Kai's Memories

Wherever she went, she always made friends. People swayed by her bright smiles, kids she stopped to play with as she passed through towns, temporary companions who didn’t mind her chatter, even all the little creatures charmed by her openness with food.

But none of them ever stayed. Her favourite pets returned to the forest. The travel companions waved goodbye as they turned down a different road. And everyone else she soon left behind.

She never realized how lonely she was. It didn’t hurt to not have a real friend until she’d almost lost them.

It was different with Alistair and Dezzy. She’d liked to see new faces every day, gather new stories, make new friends.

But for the first time, she didn’t want to wake up and find that they’re not there anymore; she doesn’t want them to be replaced. She wanted a constant. Adventure was in her blood, but if this one thing never changed, she would always be happy.

She’d always collected memories, storing them in trinkets or baubles, picking through them whenever her mind slips back to the old darkness that haunts the edges of her soul. It’s comforted her in those times she was alone. Given her something real to hold, to remember things by.

But when she pressed the pale opal back into Dezzy’s hand, she realized. She doesn’t just want a memory. She wants something real.

Sitting at the back of the wagon, her legs dangling over the edge and the pleasant rumbling of the wheels ticking on, she lifts her head to the new dawn. The walls of Miilway disappear, replaced by the rolling open plains of Vast. She’s seen all sorts of places in this wagon, and there’s sure to be more.

At the front of the wagon, Alistair’s driving, his eyes set out on the road ahead. Dezzy’s nestled safe in her pot, eyes closed as she absorbs the sunlight slanting in through the open back. Before them lies another glorious day of unknown adventure, and when she sleeps, the security of knowing they’ll still be there when she wakes up.

Maybe this is family. Maybe this is home.