His Sister's Return

by Mary Goldberger

She gasped as she hit his arm in mock anger, but her laughing eyes told him that she didn’t mind his teasing.

  He looked down at his watch and commented, “We have time for one more thing before I have to go.”

  Alina nodded her head as he grabbed her hand and led her away. When they reached their destination, she laughed because it was something she would have referred to as ‘shopping’ as he took her to a row of shops.

  “Not ordinary shopping,” he told her as he led her to one store, and she stared at the beautiful jewelry inside. “It is all handmade.”

  “Really?” She asked in disbelief turning to look up at him realizing how close he was to her as he nodded his head, and she swallowed before turning back to look at the jewelry.

  “Let’s go inside,” he told her grabbing her hand again and pulling her inside.

  Alina looked around in awe at the jewelry proudly placed around the tiny store and a beaded curtain moved as a middle aged woman came out to see them staring at them silently her eyes a little unfocused.

  “Good day,” she said in a heavy accent that neither could actually place as she stepped forward the eyes that seemed unfocused more alert. “Is there something particular you are looking for?”

  “No,” Alina said shaking her head as her eyes wondered around the shop. “We are just looking. You have some beautiful things in here.”

  “Thank you,” the woman said with a slight nod and a smile watching intensely as Alina walked around the store.

  Trystan watched her also his eyes lingering on her bottom nicely outlined in her jeans as he stood at a table laid out with necklaces in all designs.

  The woman walked over to him before she picked up a moon crest shaped necklace holding it out to him. “It is a beautiful piece, but also a remainder that the moon in its entirety is a rare thing.”

  Trystan took the necklace from her as her attention turned to Alina who stopped in front of a tray of bracelets and the woman remarked clearly as she walked over, “Oh yes, many have liked the bracelets I have made.”

  Alina smiled as she picked up one with different figurines all the way around it. “They are quite beautiful,” she said softly handling the bracelet gently.

  The woman smiled as she took the bracelet from her. “Yes it is beautiful, but” she added looking up at her, “it doesn’t match you my dear.”

  Alina looked at her in confusion as the old woman placed the bracelet back and picked up another. She looked at it for a long moment before she presented it to Alina observing how her eyes widened. The bracelet was very simple with a single charm on it, a heart with lines going through it as if it had been shattered at one time.

  “I don’t…” Alina began only to stop as the woman without hesitating placed it around her wrist and it clung to her skin as if it had been made for her.

  “It was made for you, my dear,” she told her softly as Trystan came over to them, and the old woman kept her hand over the bracelet as he joined them.

  “I think I will take this necklace,” he told her indicating the moon necklace that slithered from his hand.

  The old woman smiled and nodded her head. “As I said the necklace is quite beautiful, but I hope that you understand the true meaning behind its message.”

  Trystan frowned as he repeated what she told him a few minutes ago, “That the moon in its entirety is a rare thing.”

  Alina looked at the necklace absently before looking up at Trystan as the old woman sighed before she muttered under her breath “one day you will know” as she headed for the counter.

  Alina looked down at the bracelet on her wrist touching it lightly before she followed behind them and after Trystan paid for the necklace he looked back at her. “Is there anything you want?”

  She began to say something when the old woman stopped her with a smile and a shake of her head. “That one is a gift, my dear.”

  Alina shook her head as she reached into her pocket the bracelet clanging slightly drawing Trystan’s attention although he couldn’t really see anything important about it.

  “No,” the woman said as Alina drew out the money ready to give it her and the woman closed her hand around it giving her a smile. “It is a gift from me to you.”

  Alina nodded her head with a soft ‘thank you’ although confusion was reflected in her hazel eyes.

  The woman chuckled and squeezed her hand before she told them, “We have some places for rent around her if you are looking for a good place to stay.”

  Trystan shook his head as he admitted unaware of the quick look Alina gave him, “We are only visiting.”

  His phone rung after he said this and with an ‘excuse me’ he walked outside the shop to take the call.

  “Here, my dear,” the woman said before Alina could tell her that she was interested handing her a piece of paper with addresses written on it. “The last one is my favorite although it is too small for my large family.”

  Alina smiled folding up the paper and putting it in her pocket as Trystan reentered the shop with a frown on his face.

  “Alina, I need to leave a little earlier than I planned,” he told her giving the woman a nod and smile before taking her by the arm. They walked out of the shop as he told her, “There is a problem at the site so I need to head over there before I go to my meeting.”

  Alina nodded her head as she told him with worry in her eyes, “Go ahead then. I will look around the shops some more while you check on the site hopefully everything will be okay. Is there a specific place you want to meet up afterwards?”

  Trystan stared at her wondering what she had up her sleeve as she tilted her head waiting for him to answer her question. “We can meet in front of this shop since we both know where it is at in say,” he looked down at his watch, “in three hours. Let me have your cell number so when I am done I can give you a call to let you know.”

  “Okay,” Alina nodded her head as she recited her number to him and watched as he put it in his phone.

  Trystan gave her a narrowed look as he put the phone back in his pocket before he nodded his head and turned on his heel heading for his car. He drove away with a slight wave of his hand as his mind focused on what had happened at the site so soon after his visit.

  Alina watched him leave and when he was out of sight, she pulled the paper from her back pocket before she smiled. Waving a hand at a passing taxi, she showed him the list as he smiled glad to be of assistance and she climbed in the backseat.

  The taxi drove away and the woman stepped away from the window a thoughtful look on her face.

  Almost two hours later, Alina walked around the house that the woman had recommended and she smiled with satisfaction. She chuckled as she toured the house because in her opinion, this was no small house so she assumed that the woman had a very big family who lived with her.

  The house was two stories with three rooms up stairs and a full bathroom. Alina knew that the smallest room could be used as an office or something similar to that effect while one of the rooms could be a guest bedroom. She walked around the first floor and liked what she saw from the spacious living room that opened up to a kitchen that she fell in love with at first sight. The first floor also housed a small laundry room and another room that Alina could make into a book room if she so desired.

  “More rooms than I know what to do with,” she muttered to herself, but she loved the house. The minute the driver pulled up to it, she had fallen in love and she walked over to the sliding doors that opened to the backyard from the kitchen. She opened the door noting how it stuck a little before it gave awhile and she smiled as she stepped out on to the brick patio.

  The backyard wasn’t so huge that she couldn’t take care of it, but she could see endless possibilities and she shivered with delight as she was determined to see if it had been rented yet.

  “Miss, are you ready to leave?” The driver said from the living room and Alina stepped back inside closing the door behind her.

  “Yes, I am,” she told
him walking toward him as he smiled.

  “Do you like it?” He asked as they walked out together and she closed the door firmly behind her.

  As they climbed in the car, she glanced at the house one more time before she said with complete adoration, “I do.”

  The driver laughed as he wrote down something on a piece of paper before handing back to her. “Here is the number of the person who is responsible for this house.”

  “Thank you,” she said in delight as she took the paper.

  The driver laughed again as he started the car and asked, “Where do you want to go, miss?”

  She looked at her watch before she answered, “Can you drop me back off where you picked me up from?”

  “No problem,” the driver said as he easily navigated the car in that direction.

  Alina smiled softly to herself as she looked out the window her eyes alight with satisfaction as her hand played with the bracelet on her left wrist.

  They had just pulled up when her cell rung and she frowned when she couldn’t identify the number until she surmised that it was probably Trystan.

  “Hello,” she said as she climbed out of the taxi and paying the driver the full amount along with a generous tip for his help in the last few hours.

  He pulled away just as Trystan told her, “We have a problem.”

  Alina frowned as she stepped up on the pavement in front of the shop. “What’s wrong? Did something happen at the site?”

  Trystan heard the worry note in her voice that created a feeling he pushed away as he told her sharply, “One of the workers fell unconscious and was rushed to the hospital. I want to stay overnight so I can make sure that everything is all right.”

  Alina relaxed as she told him, “I hope everything is okay with him. I will just get a hotel for tonight and when you are ready to leave tomorrow just give me a call.” She stopped for a second before she said thoughtfully, “Or I can see if there are any buses that are leaving that can take me back to my hotel.”

  “That won’t be necessary,” he told her. “I explained the situation to my companion and she offered her place for us to stay as I explained I was here with a guest that I invited along to see Tiers.”

  “Oh,” Alina said in discomfort. “Umm…Trystan I don’t feel comfortable staying in someone’s house that I don’t know.”

  Trystan sighed as he told her gently, “I understand, Alina, but I don’t want you to have to pay for a hotel if you can find one with any availabilities,” he fibbed here but he wanted her underneath the same roof as him.

  He heard her sigh before she asked, “Are you sure that your friend is all right with having an extra guest staying the night?”

  “She is the one who offered,” Trystan told her honestly catching her slight hesitation as she said ‘friend’.

  Alina was about to respond when suddenly she heard shouting, “Watch out!”

  She glanced up in time to see a car heading straight for her and she reacted without thinking throwing herself back only to trip over the curb hitting hard on the cement as her head banged a light pole. The car roared past the heat from his tires close enough that she shivered in fear before the car sped away.

  “Are you okay?” The woman from shop they visited earlier said as she rushed over to her, and Alina nodded her head wincing as her head throbbed.

  “Alina!” She heard and she looked around noticing that in her response to the car she had dropped her phone.

  The woman noticed her attention focused somewhere else and she glanced over seeing the phone as Alina tried to get up wincing as her body throbbed with pain. “Stay here. I will get it,” the woman told her as she walked over to pick up the phone.

  “Hello,” she said quickly before the voice on the other end could shout again.

  “Is Alina okay?” The voice asked with a note of worry in his voice that the woman was sure he was unaware of.

  “She is fine although I think she banged her head when she avoided the car,” the woman told him as she knelt back down next to Alina who smiled briefly until she grimaced putting a hand to her head. “Do you need to go to the hospital?”

  Alina looked up and shook her head moaning lightly at the movement before she responded, “No, I just have a slight headache and a little sore. I should be fine after some aspirin and rest.”

  The woman nodded her head as the voice on the other end said gravely, “I’m on my way.”

  The dial tone told her he hung up and she smiled secretly at that before she flipped the phone closed herself, and handed it to the young woman before her.

  “Let’s take you inside, my dear,” the woman said helping her up.

  Alina was grateful for the support as the woman helped her to her feet and she told her, “Your boyfriend is on his way.”

  Alina had to chuckle at that as she helped her into the shop. “He isn’t my boyfriend only a friend, I guess is the best way to describe him.”

  The woman nodded her head as they headed over to a chair that she had placed near the window where she had been working when she saw the accident. As she settled Alina in the seat, her hand grazed the bracelet that spun slightly before settled down and the woman nodded her head once at the action.

  “Let me get some aspirin,” the woman said straightening up as Alina leaned her head back against the chair.

  “Thank you,” she said quietly as the woman walked away and in the beaded doorway, the woman stopped for a few seconds observing her before she disappeared into the back room.

  She returned not too long after with the aspirin and bottle water which she handed to Alina who accepted it gratefully.

  “I think you should take your hair out of its ponytail,” the woman advised, and after she took the aspirin, Alina did just that as her hair floated across her shoulders.

  “You have very pretty hair,” the woman said gently as she stood over her studying her, and she saw the slight tug at her mouth.

  “I appreciate the compliment, but I have seen prettier,” was her remark and the woman frowned slightly at her words.

  She would’ve said more but the door to her shop opened suddenly as the man from this morning came in his grey eyes filled with worry.

  “Alina,” he said striding over to her. He bent over her and put a hand on her cheek, “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine no need for you to rush back,” she told him opening her eyes to stare into his for a few minutes before she turned them away to the woman. “This kind woman helped me out.”

  Trystan looked up and said, “Thank you.”

  “It was no problem,” she responded back as the door opened again only this time by a police officer.

  “Good afternoon,” the police officer said allowing the door to close behind him.

  Alina sighed as she started to get to her feet and Trystan slid an arm around her waist helping her. His arm stayed there as the police officer came over to them and she was grateful for the support as her head began to throb and her body started to stiffen.

  “Miss, I know that this isn’t the best time for you, but I need to ask you a few questions,” the police officer stated observing the man’s protective stance next to her.

  “Okay,” Alina said giving the officer her undivided attention.

  “Your name, miss?” the officer started.

  “Alina Barks,” she answered honestly.

  “How old are you?” the officer asked, and Trystan bristled at her side.

  “I don’t see what that has to do with this incident,” Alina said tiredly. “But since I am not in the mood to argue, I’m 26.”

  The police officer nodded his head writing down the information as the woman from the shop looked at him with narrowed eyes which he noticed and took as a warning.

  “Did you see anything about the car today? License plate number? Whether the driver was a male or female?” He asked pen poised to write it down.

  Alina sighed heavily unconsciously allowing her body to relax more heavily aga
inst Trystan who took it without comment.

  “I’m sorry it all happened so fast that I didn’t catch any of that although,” she frowned when a brief flash went through her mind as she remembered glancing up while the car went past. “I thought I saw long hair but I can’t be sure of that.”

  The police officer nodded his head as he noted it in his notebook before he flipped it closed. “As far as we can tell, it looks as if was an accident and the individual lost control of the car.”

  “And didn’t bother to stop to make sure the young woman was all right?” The shop owner asked in disbelief as the cop stopped.

  “The person could’ve been scared and took off without thinking,” the police officer stated.

  “Then at the least, it can be labeled as a hit and run,” Trystan said harshly.

  The police officer sighed as he said, “At the least, yes, it can if Miss Barks wants to file a report.”

  Alina shook her head groaning at the throbbing that reaction elicited as she closed her eyes. “Even if I did file a report, there is no way to know who the person was because I didn’t see anything useful and neither did any of the bystanders other than the car itself. My guess is the car itself is common and won’t be found easily. It is best just to let it be and accept it as an accident of a careless driver.”

  “Alina,” Trystan began only to stop as she leaned her forehead against his shirt.

  “Please let’s just leave it alone,” she whispered in his chest.

  He swore under his breath, but admitted gravely, “She has a point so I will go with her decision.”

  The police officer nodded his head telling her if she remembered anything else than to call the police before he headed out of the building.

  “Did the aspirin help any, dear?” The woman asked and Alina merely shifted her head so her cheek rested against him as she gave her a small smile.

  “Not really, but it’s a start,” Alina admitted.

  Trystan looked down at her noting her pale face before he said unaware of what he said although Alina caught it, “We should head to my aunt’s so you can rest.”

  The woman nodded her head as they walked out of the shop after a grateful ‘goodbye’ and she watched from the window as Trystan helped her in to the car before getting in himself.