Springing from my bed in a pool of my own sweat, I let out a deep sigh of relief, before throwing the covers off of me. With a parched throat, I dragged my tired body out of my room and into the hall. Not bothering to turn on the lights, I used my hand to guid me. Making my decent down the stairs, I crept towards the kitchen as to not make too much noise and wake everyone, when my ears perked up to something moving just beyond the walls, I stopped to listen.

Screech!

A noise like nails scrapping against a chalk board resounded in the air. I recoiled at the sound, the fear of what lurked behind the wall quickened my heart rate but curiosity dragged my unwilling feet towards the noise. Stopping just near the edge of the archway, I peeked from behind it. Across the small kitchen, sat my older brother, sitting down by the dinner table amongst the silence. I let out a breath of relief. His face illuminated by dancing lights that flickered through the dark room like a disco ball. He had his headphones on and was chuckling at the screen. A devious thought popped into my head and without hesitation a smile crept across my face. Tiptoeing, I slowly crept up behind him. I lifted my hands up and grabbed his shoulders. He jerked upwards, slamming into the table while simultaneously letting out a loud yelp. I tried shushing him through my uncontrollable laughter. “Mom and Inami are sleeping!”

“Don’t scare me like that!” He whispered loudly, clutching his chest. “I already had a nightmare.” He paused his video and glared at me.

With understanding, I plopped down on a chair next him, sighing loudly. Quickly grabbing his cup and ignoring his protests, I took a long swig of the clear liquid. The coldness spread out my veins like wildfire, quenching not only my thirst but the heat of my body and cooling me down. “Rime…” I said, with no trace of playfulness. “…Do you think it’ll ever get better?”

“I don’t know Mya…” he said with a sigh, knowing exactly what I meant. “…I just don’t know.” He shook his head and looked down.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Rime and I both jumped at the sound coming from behind us. Curiosity taking over our bodies as we got up to investigate. Relief flooded my veins like cold water, as we watch Inami sliding her little butt down the stairs. “Inami?” I said “You should be asleep.”

“I know.” She replied in her tiny voice that sounded so much like mini-mouse. “But something didn’t feel right and I woke up.” Me and Rime looked at eachother, as if to say her-too?