Lavender & Ice

5. Home Away From Home

Ashima woke with a start as she heard voices speaking near her bed. She timidly brought her head out from under the blankets and looked to see the same woman, speaking to a man.  She noticed he was bald as well and as she watched them talk she noticed neither of them had eyebrows or eyelashes either.r

He seemed familiar, but she wasn't sure why. Even his voice sounded somewhat familiar as he spoke and, although she didn't know the meaning of the words he was speaking, she felt safe with him for some reason.

The man's words stopped when the woman cut him off with a short burst of words and his head turned toward Ashima, his light blue gray eyes meeting hers. His eyes rounded and he opened his mouth but didn't say anything, his head tilting slightly in curiosity.

Something in his eyes... oh!

Recognition hit her like a brick and words flew from her mouth.

"Thank you so much for helping me! I can't tell you how grateful I am. I'm not sure how to say thank you in your culture, and now I also remember that you have no idea what I'm saying... ". disappointment and embarrassment showed on her face.

The pair spoke again in their native tongue for several minutes, practically acting like she didn't exist, other than the looks that she received from them occasionally. They seemed to be arguing. 

The man sighed loudly and just looked at her for a long moment. He eventually nodded his head and did a motion that made her think she was supposed to follow him. She looked at the woman and raised her brows in question.

The woman did a motion with her face that Ashima assumed was the equivalent of rolling her eyes. She went to the bed and pulled the blankets off Ashima, before pulling on her hand to get her to step off the bed. Ashima did as instructed, just now noticing how tall the woman was. She was likely over six feet tall while the man was probably seven feet tall.

She followed them obediently but before they reached the door, she winced and shivered at the cold, her feet prickling like she was walking on needles. The man stopped and leaned down slightly toward Ashima's level, looking at her face before looking down at her body and then her feet.

He practically growled words at the woman as he pointed down at Ashima's feet. But before Ashima could try to decipher the woman's response, the man picked her up, one forearm behind her knees and the other arm wrapped around her back. She placed her hands on his chest to steady herself at the surprise of the motion. The woman appeared beside her, laying one of the blankets over Ashimas body and draping the end over her feet.

The hallway was considerably colder than the room and Ashima clung to the warmth radiating from the man, burying her face against his chest and pulling the blanket over everything but her eyeballs. He tensed and paused for a brief moment before he continued walking.

Ashima wondered how the man and woman were so comfortable in the thin shirt and pants they wore that matched her own. She wondered what they had done with her thick body suit, along with her sweater, pants, tank top, socks, and boots. But she supposed she should be thankful they'd left her underwear and bra in place.

They entered a smaller room with a table in the center and several cabinets along the walls where the woman pulled a key from her pocket and opened one of the cabinets to reveal Ashima's belongings. She laid out each item along the table and the man that was carrying her set her down on it, immediately stepping back and straightening his top where she had clung to it.

She quickly reached and put on her thick socks, followed by her black sweater, relishing in the protection from the cold air in the room. "Thank you for washing and drying my clothes." She smiled awkwardly as they stared at her.