Heart Made of Shadows

Part 2 of “Tattoos Made of Moonlight”. I would recommend reading them in order, but you don’t have to.

Kira stared at the girl in the road. Her dark skin was cut through with swirling silver lines, which were mirrored in her chocolate eyes. Her hands had fallen to her sides in shock, so her backpack slipped down one shoulder. There was a faint light surrounding her, the same color as the designs on her skin. She didn’t seem to notice the shades that surrounded her. Every so often one would try to touch her but would jerk away as if burned. 

Suddenly, Kira found that she had a box cutter at her throat. 

“Who are you? What are you?” The other girl asked with her eyes narrowed. 

Kira couldn’t talk. Her hands were shaking, and every time she tried to make a sound, her throat dried up. 

“Well?” The stranger demanded. 

“I’m Kira.” Kira managed. 

“What are you, Kira?” 

“I’m human!” The shades swirled around the two of them, agitated. 

“Why should I believe you?” The box cutter came closer to Kira’s throat. She watched in silent horror as one of the shades inched closer to the girl’s hand. 

“Don’t-” She croaked, but it was too late. The shade grabbed the stranger’s hand.

“What? Don’t what?” The other girl said. 

Kira gaped in astonishment. The shade had disappeared, and the girl’s hand was unharmed. All the other shades backed off, wary once again. 

“Okay, look. You’re obviously crazy, so I’m just going to take my knife away from your throat and you can go on your merry way.” She lowered the point.

“I’m not crazy! I’ve just never seen someone survive that.” Kira gestured to her hand.  

The stranger cocked her head. “Survive... having a hand?”

“No! The shade, it grabbed you!” Kira was getting frustrated. She was never the clearest communicator before, but she was definitely out of practice. “Everyone called them spores? The floating things that killed people?”

The corner of the unfamiliar girl’s mouth quirked up. “Yes, the floating things that killed people.”

“They’re not actually spores but more like remnants, I guess? They’re shades, at least that’s what I call them. They’re the things that killed everyone.”

“Still are.” The girl murmured. 

“Well yeah, if people come out of their bunker.” Kira shook her head. “Anyway, I started to see them when my dads died. It took me a while but I realized that they were the spores everyone was talking about. They respond to my emotions, and I was scared, so they tried to defend me. Normally it just takes being in close proximity to one to kill you, but when they touch someone, they die in a very painful way.” Kira eyed the knife. “Please don’t kill me.”

The stranger put the knife away and offered her hand to Kira. “I’m Maia.”

Kira let out a sigh of relief and shook Maia’s hand. “Thanks.” The shades settled close to the ground, still a bit wary but calmer than before. 

“So, what are your…” Kira hesitated, trying to think of a term. “Powers? Abilities? Forget it, I sound like a superhero movie. What can you do? I’m guessing the patterns on your skin have something to do with it.”

“You can see them?” Maia asked. “I can only see them at night.” 

Kira nodded.

“I help ghosts pass on. Do you see the ghosts?” 

“The glowy people who only come out at night? Yeah. I can’t talk to them though, or control them like I can the shades.”

“I can talk to them.” Maia pointed to a run-down house across the street. “There was one in there last night. I helped her.” Her voice cut off suddenly like she was going to say something else, but she didn’t continue. 

After a moment of awkward silence, Maia took a can of beans out of her backpack, which was black and mud-splattered. Kira accepted the can and fork, and her stomach rumbled. She tried not to gulp down the dark, creamy beans, but the can was gone within thirty seconds. 

“Have you been eating?” Maia asked as she gave her another can.

“Not in the past couple of days. I haven’t been able to find any non-perishable food at the stores.” Kira looked longingly at the backpack as the now empty can clattered from her hand to the ground beside the other. 

Maia zipped it up. “If you eat any more you’ll be sick. Pantries in houses usually have plenty of stuff. Where have you been looking?”

“You go to the houses?” Kira asked, shocked. 

“Yeah…” Maia’s eyes narrowed in disbelief. “I sleep in them, get my clothes from closets, and grab food. You’re telling me you don’t go in them at all?”

“It just feels wrong,” Kira said, rubbing her hand. 

“You know what else feels wrong? Starving to death.” Maia shook her head. “Do you want to travel with me for a bit? Having someone else to talk with might help my sanity.”

“Sure.” Kira took the hand that Maia gave her and stood up. She brushed herself off, sending dust flying everywhere. Maia started towards a wall that had been constructed at the beginning of the neighborhood. The shades made a path for her as she dodged a lump of something that looked suspiciously like a body. 

“You coming?” Maia called.

Kira froze. The way she stood there…

“You coming?” Ai asked. “I’m holding the picnic basket and I still beat you!” 

“Shut up.” Kira laughed, breathless, as she reached the top of the hill. She straightened up and paused. “It’s beautiful.” The hill overlooked a pond surrounded by curved trees, and Kira could just glimpse the sunset through a gap between two oaks.

“I know I am.” Ai smirked. Kira giggled, and clutched Ai’s hand as she led the way down the slope. 

The grass was a lush green, although it was littered with geese droppings. Kira stepped carefully over to an area by the water. “Here?”

“Whatever you say.” Ai spread out the blanket and set the basket down. She gestured to the ground. “After you, my lady.”

Kira beamed and folded her legs under her, spreading out her floral print sundress. 

“Today I will be serving you some lobster and caviar, followed by some strawberry truffles.” With a flourish, Ai uncovered the picnic basket and handed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to Kira. “Do you find it to your satisfaction, Miss Kira?” 

“Thank you very much, server. Send my compliments to the cook.” Kira took a large bite, then motioned for Ai to sit down. 

They sat in silence for a second, chewing. 

“I should have used more jelly.” Ai grimiced at her sandwich. 

“I think it’s perfect.” Kira said, and scooted closer to Ai. The sun set as the two laughed and sat with their arms around each other, staying long after dark.

There wasn’t a day that had gone by without Kira desperately missing Ai. She and her family had gone underground a day before the shades came to their town. None of them had noticed the small gap in between the door and the frame. 

“Hey, you okay?” Maia jogged back to Kira. “What’s wrong?” 

“I’m fine.” Kira felt a tear drip onto her collarbone.

“Clearly not.” Maia said, and grabbed a shirt from her backpack. She mopped up Kira’s tears, comforting her. 

Kira felt how lucky she was to have met someone like her, someone who understood what it was like to have survived and know that millions didn’t. Kira couldn’t protect Ai or her parents, but she could protect Maia. 

She couldn’t shield her family and her girlfriend from the gap in the door, but she could try to help Maia in whatever way she could.