob in the water along with the rest. She spotted one in particular and picked it up. It was Tink, holding a hammer.

"Second chances..." she muttered, then dropped it into the fountain to watch it melt.

The back door slammed open and Mike came running out, his face lit up in excitement. Death followed close behind, one hand held protectively over his tea to keep it from spilling.

"Hey," he said to everyone with a wave as he shot past, then ran down into the backyard. Yuki pulled herself out of the fountain and made her way down into the garden.