The Siren (14 page)

I made a point of avoiding the handful of people who took notice of me over the years if I could. Mostly for fear of exactly what had happened with Jillian today: that I would see their faces again in the one place I never hoped to. But it seemed that he didn’t remember me from that day. And though it made me blush to think it, I was glad if that was the case. I looked horrible at the time. Here my skin was still glowing a little, my hair was damp and a little curly, and I was beautiful in this dress. I wanted him to think I was pretty. I was surprised by my own vanity.

I was full of conflicting emotions. Sorrow and joy, love and hate, confusion and clarity all fought in my heart at the same time. But I didn’t have to think about it for too long.

“And here we are, madam,” he said, striding across the front lawn of a beach house. It hadn’t been a very long walk at all. The house was two stories tall. Not a huge house, but by no means cramped. It was white but faded and had light blue shutters. There was a short driveway with a car in it and a small walkway that lead from the driveway to the porch. I could see lights on inside. The house looked lived in. There was a pair of shoes outside the door and a blanket draped over a chair. A small edge of a garden lined the porch— enough greenery to make it attractive, but small enough to not be too much work. The house was old fashioned, but it still seemed new. It had personality. I felt warm almost immediately.

Looking around, I saw that the backyard must end in rocks by the coast; the Ocean spread out as the backdrop for the little house. I’ll bet he would think that was a beautiful view. Before today, I might have as well. Looking to the left, I saw a patch of grass that ended in a dense wooded area. The road curved back, and there were other houses much farther down in that direction, away from the Ocean. To the right there were a few more houses to be seen before the road turned again. I saw hushed lights in the distance; there must be a town there.

“Julie, put on some coffee. We’ve got company,” he yelled as we walked through the front door. The stranger had kicked off his shoes before carrying me over the threshold and into the house. I was warmed by the familiar rule.

“Who’s here?” a girl’s eager voice called out. We had entered through the kitchen door. In all the houses I’d stayed in, I’d never seen one where the front door opened into the kitchen. Julie wasn’t in this room. She walked around the corner and stopped, stunned. Her eyes locked on my appearance in shock. I should have changed clothes. I wasn’t exactly planning on being rescued.

“Actually, I don’t know her name,” he said. “I found her like this, alone in the woods. She can’t speak, and she can’t remember much of anything. I think she might be in shock or something.”

“Get her in some blankets,” Julie said quickly. “BEN! Get down here!”

I heard someone grumble upstairs. Ben was slow to move, so Julie went to get him while my handsome rescuer sat me gently in a chair. He went over to a drawer and grabbed some paper and a pen.

“I know you can’t speak, but do you think you could write?” he asked.

I nodded my head.

He smiled encouragingly and set the paper on my lap. He sat there, waiting for me to write down something I needed. There was only one need on my mind, a thought that had troubled me for months.

What’s your name? I wrote.

“Oh! Oh, gosh, I’m sorry. I got so caught up there. I’m Akinli,” he said extending his hand to shake mine. I took it, gave a small shake, and took in the feel of his hand. It was warm, rough from working.

Akinli. I liked it. I’d never heard that one anywhere in all the places I’d traveled. It seemed appropriate that this person, who was set apart from the world in my mind, had a name that was his alone.

“And you are?” he asked.

Kahlen.

“Cah-lynn?”

It sounds like Kay- len.

“Oh. Kahlen. That’s a nice name. Hey, I at least got the Kay part, huh? Not bad.” He smiled. “It’s nice to meet you. You gotta last name, Kahlen?”

I shook my head. We only ever went by our first names as sisters. I didn’t even remember what my old one used to be.

“What happened to you?”

I couldn’t imagine a good story fast enough, so I just shrugged.

“Are you sure your family or someone isn’t looking for you?”

The Ocean might be looking for me. But that wasn’t something I could share.

I don’t remember anyone else. I just ended up in the woods.

“Wow,” he said. “Well it looks like you aren’t beat up at least. That’s good.”

I figured I should be more concerned about myself than I was. I had to ask him something that mattered so I wouldn’t seem crazy. I found a legitimate thought.

Where am I?

“Oh, umm… well, my house… is that what you mean?”

I shook my head.

“Maine. You’re in Port Clyde, Maine. Does that help?”

I had never heard of it before, but at least it was a starting point. I nodded.

Just then Julie returned with Lazy Ben by her side. He looked me over as Julie had and came to the same shocked expression.

“Dude, what the hell?” he said to Akinli.

“She’s lost. I’m trying to help her. What was I supposed to do? Leave her in the woods?”

I didn’t blame this Ben guy. He was on the right track. I didn’t look as evil as I was, but it was wise to be cautious with me. Ben looked a lot like Akinli. Not nearly as handsome in my eyes, but familiar.

“We should call the police,” Julie said. “If she’s missing, surely someone will be looking for her, and they would know.” I have observed that some women have mothering instincts even in their youth. I’ve seen little girls guard kittens with the fierceness of tigers, aware from the start of their lives that they were meant to protect whatever was placed in their care. Julie knew how to take care of others. She would be an amazing mother.

The police did come but couldn’t do much after all I had to offer them was a first name. An ambulance came, gave me a once over, and said, except for a funny sound in my lungs, I was perfectly healthy. I knew that already. No one was looking for me, of course, so all of this fanfare was for nothing. I felt guilty for putting this on them all, but I was greedily taking in these few moments with Akinli. I’d have to go away soon. I just wanted to save a few more of his expressions and his voice. Maybe they would help the years go by faster. I’d earned that by now; I deserved some comfort.

I was honestly dreading walking out of these doors. I didn’t know where to go next. I lived my life as a nomad, but I usually had a plan. I couldn’t go say good-bye to Jillian, so that was out. There was no way I was going back to the school. Thank goodness I had cleared out my room. All I’d have to do now was send a note with some excuse, and they’d move on without me. I guess I could go back to Elizabeth and Miaka. I didn’t want to get in the Ocean again though. Not this soon. I’d just hide out somewhere for a little while… until I had a plan.

I don’t know if I was supposed to or not, but I heard one of the officers speaking to Akinli, Ben, and Julie in the kitchen. The EMTs had finished their once-over and left me huddled in excessive blankets in the living room. I was the hot topic of conversation.

“What we can do is take her down to the station. We can put her in a cell for the night, and in the morning if no one’s looking for her, we can try to set her up with a home in the city. She doesn’t know how old she is, so she might not be able to take care of herself legally. She’d belong to the state. At this point, that’s all I know to do.”

“Wait. Put her in a cell? Like a criminal?” Akinli said, outraged at the thought. “Or a home, like some abandoned pet?”

“I know it seems severe, but she’ll be alone tonight and perfectly safe. Getting her into a house shouldn’t be a problem, and, confused as she is, it’d probably do her good to be around other people; find a place she can settle.” The officer was trying to calm them.

“That sounds kind of harsh though,” Julie said. She didn’t even know me, and she came to my defense.

“I understand it sounds bad, but there are two things we have to think about. One, we want to keep her safe. This girl might be a danger to herself. And two, we have to protect other people from her. She doesn’t have any identification, and we don’t know how she got here. Who knows what she’s done? We can check her prints to figure out who she is, but that’ll take a while. We don’t want anyone to be hurt by some unknown girl. She needs to be watched.”

So they were going to put me in a jail cell. I wondered if this body was strong enough to bend bars. If they were only going to keep me in there a night, that shouldn’t be a big deal. I could wait a night. Then, whenever they took me away, I’d just run. I wouldn’t have to stop. I’d be halfway across the country before they got out of the state. But in the middle of my scheming, I heard Akinli’s voice.

“What if she stayed here with us?” he asked. I couldn’t see it, but the silence let me know they were all staring at him.

“Dude, the cop just told you the girl could be nuts. Yeah, why don’t we just let a psycho move in? Great idea.” Ben had the same strange sarcasm as Akinli.

“Ben, are you seriously telling me you’re scared of a girl in a prom dress who can barely walk and can’t speak. Ohhhh, she’s sooo dangerous.” Yes, they were definitely related. I smiled to myself. I was dangerous, but I was glad Akinli didn’t see me that way. He paused for a moment. “Besides, I carried her here, and she was trembling. She’s scared. I think something bad happened to her, and I don’t think she should be put in a jail cell after whatever she went through.”

Had I really trembled? I didn’t know I could do that.

“I don’t think I feel comfortable with a stranger in the house,” Julie mumbled. She clearly felt guilty for feeling that way.

“You just said that all that other stuff was a bad idea, too. Let her stay. She’s perfectly harmless. She can stay in the guest room, and I’ll sleep on the couch and keep an eye on her,” Akinli said.

There was more silence.

“Come on. There’s no telling what she’s been through. She’s all alone. I can’t stand someone being put in jail for the simple crime of getting lost,” he said.

More silence.

“Officer, is that okay?” Julie asked.

“If you want to take temporary guardianship of her, that’s fine. Eventually, we’ll have to do some legal work, but for tonight, at least, that’s up to you,” he replied.

There was more silence. And then Ben spoke up.

“If I get hacked to death in the night, I’m haunting your ass,” he said, obviously to Akinli.

The officer laughed.

“It’ll be fine,” Akinli replied.

And with that, it was settled. I got a few more moments with this wonderful boy.

I figured out that Akinli, like me, must be a guest here. He wouldn’t have to ask permission otherwise. And though Ben and Julie had allowed me to stay, they were nervous about it. After the circus of people left, I didn’t see Ben or Julie again. I think they locked themselves in their room.

I don’t know how long I sat there in the living room, but after the house was quiet, Akinli walked down the stairs. He looked at me with a gentle smile. I remembered that smile.

“I don’t know if anyone told you, but you’re going to be staying here tonight. I hope that’s okay with you.”

I smiled and nodded. As if he had to ask my permission.

“Are you hungry at all?” he asked.

I shook my head no.

“Are you sure? It’s been a long night. You’re welcome to anything here.”

I smiled and shook my head again.

“Okay. But you must be getting tired. I’ll go get something… less…” he waved his hands around in circles looking for the word, “frilly for you to sleep in. You’ll be staying in there,” he said, pointing to a door behind me. He vanished upstairs again. I went to the door and took a peek.

As planned, I was going to be staying in a guest room just off the living room. By the floor boards and where it was placed, I could see this room had once been a porch. Now it was enclosed for some reason or another and a new porch had been built outside it. The room had a large bay window that faced the Ocean. The middle window was wide open. They must have a low crime rate in Port Clyde.

Her waves were quiet. I looked at Her and, like a child, stuck out my tongue. I guess I wasn’t really breaking rules right now, but it was the closest I could get. And She wouldn’t know about it, and it felt freeing. I don’t know if I’d ever done anything for the sole purpose of being spiteful. But then again, I wasn’t staying with Akinli for spite alone. He returned to find me in the guest room.

“This is the best I can do. Julie’s already asleep, and I don’t think much of what I have is going to fit you.” He handed me a pair of boxer shorts that would no doubt need a safety pin to stay up and a green shirt that I guessed was too small for him. Boys never throw away things they should. He closed the door behind him, and I changed into his clothes. I felt strange about that. It seemed inappropriate, but my other option was to wear the dress all night. I couldn’t handle having Her on me right now, and I didn’t want to hurt Akinli’s feelings.

I emerged from the room to find him on the couch where I had been earlier. He was sitting in pajamas of his own and watching TV. Sweet, typical, American boy. I found the paper from earlier and asked for a safety pin, which took several minutes to find. Once I was sure my bottoms were going to stay up, I relaxed a little. I felt exposed like this.