Vacant Fairytales

“Ow!” Kiyoko shouted as she landed with a thud into the middle of a bush. She dusted herself off and stood. “Thank goodness that bush was-“

She looked up and gasped. Spread out before her was a lawn of fresh green grass. Tree’s dotted the scenery and little flowers poked up in little mounds of dirt. Kiyoko automatically knew something was wrong. That morning and about three minutes ago, all there was was dust. It was impossible for grass to grow that fast, let alone trees.

It was like a completely different place. What amazed her the most, though, was the large and beautiful house that stood right in the center. It had steeples for roofs and there had to be three or four floors. Kiyoko’s mouth hung open as she looked the mansion up and down. “Wow…”

The little boy stood at the foot of the stairs, looking at her.

“Hey, wait a second.” She wasn’t going to let him get away. No matter what, she was going to get to the bottom of this mystery. When she began to chase after him, he ran up the steps, across the porch and through the door. She followed after him, barging into to the foyer. She froze as she looked around again. It was even more beautiful inside. The walls were covered in flowered wallpaper and the house was decorated like something she saw in the old movies.

She was so entranced; she didn’t hear footsteps come up behind her, “Who are you?”

She whipped around and gasped. There, standing before her, was another boy. This one, though, was about her age. His brown hair was longer but fell about his face perfectly. Kiyoko noticed that his eyes where an amazing dark brown.

“I said, who are you?” He asked again, looking just as amazed as Kiyoko did.

“I, uh, I-“ She didn’t know what to say. “I was just looking for this little boy I saw. He looked like he was trapped in the vacant lot. Which is here and not so vacant.” She stumbled over an explanation.

The boy began to frown and as he did, Kiyoko could swear she heard him growl lowly. “Makoto!” He shouted, his face turning red with anger. Kiyoko stared at him in amazement, still trying to work out if he was real or not.

Sticking his head around the corner of the doorway that lead to a type of living room was the little boy from earlier. Kiyoko hadn’t noticed it before but his head was cover in orange hair and his eyes were a very light blue. He cringed, “Wha-what did I do, Taichi?” He said, his voice making a low squeak.

Taichi moved in a quick motion, stepping around Kiyoko and grabbing Makoto by the collar. He yanked him from his hiding place, “What did we tell you about letting other people see you? Huh?” He tightened his grip on the shirt, “I mean, dang it! You don’t listen, Makoto. You never do!”

Tears began to run down Makoto’s cheeks as he whimpered, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. It just so boring anymore and-“

“You’re such a little brat!” Taichi lifted his arm in anger. His arm came down fast.

“Wait!” Kiyoko shouted. As she did, she reached out and grabbed his arm. She wasn’t going to let such a little kid get hit because of her. There was no way she was going to let that happened. “Please, don’t hit him on account of me. It really wasn’t his fault. I was the one who followed him over the fence.”

Taichi stopped and stared at her hands on his arm. After what felt like a few minutes, he pulled his arm out of her grasp. “This isn’t any of your business. Just stay out of it.” He lifted his arm again in an another attempt to hit Matoko.

Kiyoko reached out again, “NO!”

Before she could stop him again, another hand reached out and grabbed his arm. Standing on the last step was yet another boy. He was around Kiyoko’s age too, but he was a lot different then Taichi. His blond hair framed his face and set off his deeper blue eyes. Kiyoko couldn’t help but stare at him for a moment.

“Haven’t I told you that hitting him won’t teach him anything?” He turned to Matoko and took him by the shoulders, “And didn’t I tell you to be careful who saw you?”

Motoko sighed, his shoulders sagging. He looked down at the floor and dug his toe into the carpet, “I’m sorry, Haruki. I was bored and she looked like fun.” His face lit up as he looked over at Kiyoko, who was watching everything in amazement. “Your little dog looks like fun, too!”

Blushing, Kiyoko smiled nervously, “Uh, well, um he’s not my dog. He’s a stray, I guess.”

“If he’s a stray, you should bring him home. Or, you could bring him here.” Matoko rushed over to her and grabbed a hold of her skirt. “You can’t leave him out there alone. He’s probably-“

Haruki placed a hand on Matoko’s shoulder again. He pulled him back, breaking the grip on Kiyoko’s skirt. “Don’t hound people. It’s annoying.” He looked at Kiyoko, a smile on his face, “I’m sorry, my lady. He’s still young and we’re still teaching him.” He held on tight to Matoko, who was wiggling around trying to get free.

“Oh, it’s alright, really.” Kiyoko chuckled, “I should apologize for barging into your house like I did.” She pushed a hair out of her face as she tried to avoid their gazes. There was an awkward feeling hanging in the air. “I just, uh, wasn’t expecting…”

“The house? Us?” Haruki finished her sentence. “It’s understandable.”

Kiyoko cleared her throat. “Yeah, especially since on the other side of the fence, it looked like this was just an empty lot.” Just as she finished her sentence, she realized something. “Oh, I have to get home. It’s getting late and my Mom will totally freak out if I don’t get home by seven.”

Taichi looked her up and down, “If you have to go, then go.”

She nodded, “Okay, thank you. And, I’m sorry again.” She smiled one last time before running out of the door. She let out a long sigh as she ran down the steps and back toward the bush that broke her fall. It had been a really weird day. First, the woman at the volunteering place and then the house and yard inside the vacant lot.

When she reached the bush, which she knew she would never forget after her fall, she paused. The fence was nowhere in sight. As a matter of fact, there was no fence anywhere. She looked around her again, panic settling in.

“What’s wrong?” Matoko suddenly appeared behind her, a few feet away. His red hair was a little more crumpled then before.

Kiyoko stared at the bush, “It’s not here. The fence isn’t here. It was here when I jumped, or really fell, over. But, it’s gone now.”

Haruki joined them, hands in his pockets. “I should have known that it would disappear tonight. Moons looked different last night.” He glanced around.

She looked at him sharply. “You knew!”

Taichi walked up beside Haruki, “It’s gone again? That’s been happening a lot lately.”

“Maybe, that’s what she wants. Maybe it’s not safe right now.” Haruki looked into the sky. The sunset reflected in his eyes, making them an even more startling blue.

Kiyoko wasn’t paying attention, though. She walked around the bush several times, making sure she didn’t miss anything, “This isn’t good. I got to get home. Mom’s going to lose it if I don’t get home soon. Dad will probably call the cops and they’ll be looking for me. And, mom…oh what’s she going to do? I have to-“

Taichi placed a hand on her shoulder, “There’s nothing you can do. Once the fence is gone, all we can do is wait for it to show up again.”

“That can’t be!” Kiyoko rubbed her head. “I need to get home.”

Matoko grabbed her hand, “It’s like Taichi said. You can’t leave till the fence comes back.” He smiled widely, yanking her back toward the house. “And, since you can’t go yet, you can stay with us.”

“Uh, Matoko, I’m not sure-“ Haruki started as Taichi’s mouth hung open.

Matoko looked back at them as he continued to pull Kiyoko along with him, “What other choice do we have? She has no where else to go.”