Imperfect

by Darci Darson

  And then she was blinded by a strong light. She heard the sound of squealing tires as her body was thrown forward violently. The seatbelt crushed her chest and knocked the air out of her lungs. The airbag exploded. Yasmeen swam away into the black, desensitized emptiness.

  Chapter 3

  Yasmeen opened her eyes. The bright light blinded her at first, causing a real physical yet temporary pain. The throbbing agony in her skull slowly subsided. She was lying on a wet and itchy surface. Her nostrils filled with a fresh and earthy smell and her muscles ached as if she had been exercising for many hours. When her eyes adjusted, she tilted her head and saw the brown trunks of trees shooting to the clear, blue sky. Birds twittered, irritating her ears and insects buzzed around her head.

  Yasmeen sat up rapidly, her mind twirling. She took a few deep breaths and looked around.

  She was in the woods. The warm, humid air blanketed her with its gentle touch. When she realised that she was all by herself, a rush of heat went through her veins. She rose to her feet and stumbled. Her eyes swept the area around once more and lowered to scan the ground at her feet but she could not see either her bag or her phone. An icy hand of fear gripped her heart and it felt as if its claws pinned her heart muscle. The panic travelled up from her stomach to her throat. She had to move; she had to find help. She had to find her dad, her heart fluttering in the hope that he would be fine.

  Yasmeen’s ears caught a noise, like a rustle of leaves. Her eyes locked onto a bushy plant, about three metres away from her, the culprit that appeared to cause the sound. It shook, and then rustled again. An animal emerged from behind the dense wall of dark green foliage.

  Yasmeen froze. Her heart paused for a moment and started racing, her chest feeling tight. A cold sweat broke out on her back, her fancy dress clinging to her skin like an impenetrable tape.

  The animal observed Yasmeen with its emerald green eyes, burning like two flames. However, the eyes were not as shocking as the appearance of the creature. It was a big cat the size of a black panther, its fur satin and navy, red, short spikes growing along its spine with red stripes covered its legs almost like hand-knitted socks. It stared at Yasmeen as if it were a human, with a strange understanding and curiosity in its eerie eyes.

  Yasmeen stepped back, her long eyelashes flapping like the wings of a startled bird. The animal moved forward towards her. Yasmeen’s brain was steaming, a hundred thoughts crossing at light speed but she knew that she had to remain still. The animal came closer and its left back came into contact with her right leg. Yasmeen’s breath stuck in her throat as the cat repeated its gesture which seemed to be nothing more than a friendly greeting. Yasmeen sighed, her muscles relaxed and she felt dizzy. She kneeled slowly, descending like a piece of loose fabric and sat on her feet. Otherwise, she would have collapsed.

  “What kind of a freak are you?” she asked the animal as it rested beside her. Its body radiated pleasant warmth that spread onto her legs.

  “She is not a freak, she is a lady,” a husky and captivating voice said.

  Yasmeen shuddered and raised her eyes towards the source of that appealing speech. She saw a tall boy. He must have been around her age, or maybe a little older and had the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen. They blazed like two violet-blue flares, expressing sheer interest and something else... joy, excitement. He looked like he had found something very precious. The boy came closer, his movements smooth and quick. His brown fringe covered his eyes as he tilted his head. He wore a grey short- sleeved shirt, black skinny trousers and knee high boots. The clothes enveloped his perfect body that reminded her of an ancient Greek sculpture. His clothes looked strange, as if from the past. They were obsolete yet in pristine condition. He knelt beside her and extended his arms to cup her face and turned it slightly towards him. He moved his warm fingers towards Yasmeen’s temples and inspected her forehead. His eyes narrowed and he was focused but with a see-through sense of humour.

  Yasmeen could sense his captivating and sweet aura, attacking her receptors and then relaxing her muscles. She felt a wave of calming and anesthetizing warmth spreading onto her forehead.

  “It’s not serious,” the boy said. “You are Cherry Devita’s progeny. Why are you here?”

  Yasmeen stopped breathing for a few seconds and moved away from him rapidly. The cat opened its eyes and purred, tilting his head as if it wanted to express its interest as well.

  “How? Who are you?” Yasmeen asked. Her voice faltered. Her heart felt frozen by a suffocating contraction. She felt an urge to flee but did not move. Her initial shock somehow transformed into a shaky curiosity.

  “I’m Radveriel, and you?” the boy asked as if she were a family member.

  “Yasmeen, my name is Yasmeen... Yasmeen Devita. I’m Imre’s and Cherry’s daughter,” she said in her slow and uncertain voice, her mind as though fragmented and puzzled.

  “Is she happy? Is Cherry happy? I’d heard that Aaldir gave his essence to both of them,” Radveriel questioned, genuinely interested.

  “Is this a kind of stupid joke, like the ‘Candid camera’ or something?” Yasmeen said sharply. “What is going on here?” She cursed like her dad would when Cherry was not around him as she was not scared at all. Anger bloomed inside her chest, making her bold and strong.

  “You have your father’s temper,” Radveriel muttered and then a low chuckle left his mouth.

  “How is it possible that you know my parents? I have never met you!” Yasmeen exploded but a moment later she composed herself. “I‘ve had a car accident. Have you got a phone?” Yasmeen could not decide what she truly wanted from him, whether to scream at him or plead for help.

  Radveriel’s face softened with uncertainty.

  “There are no... phones here,” he said with confusion. “But don’t worry; I will take you to a safe place.”

  “I’m not going anywhere with you!” Yasmeen yelled. “You might be a serial killer or a rapist or worse. I will wait here,” she added, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “The wood is full of wild animals,” Radveriel’s face shadowed with transient despair. For a few seconds, he looked like a chastised ten-year-old boy.

  Yasmeen felt cramps in her stomach. Strangely, she was not afraid of him at all as he seemed to emanate a kind of invisible energy tinged with some familiar safety and stability.

  “I will stay here,” she repeated, although everything inside her screamed the opposite.

  Radveriel stood up and clenched his fists, his eyes narrowing and burning as if his patience had reached its limits.

  “Stubborn and reckless,” he said. “Stay if you want, I’m going. The animals will eat you and lick the bones,” he added through clenched teeth and started walking. The cat followed him closely.

  Yasmeen felt a shot of fear and despair surging through her body. Her brain worked at high speed, sending a wave of burning blush to her cheeks.

  “Okay, I’ll go with you on one condition. We will talk about different things. You will tell me everything, everything you know about my parents,” she said with a desperate boldness in her voice.

  Radveriel stopped and turned his head towards her. His lips curved with a happy triumphant smile.

  “One condition,” he said. “You will tell me everything about you. Everything.”

  “You first.”

  “No, you first.”

  Yasmeen smiled. She caught up with Radveriel, her naked feet drifting through the sea of green grass, her fancy dress rustling with each step.

  They started walking side by side, their arms touching each other from time to time.

  “I’m Yasmeen Devita, Cherry and Imre’s daughter and I had a really creepy childhood. My grandpa visits us only at night, my mum suffers from never- ending insomnia and my dad tries to survive with her. But he loves her so much, you know. We travelled back in time a few times and...” Yasmeen came to an abrupt stop as she tried to comprehend her own thoughts. Something was wrong. Something was diffe
rent. Her soul beamed. Her vocal cords and mouth articulated a few words of bad language as her hand grabbed Radveriel’s arm and held him back.

  “He is not controlling me anymore. The old Fogey is not controlling my mind anymore,” she said impatiently. “I can tell you everything!”

  Chapter 4

  “My mum is a kind of weird,” Yasmeen continued. Her cheeks flared and she felt an unstoppable urge to share her life with somebody but then an unexpected thought crossed her mind. “Radveriel you don’t think I’m crazy or something.”

  “No, why?”He looked genuinely surprised.

  “I’ve just told you about travelling in time.”

  “I used to travel in time before I gave my wings to Imre.”

  A rush of coldness went through Yasmeen’s veins and she shivered, her body pulling back for a second. Her mind seemed to have enough elasticity to absorb different sorts of odd things, but this had been a little too much for her.

  “What do you mean, Radveriel? What is going on here?”

  “Imre and Cherry... Did they not tell you anything?” Radveriel stopped and placed his hands on Yasmeen’s shoulders. He looked straight into her eyes.

  She felt uncomfortable. Radveriel’s eyes paralysed her with some addictive charm. His hands sent an electric current to her shoulders. Something strange and warm permeated her chest. Her dangerous excitement brushed every cell in her body.

  “Cherry is a pure Varuh and Imre is a vampire,” Radveriel continued.

  Yasmeen started to laugh. That must have been a joke. It was ridiculous, yet Radveriel’s face was solemn.

  “Rav, you are crazy. You are definitely crazy,” Yasmeen said. “My dad is not a vampire. He is a human, for sure. He eats and drinks and ages. My mum must be a vampire. She looks younger than me.”

  “Your mum is a Varuh. She is immortal. Aaldir must have given Imre a human life.”

  “Okay. My mum is a Varuh whatever this means. And you are...What? An alien? A cyborg?”

  ”I’m Radveriel. I was a Varuh but without my wings I’m not a guardian anymore.”

  Yasmeen did not know what to think. This was crazy and strange and unbelievable. But then she recalled a blurry memory. It shaped into a clear image, a representation of an angel with black wings and sharp claws. The angel had had Cherry’s face and her crystal and timid voice.

  “I remember now,” Yasmeen whispered. “I was very sick and mum sat at my bed in hospital at a time when healthcare was poor. It was 1975 or earlier. She was an angel and I felt her love and calm contradicted by her fear that I would die. I remember that my parents came back one night and my dad was morbidly wounded. They told Drasa that they had fought with the Opyri and there had been too many of them. Drasa somehow healed my dad with the help of my hysterical mum. My mum was so scared that she took us all to the 1980s accidentally. After that, we ended up in the 1960s for a long while. Drasa hypnotized people and made our ordeal easier. Drasa has been hypnotizing me since I was very little. Rav, why is my mum so unwell now? What happened before I was born?”

  “There was a war in my homeland called Atlantis. This is a small dimension dedicated to protect your mother’s homeland and other... planes. Imre and Cherry came to help us. Cherry went to face Aaldir and he killed her. He killed them both, then broke the last rule in his life and gave it up to resurrect Imre and Cherry.”

  A heavy silence hung between Yasmeen and Radveriel. As Yasmeen digested the meaning of his revelations, everything started to clarify for her although it was getting more and more ridiculous with every minute. She wanted to ask a lot more questions to fill all the gaps in her memory and get the explanations that she had been pursuing her whole life. Getting the answers was a huge benefit in her current situation and she did not intend to miss any opportunity to learn the whole truth about her creepy childhood, not to mention that her partner in the conversation was so attractive.

  “So what was your part in that absurd weirdness?” she asked after a long moment.

  “I let Cherry go to face Aaldir alone. I let her die,” Radveriel’s voice was full of pain. His eyes darkened and filled with anger. “I let her die because I was a Varuh then but now, I’m not a guardian anymore. I will protect you, Yasmeen and I will die for you if necessary. I won’t let anything bad happen to you!”

  Yasmeen felt his hands clutching her shoulders, his fingers digging into her flesh. She hissed. Radveriel released his grip and stepped back. He dropped his head as if he was very sorry. He looked tense and desperate.

  They resumed walking. For a second, Yasmeen thought that this was a good opportunity to hug Rav but her shyness kept her away from him.

  “Rav, you are not responsible for my mother’s stupid decisions. She made her choice,” Yasmeen said, holding onto his left hand and pumping it once.

  Radveriel’s face lit up a bit. His gleaming, intoxicating eyes locked onto hers but a second later his expression became distant and mysterious.

  Yasmeen withdrew her hand and pulled away from Radveriel. She did not blame him for anything. The past was the past. Her parents had a happy marriage after all.

  A strange discomfort coursed through her chest one again. Radveriel must have been at least her parents’ age. He was not a boy. He was old, maybe even very old. This was awkward and the way she looked at him was somehow inappropriate and painful. No, her feet were achy.

  “Rav, I’ve lost my shoes and I think I can’t walk anymore,” Yasmeen moaned, slowing down. The cat purred and rubbed against her leg as though aiming to relieve her suffering.

  “She likes you,” Radveriel said. He seemed to be surprised.

  “What’s her name?”

  “Kashtamatua”

  “Kate. I will call her Kate,” Yasmeen said, not expecting any objections from Radveriel. She was confident that shortening the cat’s name would make Radveriel’s life much easier from now.

  “Nice,” he said, contemplating that name for a while. “And I like the way you call me. Rav, very... short.”

  Yasmeen felt a rush of heat in her veins. She stopped walking. No boy had ever made her feel like that... but he was not a boy. She did not know how to feel about him.

  “Don’t get me wrong, Rav, but your name is far too long,” she murmured and sighed, surprised as Radveriel approached her and put his hands on her waist. He then raised her from the ground as if she were as light as a feather and threw her over his shoulder, bending his knees slightly.

  “Are you going to carry me like a big sack of potatoes,” Yasmeen complained, furious as she would have preferred to be scooped in his arms like those women from romantic movies, but when her cheek rested against his muscular back, her unhappiness evaporated in an instant.

  “Yes,” he answered a bit impatiently, catching a deep breath from the effort of carrying her.

  “Am I annoying to you?”

  “A little,” he said with genuine honesty.

  His comment made Yasmeen speechless.

  Radveriel moved forward and Yasmeen’s body swung in time to the rhythm of his steps. She did not complain as she soon realised that it was a far better option than walking on her injured feet. At some point, she would get to a safe place and there would be a phone, a police station or some qualified help. She would then be able to get some information about her dad at last.

  Chapter 5

  When Yasmeen saw a strange young man with a pair of cold grey eyes and two pointed ears, her heart started beating hastily. Radveriel had carried her for about an hour, with a stoical patience tolerating her moans and repeated attempts to walk on foot until they had emerged in front of a small castle. He had put her on the ground and she had noticed the strange figure dressed in odd, obsolete clothes that were similar to Rav’s garments with only some slight alterations. The young man looked like he was three or four years older than her and wore a navy tunic with trousers and high boots. His white hair was plaited and fell down like a thick robe reaching his waist. His skin had this ivory shade
, almost the same one as Rav’s.

  “Who is he?” Yasmeen whispered to Radveriel.

  “His name is Ettrian. He is an Elf,” Radveriel answered as though this was a norm.

  Yasmeen blinked a few times in a row and felt dizzy. Her muscles appeared to gain some strange weakness, her limp body starting to descend. Radveriel’s arms embraced her and he raised her in a strong hug, cradling her as if she was a five year old girl. Her right cheek rested on his chest. She could hear the strong beat of his heart and felt the calming and addictive hotness of his skin. Something grew inside her. It was like a storm, more powerful with every second. She tried to repress tears welling up in her eyes and then flowing onto her face... Destroying her perfect make-up. However finally, she wept like a little child. She was surrounded by all sorts of freaks and it looked like only a beginning.

  “Where are we, Rav? I don’t understand...” Yasmeen whispered; her speech wavered.

  “You must have jumped from your dimension to Iioliv,” Rav said. “ I can sense that you have no control over your power as if it had been a one and only manifestation of your abilities. There is too much of a human in your genes and it’s very unpredictable for you. The Varuh can travel among all the Seven Dimensions, but you are half human. Don’t worry, Yasmeen, I will find the way to send you back. I promise,” he added.

  “Why am I here?” Yasmeen questioned as her body trembled, protesting against the horror that she had just heard. It was as if everything hit her in this instant. She did not understand seventy percent of Rav’s explanations and her mind resembled a spinning area of rubbish dump.