Undesirable Destiny Ch. 4

Several hours later, or at least I thought so, the sun was setting as far as I could tell and I noticed I was lying in my own bed at my parents’ house.  Did I dream everything that just happened?  More like a nightmare!  How did I get back from town, or did I dream that as well?  I sat up quickly, still confused as to whether what I experienced was reality or a dream and rubbed my hands to my face.  I slowly peeked one eye lid open and noticed the white yellow flashes and gray haze from before were now gone.  What was going on?  I jumped from my bed, ran downstairs yelling for my parents in hopes that it was indeed a terrible nightmare and that none of it really happened and that Lia and Jazin would be there as soon as I hit the floor. 

When I reached the last step I saw someone leaning against the wall near the front door.  His dark russet colored skin and pitch black hair gave him away, not to mention he was one of the few people in Gildred taller than me.  It was Gavin.  He must be getting ready for a hunting trip because he was wrapped in his tanned leather garments and had a bow and quiver strapped to his back along with two hunting knives near his ankles.  But then why would he come here?  He usually went to town through the woods to get supplies and stopping by our house would be out of the way for him.  I bet he needs to see Jazin for some herbs and medicines before his trip. 

         “Hey, Gavin, what’s up?”  I asked groggily, still slightly dazed from the nightmare of before.  When he looked up at me I almost lost my balance as I moved away from the last step.  I forgot how amazingly beautiful he was for a boy.  He had a strong build, was a solid six foot two inches tall, and had short wavy pitch black hair as dark as coal, deeply tanned skin, a prominent brow and a squared jaw, but it was his kind and wandering eyes that always caught me off guard.  They were the most amazing clear blue I’d ever seen, almost like liquid cobalt that seemed to flow like a river.  He truly was beautiful. 

         “Adella, are you alright?”  He asked me in that silky smooth voice of his.  How could I not be alright when Gavin was there?  He was the only boy around Gildred that I was absolutely enamored with. 

         “Of course I am, why wouldn’t I be?” I asked him.  He continued to stare at me with those amazing eyes of his and they seemed to change color somehow.  They weren’t the beautiful cobalt’s from a few seconds ago but now a deep darkening sapphire.  I could have sworn they were lighter than that a moment ago.  Oh well, what did it matter?

         “You mean, you don’t remember the shop, the storm, and your parents?”  He looked at me curiously.  Then the nightmare came flooding back.  The white yellow flashes threatened to cover my eyes again.  The gray had already started to build but I held my emotions in check.  I knew I had to be strong for Jillyan and having another tantrum like I did in town wouldn’t help anything.

         “Jillyan, where is she?  I’ve got to let her know something, she’ll worry herself sick!  She’ll know they aren’t where they’re supposed to be.”  I was feeling frantic but in a strange controlled way.  I got up from the bottom stair and started to walk around the house looking for my sister searching Jazin’s study, Lia’s sewing room, the kitchen and living area.  Gavin didn’t bother to move from his spot as I searched and then I realized that she was probably upstairs in her own room. 

I ran back up the steps two at a time and went to her closed door.  I pressed my ear to the door and listened carefully.  She was crying and I knew that she knew.  Slowly, I pushed the door open and quietly walked in my sister’s room.  Without saying a word and without a second thought I crawled in next to her on her small bed.  Wrapping my arms around her I could feel her shuddering with the heavy sobs and I couldn’t stop myself any longer.  Heavy wet tears loomed at the edges of my eyes.  My vision began to cloud up again and I figured it was because of the tears because I couldn’t see the white yellow flashes this time.  We just laid there together holding each other, crying for our missing parents.  The only other noise was the falling rain outside Jillyan’s window.  I thought the storm had passed but I was obviously wrong. 

         “They’re not where they’re supposed to be!  I should see them here, but they’re not.”  Jillyan was saying in between sobs.  I knew she’d see something wasn’t right.  What was worse, I should have felt her pain ten times over simply because I knew our parents were taken away because of me but I couldn’t let that pain in again.  I had to remain strong for Jillyan.  What were we going to do now?  I definitely wasn’t going to Girl’s school now, not that I really cared one way or the other but Jazin and Lia were so excited about me going.

         “You aren’t leaving!”  Jillyan shouted suddenly as if reading my thoughts.  “You are supposed to stay with me now, so don’t even think about leaving me.” 

         “Of course I won’t leave you Jilly-bean.  You’re the only family I have left.”  The thought of an eleven year old girl being the only family I had in this world wasn’t very comforting in itself but because it was Jillyan, I knew it made all the difference in the world and we’d stick together no matter what. 

         “Ok, so here’s the plan” Jillyan sat up so suddenly that I almost fell out of the bed.  “We pack our things, take Gavin with us, make a stop in Danu to get his supplies, and go to Poca Montanha ourselves!”  It was such an amazing change from sorrow to determination that I wasn’t sure I heard her correctly.

         “What are you talking about?  We can’t go to Poca Montanha by ourselves Jillyan.  I mean we don’t even know how to get there for one.”  It was a lame excuse, I know, but nothing else came to mind. 

         “Oh, come on Adella, how many trackers come through Gildred in a week?  The outposts are certain to have maps of this country and they’d be morons if they didn’t!  Plus Gavin’s people from Danu know this land better than any person in Gildred ever will.  He’s already agreed to help and go with us.”  I realized Jillyan had been planning this whole thing out since Gavin brought me home and told her the news.  Once Jillyan had a plan in action there was no stopping her.  She just knew it would work, and it usually did.  I just couldn’t see it yet.  She jumped out of her bed and pulled me by the arm towards her door.  “Out!  Go pack so we can leave as soon as you’re done.  I’ve already started so get a move on.”  She started to fuss at me.

         “Jillyan, I know you’re upset, believe me I do.  If it weren’t for Gavin, I’d still be stuck out in the rain” and I pointed to her window as I said this but realized it wasn’t raining anymore.  “And besides, this bizarre weather lately means we aren’t going anywhere or have you not noticed?”  I asked more determined to distract her from her current train of thought about leaving.  She stopped packing her camping bag and stared at me.  Her scrutinizing eyes were completely focused on me.  What was she looking for?

         “Are you kidding me?”  She yelled at me suddenly.  I jumped back, startled by her second outburst and slowly made my way towards her door.  Jillyan promptly, and with a teeth grinding look on her face stomped over to me.  Before I could stop her, I felt her small fist smash against the side of my arm.  “Are you that stupid Adella?  Have you really not figured it out yet?”  Frustrated and more than a little annoyed I stomped back over to her bag she’d dropped on the floor and began to unpack her stuff.  “Adella, get away from my stuff!!  We’re not supposed to be here and you know I’m right so just let go.” 

         “No” I said, determined to get answers.  “What do you know that I seem to be completely oblivious to?  And why did you hit me?”  I was so angry I could see the white hot flashes of yellow sparks across my eyes again but that wasn’t what stopped me from yelling, it was the thunder outside.  I didn’t particularly like storms and wished it would just go back to raining.

         “I” Jillyan stammered, “I can’t really tell you.  Mom and dad, they…um…well I just can’t tell you.”  I knew at that point she’d promised our parents not to talk.  I looked down at her softening my eyes.  Jillyan hated to break promises to anyone but most especially to our parents. 

         “That’s ok, Jilly-bean.  Can you give me a hint without telling me anything too important?”  I hoped she’d be able to help me out without breaking her promise.  So I gave my hand at guessing for hints.  “Does it have to do with me being adopted?”  She nodded.  “Ok, how about my being so tall and having red hair?”  Again she nodded.  “Alright, umm, what about…”  I stopped, I couldn’t think of anything that would help me without interfering with her promise. 

She looked back and forth from the window to me with a hard expression.    “What are you doing?”  Her pointy little fingers started jabbing towards the window and then back at me so I figured she wanted me to look out the window.  I looked out and all I could see were clouds floating by, some gray and some white.  The sky looked really confusing, like it wasn’t sure if it wanted to rain or not.  I kinda felt that way myself.  I couldn’t tell if I should be annoyed with her for not telling me or sympathetic to her for the situation she was in.  Finally annoyance got the better of me and I saw the clouds get incredibly dark at about the same time.

“What, what can’t you tell me?”

“You’re a horrible guesser you know that?” she yelled at me again, getting just as frustrated as I was.  “I should probably just tell you flat out.  With mom and dad gone, we both need to know as much as possible so we can get them back.  I just can’t break my promise.  You’re gonna have to figure it out.  Read your pendant!!” 

I looked down at the pendant Jazin and Lia had just recently given me.  They told me it would mean something more to me one day and only I would know what it meant.  Carefully, I unclasped the chain and placed the small oval shaped pendant in my hand.  I never really looked at it closely before but it seemed I should give it a more careful look.  The front was simple enough.  It had a small nature scene with trees and a field with a small river running through it along the bottom and a few clouds roaming the sky.  I thought the trees were to remind me of my walks in the forest. Lia knew how much I enjoyed sitting in the forest so I thought it was just a token to remind me of home.  I flipped the little pendant over and over again not really noticing anything else until suddenly I saw a silver scraping across the back.  I paused to look at it more closely. 

Just look up and inside for answers. It was a simple enough engraving but I wasn’t sure what it meant.  How could I not have seen this before?

Well, that doesn’t make a bit of sense, I thought to myself.  Jillyan was still scowling towards me.  What was the point; neither of us was going to back down in this argument so I decided to sway things more towards my side. 

“Fine, Gavin’ll talk to me.”  I said loud enough, hoping he’d hear me.  I stuck my tongue out at her and proceeded to head back down stairs.  As I reached the top stair Jillyan ran out of her room and grabbed me by the arm.  I looked down at her watering green eyes, knowing she wanted to tell me but didn’t want to betray our parents trust.  “Did Gavin promise them as well?”  I asked, hoping to reassure her that she would be at no fault if I found out what I wasn’t supposed to know.  She shook her head ‘no’ but I knew by the expression on her face she still felt guilty about it.  “I’ll tell them I figured it out on my own” I whispered in her ear.

When I looked back at her, her eyes were starting to clear and a hint of a smile started to spread across her face.  I winked at her and said, just loud enough for Gavin to hear, “Oh, I give up!  I’m going to my room.”  I threw my hands up in the air quite melodramatically and shook my head.  When I got to my room I slammed the door for good effect and sat on my bed.

         Just look up and inside for answers, I kept repeating the words in my head over and over.  Well, I was inside the house, but if I looked up here I’d see the dark oak wood beams and straw thatched ceiling above me.  Jillyan wanted me to look outside before but if I looked up out there I wouldn’t be able to look inside.  “Just look up, and inside for answers” I said it allowed this time, hoping it would make more sense.  It didn’t.  I was getting confused again so I decided to go sit next to my window hoping if I looked up while still inside something might come to me.  The dark clouds that had been building before were confused again.  White, then dark ones would criss-cross each other as they drifted by.  What was she talking about? 

As I watched the puzzling clouds decide what they wanted to do I started to feel calmer.  At least the clouds were just as confused as I was!  I chuckled out loud to myself thinking how odd it was they were so mixed up.  I was starting to feel more relaxed looking at the clouds and just as that feeling entered my thoughts the perplexed clouds cleared away, or at least the gray ones.  Just as quickly as the calm feeling came and the gray clouds left, my confused feeling returned, as did the clouds.  “What on earth is going on?” I mumbled aloud to myself. 

I lay down on my bed and thought about it and I thought over the morning that has passed.  It was very rainy earlier today, when I was crying.  A twig on my floor reminded me of how the wind had burst through my window and blew all the rain and debris inside.  I went to close the window, and I remember I wasn’t crying anymore and by the time I reached the window the clouds were gone!  Jillyan had been caught in the freak storm and clung to the scarecrow.  I went to town, thinking about the beautiful trees on the path to town and the sky was clear then. 

Staring out of my window I began to think to myself, how on earth could clouds be confused with me?  What happened in town?  Wayde told me about my parents and I started to see flashes of yellow.  Well, a lot of people see different colors when they’re scared or angry, don’t they?  But my eyes were gray too, that isn’t something I’ve heard of before.  What did those flashing white and yellows remind me of?  Flashing lights, gray haze, rumbling in my ears…

”NO!!”  I screamed allowed as a realization began to enter my mind.  “It’s not possible!” 

The white and yellow flashes, those couldn’t have been…I thought to myself.  “It’s not POSSIBLE!” I shrieked.  I was starting to panic and I looked down at my hands, they’d begun to turn a grayish misty color that looked a lot like clouds.  I jumped to my window though I already knew what I was going to see.  I was right, the clouds were back, only now they were thicker and darker, and resembled my skin.  It couldn’t be!  This kind of thing didn’t happen.  I was weird enough; I didn’t need this, whatever it was, too! 

“Just look up and inside for answers.”  I whispered stunned at how much sense that now made.  The sky reflected me.  How could that be?  How is that possible?  There was no denying it, and I knew without a doubt now that it made sense in an extremely odd way.  I turned, left my room and went down the stairs again almost running to find Gavin.  He had not moved from his position.  He was looking directly at me with those perfect and sinuous blue eyes of his and I felt a shiver down my spine.  His eyes made me feel like there might be hope for my terrifying situation.