The Porters

Chapter 2 – Connections.

  “Listen to the mustn’ts, child. Listen to the don’ts. Listen to the shouldn’t, the impossible, the won’t. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me… Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.”

  -Shel Silverstein

 

  I pulled away from his grasp, but stood my ground. I was not answering until he answered.

  “My name is Ryne Owens,” His green eyes gave me a once over and he sat on the bed.

  “Melody Grayson,” I stared at him. “You’re a porter too?”

  “A porter?” Ryne smiled.

  His teeth were pearly white and his cheeks were slightly dimpled. He had strong features like his high cheekbones and the only hint of his heritage was a slight tilt of his eyes.

  “It’s what we do,” I was still frozen in place. “We transport from one place to another, but I thought transporter was a long name so I made it porter. I port from one place to another.”

  “How do you know I’m a-” He looked at me again. “A porter.”

  “How else would you follow me?” I asked, still a bit unsure of myself.

  “Touché,” He sighed. “So this is where you hide out? I live in England next to Big Ben.”

  “You don’t have an accent though,” I pointed out.

  “Oh bloody hell,” He lay down. “This girl is givin’ me a head ache. She betta be getting’ outta here or I might have to shut her up.”

  I could never tell the difference between a British accent and an Australian one so I just shrugged.

  “What do you want?” I asked. “How did you follow me?”

  “You are the first porter I’ve seen in years. We leave a sort of cut on the place we ported. I know how to access it and follow whoever left it.” He smiled smugly as my mouth opened in shock.

  “Can you teach me?” I asked.

  “Sure,” He flipped on the T.V.

  “That still doesn’t explain why you followed me,” I crossed my arms.

  I had my back on the bed in the blink of an eye and Ryne stared at me dangerously. “I followed a pretty girl who just happens to be just like me. We are one in a million.”

  “Tell me everything,” I couldn’t help my curiosity.

  “Well,” He shifted his weight so he now rested on my right side and I scooted a bit away from him.

  He was sexy and hot. I could tell he was muscular by the way his muscles felt against my arm, shifting and straining. I wanted to place my hands under his shirt and trace the muscles. I held my hands firmly in front of me.

  “I know that we are mutants,” His expression became unreadable. “There’s a group of people that hunt us, you can give them a name if you’d like. They think we’re unnatural. We’re abominations and only God should have our power so they kill us.”

  “How do you know that?” I asked softly.

  “My mom and dad were porters too. We found a massive group of our kind in Russia. We spent all our time sharing information and learning more. I was out walking the dog and when I came back the house was on fire,” He stared at me strangely. “Men cornered me and I ported to America.”

  “I’m sorry Ryne,” I whispered.

  “It’s not your fault. It’s not anyone’s fault really.”

  “You have a lot of forgiveness you know that?” I wanted to reach out and touch his face.

  It was just the break up that was messing with my head. Plus having a hot guy in my bed and the fact I didn’t have to hide anything from him. I shook my head as if to shake the thoughts away.

  “I kill them whenever I find them,” His stare was cold. “You feel this bond between us?” I nodded. “It’s in our blood to connect with our own, when two porters are in love, the cut the finger on their left hand and touch. It connects them mentally.”

  “What does that have to do with our connection?”

  “Nothing,” He looked at me. “It just led into my next topic. We just naturally trust each other because we are the same. We are both in danger.”

  “So we could be the last two porters on the Earth?” I asked.

  He nodded.

  “Sexy,” I tried to lighten the mood. “Heavy on the shoulders, but still sexy.”

  He smiled and his eyes drooped low. I watched him fall asleep so I could assess him better. He had long legs and arms. His shirt was lifted a bit so I could see a small portion of his toned and tanned stomach. The belt must be so uncomfortable. I reached out to take it off and yanked my hand back. Nice try horny brain, nice try.

  He seemed more lean than muscular. His face was softened by sleep. His features weren’t twisted into some face that was either too sexy to be true or too arrogant to be right. His green eyes had some sort of humor to them.

  I blinked. It was strange, trusting someone like this. It was almost as if we had known each other forever. That might be what got other porters killed, this lust and love and connection for each other. I felt a pinch of guilt. Poor Ryne.

 

  I woke up with the sun on my face. I stretched and kissed Ben softly to wake him up. Slowly he responded, but something wasn’t right. This kiss was different, more passionate. My eyes snapped open and I pulled away. I put my hand to my mouth.

  “I-I,” I stuttered. His green eyes were filled with disappointment and laughter. “I broke up with my boyfriend last night and I woke up and totally forgot it was you next to me and…”

  I stopped. Ryne rolled his eyes and then rolled off the bed. He walked to the bathroom and a sudden noise of disapproval came out my mouth. Ryne popped his head around the corner to look at me and I looked away.

  The room was completely white. I realized there were voices outside the room. I grabbed my bag and ported. Where was I? I realized I was in the alleyway of my favorite Paris street. Someone bumped me and I spun around.

  “Not used to me yet?” He asked surprised. “Thought the connection was strong.”

  “I guess I’m just not used to having a companion.” I turned towards the road.

  He grabbed my wrist hard and yanked me into the shadows. A group of men walked by, wearing long, leather jackets. They were looking around, scanning every inch. One locked eyes with me and I held my breath. He just looked away and the group disappeared.

  “Were those-?”

  “Yes,” He answered my unasked question.

  “Deporters,” I whispered.

  “What?” His warm breath tickled my neck.

  My back was against his chest and I could feel his heart racing. I turned in his grip and hugged him tightly.

  “You asked me to name them,” I whispered into his ear. “Deporters.”

  “I thought you’d be cleverer,” I could tell his smile was fake.

  “Why don’t we port out of here?”

  “They have some scientific stuff that can put a tracker on us if they find a cut.”

  I placed my hands on the back of my neck and brought them forward to wipe my face. I could tell the stress radiated off me.

  “What if they don’t find the cut?” I looked for possible solutions.

  “They have devices to track cuts,” He took in a deep breath. “They probably sensed some high porting here. You entering and leaving, me following, and then us back here again.”

  “How do you know all this?” I felt chills run down my spine.

  “I don’t think you’d want to know,” He began walking towards the street.

  I grabbed his wrist and yanked him back. He spun to look at me. “Are you freaking insane?”

  “Just a little bit,” His smile was devious. “The only way they won’t get suspicious of us is if we’re near them. Act as though they aren’t around.”

  So he’s insane with a plan that is smart. Is there anything about this guy that isn’t perfect? Well, I guess it depends on what you call perfect. Perfect is a state of mind though, isn’t it? A paradox that seems unsolvable because no one truly kn
ows what perfect is but their own definition based on what they know.

  “You are very quiet,” He commented as cars passed us by on the tiny road to our left.

  “I never grew up with people who knew what I was so I learned to keep things to myself.” I looked for any signs of the deporters.

  “That must have been lonely,” He stared at the rows of stores that hung closely on our right.

  “Yeah,” I nodded. “But it was kinda nice knowing you had something that made you different.”

  “So you and I are different, but not from each other.” He raised an eyebrow.

  “Well you have a penis,” He laughed at my statement.

  “I guess we’re all different,”

  “Ok,” I sat down on a tiny table next to me. “This whole connection thing is freaking me out. I mean, I trust you, but I don’t trust the fact that I trust you because I’ve never truly trusted anyone. So I need to know everything about you, so it doesn’t seem weird that I trust you like a 20-year-old-friend-ship-trust.”

  He sat down in front of me. “I wondered when you’d freak out. What do you want to know?”

  “Your favorite color, band, music type, food, art, poetry, quote, pet, family member, friend, memory, everything.” I stared at the red and white umbrella that shielded us from the sun.

  “My favorite color is now brown,” He smiled as though it meant something more than I knew. “My favorite band is Paramore. I like all sorts of music types from dupstep to country. As for food, anything edible is great. What else did you ask? Um, I love to sit in a grassy meadow and let the sun warm my skin.”

  “What were your parents like?” My curiosity flowed like a river and I cursed it silently.

  “My mom was tall and gorgeous. She had long, blonde hair that curled in the way that made her look taller than she was. Lots of people told me I had her green eyes. She played the violin and sometimes would sing me to sleep. She cooked great and she smelt really good,” His eyes were distant. “My father was short and buff. His hair was a dark brown and he had a very serious face. A lot of people questioned how he got my mom. There wasn’t really a question. All people saw in her was she was adventurous and smart and pretty, but my dad saw her selflessness and strength and courage.”

  “You love them very much.” I stated more than asked.

  “Yeah,” His eyes finally focused on me. “I did.”

  “No, you do.” I pressed.

  He laughed sadly. “I do.”

  “How did you find this group you talked about?”

  “They found us actually,” He smiled. “They were kind and we shared everything we could, like we are right now. Well, it’s more like you satisfying your curiosity and me helping you get to the point of trusting, trusting me.”

  “Did you have siblings?”

  “No.”

  “Did you ever have pets?”

  “No.”

  “Not even a goldfish?”

  “No.”

  “You have a depressing life,”

  “Yeah,” He nodded.

  “We could go somewhere,” I said excitedly. “We could settle in some small town in Canada and we could live actual normal lives.”

  “We aren’t supposed to live normal lives,”

  “We can do anything,” I grabbed his hand in encouragement. “If we’re bored on a Saturday evening we could go to Tokyo and enjoy some fresh sushi or go ice skating in Alaska. We don’t have to be completely normal, but we can try. We can buy a cat or dog or both and we can fall in love. Be human for some parts and be porters for the rest.”

  “Do you believe we can do it?” His eyes lit up a bit.

  “Yes.”

  Chapter 3 – Crash into me.

  “All endings are also beginnings; we just don’t know it at the time.”

  -Mitch Albom

  Slowly the snow fell onto the ground and I watched it begin to pile. It was February now and it was still snowing. I shrugged and stepped near the fireplace. This room was small. A couch stood in line with the fireplace and two love seats stood facing each other on either side of an ugly red rug. The designs didn’t match the room at all, but for some odd reason Ryne liked it.

  The fireplace was built of bricks and the whole room smelt like burning oak and I enjoyed sitting on the disgusting, but comfy red carpet in front of the fire. Ryne sat next to me and I rested my head on his shoulder. Lily curled into my lap and Lila rested her head on Ryne’s lap.

  Lily was a small Calico kitten. She had a small heart on the center of her head which I bent to kiss. She meowed, obviously pleased, and stretched out a bit so her stomach was facing me. Lila was a big, golden retriever that was short haired and quiet. Though if the house was too sad, she’d bark and keep the house excited. I held Ryne’s hand loosely.

  “I told you this would be good,” I closed my eyes and let the fire’s heat soak into my skin. “I knew you would need some sort of platform.”

  “It feels weird,” Ryne admitted. “Having a place to come back to. Don’t smile so smugly, I agreed that we should come, it wasn’t your idea entirely.”

  “Do you believe in true love?”

  “True love,” He left the words in the air. “I guess so. There’s one person out there that needs you just as much as you need them, loves you as much as you do them. True love is what ties marriage together.”

  “What about divorces?”

  “Those are for those who have mistaken lust for love.”

  I nodded and watched the flames engulf the pieces of wood. It burned an orange-red flame and I loved the way it danced. I felt eyes glued to me and turned. Ryne’s eyes watch me with a dangerous look. Control yourself.

  “I have to pee,” My voice an octave higher than usually.

  I set Lily down and made my way to the bathroom. Abruptly I flew against a wall and had hands around my throat. A girl with piercing blue eyes tightened her hands. Her black hair was tied into a braid and she looked tired. I tried to call for Ryne, but she tightened her grip.

  Suddenly, I thought up an idea. I imagined the connection in between Ryne and me and tugged as hard as I could. Slowly, black spots filled my vision and I felt all hope falling apart. I stopped kicking and felt myself relax.

  I could breathe again so I gulped up air. It was so good and painfully cold. I blinked away the black spots and collapsed on the floor. I heard tumbling around, but I was too tired to turn around.

  “Nicky?” Ryne’s voice echoed into my head.

  “Ryne?” A sweet female voice answered.

  I felt my eye lids get heavy. Someone was shaking me hard and it made me 10 times dizzier than I was before. I opened my eyes and could see Ryne saying something, but couldn’t hear. I noticed a tug on the connection.

  “Come on Mel don’t do this now. Come on Mel wake up. That’s it, yes, yes. Oh God you fucking scared me.” He pulled me into a strong embrace.

  I didn’t move, I was too tired to. He looked back at me and I saw the panic set in, so I blinked twice. He let out a sigh of relief again. My head tilted towards the blue eyes girl. I moved closer to Ryne’s chest. Another connection set in, but this one was strange, almost like it had been tied to me instead of being glued.

  “Is this your new girlfriend?” The girl asked.

  “No,” Ryne held me closer. “She-We just met. Melody, this is Nicky. I met her a while back during my hunting years.”

  Something was wrong with her connection. It made shivers run down my spine. I hated her with a burning passion. Not for her choking me, which is a valid reason, but for something else. I noticed she held out a pale hand to me. I pulled out of Ryne’s grasp and stood up. I crossed my arms and began pacing. Her connection was wrong and it felt like someone was pulling my hair down and down until I was dizzy from being practically upside down.

  I ported into the rainforest again. I sat on a fallen tree and let the cold air surround me. The connection t
o her and Ryne was now dim, unnoticeable. I heard someone land next to me. Ryne’s smell surrounded me, he smelt like burning wood and good cologne.

  “Sometimes connecting with people who hurt you is hard,” He explained. “Nicky thought you were an intruder and attacked you. She has been trying to find me for a while now. She’s going to stay with us for a while.”

  I stood up. “No. No. She can’t I don’t trust her. This connection thing is messing with my head. I can’t be around her. I’ll spend the night at a friend’s if you need me.”

  “Mel don’t be like that,” Ryne ran his hand through his hair.

  “How am I supposed to be?” I felt the thickness of the air hanging on me.

  “Supportive,”

  “I’m being supportive by not ripping her throat out or kicking her out. Ryne, I’m acting like a total bitch but I just can’t connect with her okay?”

 

  I had paced in front of Sarah’s house for about an hour now. She had guests and I could ask her to ask them to leave. I hadn’t seen her in like a month and I knew she was going to freak out. I heard someone approaching the door and ported behind a tree. Two men stepped out of her house and I recognized their leather jackets and strange necklaces.

  “I didn’t know Mel was in danger,” Sarah rubbed her forehead. “I hope I gave you enough information.”

  One of the men, the shorter of the two smiled. “We can work on it. If she appears, call us.”

  He handed her a card and they left. I waited 15 minutes to port into her bathroom. I opened the door and walked to her kitchen where voices roamed throughout her spacious house. I recognized Ben’s immediately and my heart hurt a bit. I swallowed, I needed that paper.

  I stepped into her tiny kitchen and saw Ben talking to her. I cleared my throat and they turned to the sound. Sarah’s hand flew to her mouth and Ben stepped towards me. I took a step back and kept my eyes on Sarah.

  “What did they say to you?” I asked.

  “Who?” Sarah was frozen with shock, but could speak.

  “The men,” I grabbed the card from the table and stuffed it into my pocket.

  “What did they say?” I pressed.

  “They said you were traveling with a dangerous man and they wanted to make sure of your safety.” She held her hand out. “Give me the paper back.”

  “They are wrong,” I took another step back. “If they come back you say nothing more about me.”

  “I can’t believe it,” Ben reached for his belt. “You’re one of them.”

  I felt the sting of the dart. I opened my mouth and stumbled backwards.

  “You two are deporters.” I whispered to myself.

  “Where are Ryne and the army?” Sarah asked.

  I ported to the rainforest, then to Paris, and finally to the house. I crashed into the fireplace. I yanked the dart out of my stomach. I held the spot and my vision got blurry. Second time I was almost killed. I heard the T.V. on and stumbled down the stairs. I walked under the arch and collapsed on the floor. The room was empty.

  “Ryne?” I called out.

 

  ********

  I laughed at Nicky. I held my hand up as tears built in my eyes. She laughed harder when she saw me.

  “Okay,” I laughed. “It was pretty funny.”

  “When are you going to tell her?” Nicky’s tone was serious.

  “I was wondering when you’d ask,” I frowned a bit. “She freaked out when I told her about the connection. I didn’t realize what it was until it was too late to explain to her. She’s like a hurt puppy and I can’t risk her running from me.”

  “That’s why she reacted so strongly to me,” Nicky nodded. “You two are Keepers. That makes you compatible.”

  “I wondered why she was so strong against me,” I wiped my hands on my jeans. “Why the pull towards her is so strong.”

  “Can you explain it to me?”

  I looked into her pale, blue eyes. “No. It’s not a thing, it just belongs there. I can spend forever trying to explain to you but a million words can’t explain it.”

  She nodded. “So when are you planning on telling her?”

  “I don’t know,” I smiled sheepishly. “I like her a lot which is weird because I barely know a thing about her. Her name is Melody Grayson and that’s all I know about her.”

  “Love isn’t about knowing a person, it’s about learning to love them knowing what you know.”

  “When did you grow up?”

  She blushed. “I met someone.”

  “Oh,” I raised my eyebrow.

  “He’s a good guy,” She stared at the table cloth. “He’s a human.”

  “Are you sure you want to live a life with no porting?”

  “Porting?” It was her turn to raise an eyebrow.

  “Mel calls us ‘porters’.” I shrugged. “I like it.”

  Nicky’s face lit up. “Porters, I like it too. I know porting is part of me but he’s the other part.”

  “You love him?”

  “Yes.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yes.”

  “He has my approval than,” I smiled at the waitress. “Can we have any other round?”

  She nodded and walked away. I looked outside the window and saw movement. I felt a sharp tug in my stomach. Ow, I rubbed my side. What the hell? Nicky’s eyes were glued to me.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I think my muscle just freaked out a bit,” I watched her concerned face.

  “That looked more painful,” She gave me a look over. “Are you sure it isn’t Melody?”

  “Yeah,” I still rubbed the sore spot. “She tugs, she doesn’t hurt me.”

  The waitress appeared with our drinks. Her sleeves slid up and she had a strange tattoo on her wrist. It looked like it was supposed to be some sort of trident, but the right side looked messed up. The waitress frowned slightly.

  “It’s the sign for a revolution,” The waitress commented as though I should know.

  It looked vaguely familiar. The waitress swished her red hair to one side and left. Nicky was staring at me.

  “Did that sign look familiar to you?” She asked finally.

  “Yeah,” I stared after the waitress.

  Chapter 4 - How do I find myself in the middle of a war?

  “Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside of you that is greater than any obstacle.”

  -Christian D. Larson

 

  I woke up and my side ached with a dull pain. I guess the dart didn’t kill me. Yay me. I groaned as I pulled myself up and walked to the bathroom. It was small, but very comfy. We had a white bath tub with a green shower head. The curtain was a lighter shade of green and complemented the room very much.

  I accidently hit my side on the sink and bit my tongue. The pain flared like a flame and I tasted blood in my mouth. I spit it into the plain white sink and realized red could be a flattering color to add to the room. It was a weird thought. Yeah I bit my tongue and decided red would be a nice color in the bathroom. I think I need help.

  I stripped my clothes off and made myself a bath. I put a bit of bubbles in the sooth myself. I think I put too much though because when I turned the tub off I could barely see the room around me. I heard the door open and close and sat straight up.

  Piercing blue eyes watched me with a mimicked caution. She moved graciously and sat on my dirty clothes. I settled back down, but cut a path in the bubbles so I could see her without craning my neck. The silence was almost as thick as my bubbles. I think so far, this is the weirdest situation I’ve been in in a while.

  “I like Ryne, a lot, so we have a problem,” Something in her face gave away that she was bluffing.

  “More like a common topic,” I wanted to laugh at my wit.

  She smiled. “I like you and so does he. So I need you to tell him something that will change his e
ntire life and he will never be able to walk away from it.”

  I let that sink in. “My friends turned out to be deporters.”

  “That sounds stupid,” She shook her head. “You should rethink that name.”

  “Venatore,” I said absentmindedly. “It means hunter in Latin.”

  “The venatores versus the porters,” She nodded. “Sounds better.”

  “Thanks,” I stretched. “I try.”

  “If I tell you will you tell him?” She pressed on.

  “It sounds much bigger than me,” I looked over at her. “Sure, I’ll tell him.”

  “First you need to know our ‘caste’ system,”

  “You guys don’t have a name from what we are but you have a caste system,” I laughed.

  “At the top are the keepers. The keepers lead us, they are born natural leaders, but are usually loners. Then we have preachers, who are telepathic and sends messages that keepers need sent. Guardians attach to keepers and protect them no matter the cost. Runners are our soldiers, they don’t leave cuts.”

  “So what are you ranked?”

  “I’m not done,” She said impatiently. “Keepers always have 2 guardians, 3 preachers, and the more the better for runners. You and I, we’re guardians. The guardians of Ryne.”

  “So Ryne’s a keeper, what is he the leader of?”

  She made a face. “What did Ryne tell you about the group his parents found?”

  “That they found them actually,” Where was she going with this?

  “Actually, his father was starting a war. He gathered over 1’000 porters and he started a war. Technically, Ryne’s running it right now.”

  “So you’ve basically been running this war using ‘Ryne’s words’ because…?”

  “He needed a second guardian,” She crossed her legs. “Do you really believe you two just stumbled upon each other? I watched you for months and then pushed his curious ass your way. Now he’s ready to run this war.”

  “Okay,” I sat up; making sure the bubbles covered me. “It makes sense but why do you need me to tell him?”

  “Because like I said, I like him. Can you really tell someone you care about,” She paused to arrange her words. “That they have a destiny that was chosen for them? That they no longer live for themselves but for over a thousand more?”

  “Yes,” I gestured to the door. “Because telling the truth is better than telling a lie.”

  “In the end he will choose me you know. The first guardian is always treasured more.” She smiled and stopped at the door, like she wanted to hear my answer.

  “So be it,” I kept my face composed.

  After she shut the door I was taking a quick shower to get the awful bubbles off me. I dried myself off and picked up my phone. It felt heavy and strange in my hand. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. He could be in danger, he could get hurt for his ignorance. You have to do the right thing, even if it isn’t nice.

  “Mel,” He answered after 3 rings. “I’m in the house right now you know. I’ll be there in a sec.”

  “Wait!” I said a moment after he hung up.

  I stumbled over a chair and managed to pull my robe on in time. He raised his eye brow when he saw me sitting on the floor. A dangerous smile crept on his face. I hated when he smiled like that.

  “This is not a discussion we should talk about while I’m naked,” I hissed.

  “You assume I knew you were in the shower,”

  “You assume I think you’re deaf,” I threw a pillow at him. “Get out.”

  He tossed the pillow on the bed. I stood up quickly and he had me pinned to the wall in 3 steps. Damn his long legs. Green eyes looked down at me and his hand tugged my hair a bit so my face was in direct line with his. No, you can’t do this.

  “I-I can’t-” I tried to move, but he placed his hands firmly on my waist.

  “I have been patient,” His breath tickled my face. “I’ve waited for you to get used to me and the connection thing and to the fact that you needed to trust the trust you had in me. Now that we’ve got that all settled, I want to kiss you.”

  “You know nothing about me,” I said in awe. “You don’t know about my family or my photography or my past or what I want in my future.”

  “Because you won’t let me in,” He moved closer. “Let me in Mel.”

  “That sounds very sexual and I don’t think it would be very lady-like of me to-”

  He kissed me and laughed a bit against my mouth. His lips delicately opened mine and I could taste him. He tasted like cheap coffee. I guess he went to the café down the road with Nicky. I shoved him backwards.

  “Okay,” I took in a deep breath. “There are things I have to tell you. Things about myself and… If you want me to be okay with you kissing me.”

  “Okay,” He ran his hand through his highlighted hair. “What’s up?”

  “Sit down,” I gestured towards the bed. “You told me about this group of people your father found and he then died in the fire right? Well, those people didn’t find him Ryne, he was staring a war, against the venatores.”

  “Venatores?” His features unreadable.

  “Venatore means hunter in Latin,” I think I’m going to have to explain that to like a thousand people now. “So he started this war and now you’re running it. Well, you have been but Nicky needed to make sure you had another guardian before moving forward with all this.”

  “Nicky knew about this?” His expression was painfully to watch, so I looked out the window.

  “She knew it would hurt you so she asked me to tell you,”

  “And why’d you agree?”

  “It’s in my nature Ryne,” I watched Nicky get into her car. “I have a loyalty to you that can’t get confused with my feelings.”

  I froze, expecting him to make some nonchalant comment about something about us getting together but he was silent. I pressed my face to the cold window.

  “I’m sorry she didn’t tell you,” I softened my voice. “I’m sorry you’ll never be the same, but you have over 1’000 people waiting for your instructions.”

  “What do I do?”

  “It’s a war,” I said obviously. “you fight.”