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“Rodricka?” Nikki’s voice echoed through the Dream Warehouse. When she first explored it many weeks ago, it was covered in layers of dust and cobwebs, but now that Rodricka was here, it was in much better shape.
“I’m up here Nikki.” She called from the top floor. “Is something wrong?”
Nikki didn’t answer as she walked up the stairs. At the top she found Rodricka sitting in a window still, reading an old wish log, with dark circles under her eyes. She had on the pair of gloves that Nikki had given her, Nonoy wouldn’t allow anyone to read the logs without a pair. She also didn’t allow anyone to take the logs outside of the warehouse.
“I just haven’t seen you all day. I was getting a little worried.” Nikki sat down across from Rodricka. “Have you eaten yet?”
Rodricka pursed her lips. “I ate the soup you made,”
“That was yesterday,”
“Oh.” Rodricka hid her face behind the book. “I’ll be okay Nikki, you don’t need to worry about me,”
“How can I not worry about you when you forget to eat and hide away from everyone?”
Rodricka sighed. “You wouldn’t understand. Everyone I cared about died horribly, how can I know it won’t happen again? This world seems so peaceful, but it could all be a lie. And if it is, I’d rather not get too attached,”
Nikki was at a loss of words. Maybe it would be better to get Arthur to talk to Rodricka, he lost people he cared about too. But he wasn’t here right now, so it was up to her to help.
“You are right, I don’t understand what you went through. I am not sure I ever could, but I want to be there for you. And I want you to be okay, which means eating enough food and getting enough sleep,”
For a long moment, silence lingered between them, until Rodricka sighed and closed the book.
“This window still is very uncomfortable, a night in bed sounds wonderful,” She said as she got up.
“But not before a hot meal. Lumine has been teaching me how to make a Northern Apple Stew, I’m sure you will love,”
Rodricka gave Nikki a tiny smile. “It sounds interesting. Let me put the wish log back in its proper place and then we can go,”