Nykara

by Katie Holland

  “I don’t think that’s for me, you know I’m not a party kind of girl.”

  “But you only turn seventeen once Alix. We have to do something.”

  “Why don’t I check with my mom and see if she had anything planned and we’ll decide from there.”

  “Okay, fine. But if you don’t want to have a party then we have to figure out something equally as birthdayish.”

  “Birthdayish?”

  “That’s what I said.”

  “Okay then.”

  They finished watching the movie and Shay started to gather her stuff to head home.

  “Thanks for coming over last night. I needed it more than I realized.”

  “I’m glad I was here, especially with the coin stuff. Call or text me if you need anything, even if it’s just to talk. I don’t think we’re doing anything for the rest of the weekend, so I’ll be around.”

  After Shay left Alix stayed in her room to read. A little while later her mom knocked on her bedroom door.

  “Can I come in?”

  “Sure.”

  “Are you still mad at me?”

  “Truthfully? A little. Why did you send him down here?”

  “He told me he was here to apologize to you and he seemed so sincere that I just sent him without really thinking. I’m sorry honey. I didn’t realize that it would upset you so much.”

  “Well I had a really bad week and I was mad at Ben and was really shocked when he opened that door. And not to mention still half asleep. It probably shouldn’t have upset me, but after he acted like a jerk all week and you and dad barely speaking to me, I guess my emotions got the better of me.”

  “I’m sorry, I guess I’ve had a lot on my mind lately. Tell you what, I have to go to work right away, but why don’t you and I do something tomorrow?”

  “Okay, mom. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Alix decided to write in her journal before getting back to her book. The last week had been a hard one for her and she thought getting some thoughts out of her head would probably help.

  Sept 17

  So, in short, the last week sucked. It was a bad week but eventful at the same time. Ben was still a jerk all week. He walked to and from school with us and sat with us at lunch but hardly acknowledged that I existed. The days dragged all week. Classes were boring, and the days were long. It’s what I thought the school was going to be like before Ben showed up. I didn’t like it all. And if I’m being honest I was more hurt that Ben was acting like that toward me. I thought that he might like me but then why would he act like that? I know I don’t have any experience with boys so maybe it was a boy thing. By Friday after school, I was fed up with him and I told him so. I don’t know where that came from because I normally don’t act like that, but Ben still throws me off my game, even after three weeks. But then he shows up at my house early on a Saturday morning and wants to apologize. It was the first time I’d seen him smile in a week. I have to admit that I missed that smile. Ben has a way of making me feel better just by his presence. He is definitely the first boy to ever make me feel that way. I guess that’s why it hurt so much this last week when he wouldn’t talk to me. And with my parents barely speaking to me I felt very alone all week. Thank goodness I have Shay. I know I told her that I was okay about the coin going missing but I’m really not okay. It’s hard to describe how I’m feeling. A little nervous, a little scared, a little angry and still a little excited. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt all these things at the same time and it’s kind of confusing actually. But so far the best part of the week was how Ben reacted when I told him about the coin being stolen. I have to admit I liked that he wanted to protect me, it made me feel special.

  Alix made chili for dinner. When everything was ready her and her dad sat down and had an enjoyable meal together. Alix was relieved that everything seemed to be back to normal after the stressful week she’d had. She went to bed later that night feeling better than she had in a while.

  Alix was in a meadow, she felt at peace there, but she knew she had to find a way out. She walked until she found a path through the trees. When she reached the edge of the trees she stepped through into the bright sunlight. She looked around and saw a building not too far away. Not knowing what else to do she walked toward the building. As she got closer she realized it was a small cabin. The door was open when she got there. She yelled but no one answered. She somehow knew it would be okay if she went in, so she did. She looked around the small room and noticed the fireplace, especially the mantle. It was intricately carved and in the center was a beautiful flower. She felt compelled to touch the flower. As her palm went over it a warm sensation ran through her body. She pulled her hand back and looked at her palm, there was a tattoo there that looked just like the flower on the mantle except it was in vivid color. She heard a noise behind her and turned to see an old lady standing there. “The time has almost come, you must prepare.”

  Alix woke up with her heart racing. She sat up and turned on her light. She had to confirm that she was in her room and not in the cabin. She also looked at her palm to see if the tattoo was there. When she saw that she was still in her room and there was nothing on her hand she laid back down. Why was she having these dreams and why were they so real? Each time she had one she was sure she was going to wake up in the cabin. She wasn’t as scared of the dreams as she had been the first time, she just wanted to figure out what they meant. This dream was almost identical to the very first one. The only thing that was different was what the lady at the end said. It had changed from “it’s almost time” to “the time has almost come, you must prepare.” What is that supposed to mean, she thought. She would think about more later, right now she wanted to go back to sleep. This time she was able to fall back to sleep quickly.

  The rest of the weekend went much better than it had started. True to her word her mom spent the day with her. They went out for lunch, baked some cookies, and went for a walk down by the creek. They had a good day together and had a family dinner to end the weekend. Alix was glad that everything seemed to be back to the way it was before.

  Chapter 15

  When Alix woke up on Monday morning she was looking forward to school again. She hoped that Ben was really back to normal and that Saturday wasn’t an anomaly. It would be a long year if it went like last week did. She got ready and headed to Shay’s. Ben was there before her today.

  “Good morning,” he said with a smile.

  “Good morning,” Alix said back to him. So far so good she thought, it’s not like last Monday.

  “So, the rest of the weekend went ok?” he asked.

  “Yep, no more missing coins,” Alix tried to make it sound like a joke, but Ben looked serious.

  “I’m sorry about that happening.”

  “It’s not your fault. Unless you broke into our house went into my room and took everything.”

  “Um, no I didn’t do that.”

  “See, it’s not your fault,” Alix told him, but the look on his face was still serious.

  Shay chose that moment to fly out her front door, mumbling to herself. Alix thought she heard her say good morning but wasn’t quite sure. Ben and Alix just smiled at each other as Shay started heading away from her house. They turned and followed her.

  “Hey Shay,” Ben called to her.

  “What?”

  “What is it about Monday that has you always rushing?”

  She just glared at him. Alix had a hard time not laughing, she didn’t want to make it worse.

  “Come on Shay, I’m really curious.”

  Shay mumbled something unintelligible.

  “Pardon me, I didn’t catch that,” he said smiling.

  “I said, I sleep in on Sunday morning so go I go to bed too late on Sunday night, then I don’t want to get up in the morning. Okay?”

  “Okay. Luckily you have my smiling face to greet you every Monday morning now to make everything better.”

  Shay was fighting a smile. Ben jus
t had that effect on people. Alix was very relieved that Ben seemed back to normal. She just wanted to forget about last week.

  In English that morning they got time to work on their projects. Alix and Ben went to the library to use the computers. They figured they had most of the research done, but decided to get some maps of the areas the hikers went missing from and any pictures they could find to add to their report. By the end of the period, they had pretty much everything they needed and would just have to sit down and write it.

  The rest of the day went by quickly. The three of them met at their lockers at the end of the day and started the walk home.

  “Hey Ben,” Shay started, “Alix’s birthday is just under two weeks away.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  Alix looked at Shay with a what-the-heck look. “How do you know when my birthday is?”

  “Uh … well … um … I …” he said stalling. “Um, well my mom told me. I think your parents must have mentioned something the night we were over for dinner.”

  It seemed plausible to Alix, but Ben looked uncomfortable and that was making Alix question what he was saying. But since she didn’t know what else to say she dropped it for now. She looked at Shay and she just shrugged her shoulders.

  “So anyway,” Shay said, looking between the two of them, “We need to plan something for Alix’s birthday and she’s not being very helpful. Did you talk to your mom Alix?”

  “Uh, no, I forgot.”

  “You forgot huh. Looks like I’m going to have to call her.”

  “Am I missing something?” Ben asked.

  “I want to have a big party, but Alix here doesn’t want to.”

  “I see,” Ben said smiling.

  “I don’t really like parties and well people aren’t really my thing.”

  “So, what do you want to do?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. I’ve been looking forward to turning seventeen for a while, but I hadn’t given any thought to how to celebrate. That’s Shay department.”

  “Yes, it is my department, but since you don’t want a party I have to figure out something else.”

  “How about fun and understated?” Alix asked.

  “I want a big party and you want understated. Why are we friends again?”

  “Because we’ve known each other since we were small, and we make a good team.”

  “Okay, I’ll accept that,” Shay said as she smiled and put her arm around Alix. “I’ll figure out what to do for your birthday, and it’ll be fun. You in for planning Ben?”

  “Uh, sure. I’m not much of a birthday planner though.”

  “That’s ok, I might just need your muscle anyway.”

  That made both Ben and Alix laugh. That was totally a Shay comment.

  Alix and Ben decided to work on their project later in the week depending on how much time they got in class this week, so everyone went their separate ways.

  The rest of the week was going much the same as Monday did and Alix was very happy about that. She actually remembered to talk to her mom about her birthday. Other than presents and her favorite breakfast her mom had no other plans for her birthday. She knew that Shay had talked to her mom and that was part of the reason that there were ‘no plans.’ Shay was planning something but keeping her in the dark. That was okay with her, she’d let Shay have her fun.

  The only hiccup in her life at the moment was her nights. She was now having the cabin dream every night. The meadow, the tree tunnel, the cabin, the fireplace mantle, and finally the tattoo on her hand. The only part that varied was the old lady at the end. Sometimes she was there, sometimes she wasn’t. If she was there she always said something about it was almost time. Truthfully the dreams were starting to worry her. Why was she having the same dream, and every night too? They were so real that every time she woke up she had to check she was in her bed and was convinced that one night she was going to wake up with that tattoo on her palm.

  She was trying to pretend the dreams didn’t bother her, but by Friday the lack of sleep caught up to her. They were watching a video in Biology and she fell asleep. Luckily, Miss Hiller didn’t notice, and Ben woke her up before the end of class. She was so embarrassed, she had never ever been close to falling asleep in class before.

  “Are you okay?” Ben whispered.

  “Yeah, just tired. Thanks for not letting me get caught,” she whispered back.

  “Anytime,” he smiled at her.

  Alix was hoping that Ben wouldn’t mention her falling asleep in class as they walked home but she wasn’t that lucky.

  “So, Alix,” he said, “I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen anyone fall asleep that hard in a class before.”

  “What?” Shay practically yelled. “You, Alix, straight-A student Alix, you of all people fell asleep in class?”

  “Yeah,” Alix said blushing. “I haven’t been sleeping very well and I guess it caught up to me today. I totally plan on sleeping in tomorrow morning.”

  “Why aren’t you sleeping?” Shay asked.

  “I’ve just been having these dreams that wake me up every night. Well, it’s just one dream actually, the same one every night. And after I wake up I’ve had trouble falling back to sleep.”

  “What kind of dream is it?” Ben asked, looking quite concerned.

  Alix told him about the dream. “Do you think I’m going crazy?” she smiled.

  Alix looked at Ben waiting for him to make a joke about it, but he didn’t. The look on his face was, well Alix couldn’t really explain the look. He looked happy and sad, concerned and relieved all at the same time. It was strange.

  “So, I take your silence to mean that you think I AM going crazy,” Alix said, trying to lighten the mood.

  “No,” Ben said at the same time Shay said “Yes,” All three of them laughed.

  By the time Alix got home, she was tired. She figured if she sat down she’d fall asleep, so she busied herself making dinner. She had dinner almost all ready by the time her mom got home.

  “Wow honey, thanks for doing this.”

  “No problem mom. I wanted to keep busy, so I didn’t fall asleep.”

  “What do you mean honey?”

  “I’ve been having a dream that is making me lose sleep. I’m really embarrassed mom, I fell asleep during a video in Biology today. Ben had to wake me up. I am so sleeping in tomorrow.”

  “You make it sound like just one dream.”

  “It is. I had it the first time when school started and lately it’s been every day this week.”

  “Is it a nightmare?”

  “No, not really, it’s just, well the best way to explain it is that it seems real. When I wake up I expect to be in a cabin and not in my room. It takes me a while to fall back to sleep after that.”

  “Cabin?” her mom asked.

  Alix told her mom about her dream.

  When her mom didn’t respond right away Alix looked up from the stir-fry. She noticed that her mom was kind of staring off into space and looked almost sad.

  “Don’t worry mom, it’s just a dream. I’ll sleep in tomorrow and I’ll be all good.”

  “Yeah, ok honey. Is there anything I can do to help?” her mom said, obviously changing the subject.

  “Sure, if you want to get the noodles in the hot water dinner will be ready in about five minutes.”

  They ate dinner and started movie night. Alix knew she could stay up for one but probably not two. She was right and ended up going to bed around nine that night.

  Chapter 16

  Alix woke up feeling better than she had all week. She’d had a dreamless sleep, as far as she could remember anyway. She stayed in bed for a while not ready to start the day yet. One more week and she would be seventeen she thought. Seventeen. That made her smile. It sounded so much older than sixteen. You were almost an adult at seventeen in her mind. But more than that something about her turning seventeen seemed important, but she had no idea what that could be.

  She looked at
the clock and decided to get up since it was just after nine. She grabbed her phone and headed to the kitchen. There was no text from Shay yet, but she knew that there would be soon. It was something they had done since each of them had found out exactly what time they were born, call or text at the time they were born a week before their birthdays. It was silly, but she didn’t care. She made her coffee, with extra hazelnut creamer this morning, just because she could, and toasted a bagel, covering it with cinnamon cream cheese. After that, she wandered to join her parents in the living room.

  “Good morning sleepy head,” her mom said as she sat down on the couch. “Feeling better?”

  “Yeah, way better. I can’t believe I was so tired. What are you guys up to today?”

  “Your dad is going to do the yard work and I’m going to into Bozeman to get groceries. Want to come?” her mom said smiling.

  As strange as some people thought it might be Alix loved grocery shopping. She baked and cooked so much that her mom let her pick out a lot of the food they bought.

  “Sure. When are you leaving?”

  “Maybe in about an hour or so. I’m not in a hurry.”

  “Okay.”

  Alix sipped on her coffee, ate her bagel, and watched the news her parents had on TV. When she was done she figured she had just enough time to get ready before Shay was up and texting her. She showered, brushed her hair, and got dressed. She heard her phone and knew it was going to be Shay.

  Shay: Happy 1 week until your birthday!!!! ☺

  Alix: Thx!! ☺ You remembered. Lol!

  Shay: There’s no way I could forget! What are you up to?

  Alix: Going for groceries in Bozeman, want to come?

  Shay: Sure, if it’s it ok with your mom?

  Alix: I’m sure it will be. Probably leave in about a half hour. We’ll pick you up.

  Shay: K

  Alix went back to the living room with a smile on her face.

  “Mom, I invited Shay to come with us today. I hope that’s okay.”

  “Sure, not a problem. Are we picking her up?”