Submission (#2127) Approved

Siren awoke from her sleep with a start. The warm comforting presence she had grown so used to was missing. Was it truly that time already? Her eyes roamed the rooms in no small amount of panic. Her best friend was gone. Instead, by her bedside, she saw a glowing anima crystal, floating gracefully in the air. That must be her dormant Pomu. The crystal let off a cheery glow, but it was very little comfort to the poor jaded little soul. It was indeed that time of year: Miasma Season. It was that time of year when her best and only friend slipped away from her for a while. Siren had never experienced it for herself before, as she was still just a young kittom, but she had definitely overheard it from the other older kittoms and Elnin that lived nearby.

Siren heaved a sigh as she looked out the window at the dreary, almost gloomy atmosphere; it was almost as drab as how she felt; Enmir, a region full of swamps and marshes. In the distance, the colossal eldertree stood tall with all its trunks twisted together, covered with moss and hanging vines. The hanging vegetation and canopy draped over the forests below, and the mists of the swamps and marshes shifted lazily between the trees, blown by mysterious breezes. The fog drifted aimlessly, casually covering the face of the earth, making it easy for those without a light source to get lost in the depths of the forests. The overgrowth from the twisted trees and mossy plants quite regularly attempted to creep into the houses and dwellings that Elnins had constructed to live in.

“How long will she be gone?” Siren wondered aloud, a slight frown betwixt her brows and a wobble of fear as she bit at her lips in undeniable worry. “What if she never wakes up?”

Siren watched the few Elnin and kittoms gallivanting outside, with their pomu lanterns trailing behind them. It was early morning, so the streets were still relatively quiet. Granted for most, it was a very respectful tradition (they decorated their Pomu in hopes of bringing good luck to the new year), since Enmir was rather swampy and dark (especially at this time), some of the few more mischievous souls took advantage of this pomu hibernation to explore the marshes and dark forests and twisted glades with their dressed up/decorated anima crystal chunks of pomu gleefully in tow. Siren thought the entire tradition and series of events to be rather strange and garish. Her pomu was her treasured friend and life companion. It seemed almost irreverent to dress up her dormant friend and drag it along behind her, like a kite of sorts. She gazed listlessly at the chunk of anima crystal, one paw propping her head up, as she tilted her head despondently. 

Her early life had been rather confusing. A lot of foreign faces and strangers that came and went. Life in general had been confusing, and her memories were a bit of a jumble. Her Pomu was literally the only constant in her life, the only being she trusted and could rely on. Siren thought back to the day when she first got her Pomu, how relieved she had been, how utterly joyous she was that she was no longer alone in this wide world of Eyre. They had stayed up late nights just hanging out with each other, usually wordlessly. Occasionally, Siren would say something silly and her Pomu would laugh with her. They read books together (for some reason her Pomu always had some book that Siren had not read before, and it was always a treat to read the new adventure novel!). Sometimes, Siren would break out into dance with her Pomu, and together they’d have an impromptu dance-off of sorts. Her Pomu brought out the spontaneous side of her. The brave side of her, if you will. They cuddled together and gave each other hugs and support whenever either of them needed it.  It was the warmth only a family could give. (Family was honestly such a foreign concept to her and it probably didn’t help that most of the adventure novels she read had very few intact families).

Siren gazed sadly at the glowing chunk of anima that used to be her beloved Pomu friend. How long would it be before her Pomu woke up again?  The older kittoms and Elnin never told her how many days or weeks it would take before her Pomu returned. What if it were to take months? The thought of that shook Siren to the core of her tiny being. She shuddered a little, and hugged herself. How many nightmares would she wake up from, scared and alone? Her Pomu always used to drag out an old plushie of Siren’s from the shadow storage and give it to her as she awoke in terror. How many meals would she have to eat by herself? Her Pomu had always eaten meals with her (even baked cookies with her!), and was even in the process of teaching her how to cook and prepare her own meals. The two of them were not chefs by any means, but they liked looking at the cookbooks together, and picking what to try making next.

“What if you never wake up?” Siren asked again, staring hard at the floating pastel yellow crystal. “Who will talk to me now?” the little baby voice quavered a little, as she caught the sob before it left her breath. With Siren lost in thought, more than a few hours had passed. She was awoken from her reveries by the commotion outside. Gathering her thoughts, Siren took another glance outside. As the day had continued on, it continued to get more and more festive and cheery in Enmir. Many Elnin and other kittoms were now wandering the village, with their pomu-crystals floating along behind them. Many of them had dressed up those crystals with lantern designs, bells and pieces of parchment decorating them in various ways. There were even a few kittoms that had no Pomu, and yet they were still eagerly participating in the event. The walls of the house were thin, and Siren could overhear an Elnin telling their spawn, “It’s tradition!”

What an odd kind of tradition to celebrate. Surely there were better things to celebrate? Something more jolly than the sleeping of the pomus? Siren frowned, as she leaned on the windowsill.

“Is your pomu sleeping?” asked a small voice. Siren startled a bit, looking around wildly for the source of the voice before realizing it was from outside her window. Looking out the window, a small kittom stared at Siren boldly, with no fear in its big innocent looking eyes. Their eyes were a beautiful yellow, not too different from Siren’s own eyes.

“Yes. And I don’t know when she’ll wake up.” Siren said quietly, looking quite grave. “She is my best friend.”

The other kittom patted her own cheeks, and then “whispered” through the window, “I can be your friend til she wakes up.” She fidgeted a little, “I don’t have a Pomu yet. I think she’s still sleeping.”

Siren smiled slightly. “Do you want to bake cookies with me? My Pomu left me a cool recipe for cookies.” 

The other little kittom nodded fiercely, “Yes! Let’s make some cookies! I’m Ena by the way! What’s your name?” Ena blinked happily at Siren.

“Hi Ena! I’m Siren, your new friend.”