64 A Free Sprite

Tao.

The man Park had said she had burnt. The beginning point of all that she had been alleged as guilty of.

Jim was almost afraid to ask, but the words involuntarily left his mouth.

"What happened?"

Miya looked at him silently, her face vacant. Her eyes held a darkness he had never seen before. Her glare was burning, cutting him from the inside. A chill went down Jim's spine, as he looked at that face. A strange, sinister despair hung between them. It was almost as if he wanted to speak, but something clawed at his throat, throttling him from within.

The temperature around them seemed to have frozen.

Jim was afraid of what he might find out, if he uttered but one single word.

Her eyes told him that she would tell him the truth. And yet, his gut told him that he didn't want to find out.

Miya's eyes didn't leave his.

Jimmy swallowed.

No.

Maybe some other time.

Just then, his phone buzzed, and the young master jumped up. Then he looked at a text message that he had received, and sighed. His body sagged in relief. From the corner of his eyes, he saw that Miya was looking at the sun again.

He was glad that the moment had passed.

He didn't want to deliberate the matter, as to whether he should have insisted on knowing, but he had found a useful distraction.

Coughing, he said in a low voice.

"How do you know Rebecca?"

It was at that exact moment that all colour drained from Miya's face. She looked at Jimmy horrified. Her demeanour somehow returned to normal, and the darkness dissipated.

"I totally forgot about sister Becky!" she shrieked, and was about to jump out from the chair, when Jimmy held her hand. He was strangely calmed by the fact that she wasn't looking threatening anymore.

"I got a man sent to the library when we left," he informed her gently, "I just received his text. Rebecca did wake up a while ago, but she ate some food and slept again. He was asking for permission to leave for a while."

Miya was instantly relieved.

She looked at Jim gratefully, and silently mumbled a "Thank You".

Jim smiled.

"Then," he said again, "How did the two of you meet?"

Strangely, Miya was at ease now. She let out a soft chuckle. It lightened the atmosphere quite a bit. Her next words were almost jolly.

"It was thirteen years ago," she said.

Jim's eyes shot up at that, but he quickly maintained his expression. Thirteen years… Park had told him that Miya was 27. Which meant, she had met Rebecca when she was 14.

Holy sh*t.

Then this was, in all probability, an incident from the time when Park had told him that she had disappeared and went missing for ten years. She had disappeared at 12, after escaping from the mental health facility, right?

Jim sat alertly in his chair.

Jim had the urge to scowl, but he remained calm.

Where did you go to Miya? Why were you being bullied to the point of passing out?

"Have you heard of the Storm family?"

Jim frowned, then shook his head.

Miya sighed.

"Jonathan Storm, and his wife Meera. They were good people. In 2004, when riots broke out in the entire country, they were one of the victims. Uncle Jonathan had a small publishing house, and Meera was a director, of documentaries mainly. A social activist of kind. They also had a son. Sis Becky's younger brother, Adrian. He was a victim to the violence too."

Jim's frown deepened at that.

Why did it feel like he had heard that story somewhere before?

Miya continued.

"I lived with them for around a month, and they taught me how to read. That's when I started reading a lot of books. I and Becky became friends too, and she taught me all the bad stuff."

Miya looked at the sky with a satisfied smile.

"We used to smoke all day long, when uncle and aunt were off to work. She was the classic spoilt child, the distress of a well reputed family. She had zero interest in studies, or anything at all. She would just stir up trouble everywhere. I followed suit too," Miya was chuckling now, "We formed a sort of gang. She was this tall, short-haired military girl dressed in provocative clothes. And I was her right hand man. My dress code was a black shirt that had a painted skull on it, and a pair of shorts. Together, we ruled over the other kids."

A laugh left her throat.

Jim was still frowning.

"Becky bullied me into learning how to fight. And Adrian, God. He was 12, and was so tall and strong, and he'd be so mad at his sister when she taught me wrong moves. He'd train me himself. He was such a pleasant fellow, and a typical nerd. He wanted to be a script writer, and he would often seek me out to let me hear his stories," Miya sighed, "It was a good time."

And darkness filled her heart again. To be honest, it had been a long time, and she didn't even remember the boy's face clearly anymore. But the fact that he had died so young, still hurt.

"You liked him, huh?" Jim's face still had a frown, but he read the sadness on her face. He immediately wanted to console her.

Thankfully, it worked.

Miya's lips spread into a soft smile.

"He was a brother of sorts to me, yeah," she said, "But I do believe he wanted to marry me. He asked me twice."

Miya's chuckle was hearty, and Jim was instinctively on defence.

"You mean I'm not the first one to propose to you?!" he asked aloud, and the missus just chuckled.

"You're not even second, young master," she replied with a sirk.

"Huuuhh?! Who was the first?!" Jim's expression was offended. Miya laughed.

"Well, that's a secret."

She winked at him, and then put a small finger on her lips.

The air was filled with silence.

Neither realized that they were still holding hands. When it occurred to Jim, he wanted to let go. But strangely, Miya tightened her hold on him. A second later, she breathed deeply and asked:

"Why your mother? If you don't mind, of course."

Jim was surprised. He hadn't thought she'd really ask him that. He shrugged nevertheless.

"She… She was the first person to yell at me. That's my worst memory."

Miya gave the young master a small glance, and then slowly shook her head.

"You don't have to tell me," she sighed, "But don't lie."

Jim's breath was caught in his throat.

How did she know?

Miya read the question on his face.

"Your pulse. It quickened for a second, then calmed down way too fast. It's a classic sign of when somebody is taken by surprise, and then finally lies."

Jim's jaw dropped.

"You freak!" he muttered, looking accusingly at their intertwined hands, "You took my pulse!"

"Well of course!" came the daring reply.

Jim didn't know whether to laugh or be surprised. So, he just looked at her in absolute horror and indignity.

Miya laughed.

Her hair was ruffling with the wind, and most of it fell to her face. It was a beautiful shade really, now that it was paired with a bright yellow. Jim sighed.

Miya's laugh sounded sweet too. Almost as if she were a free sprite.

Free…

And something struck Jim's mind. His eyes went wide with surprise, and he immediately frowned.

Free. Free.

Oh, yes!

Yes, that was it!

"Jonathan Freeman Storm!" Jimmy yelled out loud, jerking up from his chair suddenly, "You're talking about Jonathan Freeman Storm! The Toby-Freeman Publications!"

Miya was surprised.

"Yes, that's Rebecca's father. Did you know him?"

"Know him? Well of course I knew him. He was one of my father's colleagues!"

With that, Jim laughed out loud.

This sis Becky of Miya's…

She was actually Rebecca Freeman Storm!