It took Riley a minute to remember all that had happened. Then, she remembered Lisa leading her and Sally away from the house. She remembered the black car. She remembered leaving the city behind. She remembered arriving in a small town, far away from the filth of the city. Now she was lying in a soft bed, staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling. Where was she? She glanced around the room and her eyes landed on Sally, who was fast asleep next to her. A smile crossed Riely’s face. Yes, she knew where she was. She was in a safe place. She had her sister right by her side and Lisa couldn’t possibly be too far from her. Riley leaned back and closed her eyes with a happy sigh. Lisa knew now. She knew everything. That meant Riely didn’t have anything to hide from her anymore. She could trust Lisa.
That seemed too good for Riley to fully believe. Now Riley could smell something warm and heavenly cooking below. Riley was torn between rushing downstairs to greet Lisa and staying in bed till Sally woke up. She decided to stay. There was a chance that Sally wouldn’t remember where she was at first and Riley didn’t want her to be frightened. Riley nestled close to her sister and thought about how wonderful everything was. So much had changed since yesterday. If Riley had known just a few weeks ago just how much her life would change, what would she have thought? There was really no way of telling. Riley was also happy to have had a few of her questions answered. But for every answer she received, a new question seemed to appear. What had Sally done to that sand? Well, there was no point in worrying. Riley just wanted to relax.
Sally let out a little grunt and rolled over. Soon her eyes opened, and she sat up. A few sparks of worry appeared in Sally’s eyes, but they faded away after Sally spotted Riley. Then her face relaxed and Sally smiled.
“Good morning! Something smells really good, don’t you think?” Riley added. Sally was climbing out of bed now. She must be really hungry, Riley thought to herself. Riley got up and followed her sister down the stairs and towards the kitchen. The kitchen was empty, save for a large pot of some warm, sweet-smelling, bubbling liquid that had been sprinkled with freshly cut fruit. The girls paused for a moment, just to admire and enjoy the sights and smells of the kitchen.
“Sally, Riley, is that you?” Lisa’s soft voice called out.
“Yes! We’re coming!” Riley grabbed Sally’s hand and pulled her along. Soon they were all seated around a large table, with bowls of warm oatmeal sitting in front of them. Fresh, sweet raspberries and pear slices exploded in Riley’s mouth. She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt this happy.
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“Where is Mr. Jorden?” Riley asked after a moment.
“I’m not sure. He might be working up in his office. There’s also a chance he’s still asleep. I think he was up really late,” Lisa said.
“I did hear someone pacing up and down the hall during the night,” Riley added. Lisa nodded.
“Yeah, that was probably him.” Riley frowned
“Who is he exactly? I know that you said we could trust him. But where did he come from and why does he know so much about humans?” Riley asked.
“He is an old friend of mine. We used to work together. Then one day he was sent away. He had been researching the differences between humans and Formas for a very long time. I thought that I wasn’t ever going to see him again. Then, when I needed help finding a safe place for you, he called. The timing really was beyond perfect,” Lisa said.
“You’re sure we’ll be safe here, right?”
“It’s certainly safer than where we were before.” Lisa sat down next to Riley and put an arm around each girl’s shoulder. “I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise,” she whispered.
“Okay.”
“Would you two like a tour of the place? But first you should get changed into clean clothes and take a bath,” said Lisa.
“Bath?” Riley asked. What did that mean again? Riley knew that it had something to do with water. It sounded like a nice word. “What is a bath?”
“You’ll get to see soon enough,” Lisa said. And Riley did. After the table had been cleared and the dishes had been washed, Riley was handed a pile of clean clothes and sent off to the bathroom. Sitting in a tub of warm water for a while sounded like a strange thing to do. But to Riley’s surprise it was an absolutely delightful experience. She spent nearly an hour enjoying the delicious warmth of the crystal-clear water. Then she changed into soft, clean clothes, feeling as if she had just stepped out of a wonderful dream. Now Riley felt all sleepy and dazed, but not at all in a bad way.
“Riley? Once you’re done would you like me to do your hair?” Lisa called.
“Okay! I’m coming,” Riley answered. Lisa’s nimble fingers worked quickly and carefully. She gently combed every single knot out of Riley’s long tangled locks and set to work braiding and pinning her hair back. Then she turned and did the same with Sally. Sally hadn’t stopped smiling since she woke up that morning. Riley wondered if this large house reminded Sally at all of her old home, or at least of her old life. A new spark of life seemed to have entered her. Lisa too seemed to be more relaxed and calm than usual. Lisa was always calm and relaxed, but Riley could normally see the little glimmers of worry and stress in her eyes. Today they were gone. Everything had been better today. Everyone had been happier. Things were getting better at last.