Truly

"Hey.... Hey.... Yomi!" said Osaka.

Yomi raised her eyebrows. A visit from Osaka was actually quite rare, considering the girl spent much of her time... elsewhere, wandering through the depths of an imagination so deep, vast, and perhaps even dangerous that it seemed as though Osaka's head would float away if ever detached from the anchor called her body.

"Yes?" said Yomi.

"I was wondering...." Osaka's eyes still seemed a bit glossed over, as though she were half-daydreaming. "A cow jumped over the moon, right?"

"What?" Yomi quickly wondered what else she could say, but came up with absolutely nothing. "What?" she said again, feeling it absolutely needed to be repeated, as though to truly verify that Osaka had really asked that.

"But... can cows actually jump? I've never seen one do that. Not even hop." Osaka seemed to think, pursing her lips together. "So, how did it get so high to actually get over the moon?"

Yomi was impressed - Osaka's expression didn't just indicate that the girl was serious about this dilemma, but was dead set on discovering the deeper truths behind it all.

"I wonder if the cow must've had to do a running start...? But it couldn't have done it with just that...." Osaka's face suddenly lit up, as though a revelation had dawned upon her. "Maybe it ran down a hill to get more speed!"

"Yeah.... Maybe...." said Yomi.

As fascinating as it was to catch a glimpse of the world Osaka truly inhabited, Yomi began to feel a bit frightened too, as though she was staring at the headlights from the alien mother ship come to take her away.

If left unchecked and ignored, the airiness of Osaka could infect the unwary creating copies upon copies, spreading and eventually overtaking the world, so Yomi gripped the edges of the table she was sitting at to brace herself against its subtle and sophisticated powers.

"But wait...." Osaka's sudden change in direction almost threw Yomi off her seat - so close to salvation, but the final wave was really a feint, covering for the true final, final wave behind it! "If it was running down hill, then it really got further away from the moon, right? Then wouldn't it be harder for it?"

It... was truly a puzzle, felt a part of Yomi that she didn't recognise. Suddenly, she panicked. Had it all ready penetrated her defences, Osaka's airiness? Was she turning into Osaka-clone?

"I know!" shouted Tomo, busting in on the conversation. Yomi felt grateful to her old friend - it was good to have such a close friend who could be relied upon to save her from such terrible threats.

"Hey? Tomo? You know then?" said Osaka.

Crap! Tomo was a weak-minded idiot! She was all ready lost to Osaka-clone long ago, even back when Osaka had just transferred!

"Steroids!" was Tomo's answer.

"Oh!" It then seemed all so clear to Osaka.

"Everyday, it took steroids, intent on getting over the moon!" said Tomo. "He was willing to do anything to do it! Even cheat!"

Osaka looked indignant to Yomi. "Cheater! He's just a cheater!"

"Cheater!" said Tomo.

Yomi had to say one thing, so she raised her hand. "Actually, cows are female. It's bulls that are male."

Osaka and Tomo looked at her, and then at each other - there was an expression on their faces, one that said that what Yomi had just said was truly the final piece of the puzzle.

Yomi froze - she had contributed to Osaka's strange world! When had the airiness.... Her defences! Not only penetrated, but swept away without a trace!

"Oh... no!"

The cycle was complete.

Osaka-clone.