Yui saw a man. Something about him looked familiar, but Yui couldn’t place him. The man was making out with a girl Yui had never seen before. For some reason, the sight of them kissing made Yui feel ill… as he stood there watching, this feeling grew worse, until he felt like he was being ripped apart from the inside.

“Yui!” Al called, as he shook his shoulder. Yui opened his eyes and saw Al’s dark hair hanging in front of him. “Was it another nightmare?”

Without opening his lips, Yui made a sound of affirmation and nodded, wearily. He remembered his nightmare this time. He could somehow tell that it wasn’t the same one as before. Who were those people? Why did that man look familiar? And why… did the sight of them kissing make him feel like he was dying? He clutched his stomach. It still felt uneasy.

“Do you need to get some fresh air?”

“Nah, I’m okay,” he replied with a shrug. “We’re seeing your sister today, anyway, right?”

“Oh yeah, it’s Saturday, isn’t it?” Al asked. He hadn’t had any reason to keep track of the date when he was in isolation.

“I’ll go get cleaned up,” Yui said, suddenly more awake. “I gotta look my best when I meet a lady.”

Al glared at Yui as the younger one headed out of the bedroom. “Don’t you dare hit on her,” he warned.

“I won’t, I won’t,” Yui said playfully, from out in the hallway. 

Yui showered and made sure he was all spruced up and sparkly to meet his new friend. He already felt sure they would be friends from their brief interaction on the phone. He smiled brightly to himself in the mirror, after brushing his teeth. He sprayed on his floral cologne and then put on his favorite red and black outfit again, since he wanted to make an impression. When he returned to the bedroom all dressed up, Al raised his somewhat bushy eyebrows at him. 

“Seriously?” Al asked.

“What?”

“You’re wearing that? To lunch? With my sister?”

“Yyup,” he said the word as if it had two syllables, while he plopped his little leather-clad butt back down on the bed. “People dress up in the city all the time.” His hands were on the bed at his sides, while he kicked his feet playfully off the edge of the mattress.

“Yeah, maybe to night clubs,” Al added.

“Don’t worry about it,” Yui urged. “Hey, if ya want, you could wear that shirt we got for you yesterday! That way, I wouldn’t stand out so much in comparison.”

“Hell, no.”

“Aww,” Yui whimpered. “I tried.” Yui grabbed the remote and turned on the television. There was an old black and white movie playing. A young blonde woman and an older man in a suit and fedora were on screen.

“Oh, Peter,” the woman on the television sighed, as she threw her arms around the man. “I’ve loved you for so long!”

Al made a distinct grunt of displeasure.

“I’m gonna change it,” Yui chuckled, “I don’t really like soap operas either. It just happened to be on.”

“It’s not that,” Al said. He ran his hand through his dark wavy locks. “I’m just not good with TV and movies.”

“Oh,” Yui sulked, “you feel things from them too? I guess that makes sense, if you can feel emotions through phones.”

“Yeah, but,” Al thought for a second. “It’s different. Shows with actors are distracting, because I feel the emotions of the actors, not the characters.”

“Whadda you mean?”

“The actress confessing her love there,” Al began to explain, “isn’t feeling love or happiness. She’s feeling tense and a little angry. She just isn’t showing it.”

“Oh, like she’s upset about something in real life?” Yui asked, curiously.

“Yeah,” Al said. “Could be anything. Maybe she got in a fight with her producer or something. Or is having trouble at home. I can’t pinpoint the cause. I just feel the emotions.”

“I can see how that would distract you,” Yui said. “Sorry about that. …I was gonna watch cartoons. Do those do the same thing?”

“Yes, but,” Al paused and thought about it, “not to the same extent. I like cartoons. I watch them once in a while. I guess when I don’t have the actors’ faces in front of me, it’s a little less jarring. Like seeing their faces emphasizes their emotions? I don’t know, really. I can only watch a little bit at a time though. I prefer books.”

“Oh,” Yui looked a little downtrodden. He looked down at the game systems plugged into the tv. “I’ll play games, then.”

“Doesn’t matter to me,” Al shrugged. “I need a shower, anyway.” Without another word, he walked out and into the bathroom. He took a shower and then looked at himself in the mirror. Unlike Yui, he didn’t smile. He trimmed his beard a little. He wasn’t quite ready to fully shave it. He hadn’t been clean shaven in so long that he worried he might’ve forgotten what his face looked like. 

He looked at the reflection of his large, muscular body. He was getting a little flabby around his midsection. “I need to work out,” he said to himself. Black hair covered his arms and poked out of his chest and stomach. He took his new razor and shaved it off. He sighed with relief. “Much better,” he said. Then, he put his new outfit on, which included a black turtleneck sweater and pants that weren’t too different from his other pair.

The morning passed by quickly, and before they knew it, the doorbell rang. Al and Yui were sitting in the kitchen at the time. When Yui heard the doorbell, he bolted up and practically ran to the door. He opened it, and behind it was a tall and curvy woman who appeared to be in her thirties. She had straight, sleek black hair that fell down to her hips. Her features were sharp yet beautiful. She had fair skin like her brother, a strong jawline, a moderately sized pointed nose with a subtle arch, and periwinkle almond-shaped eyes. She was wearing a red turtleneck sweater with high-waisted khaki pants and black stilettos.

Meredith’s face lit up as she took in Yui’s visage… His pert little button nose, full lips, and large, cat-like eyes.

“You must be Yui,” she said, softly.

“That’s me,” Yui replied, cheerfully. His lips spread into a wide smile.

 “I’m Meredith MacAlistair.” She held out a hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

He shook her hand, gratefully. “The pleasure is all mine, ma’am.”

She giggled. He moved to the side to allow her entrance into the narrow hall. 

She entered, and, rather than greeting her brother in a normal fashion, the first thing she did was whisper “you didn’t tell me Yui was as cute as a button!”

He scoffed.

“He seems like a gentleman,” she noted.

“Yeah,” Al agreed with a subtle nod, “he’s a good guy.”

Upon hearing that she had company, Anabelle daintily descended the stairs. “Hello,” she said in a voice as soft as a robin’s, before her little toes touched the last step. “I’m Anabelle Kingsley. You must be Alistair’s sister?”

“That’s me,” Meredith said, as she pushed her straight black hair behind her ear. She took in the sight of the hostess. So this is the girl who gave William a place to stay, she thought to herself, as she observed the tiny doll of a woman. Her chestnut brown curls bounced when she moved. She had large, round blue eyes, and a small, pointed nose, which made her look like a little pixie. Her dress, which looked like something out of Pride and Prejudice, floated loosely over her petite frame. Meredith smiled at her and held out her hand. Anabelle gently took it and did a little curtsy.

They soon parted with their hostess, and the party of three exited the abode and entered Meredith’s white Mercedes Benz. “Nice car,” Yui complimented, as he scooted into the black seat next to Al.

“Thanks,” Meredith said, from the driver’s seat. She started the engine and began driving.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been in a car,” Yui observed, as he watched the pedestrians out the window.

“Really?” She asked, curiously.

“Yeah,” he replied. “We didn’t have many cars back home, since most people walked everywhere.”

“Ah, I see,” she nodded, as she looked intently at the road.

“Come to think of it, when was the last time I was in a car?” Al pondered, as he looked out his own window.

“That would be,” Meredith paused, as she thought back a bit, “the last time I took you to the doctor. Which was when? Ten months ago?”

“Sounds about right.”

“The doctor never approved of you isolating yourself, you know.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Al rolled his eyes.

“He said it was worse for your mental health,” she added, “because it would make it harder to acclimate when you inevitably return to society… Like what you’re doing now.” She glanced at him in the rear view mirror. “So how are you doing?”

Al wanted to avoid the question, but it was hard, when his sister’s eyes were glaring daggers at him like that.

“He’s doing great!” Yui jumped in to save him. “He’s been going out with me everyday!”

“Has he, now?” Meredith smiled in surprise. “Well, isn’t that something? You must be magic, Yui.”

“I get that a lot,” Yui smiled and rubbed his floofy hair, “but I’m really nothing special.”

“That’s not what I hear,” Meredith said. She looked around at the street signs. “But we’ll get to that later. Which way is this Palazzo place?”

“Oh, sorry,” Yui said, as he sat forward a bit. His seatbelt tugged on his shoulder, as he stretched his arm up to the front seat and pointed. “It should be right up there, to the left. Ah, see that red and green sign?”

“Oh, that was easier than I thought,” she said, as she drove toward the indicated location. “Thank you, Yui.”

“No problem, Yui said with a smile.