"Hey—"
Slam! The sound of my "friend" nearly breaking my back with his body as he charges through. The star was a blind man with seemingly blind fury. I failed to catch the human girl's attention, even after she was looking back for that sight of me.
"Hm? What was that?" She was aware, but she wasn't too quick.
"What was what?" My father excuses. Knowing I was there, he tried rubbing off my presence from her.
"I hear something. Something that was calling me? Or us...?"
"Oh, Lisa. You're getting too attached to this grief, didn't you?"
I fell on the floor, nearly cracking my head if it wasn't for my pearls to save me. When I woke up, I found Starglaze dragging me away into the kitchen by his edges. Sometimes, I forgot how strong he could be.
"What? What are you doing?"
"Stopping you from doing something stupid, definitely! What else?"
"I'm trying to get her to know me! Don't you think?"
"Ooh, cake..." Starglaze's eyes were shimmering. His body floats, his edges slowly going further to the corner.
I don't usually fight like this with him. But when this happened, I always had a feeling he wouldn't stop until I stopped. Perhaps seeing his best friend thinking of another human makes him jealous, and jealousy only makes him irritated even more. But I could only see him dragging me close to the kitchen for a secondary reason.
"What the...who's cake was that?" I thought.
She is still here, having not yet completed her tears. How long does it take for a human to mourn someone? Meanwhile, she left this precious cake on the table without a cover. It was adorned in a pale pinkish cream of a strawberry flavour and perhaps velvet from the colour of the layer. I couldn't care for such a colour, but I did.
"What a cake. Lisa surely loves making one if she's hungry..." I wailed with my fingers, reaching for the cake from a distance. Only a doorframe and a space separates us.
"Christine...?" Lisa heard my wailing.
For a moment, that prayer was silenced when she sensed me elsewhere. My father tried shutting that hope for our family, but Lisa didn't flinch so easily. The human girl didn't like the rude woman, either, given the face from a determined to a disturbed one.
Whatever she puts into that incense might have a poison within. I could not be more intoxicated since morning compared to the red wall. Here I am, trying to think whether I should return to Lisa or stop Starglaze from ruining the cake for us. But in the end, I had to stop his insatiable hunger first.
"Come here, Starglaze!" I hooked him away with my grip. Now, he cannot escape.
"Woah! Pearl!"
I tiptoed slowly from the wide doorframe that could've caught me if the human girl turned around. My lightweight foot danced so well that I could balance myself with only one. If the human sees me, I would've been on a happy show for her. But leaving wasn't so easy when you have Starglaze.
"Alright, human. Time for a meet..."
"Nyam! Nyam! Cake! Cake!"
"Starglaze, what are you doing?" I panicked.
He was treating himself with a piece. He set a plate and a fork before the cake and lent a knife to make a cut. I tried to stop him, but Starglaze's mischief was beyond my saving. One piece of that cake was gone, and the cut was not even perfect.
"Starglaze, no! Get your hands off of it!"
Pearl tries to rid Starglaze's hand of it, hoping that she can recover the cake before the human girl finds it. But Starglaze was an arduous thief, creeping his edges close to the cream and tainting the topping with his dust. That cake was beyond saving, let alone a plate he dropped to the ground by accident.
Prang!
The echoing shatter is beyond her saving. And as she knew what would happen next, the humans heard the sound from a distance. Without wasting any more time, Pearl quickly snatched the crumbs of the cake from Starglaze's edges and made what was left of it back into the cake.
"W-who's there? Someone's in the kitchen!" Lisa muttered.
I snatched Starglaze away, hiding around the kitchen before the human girl could catch a glimpse of me. Just in time, they were hidden well, and the humans suspect nothing. But it doesn't mean they haven't seen what Starglaze did to their precious cake. I couldn't risk the human girl seeing me like this with Starglaze.
"W-who's eating the cake?" Lisa yelled.
The berry cream was uneven as if someone had dipped their edge over a taste for curiosity. The cut marks still linger on top, but the knife is nowhere to be found. Someone is definitely caught for this act. But should I know that I get caught?
"Well, uh...It was..." My father excuses. But before he could finish his words, mother came to intervene.
"I...I'm so sorry! I didn't meant to!"
To save me from this trouble, my mother sacrifices her dignity for the sake of the human girl, covering my tracks as I make my way out of the kitchen safely. The human girl isn't disappointed, but she isn't happy with the disrespect of her artwork. I couldn't judge her resentment for that.
"Ms Starstuhm. I understand this isn't a one-time party, but I inquire that you could've waited a few more hours. I still have a lot to do." Lisa fixed that cake with discontentment.
A few more hours, the human girl said. I could be in this state for a few more hours! What did the human girl need to do that cost a few more hours, anyway? Maybe I should make those hours worthwhile for her with my presence so she doesn't feel even sadder. She was bored and had to share more of the poor little Christine again.
"You know, I made this cake for Christine way lesser since she's gone."
"What a waste of icing and family ingredients, isn't it? Not when you realize how much she loves it enough to befriend you."
The human girl's sadness reminds me of most of my guilt. Being so late and self-centred makes you care less about your act and regret the last. Like how she made her cake here, she couldn't even complete the icing after realizing the eighteen uneven cream spaces that she left on the cake.
"But she always gets curious. Curious enough to be my friend just to see how I made these breads and cakes for her."
"Bowell always pays attention to quality and detail when it comes to service. Also, this isn't cheap..."
"*Chuckle* And then you found her trying to make one for herself. Oh, how I feel so happy to be valued that much..."
I was surprised to see how good her baking skill is, and I'm sure that she isn't just an ordinary girl. And I was right! She was a baker—a great one, even. That makes me so hungry and empty in my stomach after seeing her pulling out a funny twirled bread.
*Thought* "Could it possibly be that she was here? Eating my cake?"
A young girl, baker, and a best friend of mine? What are the odds? I mean, Doorwell isn't a baker, but she's definitely a product of a baker. It is now clear that Lisa was my chance to relive and restore the shame I had of Doorwell.
"Come on, Starsy. The doctors are waiting for us."
"Starsy? Starglaze?"
Starglaze isn't around with me. Sometimes, boredom gets beyond my control. Now, the star wanted to satisfy himself with the human cake way before I could introduce myself to Lisa. Though I could have just revealed myself to Lisa now, I still couldn't do it myself without proper timing and a sad face like that.
"You bake this cake? I'm surprised! I thought you had always been an athlete girl." Donna mumbles with her eyes sharpened at crawling Pearl. I'm going for another trouble.
"Athlete? Where did you hear that? I'm not an athlete..." Lisa grabs a knife.
"I don't even remember taking a sport. Are you sure you're hearing right, Ms. Starstuhm?" She continues icing her cake.
"Ouch, hot. What is this knife, Ms. Starstuhm? It burns..." The handle of the knife wounded her.
"Is this glitter? Why is it so hot?"
"Dust? Is there a dust on the knife? It must be our...uhm..." Donna reasons once more, with her eyes nodding for Pearl.
"Knife handle heating dust?"
"Well, can you tell me that first before I use this? It hurts a lot on my fingers! Like a spark of lava..."
Starglaze's clumsy edges couldn't be more predictably disappointing. The human girl caught up to his dust, yet she hadn't found the secret ingredient in the drawer. Though the chef was somewhere in the kitchen, sharpening his skills for food and tasting new human food without me. It's a hunger-ridden responsibility for me, claiming my friend from his never-ending selfishness.
"Ms Starstuhm, is anything okay here? You two looked different lately." Lisa is still busy handling her cake. But it wouldn't be long until she was finished and found a suspicious star in this place. Mother and father are trying their best to stall the time as they see me looking around for Starglaze.
"W-what do you mean?" My mother took the conversation. Father gave his best to help me without making Lisa suspect us.
"Well, you didn't look much sad when we first met. You look more inspired and well. You found a new career somewhere?"
"We just had a good trip! Nothing big! Hehe!" Donna chuckles.
I keep searching through the kitchen, from low to high and left to right. The kitchen was a big place to search for a small thing, but I could feel that Starglaze was closer than ever—somewhere. I only need to keep looking until she notices something shimmering yellow.
"Where is he...?" Pearl searches around. Starglaze is still nowhere to be found.
"*Sigh* I'm out of icing. Do you have some to spare?"
"We have like six flavours. Go fetch yourself a favour in the fridge." David helps Pearl find Starglaze within the drawers and jars, though both still find a void in their search.
There's still no sign of Starglaze's presence, let alone his dust. He was gone, like nowhere. I had searched every drawer, from up to down and left to right. I was about to give up on this search when Lisa began opening the refrigerator, and I saw a glimpse.
*Gasp*
That gasp was real from father and I. Starglaze was gone. But the human girl still hasn't noticed the Joyling yet, reaching for the fridge to grab an icing. She was about to have more than a taste of fresh cream in the refrigerator if she was reaching closer.
"Starglaze...why?" I whispered.
Starglaze was there, munching on a snack alone inside the fridge while sealing himself inside a jar. She was right before the human girl's eyes, caring less about his glass shell until he had his last meal. It brings confusion as to how he even happens to be there.
"*Sigh* Not the type of day I'll ever have since a few weeks without Christine. But anything is better than just waiting for her, I guess..." Lisa grabbed an icing from the shelf, but her eyes told her she was missing something. Something in the fridge is looking unusual. Perhaps her eyes deceived her, but she was sure not to let it slip.
"Hm?" She opens the fridge door. But the jar of Starglaze is empty and still sealed. Me and the humans were relieved to see Starglaze go away, but now I had to hide again before the girl found me wandering loose. Now, finding Starglaze is much easier, with a trail of his stardust lying on the floor—slowly fading.
"Ms Starstuhm, are you out of ice? Looks like you have to go buy some..." Lisa suspected nothing.
"Not good for a fridge, just to remind you."
And at last, me and Starglaze were heading away from the kitchen. My chance to meet the human girl was cut off because I couldn't let her find out I was responsible for this cake. Oh, how I wanted Starglaze to feel bad about this.
———————————————————————————————————————————
It's over. The human girl can continue crying in the kitchen as she pours that misery like a filling in the dough of pain—Frowlings type of treat. Me and Starglaze? We're going back to the lounge to finish what we've started again, especially as we were about to see her leave.
But Starglaze caught something else in his trail when he went around the living room. A golden prize hidden under the cabinet was said to be an ancient relic. Long have I thought this thing was extinct after the studio set ablaze with its greed and pride. But here, they still have one—the Gleam.
"Pearl, can you believe it? They have it! They have Gleam!?"
"I thought this thing was gone for like years! What happened here?"
What happens to you, Starglaze? All of a sudden, you were luring yourself close to danger just so I could save you. Now, you even play more friendly and playful since that human girl is here. Are you afraid I will replace her? Because it seems you were shivering down the edges again.
"Of course, Starsy. Entertain me with that—"
"Shh! She's coming! Quick, hide!" Starglaze pushed me again into the lounge room, locking the door before the human girl could see us.
The human girl glanced at the hallway with a melancholy stare. Her eyes stare deep into the green wall, but her thoughts are elsewhere. I trailed from behind, watching her dream of living with her imaginary friend, like me. Why should I be surprised that my friend spaces out in the same world I used to be? We were alike, after all.
"Huh?" Lisa turned around, only to find nothing. If only she saw me here with Starglaze, it would be a goldstruck for us friendlings.
"That was close." Starglaze peeked through the one-way window.
The human girl returned to the living room, alone, without the human parents to complete her ritual on the picture. This time, she appears silent, begging for the past soul with a pleasing word. Though she seems to be asking too much from me.
"Oh, Christine. What should I do to bring you back to life?" She asks.
"Should I use dark magic? Can I even do that? What should I sacrifice for you?"
Perhaps she asked and wished too much, for she clearly didn't need to share the details of her plan. She speaks erratically, somehow connecting sorcery to this conversation about my past life. How could I not be concerned when she even tried slicing a few skins of hers for the chance?
"I've done everything! I tried putting my best! I swear!"
"You made her do this, Pearl. You hurt her."
"I didn't mean to." I replied.
It was unsettling and so unnecessary; the detail was too strong for me to hear. The human girl's obsession is both lovely and terrifying, shivering my bones as she continues. She made it sound sweet for me, only for it to sound more like a Frowling's tease to their prey.
"I'm going to bring you back, Christine! Back with me! Hahaha!"
"Oh, well...I guess she can wait." I conclude. She could leave if she wanted to.