by Fallon Sousa
“It’s right over there!” Michael yelled, pointing Priscilla in the general direction of her baby toe. “Hurry, before it bites you!”
“I’ll try!” she screamed back at him, shaking with both anxiety and the sub-zero temperatures that seemed to be indigenous to Rumidon. Priscilla finally spotted the little bug, quickly squashing it with the stick. She felt bad about what she had done; Priscilla had never really liked killing any living thing, especially not since she had often presumed her sister to be dead. “There,” she answered, adding, “I got ‘em!”
“Good,” Michael finally managed to spit out before they were all being sucked through the vortex in the opposite direction from where they came from.
******
When Michael and Priscilla awoke beside each other a few moments later, they found themselves in a dark ally way. Their clothes were dirty and they were hungry. Apparently, it was not possible to attend to basic needs like hunger or thirst while one was inhabiting Rumidon.
“Michael?” Priscilla asked her friend, shaking him by the shoulders in a futile attempt to wake him up. “You have got to see this.”
He grunted, looking up at her drowsily and saying, “Are you kidding me? You’re waking me up at this time?” Michael began to look at his surroundings.
“Oh,” a voice began, “There you are.” Priscilla could not believe her own ears, for, the voice she now heard was that of her estranged sister, Belinda.
“Belinda?” Miss Clarke asked, beside herself as she moved towards her sister. To her shock, the girl who had been a puny pre-teen just a moment before in Rumidon was now just as lovely as Priscilla was. “Thank God!” She ran over to her twin, hugging her.
“Well,” Michael started, “I guess my job here is done, then.” He began to walk away, his long, muscular legs swishing past the girls and out into whatever Boston street they had finally reached this time. “See you soon,” he added, looking straight into Priscilla’s eyes.
“Yeah,” she answered. “See you.”
Belinda still had not let go of her twin sister. “Do you … think fondly of him?” she asked. “Of Michael, I mean.” Belinda’s hair was ragged and she’d begun to notice. Maybe she was trying to change the subject.
“I guess, if, by fond of, you mean tolerant of, then, yes. I am” Even though she was trying not to make any more of it, she couldn’t help but blush lightly. She was glad to have her sister back. Belinda swatted at her sister’s face playfully.
All of a sudden, their conversation was interrupted. “Hey,” Michael’s voice yelled from outside the ally. “Girls, you have to come quick.”
“See,” Belinda teased, whispering and playing with a strand of her hair. “He wants to see you. I knew it to be so.”
Priscilla pushed her sister away, soon regretting her disregard for their rejuvenated sisterhood. “Knock it off, Belinda. He’s serious.” She grabbed the other girl’s arm, dragging her to where Michael was. She was beginning to realize that Belinda had plenty of growing up left to do before they would be okay.
“What is it?” she asked Michael, feeling anxious. She bit down on her lip to the point where blood nearly drew, twisting and writhing her hands amidst themselves.
“We neglected to realize that those who would have been too old to live by now have died upon exiting Rumidon. They would have been better off there.”
“Listen,” Priscilla said, grabbing tightly onto Michael’s arm. “There’s nothing any of us could have done about it. They couldn’t live forever. At least, we saved the rest.” She looked over at Belinda, who had wandered off into a shop to buy some new, better-fitting clothes. “They are all safe. That is all that matters. Right?”
“Yeah,” Michael said, moving in closer to Priscilla. “I guess so.” Just then, he leaned in and kissed Priscilla gently on the lips.
“You’re not leaving, are you?” she asked, worried.
“Nope,” he said, adding, “Never again.” Priscilla smiled, looking up into Michael’s eyes with a type of magic in her heart that she’d never felt.
She kissed him back.
Epilogue
Later that day, Priscilla returned home to her family, along with her sister, Belinda. Michael, to Priscilla's relief, was not returned to a state of death like the others. This was a result of his former status of immortality. Mr. And Mrs. Clarke were overjoyed to see their daughters both home, safe. Michael explained all of the secrets of the Moon Pirated children to them. At first, like all parents would, they thought he was nuts and tried to have him committed to a mental institution. But eventually, they realized how important he was to their daughter, so they decided to cut him a break.
That fall, Priscilla enrolled in college with some reward money the city had put for Belinda's safe return. Since Belinda had not been to school in ten years, she was required to take small steps. She crash-coursed through grade school and earned her GED later that spring. In addition, she has now been promoted to librarian at Hear the Word. Demetria has moved to an expensive retirement home for Wiccans.
Michael returned to Spain to visit the graves of his family members. He was glad to see that, thanks to him, his sister had lived a long and healthy life, gotten married, and raised two beautiful children before moving to New York City. However, she had returned to Europe at the end of her life in order to tie loose ends. Michael also plans to visit Priscilla during holiday break, but he doesn't know if she'll have time. After all, she was going to be a doctor someday.
The day that she returned to Boston just a few days before Christmas, he was waiting for her there. He stood outside of a local subway station as she stepped down from the stereotypically metropolitan mode of transportation. Her white face was flushed with pink from the cold, winter weather, and her black curls hung loosely, yet calmly. A single wisp of her hair fell in front of one sapphire-hued iris, with it's darkened lashes stretched by mascara, and it's snowy lid twinkling with glitter.
"You're so...beautiful..." Michael stammered, his breath nearly taken away by Priscilla's complete and utter radiance. "Come," he said, adding, "Take my hand."
Priscilla smiled, showing a row of electric teeth. "Of course, my love." She attempted to seem as charming as a long-ago Spanish dame that she imagined he may have once loved. "Have you ever been in love before this?" She asked, succumbing to her curiosity.
Michael smiled. "Never," he answered. "Always you. Only you." She wrapped her arms around him tight, then they kissed before walking out into the night. They walked and walked, along the streets of Boston, only stopping when they reached a park bench that rested by a lamp post like in the movies. Sitting down beside her, Michael took Priscilla's hand in his, then brought it up to his face.
"What are we doing here?" She asked.
"Watching the moon," he answered. And, that, they did.
