Mime Spent Apart

Part 8

Menhaus was back home and in his comfortable track-pants and lounging on the couch. He normally liked lounging in his boxer shorts but this time felt that he needed the extra security of fabric. Plus the night was a little chilly but not enough to warrant a blanket. He looked over at the clock. Five to midnight. He was surprised it was so early with everything that had happened that night. He thought about Peter sitting in the hospital. He hadn't looked all that coherent even though he said he was OK. He wondered if he had suffered a major blow to the head. He remembered the cut in Peter's side and winced. He was glad that Tina had been there to go have a coffee with, she was a good friend. What had happened during the hug had been a little embarrassing to say the least, but she seemed to have taken it in her stride. He guessed that girls probably had to deal with that sort of stuff all the time.

He relaxed further into the couch and thought about the fact that it was his birthday. Somehow it didn't seem to mean as much now as it did at the start. A few of his more 'astrologically inclined' friends told him that the 28th birthday was meant to be one of 'rebirth', where you started getting your life together and realising what it was you were meant to do, or your purpose. He felt no such purpose now. He just felt worry. Worry, and tiredness. He closed his eyes and felt him self drift away... and then was snapped back to reality by his mobile phone beeping loudly. He jumped up and grabbed it. There was a text message from Tina saying "Can't sleep :( how are you?". He wrote back, "Same. how are you feeling?" He rubbed his eyes hard to try and wake himself up a little and looked at the clock again. 11:59. He saw the change turn to midnight and a tenth of a second later there was simultaneously a knock on the door and another message to his phone, presumably from Tina. He jumped up and looked at the door suspiciously. Who could be knocking now? Though considering the events of tonight it could be anyone, if they knew Peter. He sighed to himself and walked over to the door and opened it. On the other side was a small girl, no older than about nine years old. She was wearing a blue sun-dress (he assumed it was a sun-dress, though his brain kept nagging him that a sun dress by definition should be yellow. He told his brain to shut up) and curly brown hair with a little red bow tying it together.

"Umm... hello? What are you doing out so late? Is your mum with you?"

The girl looked at him and shook her head.

"Your mum isn't with you?"

She shook her head again and kept her gaze focused on him. Well, this was odd.

"Where is she, can she come up here now?" A thought occurred to him, "Oh, what about your dad? Is he around?"

She shook her head again and kept staring. Well this was awkward.

"OK then, what can I do for you?"

She still said nothing.

"It's a bit late for you to be out isn't it? Isn't someone out there worried about you?"

She shook her head again and looked over her shoulder. Fear started to crack her still facade. Menhaus made a decision.

"Alright, come in. I'll work something out. This is very strange."

The little girl's expression didn't change but she ran inside and into the lounge room and immediately started examining Menhaus's DVD collection. Manelaus came up behind her. "Is there anything you want to watch there?" The girl pulled out a DVD that Menhaus was relieved to see was an animated movie. He put it into the DVD player and showed the girl where to sit on the lounge. She perched on the edge with her hands in her lap and watched attentively as Menhaus navigated the menus and started the movie playing.