He stopped walking for a moment then turned to me. “Nikko, nice to meet you, Alizarin,” he smiled again then walked back to his car before words had time to form in my mouth.
I thought about him briefly as I walked into the store, wondering why he’d just run off without wanting to talk to me. I pulled open the door then stepped in, More Catnip. I thought to myself when I felt the cool air blow gently across my face.
The inside of the store was average, like any other grocery store in any random small town. I walked around the store with the list my mom had gave me in one hand and holding the hand basket with the other, it would take all of five minutes to get the stuff she needed.
“How are you doing this evening?” The lady at the counter asked after I had gathered all of the things together.
“I’m doing fine, how are you?”
“I can’t complain. You must be Psenora’s daughter? I saw her in here the other day, you have her beautiful eyes.” The old lady smiled and ran the things over the scanner.
“Yeah I am. My name is Alizarin and thank you.” I bagged the stuff and waved bye to the counter lady before walking out of the store and back to my car.
***
Wednesday September 1, 2010
“You can’t possibly be wearing that to school,” I chided to Corey as I walked out of the room. Last night after dinner, I hadn’t stayed awake long enough to help Corey pick out something to wear for school, so instead I’d woke up early and was helping her pick out clothes this morning.
“What’s wrong with this?” She asked puzzled.
I walked over to her and examined her outfit closely. “What size do you wear?”
I grabbed her hand and walked her into my room, clothes were laid out everywhere and I didn’t know what to do with them all. I moved over to the closet and sorted through the mess of clothes I still held on too but could no longer wear. I took out a pair of black jean shorts and a small fitted blue tee. “Wear this,” I said tossing the outfit her way.
She took one look at the clothes and frowned, “Why can’t I wear what I have on, Aliza?”
I gave the clothes one more look over and decided not to be mean about it. She wore a brown knit long hand me down skirt with a seemingly oil stained off white shirt. “It’s not that you can’t wear it, but, it would probably be better if you didn’t.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive. Now go change into that and let me see how that looks on you.”
Corey headed off to her room and changed in a minute and a half. “How do I look?”
“You look good, perfect fit.” I smiled and walked down the stairs. Mom was sick so there was no breakfast waiting for us this morning; I followed Corey down the stairs as we both headed for the kitchen.
“So what can we learn today?” I said, reaching into the refrigerator and grabbing the orange juice. Mom was passed out safe and sound and dad had already left for work so we could speak openly about this stuff.
“I don’t know much,” Corey responded, holding out her glass. “Contrary to what you believe.”
I filled up both of our cups and took a seat across from her. ”Okay, well lay it our plainly, what all exactly do you know?”
“My sister was a mind reader,” Corey said softly, almost on the verge of tears.
“What happened to her?” I got up from my seat and walked over to comfort her, giving her a light hug.
“She disappeared three years ago. I can’t hear her thoughts or anything anymore, she completely left me.” She was all out crying now, not holding anything in. Knowing this kind of made me feel a little closer to Corey, she was running from her past.
“Did you dad every try to look for her? Like call the police and all that, maybe her disappearance was a kidnapping. Did she leave a note or something?”
“Yeah she left a note, she said she was never coming back and wished me good luck.” Corey said, burying her face in my chest.
I tried to understand but I really couldn’t, the best hope I could offer was, “It’s okay CoCo, you have us now, me, Ash and my parents.”
Her words were coming out meshed together now so she decided to reply with her thoughts. But why couldn’t she take me with her?
“I honestly do not know. What did your father say about the note?” I felt Corey’s warm tears seeping through my shirt, I was pretty sure there was some slob mixed in there as well, so I pulled back from her and positioned her to look into my eyes.
“He said he hoped she died out there on her own.” She stuttered, a second later she cried even harder and lunged her face back into my chest. I didn’t know what to officially say, what was there to say? No amount of words could heal that emotional wound.
Ash walked into the kitchen with a box of tissues and a concerned look on his face, “Your phone is ringing upstairs Aliza, I can take it from here.”
Corey lifted her head away from my chest and looked down at the drool and tear puddle on my shirt. “I’m so sorry,” she said, taking one of the tissues Ash handed her and tried to dry the wet spot.
“It’s okay; we all have to just let out sometime,” I replied, stepping off of the barstool. “I’ll be back.” I headed off toward the stairs and ran up them two steps at a time, the phone had stopped ringing by the time I reached my room. The missed call was from Bethany and luckily she had decided to leave a voicemail message.
“Hey, just calling to let you know that they are hiring at the barbeque place down the street from my job. I’ll text you the address, talk to you later.”
I opened the text and jotted down the address. “I have a job lead,” I said while tossing off the wet shirt and threw it in the dirty clothesbasket, the coldness of the dried tears and spit sent chills down my spine and I cringed a little bit. I pulled another shirt out of the drawer and pulled it over my head before opening the door and heading down the stairs.
“I’m gonna go check it out while it’s still early.” I said as I shuffled down the stairs. “You want to roll with me? She could use the fresh air, before school, hell we all could.” I barely heard the ruble of Ash’s voice as he asked Corey if she wanted to roll out. I flopped down on the couch and waited for a reply. The stools in the kitchen screeched against the tile floors and I rose from the couch as they walked into the living room, “Feeling better Coco?” I said, lightly touching her shoulder. Her eyes were puffy and red, but there were no more tears so that that was a good thing –for my shirt at least- “We should all apply, one of us is bound to get the job.” I said, walking toward the door.
“Not my area of interest,” Ash replied smoothly.
“That’s fine, still apply and make me look good.” I smiled. Ash and Corey headed slowly toward the GTO. “My car,” I said, unlocking the doors. “I just had my hair done.”
“How can she get fresh air in a non-convertible?” Ash asked playfully.
“We’ll let the windows down.” Corey let out a small laugh and got into the backseat. I got into the car and looked down at the clock on the radio screen, it was seven o’clock I wasn’t sure if we’d be able to make it to the place and then turn around and be on time for school. “Either one of you have plans for the weekend?” I said, starting the car and backing out of the driveway.
“Not that I know of,” Ash responded, hitching up the seatbelt.
“Well let’s just go Saturday; I can’t be late for any more days of class.”
“That’s fine with me. So how do you feel about going to school? Are you nervous Corey?” Ash asked, making conversation.
I barely listened to the two of them talk as I sped down the road; I wasn’t really interested in any more of her feelings. Something in me wanted to believe that the cry scene in the kitchen was real and that it came from a really deep place but I couldn’t, it all just felt staged at this point. What was her angle?
I know it may have been foolish of me to think this, but lately I couldn’t help some of the negative thoughts that seemed to want to
consume my inner being. Here was girl that was beaten, starved, and forced to serve in a gas station for as long as she can remember and I was sitting here judging her. I shook off the negativity and rejoined the car conversation. “What grade did they put you in?”
She looked down at the white sheet of paper in her lap and searched for the grade information, “tenth,” she said, pointing to the number.
For someone that hadn’t been to school since ever she was smart, she placed among the top ten percent in the placement test they issued her in the school office. We zoomed past the plowed fields as we made or trip to school; it was all one big blur of brown. The school was just up the street, I slowed down the car as we entered into the school zone; like every morning here, people were surrounding the parking lot, talking and laughing, I wondered briefly if anyone here was like us and if they were what could they do?
Corey stirred excitedly in the backseat, she was definitely nervous. She looked on wide-eyed at the students in the lot and smiled brightly, “Well we don’t have to feel alone anymore,” she declared with her fingers pressed against the window. “There are at least three other people like us around here, I just don’t know where they are. I feel their power though.”
I let a huge smile spread across my face, I was right; there were people here like us. I found a parking space and turned off the car, a thousand questions were now forming about this new world of mine. I guessed at what else might be possible, what else would I utterly discover in this twisted world, on this twisted planet I called home? I got out of the car and walked up the walkway to the door; inside Bethany was waiting quietly by the door for me to enter. “What’s up, Beth?” I asked opening the door to the school.
The students buzzed along in the crowded hallways, making small talk and laughing loudly as if it could have possibly been that funny. I unintentionally drowned out Bethany and hadn’t realized until she tapped my shoulder from behind.
“I’m sorry what were you saying again?” I said apologetically, fortunately she was happy to dive right back into whatever it was she was talking about while I gurgled out her talking for the second time today. I’d figure out what it was later, I had more pressing problems right now.
Bethany followed behind me closely as I headed off to the nurse for an aspirin; I had unfortunately left mine at home sitting on the bathroom counter at home. What’s the point of healing anything if I can’t heal myself of a common migraine?
“What are we going in here for?” Bethany questioned as I walked up to the nurse.
I answered her question first in thought before realizing that she wasn’t Ash and couldn’t hear me. “I need an aspirin,” I told the nurse, then folded my arms across my belly like I was suffering from cramps and gave a weak smile. She bought it and walked over to the gray cabinet and pulled out the white bottle of hope. Behind me someone limped in the office and motioned hand signs, the nurse obviously didn’t know the child was deaf because she gave him an annoyed look and asked him what he wanted.
“He’s deaf, genius,” Bethany said, shooting the nurse the same annoyed look, “and he wants you to take a look at his foot, someone stomped on it earlier and he can barely walk,” she continued.
“I didn’t know you spoke sign language,” I said with mock hand gestures.
“Have you seriously not been listening to a word I’ve been saying the past thirty minutes? I was just telling you that I teach it down at the community center.”
Brief flashes of images blinked within my head, I shuffled through the vision-like images that danced across my eyes, they were memories, but not mine. My eyes twitched a little bit as the images sped up and circled around me, “Too fast,” I stuttered, struggling to maintain my balance. The memories continuously circled, I was getting dizzy.
Stumbling to the office wall, I reached for the arm of the chair but it just seemed too far away and my knees buckled beneath me. The world went black; the last thing I remember is hearing the voice again.
This is going to be good. It echoed off as I lost all consciousness.
Chapter Eleven
Psenora
(17 years ago)
That day, Hero came to me in a dream because he knew as well as I did that showing up now would surely mean death for all of us. I ran up to him upon a light yellow cloud and threw myself into his arms. “She looks just like you,” I beamed. In this world, I never had to worry about the aftermath a simple smile could have; in this world, we were free.
“I can’t wait to meet her,” he replied as he rocked me back and forth.
Sorrow replaced happiness as our hunting reality sank in. “That won’t be possible. In order for them to keep our secret, I had to agree not to see you anymore.”
He let me go and stepped away. “I will watch from the shadows then.”
“Let’s leave this place and go to a place where we can be a united family!” I yelled.
“What do you suppose we do? Run off to live among the humans while you slowly lose your memory and your powers? Then, what, raise our daughter among them?”
I gently fell back on one of the clouds. “As long as we’re together these powers do not mean anything to me.”
Hero sighed and fell down to lie beside me. “But their humans,” he cringed, almost like the words tasted foul to him. “Primitive Neanderthals. I hear reports of them killing each other for loaves of bread.”
My body couldn’t help but shudder as a chill danced through me. “Are we really so different? We kill each other for power. If all they seek is loaves of bread from each other, we’d be better off there. Can we not manifest bread to their desire?”
“You know what I am trying to say, Psenora. It be more complicated than that,” he answered, running his large fingers through my twisted hair. “What are we going to do when we get there?”
I took in a deep breath and watched as white birds flew swiftly through the openings of the clouds. “Start fresh,” I whispered.
Before I could get a reply from him I was awakened by the sounds of a crying baby and the chirping of the nearby birds. “How long did I sleep?” I whispered to myself.
I slowly looked around the nest; no one else was in it besides my daughter.
“You were out for several hours, I’ve just returned with something to wear for your baby,” Centure replied as she glided closer to the nest. In her hand she held a small knitted dress and a pair of tiny shoes for the child’s feet. “You are all healed as well,” she continued while dressing the girl. “What shall we call her?”
“Alizarin,” I replied calmly.
“As much as she is a part of you, she will be of me as well.” Centure pulled a single strand from her long wavy hair and tied it around Alizarin’s wrist- forming a strong bond between the two. I watched a portion of her power leave her then she inhaled deeply as the hair she‘d tied faded into the flesh of the baby.
Centure had made herself a Godmother- a sacred tradition I’d only thought existed for the fairies. What seemed to be unclear were her motives for doing so, everyone knew that Godmothers were weird people- they grew old and died in a matter of years; much like the humans. But during their lifetime they held a power like no other, the ability to protect and serve on a grand scale.
“You didn’t have to do that, mother. You’ve never done that for anyone else,” I said as I reached out and took Alizarin from her arms. My daughter’s hair was full and curly; I played with it momentarily as I held her close to my heart.
“I didn’t have to, I needed too. She has great power, I’m sure Phlinx has felt it, and by now, Masaya is gathering her soldiers,” she replied as she straightened some things in the middle of my nest. “If you want to save yourself and your baby you should leave at nightfall.”
“Yes, I’ve already planned on it.” I hugged the child close to me and looked in Centure’s deep blue eyes.
“There are thousands to choose from on this planet. Which have you chosen?”
I thought about
it carefully but I’d already made up my mind whether Hero liked my choice or not. “I figure we all naturally dislike humans. What about them?”
She looked across the forest and studied something before replying, “I will travel there with you. Others have also decided to join.”
“No need, mother. I can handle myself. Hero has vowed to join me.”
Instead of the tongue-lashing I was sure I was in for, she just stepped into the middle of the nest and sat down. “Look, Psenora, there are more things at stake here. We have all tried very hard to overlook your deceit and in the end, we reason, you are family. A family should stick together.”
“I did not mean for any of this,” I cry, wishing she was but a bit closer so that I could bury my face from shame. The vines came forth from the tree and wiped my tears away before I continued. “Who has agreed to travel?”
“All of us,” Felicia answered as she drifted forth, holding a baby of her own. “Nikko’s father is dead, there is nothing left here for us.”
I handed Alizarin off to the vines and the three of them held her gently as I floated up to my sister. Felicia among them all was my favorite. “You all do not have to do this.”
I caught sight of Skylark’s depressed demeanor and flew over to her. “My dearest, Skylark, stay if it is what your heart seems good to do,” I comforted.
Instantly she flew away from before me, leaving only a trail of tears behind. But to my surprise, she returned minutes later with a few sacks around her shoulders. “One family,” she whispered in despair.
Chapter Twelve
Alizarin
Friday September 3, 2010
That moment was a revelation for me, you have to be grateful for the little things in life; at least I wasn’t in the hallway when I blacked out and I was at least around semi-trained professionals. When I came too I was on the ground, my head and vision were still slightly spinning but it was controllably moderate.
Bethany, the nurse and the deaf kid all surrounded me, they’re lips were moving but I could barely make out the sounds of what they were saying. I finally just gave up and nodded, my hearing would come back to me in no time but I assumed the questions were something along the lines of: “Are you alright?”
Bloodlines: Everything That Glitters Page 8
