Beyond the Closet

Mary's parents did not join her on move in day for college. Her childhood experiences had caused their relationship to grow apart. It's not for lack of trying but Mary simply refused to let them tag along. They didn't approve of Mary returning back to their home town. They claimed they had moved for a reason, one they would not entirely explain to Mary as if she had forgotten her childhood. They claimed she was crazy. Part of her believed them and part of her wanted to prove them wrong.

When she applied at a small college by her childhood house, they tried to forbid her from returning. They were protecting her from returning to her past but Mary knew that if she was going to move on from it, she'd have to go. So, she packed up her things and kissed her friends goodbye and left. The ride to Minnesota from Washington was far and it took a toll on her small, red Volkswagen Beetle. She had to stop along the way to replace a broken windshield and a flat tire. She was amazed that she made it safely to school, pulling up right in front of her dorm room with her car in one piece.

She rolled her window up and took in a deep breath of the Minnesota mountain air. The small campus was surrounded by wilderness. It provided the perfect breeze in the summer and the perfect tranquility for college students. There weren't very many boxes that she had to drag into her room. Luckily, it was right by the door which made it easier for her to drag some of the heavier boxes. On the door, two names were written in bold lettering. She only recognized one of them, her own. The other name, Lilo, had been smudged slightly but was still legible. However, there was no sign of her roommate. The other side of the room was bare.

"Thank goodness," she whispered aloud. She was thankful for the time she had time by herself.

She hung her full length mirror behind the mirror as her final step and immediately regretted it when the door swung open and an over exuberant girl barged though. "Hi! You must be Mary! I'm Lilo! I'm from Hawaii! I'm so excited to meet you!"

It seemed like every word she spoke was screamed, causing the quite Mary to take a step back. Behind Lilo were two strange looking people. One of them, thin as a pole and in a long flowing dress and hat shook her head. The man beside her grunted as he set down about 10 boxes. That's strange, Mary thought to herself. That man has a lot of strength.

"Now, Lilo. Don't scare the poor girl." Another woman came up behind Lilo, patting her back with one hand. There were now way too many people in their small dorm room and Mary began fidgeting her fingers as she sat down on the bottom bunk, her legs tucked under her to prevent her toes from being stepped on.

"Nani, stop! Get out of here. I'm not scaring her. Right, Mary?" Lilo looked towards Mary for reassurance and turned back towards Nani. "See, look. Get out of here. I'll meet you guys in the dining hall."

It was over before it began. Lilo sat down in one of the desk chairs and smiled. Her dark skin was vastly different then Mary's pale white skin. Beside her rested a large red box with holes toward the back of it. "Before we do anything, I have to know you're good at secrets."

"Uh, sure." Mary mumbled, unfolding her legs but not moving from her bed. She sure was good at secrets. Lilo would never know just how good she was. She shook the memory from her mind and looked towards the box where scratching was now coming from.

Suddenly, a blue creature escaped from the box, leaping towards Mary causing a loud scream to come from her lips.

"Stitch, no! Bad!" Lilo grabbed the dog (?) by the leg and pulled him back. "I'm sorry. This is my dog, Stitch. He's a rare dog, that's why he's blue. You can only find them in Hawaii. The school doesn't know he's here but he's my service animal, so he's technically allowed. I looked it up."

Something told Mary that Lilo still was hiding something about her dog. He didn't look normal, deformed even. One of his front teeth was chipped slightly and he sat, panting on four legs next to Lilo.

"Okay..." was all that Mary could mumble. Her heart was still racing after Stitch leaped at her. "Uh, yeah. Okay, it's fine."

"Great!" Lilo jumped up, leaving her dog to sniff around Mary in a circle as she opened the sliding door to the small closet provided. "I wish this closet was bigger."

"No, you don't." Mary blurted. Crap, what was she thinking? Lilo glanced at her quizzically, leaving Mary to come up with a quick excuse for her statement. "I just mean that more closet space would leave less room space, obviously."

Lilo laughed and grabbed Mary with one of her large hands, pulling Mary next to her. "We're going to get along just fine!".

Yeah, Mary thought. Just fine...