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The brass mailbox slid open with a melancholy whine. Maron stared absently at the contents - nothing. It was as empty as it had been yesterday, the day before, and they day before that. From her peripheral vision, she could have sworn she saw a look of concern, maybe even pity, from her cantankerous classmate, Miyako. Whatever was on Miyako’s face, however, went away once Maron shot her a glance. The two girls exchanged goodnights before parting ways for the evening, returning to their vastly different private lives. Miyako would join her mother and father for a family meal, Maron assumed.
After flipping on the light switch, Maron picked up some lounging clothes, a yellow tank and gym shorts, and changed out of her school clothes. Not feeling particularly hungry, she padded across the room, past the seldom-used telephone, towards the balcony.
Tonight, the moon was only a sliver, and the sky was engulfed in a quilt of indigo. She loathed fall because it meant the sun set sooner, making way for the dark of night—the loneliest time of the day.
Lonely.
The word rolled oddly off her tongue as she mouthed it to no one in particular. She hadn’t noticed she was inching closer to the railing of her balcony until the hard railing bit her abdomen. She looked down at the blackness. As Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne, she soared through the sky with ease. Maron laughed dryly, toying with the rosary around her neck. She wasn't Jeanne right now. Kusakabe Maron couldn’t fly; she’d only drop. And if she did, who would mourn her?
“You know,”
The smarmy voice caught Maron off guard, and she whirled her head around. Oh,
she should have known he would be spying like usual.
“You had different clothes on when you went to your room. If you have the lights on and shades open at night when you change, people could see right in!” Chiaki said. His voice, the silvery tone that Miyako swooned for, felt like nails on a chalkboard when Maron was in a mood like this. She didn’t dignify his quip with a reply or even spare him a glower. Instead, Maron turned on her heels and darted back inside the flat, shutting the sliding door to the balcony as hard and fast as she could. She didn't want to hear his cackle or anything else he had to say about her or her body.
The door slammed shut with a rattle, alerting Finn Fish, who had been snoozing near a teacup. The “fairy” rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and blinked. “Maron? Is that you?” she slurred. Finn surveyed the room, and her mouth fell open when she finally found Maron, slumped over against the sliding door, her hair concealing her face like a honey-brown curtain. Two pearls of water fell from beneath it.
“Maron!” aided by beating wings, Finn Fish rushed to her friend. With her small hands, she opened the curtain of hair, revealing Maron’s red, tear-streaked face.
“Oh…” Maron hastily wiped her face. “Sorry about that, I was just…thinking” She forced a smile, but Finn Fish wasn't fooled.
“Maron, what’s wrong? Did you fight with Miyako?” The green-haired sprite wiped the remaining tear away with a soft, yet bare, hand. “Ugh, don’t tell me that creep Chiaki said something, again!”
Maron chuckled, this time with real levity. “No, it wasn't ‘Creepy Chiaki’.” She sniffed, “Hey Finn Fish? Do you ever get…lonely?” She put out her hand so Finn Fish could rest in it.
“Lonely?” The angel inquired, “What do you mean, Maron?”
“Sometimes, when school gets out and Miyako goes home for the night….I feel like I’m the only person in the world. It’s nice when the Toudaiji’s invite me over, but its not….they’re not…” Maron’s eyes wandered to the black rotary phone before welling up with tears once more, “How could it be that they’re just gone?”
“Maron…” Finn Fish gulped, feeling the corner of her eyes dampen “You are not alone.”
The two girls locked eyes. Looking into those big Hazel eyes, there was so much the Advocate wanted to say yet couldn't. She took a deep breath and continued, “You think you are, that no one sees you. Just the other night, I thought I heard you cry…but you are not alone. I am here with you.”
“Finn Fish…”
“If you reach out for me, even when you’re at school or dreaming,” Finn Fish planted a kiss on Maron’s nose, “You are not alone.”
Maron smiled, “Thank you, Finn Fish…Thank you.”
Finn Fish smiled back. There was more she wanted to say, more that she should say. But for now, this was enough.