“That’s not the reason.” Connor stated as his two friends gave him a disbelieving look.
“Well, that’s not the only reason.” He corrected himself.
A few minutes later they arrived at school and as they all had different classes, went their separate ways, agreeing to meet back up at lunch. Lucian walked down the hall towards his first class of the day thinking only about the girl he saw earlier, who seemed to be equally focused on only him. He had noticed girls checking him out all the time but this, this was different. She didn’t look at him the same as all the other girls.
Chapter 3
Later that day in the cafeteria, Lucian poked aimlessly at soggy tater tots with his water spotted fork while his friends went on about graduation, summer jobs, and getting out of their small town. He had been lost in no particular thought when something told him to look up. As he did, he caught a glimpse of the mystery girl he had seen earlier that day, pass by in the hall looking in his direction. He ran to catch up with her but by the time he made it to the hallway, she was gone.
Lucian spent most of the time in his remaining classes that day mentally recalling every feature of the mysterious girl, in the hopes he might remember why she seemed so familiar. She was tall and slender with the athletic build of a runner or swimmer. Her hair was long and hellfire red and seemed to frame the beauty of her lightly sun kissed face as it cascaded over her shoulders, and her eyes, her eyes were like pools of liquid emerald. The red leather jacket she wore outlined the curves of her statuesque frame as if it were painted on. Her black cargo pants and military style boots gave the impression that she was quite capable of handling herself should her stunning beauty attract the wrong kind of attention.
But what stood out the most to Lucian was the look she had on her face. It was a look of relieved recognition coupled with an overwhelming sense of pain or possibly the knowledge of something awful. Lucian couldn’t tell exactly, based on the short amount of time in which he saw her and what troubled him further, was that feeling that he knew her, though he was certain he had never seen her before. She was familiar to him and not knowing why overwhelmed his razor sharp mind with feelings he had never known.
In his last class of the day, the teacher droned on about principles of U.S. Government and the democratic ideal while Lucian sat hunched over at his desk, fingers clasped and folded, resting on his mouth. He had no interest whatsoever in politics. He felt politicians chose their jobs because they were too afraid to fight in the wars they were often responsible for starting. He had no respect for people who could send others to war, but would not fight themselves and believed that whoever made the decision should be at the front lines as example to those who might follow behind him. He instead turned his attention to the beautiful day taking place just outside the window. He noticed how the light summer breeze gently swayed the branches of the large valley oak residing in front of his alma mater. He listened as the songbird’s beautiful medley drowned out the talk of government. He was still thinking the thoughts that had occupied his mind all day when a figure leaned out from behind the tree and looked directly at him.
“It’s her.” Lucian exclaimed loudly as if he were the only one in the room.
The class erupted in laughter at Lucian’s outburst. The mystery girl from earlier that day had reappeared and Lucian had no plans of letting anything get between him and her, not the desks between him and the door, not the two flights of stairs leading to the front entrance of the school, which he seemed to take in two simple leaps, and certainly not the convoy of buses lining up in front of the school which he fluidly dashed in between. He cleared all obstacles and was at the tree in mere seconds but she was gone…again. He saw no point in returning to the class he so abruptly interrupted, so he decided to head home.
On the way, he chose a different route than the one he took with his friends earlier that morning, a field that he normally travelled when by himself. He liked going this way. It took a bit more time to get home but it was far away from any roads and as such, was very quiet. In a large clearing surrounded by a dense tree line only the three of them knew how to navigate, the smell of the undisturbed soil, the sound of the wind tickling the tops of the untamed grass, and the occasional scent of wild flowers were very relaxing to him. It was his reason for coming this way as it allowed him uninterrupted time with his thoughts. He had realized, rather quickly, just how relaxed he had become as he heard the sound of someone treading very lightly just a couple of feet behind. The sound of deliberately soft steps would normally be quite inaudible if it were not for the fact that Lucian was very much attuned with his senses. Someone or something was trying quite purposely to get close to him. Lucian reacted explosively by throwing a powerful back fist that was quickly grabbed, stopping the blow’s momentum instantly. As his body turned with the punch what he saw surprised him.
“You.” He exclaimed with a hint of excited confusion as he laid his eye upon the mystery girl.
“You’re not as strong as you should be.” She responded, in what Lucian thought to be a British accent, while still holding his arm. He was surprised that his immediate thought upon hearing her voice was, Oh Connor’s gonna love this.
“What? Who are you?” He asked, taking back ownership of his limb.
“You don’t recognize me?” She asked disappointedly.
“Should I?” He answered.
“Maybe not in this form.” She realized looking herself over.
“You are Lucian?” She inquired, now looking him over head to toe, seemingly unimpressed.
Her reaction to his appearance was one he had never encountered. Anytime he had interacted with a girl, it was always the same response. They would look him over head to toe, twirl their hair, softly bite their lip, and almost always forget what they were going to say. She did none of this. Instead, she circled him, still looking him over head to toe, but not like the other girls, more like she was sizing him up or comparing him to some other idea she had of what he should look like. Slightly confused, he answered, “Yes, and you are?”
“My name is Etria.” She answered returning to his front and facing him. Quickly she grabbed his face and stared deeply into his eyes as though she were looking for something. After a few minutes of this and the accompanying uncomfortable silence, a slight smile seemed to appear on her face as she softly whispered, “There you are.” with what sounded like relief. She quickly composed herself and took a step back, still looking him straight in his deep blue eyes.
“You must come with me right now.” She ordered.
“Go with you where?” Lucian questioned.
She tilted her head and looked at him confused and somewhat saddened before answering.
“Home.” She said.
“I was just headed there before you showed up and…” He started.
“Make no mistake! This place is not your home…and your name is not Lucian.” She said bitterly and with a sneer in her lip as though his name tasted badly in her mouth.
“I do not know what has happened but this…” She said motioning to him from head to toe. “…this is not you.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Lucian had become quite frustrated with her odd statements.
“You know what? I don’t even care.” He continued throwing his hands up.
“I don’t know you, I don’t know how you know me, but that’s a bit creepy, I think it best if you just go your way and I’ll go mine.”
“This place has made you soft.” She snapped at him again. This time impatiently and with such viciousness Lucian instinctively changed his stance into one more ready to fight.
“Luc. Wait up.” Connor’s voice broke the tension as he had caught up with him and was about to make his way through the tree line into the field.
Frustrated, Etria compromised. “Meet me here tomorrow night, I’ll explain what I can, but know we are running out of time. They need you…she needs you.” Her voice almost brok
e as she gave him those last three words.
And as quickly and silently as she appeared, she was gone.
Chapter 4
“Hey man, you wanna tell me what made you haul ass outta class today?” Connor inquired almost out of breath as he approached Lucian.
“I saw her again.” Lucian said, half answering the question while still mostly confused as to what Etria had said to him.
“Saw who…ohhhh!” Connor said, already knowing the answer. “You’re imaginary lady friend.” He chuckled.
“She’s not imaginary! I was just talking to her before you showed up.” Lucian replied.
“Whatever you say man, I totally believe you.” Connor said sarcastically.
“She must be fast.” He added with continued sarcasm while looking around the empty field. “So anyway, listen. I’m glad it’s just the two of us here because there’s something I wanna tell you.”
“What’s up?” Lucian replied as the two started walking.
“You know I’ll be leaving at the end of the summer and I just wanted you to know that uh…I couldn’t have asked for a better friend.” He said with more sincerity than Lucian’s ever heard come from him.
“Truth is, I consider you more of a brother than a friend and I just wanted you to know that. I also wanted to say thank you.”
“For what?” Lucian asked.
“For standin’ up for me when those assholes jumped me a while back. No one’s ever stood up for me like that before and we’ve never even talked about it. I know that you could have gotten in a lot of trouble and I…”
Connor grabbed Lucian’s arm stopping him mid stride and looked him straight in the eyes, “Thank you.” He said.
Lucian put his hand on his friend’s shoulder, “No worries man.” He replied. “Anytime.”
Lucian went on. “So are we supposed to make out now or something, because I am not cool with that?” The two friends exploded with laughter which echoed throughout the vast field.
“You’re a dumbass.” Connor replied still laughing heartily.
A few minutes later they reached the tree line and made their way through to the main road.
“So what do you got goin’ on right now? You wanna come over and plan this road trip? Connor asked.
“I gotta talk to my grandfather about some things. I’ll call you later and we’ll figure it out.” Lucian told his friend.
“Sounds good man. Later.” Connor replied as he broke off down the single lane dirt road heading home. Lucian’s casual pace became a slow jog. He wanted to get home and talk to his grandfather about the encounter with Etria. Gramps was the wisest person Lucian knew and would probably be able to shed some light on the situation, or at least notify the proper authorities that a crazy person had approached his grandson.
“Gramps! You home?” Lucian inquired loudly as he entered through the front door.
“I’m out back.” A gruff but friendly voice echoed from the back yard and travelled quickly through the house. Lucian dropped his backpack, kicked it to the side, and headed towards the back door.
“You busy right now?”
Lucian asked approaching his Grandfather who was tending to the vast and vibrant array of flowers he grew. He always thought it a bit funny that a man as big and imposing as Gramps spent so much time tending to a garden, but Lucian knew it was because of the serenity it brought him. Gramps was barrel chested and taller than Lucian by a few inches. Connor would sometimes refer to him as “Jacked Santa”, because of his size, always friendly demeanor, and frost white beard. Never in front of Gramps though. Mostly out of respect but a little out of fear.
“Never too busy for you kiddo. What’s going on?” Gramps asked, setting his soil laden work gloves on the picnic table and sitting across from Lucian.
Before he continued, Lucian already began to feel better in the company of his Grandfather, who was the most kindhearted person he knew. He always met Lucian with a warm smile on his face, one that would quickly spread to Lucian, and in any conversation with his grandson always gave his complete attention. Though Gramps was friendly to everyone, whenever Lucian needed him, it was as if nothing else in the world existed.
“I met this girl today.” Lucian started.
“Is that so?” Gramps responded smiling.
Lucian continued to tell his grandfather the story of the mystery girl who had eluded him for most of the day, their encounter in the field, and all the cryptic things she had said to him. Then Lucian told him how he felt like he knew her somehow but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. It was during that part of the story that the expression on Gramps’ face began to change from the warm, welcoming smile to one of shock and concern.
“Lucian, you listen to me very closely.” He interrupted. “You must stay as far away from her as possible. Do you understand me?”
Lucian couldn’t answer. He had never seen his grandfather so shaken nor had he ever heard him react so sternly to him. It startled him.
“Do you understand me Lucian?” His grandfather repeated loudly as he slammed his hand on the table.
“Yeah, yes sir?” Lucian stammered out in response. His grandfather stood up, looked at his grandson for a moment, and then hurriedly walked away as if all of a sudden there were somewhere he had to be. Lucian sat there alone for quite a while wondering if Gramps’ reaction was one of his grandson being approached by a crazy person or if there were something more he wasn’t being told. He began leaning toward the latter.
Chapter 5
The next morning, Lucian left home a bit earlier than usual. With graduation only a day away and nothing he needed to be there for, he decided to ditch school and instead go to a place very special to him, a spot down by the river where he and Gramps used to go fishing. Gramps was the only other person who knew about this particular spot and it was quite difficult to reach. When he would take Lucian there, he would always say, “There’s so many trout here they’ll jump right in the boat.” Lucian would always laugh when he said that because they never fished from a boat nor did they ever catch, let alone see, any fish. The closest they ever got was the day an angry bullfrog blocked their path. However, something about his grandfather saying that just made him laugh so hard. Lucian smiled as he recalled that memory. Spending time here with his grandfather was more about getting away from the world than it was about catching anything.
Sitting by that river with its infinite movement made him feel very still, very grounded, and afforded him the opportunity to think about the events of the previous day. Lucian tried to figure why, out of all the girls who had ever approached him, was this one different. He knew it was not a romantic feeling, even though she was far more beautiful than any girl he had seen before, he just didn’t see her in that light. He thought long and hard about all the people he had ever met and couldn’t place her. What was it about her that was so familiar, so comfortable even considering their odd encounter with one another? His thoughts immediately centered on what Etria had said to him. That this place wasn’t his home and that his real name wasn’t Lucian. How could that even be? It seemed obvious that she knew more about him than he knew about himself, but how? Her voice echoed inside his head. What the hell could she have meant? He thought to himself. Am I from Idaho? Was I left on Gramps’ doorstep? He thought jokingly.
It was what else she said that jarred him out of his humorous state, “They need you…she needs you.” Who are they? Who is she and why do they all need me? While the questions flooded his mind and left his emotions in turmoil, what stung and confused most was his grandfather’s reaction. Why did he get so mad? Lucian asked himself. For as giant a man as his grandfather was, Lucian had always known him to be a soft spoken and patient man. A big ol’ teddy bear, he thought. He had never seen Gramps get angry over anything, why so much so over some girl? It had startled him.
Lucian found himself confused and overwhelmed with thoughts and emotion. He didn’t like feeling that
way, not one bit. It angered him to not have control over the events around him, but more so over the feelings within him. Even though he had always felt heavy hearted, and as though he were a prisoner in his own body, he never let that affect him, his mood, or his personality. But now, with all these thoughts ravaging his mind, he could feel that it was showing. I have to know. He thought to himself. He decided to meet Etria that night and demand answers. He decided to stay by the river until nightfall. He thought it best to avoid Gramps on the off chance he might somehow deter him from meeting Etria and getting answers. For hours he sat there, imagining every conceivable bombshell she could possibly drop on him. But with every situation he could think of, he always came to the same conclusion. It didn’t matter. Although he still wanted to know, he decided that no matter what it was she would tell him, he was who he was. He had his friends, he had Gramps, and as far as he was concerned, nothing else mattered. The shade of night crept in quietly as Lucian stood and left the riverbank. With tightness in his gut, he headed for the field.
Chapter 6
A cool breeze swept across the tall grass enveloping Lucian who, wearing only jeans, a t-shirt, and tan Timberlands, couldn’t have felt it less. His mind was still racing as to what the strange girl might tell him. His heart pounded heavily in his chest as though it were knocking on the door to his soul. The lack of moonlight that night made the field barely visible but Lucian heard her approach.
“You’re not as quiet as you try to be.” He spoke, seemingly to the darkness.
“Though your senses are greatly dulled here, they are still superior to the human’s.” Her voice replied in that elegant English accent as her statuesque frame seemed to slide out of the darkness.
“But I am human.” He exclaimed in a tone that sounded like he was trying to convince himself. “Why do you speak to me as though I’m something different and as though humans are somehow lesser? You’re human.”