• Chapter Sixteen: Left Behind

    Carmela, still young and unaware of the threats of Nosaka, was confused as to who it was who came for Lola and why she had been gone for a week now. She was also curious as to why her big brother wouldn’t leave her alone. She spent most of her time around her mother, Heartfall. Shadowpaw was always off talking with Bloodfang so there was no one else for her to stay around.
    “Big brother, why do you insist on staying by my side all the time?” Carmela was quite curious towards her brother’s actions. “Do you miss Lola?”
    “Yes, Carmela, I do. But I know that you miss her too and I don’t want you to feel bad.” Kino had picked up Lola’s habit of pronouncing Carmela’s name like a very short song over the last week; he found it helped his younger sister feel better. “But there’s no need to worry, daddy and big sis’ are going to take care of it and Lola will be back very soon. And when she does we’re all going to go out and play in the water, okay?”
    Carmela recalled meeting Nosaka at the water, sending a chill down her spine. “I don’t wanna go play in the water. I wanna stay here where it is safe.”
    “Okay, we’ll stay here and have a big celebration. How does that sound?” Heartfall was doing her best to keep Carmela calm as she was uptight lately. “And you can stay with your big brother and Lola and your big sis’ and me and your daddy, how about that?”
    “I wish Lola was here right now. I miss her. Why can’t she come back now?” Carmela had but one thing on her mind, and she was not being distracted. It stayed like that, she always thought of one thing, and after a while all she did was go out and wander, searching for Lola, little did she know she passed her every day she searched.