Secrets
I sat there. Looking at the large T.V. screen in Riku's basement. It was summer break and we were watching some horror movies - ones I had seen at least twenty times in the past few days. I was growing sick of all the dark drama and wanted to see the brightness of the summer sun. I decided to try and convince Riku to go to Lake Mitsue with me.
" Come on Riku. Let's go down to the lake and have some fun." I pleaded. "Please! It's a beautiful day outside, and it's only a few miles down the road." After a long silence he finally responded.
"Fine, Miyako," he said with a sigh, "just don't expect me to stay out all day. I much prefer my basement over some boring lake." He ended with a smug look on his face.
"Okay Mr. Depressed, I'm going to head home and get ready. You can meet me at my house in half an hour." I said as I headed up the stairs and out the door.
I walked a few doors down to my house. When I got inside, I went straight to my room and searched my drawers for my favorite bathing suit. It was stuffed behind a few ratty t-shirts. My little black suit covered in red roses. Over my bathing suit, I wore a black tank top and a pair of dark denim jeans. I stood in front of my mirror and brushed my hair. Then, finding I could do nothing with it, I threw it into a messy bun.
I searched my room to find my towel, sun screen, and string bag. I was throwing everything into the bag when I heard the doorbell ring.
"It's open," I yelled down the stairs, "come on in."
I finish grabbing what I needed and headed down the stairs. Riku was standing in the front hallway ready to leave. I could tell he wanted to get this trip over with.
We left my house and started our walk to the lake. Riku was being unusually quiet during the walk. I decided to be nice and stop at one of his favorite spots. The cemetery.
I turned the corner leading to the cemetery. I looked back to see Riku giving me a questioning look.
"What?" I said. "I thought since I was gonna torture you at the lake, I could at least let you have some fun first."
"Okay. I guess a little walk through the cemetery would be fun."
We walked through the cemetery, looking at all of the old gravestones. I picked a few tulips that were growing at the foot of an old willow and placed them on top of one of the graves. Riku and I were completely silent as we wandered around. We only stayed for about half an hour, then we were back on our way to the lake.
When we got there, he took his towel and laid it in the shade of a big oak tree. I took my towel out of my bag and laid it in the sun so I could tan. I took off my tank top and shorts and rubbed the sun screen over my body. After a while of just sitting in the sun, I felt like taking a quick dip in the lake.
Riku had fallen asleep under the shade of the oak. He looked so peaceful, and I wanted to give him a gentle wake-up call.
I walked to the sandy bank of the lake. I let the water rise slowly as I walked further and further from the shore. Once I was neck deep in the cold water, I dove under. The bun that my hair was in was ruined, so I took out the rubber band that was holding it up. I let my hair float around my head for few seconds. Then, when I was soaked with lake water, I made my way back to the shore.
I walked over to Riku cautiously. Once I saw that he was still asleep I relaxed a bit. I pulled my dripping wet hair over my shoulder. I was ready to give Riku his wake-up call. I poised my hair just above his head and rung out the water.
He immediately jumped from the shock of the cold water. Then, before I could even tell what was happening, I was on the ground wrestling with him. With his strength, it took only a few seconds before I was pinned by my shoulders to the ground.
"Got'cha" he exclaimed proudly. Then we were both laughing.
He loosened his grip on my shoulders and I stood up to walk over to my towel. I grabbed it and started drying off the rest of the water. Riku did the same.
I laid the towel down again and started talking to him about weekend plans. I looked over at Riku. "What are you doing this weekend?" I asked, as I was talking about my weekend plans.
"Oh . . . um . . . just taking another trip with the family." he looked distracted as he talked.
"Oh . . . okay."
I was still looking at Riku as his expression changed. He looked like he had made a big decision and was determined to go through with it. His expression was very serious when he opened his mouth to talk.
"What's wrong?" I asked. I knew something was bothering him.
"I need to tell you something. Something you cannot repeat to anyone . . " he looked around to see if anyone was close enough to hear what we were saying. "My family and I are . . . " he cut off his sentence to whisper the last word in my ear, "vampires".
I sat up completely straight and just stared at him. I could feel a range of emotions cross my face as thoughts and questions raced in my head. The seconds flew by. Riku was getting a worried look on his face as he read all the expression that crossed mine. When I found my voice again, I asked him the question that had been bugging me since we were little. "What do you do — where do you go on your 'trips'?" I asked in a rushed tone.
He ignore my question, as if not hearing it, and ask one of his own, "Do I frighten you now? Do you think I'm some kind of monster?"
I was absolutely surprised that he asked me this, because he should have already known my answer. Obviously he didn't know, or he couldn't figure it out. "Riku, I could never be frightened of you, nor could I ever think of you as a monster. I don't care if you're a vampire, werewolf, or even an alien. You will always be my best friend, and nothing will ever change that."
He sat there for a moment with his face turned toward the earth. When he lifted his head all he said was, "Thank you, Miyako."
