As soon as I spoke those two words, he stopped walking towards me. He watched me intently with a curious look in his eyes.
When I looked at him, I didn’t feel fear, even when the realistic part of my brain told me to run, but I didn’t, I couldn’t. He was the most mesmerizing thing I’d ever seen.
I took a couple of steps towards him until I was in touching distance. My breath was hard and heavy as I took him in. I tried to say something, anything, but my voice was lost with him. I reached my hand out and touched the sides of his cheek. Heat radiated onto my palm as it warmed every inch of me.
He responded by reaching up his hand to touch mine that was softly rested on his cheek, and I caught my breath at the gesture, the touch sending a soft white glow around him.
He must have noticed the light as well, it filled the space between us, and he was just as curious as I was. The moment wasn’t to last. His eyes darted past me as he quickly took a step back. My hand fell from his face in an instant.
I turned my body to see what had startled him, but I lost my balance instead, and stumbled on my feet, falling to the ground on my knees, instantly feeling my knee graze a protruding nail from the timber pathway.
“Lila,” I heard a voice say.
“Lila, wake-up.”
I opened my eyes to find Jackie standing above me.
I sat up from the bench seat and looked around the forest in confusion. I took a few short sharp breaths. It was light again, and everything was as it was.
“It must have been a dream,” I mumbled to myself.
“What was a dream? Lila, are you okay?” Jackie asked in confusion.
I looked up at her and shook my head. “Yeah, sorry. I’m fine.”
Jackie didn’t look convinced, but decided to let it go, “Okay, well we have to get back to class. The bell rang twenty minutes ago. When you didn’t show at math, I came looking for you, and found you here asleep.”
Had I really been asleep for that long?
I jumped to my feet quickly. I needed to get back to class ASAP, but when I stood, I felt a searing pain in my knee. I looked down to find my knee cut and bleeding.
Jackie must have noticed it at the same time. “Oh, my God, Lila, what happened?”
I looked over to where I had fallen over in my dream. “I...”
I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t understand it. It was a dream, but if it was a dream, how was I bleeding?
“Come on,” Jackie said grabbing my arm. “Let’s get you to sick bay and have them look at you.”
I agreed and let her lead me out of the forest, taking one last look back.
Maybe it wasn’t a dream...
2... IN THE SHADOWS
Had I seen the guy in my dreams before? Who was he? Why couldn’t I get him out of my head? A part of him looked familiar... but I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why.
I replayed it repeatedly in my head. I left the oval, walked into the forest, ate lunch, messaged Hayley, and fell asleep…
I couldn’t remember closing my eyes. I must have though. The way it had become so dark so quickly, and the trees. They had completely frozen. It was almost as though time had stopped completely still.
I pursed my lips together as I held my pen in my hand and sketched back and forth on the pages of my exercise book.
The rational, and it appeared the sane part of me, knew it was a dream. How could time just stop still like that? It didn’t, that’s why. Time didn’t stand still. I didn’t see a mysteriously beautiful guy who came to me as an angel. It was a dream, but it felt real... It felt as real as I did right now holding my pen and drawing on my exercise book in math class. That part of me knew something wasn’t right. It just didn’t make sense. I’d fallen over and cut my knee, and yet when I had woken, my knee was cut in the exact same place. Nothing I did, no explanation I came up with in my head, answered all of my questions.
I lifted my pen from the paper and looked down at my drawing. I hadn’t even meant to draw it, but there, drawn with black ink with hard lines and shading, was him.
His dark strong features stood out on the page, and he was unlike any other guy I’d ever met.
It had been years since I’d drawn something of meaning. I had not even been interested in drawing anything for a long time, until he had come into my dreams. It was as if he was forever embedded into my memory, down to every last detail, his body, his hair, his strong jaw line, and the way his eyes looked deeply into my soul. His wings... now they were something else- something magical. They arched high above his head, full and thick of long, dark, soft feathers that bore power and dominance, and yet, they looked weightless on him.
“Lila?” Jackie said bringing me out of my trance.
I turned my head towards her, “Sorry.” I shook my head. “Did you say something?”
Jackie frowned. “Are you sure you okay, Lila? You’ve been acting really strange since I found you in the forest.”
“I’m fine. It’s just...” I looked back down at the drawing, trying to figure out how I was going to explain something I didn’t even understand myself.
“Did you just draw that?” Jackie asked, looking down at my drawing.
I nodded.
“You haven’t drawn in ages...” She paused. “It’s beautiful though. Dark, but beautiful,” she said more optimistically. “Is he someone you know? I mean, not an angel of course,” she giggled, “but the face is so detailed, it’s like you’ve drawn it from someone you know.”
Before I could reply, the school bell rang, signalling the end of the day.
“Finally,” Jackie said happily. “I don’t think my brain can handle anymore math for the day.”
“Great,” I quietly said to myself as the class packed up their belongings and began to make their way to the door.
I’d managed to miss a whole lesson and would now need to do extra homework to catch up. Math was already not a strong suit for me, and I’d just made it worse.
I gathered my belongings and made my way to the parking lot, bypassing my locker and picking up the textbooks I needed for a night of study.
I asked Jackie as we walked, “Did you need a ride home today?”
“No, I’m good. Mum’s picking me up today,” she replied.
“Okay, well, I’ll see you tomorrow then,” I said smiling.
“For sure.”
We parted ways as I made my way towards my red Volkswagen Golf.
My parents wanted to get me an Audi or BMW, like the rest of the rich kids, but I wouldn’t let her. I wanted a simple car that got me from A to B. My parents, however, didn’t want me driving in anything “old,” they’d said. Apparently “old” was anything made more than three years ago to them.
For months, we disagreed about the car I should get, and eventually, we both agreed that a VW Golf would be a good choice. I think by that point, my parents were sick of trying to convince me otherwise, and a VW Golf is a great car anyway.
I made the silent journey home. I tried not to think about what had happened in the forest. I’d already missed the later part of the day daydreaming.
I drove up to our front gates, reached my hand out, and keyed in the code to open the gates. How times had changed from the two bedroom unit that we once lived in.
I parked the car out the front of the house and walked towards the front entrance. Anne, our more regular housekeeper, must have already gone home for the day, as her car was nowhere in sight.
I unlocked the huge timber door and went inside. I ran upstairs to my bedroom quickly, throwing my school bag on the ground, changing out of my school clothes, and into denim shorts and a white singlet. I then went back downstairs to the kitchen where I spotted a note on the kitchen bench from Anne, letting Hayley and I know that dinner was in the fridge and all we had to do was reheat it. Also, if we wanted anything in particular when she went grocery shopping to let her know.
I grabbed an apple and a can of iced tea from the fridge and made my way down to the lake
on the edge of our property. I walked out onto the timber jetty and sat on the edge, letting my feet skim the top of the water.
Our house backed onto one of the biggest lakes in the area. We had a bit of property that was surrounded by trees, so we didn’t have any really close neighbours, which made me feel even more isolated sometimes.
I turned towards the house as I heard the honking of a car horn. Hayley was home.
I took a bite into my apple as I stared out on the lake, watching the sunlight catch the ripples of the water. Out here, I didn’t feel the weight of the world on my shoulders. I was just a girl sitting by a lake. I didn’t have to worry about Hayley, school, or my parents. It was my sanctuary.
“I thought I’d find you out here,” Hayley said as she walked onto the jetty and sat down beside me.
“Am I that predictable?”
“Yeah,” she replied, picking up my can of iced tea and taking a sip.
“Hey,” I said grabbing the can from her hand, “get your own.”
“Ohhh,” she whinged.
“I thought you were going shopping, anyway?”
“I did,” Hayley cocked her head smiling.
“But how?” I asked. I had only just gotten home not long ago. The only way she would have been able to go shopping is if... “Hayley,” I said annoyed, “did you skip school again?”
“No, Mr Matthews went home sick at lunch, so the replacement teacher sent us to the library to catch up on any work we needed to do.”
“So you skipped school?”
“No,” she replied defensively. “I didn’t have anything to catch up on. I’m up to date with everything.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
“I’m not the deadbeat you always make me out to be, Lila. I’ve been trying so hard, you know that.”
I closed my eyes and sighed. “I’m sorry,” I said sincerely. “I just don’t know why you don’t care about school?”
“I do,” she admitted. “I just don’t love it the way you do.”
“I don’t love it, Hayley, believe me. I do it because it’s a means to an end. It will mean that one day I can get a job and be able to support myself, not rely on our parents anymore.”
“Meanwhile, you’re leaving me here. You’ll go off to some University hundreds of kilometres away and I’ll be left here alone. I wonder what Mum and Dad will do? Probably just get another nanny...” Hayley said more to herself than to me.
I hadn’t told Hayley I was planning on going to our local West Edge University. I still hadn’t worked out all the details myself, even though I knew I would have to make my decision soon before I missed the cut-off for applications.
“Anyway,” Hayley said light-heartedly, “I got you something.”
She reached into her skirt pocket and held out her hand. “Hold out your hand and close your eyes,” she instructed.
I did as I was told and felt something chained fall into my hand. I opened my eyes and found a white gold chained bracelet. Attached to one of the links was a small delicate leaf with tiny diamonds embedded in it. It was exquisite.
“I saw you looking at it a few weeks ago. I don’t know why you didn’t get it then and there, so I decided to get it for you.”
I stared at it in amazement. “Hayley...”
“Consider it an early graduation present,” she added, knowing I didn’t like her spending money on me.
I looked up at her and smiled. “Thank you.”
She smiled back at me and I reached forward and gave her a hug.
I’d been tempted to go back to the jewellers and buy it for weeks now, since I’d seen it that day with Hayley. I wasn’t one to buy something just because I liked it, and as much as I didn’t like Hayley spending money, I couldn’t help but love it.
We stayed by the lake talking about life until the sun set. Our conversation centred mostly on the latest gossip and Hayley’s great matchmaking skills, which apparently seemed to be ineffective when it came to me- much to her disappointment.
After eating dinner together, I retreated to my bedroom to catch up on schoolwork. With only a few weeks left until school finals and graduation, I needed to put in as much study as I could.
I lay back on my bed and closed my eyes, giving up on the ridiculous calculus question that I couldn’t solve, and would need some much needed help from Jackie tomorrow. It was two in the morning and my brain function was slowly failing anyway. Calculus would have to wait.
I opened my eyes and saw immediately that I’d forgotten to close the sliding doors that led out to the balcony from my bedroom. I slowly made my way out of bed.
As I walked towards the doors, my heart started beating out of my chest, as I noticed that the surrounding trees were deathly still. There was no breeze. No movement. No sound.
I walked out onto the balcony, nervous about what I might see. Would I see him again? Had he found me somehow?
I didn’t have to think about it for too long, as I quickly found him standing amongst the trees. The moonlight allowed me to see the outline of his body- he was looking up towards me.
His wings weren’t spread open like I had seen earlier that day, instead, they were tucked behind him, and although they weren’t on display, they still looked just as grand.
“Who are you?” I asked in a whisper. I didn’t expect a reply, I didn’t even think he would be able to hear me, but it was a question I’d longed to ask.
His voice filled the air around me, “It’s not an answer I can give you.”
“But why?”
He walked out from the shelter of the trees, as his wings opened up behind him. I gripped the edge of the railing. I needed to get down to him- I had to talk to him.
“Lila,” I heard a voice say, but it wasn’t the mysterious angel talking. “Lila.”
“Oi, Lila, wake-up.”
I opened my eyes and found Hayley standing over me in her pastel blue pyjamas.
“Two days in a row, I think you’re making a habit of this, Lila,” Hayley joked.
My eyes adjusted to the light as I sat myself up.
“What time is it?” I grumbled.
“Time to get up,” Hayley replied. “As much as I’d be open to sleeping in and everything, I have a drama assessment this morning with Poppy that I can’t miss.”
“Yeah, of course,” I said vaguely.
“Sweet. Meet you downstairs,” she said, walking out of the room with a skip in her step.
I put my hands on my face, rubbing my eyes. I was so tired, I’d barely had any sleep and then... and then I’d seen him again.
I looked over and found the sliding door still open. I jumped to my feet, ran to the balcony, and looked down, but he wasn’t there.
Of course, he’s not there, I told myself. It was just a dream.
I nodded, reassuring myself that I was right. He was just someone in my dreams. I must have conjured him up in my mind from seeing him somewhere before, on TV, a magazine, anywhere.
Angels don’t exist. He doesn’t exist.
***
We arrived at school just before the first morning bell. I said goodbye to Hayley as she jumped out of the car like a flash of lightning, and I made my way towards the school’s entrance. I could see Jackie waiting for me as I made my way towards our normal meeting spot.
“Morning,” I greeted her with a smile.
“Morning to you too,” she echoed, “late night?”
I frowned. “Can you tell?”
She looked at me with a tight smile. “You look pretty tired.”
I was tired, and the worst part of it was I hadn’t even started the school day yet. How I was going to survive the day, I had no idea.
“I was up until two trying to wrap my head around this stupid math question. Have I mentioned before how much I hate math?”
Jackie laughed. “Once or twice.”
“I just don’t get it. It doesn’t make sense to me.”
“Did you want me to help? We can ru
n through the equations you’re struggling with at lunch time.”
“That would be awesome, Jackie. I need all the help I can get. You’re a lifesaver.”
“Happy to help!”
The roar of a Harley Davidson made Jackie and I snap our heads towards the student car park.
“What the...”
I was slightly taken aback at the vision of a guy wearing a black leather jacket and dark denim jeans driving his glossy-black, and very loud, Harley into one of the car parks.
It felt like I was on some kind of movie set or photo-shoot; the guy fit the bad boy look so well, right down to the aviator sunglasses he was wearing.
The sound had caught just about everyone’s attention, and we all watched on in silence for the mysterious man’s next move.
He slipped of the bike effortlessly and pulled his helmet off, revealing his messy brown hair. He held the helmet in his hand as he made his way towards the front entrance, his posture drawing confidence with every step. I clung tightly to my textbooks against my chest as he passed me, pausing momentarily to remove his sunglasses. His eyes met mine and my breath caught in my throat at the sight.
It was he, the angel from my dreams. He was real.
My head began to spin as I tried to piece everything together. How could he be real? How could any of this be real? I had seen him, and I had touched him. He may not have had the wings as he had in my dreams, but every other part of him was exactly the same.
He looked right at me and I know it was crazy, but he looked at me as if we had met before, as if he recognised me the way I recognised him.
He broke his eye contact with me as he continued to walk past me into the administration building, he stopped short before the door, turned his head slightly, but going against whatever he was thinking of doing, and instead he walked inside, the door closing softly behind him.
“That looks a lot like the guy from your drawing…” Jackie said, her sentence trailing in thought.
That’s because it is, I said to myself, barely believing the words.
“Are you okay?” Jackie asked concerned when she turned and looked at me. “You’ve gone really pale, Lila.”
Angels of Moirai (Book One) Page 3
