Winged Chapter the Second

The rest of the week passed with many confusing events. Strange things seemed to occur whenever Riley was around. Agatha would try to torment me, but she would never get too far. Sometimes she would be assaulted by food, other tomes something less believable, such as some sort of impenetrable wall. Whenever something like this happened, I could always find a grinning Riley close by.

          I never asked him how he did it; I was happy as long as Agatha was kept at bay. But I did silently wonder, at least about the invisible walls. It was almost like magic.

          I wanted things to continue just as they were for a long time, if not forever. But Riley had other plans.

          “I’m leaving,” he said one night as we were getting ready for bed.

          “Huh? Leaving where?” I asked him, mouth full of toothpaste.

          I heard him sigh. “Hollow Hill. I’m sick of Children’s Homes! The food sucks, the kids are horrible (‘cept you), and the owner’s are always either mean or ignorant.” He slammed the bathroom cabinet shut.

          “That doesn’t even make sense. Where would you go?” I was sure he was just angry, definitely not serious.

          “Another town. There’s a small one not far from here, Artwin.”

“Seriously? You think you can just leave?” I was sure he was kidding. Orphans didn’t just…go out into the world. Children in general didn’t do that, at least not without their parents.

“I have to. It’s the only way I’ll find her…” he trailed off, a pained look on his face.

This was news to me. “Find who?”

He sighed deeply, like he’d been holding it back ever since he arrived. “My cousin. I’ve been searching for her for a few years now, at different Children’s Homes. She has white hair, like you.” He looked up at me when he said this.

“So you came here because you thought I might be your cousin?” Riley nodded. So that’s why he had been so disappointed about my name. “How long has she been missing?” I asked.

“Since the war ended. She use to live with my parents and me, but after her dad died in the war, her mom took her away. We heard of her mom’s death a few months later, but by then Aleta had disappeared, most likely taken to a Children’s Home.” Riley shook his head sadly.

“Aleta…that’s a pretty name,” I remarked absentmindedly.

“It means ‘winged,’” Riley said. He walked back to our room; I followed slowly behind.

Once back in the room, Riley went to the dresser and began removing his clothes.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Packing.”

“You’re leaving tonight?!”

He nodded, grabbed a backpack from the bottom dresser drawer, and started stuffing clothes into it.

I panicked. With him gone my life would be a living Hell again. Nothing would stop Agatha from picking on me, and for it a while it would probably worsen. Then it dawned on me.

“Take me with you,” I said loudly.

At this he paused, but only for a moment. “You can’t,” he replied bluntly.

“What? Why not?” I asked.

He sighed heavily, then stood. “It’s just,” he paused and pursed his lips and continued. “We’re not the same.”

“Not the same!?” I cried, thinking he was talking about gender. “So this is because I’m a girl, so I’ll slow you down,” I stated, shaking my head in disgust.

Riley started at this. “What? No!” He ran his hand through his hair. “I’m a…a wizard,” he whispered so quietly I almost didn’t hear him. Almost.

“Huh?” I asked, looking at him blankly.

He sighed. Again. “All those times Agatha tried to bully you, I stopped her. With magic. Summoning food, creating physical blocks; simple kinetic magic.” He shrugged.

“But…what? That’s not possible. Magic is…fake. Really, Riley, if you don’t want me to go with you, give me a real reason, not this ‘magic’ crap,” I spat at him.

“Jane. I’m not joking,” he said seriously. Or at least he pretended to be serious. Unless he really was. Now I was confusing myself.

I probably looked pretty pissed by now. I mean, who wouldn’t?

Suddenly Riley took held up his hand, traced the pointer finger of his other hand on it, then snapped it out. He moved it slowly upward. As did his backpack.

I gaped in surprise, but quickly smoothed my expression. “Nice trick. What did you use? String? Magnets?” I asked only slightly nervously.

“No, magic,” he replied simply. He raised his arm around and I watched as the backpack followed.

This was getting out of hand. “Riley, stop. This isn’t funny. If you’re so bent on leaving alone, go ahead. I won’t stop you,” I finally said, looking down. I heard the backpack thud on the floor.

“Jane—,“ he started, but I cut him off.

“Just go!” I yelled, still not looking at him. I heard Riley grab some more things and shove them in his pack. Then the door opened and shut, and he was gone.

I didn’t move until morning, when the morning bell clanged. I didn’t want to get up, but my rumbling stomach managed to persuade me.

I went down to the kitchen, snuck a few stale rolls, and then went up to the roof.

It was a nice day, with a clear sky and warm air; the opposite of my mood. I lay down on my back and gnawed on a roll.

I thought about how my life would be now. Torment from Agatha. Crummy food. Useless Matron. Everything exactly the same as the last six years of my life. No, it would be worse, because now I would know what it could have been like. I would know what it was like to have a friend with me, experiencing the same horrors as I. Now I was lonelier than I had ever been.

Sighing, I popped the rest of the last roll into my mouth and turned over onto my stomach. Some friend. Riley had just left me here. Not only that, but he made up this dumb reason about how I’m not “magical” enough for him. I mean, come on! How stupid does he think I am? Ugh. I hated how he had gotten me so worked up. He was probably laughing his butt off all the way to Artwin. And it was so unfair that he was able to leave. He may have lost his cousin, but I had lost myself.  Plus, I had been at the Children’s Home far longer than him! That jerk.

I got up and walked to the edge of the roof, sitting down and letting my legs dangle over the side. The city was quiet from here, but I could see all the hustle and bustle as people drove along, oblivious to the troubled life of the poor orphan freak. I must be the unluckiest person alive. Not only were my parents dead, but I hadn’t a clue about who I was, or had been. Even when I did get old enough to leave the orphanage, I wouldn’t have any place to go. Most likely, Ms. Harrington would take me on as an apprentice or something. I shuddered at the thought.

Unless… I stood up quickly.

Unless I were to leave, like Riley had done. Just leave, go to another city, where I might try my luck as something better than a Matron. Like an explorer, or something.

I was starting to like this idea Riley had put into my head. Smiling, I ran for the roof door.

Twenty minutes later, I was out. Gone. Free. It was exhilarating, to say the least. I was a little worried about how I would get food and other necessities, but not enough to postpone my quest.

I was so happy, I started whistling. I wasn’t sure what tune it was, exactly, but it kept my spirits up.

I decided to head east; the opposite direction Riley was going. It would be very...uncomfortable to run into Riley.

I didn’t have a clue what existed to the east, but I figured I would just find out when I got there.

I managed to walk almost to the outskirts of the city before trouble struck. A cop car drove past, and I saw the officer in the passenger seat point at me. This set alarms of in my head. I realized they might be able to tell who I was by the drab orphan clothes I wore. So I ran.

Of course, there was no way I could outrun a car. But I was smaller than a car, and could fit into smaller spaces. I turned a tight corner before the car managed to turn, then quickly squeezed into the area between two buildings. I watched as the cop car drove past. I heaved a sigh of relief, but I didn’t move for a few minutes, just in case. When nothing they didn’t return, I crept out and continued on my way.

The city border was easy to spot, because the buildings just ended. There was a stretch of road that continued out, lined by all birch trees. I could see the edge of a lake through the trees, and I headed that way.

    The road eventually became narrow, and began to wrap up around the bank. Instead of following it, I went down by the lakes shore.

    It was magnificent. The sun shone directly on the lake, making it sparkle beautifully. A few birds circled in the air, and I focused on one, watching it curve its wings as it coasted, then--

    It disappeared?

    I squinted my eyes against the suns glare; the bird reappeared. It was as if it had simply flown around a spire, vanishing for only that moment it took to fly back around. But there was no spire...

    I shook my head. Clear your thoughts, Jane, I told myself. Just your imagination.

I walked along the water’s edge, watching my feet make imprints in the sand. The sound of the water lapping against the sand was so soothing. It almost seemed… familiar somehow. Something tickled at the back of my brain. I knew this sound, the sound of waves, but something was missing… music! A melody….

Just then the memory slipped away and I was left with nothing. I nearly cried out in frustration. So close! I was so close to remembering my past!

Angrily, I hopped onto a nearby rock. My anger soon turned to sadness, then resignation. Of course. I would never get my memories back. It was hopeless. I stepped back down onto the sand, but it was slippery; the tide was coming in. My foot slid from under me and I fell backwards, my head hitting the rock with a sickening thwack. Almost instantly, I was surrounded by darkness.

I floated for awhile, lost in a churning sea. My body swayed back and forth, and I reveled at how warm my body felt. There was no pain; hadn’t I just fallen? My mind pushed the thought from my head, too elated by the weightlessness to care about anything else. A soft melody began to play. Mmm, it sounded familiar…

I started to rise out of this state. No! I thought, Let me stay! I tried to stop my momentum, tried to fling out my arms, but I couldn’t move. Panicking, my head broke the surface—

I opened my eyes with a gasping breath. Darkness. Freaked, I tried to fling my arms out, thinking I was still in my dream.

“Calm down,” I heard a voice say, as something was pulled off my eyes.

I blinked in the sudden light. “Wha--?” I managed to get out. I felt oddly groggy.

A woman’s smiling face appeared before me. “Ah, so you’re awake,” she said. I tried to focus my eyes; everything was so fuzzy. She noticed my squinting. “Your eyes may be a little unfocused for a bit, as the magic wears off,” she said, then her face disappeared.

Magic? What did she mean, magic? I couldn’t find my voice, and I coughed a couple times.

“Water?”

I reached blearily for the glass that appeared before me. I sipped at the water, then started gulping it down; I hadn’t realized how parched I was.

“Thanks,” I wheezed as I finished the glass.

“No problem. How’s your eyesight?”

I looked at her, my eyes finally coming into focus. She was a large woman, with rosy cheeks and a short bob of honey-coloured hair.

“Better,” I told her, clearing my throat. She smiled at this.

A thought struck me. “Er, where am I?” I asked.

“Artwin,” the woman replied, getting up and walking around the bed I just realized I was lying in, putting something in a cabinet.

“So, did I hit my head then?” I asked, reaching up my hands to feel my head; there was a sterile bandage wrapped around it.

“Yes, Oiro saw you slip and hit your head. You really ought to be more careful when the tide is coming in.”

“Oiro?”

“He works at our docks,” she explained. “It’s lucky he saw you and was able to take you over here so fast.”

“Oh, so Artwin’s on the other side of the lake?”

She laughed. “Oh, no, honey. Artwin is in the middle of the lake.”

At this I started. The middle of the lake? But, the lake had been nothing but clear water! Except—I remembered the bird. How it had looked as if the bird had flown behind something, something I couldn’t see.

Something clicked in my brain. “Wait, so… this city is… invisible?” I asked, trying to sound calm.

She looked at me like I was crazy, and for a second I thought maybe I was, that I was completely wrong in my assumption. But then she said, “Well, only to mortema, of course. Our city is protected by magic, like all other magical cities.” She looked at me uncertainly. “You are of magical birth… right?”

I was about to protest, to say of course I can’t do magic! It’s not real! But I stopped. I mean, what did I really know? Suddenly, I thought of something. Could it be that Riley hadn’t been lying?

“I… I don’t know,” I finally stammered.

The woman’s eyes softened at the genuine look of confusion on my face. “From one of those blasted Children’s Homes, eh? I knew this would happen eventually. After all the screening, I knew a few would slip through.” She shook her head. “Honey, the fact that you made it here proves that you have magic inside you.”

I opened and closed my mouth for a few moments, not knowing what to say. My mind was completely blank. Finally, I settled on, “Oh.”

The woman sighed and gave me a light smile. “I’ll go make you some tea, then do my best to explain some things.”