Kiyomi - Tolbana Tavern - Floor one
When sleep finally claimed her, Kiyomi went with open arms in the hope that on this night, her dreams would be magical.
"Kiyomi chan! It's time for bed now." The voice of her little brother was so calming, though...Kiyomi wondered where it had come from. Opening her eyes, she looked around and noticed she was lying down on the floor in her kitchen....her kitchen! Jumping up, Kiyomi ran to the place where she heard her brother Kaito's voice. "Kiyomi, time for bed now." was heard again, with a little giggle and the light patter of footsteps.
"Kaito....!" she called. "Where...? Where are you?" As she walked through her house, just the same as she remembered it, towards her brothers room. As she stepped in, he saw her and hopped up from his bed. "Kiyomi! Come quick, Mommy's gonna sing a song!" he ran up to her as if about to hug her, and she reached for him, her eyes tear-filled. Her hand ran through his hair before he moved completely through her, as if she was a ghost. Stunned, she stood, unmoving. "Woah, Kaito your getting to big to jump on me like that. And-- what happened to 'im too big for lullabys', huh?" That was...her voice! Whipping around, Kiyomi saw a slighty blurred version of herself...actually everything here was slightly blurred. Suddenly, Kiyomi realized...this was not happening now, it was just a memory. "I'm a big boy! I'm six years old remember, and you're my little sister." he said, running back to the bed. Six....so this was three years ago. Yes...I remember now." she spoke, but her words did not affect the scene before her.
"Come here, my children. Let me sing you a song. It's one i learned in my travels." her mother had said, patting the bed. They both went and got comfortable before her mom smiled and started to sing.
"Lay down your head and i'll sing you a lullaby. Back to the years of loo-li-lai-lay. And i'll sing you to sleep, and i'll sing you tomorrow. Bless you with love for the road that you go."
Kiyomi gasped and raised her hands to her mouth. This was her favorite one... She listened as a few tears overflowed from her lids,
"May you sail fair to the far fields of fortune, with diamonds and pearls at your head and your feet. And may you need never to banish misfortune. May you find kindness in all that you meet.
"May there always be angels to watch over you, to guide you each step of the way. To hold you and keep you, safe from all harm. Loo-li-loo-li-lai-lay."
Taking a few slow steps forward, Kiyomi went to kneel at the feet of her mom. She looked up at her and reached for her hand that rested on her mothers leg, only to pass right through it. "Momma..." she whimpered.
"May you bring love and may you bring happiness. Be loved in return to the end of your days. Now fall off to sleep, i'm not meaning to keep you. I'll just stay for a while and sing loo-li-lai-lay. Loo-li-loo-li-lai-lay."
As her mother said the last few words, she seemed to look down directly into Kiyomi's eyes. "I love you my daughter." was all she said before looking back up to her kids on the bed. Slowly the image started to fade, a bit of blackess crept in on the edges and slowly moved to the center.
"Loo-li-loo-li-lail-lay."
Loo-li-lai-lay.
Loo-li-lai-lay...
"Loo-li-lai-lay..." Kiyomi blinked and looked around with her eyes before realizing she was back at the Tavern. Sighing, she stay lying down and wiped at her eyes. Mom...Kaito...i'm coming back. I promise. But...i have to help some get back too. Just dont lose hope...and dont give up on me. It was her last thought before she slipped back into sleep. This time, she did not dream.