I Fell in Love with Hope - Lancali

Sony stands from the bed, holding the stack of papers at her hip as if
it belongs to her. Hikari says nothing. Her jaw wounds tight, and
attention is drawn to the box of books in the corner.
“Good to meet you, sir–I’m Sony, this is Hikari,” Sony says. Her
church bell voice is tamed, shaking at the ends. She walks
backward, the coyness a symptom of caution. “That’s Sam.”
“Sam, yes,” Neo’s father says. “You bring Neo his dinner.”
“Dad,” Neo whispers, his hands gripping the edges of the chair by
his thighs.
“Don’t be embarrassed. I’m happy to see you being social.” He walks
past Sony, rubbing his son’s shoulder. Sony eyes his hand like it’s a
knife scraping the surface of Neo’s skin.
Neo tenses from the touch. His gaze fixes on the lines in the tiles.
“I wasn’t sure if Neo had any friends till now.” His father pats his
head like a pet’s but stills when he notices the change. “What’d you
do to your hair?”
“Is Neo’s mom coming?” I ask.
I’m buying time. Or at least bargaining with it.
The distraction seems to work. He looks my way, surprised as if he
remembers me being far more docile. Maybe I was. Interfering is a
great sin because of what I am, but Neo is the one who told me to
step into the pages.
“No,” his father says. “I just got back from a business trip, and she
had errands to run for his cousins–”
Tension curls at the cutoff. Neo’s father finally sees the work spread
about the desk. The hundreds of handwritten pages in the far corner.
The pen in Neo’s lap.