Footprints

ix. perso

Chloe awoke to find four fairly different things. Firstly, the chilly wind had disappeared. Secondly, the fire was no longer crackling away. Thirdly, Ichimi had taken one of Chloe's cosy covers and made herself into a larger burrito. And fourthly, Home was nowhere to be found.

"Ichi," said Chloe, poking the burrito repeatedly. "Wake up."

Ichimi opened her eyes sleepily. Then, after deciding it was much too early, closed them again.

"Ichi!!" Chloe delivered a particularly vicious poke. "We've got to talk!"

"I'm sorry!" Ichimi burst out. "I didn't want to take your cover, really. But it was so cold, and you were already asleep, and--"

"No, no, not that! Home's disappeared!"

"What?"

"He's gone!"

"But I loved him!"

"You what?"

Ichimi took one deep, shaky breath. Indeed, she had been smitten ever since beholding Home's pure white face and brilliant blue eyes. She truly felt they had connected on a very deep level. Why had he left her? Had it been the language barrier, possibly?

"Look," said Chloe, gesturing towards a strange trail of footprints, "he must have left in the night."

Both girls gasped as they saw where it went: the trail of Home's little footprints stumbled through the snowy nothing until it entered, terrifyingly, the pointy woods.

Chloe and Ichimi were then very sad. For their new friend was a strange, fleeting person whom they knew very little about, but no matter who you were, and no matter how shaggy your coat was, if you left the fire at night, you wouldn't be back in the morning.