by A.J. Aaron
“It is only in the country that we can get to know a person or a book.”
Cyril Connolly
11
I sat down to a lunch of clam chowder and corn bread. The chowder was simmering most of the morning, causing my taste buds to dance in my mouth with anticipation. I made a large pot of it—enough to feed at least four other people. Alexander would love the leftovers when I returned to the mansion.
The trailer I was in was from the 1960s and, from the old table in front of the kitchen window, had a great view of the rental cottage at the end of the driveway.
I knew there was a renter in the cottage, but I hadn’t seen who it was yet. I wanted to see the type of person who liked to settle on this wooded, peaceful, and isolated property for relaxation—probably a laid back and peaceful person. I settled into the old, vinyl upholstered kitchen chair, and ate.
“Mmm, nothing better than a bowl of homemade chowder. Life is good,” I said out loud and then thought, I’m talking to myself more out here than at home. Maybe I should go back.
As I tasted the butter, onions, and sage in the broth, I realized I was talking out loud because it was so damn good.
Occasionally, I looked through the bay window. Whoever came in last night sure had a nice car. A silver Audi R8 with over 400 horsepower was parked in front of the cottage door with dust from the dirt roads covering it. The cottage door burst open.
A woman came out with a sandwich, book, and what looked like a can of bug spray. She wore a pair of capris and an oversized denim shirt, with her hair up in a ponytail and a pair of high-heeled mules. Her shiny hair was so dark; it looked jet black. It seemed she might be by herself, since no one else came out and I doubted that car could carry more than her luggage and her.
She set something on the picnic table next to her plate, took a big bite of her sandwich at the same time swatting at the air, hoping to shoo the bugs away from her lunch and her hair—a comical sight.
I leaned back in the chair to enjoy the show. City girl in the country was the name of this one.
She fought with the bugs, spraying the air around her. She took a good look at the table, put her sandwich down on the plate, and walked to her car. She struggled with her shoes, the heels sticking in the dirt and pulling off her feet, but continued her adventure to the car, coming back with a towel.
Logically, she should have taken off her shoes and walked barefoot in the grass, but she kept fighting with them. I was practically rolling on the floor as I laughed, but thought how rotten I was for doing so.
Then, when she finally got situated and sat on the towel on the seat of the picnic table, she struggled to figure out what to do with her arms. She didn’t want them to touch the table either.
A bug must have been swarming her head since she started swinging both hands around her head and forgot she had a sandwich in one and a plate in the other. The sandwich broke apart as she hit her head with it. The plate slipped out of her other hand and fell on her head. I heard her scream.
“How the hell am I supposed to relax in this God forsaken place? Damn! I hate you, Gene!”
She stood and sprayed bug spray behind her as she hobbled back to the cottage. Her sandwich and plate were on the ground, her book sat unopened on the table, and one shoe was left stuck in the dirt on the way into the cottage.
This was good entertainment, poor thing. She was a wreck. I was still laughing, but I probably should have been more considerate—like bringing her some lunch, since hers was on the ground.
I cleaned up the kitchen and put together a tray of chowder, corn bread, and iced tea. I carried it down the driveway and put it on the picnic table while I cleaned up the mess she’d made. I picked up the book and the object next to it.
My heart raced. It couldn’t be. I held the sides of the table for support as I stared at it. My stone? Was this the other half? Mine vibrated wildly in my pocket. I removed it and compared the two. They were identical, but opposite. They fit together. Incredible.
How had she gotten it? Was it her? I couldn’t believe she was the one I was supposed to find, but…I grabbed the book and her stone, feeling the familiarity of it, and headed over to the cottage with everything. I took deep breaths and composed myself.
I rang the bell and heard a screech that sounded like someone was stabbed. Then it stopped and got very quiet. I stood there wondering what to do. Was she hurt? Should I go in? There weren’t any door locks on these properties. Maybe I should ring the bell again.
Ding dong, ding dong.
I heard her screech as if she was in pain.
Ding dong.
Another horrible screech. She yelled, “Go away! I have a gun!”
“Uh, I brought you something to eat. I’m staying in the trailer at the end of the driveway. I saw you had a little trouble eating lunch, so I thought I’d bring you something. My name is Sevilen.”
It got quiet. I heard her moving around inside. Hopefully, she wasn’t going to shoot me. I stood there with the tray. She pulled the sheer door curtains back a crack and peeked; her greenish brown eyes flitted around checking things out. She looked at me and couldn’t look away.
I waved with one hand, smiled and held the tray with the other, offering it to her. She looked at the tray, at me, and then she opened the door while holding a towel around her wet body with the other hand. Her black hair was shiny and wet.
“Hi. What did you say your name was?”
“Uh, Sevilen, Sevilen Decarain. I’ll bet your name is Leyna.”
She looked at me with shock and then nodded in acknowledgement.
“The folks who rented this for me told you my name, did they? Okay.” She smiled, smoothing her wet hair with her free hand.
“Come in. You can put the tray on the kitchen table. Anyone bringing food like that for me has to be safe. Let me get dressed.” She took off to the bedroom and I set the things on the table.
I went into the laundry room and saw her other shoe, the high heel all covered with mud, and put the shoe she’d left stuck in the dirt outside next to it. I pulled out the cheap flip-flops I found in the cupboard when I was here checking the place out the other day. I guess we kept a supply of them for the guests in case they had a need like hers. I found a pair of pink ones about her size and put them in the kitchen.
I set the table with a spoon and napkins. Leyna came out dressed in a pair of tight, light blue jeans and a tee shirt; her hair was still wet, combed down along her shoulders—she smelled sweet and clean. She took my breath away.
“Good idea. Let your hair dry without any products in it and the bugs won’t be so eager to attack you. I saw the onslaught when you were out there before.”
“Is that why? I’m not sure I want to go back out. What are these pink things?”
“They’re for you. Brand new. Much easier to walk in outside.”
“Thanks.” She sat down to the chowder and sniffed it. “Mmm, smells great. And cornbread. My favorite. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
She dug in as if she hadn’t seen food in a while. The cornbread crumbled, which fell on her chin while she practically vacuumed chowder into her mouth. “Sorry, really hungry—didn’t eat last night and no breakfast this morning. Slept like the dead here, it’s so quiet.”
She went back at it until she was done and then sat back and twirled her fingers through that black, black hair. She made eye contact and didn’t blink until my uneasiness made me to look away first.
Finally she spoke. “Thanks. That was awesome. You cook it yourself?”
“Yup. Like to cook from time to time. Maybe ‘cause I like to eat.”
“You don’t look like you like to eat. Tall and thin as you are.”
“Thanks, I guess I don’t eat that much. Small gas tank.”
She smiled and tilted her head. “You’re cute. Handsome, too. Odd combination.” She looked at my hands and grabbed my left one. “Nice ring, looks brand new, fourteen karat. What’s
the face?”
She ran her small, silken hands and fingers over my hand as she inspected the ring. A tingle went through me.
“Cernunnos, supposed to be some male aspect of a god. My great grandmother said the Christians would call it Satan.”
“Satan? Christians? Aren’t you a Christian?” She rolled the ring back and forth over my finger, observed the shine, and scrutinized the details of the eyes, mouth, nose, and horns.
“I don’t know. Raised Catholic, but I’m an engineer and we question things.”
“Very shiny, fine details, where did you get it?”
“It was an inheritance of sorts. My great grandmother Aysel gave them to me before she died at the age of one hundred and six. I guess they belonged to another Sevilen Decarain from the fourteen hundreds.”
“Wow that was a long time ago. They look brand new. Must have never been worn. Is the other one a snake?’
“I guess. This one came with it. It’s supposed to represent the female aspect of god as a snake.”
“Snake? Sounds male to me.” She chuckled and took my right hand into her other hand. I could feel a flow of energy through both and through my shoulders. It was like a racing river. Could she feel it? I couldn’t tell, since she was too absorbed by the jewelry. I gently pulled my hand away, since it was getting too intense. I decided to take her on a tour of the town.
“Wanna go for walk to the general store? I’ll buy you an ice cream for dessert.” I offered my hand.
“That sounds great.” Leyna took my hand and we headed out the door.
“You walk a lot better in the flip-flops.”
“Thanks, I’m a spiked heel kind of woman, but the grass doesn’t agree. Thanks for the goofy shoes.”
“You’re welcome.”
Leyna continued to hold my hand while her footwear filled the silence with their characteristic sound. We ascended the hill and left the quiet dirt drive for a crunchy, gravel road.
The fragrant smells of the early summer were all around with the grass growing in the fields and the fresh green trees. A pot of tulips bloomed in front of the general store, another next to the only gas pump in town in front of the store.
I pulled open the spring-hinged, wooden screen door as it squeaked our arrival and slammed shut, bouncing against the framework.
“Hi! I’m Traci. How are you guys?” With one finger, she brushed a stray group of blond locks from her freckled, blue-eyed face.
“Good, and you?” I asked as she smiled warmly and reached her hand over the counter. We each shook it and smiled back.
“Really good. Isn’t it great that summer is finally here? I love it. Hate the heat, but this is perfect.” She looked at me. “You staying at the Decarain’s cottage, too?” She looked at Leyna before I could answer and asked, “How’s that bug spray working for ya?”
“Uh, she is, I’m in the trailer.”
“Bug spray was okay,” Leyna said as she tilted her head down, a little embarrassed.
“Trailer? That’s where Aysel likes to stay. Surprised she’s not here yet. Usually she comes down when it gets nice like this. And her friend Michael, he is something.”
“Well, sorry to tell you this. Aysel won’t be coming back. She passed away a few weeks ago. She left this place to me in her estate.”
“Oh my gosh. So sorry to hear that. I loved Aysel. How could a cute little young thing like her die? She couldn’t have been more than your age. She your sister?”
“Yeah, sister. I’ll miss her a lot. I never had the chance to come down here with her. We kind of had separate lives.” Then I thought, dumb ass, she’ll be back. Oh wait, that was all a hallucination. But, why did Traci think she was so young? Too much to think about.
“I wish I could do something to help you feel better. Here, why don’t you guys have an ice cream on me? It’s the least I could do for Aysel’s brother and his…I’m sorry, I didn’t get your names.”
“I’m sorry, I’m Sevilen Decarain, and this is Leyna...”
“Leyna DiAmore.”
“Well, Sevilen and Leyna. Nice to meet you. What will it be?”
We picked our flavors and Traci made us huge cones while we sucked in the ambiance of the one hundred or more year old general store. The hand poured glass fronts of the cabinets along the walls told me they must have been original. Some dusty, slow selling, cast iron fireplace hearth pots were stacked in a corner, along with bags of charcoal, lighter fluid, bug spray, beer, and wine.
“There, enjoy. Don’t hesitate to come on up if you need anything else. If it looks like no one’s here and I’m not in the back yard, then I’m in the basement or upstairs, so bang on the floor and the ceiling with one of the brooms off that rack and I’ll come down, or up, or whatever. The door is always open. If you can’t find me, but you find what you want, take it, and you can pay me later. Have a great day.”
Leyna smiled. “We will. Thanks.” Leyna took me by the hand and led the way out the door. We sat on a bench in the sun a bit down the street from the front door. “I thought you said your great grandmother died. She was thirty?”
“Well, it’s a long story and I don’t think you would understand.”
“What? Do you think I’m stupid? There are brains in this body, bub.”
“No, no, nothing like that. It’s just a long story better suited for another time. I just don’t want to talk about it at this moment, that’s all.”
I absorbed myself in my ice cream. Homemade. Incredible. Felt like I’d gone back in time. All I could hear were the birds and critters running around, a dog barking in the distance, a horse neighing up the hill, the breeze through the trees. I looked at Leyna.
She, too, was absorbed in her treat. She bit the ice cream, looked around, and sniffed the air. “It is different here. Now that the bugs aren’t buggin’ me, it’s kinda peaceful. Never thought I’d like this kind of thing.”
She smiled with ice cream around her lips. She took another big bite. The circle of ice cream got bigger around her mouth. It collected and started to drip down her chin. She realized it.
“Oops.” She licked her lips.
I took my napkin and caught a drip from the bottom of her chin. She took another big bite and a piece of the ice cream fell off. I tried to catch it with my napkin in hand and ended up having it beat me to her breast. I accidentally brushed her breast through her tee shirt and ended up apologizing profusely, while I pushed the napkins into her other hand. I stood up while she laughed at my embarrassment.
“I’m so sorry. I uh, I uh, I never meant, uh…”
She laughed pleasantly. “That was funny. You look so embarrassed. Don’t be. Big deal, who cares, so what, why not.” She shrugged her shoulders and went back to biting her ice cream.
“Don’t you ever lick it? Why are you taking bites? It’ll be gone faster that way and you don’t get to enjoy it.”
“If it’s worth doing, it’s worth getting done.”
“Wow, now you sound like an engineer.”
“Yeah? Maybe I am one.” Then another piece was gone plus the crunch of a disappearing cone.
I licked mine and shook my head. I looked up. There was a raven watching us from a low branch in an ancient tree on the other side of the road. He saw me, seemed to nod, and continued to watch.
Leyna held sticky hands in the air in front of her. “Mmm, great ice cream. I’m glad we went there. What next?” Leyna looked at me with an open face and smiling eyes. She seemed to have taken to me quite easily.
I looked at her and saw her face in my dream. I couldn’t quite believe this was actually happening. All that crazy stuff I had chalked up to nonsense and too much stress may have been real. What if Aysel and I really had done those things, and what if she really did look that young at the mansion before she died, and younger still when she supposedly took me for my download? Traci remembered her that way.
Leyna waited impatiently for me to finish my cone. Hands still held at bay, like a doctor after
scrubbing.
I licked my cone. “I don’t know what’s next. Maybe we should go shopping, or hit the bars and nightclubs.”
Leyna responded to my sarcasm with a smile.
I went on, “Or, walk around the town. There are only a few things to see here, but it’s nice. We could start with the graveyards. There are two. I think there are more people in them than who live in the town.”
I looked up for the raven and he was gone.
“Graveyard? Hmm, kind of morose, but why not? I can’t say no, since I never went to one for entertainment.”
“Sure, they’re nice, quiet of course. We can read the tombstones and enjoy the weather. Then afterward I can cook you a great meal and we can have drinks on the deck at the trailer. It’s covered and it’s beautiful in the evening. Alexander must have had this place stocked before I came down, since it’s filled with plenty of groceries. Lots of good stuff in there. You like King Crab legs?”
“Crab? My favorite, next to Maine lobster. Let’s look around.” Leyna went to take my hand to walk then stopped. “Sorry, I’m all sticky.”
I looked around and saw a garden hose in front of the house we were sitting. I went over and turned it on for her. I was certain no one would mind in this town. We cleaned up and headed out.
The first cemetery was on a hill just down the street. The graves were from the early 1700s. The lifespans were short and entire families were there with numerous young children.
A sweet breeze bathed us as we walked in the shade on the soft grass, smelled the fresh unfettered air, and read the names on the stones. The second cemetery was across the street and similar.
We spent the day going through them both, sat on the benches, and even napped under a tree for a while. Then, as we made our way back to the street, we turned the corner of a row and Leyna gasped.
“Leyna. Her name was Leyna. That’s pretty rare.” Leyna knelt down and ran her hand across the name. “She died at the age of twenty-eight. So young….” She paused and rubbed the tombstone, seeming overly emotional about someone with her same first name, but maybe she was just more unstable than I was. “Reincarnation? Do you believe in it?”
“I don’t know. I guess anything is possible, but if you can’t prove it, how can it be real, right?”
Leyna stood and flicked her hair over her right shoulder. “Yeah, I guess. I feel a little weird thinking about it. What if reincarnation was true and we just didn’t remember it? Would we be doing the same kind of things life after life, or would we be different?”
Leyna took my hand and looked at the tombstone again then at me. “Can we go home? I think I’d like to sample some of your cooking.”
“Sure. It’s getting time to get supper going. If you want, we can have some cheese and drinks on the deck before dinner. I’d like to take a shower first and put on some clean clothes, if that’s okay.”
“Me, too. As a matter of fact, I don’t think I can eat King Crab legs without dressing a little nicer.” Leyna smiled and winked. “We’re eating at the trailer, right?”
“That would be good, since then we can sit on the deck.”
“I’ll wear my flip-flops and then change into my heels when I get up the hill to the trailer, okay?” Leyna put her hand on my shoulder and looked up into my eyes in a longing way.
I interrupted her focus. “Okay. Let’s go.”
I looked back at Leyna’s tombstone and the raven was sitting on top of it, looking our way. He nodded and flew off.
