Red

by Richard P Rigoli

  Cassandra finished her wine, set the glass down, and eyed Emma cautiously. “Talked about what?”

  “Dad leaving, or how he never came back.” She solemnly looked up from her plate. “Was he unhappy? Did he have an affair or something?”

  “It’s difficult to explain,” Cassandra hedged and drew manicured nails through her short blonde hair. “Your dad wasn’t unfaithful,” she answered softly. “At least not with a woman.”

  “He’s into guys?”

  “He’s into his work,” Cassandra confirmed. The two sat quietly staring at each other across the table.

  “Did he have to leave over it?” Emma said, finally breaking the silence.

  “His department chair awarded him a historical research sabbatical.”

  Emma nodded thoughtfully.

  “Honestly, it was the opportunity of a lifetime. The ‘discovery of ancient civilizations’ was important to your father. It was his life’s work. He went away. I stayed here. You were in school, had friends...” Cassandra trembled slightly. “We have a life here.” She tilted her head and looked around in the breakfast nook.

  “When the term ended a year ago, and the funding ran out, your father stayed there. I heard from him less and less as the days turned into weeks and then into months.” Her mom shrugged and pushed her place-setting aside. “At the time, I thought I understood the importance of his work and even agreed with it.”

  “I remember him calling when he first left,” Emma reflected. “He was all excited.” She laced her fingers and squeezed her hands together as if trying to drain an imaginary fruit. “Have you heard from him lately, Mom?”

  Cassandra sighed and nodded. “A few months ago. That was the last time.”

  Emma perked up and sat forward expectantly.

  “I’m sorry, Emma, he didn’t ask about me or you. He asked me to send a box of stuff from his office to him… a few books and some old trinkets. I never got around to doing it. I didn’t want to,” Cassandra admitted as her gaze dropped to the table-top. Finally, she stood up, leaving Emma at the table. The sound of double doors closing from her office echoed softly down the hall.

  ***

  After the meal was properly cleared, Emma went up to her room to finish her economics and geometry homework. Focusing didn’t seem like something she could do as troubling thoughts clouded her mind. Problems with Jade and the Rads, Rai and his father’s warehouse, memories of her dad, and her mom’s pain circled in her brain like a storm.

  Flipping on a small lamp on the nightstand, she glanced around her bedroom. Emma had the same white, French provincial furniture since she was seven. That was when she wanted to be a princess, and animated films made her believe she could. She rolled her eyes, remembering how she cried every night to get it until her father gave in. Emma sat at the gold, filigree desk and matching chair and brushed her fingertips along the decorated edges. It was silly staying with the same old stuff, but somehow it made her feel like her dad was still there.

  She closed her eyes and imagined running down the stairs to her father’s study. He’d be busy working on a lecture for class or preparing his research. Still, he’d take time to tell her stories about the artifacts he found or his adventures around the world. Her mom seemed mad and dismissive about her dad, but Emma still missed him.

  Emma’s hand contacted a thick, circular object on her desk. She picked it up in her palm and turned it over in the pale light. She remembered taking it from a box in her dad’s office about five months ago. It was something that her dad had often carried. The device resembled a large metal medallion with notches and small slots around it and tiny gears barely visible inside. An old compass? She wasn’t sure. Emma held it for a while, thinking about her strangely absent father.

  The evening was getting late, and Emma felt exhausted. She clicked off the lamp and punched the side button on her phone. After checking for messages one last time, Emma flopped down onto the Princess bed. She stared up at the ceiling in the dark for a long while thinking about the places that made her dad or her friends smile, and other happy places as she closed her eyes. Before long, images of a bright red cardinal entered her mind.

  The bird perched in a large oak tree at the edge of the same field she had drawn during Economics. The scene seemed incredibly vivid, and Emma got up and stood a few feet away from the bird. She could feel the fresh breeze on her face, smell the wildflowers, and hear the leaves rustling. Then a second cardinal landed beside the first one, and she sensed a familiar presence beside her. It was Jordan. He stared straight back at her, looking surprised to see her.

  “How are you here?” He asked.

  9

  RAI’S SECRET

  Emma sat up quickly, shaken by Jordan’s words. “How?” she asked aloud as if to him, or so she thought. She was in darkness, and for a moment, her location fuzzy. It took a moment before realization set in: she was still in her bedroom. Leaning over, Emma read the clock, “12:30 A.M.” Okay, so she had been dreaming of Jordan, and she really wanted to get back to it. There was something special about him and that field, and it was time she figured out what it was.

  A sudden sound of small rocks hitting her window caused her to scramble over and pull back the curtains. For a moment, her pulse raced in hopes that Jordan showed up at her house. Someone was down there under the tree, but it was Rai. Partially lit by the porch light, he stood waving up to her.

  She opened the window and whispered down, “Rai?”

  “It’s me, Em. Can I come up?”

  She nodded and ducked back inside, forcing down ridiculous feelings of disappointment. Emma returned to the edge of her bed while Rai scaled the tree outside. Usually, it took him a few minutes to pull himself up the branches. But this time, he climbed through the window before she sat down on the edge of the bed.

  “Thanks,” Rai murmured and stepped inside. He settled into the desk chair and sat in silence.

  “What are you doing here?” Emma asked. In the semi-darkness she saw the side of Rai’s sullen face. “Are you okay?”

  “No, I don’t think I am.” Lowering his head, he gazed at the floor. His face was cast in long shadows from the open window.

  Emma leaned back and turned on a nightstand lamp. She almost wished she hadn’t. Rai looked terrible. Emma never saw her friend so drawn and tired. It was as if he hadn’t slept in days.

  After several minutes, he finally looked up at her. “I need to tell you something, Em. But you gotta promise you won’t tell anyone.”

  “Of course,” Emma agreed quietly.

  “Swear it,” Rai said sternly. There was an unsettling gleam in his eye that Emma noted with growing concern.

  She looked at him sideways. “You want me to swear I won’t tell anyone what?”

  Rai shook his head, and his expression sobered into something Emma recognized again. “I mean it. You’re my best friend. This is big, really big. If I tell you, you can’t tell a single soul.”

  The conversation from earlier quickly replayed in her mind. The one about what his family had been going through since the Radcliffs accused the Aois of arson.

  Emma nodded slowly and added a comforting smile. “I swear, Rai. I won’t tell anyone.”

  He seemed openly relieved and stood up to remove his leather jacket. He also acted slightly nervous or flustered. Emma couldn’t tell which. There was a prolonged period of silence as Rai folded his hands together and appeared to be searching for the right words.

  “I don’t know how to say this, so I’ll just come right out with it,” he said finally. “I think I have powers.” He paused like he was expecting accent lighting and theme music to go along with the statement.

  In the soft glow of the lamp, Emma stared blankly at him for several seconds. She had expected to hear news about his family, or at least how he was doing, and steeled herself for the role of a supportive friend in the time of dire need. Instead, she saw a disturbing break from reality. Part of her wanted to be his friend and
listen to whatever he wanted to say. The other part wanted to hit him over the head with a large, heavy object for waking her up in the middle of a great dream.

  Emma hissed, “What?”

  Seeing her icy glare, he started to explain, “Just listen a moment. You know I’ve been under a lot of stress lately.” Emma nodded slowly. “That’s how these things happen, under stress or duress like the Young Mutants in X-Men.”

  “Oh, my God!” she fumed. “Rai, not this again.”

  “No, Em!” Rai tried sounding sincere, “I mean it this time.”

  “You woke me up for this?” She stood up and marched exasperated steps across the floor. “Remember the last time? The giant slingshot!? Or that time you almost burned your garage down?”

  “Yeah,” he nodded but pointed out, “Okay, that would’ve been bad. But, I swear this is different.”

  Rai was an enthusiastic reader, and conversations with him often had quoted things from graphic novels. Even now, at seventeen, he genuinely wanted to believe that superheroes existed in the world. Emma had to admit, the conversations were enjoyable, so she indulged him. Finally, she stopped pacing and stood at the window. His family had been through so much, maybe all this was his way of coping.

  “I know what you’re thinking.” He stood up and walked to her. “I’d think the same thing except it really did happen.”

  “What happened?” Struggling to tap down anger, Emma took a long breath. It wasn’t easy, but she decided to be his friend no matter what craziness came in through her window.

  Rai sat down and started arranging random items on her desk as he spoke. “I was at home, anxious about my dad and mom. You know, with the latest news and all.”

  Emma sat down on the edge of the bed again and listened.

  “I was feeling depressed and angry,” his voice hollow as he spoke. Emma noticed his knuckles turning white, fists tightening unconsciously. “It was like I couldn’t do anything about what’s going on. There’re all those people saying things about us. They don’t know us, or they wouldn’t have said what they said.”

  She felt a sudden pang in her heart.

  “That’s when it happened,” Rai announced.

  “When what happened?” Despite herself, she wondered.

  “I sat at my desk. Had my computer on the corner, a pen and pencil, and wads of paper like this.” He crumpled a few pieces of paper that Emma hoped wasn’t her homework. He looked at the arranged items sidelong as if something was missing.

  “Do you have any paper clips?”

  “Yes. In the top drawer on the right, I have paper clips...”

  Rai slipped a hand into the drawer and fished around inside. He paused, and a sudden expression of abject horror crossed his face.

  “...and a few extra pads,” Emma continued with practiced innocence.

  “Ghaa! You’re evil,” Rai hissed. “Evil!” He snapped his hand back from the drawer as if he had touched a hot stove.

  “Don’t be such a baby,” Emma snorted. Feminine hygiene products vs. boys was very amusing. Rai seemed worse than most. Unplanned as the instance was, Emma decided to take pity on him. She reached over, gathered a few paper clips from the other side, and handed them over. Emma slid the drawer shut with an exaggerated motion and shielded him from the powerful, male Kryptonite within.

  Rai scattered the paper clips on the desk. “As I was saying,” he began and took a moment to get back a few shreds of composure before continuing. “I made the stuff fly off my desk without touching them.” He turned to look at his friend, a dark and grave expression crossing his face. “I’m going to do that for you now,” he whispered mysteriously.

  Rai was so intense that Emma started to believe something was going to happen. She was anxious, or excited, but caught herself holding her breath all the same. Anticipation lingered in the silent room as if a drum-roll would start soon.

  “I’ve got to focus,” he explained, “like when I was in my room.” He was so still that he looked like a statue of himself. He stared, unblinking, at the objects. Emma watched with equal intensity. Several minutes passed, and the sound of Rai’s jaw creaking from the strain almost caused Emma to laugh aloud. Rai’s face turned a shade of maroon from the effort, but not a single thing stirred on the desk. At last, he exhaled loudly and swore something foul under his breath.

  Emma offered, “Are you sure you didn’t leave a window open in your room when it happened?” She recoiled when she saw Rai’s hurt face.

  Rai glowered at her, an in exasperation, raked his fingers through his messy black hair. He rushed out her window without another word, letting it shut behind him with a loud click.

  10

  SHERLOCK AND WATSON

  Emma hated the late October weather in South Texas. It was cold in the morning and hot by the end of the day. It forced her to wear a jacket to school in the morning only to have to carry it around the rest of the day. October also meant that riding in Olivia’s car with the top down was over for the morning commute. When her friend drove up to the curb, Rai wasn’t in the car, but it wasn’t a surprise. Emma began to think his absence was her fault, and she slowly slid into the passenger seat. Emma kept her word and didn’t say anything to Olivia about Rai’s midnight visit or about his strange behavior.

  The sunrise started reddening the cloudy sky, and the two girls drove through the morning in silence. In a few hours, it was going to be another warm day, so Emma balled up her jacket, tossed it into the back seat, and left it.

  ***

  Finally, Rai made an appearance. Emma never mentioned a word about his weird visit, so over the next few days, conversations with him were semi normal. Actually, they were too normal in Emma’s opinion. It was as if Rai was performing an impression of himself. It was sad, and Emma didn’t know what to do.

  During another quiet morning drive to school, Emma announced to her friend, “Livs, I wish we could just skip school today.”

  Olivia shot her a disbelieving glance. “Who are you and what have you done with Emma?”

  Emma realized the whole idea of skipping out on classes was completely out of character. “Yeah, I know.” Emma laughed. “I feel like we need to do something for Rai.”

  “Do something like...?” Olivia asked suspiciously.

  “I don’t know,” Emma replied, lost in thought.

  “I’ve seen that look before,” Olivia muttered but smiled widely. “What are you up to, and how much trouble am I going to be in for helping?”

  “Trouble is such a strong word,” Emma shot back without pause. “This won’t hurt a bit. At least, I hope not.”

  “Spill it,” Olivia snapped while taking a turn into the school parking lot.

  “A little snooping around is all,” Emma said lightly. “I want to go poke around the Aoi warehouse.”

  “That much trouble, huh?” Olivia snickered as she slid Flower into a space. “Okay, I’m in. But, we go after school?”

  Emma nodded resolutely.

  ***

  After school, the friends took the rarely-used Mill Road into lower Wimberley. After the fires, the access road, which led to the buildings, had been blocked by a chain-link fence. A construction company had taken over the area in preparation for demolition and restoration. One of the warehouses next to the Aoi storage facility was gutted for a complete rebuild. As the two girls turned down the side street, Emma could see that the central Aoi storage facility was still intact. Olivia parked Flower a few blocks away and the girls walked the rest of the way.

  The storage facility stood among a row of barn-like buildings. As far as Emma knew, the Aois were the only business owners who stored assets. Other facilities used the space to repair machinery or catered to the local craft markets. The Aois’ warehouses had gated access, cameras, and guards. Emma scanned the area noticing that the charred ruin made up most of the property now.

  “Remember all those old paintings and cool stuff they used to store there?” Olivia ruminated.

/>   Emma turned to see her friend gazing at the ruined buildings through the fence and nodded slowly. She couldn’t help but consider the immense loss of all that was destroyed. Now the buildings were eerie lifeless husks. The result was a creepy feeling from more than damage. It looked sinister on a level of an abandoned amusement park, causing Emma to shudder at the thought. The gates were there for a reason, and that meant there could be guards or even dogs on the other side. She continued to scan the area but didn’t see anyone.

  The girls stood outside the gates for a long, somber while. Olivia wiped at her eyes before looking away. Emma hadn’t realized how many happy memories she had of visiting the Aois and looking around at their stuff. Neither of them had been there since the fire. She frowned and stared at the loose, stirring strips of yellow caution tape.

  The sign on the gate read, “Doyle Construction. No Trespassing.” A heavy chain and lock wrapped around the posts on two adjoining chain-link fences. Emma pushed on one. Slack from the chain gave way, and the gates parted enough for each of them to slip through.

  “Livs,” Emma broke the silence as they ducked under the tape and headed through the yard. “Do you recall Rai ever mentioning family problems?”

  “Problems like what?” Olivia cautiously stepped over piles of loose boards.

  “Threats or something,” Emma said.

  “No, I don’t think so.” Her friend stopped and thought for a moment. “Well, other than the one thing with his dog.”

  “Thing with his dog?” Emma asked. They paused before making their way around an overturned forklift.

  “Yeah, you remember last June? Rai said one of his dogs got sick. He thought she’d been poisoned.”

  Emma remembered and nodded. She had dismissed it as another one of Rai’s fanciful embellishments at the time. “Then again, what if that hadn’t been an accident like this fire?” Emma finished her thought aloud as they made their way to the bay doors.