"Cain, get the pot pies out of the oven. I can't have them burning AGAIN." The man hurries the the stainless steel stove, grabbing furiously for a pot-holder. "Yes, sister..." He says, sighing some what. Cain takes out two pot pies, setting them on the counter. Smiling, a small girl enters the room. She looks no more than thirteen. "Thank you, brother." She walks over to the counter, inspecting them further. Another beam from her lips and eyes. Anyone can see the light sparkle in the green hues.1
"Any time" Cain whispers, and then he sat down on one of the stools close to him. Cain looked to be a least twenty. His jet-black hair was spiked at the moment, though he preferred it to be straightened. His blue eyes differed immensely from the girl's. "Have you decided on a name yet?" He asked, staring at her long brown curls. She stopped her inspection, delicately taking her fingers from the crust of her pie. "Oh, you mean my own name? I guess...Kori" She replied, gliding to his side. Cain picks her up and sets her on the counter, careful to avoid burning her leg on the cookie sheet. "Kori Madison Riley." Cain is happy and plays with her hair. 2
"You don't remember me at all?" He questions, hoping she knows something about him. As she stares at the steaming pies, Cain waits for an answer. He knows she's trying to think carefully. "I don't remember you." She pouts and places her hand on his. He nods and understands, knowing that his sister must of faced a lot to not know him. Coming from Mariannah and Matthew Riley, it was no surprise the family would tear apart. He doesn't tell her real name. He wants her to choose, so she can have independence. 3
"Brother, how old am I?" The inquiring continues. "Sixteen and a half, dear." And he twirls his index finger around a loose curl, Kori allowing it. Both have a honey colored skin, but you can tell Cain looks more like Matthew. Kori has began to look like her mother and father, but she seems...different. Almost as soon as Cain realizes the differences, his girlfriend walks in, coughing profusely. A smile lights on his face. A blond haired, brown-eyed girl walks in. "Anai!" Kori cries out hugging her as she walks in. Anai greets both warmly and kisses Cain on the lips. "Were you about to eat?" She asks, pointing the cooling pies. Kori shakes her head, giggling. 4
"I made Cain help me learn how to make 'em for you two!" Her giggling makes the two adults smile and laugh as well. They're happy the girl is adjusting after only two days back at home...or what Kori could call home now. "Well, thank you, sweetheart." Anai begins to get two fruit-decorated plates, Kori running for forks. Cain brings the pies to the table, winking at his girlfriend as he passes. She giggles lightly and sets the plates down in two places. Kori sets the silverware on top, walking out of the room immediately. "Cain, can I go out?" She says, looking out the window. The snow has stopped falling, but she knows it'll be freezing. The girl pulls on a large winter coat, almost too big for the frame she bore. "Sure, but be in by dark." That she could do. She wanted to go about the places, study a bit further. 5
She stepped into the cold air, almost immediately feeling a warmth pulsing through her skin. The wind felt like nothing, strangely. The girl said nothing and continued to trek throughout the snowy road. As she took step after step, a faint noise crept to her ear. "Music?" She whispered lightly, her breath fogging her glasses. Kori had gotten used to this since she'd woken up two days ago. She'd been shown around the place enough to know. She'd always caught on fast. Cain told she'd been asleep a long time. She didn't understand what that meant, but he was her brother and she trusted him. A few more steps, and these thoughts were pushed aside. She heard a rhythm in the air, formed by something she'd never heard. It resounded in her ear, and she felt like she'd heard it before. "My imagination." More steps in the snow. Crunching beneath each falling foot. 6
She stopped in front of a blue colored house. No windows or doors were open, so obviously someone liked to play really loud! She felt odd, just standing in front of the house on the side walk. A neighbor speculated, looking at Kori with wonder. "You need something?" He asked, taking a step off his white porch. Being shy, she didn't answer at first. Her mind urged her on though. "I hate to sound weird, but who lives here?" She asked, pointing the house she'd discovered. The boy laughed and another came out of the blue, laughing as well. Obviously, they were twins. Kori thought they were both beautiful, but she'd also never liked a boy before. She didn't know if she did. Cain described how he felt for Anai. Her heart didn't thump like Cain's, so definitely no. Yet, these boys eyed her strangely. Maybe they liked her?7
"That's Ryan's house." They both answer. Kori nods and continues "What's he playing?" They look at each other. "A guitar..." She pauses and thinks about it. Within five seconds, the girl realizes she doesn't know what the instrument is. "Nope, don't know what that is...but I play violin, and it sounds something similar to it!" Both boys are in shock. A girl that didn't know? "What if we let you meet Ryan? It's better we let a someone who knows what they're doing play for you." 8
Kori nodded lightly, following the two to the doorstep. Both dawned in brown hunting jackets, she couldn't tell them apart. "By the way, what are your names?" She asked, before they knocked. "I'm James" The shortest one answered, "That's Nicholas..." Kori nodded and then realized she'd been rude. "My name is Kori." Or that's what she decided. Cain wouldn't tell her name. He thought it was better she figured out her 'own identity'. 9
Nick and James nod and knock, the thumps killing the melody going on inside. It works. The melody dies and static is heard. A few curse words are heard and a dirty-blond boy answers the door. Due to Kori's lack of nutrition over the years in the coma, she was definitely not seen by his eyes. But she could tell he was a tall boy. "What do you want?" He asks, angered by the disturbance. Kori felt bad now, wanting to go away. She'd ruined his music, no doubt. Nick spoke up, "Well, a chick came up to us and said she heard you playing and she also questioned about you. When we said you played guitar, she didn't know what it was. We were wondering...if you'd show her what you can do?" James smiled and the blond arched a brow. "First of all, who doesn't know what a guitar is, and who is this girl?" With that, the two stepped to each side of the small porch and there Kori stood, in her little skirt and large jacket. 10
Obviously, the boy was amazed. "Your name?" He asks, almost too polite. "K-Kori..." She stutters, feeling a thump. More than one actually. Drumming almost. The blond takes notice. "I'm Ryan. Nice to meet you." He says, the twins smirking and pushing another. Kori bows, obviously something out of respect she'd learned in the past. She looks back at his face and notes his eyes are two shades. "I really don't know what it is, Sir..." He wonders where her accent and manners have come from. He keeps his mouth shut, instantly inviting the girl in. But as the twins step in, he pushes both out. "I think she's good from here." He says lightly, shutting the door. Kori hears a click and a lock and she knows he's shut them out of the house. Her heart thumps louder as she hopes he's not up to any trouble.11
"In here," He leads her to the first door, where a couch, tv, bicycle, old radios, and guitar equipment reside. Kori is impressed. "I suppose that's it right there?" She points to the white instrument propped against the amp, or the speaker, in her eyes. "Yes, it is." Ryan picks it up and plays a few notes, seeing if Kori takes note. She does. She enjoys the sound, but loves her violin still. She sinks into a place in his cream colored couch, taking off the large faux fur coat. She listens to him play a few songs, a smile floating on her face the entire time. Ryan is gleaming to and this makes her happy. She's made someone happy today, and that was her goal when she woke up. Never to put anyone through pain again. A hard stride, but it was worth it. 12
After he finished, he looked at her. Ryan hadn't actually studied her frail body. Within moments, he could tell she wasn't a normal girl at all. Her eyes had black circles. Her hair was fine, but her skin was so pale. In all honesty, he couldn't tell what ethnicity she was, not that he would judge her for it. He wouldn't ask either. She noticed him staring at her and laughed a bit, "Would you believe me if I said I've been sleeping for a while?" Her laughter infected him now, "Yeah, I can. What do you mean though. A coma? And how long, dear?" He stroked some of Kori's curls, just as Cain did to her. "I guess so. My brother said I've been asleep for a few years..." She sighed and crossed her legs. He still let his eyes fall onto her. 13
He noticed her eyes were dark. Then Ryan gasped some. "Kori, take your glasses off" He addressed this, her doing exactly as he said. Gently, the blond pushed Kori's face into the light and saw that indeed, her eyes were pitch black. "What's wrong?" She asked, tilting her head to the side. Ryan sat back in his seat. "Oh nothing. You just remind me of someone." Oh no! Kori had only known him for an hour almost and she was making him sad. "Erm, I'm sorry, sir. May I ask his or her name?" She put the crimson frames back on her face, smiling weakly. Ryan looked down and played with his hands for a few moments. This took place for quite some time, and finally he spoke when Kori looked away from him. She felt terrible for prying now. "Her name was Angell." Oh, a girlfriend. That was obvious. She bowed her head and massaged it, trying to relieve herself from the tension of the moment. But to her surprise, Ryan continued. 14
"Kori, I think you and Angell would have gotten along. You two are both nice, gorgeous, and naive. And I bet if you gained some more muscle and fat on you, you'd be an even sweeter sight. Your face is pretty, but we don't want guys calling you anorexic for being sick for a while." He smiled and continued. To his surprise, Kori listened. "Angell denied she was pretty. In fact, we had fights over it. But I remember sitting here on the couch, with her in my arms. She'd stare at my eyes and then lay her head on my chest. She'd act like a child, her voice just like yours. We would make fun of one another, because we were both initially afraid of the others' eyes. If you don't see it, there's a golden ring around my pupil." And sure enough, the brunette looked and spotted it. He was far more beautiful than the twins. Cain's story about love came to her, and she was scared she liked Ryan. After all, Ryan had just probably lost a great person. Angell seemed like a pretty awesome girl. 15
"Forgive me for asking...what happened to her?" Kori had nearly leaned in on the story. Ryan sighed and looked back into her eyes, seeing Angell in them. "Her house caught on fire while her parents were conveniently out. Her brother made it out, but Angell was sent to the hospital. She died before I could make it up there." Kori frowned. Ryan wanted to cry, it was evident. "I'm sorry..." She said, holding him lightly. He was startled by this. "What was her brother's name?" Maybe Cain knew him...she stroked his blond curls, massaging his neck and tried to keep herself from crying. He sniffled but looked straight at her, "Cain Riley." He said, with a look of disgust. 16
Kori looked at him wide-eyed. "C-c-cain, Riley?" She sputtered out the name. "Yeah. He lives right down the road from me now. Where do you live by the way?" He hadn't noticed her expression, trying to wipe tears from his eyes. "With my brother..." Kori wouldn't finish the sentence. She couldn't. "I know that silly, but where do you live? Give me a description." Ryan now looked at her and saw the face she gave. "What's wrong? Do you not remember?" She shook her head. "Play me a song. The one you played before I came in." He had a questionable look on his face, yet got the guitar out and began through the slow song. Kori listened carefully. Notes that stood out, she replayed in her head. The same song that had played in her head! "Along came a dream..." She whispered, almost as if she'd known that line all her life. Ryan stopped playing. "What was that?" He was definitely taken aback now by that phrase. "Along came a dream" She said it louder, almost proud.17
"Angell?" He asked, puzzled by the appearance. He felt as though he was dreaming. "Nanah..." Within moments the girl was in his arms, hugging him tightly. "Nanah...I heard that song all in my dreams. I kept humming it yesterday and Cain asked me what it was. I said I didn't know. But now I do. You're my Nanah. You made me "Along Came A Dream" because you loved me. And I'm your Angell. I am your lover. I am everything you loved. I am your beautiful girlfriend." Kori began crying, realizing her brother kept her from the truth. He had something against Ryan? She'd figure it out later. 18
It just felt good to know something now.
Author notes
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