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After I laid down the dairy and took a breath, I wondered who it could be outside the door. It was only an hour to sunrise and I really wanted to finish up my writing. Curiosity got the better of me though, and I unbolted the door. I was surprised that whoever knocked on it waited patiently enough for me to open it. It had only been two simple, very polite, knocks. I opened the door and was surprised to find Esmeralda standing there.

She had two cups of tea in her hand and smiled in the gentle light of the candle. The tea had a very odd, subtle but strong smell to it. It wasn't normal tea, that's for sure. It had a hint of bitter and liquorice to it and perhaps some blossom or something. But it was very hard to tell from the smell alone. Like everything in this place, it was not entirely clear.

She held up the cups. "I brought some herbal tea, it helps me sleep. I thought you might like some as well."

I smiled. "Thank you, but I'm not really in the mood for tea."

"Aw, but can I come in anyway?"

I shrugged. "Sure, but only for a moment, I want to sleep very soon and still need to finish something."

She saw the diary almost directly as she got in. It made me doubt if this was a good idea after all. She didn't move to it though, but put the tea on the ground near the pillows and made herself comfortable. I closed the door behind her but didn't bolt it. I wanted her to go before I went to sleep anyway.

"Can I read?"

I wasn't sure about this. It was fine when people read things of me much later and wouldn't be able to connect it directly to me. But actually reading my writing felt a lot more dangerous. Besides, I wasn't sure my writing was that legible anyway. It didn't feel nice, but I had to decline her little wish to read my words.

"Sorry, but it wouldn't feel right."

She shrugged. "I understand. I've never really kept a diary but I know how personal they can become."

I smiled. "Thanks. It wasn't easy to say no, as you've helped me a lot."

She giggled. "So, mind if I sleep here with you?"

I blushed, a little too much even.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked. I guess you're not used to all this stuff."

I finally got my voice back. "It's really sweet, I've just..." I took a deep breath. "I've basically been alone for a little over a year and meeting all these new people is a bit much."

It would have been so nice to tell her the whole truth, but that would be too much, even for me. I hoped she would accept this and realized that she probably would. If she had been among these odd people for a lot longer, she'd probably learned to accept far stranger things than me. I did wonder if she saw me like someone who'd just ran away from home.

Though, she did appear to be very surprised at how eager I kissed her back in the cafe.

"I think I understand. Will you allow me to watch while you write? You were writing before I came in, right?" She looked around. "I'm surprised you can even write with so little light. Doesn't it hurt your eyes?"

From one emotion to the other. It was cute, in a way. "Alright, you can stay here while I finish writing, but stay no peeking. And I'm sorry, but you'll have to drink both cups yourself." I tried to sound lighthearted.

"Okay, and I'll be quiet."

She nodded and sat back, making room for me while I sat down and started writing again. It took me quite a while to write for the rest of the evening and, true to her word, she didn't peek or make a noise besides some minor slurping of hot tea, but that was easily forgiven. I didn't write about the this when she was still there though. My foretelling powers were not that impressive.

When I put the diary away, she crawled over to where I was sitting and hugged me.

"You're so tense, in a way. We're not out to kill you, you know."

I grinned, maybe it was the other way around. "I know."

She kissed me in my neck and gave me a hug from behind. It was very sweet and warm. She just let me enjoy it and didn't do anything but hold me and give me friendly warmth. She kissed again, gently in the back of my neck and enjoyed the shiver that she caused. I sighed gently and leaned back into her, I knew she heard me but it was alright. It felt like she wouldn't go any further now.

But she did, a little. She bit in my neck, gently below my left ear, and tickled my stomach at the same time. I was surprised to find I was quite ticklish there, especially when feeling so relaxed before. I squealed slightly and turned around.

"That was evil!"

She stuck out her tongue. "I just couldn't resist. Feel better now?"

I smiled. "Yeah, thanks for the hug."

"It was my pleasure. I'll go and find me a bed or something. See you around!"

I nodded. "Sleep well."

"You too. And don't write anything dirty about me in there!"

"Not yet."

She smiled, picked up the cups and exited the room. I closed the door behind her and made sure to bolt it again. It was very close to daylight now and I barely had enough time to write these final moments before I felt the drowsiness set in. But it was good, I'd enjoyed her company for the moment. I also felt that I didn't want to see her again tomorrow or the day after. Partly this was because if she saw me too often, she'd notice some of my oddities, but mostly it was because I felt I could easily feel dependant on her and I didn't want that. I wanted to build up something for myself here even though I wasn't quite sure what and how.

But I knew that the pillows, however, were quite comfortable.

Forgive me for the quite playful mood yesterday. I'll try not to let it happen again. I do wonder what kind of tea it was and if it was 'mood-altering'.