The Evensong

by Lindsay Payton

  That got me thinking about my parents, the biological ones. I remembered them vaguely, though unfortunately my aunt’s memory was more profound. She always told me my mother was too young to have a child. “She’s just a baby like you,” she used to say. I hardly understood this then, but I accepted it without much questioning. Too many questions and my aunt would insist I be quiet.

  I remember wandering around the grocery store the day I got lost. One minute auntie was standing beside me, the next I was suddenly alone in the dairy section. I must have walked around the store for half an hour before someone tapped on my shoulder. At the time, I thought Rene was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen with her long brown hair, going down to her waist and her big blue eyes. Maybe her smile is what comforted me most.

  No one questioned me leaving with her. It must have looked so natural, a young woman carrying out her daughter, small arms around her long neck. I hardly questioned anything at first, until she took me to the house and explained things.

  Thunder suddenly cracked over the house, and the lights went out. It left the room a shadowy gray, and my head throbbed a few times. I pressed my face into the pillow and sighed, looking up when I heard my door open. Alysana walked in, smiling slightly as she closed the door behind her.

  “Hey,” she said quietly. I smiled in reply as she sat next to me, staring out the window. “I’d say we go out somewhere, but this weather’s pretty bad.”

  “I bet the swamps are awesome right now,” I said, grinning. Alysana wrinkled her nose.

  “Hell no. I’d prefer a café or something.”

  I thought about it for a minute, looking out at the gale. “Is a bookstore okay?”

  Alysana knew what I meant when I suggested the bookstore. It wasn’t the most sociable hangouts, but we went there all the time. It was old and huge, holding shelves upon shelves of all sorts of books, all genres. There was a small café in the back, but we usually got lost among the aisles, crouching on low stools as we flipped pages.

  I clutched the hot tea I had bought as I waited for Alysana. I was anxious to go looking through the volumes, and since there were a lot of people here today, I wanted to find a secluded corner, too. No one really spoke much, so the rain just filled in the silence with its dull drone and the occasional roll of thunder.

  “You didn’t have to wait,” Alysana said when she stood next to me, coffee and sugar packet in hand.

  “Come on, we always disperse at the same time,” I replied as we walked back into the store.

  “True—hold this?” She held out her coffee, and I held it with my free hand while she poured in the sugar and stirred with a wooden stick. She tried it once before deciding it was okay.

  “Okay, I’m good,” she announced. I smiled and took another sip of mine, looking towards the shelves.

  “All right—let’s go. I’ll find you if I see anything interesting,” I said.

  “Okay, same here,” she replied, already off to the right. I took the left, heading towards the mythology section.

  I passed through the huge paperback sci-fi section, briefly glancing at a few things before moving on. I casually walked by other people, heading deeper into the maze and hoping to find an aisle to myself.

  I finally found the mythology shelves, and two other people were hovering around. One had already occupied the only stool. Pausing, I wondered what to do. I wanted books here, but I didn’t want to stand by and wait to sit down.

  Scanning the spines, I plucked out a few titles, not really thinking it over. I piled four books in my arm and walked away, turning down the next aisle. It may have been fantasy, but surprisingly, no one was here. I plunked down on the rickety stool and put the books on the floor next to me. Balancing my tea in one hand, I opened the first book in my lap. I started flipping through, gradually getting immersed as the store quieted.

  Only the sound of the rain became apparent over the small noise of my flipping pages. I had picked up a book about Morgan Le Fae, and I was entranced with the beautiful illustrations. Most of the pictures were lined in gold leaf, and it subtly caught the light, further pulling me in.

  After fifteen minutes, I was pretty oblivious to everything around me. I got sucked into the reading and the facts, hardly aware of much else. The rain was forgotten, and the last of my headache was diminishing when someone else walked into the aisle.

  I was almost in a projection-like state, and I jolted back into normal thought. Trying not to be obviously put off, I glanced through my hair, immediately regretting it. The stranger—the one everyone was talking about—had wandered into the aisle. I clenched my teeth, holding back a few choice swears. I couldn’t just get up and leave; he’d probably already seen me by now, and if I was thinking correctly, he might even just follow me. Judging by his actions the last time I’d seen him, he seemed like the type that would bug on purpose. I stayed put and kept my head down, concentrating on a spot on the page.

  I couldn’t see him past the curtain of my hair, but I could tell he was still coming closer. There was no reason to be so nervous around him—I should have just left.

  “Morgan Le Fae, huh?”

  I looked up when he spoke and found he stood next to me, hovering over. His hair was wet and dripped in spikes in front of his eyes.

  “Yeah,” I replied, shutting the book.

  “You as interested in her as you are in the swamps?”

  I shrugged, at a loss of what to do. “I just picked up the book.”

  He nodded, glancing down at the pile I had next to the stool. He used the toe of his worn shoe to push aside the top book, exposing the next.

  “The Elementals,” he said, reading the title. He looked surprised. “Interesting.”

  “Like I said, I just kind of picked it up,” I said, gathering up the books. Putting them back would be a reason to leave.

  “So you like that kind of stuff?” he asked, slowly walking after me into the next aisle.

  “Sort of,” I lied. It was like an automatic response; a tactic to keep my secret safe. He leaned against the shelves while I put the books back, struggling to keep my cup of tea upright.

  “Your name’s Riley, right?” he asked as I put The Elementals back on the shelf.

  “Yeah,” I replied, now forced to look at him. “I’ve heard a lot about you, but never your name.” He just smirked a little, and I put the last book back. “So what is it?”

  “What have you heard?” he asked.

  I sighed quietly, taking a sip of the cold tea. He knew he was avoiding my question. “Different things. You’ve inherited some huge house—you’re twenty-three.”

  “Wow, word travels fast,” he laughed. “That’s it?”

  “Yeah.” Besides the fact that everyone called him strange.

  “It’s not really a huge house,” he commented, shrugging. “Bet it’s the same size as yours.”

  I looked at him quickly, wondering if he was just guessing. Judging by his slightly amused look, I had a feeling he’d seen the house before.

  “When did you see it?” I asked.

  “Sharon was giving me the grand ol’ tour and we passed by your place. She said it’s a boarding house of sorts.”

  “Sort of,” I replied vaguely. Since when was Sharon carting people around town? It was small enough that a new person could find their way around alone.

  “Well if you’re living alone in a house that size, I’d still say it’s pretty big,” I replied.

  He shrugged. “You’ll see. I’ve been meaning to ask you about the swamps anyway.”

  I shifted a little uncomfortably, wondering why he was singling me out. “What about them?”

  “I just wanted to take a walk through them with someone who knows the area. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone else who might go there at leisure.” He smiled slightly, reminding me of a cat in the way his eyes tilted. They were a gold color, hidden under the strands of his drying hair. I had to look away when I realized I was just sort of staring.
r />   “Maybe when it’s not raining,” I replied.

  “Tomorrow? I know it won’t rain tomorrow, not until nighttime at least,” he suggested.

  “How would you know?” I asked, my tone a little sarcastic.

  “Believe me,” he said simply. “So I’ll see you on the trail near your house—I’ve walked there before. Twelve tomorrow.”

  I paused, seeing as I hadn’t exactly agreed to anything, yet he was planning everything out.

  “Sure,” I heard myself say. He smiled and stood up straight, shaking the hair out of his eyes.

  “See you then,” he said, and backed out of the aisle, disappearing to the left.

  So I’d agreed to meet him at the swamp, and to do what? Talk and walk? It already sounded like an awkward situation, and I realized something: I still didn’t know his name.

  I rushed to the aisle and looked down the way he’d gone. The aisle was empty but for a few other people, and I knew I wouldn’t find him in the rest of the store. I silently cursed and walked away, out to search for Alysana.

  I’d barely started looking when Alysana ran up to me, grasping my upper arm as she pulled me aside.

  “Finally saw the guy—the one who just moved here,” she said, looking towards the entrance of the building.

  “So did I, we just had a great discussion back there,” I replied.

  She looked at me sharply. “You did? About what?”

  “Walking around the swamps. I guess I’m going with him tomorrow,” I said, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

  Alysana laughed and tried to keep quiet when the cashier looked our way. “Guess there is a perfect guy for you, huh?”

  I kicked her shin lightly as we made our way out. “I didn’t say it was something special. It just kind of happened.”

  “Uh-huh. So what’s his name?”

  I sighed as we stepped out into the rain, which was only a light drizzle now. “I don’t know, I asked but he avoided the question, and I eventually forgot about it.”

  That got Alysana laughing again. “That’s priceless, Riley. I guess he’ll have to stay a stranger till then.”

  COMING AROUND

  “You’re going walking with the creep, better be careful,” Hunter commented as he drifted by Omar’s room. From the bed, I just shook my head, determined to ignore the slew of jokes coming my way. All evening, everyone in the house was cracking jokes towards me or asking ridiculous questions. They were becoming just like the people in town: gossip fiends.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll bring pepper spray or something,” I called.

  Omar shook his head to himself, laughing slightly. He leaned in close to the paper in front of him, nose almost touching the surface as he strategically smeared pastel.

  “So you didn’t get a name?” he asked. He’d graciously been talking about anything but the events of my afternoon, though I could tell he was just as curious as everyone else.

  “Nope,” I replied. “Go ahead, take a guess at it.”

  “Hm. Dexter.”

  I laughed, thinking it was definitely not fitting of Stranger—the name I preferred to use in my own head.

  “You know, he was in the library earlier for an hour or so,” Omar said, dropping the pastel he held. He sat up straight, stretching his back as he stood. “He didn’t check anything out though.”

  “That’s great, Omar, but I really don’t care,” I replied, flipping the page of the comic I’d been skimming. “Maybe Alysana would want to know. Heck, even Justine.”

  He sighed and sat next to me, putting his hands behind his head. Downstairs, mostly everyone was gathered around the kitchen table doing homework while Alysana tried to make dinner and stay in charge. Rene had left the house earlier and still hadn’t come back. She didn’t said where she was going, which made me suspect she was up to something, but what, I didn’t know.

  “When is your ceremony happening?” Omar asked.

  “So you’ve already forgotten my birthday?” I replied. “You’re not even out of the house and it’s slipped your mind …”

  “You know what I mean, am I going to have to take off work to be there?”

  “Oh—yeah, probably. I think it’s happening in the morning,” I replied. He nodded thoughtfully before saying he would arrange it with his boss. He was about to go on when we both heard the front door fling open and slam shut. Rene yelled something, and I stood, not bothering to wait for Omar. I paused at the stairs, just listening. The kitchen had gone quiet, except for Alysana’s soft voice.

  “What happened?” Omar asked quietly, standing behind me. I shrugged wordlessly, going down the stairs.

  Rene was still standing by the door when I stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Her hair was wind-whipped, partially covering her face as she toweled off a little girl’s hair.

  “Another one,” Omar muttered as he walked past me.

  “Alysana,” Rene called towards the kitchen, “put water on the stove, and find a calming tea.”

  I stood where I was, watching as Rene let her coat fall to the floor. The girl looked terrified; her eyes were huge under her wet, tangled hair.

  “Come on, sweet pea,” Rene said, taking her hand. She dragged her towards the kitchen while I followed.

  Nine residents of the house sat around the long kitchen table. Alysana was bustling around, frantically putting together dried herbs for tea. I hovered near the back of the room, watching as Hunter gave up his seat for the girl.

  “Everyone,” Rene started as she lifted the girl into the chair. “This is Beau—she’s going to be living with us now.”

  It was a familiar statement, but one I hadn’t heard for nearly a year. This girl, Beau, was much younger than anyone I’d seen here. She looked ten, or maybe younger.

  There was a chorus of mumbled hellos, and Rene introduced every one of us. Beau hardly seemed to care; she sat stiff in the chair, still scared. Alysana put a full cup of tea in front of her, gauging her reaction. Tears were starting to well up in Beau’s huge blue eyes. Rene noticed and scooped her up immediately. The tea floated after her as she rushed Beau out of the room.

  “I wonder what’s going on,” Alysana said after a long silence. “She seems a little … panicky.”

  “Wonder where she’s going to sleep,” I replied, thinking to myself. I hoped she wouldn’t try to put her in my room. I liked having the place to myself.

  “Probably with Justine and Hank, if there’s enough room,” Alysana replied as everyone else started talking again.

  “Did she tell you she was going after another one?” I asked, leaning against the wall. Rene usually alerted us when someone else was going to be moving in.

  Alysana shook her head. “Nope. She didn’t mention anything. She just rushed out of here and came back with Beau.”

  I bit my lip in thought, wondering what was wrong with this month. First the whole thing with Stranger, now a peculiarly frantic Rene. I hoped it would all be over by the time my ceremony came around. I was nervous about it as it was, but worrying about other things would make it worse.

  Everyone was a little uneasy the rest of the night. I ate a meager dinner with Alysana and Omar while we watched movies. I could hardly concentrate though; my mind was on the next morning. It was still raining a little outside, so I hoped Stranger might have been wrong about the rain. If it’s raining at all in the morning, I won’t go, I promised myself before I went to bed.

  Unfortunately, I didn’t get much sleep at all. In the next room—reserved for the younger kids—Beau was crying through most of the night.

  Walking to the swamps the next morning, I stared up at the sky, wondering why it was against me. There was no sign of any blue, just deep gray, almost lavender. It smelled faintly of rain, but I attributed that to the storm that had come around at midnight. The ground was still wet, and everything would stay damp until the clouds disappeared.

  My shoes left diamond patterns in the unpaved road as I walked. There was no sign of Stranger yet. At least
, not that I could see of him. The wall of trees could be skewering my view, so I kept my eyes down on the ground. I wondered what we would do while walking around the place. There wasn’t all that much now that I thought about it. I went there to project, and he obviously couldn’t do the same. Say I told him about me, I could take him with me, but that was strictly against any laws I knew. So what then? Talk about him some more maybe?

  Soon, I’d stepped into the dripping trees and the soggy ground. Looking around, I didn’t see Stranger at first, but as I walked closer to the spot I called my own, I found him sitting on the same fallen log I usually occupied. He looked over his shoulder at me and smiled, moving over and gesturing to the spot next to him.

  “Sorry—didn’t mean to steal your spot,” he said as I hesitated next to him.

  “It’s fine,” I said, sitting down. I stared out at the familiar scene ahead of me, aware that he was watching me. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to look at him. “So—this is it.”

  “Yeah. It’s a good view of the place,” he said, following my gaze. “But not the whole thing. Have you ever walked through it all?”

  I shrugged, fiddling with the zipper of my hoodie. “Most of it, I think.”

  “Alone?”

  “Yeah,” I replied, briefly glancing at him. “My friends don’t exactly like it that much.”

  “That’s crazy,” he laughed, picking at the long grass growing next to him. “I love this place.”

  I laughed weakly, embarrassingly nervous.

  “Come on,” Stranger said, standing, “I’ll show you my favorite places. They’re kind of across the place, but it’s not that far.”

  He offered a hand, and I looked at the tattoos peeking out from under the sleeve of his jacket. It reminded me of something—something tied to the swamps—but I couldn’t quite recall it. So I took his hand, letting him pull me to my feet.

  I followed him down the edges of the swamp, stepping in the impressions his shoes made in the sponge-like ground. We passed by everything familiar; trees I’d marked in my mind to just remember where I was going. It was easy to get lost here, but Stranger led the way like he’d done it a million times, like me. Walking around one bend of trees, we had to balance on a precarious edge, one that slanted down into the murky water. Stranger held his arms out for balance while I just gripped the few thin branches that came every now and then. I almost slipped in once, and my right shoe was partially soaked.