The Rainbow Maker's Tale (16 page)

For a moment it seemed she was
going to blush, which ignited my curiosity immeasurably at what
might have been occupying her thoughts. Then her face cleared, and
when she spoke I was surprised by her answer.

“I was thinking about a friend
of Ami’s who just eloped.” Her tone was dismissive and I waited for
the flippant shrug of the shoulders that would normally accompany
such a statement. It would confirm that there was a more
significant point behind her words. There was no shrug, but I still
felt sure that there was something more.

“Oh?” I prompted, barely
uttering the question, hoping to draw out more without distracting
her.

It worked. Cassie paused for a
few seconds, her eyes focused in concentration, before she began
telling me about Ami and her reaction to a friend’s elopement a few
weeks earlier. I felt halfway normal, like Cassie might actually
view me as a friend, as I listened to the story and her
observations. Unfortunately, her words reminded me of my own
problems with the Married Quarter and people
eloping
.

* * *

It didn’t take us long to reach
Park 42 and I was pleased when Cassie appeared impressed by the
wild landscape we were walking into. It was such a welcome contrast
to the bland residential streets we left behind us. If she liked
this, she would love the surprise I was planning for her, I was
sure.

A little voice in the back of
my mind was nagging at me.
Walking deep into the park might not
be the best way to get the answers you want from Cassie
…

Right now Cassie was turning
slowly on the spot taking in her surroundings. I watched as she
twirled, her figure alternately brightening, then dimming in the
dappled light that drifted between leaves of the overhanging trees.
I really did not care about my plan, right then. The voice fell
silent.

“I think it’s beautiful because
it’s uncontrolled,” I said, as we walked close together beneath the
green canopy.

The sense of Cassie’s body so
close to mine made my arm tingle and I struggled to keep my voice
neutral, understanding now why Cassie made me feel this way. In
silence we walked deeper into the park.

It was only as we began to make
our way across the open land that I looked down at Cassie’s feet
and noticed her flimsy shoes. The grass we were trudging through
was thick and tufted in yellow clumps – I knew the terrain was
going to get worse before it got better. “Are you sure you’re going
to be OK walking?” I pointed to her shoes.

“I should be fine,” she
dismissed me easily, after glancing at my own shoes, which
admittedly weren’t much different to hers. “As long as there’s no
mud or major rock climbing to contend with, I’m OK,” she added.

“Good,” I nodded, “let’s
go!”

I paced away towards the hills
rising from the ground nearby and sensed Cassie keeping close
behind me. After a short while – hearing her breathing becoming
more rapid – I realised that she was trotting to maintain this
speed. My walking speed hadn’t even registered with me until I
realised Cassie was struggling…I felt perfect, normal…but I was
better
than normal now, wasn’t I?

For the first time, I really
considered the physical improvement I’d seen from the gene therapy:
I felt better than good. This realisation of my improved fitness
didn’t help Cassie, though. Without being obvious I slowed down a
little and took smaller steps so that she could walk comfortably
alongside me. We maintained an easy silence as we went now, and I
let Cassie spend the time absorbing the beauty of our surroundings,
as I focused on analysing the physical improvements in my body.

Once the vegetation became
thicker I slowed to pick my way more carefully between the trees
and high-growing shrubs, ensuing that there were no loose roots or
branches to trouble Cassie as she followed behind. I felt as though
I could have sprinted up the hill today, everything felt like a
challenge to test my new strength and improved fitness…but I
didn’t. We walked in single-file now and I glanced behind
frequently to check that Cassie was OK. Every time I looked she was
fine and I realised that it was just an excuse for me to look at
her. I shook my head recognising my own stupidity: I really was a
lost cause.

“Do you come here a lot?”
Cassie asked me a while later, as I paused to pull aside a small
branch blocking the path and held it away from her as she passed
by.

“Sometimes,” I replied,
shrugging to downplay the white lie I’d told.

My second home
was the
only place I would normally allow myself freedom to think and feel
what I wanted, but that was before I’d met Cassie. I found I was a
different person around her. Someone I actually
liked
being.

“It’s nice and quiet here – I
don’t think it’s very popular – so it suits
me
well,” I
added jokily, smiling as she met my gaze. Sometimes Cassie had a
particular way of looking at me that really made me feel as though
she
knew
me. She was looking at me like that right now,
until her eyes sparkled mischievously and that magnetic intensity
faded.

“I don’t know about that,” she
countered lightly, responding to my teasing tone. “You seem to have
plenty to say whenever I’ve seen you.”

Cassie was obviously kidding,
but it was interesting to know that she had noticed the difference
in my behaviour. Perhaps this was a good opportunity for testing
what she actually thought of that?

“Have you not considered that
it is simply the effect
you
have on me?” My jesting only
half-masked the serious implication behind my words.

Cassie blushed,
self-consciously dropping her head and attempting to disguise her
reaction by carefully examining her shoes. Her response
seemed
natural enough and I turned away, not wanting her to
fall flat on her face, just because she was avoiding making eye
contact with me. I had only taken a few steps when she replied.

“I’m sure
that’s
the
case.” Cassie’s words were heavily sarcastic – overly so, in fact.
I might have bought her attempt to sound dismissive if her voice
hadn’t been trembling with suppressed emotion when she spoke. There
was obviously some feeling beneath her exaggerated words: but was
it fear of being caught in a lie or because she felt something for
me? I just couldn’t tell and that irritated me more than
anything.

“Truer than you think,” I
muttered in frustration, low enough that she wouldn’t hear.

“Where are we heading to?”

My feet froze in place. “Why?
Are you tired already?” Was she just trying to change the subject
or scared of how far we were going from civilisation?

Cassie hadn’t answered and I
was turning to check she was OK when she banged into my back. “Oof
– sorry,” she apologised staggering backwards.

Instinctively my hands flew
out, grabbing her loosely around the shoulders to stop her falling
as she lost her balance. It took a second or two for her feet to
find traction on the path and as she straightened up – drawing
closer to me – I felt a familiar expansion inside my chest, as
though I was filling my lungs with huge amounts of air, even when I
knew I wasn’t breathing.

Love..?
I wondered
distantly, through the familiar fog that appeared and confused my
mind whenever she came close to me. Too close.

Cassie was only inches away
now, almost embraced in my arms but not quite. I was utterly
powerless, holding on longer than I needed to; wanting to pull her
closer still. It was only when I felt her cool breath on my face
and closed my eyes that the spell was broken and I was able to free
her. It was certainly a reluctant gesture.

“So
are
you tired?” I
repeated, opening my eyes once more and searching her face for an
answer. I hoped desperately – even though I knew I shouldn’t – that
we would not have to turn back now.

“No, I’m not tired. I just
wondered where you’re taking me?”

“Are you scared to be alone
with me?” I taunted, deliberately not answering her question.

Her face brightened as she
teased me back. “Why should I be nervous?”

“Well, there’s always the
possibility that I might not take you back…”

“I’m sure I’d find my own way
if necessary,” she said, dismissing my threat with a joke. “The
space station is big, but it’s not
that
big!”

“I’m sure you would,” I
conceded, dipping my head towards the ground in a deferential bow.
“That still doesn’t mean I would let you leave, though.”

“You didn’t answer my question
you know?”

“I know,” I replied, smiling to
myself, as I walked away.

“So…?” She prompted a few
moments later, drawing the word longer than necessary, showing a
touch of irritation with my childish behaviour.

I couldn’t help myself:
something inside me was intent on frustrating her.

“So….” I repeated, imitating
her drawling tone as well as I could, whilst resisting the urge to
turn around to look at her. “I’m taking you somewhere I like to go
when I need some freedom. I think you’ll like it.”

It was best to keep my answer
simple, so I left it at that and we continued upwards. Our silent
ascent was only interrupted now by the hammering that came from my
chest, each time I paused to remove a branch from her path. When
Cassie’s eyes met mine, the crackle of energy I felt pass between
us would burn into me. Once again, even though I knew it shouldn’t,
it gave me hope for something I shouldn’t be hoping for.

“Here we are,” I announced as
we broke through the final scrubby bushes at the end of the trail.
Immediately I was greeted by the familiar, but always startling,
view of the park stretching out from beneath my feet.

Not wanting to ruin the
surprise for Cassie’s first visit here I turned back towards her
and eagerly held out my hand, so that I could pull her the last few
steps into the best possible position to appreciate the view as
soon as she made the crest of the hill. She smiled easily as her
fingers closed around mine, her skin smooth and warm beneath my
light grip. With a small heave Cassie stood beside me on the small
rocky outcrop that we’d climbed to. I watched with satisfaction as
she focused on the scene before us and almost forgot to let go of
her hand. Almost.

“Oh…my…wow!” She stammered
incoherently. “I mean…just…WOW!”

Moving away from her I went to
lean against one of the larger trees that shaded the top of the
hillside and hid it from the sheer rock face that rose behind us.
The thick branches, covered in a warm brown bark were overshadowed
by thousands of small, pale green leaves and softened the harsh
appearance of the stark, grey rock above.

I chuckled to myself as I saw
her spinning chaotically on the spot: it was pretty much the same
way I’d behaved the day Scarlett and I had found the path. There
was so much to see and it was such an unfamiliar perspective to
view the Family Quarter from. On your first time it felt as though
you didn’t have enough eyes to take in all the information you
wanted to. And as far as I knew, she was only the third person to
see this.

“What do you think?”

Cassie’s head flicked rapidly
from side to side before she appeared to consciously slow her
movements and began pausing to take one long, searching glance
after another.

There was no answer.

Linking my arms loosely in
front of me I left her undisturbed and whilst she was distracted I
allowed myself the guilty pleasure of simply watching her. Her
chest swelled gently as she breathed and I found myself staring at
the narrow band of bare skin Cassie’s day-suit exposed: the small
indentation at the base of her throat, then lower. Catching myself,
I forced my gaze higher – just in case she saw me. Cassie looked
almost severe when she was concentrating and she was certainly
focused on the view right now. Her lips moved minutely, as if she
were voicing questions and answering them, without ever speaking
aloud. A small strand of hair had caught against her lips, but she
seemed blissfully unaware of it. I wished I could lean across and
brush it away from her face. But I didn’t, of course.

“I take it you like it then?” I
laughed, repeating my earlier question.

At last Cassie’s gaze flickered
towards me – accompanied by a self-conscious smile – before she
turned back to the view, but still there was no reply. I grinned
now: speechless was as good an answer as any.

Relief washed over me that
Cassie didn’t seem to be discouraged by the fact I obviously spent
a lot of time in such a remote place, nor was she suspicious as to
how I’d found it in the first place, which I felt some of our peers
– and certainly our parents – would be. The more time I spent with
her just made me think that she
was
different to the others
– different from me still, but that wasn’t a bad thing. An echo of
an earlier realisation swept over me: I liked the person I became
when I was with her.

“I can’t believe that something
like this exists in the station,” Cassie murmured, finally breaking
her silence.

“I know.” The awe in her voice
gave me the most satisfaction, I think I could have felt, at
sharing this with her.

She was moving around now,
stepping closer towards the lip of the rock ledge to look out
further across the wide vista. Pushing away from the tree and
unfolding my arms I followed her, allowing myself to move closer
than I would normally when we were together, surrounded by others.
Her hip brushed against my leg as I moved in and I found myself
imagining all sorts of things, before I was reminded of the
real
reason we were here: finding out if Cassie was my
friend, or a threat.

“You can’t see this place from
the residential zones, because the rock is so similar to the grey
external walls at the edges of the station,” I told her, “it was
only when I was hiking out this way one day that I came across
it.”