There the three of them stood in the far right corner of the dining room, facing the large floor to ceiling windows. It was my best friend, my former crush, and the boy of my dreams – in the flesh. I walked to the center of the room, and stood on the once opulent and now worn area rug which adorned the mahogany parquet floor where a dining room table should have stood.
Neither of them appeared to see or hear me come in, as I had expected since I was a ghost, but they
knew
I was amongst them. They spun around in unison, and faced me. I wanted to see Bethany’s reaction to my sudden presence in her home, and I had to overcome the urge to hug Nikolas, who I thought of as a big brother, because I was dead, but instead, I instantaneously, like a moth to a flickering flame, locked eyes with Evan, and it happened at once.
A rush of heat stirred then shook through my soul like a tornado spiraling out of control. The blinding white currents blasted out in long jagged rods from my fingertips the same way they exited my body on the night of the storm. And just like that, with one last loud crackle, the lightning recoiled and diminished to mini stars on the tips of my fingers. My head swayed as the room dimmed. Questions raced through my mindless soul as I began to fall.
How could this boy, who I created in my mind, stand before me in flesh and bone? Thankfully to Evan's accelerated speed, I never hit the floor, which I believe I probably would have sunk through. In a fraction of a second, Evan dashed across the room, and I lay in his brawny arms. I found the entire scenario to be surreal. I wasn't sure if I had in fact fainted. Could it be deemed fainting if you’re dead? Just another inconceivable question to add to the mounting list.
Clearly I must be dreaming again, since he was rescuing me again it was the logical answer. It made sense, although not perfect. I gazed up at Evan. He was a vision of perfection, his flawless skin, no longer hidden by the shadows of the pines under the moonlight, made me want to reach up and touch his face. His eyes, turquoise in the slightly dimmed room, had the power to make me melt. He was far more beautiful in person than my memory of him in the dreams. His intense gaze sucked me in as I drowned in it.
He smiled and stared at me adoringly. Then he turned away from me, and grinned at Bethany and Nikolas, knowingly. Nikolas and Bethany stood gaping at Evan in disbelief. Evan effortlessly carried me into the living room, and laid me down on the long chaise lounge as if I were a breakable and costly piece of sculpture. Then he stood back, and appraised me, automatically making me jumpy.
“You are as beautiful as the day you left.” Evan said, in the most delicate tone. I couldn’t believe my eyes
or
my ears, and I couldn't tear my eyes away from him. Was I dreaming? I was speechless, numb, and terrified – a complex combination.
“… as the day you left”
Is what Evan had said, actually speaking to me, a dead person, he, the figment of my imagination. The fact that he had
spoken
to
me
made what he meant by the statement somewhat unimportant right now.
I shut my eyes really tight, and told myself to wake up. When I reopened them a few seconds later, it was as it was before I had closed them.
Three pair of eyes fixed on me. No, can’t be, I thought. I must be asleep, tucked snug in my warm bed. I had to be dreaming. I never died. But the notion was futile. I knew the certainty of my death.
“She came to us just as you said she would, Evan.” Bethany said, jubilantly. She leaned closer to the chaise lounge where I lay, still staring up at Evan’s immaculately chiseled face. All the while they peered at me with the curiosity of little children who’ve made the sudden discovery of a brand new toy.
Bethany turned to Nikolas with a radiant smile, and said, “It's time. We must prepare to make our return.”
“Yes, of course, except what does she remember? Perhaps we should determine that first. She looks to be in shock.” Nikolas was the voice of reason at that particular moment. He stepped closer to where I lay, and towered over me.
“I must be dreaming.” I said to myself.
“No, you’re not dreaming.” Bethany said, responding to what I hadn’t realized I said out loud. I searched her flawless face for answers, for an explanation, for an escape from the hysteria gradually taking over what remained of my sanity.
“Beth, what’s happened to me? How can you see… wait a minute… is
he
…
real
?” I said. I had finally found my voice, and blurted out the words in haste. They tumbled out in a staccato jumble like marbles out of a bag. All the while I eyed Evan suspiciously and tried to sit up.
Their faces revealed the same sudden despondency. The dead silence in the room made me tremble. I waited for an answer but Bethany said nothing, Nikolas shifted his eyes from me, and found something quite interesting with the lamp on the nearby table. Finally Evan answered, well sort of.
“Yes, Cordelia, of course I’m real, and we are all together now... once again.” Evan’s voice was gripping. Every word he spoke held me like a vice, which I couldn’t free myself of. I could only shake my head in bewilderment.
“I’m real…we are all together now … once again.”
“Once again?” I asked, and then swerved my gaze to Bethany in despair. “Beth…please. What’s going on?”
Evan reached out his hand to help me sit up comfortably. How is it that he can feel me? “I know you are confused and drained from everything that has transpired.”
“See, here’s the thing,” I said, in the weakest whimper, void of any genuine conviction. “I don’t understand what happened or is happening.”
“Your memory, particularly the memory of who you are, has not returned but will – soon.” Evan said, with an unwavering gaze.
“I know who I am.” I said, this time with enough conviction to spare. “I don't know
who
or
what
you are, and how it is that you can see me.
I
am
dead aren’t I?” I sat up straight and swung my legs off the chaise, demanding an answer. My words reverberated around the room as if they swung at them with invisible bats. I had to know how they were aware of my presence.
“Yes, you are… dead... but….” Bethany said, trailing off, and looking to Evan for guidance or to be rescued.
“But?” I would be choking right now if I was still able to breathe.
“I will do my best to answer all of your questions, in time. In the interim, I only ask for your patience since we are running out of time,” Evan said, as he was about to begin stroking my hair. I pulled away abruptly, and his hand was left hanging in midair.
“You’ve got to answer one,” I demanded, staring him straight in the eyes – the allure of their depth hadn’t any hold on me for that moment.
Evan sighed, but it seemed out of desperation, and not frustration. “Yes, of course, one.”
“Am I dead?” I asked, already knowing the answer
“Yes.” He said, eyeing me cautiously. I guess he was expecting me to be overcome with sobs or something.
“Who are you?” I asked, as I watched the corners of Evans lips sag. I presumed that I had offended him by my inquiry. Maybe I was annoying him for going over the limit on the questions, but at this point, I didn’t allow whatever he may be feeling to deter me. “Please tell me.”
Sadness flooded Evan’s face as he answered me. “My name is Evander, and I have come a long way to guarantee your secure return.” He looked me intently in the eyes, and this time I was swallowed up by the cobalt abyss, and felt the need to bolt out of the room, but my legs failed me.
“Ok, great, nice to meet you,
Evander
. The crazy thing is… I can only remember you from a dream.”
“Don’t fret, you will remember me.” Evan said, with a halfsmile that brightened the entire room.
“The temperature is rising,” Nikolas said, anxiously to Evan. “Ares must be proud of his last descendant.” Nikolas added as he marched to the other end of the chaise and stood by the large windows as if it were cooler there.
“Yes, well it doesn’t take much to perk Ares’ interest. A little violence keeps everything balanced, according to him. Victor has indeed pleased him.” Evan said with a light chuckle. His broad smile was infectious and Nikolas chortled along with him.
“Gentlemen, Victor is producing more heat than usual, and at a faster rate.” Bethany’s voice quivered. “He and his disciples must be on the hill.
We must leave
now
.”
“I can feel the heat as well.” Evan said, calmly.
“Who is Victor?” I directed my question to Bethany, and suddenly recalled the name from my dream. Could he be the same Victor, whose pack of beastly wolves chased Evan and I through the forest? Whoever he was, they seemed to fear him. Bethany completely ignored my question.
“Bethany?” I said, pleading to her with my eyes to answer me. She looked away as Evan began to speak.
“Nikolas, assure that our departure is successful before you transport.” Evan said. It sounded like an order.
“No!” Bethany said, in a harsh wail. “Nikolas can't stay behind, no one should. Evan, we must
all
leave together.” Bethany was adamant about not leaving her brother behind. Her hands were unsteady, and her normally tanned face became chalky. The heat continued to build drastically, and could actually be seen in waves as if the room was engulfed in flames. Any human being would’ve been burnt ashes in the wind like leaves in a bonfire floating up into the sky.
I wondered how they were able to sustain this turkey roast as I stood in the center of them, feeling trapped in a three point cell. They conversed amongst each other as if I wasn’t there. All of a sudden, I felt a wave of fear and panic wash over me like a bucket of frigid water being poured over my head. Where were they taking me? Before I could ask, Nikolas spoke up.
“It's alright,” Nikolas said, smiling and winking at Bethany. “I can handle it.” Nikolas nodded in agreement with Evan then peeked through the window curtains as if he suspected a prowler lurking by.
Shockingly, Bethany jolted across the room. She moved like static, quicker than the flap of a bee’s wings. She kept the same stance, and was now standing directly behind Nikolas. Sensing someone behind him, Nikolas spun around to face her. His expression was softened by her presence before him. Nikolas reached down, and brushed the subtle roundness of Bethany’s cheek with the back of his large hand. He traced her jaw line with his fingertip. Bethany wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her. He lowered his neck, and she whispered something into his ear that provoked smiles to emerge across their faces. I gasped when she kissed him. It was a kiss that lovers shared – long, passionate, and familiar, and I felt like I was intruding by watching them, in shock might I add.
Evan picked up on the look of astonishment on my face. “Bethany is
my
sister, not Nikolas’,” he said, confirming my earlier suspicions regarding their contrasting looks. I had always wondered and thought it peculiar that Bethany and Nikolas didn’t share one physical characteristic. Nikolas and I favored each other more than he and Bethany did. Although Nikolas’ smooth coppery tone made Bethany’s tan complexion appear pale. His long wavy hair, which extended down his back, and always wore in a ponytail, reminded me of the color of chestnuts splashed with shocks of Indian gold, starkly contrasting her wavy blond hair.
Evan didn’t lie. Bethany’s blue eyes mirrored his more than Nikolas’ piercing steel hued irises. Nikolas’ facial features were long, jagged, yet sculpted while Bethany’s features were small, soft, rounded, and similar to Evan’s.
Hugged “Although it pains me to break this up, I must,” Evan said, impatiently. “Victor is near. This room is well over two hundred degrees.”
Bethany and Nikolas were instantly beside me. I looked at my best friend and her lover, the fake older brother who I had grown to consider as my own, and wondered what else they had lied about.
“Bethany, please tell me what the hell is going on” How is it that the three of you can stand this inferno? Why aren’t you burnt to a crisp already?
Are you alive or ghosts…like me?” I said a lot louder than I had planned, and certainly harsher than Bethany was used to.
“Please Cordelia, now is not the time. You must trust us. Everything will be clear soon.” Bethany said, calmly.
“Trust you? I don't even
know
you.” I said, as I suspiciously eyed all three of them. Bethany clenched her jaw but held her tongue.
I desperately wanted to trust her, but for the first time since we’d become friends, I was apprehensive in doing so. I had been under the impression that there were no secrets between us, but I wasn’t certain of anything anymore. Not even the status of my death. The signs were there yesterday when she dashed from the cafeteria. I wasn’t about to accept Bethany’s evasiveness as the new normalcy.
“Of course you
know
us. Now we’re running out of time.” Bethany said, stepping closer to me as if she feared that I might make a run for it. The idea had already crisscrossed my mind a hundred times, and counting. “We must take you back. Our lives depend on it.” She added.
“Our lives?” I asked, confused and prepared to bolt. “I no longer have a life.”
“We know that you can’t comprehend the danger we are facing but it’s imperative that you place your trust in each of us. Your safety is the priority. Please allow us to begin our journey home.” Evan said, practically pleading. “Bethany was correct when she said our lives depend on our return home. Your life, especially.”
While Evan spoke, his eyes penetrated mine, and drew me in the way they had in the dream. I found myself wanting to trust him. But was it wise to put your faith in someone who just moments ago had only been someone you knew in a dream? The question itself was an enigma and unanswerable.
No matter how hard I tried, I found his existence daunting. If I didn't go with them, where would I go? I certainly couldn’t continue to wander the streets of Nickel City, a ghost hoping that this “Victor” person never caught up with me. I think the decision had already been made. They were leaving, and they weren’t going without me.