The Discoveries of Riley and Rynae: Part 1

September 11, 2001

Riley stared at those words on her paper trying to pick out faint memories of that day in her head. She had been there; watching, laughing, but not understanding. Her birthday was February 21 of the same year, and Riley could barely remember being a toddler, let alone a six-month-old. She dug deeper as her history teacher blathered on about the “brave heroes who died protecting others”, she quit digging and began to listen again.

For a 14-year-old girl with a lot going on in her head, Riley loved history. She enjoyed spotting trends, laughing at the mistakes of military leaders, wondering what the world would be like if the Black Death or Spanish Flu never occurred.

“Overpopulation,” she thought. “That or people would’ve never learn the importance of showers.”

But for the life of her, she could not understand September 11th or more specifically, why people care about it so much. She’d be told by her best friend, Rynae, that, “People don’t like to let go of the past. They weep and moan about any little disaster.” Rynae wasn’t a sympathiser; He had actually been there too, as was she. They were babies looking at the flames and falling bodies side by side from their car seats. Every school year until she was reunited with her closest friend in high school, she had always asked other kids why they cried on 9/11, especially the ones who didn’t even lose a family member.

“Peopled died!” One boy squeaked at her. “Don’t you care?”

“People die every day,” She replied. “In hospitals, in their own homes, on the street… What’s the difference?”

No one, other than her own true friends, could understand Riley’s insensitivity, and she couldn’t understand the logic of the other children. Her teacher continued to jabber on, and Riley absorbed more words. She was going straight Rynae’s place after school; Maybe he could offer some more wise words…

----

Rynae’s house was a sight to behold; not because of its size or price, but rather its odd… Neatness. Two floors, three bedrooms, a large kitchen connected to the living room, a dining room that no one ever used, and the house was always spotless. Riley never met Rynae’s parents and he never talked about them. Her attempts to think back to 9/11 always failed. The memories wet just too old to access.

“What were mom and dad doing with Rynae back then?” She wondered. “Why was he even with us?”

Riley came upon the strangely spotless abode belonging to her closest friend. It was fairly sunny out and the white sides of the place blinded her even with her cheap sunglasses on. Rynae sat on his freshly painted black porch playing a game on his phone.

“The porch is supposed to directly contrast the rest of the outside of the house,” he explained the other day. “Think of it as Yin and Yang, except the colors are merely a coincidence.”

A smile appeared on Rynae’s face as he spotted Riley, skipping toward his domain. The goofy smile she had when they were together always made his heart melt. He stood up and opened his arms, like he always did, and Riley skipped up the three small steps and jumped into them, wrapping her arms and legs around his body like an AlphaBug virus would to Megaman. She giggled and picked up her head.

“Hey, you,” Rynae’s usual greeting. “What's up?”

“Questions,” Riley answered. “Knowledge to use for the future and such.”

“The girl bears questions? The girl shall get the answers,” Rynae took her inside and set her down, snatching her glasses and placing them on his head; the damn things barely fit. “Want some brownies?” He asked. “They’re the ones with caramel inside.”

“Oh… My… Yes! They're my favorite!” Riley squealed, and dashed to the kitchen.

“I am aware, silly,” Rynae laughed.

He followed her into the kitchen and watched her hop on one of his tall chairs and snatch a brownie from the pile. “Someone's hungry.”

“Yeah…” Riley said, her cheeks were rosy with delight. “I didn't have lunch today… Damn, did I come at a good time!”

Rynae shot Riley that warm smile that she adored. She was melting more than the brownies she was devouring. Rynae was the only person who had that effect on her. She thought quietly to herself and decided, “Maybe I should ask about that too…” For some reason, she was worried about the answer.

Rynae covered the brownies with a glass dome after Riley had filled up on four of them and washed her hands.

“Okay, cutie, you said you had questions?” Rynae poked her cheeks. “Cutie?” Riley thought. “Um, what's up?”

“That wasn't one of your original questions was it?” Rynae chuckled and took her hand.

“Nope.”

“Thought so.” He pulled her towards his room on the second floor, the only place where the AC was actually on, while he jabbered on. “Well, I went to school, waited for you at before lunch…”

“I was making up a test I missed the day of the Bio Trip,” Riley chimed in.

“Oh right, you're still in Biology” Riley punched him in his shoulder. Rynae chuckled; her punches were strong but his arms were much stronger.

Rynae pushed open his bedroom door, the cool air hit them like a wall. Ryane was Ryane, and so his room was so clean it almost felt sterile. He shut the door and hopped on his bed, lying down and patting the space beside him. Riley jumped into that space and faced him.

“Anyway, first question…” Riley paused for a moment to think about how to phrase it.

“Why are people so sensitive?”

“This about 9/11 again?”

“Kinda. I mean in general. I feel like there's more to it than people being incapable of letting go.”

“You’d be right. You see, overtime humans began to defy their nature. It's not entirely a bad thing, but sensitivity was one byproduct of that. In human nature, individuals only care about their blood. Making sure that their bloodline is at the top is a high priority. That's why people would bring each other down for seemingly no reason.”

“Then how does that explain some people harming their own family in the past or even now?”

“Aha, that is another part of human nature. One may want to protect their bloodline, but they’ll also want to be the one in charge, or at least near the top.” Rynae signed. “You’ve seen the history books. Of a king is dying and he has two sons who are truly brothers in arms and also want to inherit the throne, what do you think will happen between the two heirs?”

“They will become enemies. Only one of them can be king, so the other would have to go.” Riley answered.

“Exactly. A person will do anything to protect their blood, but if their blood is a threat, then they will protect themselves.” Rynae explained. He looked at his watch and smiled.

“What?” Riley tucked her arm under her head.

“It's a Friday, hehe.” Rynae sat up and stretched. “You know what that means…”

Riley’s parents always let her stay with Rynae on weekends or during breaks. They knew him sort of well. She thought back to the 6th grade, the first year where she didn’t see him. After he disappeared, Riley’s parents forgot about him, but when he approached Riley at the freshman preview night, they saw their daughter burst into tears.

“Hey, you.” Rynae had said. “You look the same… Yet, I barely recognize you. The years have been better than I thought.”

Riley was pulled back to the present by a wet, warm, and sharp sensation on her neck. Rynae had bit her, playfully, like he’d done several times before. This time however…

“Wake up, child, it’s not even late yet.” He scoffed. “I said that Monday is also an in-service day, so you won’t have to go home so soon.”

Riley shot up and hugged him.

“Four nights to watch you finish Pokemon Stadium!” She squealed.

“Haha, let's not. I don't wanna pull anymore hair out right now.” Rynae chucked, pulling Riley closer to him; she didn't even notice. “Next question, my dear.”

“Hold on…” Riley shifted so that she could rest her head on his shoulder. “Do you remember the day 9/11 happened?”

Puzzled, Rynae answered, “Uh, vaguely.”

“Why were you there? I thought maybe your parents dropped you off to play with me, but I've never ever seen them. That, I know for sure. Where are they? Why don't you ever talk about them?” Riley stopped herself. “I'm sorry…”

Rynae looked down at her.

“You done?” Riley nodded. “Good.” Rynae took a deep breath. “I wasn't there that day, Antarctica I think, and because you never asked.”

The girl took a minute to process the answers, yet she was still confused.

“He wasn't there?” she thought. “How? I saw him… It was him.”

“You always get that adorable furrow in your eyebrows when you're thinking.” Rynae poked her sides, snapping her back into reality. Riley’s cheeks glowed scarlet; she hoped he didn't notice… But, who was she kidding? He noticed everything about her…

“That day, you did see me, but I wasn't in the car with you. My parents left me at your place for about a week and I went home before you were headed to New York.” Rynae explained. “Your mind must have been used to seeing me around whenever we drove somewhere. My car seat was right next to yours after all.”

Confusion struck Riley hard. All these years her memory was just warped? What else was she remembering wrong?

“So… You weren't there.” Riley began to worry him.

“Sweetheart, relax.” He softly squeezed her shoulders. “I wasn't in the car with you. I did get a front seat view of the towers being reduced to rubble though. Elizabeth owned a penthouse suite a block or two from TWC. Remember, it had huge windows that were always spotless?” A chuckle escaped Rynae’s lips. The memory of Elizabeth popped back into Riley’s mind; their old babysitter from time to time. She never wanted a big sister, but Riley would’ve loved it if she had one in Liz. She wondered what she was up to. “Work had come up with my parents so they had to circle back to NY and drop me off at Liza’s

“I can't help but think that more of my memories could be warped like that…” Riley sighed. “How can you remember so far back anyway?”

“I don't have many extremely significant memories, so mostly all of them are held in the same place in my mind.”

“And that allows you to retain them more than others?”

“Precisely.” Rynae tapped her nose like a button. “Any other memories that you need help clearing up?” Riley shook her head. “Hmm, okay. As for why my parents are at the coldest place on the planet, they’re paleontologists and also inventors. A drilling device that they developed will help them break through the permafrost and hopefully uncover some new fossils and such.”

“That answer… Makes more sense than I thought it would.” The girl was all smiles again.

“Huh, sorry it wasn't as farfetched.” Rynae laughed. “But maybe they’re looking for Regice wouldn’t that be somethin’.”

The two of them sat there in silence for a while. Starting to get slightly fidgety, Riley slipped out of her friend's arms to go to the bathroom. “Why hasn't she asked anymore questions?” Rynae said softly. He shrugged and got off of the bed to stretch.

In the bathroom, Riley examined herself in Rynae’s spotless mirror. The glass covered the entire door, giving the viewer a full body picture of themselves. She rolled a black hair tie off of her wrist and pulled her shiny bloke hair back into a ponytail.

“This is his favorite…” She thought. “He'll think this is cute, right?”

Thinking about these things surprised her. She was never concerned about looking good for anyone but herself… No, herself and Rynae too, she realized. Maybe it was subconscious, but Riley always found herself doing things she knew he liked. She would put her hair in a ponytail every weekend, even when she wasn't spending it with him. She would wear skirts to school one day if Rynae talked about how she’d look good in one. Then he’d laugh and say, “I see someone took my advice.”

Something was different today. Rynae was being sweeter than usual, which was saying a lot. Cuddling with him felt warmer than it ever had before. The way he bit her neck earlier was very different. Usually he’d just nip her with his front teeth, but this time he let his lips brush up against his skin. Even the sound of his voice was sweeter and wiser. She’d never thought of it like this before but the sound of his voice was… Adorable. The thoughts put an odd tingling feeling in Riley’s chest which to crept through the rest of her body. Shaking her head she took a deep breath and left the bathroom.

Rynae brought the rest of his brownies up stairs in two small plates: Three for her and two for him. The AC in his room shut off as he walked in, seeing Riley huddled under his black sheet with her hands under her head. She faced him with a sullen look.

“What's up, hon?” He asked, tilting his head slightly. “I see you’ve got something else on your mind.”

“Mhmm…” Riley hummed. Rynae handed her a small plate of brownies and she sat up and placed it in her lap. He sat next to her and bit into one of his own treats. “Ry?” her voice was almost a whisper.

“Hmm?” His mouth was still full.

“Another question. Um...” Her hesitations almost made him nervous. “How do you… Feel about me?”

Rynae arched a brow. “Huh? Like my opinion of you?”

Riley nodded. “Yeah, exactly that.”

“You know how, silly.” Rynae cleared his throat and started… “You’re the most important person in my life. You always make me happy, and I cherish every moment I have with you. You’re one of a kind, an irreplaceable friend, and I don’t know what I would do without you sometimes. We share everything that we experience; our joy, pain, hate… and love.” He trailed off and just looked into her shining emerald eyes. She stared right back; his deep black eyes swallowed her like the vacuum of space they resembled.

Without thinking, Riley spoke. “Do you love me?”

Rynae simply smiled. He pushed his now empty plate under hers and rested them on the nightstand. She felt his arms wrap around her tightly. “Riley… You're the silliest person I know.” Rynae pushed her bangs aside, lifted her chin, and softly planted a kiss on her lips.

Riley closed her eyes, unable to think about anything else. Something changed with Rynae and she enjoyed it, but at the same time she didn’t know what to think. No one had ever treated her like this before. Rynae pulled away and “You'll always be my best friend. I’ll love you forever plus one day.”