9/29/2017 0 Comments Voice in the Darkness - Part 3James leaned against the concrete wall outside the school room, whittling a small stick of wood with his knife. He didn’t take wood from the storerooms often, but when he did, it was to make someone smile. A very special someone.
The bell sounded for recess, and James put the tiny wooden rose carefully in his pocket. He closed up his knife and pushed off the wall to stand straight up when the heavy metal door opened. A myriad of children rushed out of the room, but he was surprised when a little voice called, “Hi, James!” He looked around at the waist-high kids to see the little girl from this morning glancing up at him, her fine, curly hair swinging in pigtails. She waved a little hand as she passed him, and then disappeared into the crowd once again. He stared bewildered, trying to find her again. “Hey,” a soft voice came from around the corner. He turned to look at a dark-haired, soft-skinned young woman, forgetting about the little girl. “Fancy meeting you here.” She smiled and crossed her arms as she approached. Her slim figure was covered in slightly brighter, and much less frumpy, clothes than everyone else’s. She was the mayor’s daughter. “Hey,” he smiled mildly, his heart fluttering. He played carefully with the wooden flower in his pocket. “How was class?” “Oh, fine,” she waved her hand in the air. “We were writing stories. You wouldn’t imagine what these kids think the world out there is like!” She smiled brightly, her dark eyes crinkling her white skin. “What did they think?” he asked nonchalantly. I need to wait for the perfect moment. “One little girl wrote about colors that no one has ever seen here in the bunker,” she began. James’ ears perked with curiosity. “She thinks that the world up there is such a magical, beautiful place where color is everywhere you turn,” she sighed, looking up at the dim light fixtures that hung al through the halls. “But…” her voice trailed off. “But what?” he asked quietly, touching a hand to her arm. “Anna?” She sighed and shrugged, as if it didn’t matter. A slight remnant of sadness lingered in her eyes as she shook her head and looked at him. “I just can’t see it being that way.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the shadow of a spirit hover over her. He bit his lip. “How do you know it’s not like that?” he said gently. “You’ve never been there before.” “Yes, but… My dad was the one who got the message seventeen years ago. He knows what’s best for us. We can’t go back to all that. And when I read all the history books and see the beauty and the horror of all time, I just…” She covered her mouth with her hands and looked down, shaking her head. It hit James like a brick, seeing her this way. If only that Stellarian would leave them alone! The rose. He wrapped a gentle arm around her. “Anna, I have something for you.” He pulled it out and presented it to her in the palm of his hand. It was full of detail and delicacy, a pale color and made of soft wood. With slender fingers and a sigh of awe, she picked it up and stared. “What is it? Did you make it?” Of course she wouldn’t know, he thought sadly. “It’s a rose. One of the flowers people used to give each other to show that they loved them.” His cheeks grew warm. She looked into his eyes, her own shining with tears, and smiled. “I love you, James.” “I love you, Anna.” The Stellarian still hovered as they embraced. “How was school?” Halley asked the little girl. “Good!” she replied, clutching three fat, ice-cube shaped crayons in her hands. Halley had taken her to the market, where old or homemade items were recycled and traded. It wasn’t a big business. Very few people had the resources to make useful things anymore. But it only took a little colored wax to create joy in a child. Kristie was beaming widely now. “I have some paper in the library if you want to color there,” Halley offered. “Yes!” Kristie exclaimed. “And then can we talk about the Stars?” Halley had to think for a moment before she realized that Kristie was talking about the Stellarians. Is she really old enough to know? she doubted. Maybe James wasn’t just being pessimistic. “Of course.” Halley said hesitantly. At this time of day, Kristie’s parents should have been worried about her. School had been out for an hour now. But Halley had found her waiting inside the room, rambling to James and Anna about how amazing the overworld would be when they went back. Her parents were nowhere to be found. Poor Anna. Halley had seen the pain and doubt behind her smile. She knew she wanted to see it, to live in that world. But everything about her refused to believe it could happen. And that heavy burden of a Stellarian on her back. If only it were physical, Halley would smash it to bits. They made their way into the library, and Halley flicked on the light. Inside the doorway, it was a cramped room with rolling carts lined with musty books. Halley breathed in the delicious scent. This was her space. They walked straight down the middle, as though through a tunnel, all the way to the back. Halley squeezed between the wall and the single desk, sitting in her swivel chair. Another metal chair stood against the same wall, and Kristie began pushing it toward the desk so she could use it. “Here you go,” Halley sighed as she pulled a sheet of paper out of the drawer. “Don’t use it all at once.” She winked. As she cracked open Odyssey and leaned back in the squeaky chair, the dust they had moved around in entering the room began to settle. It crossed her mind that maybe she should clean the little room, but being underground, it wouldn’t take long for more dust to gather. The sound of wax on paper began, a new, lulling sound for this place. Halley was about to delve into the epic poetry when she remembered why they were here. She closed the book. “Kristie,” Halley sighed, setting the book back on the desk. “You wanted to hear about Stellarians?” She nodded, still intently coloring what looked like a map of the bunker. “All right. Well, it’s like this. There is a good and a bad side. And we always choose which side we’re going to be on.” “I’m on the god side, right?” Kristie asked, now looking at Halley. “I think so,” she nodded, smiling a little. “But when you get older, it’s going to get harder to make good decisions.” This is way over her head. You’re not describing it well enough. You should just give up. Halley sighed. Go away, she thought. You will not rule me anymore. Kristie kept coloring with the three fat crayons she had been given. “Kristie?” a voice called from the corridor. “Kristie, where are you?” “Daddy!” The little girl jumped out of her seat and rushed out. Halley stood, surprised. Dang it. Halley followed quickly out of the library to see Kristie being picked up by the janitor from that morning. She giggled and laughed as he playfully kissed her little face. Halley stared, stunned. She waited for him to look back to see where his daughter had come from. Would he be angry? Would he think she was brainwashing his daughter? “Daddy, I need to say bye to Miss Tanner!” “Who?” He looked in the direction she was pointing and raised his eyebrows. “Oh.” Slowly he set her on the ground and stared at Halley. He cleared his throat as he approached. Kristie rushed back into the library to retrieve her crayons. “Hello,” Halley began hesitantly. “Were you looking for Kristie very long?” “No,” he sighed, crossing his arms. “I just got out of work. She usually plays with the other kids after school. It’s not a big place, so she can’t really get lost.” He shrugged. “I brought her to the library, though,” she said. “I’m sorry. I never had your permission.” “Well, I mean,” he scratched the back of his neck and glanced into the library. “I don’t have much to fear from a librarian, now do I?” So he didn’t remember her. She shook her head. “Not unless you think books are dangerous,” she tried to laugh a little. He didn’t laugh back. Kristie had arrived, and he smiled a little when she hugged his denim-clad legs. “Well, we’d better get going. Got to bring your mother some supper,” he said to Kristie. He looked back up to Halley and nodded as he took Kristie’s hand and walked down the hall.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Lily Calicois an aspiring composer, writer, artist and musician. Archives
March 2018
CategoriesAll Arty Thoughts Book Reviews Monthly Updates Music Narrative Writing Notes To Self Poetry Writing Rambling About Writing Stories Theological |