Authors: Michelle Love
EDEN
“This is crazy Eden. We can’t do this. We have no idea of where we are going or how to get back here,” Alyssa says.
“Our senses will be different once we transform, don’t worry,” I remind her. “All you have to do is follow me. Once we see him, I’ll pick him up with my claws, and you’ll move in underneath me. I’ll get as close to you as I can and drop him onto your back. He’ll instinctively put his arms around your neck and hold tight to you. Then I’ll lead you back here. It’ll be easy, Alyssa.”
Her frown tells me she has little faith, even though I’ve shared my premonition with her. She’s so unlike herself this evening. “Yeah, that sounds so easy. I hope it goes like that, Eden.”
“Okay, let’s go,” Eden tells me, and then transforms instantly, a loud clap of thunder sounds out around him.
I follow his lead and jump into the air, transforming into my bird form. I can hear and see so much more clearly now. The night doesn’t look nearly as dark as it did before.
We fly away from behind the little shack in the back of the house that we were brought to, and we will bring the little boy back to, once we have him. The sweet smell of a spicy chicken cooking somewhere fills my nostrils.
I look down to see the trees we’re flying close to, hoping they will hide us from the radar of both South and North Korea. With them, both so ready to kill each other, what we are doing could start a war of great proportion. The need to do this as quickly as possible weighs heavily on me.
Eden falls out of the sky just in front of me. I look to see he’s found a clearing he’s landing in. I follow him down. A huge bolt of lightning fills the sky, and the rain begins to fall immediately.
‘Damn, that was fast, Eden,’ I send to him.
‘I told you there would be a sudden storm,’ he sends back to me.
We walk under the cover of the thick trees. They keep the rain from battering us too badly. The wind howls around us.
My eyes scout the area for the little boy. It’s difficult to see with the rain and wind. A bolt of lightning brings a light to the wooded area, and I think that I see movement. My ears pick up a cry. I move toward the sound that’s faint, because of the howling wind.
‘There he is, Alyssa. Just keep an eye on him. We have to wait for the storm to subside before we pick him up. Don’t let your eyes off of him.’
The little boy is crouching down, holding his head down on his knees as he wraps his arms around them, keeping himself in a tight little ball. I find I want to transform back into my human form and go pick him up and comfort him. I want to do this so badly, it’s hard to stop myself.
‘You can’t do that, Alyssa,’ Eden’s voice rings out in my head.
‘He’s so tiny, Eden. He’s freezing and so afraid. I have to do something to help him,’ I think to him.
‘You are, Alyssa. You’re taking him to a family that will love and care for him. This is a hard time for him, but it will soon be over and great things are ahead for him after this. Have patience, the storm won’t last much longer,’ he tells me.
The little boy hasn’t seen us yet. I shudder at the thought of how afraid he’ll be. As if this storm and the fact he’s lost isn’t enough for him to go through, he has to see a couple of monsters as well.
A huge bolt of lightning, then an enormous clap of thunder rings out, and as suddenly as the rain started, it stops.
I can’t believe the weather here. Its harsh to say the very least.
I look to see the boy is still huddled up against a tree, not moving.
‘I need for him to stand up. I’m going to fly up and make a small sound. I need you to be ready to fly underneath me, so you can catch him, be ready Alyssa,’ Eden sends me, and then he flaps his huge wings, lifting his body up off of the ground.
My eyes are trained on the tiny boy. I hear Eden shriek, and the boy’s head turns up to the sky. He screams and stands up, running as fast as his little legs will go. He’s heading right towards me, but he doesn’t see me as he keeps looking back at Eden as he follows him with his claws stretched out to pick him up.
I flap my wings to bring myself up into the air, readying myself for when Eden picks him up. The boy stops as I rise up in front of him and screams again.
I cringe at the fact that we’re terrifying him. I see his eyes full of fear as Eden grabs him up by his shoulders, lifting him off of the ground. The child’s screams climb up a notch and hurt my ears.
I fly underneath Eden as quickly as I can. I feel the weight of the boy as he falls onto my back. He almost weighs nothing.
I’m reminded that this poor child has been neglected terribly. This is his only chance at survival. Maybe one day he’ll look back to this horrible scene and realize we helped him.
His tiny arms wrap around my neck, I can feel his heart beating wildly. I hum the same tune Eden hummed to me in my premonition of being killed by that Stiles man.
It vibrates my body. I hope it will help this poor child to not be so afraid. It seems to work, he’s not screaming anymore, at the very least.
The sound of people underneath us, running through the trees, fills my ears. The voices sound excited, but I can’t understand any of what they’re saying.
A beam of light shines up through the trees. I see Eden avoid letting it catch him, they seem to only be aware of his presence, so my cargo is safe.
‘Alyssa, I have to take them a little off the path. You have to make it back to the house on your own. I’ll be right behind you as soon as I lose them,’ he sends me.
‘Damn, I’m not sure where it is,’ I send to him.
‘Focus, girl, you can follow the smells and sounds. Just remember those things as you get closer,’ he sends and then flies away from me.
The lights follow him, and I’m left alone with my precious cargo. I fly in the darkness, looking down, trying to see anything I might recognize. I remember that the house I need to go back to has a small blue light in the back of it. I look for that. The smell of the chicken cooking brings my attention to the fact I’m getting closer to the house.
The little boy on my back is holding tightly to my neck. His head touches mine as he repositions himself on my back. His thoughts fill my mind.
A room appears in my head, a dark room full of small children. Some cry and others stare blankly at the walls. I feel a pain in the pit of my stomach. It’s because I feel hungry.
The child on my back has felt hungry most of his little life. I find that so sad. There’s no reason that any child should ever feel like that. I pray this child grows up to make a difference in his home country.
The sudden smell of laundry pricks at my nose. There was a clothesline in the backyard of the people who will take care of the child.
I move towards the smell. I can’t believe Eden had to leave me like this. I have no real knowledge of where I am.
‘You’re on the right track. Keep following your senses. You are almost there,’ I hear Eden’s voice in my head.
The blue light comes out of the darkness. The little man and lady are standing by the shack in the back. I drop down lower and land in front of them.
The lady rushes to take the little boy off of my back. She has to pull at him as he’s holding so tightly to my neck. He finally releases his grip on me. He begins to cry as the lady carries him away, quickly.
The man stands and looks at me. I hear the sound of wings beating through the air, and Eden lands next to me. The man bows to us, and says something I don’t understand, and then he turns and runs into the house.
I walk behind the shack and transform back into my human form. Eden is hurrying as well. We have to hurry our driver is waiting down the street for us. We can’t have anyone see us at this house.
“Well, that wasn’t too hairy was it?” Eden asks me.
“I lived through it, but it could’ve gone a little smoother. I hate the little guy had to be so afraid. I hope he can forget about all of it,” I say as I follow Eden down a dirt alley.
“He’s alive and safe now. That fact trumps all the negative aspects of it,” he says as he walks up to the waiting car.
He opens the door, and lets me get in the back seat first, then slides in beside me. “Back to the real world,” I say as I lay my head on the back of the seat.
“The real world, huh?” Eden asks me.
“You know the one where we can be just you and me. No birds, no missions, no crazy dream life. Just the two of us, back in our home, alone. I’m finding I’ve missed that,” I tell him.
“I have too. I can’t wait to get you back home, in our own bedroom,” he says.
“I miss my Jacuzzi. I could really use it about now,” I say.
Eden laughs at me. “You and your bathtub, Alyssa. Here I am, talking all about how I want to get you back into our bed, and you can only think about that tub.”
I smile at him. “It’s more than a bathtub, Eden. I will be happy to get back to it all. Back to some alone time with my husband. It’ll be nice.”
I didn’t dream about life with Kyle as I slept on the plane on our way here. I made another wish. I wished that Kyle and Laura would be happy and have a healthy family. I guess our dreams would’ve been unhealthy for him and his new family.
I turn my head away from Eden so he can’t see my face. I feel a tear run down my cheek. That part of my life is over, and I have sadness in my heart about it.
I will never see that baby in real life. I will never really feel Kyle’s love for me in that way. I pray my selfishness lessens with time.
I wipe the tear from my cheek and take in a deep breath. “When we get back I think that you and I should take a trip all alone. Maybe to the Caribbean, I bet we could get a private island, and stay on it for a while. Just the two of us. I want to be with you and only you,” I tell Eden.
“That sounds nice, Alyssa. I’m not sure we can do exactly that, but I’m sure we can figure something out,” he tells me.
His hand touches mine and he sighs. “Alyssa, please don’t feel sad about never getting to see the baby in real life.”
“What?” I ask him.
“I can see your thoughts, remember?”
“Oh, yeah. I’m jet lagged or something. My mind is so scattered. The little boy and his horror at us kind of messed me up. I feel like crying, not only for him but for all the children going hungry and being neglected. How can our creator let these things happen?” I ask Eden.
“It’s not for us to question,” he tells me.
I sit up, finding myself mad at his words. “When do we question? When is it finally time to question?”
Eden smiles at me. “Alyssa, this serves no purpose.”
“That is your answer for everything. What does serve a purpose?” I yell.
Eden lifts my hand to his lips and places a kiss on it. “I have news for you, Mrs. Fontaine.”
So, he’s trying to divert my attention. I can’t be so easily manipulated. He, of all people, should know that.
“Oh, for the love of everything holy, Eden. Not another mission, not so soon. I’m exhausted, the long flight, the anxiety, the long flight back home. No, I can’t take anymore,” I whine.
“Okay, I won’t tell you then. Just rest, Mrs. Fontaine,” he says, softly.
I drop my head onto his shoulder. My eyes close, but my mind can’t stop.
What news does he have? Can it be any good at all? Oh, damn my curiosity!
I sit up and look at Eden. “Well, you have my mind going, so tell me before I go and make myself crazy.”
“No, you should rest. I can tell you another time,” he says.
I close my eyes again. Whatever he’s doing isn’t going to work on me. I’m exhausted. I will rest, I don’t even want to know what he has to say. I drift off for a minute, and suddenly I am being carried onto our jet.
“I can walk,” I say to Eden.
“Just stay asleep, Alyssa. I’m taking you to bed,” he whispers to me.
He lies me down on the bed in the jet’s bedroom. I feel him on the bed beside me, then he wraps himself around me. His hand rests on my stomach. His warm breath on my neck.
I turn my head to look at him, his face is about an inch away from mine. “I think I can hear your news,” I say, softly.
“You sure, Alyssa?”
His emerald eyes dance with his question. I look into them, trying to see what his mind has hidden from me. There is nothing but a black wall. Maybe I don’t want to know after all.
That damn curiosity I have overtakes me. “Eden! Yes, I’m sure.”
He looks into my eyes and smiles that smile which melts my insides. “When you turned into the bird I heard something different. I heard more than I usually do.”
I frown at him. “What are you talking about?”
“I heard your heart beat, it’s loud and strong,” he says.
“Oh, that’s cool. I hadn’t paid any attention to that. I’ll see if I can hear yours next time we turn into the birds,” I say, thinking to myself he made a bigger deal out of that information than it was worth.
I lay my head back down on his shoulder, but he takes my chin in his hand and pulls it back up, so I have to look at him. “Alyssa, that’s not all I heard. I heard your heartbeat, and I heard another one as well, a little heartbeat,” my husband tells me, then it all goes black.