The Common Room

The child sat on the fluffy cushions of one of the few couches that inhabited the common area space. They held a thin picture book they had found in the library’s children section, a place where they frequented often if they remembered where it was located. The book was splayed across their lap, tiny legs kicking rhythmically against the padding. A stubby finger followed along the pages, stopping at each word as the child tried to sound them out.

“The. Cat’s. Favo- fav- favorite. Color. Is.. tur-tor-tur..” the boy stumbled over the word turquoise. Frankly, he had no idea how to pronounce that and eventually gave up, flipping the page and moving on with the story. The big brown eyes skimmed each page, mostly staring at the colorful pictures before starting the hard part- reading.

"Tur - kwoyz." She pronounced, taking a seat beside the boy. Nephthys tried to make her voice lighter and less stoic than it always was, as not to scare him away. "Say it again, you can do it."

“Tur-kwoyz,” the child repeated. They turned sharply around upon realizing the voice they heard was not familiar. Thank god, MJ was a curious child and felt no fear in many “stranger danger” situations. The book had been quickly closed, as if the child was trying to hide it for some reason, perhaps just a reflex. Instead of a scared or surprised face, a smile greeted the other. He was excited to have even more friends, as was his goal to become friends with everyone within the facility, if possible.

“Hi! Hi! Hi! What’s your name? I’m MJ,” the boy chirped, turning his entire body to face the woman. His big brown eyes seemed to shimmer with glee. It had been a hot minute since he had seen someone else and the insecurities of being alone had just been creeping in. A distraction of another body was warmly welcomed.

Still, she had to admit the child was adorable, the type that would be the hero in a story, or perhaps one of the lost boys who coveted their eternal youth. Everything about the young child screamed innocence that was lost to nearly everyone here. It was as if their childhoods have been personified into this bundle of a kid.

The action of the book quickly being closed caught one of her many watchful eyes hidden beneath her arms that shut tight in order to avoid scaring the child. "Hello," she awkwardly waved. "I'm Nephthys. What were you reading?" She asked politely, blinking often as a habit. One of her moths lingered behind her as always, the head of the rest of the hawkmoths as it was her personal domain companion, Rune.

“Neph- Nephthys?” The child’s voice was hesitant at pronouncing the name. It was foreign to them, garnering pronunciation mistakes from the youngster. They held up the book they were reading, small fingers wrapped tightly around the binding. The book was larger than most of the other ones in the children’s section of the library, prompting the child to assume that obviously meant it was the best on the shelves.

Animals and Their Favorite Colors: Learn About Animals and Colors!

MJ had always enjoyed animals, and even in the afterlife this did not change, though he didn’t know this was the afterlife. Anthony had always loved reading and would constantly encourage MJ to enjoy it too, though he’d rather be playing outside and seeing the animals in person. Speaking of living creatures, the big brown eyes noticed the moths fluttering around the woman.

The child was immediately captivated by the creature, absently reaching out to touch one of them. They quickly brought back their hand, as it appeared the moths belong to Nephthys and it was rude to not ask and touch someone else’s pets. A small snippet of education from their mother that managed to break through the wall of fog that were their memories.