Beware of the Phoenix (AU,M/L,TEEN) Complete 23/4/07

Finished stories set in an alternate universe to that introduced in the show, or which alter events from the show significantly, but which include the Roswell characters. Aliens play a role in these fics. All complete stories on the main AU with Aliens board will eventually be moved here.

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Oz
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Beware of the Phoenix (AU,M/L,TEEN) Complete 23/4/07

Post by Oz »

Title: Beware of the Phoenix

Disclaimer: The characters of "Roswell" belong to Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, WB, and UPN. They are not mine and no infringement is intended.

Couples/Category: M/L, AU

Rating: TEEN

Summary: Liz is having some really weird dreams and memories that couldn't possibly be true, because if they are it means her whole life has been a lie ...

Author's Note: So, I'm a first time poster, but a long time stalker of this board. I decided it was finally time to make a contribution after all of the hours I have spent reading everyone elses fic's. I generally only read fic on the CC board, so it came as a surprise to me when my first fic came out as an AU fic, but I guess you have to go with where the muse takes you ... I also need to warn you that I am from the bottom hemisphere, and therefore please excuse me for not using enough 'z's' in my words and any other phrases that just don't make sense. Anyway, I hope you enjoy ...

1

Turning sixteen is a big event in a girl’s life. Don’t ask me why. You’re still not considered an adult or old enough to vote, but for some reason it’s a big deal. They do give you a driver’s licence, and therefore a licence to wreck havoc on the world, but that’s about it. I don’t think I looked forward to that day as much as my parents, or my best friend Maria. She began hinting at present ideas over a month before my birthday, and seemed to be always busy organising some kind of surprise. I guess I expected her to do something big; it was just like her to act like it was the event of the decade.

So when my sixteenth birthday arrived it surprised me a little that Maria wasn’t at school. Usually wild horses wouldn’t have stopped her from seeing me as early as possible on my birthday to give me my present, but that day she was no where to be found. I tried calling her at home but there was no answer and her mobile was switched off.

The moment I walked in the door when I got home from school there was a letter for me on the kitchen bench saying one of the waitresses were sick and would I please work that night. You see, my parents own a restaurant, and I have worked there ever since I was old enough to bus tables. Not only do my parents own the restaurant, but we also live above it, so either they, or I, are there most of the time.

I reluctantly began to get dressed into my uniform. Did I mention the restaurant had a ‘theme’? I guess I should explain that a little more. I live in Roswell, New Mexico. Yes – that Roswell. The one that apparently had an alien invasion back in the late 40’s. Well the town is still trying to make as much out of the single event as they can, and our restaurant is no different. Every time I put on the antennae that comes with the uniform I audibly groaned. I mean, all of the kids in school come to our restaurant, and every day I was there, looking like a complete dork.

I was really not looking forward to the idea of working on my birthday but I suffer from a real inability to say ‘no’ when it was obvious my parents need me. I should have known something was up then, but it just didn’t register. I guess I was feeling a little peeved at Maria for not at least calling me on my birthday. My parents had both been down in the restaurant doing to breakfast shift when I left for school that morning, so I was kind of hoping they would have been home when I got home from school to wish me a happy birthday. They didn’t usually work this early in the night, usually waiting for the dinner rush before they came down to help.

It all fell into place when I entered the restaurant. As soon as I walked through the back swinging doors, I saw all my friends and family assembled and shouting “Surprise!” in perfect unison. Maria was at the forefront of everyone, with a huge cake with sparklers. I felt really bad for being mad at her earlier that day, as she had obviously put in so much effort to decorating the diner, and inviting everyone. She was beaming with pride at what she had accomplished, no doubt especially proud of the fact that she had managed to keep it from me for so long without letting it slip. She was notorious for not being able to keep anything secret.

“Happy birthday Liz!” Maria said as she gave me a one-armed hug, still holding the cake in the other. “Quick, blow out the candles before the icing melts!”

I did, and there was a round of applause and calls from everyone wanting to know what I had wished for.

“I can’t tell you that. It won’t come true.” I said, giving the usual response. The fact is that I did not wish for anything, I felt I had all that I needed right there in that room.

My parents congratulated me, each giving me a huge hug.

“Happy sixteenth birthday Liz.” They said, my mum discreetly removing the antennae that were still perched on my head, so that I wouldn’t look too dorky in front of all my friends, and handing me a present. I ripped open the packaging to reveal a small jewellery box. Inside was a set of diamond earrings that I had had my eye on, but they had always insisted they couldn’t afford.

“Thank you so much.” I said giving them each a kiss. “They’re beautiful.”

“You’re welcome. Now, we have guests to feed. Have fun with your friends.” My dad said, he and mum heading for the kitchen.

I walked over to where Maria was standing at the counter. Maria and I had been best friends since first grade at school. We had both latched on to each other as soon as we meet on the first day of school and have been inseparable ever since. We had been through everything together. I was there for her when her grandfather died, and she was there for me when my dog was run over by a car. We told each other our deepest, darkest secrets, and we would do anything for each other.

“Thankyou so much for throwing this party for me. It was such a surprise.” I said, giving her another hug.

“I couldn’t let such an important landmark pass by without the appropriate amount of celebration. And you really had no idea? It was so hard to hide it from you. I was bursting to tell you what I was busy organising, but I guess that probably would have ruined the whole ‘surprise’ effect that I was going for.” Maria laughed.

There was a mixture of people there, including friends from school, even some that had moved away and I had not seen in years. I mingled with all of them, catching up on what was new, or discussing the latest thing that happened at school. Before I knew it, it was after midnight, most of the guests had left, and all of the cake had been devoured. I was finally able to relax, sitting at the counter with Maria and Kyle, Maria’s twin brother and friend of mine.

“I’m heading off sis.” Kyle said, getting up from his stool. “I’ll see you when you get home. See you at school Liz. Happy birthday.”

“Bye Kyle.” I replied.

“So I guess that makes me another year older.” I said sighing, after Kyle had left.

“You’re now sweet-sixteen and it’s going to be a great year. You know what they say?”

“No, what do they say?” I asked, expecting Maria to come out with some old-fashioned cliché.

“That sixteen is the age you experience your first real love.”

“Who says that?” I asked, a little dubious.

“Every one.” As though that was authority enough. “And for you I know it is going to come true.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because that guy in booth two has been checking you out all night.” Maria giggled.

“Yeah right.” I said, turning around to see whom she was talking about. As I turned around I caught the guy watching me. Rather than looking away when he realised he had been caught, he got out of the booth and began to walk over to where we were sitting.

“Oh my goodness. He’s coming this way.” Maria had barely blurted out before he was in earshot.

“Hi. My names Sean. I just wanted to say happy birthday before I took off.” Sean introduced himself.

“I’m sorry … but have me met before?” I asked. I had this really strange feeling that he was somehow familiar.

“Not in this lifetime… I would remember someone like you.” Sean replied.

“I guess I should take that as complement.” I blushed.

“So what brings you to Roswell, New Mexico Sean?” Maria asked.

“My folks just moved here from Las Vegas.”

“Las Vegas, really?” Maria asked. “You’re going to get a shock living here then. This is not exactly what you would call a ‘happening place’.”

“I think I’ll survive. Besides, I have already met two beautiful girls on my first day here, so I think this place has promise.”

“Well, with compliments like that you will have no trouble making friends. I’m Maria by the way, and the birthday girl here is Liz.” Maria introduced us.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both, and I hope to see you around soon. See ya.” Sean said, as he left the diner.

“Ooooh. He’s got the hots for you girl.” Maria joked. I laughed it off, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had met him somewhere before.

* * * * *

Now you might be wondering why I have been telling you all this. Why start my story here, on my birthday? Well I guess the day of my birthday was the last day I remember feeling everything was normal, and that everything was as it should be. After that night things began to get really weird, and it all started with a dream…

I was flying through space, you know, like in Star Wars when the ships go into hyper drive. Stars were flashing past me, so quickly that they no longer looked like dots in the sky, but lines that went on forever. I flew passed planets and suns, black holes and red giants, until I came to our solar system. First I saw Pluto, then Neptune, and the other planets until I came to Earth. I recognised the swirls of white clouds over a blue ocean. It looked so beautiful, and so peaceful. I saw satellites circling the Earth, I saw the moon and I saw all of the continents of the planet as I circled around. When I saw America, I stopped circling and began to head into the Earth’s atmosphere. I soared through the blue sky, then through the many different layers of clouds. I saw planes take off, and flocks of birds flying through the air. As I neared the ground, I recognised the landscape, the desert. When I reached the ground I was surrounded by a bright blue and white light, which lit up the dark night. It was late and there was only a sliver of a moon, but the light I was enclosed in lit all the corners of my vision. The light went out suddenly, and it was very dark. I felt alone and vulnerable, and I began to cry...

I woke up from my dream, quickly reaching for my bedside lamp to illuminate my dark room. My heart was beating so fast that I held my chest as though I was trying to stop my heart from jumping out of my body. The dream felt so real, I couldn’t even begin to explain how it felt. I had had dreams before, but this felt so different, as though it was not just a dream, but a memory…


2

Monday morning at school I was still thinking about that dream; I couldn’t shake it from my mind. At lunch, I was sitting at a bench, staring off into space, remembering the dream as vividly as if it had just happened. Maria came up to me and brought me back to earth.

“What is up with you today? You have been so … distracted. Spill.” Maria demanded.

“It’s nothing, I was just thinking about something.”

“What? Is it a guy? Is it that new guy, Sean?”

“Who? Oh, no it’s not him. It’s just … well have you ever had a dream that felt so real that you can’t work out if it was a dream or if it really happened.”

“Oh yeah, but it involved Ricky Martin in the shower, so I’m guessing it wasn’t real.” Maria joked.

“I’m serious. This dream I had, it felt as though it was a memory of something, I don’t know, it’s hard to explain.”

“Tell me what it was about, and I’ll tell you if it happened. I’ve known you for so long that I would know if it was true.” Maria offered.
I wasn’t sure what to say, how could I explain, but I decided I could risk looking like a complete idiot. I explained the dream, what I saw, how it felt, and Maria was silent until the end.

“You know what Liz? I really think you need therapy.”

“Great, thanks for you help. I’m so glad I told you.” I said, knowing I had made a huge mistake in telling her. I was never going to live this down.

“I’m sorry. It’s just, how could it be real?”

“Never mind.”

“No wait, maybe you’re really an alien from outer space who crashed to Earth. You’re here to take over the world.” Maria joked, not letting the subject drop.

“Who’s an alien from outer space?” Kyle asked sitting down at the bench with us.

“No one. It’s just Maria’s overactive mind.”

“Lizzie had a dream that she flew through space and landed in the desert.” Maria explained.

“Cool. I wish I had interesting dreams like that.” Kyle said before taking a bite of his hot dog.

“Hey, can I join you guys?” A voice said from behind us. I turned around and saw Sean standing there, holding his lunch tray.

“Sure.” Maria answered. “Um, this is my brother Kyle, Kyle this is Sean. He just moved here.”

“Hi.” Kyle said before swallowing his mouthful of food.

“Hi.” Sean replied. “So what were you guys talking about so animatedly?”

“Nothing.” I replied, giving a stern look to Maria so she wouldn’t say anything. It was enough that I had to cope with flack from her, let alone from complete strangers.

“We’re talking about dreams.” I almost kicked Maria under the table for saying that. “And whether dreams can contain any truth. What are your thoughts?”

“Um, well, I guess I believe that dreams are the window to the soul. They allow us a look inside part of our subconscious that controls who we are, who we can be, and all of our desires.”

“Wow. That’s deep.” Maria was in awe. I had that really strange feeling again that I knew Sean somehow. He seemed to be giving off a weird vibe. I didn’t realise that I was staring until I saw him blush. I quickly looked back at my lunch, trying to avoid eye contact.

“So what do you guys do for fun around here? Besides throwing birthday parties at the local diner of course.” Sean asked, lightening the atmosphere around the table.

“Not much. Liz and I both work after school and some weekends, and the rest of the time I guess we just hang out.”

“Sounds kinda … boring.” Sean said.

“Welcome to Roswell.” Kyle piped up.

* * * * *

After school that day, Maria and I were both working at the diner, and Kyle was, as usual, sitting at the counter with a chocolate milkshake in hand. The bell on the door rang as the door swung open.

“This one’s yours.” Maria said, motioning to the customer who had just walked in and had sat in one of the booths. I grabbed my notepad and walked over to the booth, where I found Sean sitting, perusing a menu.

“Hi.” I said, slightly embarrassed. As I have mentioned before, the uniform was not the most flattering outfit.

“Oh, Hi. So you work here too?” Sean asked. I felt like replying ‘no, I just wear the uniform and take peoples orders for the fun of it’, but instead I replied “Yep.”

“Cool. So what’s good here, besides the waitresses?” Sean asked. I couldn’t help but blush, and try to stammer an answer.

“Um, well … the Alien Autopsy Burger is a favourite, um or I guess the pepperoni pizza.”

“A burger sounds great, and a cherry coke.”

“Sure, won’t be long.” I said before walking back to the counter.

“You’ve gone bright red. I think someone has a crush.” Maria smirked.

“I do not.” I said turning even redder.

For the rest of the night I constantly felt that Sean was watching me, and occasionally when I looked up I caught him staring. He would smile, and I couldn’t help but smile in return, even though he was beginning to make me feel uncomfortable.

Later that night, when all the customers had gone, and Maria was out the back restocking the fridge, I was all alone sweeping the floor in the diner. The jukebox was still going, and I was singing along to Britney Spears, occasionally using the broom as a microphone stand.

“You’re not who you think you are…” I thought I heard someone say.

“What was that Maria, I didn’t hear you.” I yelled out to Maria in the backroom.

“I didn’t say anything.” Maria said, coming through the swinging doors.

“Oh. Are you sure?” I asked, certain I heard someone speak.

“I know it is not often that I stop talking, but I can assure you, I didn’t say anything.” Maria said, “Are you almost ready to go?”

“Yeah, I’m done. Let’s close up.” I said, turning the jukebox off, before putting the broom away out the back.

After I had said goodbye to Maria, I walked upstairs to find my parents were already asleep, so I went straight to bed. When I finally settled down to sleep, and turned the light out, I laid awake in the darkness. For some reason there was something nagging in the back of my mind.

“You’re not who you think you are….” I heard the voice again. I sat bolt upright in bed and quickly fumbled for the light.

“Who’s there?” I demanded. There was silence. I rummaged under the bed for something to protect myself with, grabbing a tennis racquet. It would not have been my first choice of weapon to ward off a would-be attacker, but it was all I had. I slowly crept out of bed and checked the bathroom, expecting to find someone hiding behind the shower screen like in an old black-and-white horror film. I flung back the shower curtain but there was no one there. I crept back into bed, and turned off the light. My heart was still beating wildly and still clung to the tennis racquet as I tried to sleep.

When I did eventually drift off, I had a very restless sleep. All night I tossed and turned, until I was dripping in sweat and my sheets were on the floor. The words were going around in my head. You’re not who you think you are…

3

At school the next day, I was sitting in my history class with a pounding headache. It was such an effort to drag myself out of bed in the morning, feeling as though I had been hit by a bus. And the imprint of the tennis racquet strings on my forehead had been a nice touch to my already crappy morning. The teacher had not arrived yet so I lay my head on the desk, letting the cold surface sooth my head.

“Are you alright?” Maria asked. She had just come in and sat down in her usual seat beside me.

“I didn’t sleep well last night, that’s all.”

“Dreaming about spaceships again, huh?” Maria joked.

“Very funny.”

The closure of the classroom door announced the arrival of the teacher, who quickly started the lesson.

“I have some great news for you guys. An assignment...” The teacher began.

The class groaned in unison.

“I knew you would be ecstatic.” The teacher smiled as though she enjoyed causing us pain.

“This week’s history assignment is going to be a little different. Instead of studying the Ancient Egyptians; the War of Independence; or the Native Indians, we are going to do something a little closer to home. This week we are going to look at a more recent history.” The teacher said as she began to pass out the assignment. “I’m passing around a list of questions that I want you to answer about yourselves. What I want you to do is form some kind of interesting way of presenting the answers. You could perhaps write a story about yourself, make a collage, or maybe a scrapbook. It’s completely up to you. Just make sure you answer every question. I want the assignments on my desk Monday morning. You can begin working on them now.”

“How lame is that history assignment.” Maria said as we were sitting on the benches eating our lunch.

“Oh, I don’t know, I think it’s a good idea.” Sean piped up. “It’s a good way to find out about yourself. You may find out you’re not who you think you are.”

“What did you say?” I said, catching the end of what he said. You’re not who you think you are.

“I was just saying, it’s a chance to find out about yourself, and your past.” Sean replied.

“I have to go.” I said, grabbing my bag and leaving the table. I headed in the direction of the girls toilets, planning on camping out there for the remainder of the lunch break. Why had Sean said that? Was it just a coincidence? It had to be. I was just being paranoid. I tried to convince myself it was a due to a combination of lack of sleep and an overactive imagination.

* * * * *

That night, I was standing by my locker putting on my apron, ready for another shift at the diner. Maria walked in just as I was closing my locker.

“What was that all about at lunch today?”

“Nothing, I just had to be somewhere.” I lied.

“Are you okay Liz? You have been acting really weird the last couple of days.”

“Yeah I’m fine, it’s just like I said - I didn’t sleep very well last night.” I replied, walking out into the diner.

Luckily the place was pretty quiet today; I was not in the mood to have to deal with demanding customers. However I did notice Sean was once again sitting at one of the booths.

“Don’t you have a home to eat at?” I joked.

“What can I say? I like the food here.” Sean smiled. “And the service isn’t bad either.”

“Thanks. What can I get you tonight?”

“Same as last night. Burger and Cherry Coke thanks.”

“Coming right up.”

I went back to the counter, put the food order in at the kitchen, then made the drink and brought it back over to him.

“One Cherry Coke.”

“Why don’t you have a seat for awhile? You look … terrible.” Sean said.

“Gee, thanks.” I said, it was not really what I needed to hear right now, but I could believe it. “And, sorry, no, I’m supposed to be working.”

I could see Sean looking around the room at the lack of people that were in the diner at that moment. He raised his eyebrows at me.

“Okay, just for a minute.” I conceded.

“So tell me a bit about yourself.” Sean said, taking a sip of his coke.

“What do you want to know?” I asked, feeling a bit awkward at his question.

“Everything. Have you always lived in Roswell?”

“Yeah. Born and bred. I’ve never been outside New Mexico.”

“What? Never?”

“Nope.” I shrugged. “My father owns this restaurant, so he’s never wanted to be far away. I guess he’s never trusted someone else to manage it properly. Consequently we never travelled much when I was growing up. I’m just a small town girl.”

“I’m sure you are much more than that.” Sean said.

I blushed, I wasn’t used to someone looking at me the way Sean did. Luckily I was saved from sitting with him any longer by the chime of the bell on the door of the diner.

“I’d better get back to work.” I said, standing up and returning to the counter, where I noticed that Max, my bio partner at school, had walked in and seated himself on a stool.

“What can I get you?” I asked as I took out a notepad to take his order.

“Have you got any Men-in-Blackberry pie left?” He asked.

“As you can see, from the hordes of people here, yes, we have plenty.” I said as I indiscriminately pointed around the diner.

Max’s eyes followed to where I had pointed, but when he saw Sean I noticed that he flinched slightly.

“Do you know him?” I asked, curious at the expression of shock on Max’s face.

“Uh, no, I don’t think so.” Max quickly answered, turning back to me. “Can I get that pie to go?”

“Um, yeah, sure.” I answered, as I turned to the kitchen, still perplexed by Max’s reaction.

After Max had gone, I took Sean his hamburger.

“Who was that guy that came in?” Sean asked.

“Max. He’s in our year at school. Why are you so curious?” I asked.

“Still trying to get my bearings in a new town I guess.” Sean answered, taking a bite of his hamburger.

* * * * *

Due to the lack of patrons, we closed the diner early, and I was able to get started on my history assignment. I decided the best place to start with the history of my life, was my ‘baby box’. My mum had kept a box full of things from my first few years of life, such as toys, medical records and lots of photos. I pulled the box down from the top shelf of my wardrobe and started sorting through the contents. I poured over the photos of me with my parents, my baptism gown, and other clothes that were barely bigger than my hand. When I reached the bottom of the box I realised that my birth certificate was not in the box. I thought it was strange that it hadn’t been kept with the other baby items, but decided to leave it until the morning when I would ask my mum. She had probably decided to keep it with their other legal documents. I put the box away, and feeling suddenly very tired, got into bed to sleep. And I dreamed ….

I could see myself flying through space again, and felt the exact same sensations that I had felt the other night. I saw the planets and stars, and I saw earth. I again came down into the desert, and saw the same white glow. This time the dream didn’t end. The white light disappeared and the desert was dark. I was scared so I began to cry. But it was not the cry of an adult, a teenager or a child. It was the cry of a newborn baby. I could hear coytotes return my cry with a howl. I cried until I saw a figure coming towards me. I cried until I saw my father.

“Oh my!” I heard him exclaim as he leant down to pick me up. “Where did you come from little one?”

I was a baby, so small in my father’s arms. I stopped crying, feeling the warmth of his body and his gentle hands holding me. He carried me back to his car where my mother was waiting in the passenger’s seat.

“What a darling little child.” I heard her say, as my father passed me to her. “Where did she come from?”

“Someone left her by the side of the road. There is no note to say who she is, or where she’s from.”

“What are we going to do?” My mother asked.

“I’ll make some enquiries tomorrow, but I don’t think the mother will want to be found.”

“Jeff, you know how much we have prayed for a child of our own. Maybe this is the answer to our prayers?” My mother said, wiping a tear from her eye.

“God works in mysterious ways.” My father answered.


I woke up, and like the previous dream, this felt so real, like a memory more than a dream. But it couldn’t be true. My parents would have told me if I was not their own... Wouldn’t they?

I’m not who I think I am …
Last edited by Oz on Mon Apr 23, 2007 8:34 am, edited 40 times in total.
"Do you see what we’ve done?
We’ve gone and made such fools of ourselves..."
Paramore - Decode
User avatar
Oz
Addicted Roswellian
Posts: 264
Joined: Thu Mar 09, 2006 7:06 am
Location: Down Under

Post by Oz »

AN: Thanks for the feedback. You've motivated me to ignore the suitcase packing that I should be doing, and post twice in two days. I've given you a longer instalment than I intended, but since I'm spending a long weekend lying in the sun in sunny Queensland (cool part of Australia if you ever get the chance to visit), I thought you might like an extra long read.

So... Max wasn't at her birthday party. Good pick up. This is explained a bit more in this part. Basically Max and Liz aren't that close yet, and you have to imagine Max's character is not only behind the tree, but behind a huge friggin forest!

And I should probaly warn all those dreamers out there, that although this will eventually be an M/L story, there is a whole lot of S/L to get through before that can happen. Let's just say our dreamer couple have a lot of issues they need to deal with first. Please bear with me and follow along for the ride...


Beware of the Phoenix
4

The next morning, I was making a bowl of cereal, getting ready for school, when my mum came into the kitchen.

“Morning. Sleep well?” She asked. The same thing she asked first thing every morning.

“Yeah.” I lied.

“That’s good.” She replied before she began to hum old Beatle’s tunes as she did every morning while making my father’s breakfast.

“Hey mum, I was wondering, where do you keep my birth certificate?” I asked.

My mum turned around quickly, knocking over the glass of orange juice she had just poured.

“Oh dear.” She muttered, taking a paper towel to wipe up the mess.

“You see, I have this history project about myself, so I kind of need it. I couldn’t find it with all my other baby stuff.”

“Oh, um, I’m not sure. I’ll have to have a look for it.”

“Okay, no problems, maybe I’ll help you find it after school.” I offered.

“Sure honey.” She replied, quickly walking out of the room.

I thought she was acting a bit weird, but I didn’t have time to find out why because I had to get to school.

During school, I tried not to think about my dream. I kept telling myself it wasn’t real - it was just my mind playing tricks on me. It was all because of that stupid certificate that I couldn’t find, that made my mind make up some crazy idea. My mum would find it today and I would feel much better. At least, that’s what I kept telling myself.

When I got home that afternoon my parents were sitting in the kitchen having a cup of tea. They looked upset, and I suddenly got very scared.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, beginning to panic.

“We need to talk to you. Could you sit down with us for a sec?”

I put by school bag down and sat down in the closest chair, preparing myself for some horrible news. Had something happened to Grandma?

“Um. We don’t have your birth certificate.” My mother said, as though she was breaking some really dreadful news.

“Is that all?” I replied, feeling somewhat relieved. “That’s okay, I can always get another copy from the registrar. No big deal.”

“No, you don’t understand. We, uh, have never had a copy of your birth certificate.”

“What do you mean? The hospital never gave you one?”

“No. What we are trying to say is that there never was a hospital.” Mum didn’t say anymore, as though she was looking for the words to continue.

“Keep going...” It was almost as though I was pleading them to tell me what they obviously didn’t want to say.

“One night, we were driving back from Hondo, when we saw something on the side of the road. I stopped the car, and when I stepped out of the car I heard a baby cry. That baby was you.” My father said.

“What?” I barely heard the word pass my lips.

“We found you and adopted you.” Mum continued.

“Wh … Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“You were the answer to years of prayer. We felt as though you were ours, a gift from God. We had always planned to tell you one day, when you were ready.”

“I can’t believe this…” Not sure what I was more shocked by, the news that I was adopted or that I had dreamt it the night before.

“I have to go.” I said, quickly getting up, grabbing my bag and running out the door. I heard my parents call me to come back, but I didn’t listen. I needed time to be alone. I didn’t know where I was headed, I just ran.

Eventually I came to a park bench, where I sat down exhausted. I don’t know exactly how long I sat there, just looking at the ground, crying, fuming, or staring blankly into the air. I looked up into the sky that was by this time getting dark and the first stars were coming out. What felt like minutes later, but must have been longer, the entire sky was filled with glittering stars. What if? I thought to myself. What if the rest of my dream was true? I almost laughed at myself for thinking that. As if it ever could be!

I was holding my head in my hands, staring at the ground when I heard some footsteps approach. I looked up, half expecting my father to be standing there, having searched the entire town for me. Instead I saw Max.

“Are you okay?” he asked hesitantly.

I tried to smile as I wiped a tear away from my cheek. “I’m fine.”

“What’s wrong?” he asked again, as he sat down on the bench next to me.

“I don’t really want to talk about it.” I replied, not wanting to be rude, but nobody could understand what I was going through at that moment, and talking about it was really not going to help.

“Okay. Do you mind if I just sit here for a while?” Max asked.

“Go ahead.” I replied, still having trouble saying ‘no’ although what I really wanted was to be alone.

We sat in silence for a while, looking at the stars, or looking at the ground. Max didn’t try to talk anymore, and seemed content to just sit with me. Perhaps not content, but he was quiet and still. I hadn’t had that much to do with Max at school. We didn’t really have the same friends, in fact, I don’t think I have ever seen him with any friends. He was extremely quiet, and always seemed so shy. He came into the diner often, and we would exchange pleasantries, but I don’t think we had ever had a real conversation. We were bio partners at school, but we always seemed to be able to communicate with each other without speaking. Not telepathically or anything like that, but … intuitively. I had never really thought about it much before, I just put it down to him being shy, and really good at science.

I didn’t know why, but at that moment, when I was feeling all alone in the world, I started talking to him, confessing everything.

“I just found out that I’m adopted.” I blurted out. “I can’t believe my parents would have kept something like that from me. I had a right to know, don’t you think?” I didn’t wait for him to reply. “The only reason they told me was because of my stupid history project. I was looking for my birth certificate and they couldn’t explain why they didn’t have it. I just … I just want to know why didn’t they tell me earlier?”

“I don’t know. I guess it would be hard for them, knowing there was a possibility they could lose you.” Max suggested.

“I still had the right to know. I don’t know what I am going to do now.”

“You need to talk to them. They are your parents, they love you. I know it is hard to understand, but it is important that you don’t create a chasm between you and them.”

“I don’t know if I can talk to them.”

“You can. You’re stronger than you know.”

I just looked at Max, feeling as though he knew more than he let on. But whatever he had said had made me feel better, clearer, about everything. He noticed me staring at him with a confused look, and I could see he suddenly got uncomfortable, or embarrassed, and got up to leave.

“Do you want me to walk you home?” he offered.

“I’ll be fine, you go.”

“It’s late, and dark, and if you don’t let me walk you home I’m going to have to follow you anyway to make sure you get home okay.”

“Alright.” I said reluctantly. I really didn’t feel ready to go home, but if I stayed out too late it would only make things worse. I had images of my father on the phone to all my friends, or worse, the police.

We began walking back to my house, talking about meaningless stuff, school, work, the usual. It was the longest conversation we had ever had together. When we finally reached the front of the diner, I found myself wishing that I lived a couple more blocks away so we could keep talking for a while. Who knew Max Evans and I had so much to talk about?

“Go on inside. You’ll be fine. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Max said as he began to walk away.

“Max!” I called out. He turned around to look at me. “Thank you.”

He smiled before he turned and disappeared around the corner.

I looked at the door. I couldn’t bear walking in where I knew my parents would be waiting. Instead, I walked around to the side of the restaurant, up the ladder and climbed through my bedroom window.

As I slid the window down, thinking I had made a stealthy entrance, I saw that my mum was sitting on my bed, waiting.

“Oh honey, I’m glad you came home.”

“Well I had no where else to go. This is still my home isn’t it?” I said.

“Of course it is. We love you very much.”

“Why didn’t you tell me before now? Why did you keep it a secret from me?” I desperately wanted to know.

“Because as far as your father and I were concerned, you were our child. We prayed for so many years to have a child of our own, and finally God answered our prayers. We should have told you how you entered our life, but that didn’t feel as important as the fact that God gave you to us.”

I started to calm down a bit, realising how much my parents loved me, and that I should be grateful for the life they have given me. I smiled at the thought that my mum always knew how to make me feel better, whether it was after a scrape on my knee, or someone had been picking on me at school. I really couldn’t have asked for better parents. I sat down on the bed next to my mum, hugging a cushion to my chest.

“So, do you have any idea where I came from? Was there a note, or anything?” I asked.

“No. We made a few inquiries but we could not find any information about where you came from. It was as though you came from heaven itself.” She stood up and kissed me on the forehead. “I’ll let you get some sleep. It has been a big day for all of us.”

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight honey.”

And that night, the dreams continued ….

I could see five pods, like small one-person spaceships, lined up on the launch pad. I walked towards one of the centre pods, and looked at the ones either side. Two of them already had their occupants, but the glass was foggy and I couldn’t make out who they were. I stepped inside the pod, and fastened myself in. In front of me was a clock counting down to lift-off. Ten … nine …eight … seven … six … five … four … three … two … one. The pods rumbled with the energy that had built up, they began shaking with such incredible force. The roof burst off, and I felt myself burst through. As I took off into the sky I looked down to see the pod was still on the ground. I looked at my hands, but they weren’t there anymore. My spirit had left my body, and I no longer had any substance. I was energy, a pure blue glowing spirit. I flew through space, as with my other dreams, and I recognised exactly the same planets, suns and stars.


5

The next day at school I ran into Max in the quad.

“How are you?” he asked. “Did you sort everything out with your parents?”

“Yeah I did. Thanks for everything last night. You were right. I had to talk to them.”

“No problem. Are you sure you are okay? You look tired.” He asked concerned.

“I’m fine, I just haven’t been sleeping well lately.”

“Bad dreams?”

“I wouldn’t say bad, just vivid…. Do you think dreams can be real?” I asked.

“Absolutely. Dreams can reveal things hidden in your memory, or subconscious. They are memories, or clues to a forgotten past, or sometimes they can be warnings about the future.”

“That’s what I am afraid of.”

“What are you dreaming about?” Max asked.

“I’m going to sound really silly, but I have been dreaming about being in space, and another planet, I think.”

“What else do you see? Are you alone in these dreams?” he asked curiously.

“Um, I guess I remember feeling the presence of someone else, but I don’t remember seeing anyone.” I answered, not sure why I always confided so much in him. Luckily, before I said any more, the bell rang to announce the end of lunch.

“I’ll talk to you later Max.” I said, and quickly hurried away.

* * * * *

That night I had the night off from work, and I was home, attempting to do some homework. I wasn’t sure exactly how I was supposed to write my history assignment considering I had no idea where I came from. I was struggling over where to begin, when there was a knock at my window.

I slid it open to find Max standing there.

“Max.” I said, a bit surprised that he was at my window. He had never been to my house before, so I was very curious as to why he was there, especially since he hadn’t come to the front door.

“Hi. Um, sorry for coming to your house like this. It’s just, I got you something and I wanted to give it to you.” He said, handing me a gift. “Consider it a late birthday present.”

I unwrapped the paper to reveal a leather-bound journal.

“It’s a dream journal. It’s for you to write down all of your dreams. I thought that if you wrote them down, it might help you to understand them.”

“Thank you, that’s really thoughtful.” I said.

“No problem.” He smiled. We stood in silence for a few moments, neither of us knowing what to say next. Considering we had been so chatty the night before, we now struggled to find something to say. Max began to retreat back into his shell, and announced “I should go now. I’ll see you at school.”

Max quickly left and I shut the window behind him, still reeling from the sudden change in his behaviour. Sitting at my desk I rummaged around to find a pen, turned to the first page of the journal and began to write. I wrote about the dreams I had been having, the voices I had been hearing, and all that I had discovered about my adoption. I also drew pictures, so if the memories eventually faded, I would always know what it looked like. I drew the constellations, the planets, and the pods. Finally I drew the glow of light that radiated around me – blue, white and … red. I had not remembered that at first, but as I was flying through space there were three colours, but not long after I entered the earth’s atmosphere, the red light had disappeared.

I didn’t stop writing until the early hours of the morning, but when I finally slept, I had no new dreams, only flashes of images from my previous dreams, my brain running over what I had written to make sure I hadn’t left anything out.

* * * * *

The next day at school I was at my locker, collecting my books for my first lesson when Max walked up to me.

“Hi.” He said, somewhat shyly.

“Hi. How are you?”

“Good. I just wondered whether you got a chance to write in the journal?” He asked.

“Yeah I did. Thanks, it was a really good idea.”

“No problem. I…”

We were suddenly interrupted by Sean walking up behind Max. When Max realised he was there, he didn’t finish what he was about to say. I saw the look Max and Sean exchanged; it was the same look I saw in the diner.

“Uh … I’d better go.” Max said. “Bye.”

With that he quickly walked away, and I was left alone with Sean.

“Hi, how’s it going?” He asked.

“Good, and yourself?” I replied.

“Fine. Um, I just wanted to ask you something.”

“What?” I asked, sensing his hesitation.

“Would you like to go out with me sometime?”

“Like a date?” I asked, my heart beating a little faster.

“Yeah, like date. I thought maybe we could catch a movie or something.”

“Sure, when?” Now my heart was racing.

“Tomorrow night? I’ll pick you up at seven.”

“Sounds good. Pick me up from the diner, okay?”

“Okay. See ya then.” He agreed, and walked away.

I was just closing my locker as it was almost time for the first lesson to start, when Maria came up from behind me, with a stern look on her face.

“Hey.” I said hesitantly, sensing something was wrong.

“Hey yourself.” Maria said, without smiling. Something was definitely wrong.

“So, what’s up?” I asked.

“I was going to ask you the same thing. I mean, you have hardly spoken to me in the past few days.”

“Nothing’s up, I’ve just been busy.” I don’t know why I was lying to her.

“Doing what?” Maria demanded. It was easy to see she was not going to let it drop that quickly.

“Just stuff. What is this all about?” I demanded in return, hoping she would get to the point.

“I had a phone call from your mum last night. Seems she was concerned about you, and wanted to know how I thought you were doing. See, she assumed that being best friends and all, that you tell me everything that is going on in your life. I guess we’re not that close after all.” Maria said looking really upset. I wasn’t sure what exactly my mum had said, but I thought I had better come clean. I didn’t want to risk jeopardising our friendship.

“I’m sorry Maria; I’ve just had a lot to think about lately. I promise I’ll tell you everything that has been going on. We had better run to class now, but I’ll meet you at the diner after school.” I offered.

“Okay, but you had better tell me everything Liz.” Maria insisted.

“I promise. See you later.” I replied as I headed off to class. As I walked, I thought about how melodramatic Maria was being. I guess she had a point, I have been distracted lately, and we hadn’t really talked, considering what had happened. Maria was usually the first person I would run to with a problem, but now I somehow felt that I needed to keep everything to myself while I sorted it out. After how she reacted when I told her about my first dream I really didn’t want to tell her more. I could just picture her making fun of me, and I would never live it down. I promised to tell her everything, but I really didn’t think I could – not all of it.

After school, Maria was already waiting for me when I got to the diner. She was sitting in a booth with a soda.

“Hey.” I said, sliding into the bench seat opposite her. Agnes came over and took my order, and when we were alone Maria demanded that I begin to tell her what was going on.

“Well, it all started with our history assignment…” I began.

“Our history assignment?” Maria asked perplexed. “It had better get better than this.”

I then told her everything that I had discovered about my adoption, leaving out all the weird dreams of course.

When I had finished, Maria’s only comment was “wow”.

“Wow?” I asked. “All you have to say is ‘wow’?”

“I mean, it’s so exciting!” Maria burst out.

“Why do you say that?” I asked. I wouldn’t exactly say it was exciting.

“Well, you could have come from anywhere in the world. Your parents could be anyone… You could be a princess or something …”

“That’s not exciting, it’s scary. I have parents out there who didn’t love me enough to keep me. They abandoned me.”

“Oh Lizzie.” Maria said, getting up and sliding next to me on my side of the table, giving me a hug.

“Don’t think like that. Maybe they loved you so much that they knew they couldn’t provide you with the life you deserved.”

“That’s a nice way of looking at it.” I replied, but still not feeling much better.

“So do you think you’ll ever try to find them?” Maria asked.

“I don’t know. I think it would be impossible. My parents, I mean my adoptive parents, tried but had no success. I wouldn’t know where to start.” I replied.

“Well, just always remember that wherever you go you still have a family here that loves you.” Maria said, giving me another hug.

“So … still friends?” I asked, hoping that this confession had satisfied her.

“Of course we’re friends. I’m sorry for pushing you into telling me.” Maria apologised.

“No, don’t be sorry. I should have told you sooner. It was just a lot to deal with.”

“So … changing the subject … what was the deal this morning at your locker? You seemed to be quite popular?” Maria asked. I hadn’t realised that she had been watching me this morning.

“Oh … uh, Max was just asking to borrow some notes …” I lied.

“Borrowing notes? But the guy never misses a class. He’s an A+ student. Why would he want to borrow your notes?” Maria asked. I didn’t know what to answer. I hadn’t been prepared for an interrogation. Luckily, I didn’t have to as Maria’s attention was drawn to the entrance of Max himself. He had come in to order some take away, and after doing a quick scan of the room his eyes fell on our table. When he saw that we were watching him he quickly looked away, looking very uncomfortable.

“That guy is weird.” Maria said.

“I think he’s nice.” I replied, sticking up for him.

“C’mon. The guy never talks to anyone at school, and he scurries around like he is afraid of human contact. It’s just weird behaviour that’s all.”

Max’s order was ready and he quickly walked out of the diner, looking relieved to have an escape.

“Give him a break. You may find he’s a normal guy if you tried to get to know him.” I replied, feeling a bit taken aback that Maria thought so little of a guy who had helped me so much this week.

“Anyway, what about your other visitor this morning? What did Sean want?” Maria asked, and I was relieved that we had stopped talking about Max.

“Sean? Oh, um, well, he actually askedmeoutonadate.”

“A date!” Maria exclaimed at the top of her voice, causing several patrons to turn and look at the commotion. “When?”

“Tomorrow night. I don’t know why I agreed, I really want to cancel.” I replied

“Cancel? Why? He’s cute.” Maria asked, as though I was committing a grave sin by considering cancelling.

“Yeah, but there’s something about him that isn’t quite right. I can’t put my finger on it exactly.”

“You’re just being cautious, which is good, but you have to promise me you won’t cancel.” Maria demanded. “You deserve this.”

“Okay, I promise.” I replied, but still only half-convinced.

Maria then went on to ambush me with questions about where we were going and what we were doing. I answered them as best I could, and gradually started to get excited about the date myself. I had never gone out with everyone before, and Sean was probably the first guy I have ever felt attracted to. It was nice to know someone liked you in that way too.


6

The following night I was waiting in the diner for Sean, sitting at the counter talking to Maria who was working that night. I heard the bell on the door ring, but as I had my back to the door I didn’t see Sean enter. I could tell that he arrived by the wink Maria gave me before she walked away to take a customer’s order. Turning around, I saw Sean, looking extremely handsome in a leather jacket, black t-shirt and jeans. My heart skipped a beat as I really just how much I was attracted to him. He was gorgeous, exactly what I had always pictured for my first date.

“Hey,” He said coming up to the counter where I had been sitting. “Ready to go?”

“Absolutely.” I said, jumping up from my stool. I couldn’t believe I had considered cancelling this date – what had I been thinking?

“Have fun.” Maria said as she quickly walked past on her way back to the counter.

“I will.” I smiled in return.

Half an hour later we were sitting in a booth of the local Chinese restaurant, perusing the menu.

“What’s good here?” Sean asked.

“Everything.” I said. This was one of my favourite restaurants in town, and had tried almost everything on the menu at least once.

“Well, why don’t you order for the both of us?” Sean suggested, putting the menu to one side. I was a bit surprised, having taken him for the type of guy that would want to look like he was the one in control of the relationship.

“Sure.” I agreed, and waved the waitress over. Having ordered, and had our drinks delivered to the table, we finally had the chance to have a decent conversation. “So Vegas huh?” I asked, curious as I had never been there.

“Yeah. I had lived there ever since I could remember.”

“So what’s it like?”

“I guess the only way to describe it is electric. The city never sleeps. At night the boulevard is lit up for miles with casinos and hotels. There is money being splashed around everywhere.”

“Sounds exciting.” I said.

“Yeah, well, I never really got involved in that scene. I lived with my mum in a trailer park out east. She worked as a waitress in one of the casinos, so she was out all night, and slept during the day. I spent a lot of time alone.”

“No brother’s or sisters?”

“No, I was an only child. I had to learn to entertain myself.”

“What did you do?”

“Rode my bike mostly. I used to ride along the highways and up to the mountains. The area around Vegas is so dry and uninhabited that I just roamed. Sometimes I would ride my bike as far as I could along the highways, hoping to reach another town.”

“Did you?”

“Nah. Once I got so far that I couldn’t see the lights of Vegas anymore, but a policeman saw me and took me home. I never tried again after that.”

“So what else did you do? What about friends from school?”

“I had a few friends, we would hang out sometimes. Usually entertaining ourselves by destroying some kind of public property.”

“Sounds … criminal.” I said.

“Yeah. But I got over it. I stopped seeing those friends, and spent more and more time by myself. I worked a bit to make enough money to buy myself a motorbike. I would spend hours on the open road.”

“So you’re a bit of a loner?” I asked.

“Yeah, you could say that… but I am starting to see the disadvantages of that type of lifestyle.”

“Like what?” I asked.

“Like being able to share things with other people, and being near someone that makes you smile.” He said as he reached for my hand across the table.

When his palm touched mine I felt an electric shock, and there was a bright flash of red light. It only lasted a second before my eyes were able to adjust again to my surroundings, and I saw Sean looking at me strangely, as though he was studying my reaction. He quickly took his hand away, as the waitress was putting our food out on the table. I couldn’t help but wonder whether Sean saw it too, but what could I say, ‘hey did you see that red light explode in front of your eyes a minute ago?’ I would just look stupid, so instead I said –

“This food looks delicious.”

“Yeah it does.” He said, and the conversation ceased, apart from the occasionally remark about how good the food tasted.

After dinner we walked back up the main street to where Sean had left his bike. We hadn’t talked as much since our hands had touched, I guess I felt weird, like something wasn’t right. I was still getting some strange vibes from Sean.

“So would you like to go for a ride?” Sean asked, when we found his bike.

“Oh, um, I have never been on a motorbike before.” I said, slightly nervous at the thought of getting on that thing.

“Now is as good a time as any.” He said, passing me a helmet. “Don’t worry, I promise I’ll go slow.”

I don’t know how or why, but I agreed and got on the bike – something I never thought I would do. Sean started slowly, and it wasn’t so bad. I could feel the wind whip around us, blowing my hair and my skirt. When he realised that I had begun to relax a little bit he started to go faster, and it was exhilarating. The speed and the takeoff were incredible and I felt so free, and so dangerous. Eventually I noticed where we were going, through Fraser’s Woods and up to the lake. I had been here many times with Maria and Kyle, it was our childhood haunt. We used to ride our bikes up here with a picnic basket and a rug, and spend the day playing amongst the trees. I had never been here at night though, I had always been too scared, but tonight, the air was so still that I didn’t feel afraid at all.

Sean turned off the engine, and we hopped off the bike.

“So how was that?” He asked.

“Fantastic.” I said, trying not to act as excited as I felt.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” He said, placing both of our helmets on the bike.

“So how did you know where to find this place?” I asked, curious that for someone who had only been here a few weeks already knew his way around.

“I’ve been doing a lot of riding since I have been here. I found this on one of my first days here and now come here all the time. It is so beautiful and peaceful.”

“It’s one of my favourite places in Roswell.” I confessed.

“Well, we have something in common then.” He replied.

We walked over to the lake and sat down on the grass.

“So why were you so desperate to leave Las Vegas?” I asked, wanting to pick up the subject where we left off.

“I don’t know. I guess it never really felt like home to me. I always felt like I was meant to be somewhere else, have a different life. Have you ever felt like that?”

“Um … Not when I was growing up, but now I don’t know...”

“Well, I have, ever since I found out I was an adopted child.”

“Adopted! Really?” I couldn’t help but exclaim.

“Yeah,” he said, probably a bit taken aback about my reaction. “When I was young I had a fight with my mum. She was drunk again, and hurling abuse about something I had done, I don’t remember what. Anyway, I remember saying that I wish I was living with my father, and she told me that I didn’t have a father, and I didn’t even have a mother, that she had adopted me when I was a baby.”

“Oh my goodness. That’s terrible. What did you do?”

“I ran out of the house, I rode as far as I could, and didn’t come back that night. Eventually, after spending the night in the cold, and not having eaten for a day, I came back home. My mum had sobered up, and was so glad to see me safely home that the subject was never brought up again. Ever since that night I have been dreaming of finding my real parents.”

After such a confession, I couldn’t help but tell him everything about what I had found out about my adoption. I felt so close to him at that moment, we had both shared our secrets, and both realised that we had found someone who could really understand what it was like to be adopted.

“So you have come to Roswell with your mum. Did she get a job here?” I asked, remembering what he had told Maria and I the first night we met him.

“Actually, I lied about that. I came here on my own. I guess I decided it was time to start looking for my real home.”

“So you left your mum in Las Vegas?” I asked. “How did she react to your leaving, when you are still only sixteen?”

“I don’t know, I just left one day while she was passed out from yet another drinking binge. I guess she’s probably happy that she doesn’t have to support me anymore.”

“I’m sure she must be worried about you. Have you contacted her at all?”

“No. I’ve thought about it, but I can’t. I need to have the chance to find my own family without thinking about her.” He replied.

“So why are you sticking around in Roswell? Why aren’t you out searching?” I asked curiously.

“I don’t know. I just feel like this is the place I need to be right now.” He replied looking at me.

I held his stare for a while, and when I looked away, he quickly reached over to my face and pulled my lips to his. We kissed, and it was the most beautiful thing I have ever felt in my life. It felt like we were floating, that our souls were entwined and the longing for each other was overwhelming. When we pulled apart I felt breathless, and dizzy, finding it hard to get my bearings.

“Sorry, I’ve been waiting all night to do that.” Sean said.

“I’m glad you did.” I smiled, and Sean smiled back, looking relieved.

“It’s getting late. I guess I had better take you home.” Sean said, standing up and helping me
to my feet. “Your parents might be getting worried.”

I looked at my watch and couldn’t believe that it was so late. My parents would have a fit if I wasn’t home soon.

From that night onwards we were inseparable. We always seemed to meet each other in the hall at school, or sit next to each other at lunch time. We would see each other after school everyday, even if it was just in the diner while I was working. On my nights off we would go out, for a meal or just for a ride. I learned to really love the open road, and the exhilaration of the speed of the bike. Maria thought I was completely crazy when one day I announced that I was saving up to buy my own motorbike.

I was still having the dreams, but they revealed anything more than what I had already seen. But I was getting to really know the route past the planets and stars from the other planet to earth. One day I spent some time in the library looking at constellation charts to try and track the route, but once I got past the edge of our solar system I gave up.


7

I had plans with Maria one night after work. We hadn’t really spent much time together since Sean and I had gotten together, and I think she was starting to resent him for that. I was honestly looking forward to a night of normalcy, as it felt that every time Sean and I were together, I had these really weird sensations that I couldn’t control. Whenever Sean was around, it was as though I no longer had a will of my own, but my only desire was to be near him.

I was sitting at the counter, already changed from the end of my shift and I was waiting for Maria to finish talking to the chef about something. As I was beginning to look at my watch, wondering what was taking Maria so long, I heard the bell chime and someone walk through the door. It was getting a bit late for customers, and when I turned around I saw that it was Sean.

“Hey babe.” He said, and my heart melted. “You wanna go for a ride?”

My head was saying ‘no, you have plans with Maria’, but the rest of me was saying ‘yes’. I took his hand and began to head for the door, when Maria walked out into the diner.

“Ready to go?” She said, but on looking up saw that I was almost out the door with Sean. “Liz? I thought we had plans?”

I didn’t know what to say, I started mumbling some excuse, and I could see how hurt she was by the look in her eye. Why couldn’t I stay? Why couldn’t I say ‘no’ to Sean? I wanted to stay with Maria, but my feet turned and walked out the door.

We drove around the streets of Roswell, and just like our first date, eventually came to the lake in Fraser’s Woods. We had not spoken a word the whole night, being too loud on the bike, but now that we were surrounded by silence, we still didn’t speak. We just sat on the edge of the lake, looking at the stars, and Sean put his arm around me.

“I wanted to show you something tonight.” He said, pointing to the sky. “See that star up there, next to that cluster of stars?”

“The bright one?”

“Yeah, it’s called Antar.”

I looked at the star, which seemed the brightest in the entire sky. It looked as though it was twinkling, but when I looked again, it looked more as though it was pulsating to a rhythm, much like the beating of a heart. I wondered to myself why I had never seen it before; it was so much bigger and brighter than the others. While I stared at it, I realised my heartbeat seemed to be beating to the same rhythm. I could feel the blood in my veins heat up for a moment, and I felt at peace.

“It’s beautiful.” I said.

“So are you.” Sean replied, before kissing me. I felt like I was floating again, just as I had each time we had kissed since our first date, but tonight felt slightly different. Again I saw the red flash of light like I had when he had reached for my hand, yet this time when the red haze cleared, I saw visions of flying through space again, the same scene I had seen in my dreams. I had never seen those images so clearly when I had been awake before, and I could not understand why they were coming to me now. As the kiss ended the images faded, but my heart was left racing.

“I have to go.” I announced, wanting to get away from this place that had brought on my dreams, and wanting to get away from Sean for a while. I didn’t like what was happening to me when we were together, and now I suddenly felt back in control. “I need to see Maria; I think I really hurt her tonight.”

“Okay, I’m sorry.” Sean apologised.

“It’s not your fault. I should have told you that Maria and I had plans, I don’t know why I didn’t.” I said. It wasn’t Sean’s fault that I couldn’t say ‘no’ to him, and I was confused as to why I suddenly could now.

We drove back into town and I got Sean to drop me off at Maria’s house.

I walked to her bedroom window, were I saw her lying on her bed and watching TV. I knocked on her window, and waited as she came over to let me in.

“Hi.” I said, I could tell by the look in her eyes how upset she was with me.

“What are you doing here?” She demanded.

“I came to say I was sorry. I shouldn’t have taken off with Sean. This was supposed to be our night.”

“Yeah, well, I’m getting used to not seeing that much of you.”

“Maria, I’m sorry. It’s just, I guess I have been so tied up in this thing with Sean that I have ignored everyone else.”

“Well, I am happy for you. It’s great that you have found someone.”

“Yeah, but that’s no excuse for my behaviour tonight. I’m sorry. Can you forgive me?” I pleaded.

“Of course I can, you’re my best friend.” Maria said giving me a hug. “But blow me off like that again and I’ll kill you.”

“Fair enough.” I answered. “Well, the night’s still young. Do you want to watch a movie or something?” I asked.

“I’d like that.” Maria answered.

I rang my parents to let them know that I wouldn’t be home that night, and once I was dressed in a set of Maria’s PJ’s, we settled down on her bed with popcorn and chocolate.

“So, how is this thing between you and Sean anyway?” Maria asked.

“Good. It’s good.”

“Just good?” Maria raised her eyebrows.

“Okay, it’s more than good. I mean, he just has to look at me and my heart melts. I cannot control myself around him.”

“Really?” Maria said smiling. “What would your parents say about that?”

“I hope they never find out about him.” I admitted.

“So he hasn’t met mum and dad?”

“No, he’s not really the type of guy you can bring home to meet the parents. He rides a motorbike for a start.”

“Liz! You’re parents really will freak!” Maria exclaimed, and I knew she was right. “So … is he a good kisser?” Maria asked. I knew it would have to come up eventually.

“Amazing, but then again, I don’t have a lot to compare it to.” Thinking about the amazing lack of boyfriends I have had.

“Does it make your heart flutter?” Maria asked, lightly tapping her chest and batting her eyelids.

“More than flutter! I felt as though my heart started beating to a completely different rhythm, and that my entire body is floating.”

“Wow.” Maria said, obviously getting the mental picture.

“Yeah. I know.” I said in reply, taking a handful of popcorn.

“So what are you doing here with me?” Maria asked seriously.

“Because we had plans, and you are my best friend. No one could ever compete with that; good kisser or not.” I joked.

“You’re the best.” Maria said, giving me a hug. I wasn’t sure that I agreed with her. If I was the ‘best’ I wouldn’t have gone with Sean in the first place.

We stayed up a bit longer, watching the end of the movie. I don’t remember what it was called, but it was one of those thrillers that end with the perfect boyfriend turning out to be the killer. Normally those types of movies are completely predictable and I don’t think twice about them, but this one must have affected me because that night I had an awful dream…

I was cradling my father in my arms; he was dead, lying in a pool of blood. I held his head in my lap and was rocking back and forth, trying to get a grip on what had happened. I couldn’t see my mother, but somehow I knew that she was also dead. Between tears I was saying a prayer for my parents, praying to God that they were now safe in heaven, and that I would have the strength to carry on without them. As I was sitting there, I heard someone rush over to me and pull me to my feet. I don’t know who it was, but going by the way they were dressed, they looked like some kind of guard or soldier.

“Princess Akira, you must get out of here, it’s not safe. Come on… you must get to the pods before it is too late!” He was shouting at me, hauling me out of the room.

I didn’t argue, but turned and looked back at my father once more before running out of the room with the man. We ran down corridors and through secret tunnels in the walls until we were outside the boundaries of a huge building, almost like a fortress. The man didn’t stop for a moment, but hurried me on, until I could see a big launching pad, with the pods sitting in the middle. There were gun shots from behind us, and the man turned to return fire.

“GO!” He yelled. “Run!”

I was scared, hearing the gun shots hit the ground around us, so I turned and ran as fast as I could. I saw more guards from inside the barbed wire fence urging me on, and returning fire to the approaching army. I made it inside the gates, and the guards pulled them shut in an attempt to hold off the inevitable slaughter. I faced the pods, and quickly ran towards them. I turned to take one last look at where I had come from, and all I could see was smoke billowing into the sky from thousands of fires that were lit up all over the town. I could hear the gunfire, in the distance, but I felt completely alone where I was standing in the middle of the launch pad. I faced towards the pods again, and from then, the dream continued as it had before.


I awoke with a start when I heard Maria saying my name.

“Lizzie? Lizzie? Are you alright?” She was asking.

I opened my eyes to see Maria sitting above me with a concerned look on her face.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I said, sitting up. “I just had a bad dream that’s all.”

“It sounded like it. What were you dreaming about?” She asked.

“Oh, um, nothing, it’s silly. Must have been that movie I guess. I shouldn’t watch scary movies before I go to sleep.” I said, not wanting to relive the whole thing to Maria.

“Sorry, I should have chosen a better movie.”

“No, it’s fine. I’m okay.”

“Are you sure?” Maria said, still concerned.

“Of course. Sorry to wake you. Go back to sleep.” I said.

We slept through what was left of the night, but my sleep was restless, seeing images of my dead father from my dream. It really scared me, and I had an overwhelming sense of loss and grief that I just couldn’t shake.

* * * * *

In the morning I politely refused Maria’s offer of breakfast, and went home. I was anxious to see my parents, wanting to see for myself that it really was just a dream and they were all right. As it was Sunday morning, I found them in the kitchen finishing up breakfast before they went to church.

“Good morning dear.” My mother said. “Did you have a nice time at Maria’s?”

“Yeah, I did.” I said giving her a big hug, and then walking over to my father and giving him the same.

“What’s all this about then?” My father said, returning my hug.

“Nothing.” I said, but still not letting go.

“Well are you coming to church with us this morning?” He asked, as I hadn’t been since my birthday. This morning I agreed to go – I knew how much it would mean to them, but I also felt a strong desire go. It was as though I wanted to be in a safe, secure place for a while – somewhere the voices and dreams couldn’t hurt me.

Sitting in a pew near the front of the church, I watched other people I knew file into the church. It seemed as though half the town was there that morning. Later during the service, the preacher was telling us about the story of Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his own brothers, but ended up being the ruler of Egypt. I had heard the story many times before, but today I listened to the story and began to see it in a different light. I was a lot like Joseph. My family gave me away, and I wondered whether I would see them again too. But more than that, Joseph was an interpreter of dreams, and I thought about all the strange dreams I have been having lately. What if they were not just an overactive mind, but something deeper? What was I being told? Why couldn’t I understand what they meant? I prayed to God, I prayed that he would give some guidance, give me the wisdom to understand the messages I was being given, so that I could take the path that was expected of me.

As I was praying, my thoughts began to go in a different direction. Without my control I started to dream. I wasn’t sleeping, I could still see the preacher and the rest of the congregation, but I began to daydream…

I was in a room of the fortress, not the room where I found my father dead, but another not far away. I was not alone, I was with Sean. He was pushing furniture up against the door, trying to stop someone from coming in. He was holding what looked like a futuristic weapon, and was dressed in some sort of military uniform.

“We have to go now, I can hear them coming!” He yelled, pushing me towards the window. The bed sheets had been tied to the bed and were dangling out of the window.

“I’m scared.” I said.

“Don’t be, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“You’re coming with me aren’t you?” I asked, afraid that I would be left alone.

“Once you are safely down, I will be right behind you. Now hurry, they’re at the door.” He replied, squeezing my hand.

“I love you.” I said, throwing myself into his arms, fearing I would never see him again.

“I love you too.” He replied, for a moment squeezing me to his body and kissing me with such intensity.

“Now go, we don’t have much time!” He said, pushing me towards the window.

I climbed onto the ledge of the window, took the bed sheets in my hand and after one last look down I let go of the ledge. I was halfway down when I heard the door burst open, and the gunfire ricochet around the room.

I wanted to scream, but I quickly clasped my hand over my mouth at the last moment, only letting out a whimper. I forced myself to stay quiet, fearing that would bring the enemy to the window before I could reach the ground. Tears were streaming down my face, and I began to lose my grasp on the bed sheets.

I was close to a window ledge on the first floor, so I pulled myself into the nearest window, fearing that my grasp would weaken even more, while I was still too high off the ground to survive the fall. As I disappeared into the room I could hear yelling from the room above. They had found my escape route, and would be down soon. I grabbed a stick from the lighted fireplace and held it against the bed sheets until they began to burn. Soon they would be so engulfed in flames that no one could come down after me. I tried not to think of Sean; I tried not to think of the fact that he was probably dead; and I definitely tried not to think about the fact that I would probably soon follow him. If I could stop myself from thinking about that, I knew there was a chance I could make it out alive.

I looked around the room that I had entered. It had been ransacked, with bullet holes in the walls, and furniture scattered over the floor. In the middle of the floor I saw a body, lying in a pool of blood. Walking over slowly, I dreaded seeing what I knew to be true. My father was dead.

“Nooooo!” I screamed, falling to my knees and cradling his head in my lap. “Nooo!” I cried again.


The dream stopped, and I quickly looked around the room worried that I had cried out while I was dreaming. The entire congregation were bowing their heads in prayer, and no one seemed concerned with me. As I did one more scan of the church, I noticed Max, who was sitting a couple of rows back. He looked up at me, as if he knew someone was watching him, and smiled at me. I gave him a quick half-smile in return, and quickly looked back to the front of the church.

I really wanted to get out of the church, to get some fresh air and clear my head, but the preacher had began to bring out the items for communion, so I decided I had better stay. As I was sitting waiting for the communion to finish I head a voice whisper “Akira …”.

The name was familiar somehow. I tried to think - Akira was the name from my dream last night. The guard had called me Akira.

Akira …” The voice said again.

I looked around the congregation once more, anxious to know who could be whispering that name, but again everyone was silent. The chords struck up on the pipe-organ, and everyone rose for a hymn. I used the opportunity to slip out of the church and into the small chapel next to the main auditorium.

I paced the room, thinking about the dreams and the voices. I felt like I was going mad, I was exhausted from restless sleep, and the emotional roller coaster from the nightmares, and the voices I was hearing in my head. As I rested against the windowpane I heard the door open and someone enter the room. I spun around to see Max, who must have followed me out of the church.

“Hey.” He said. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I lied.

“Are you sure?” He asked, looking at me concerned. “You looked a bit upset in there. Is everything okay?”

“I just haven’t been sleeping well lately.” I said.

“Still having those dreams?” He asked.

“Almost every night, and apparently now while I am awake too.” I laughed.

“Do you want to talk about them?”

I debated it for a moment. I would love to tell someone exactly what I am going through, but how do you talk to someone you hardly know about this type of stuff, so I replied “No. Thanks, though.”

“Well, just remember I will always be here for you … if you need me.” He said.

“Thank you.” I replied, feeling touched that he cared about me so much.

“I’ll see you at school tomorrow. I hope you have a better sleep tonight.” He said as he left the room.

I waited in the room a few more minutes, thinking about Max and his concern for my wellbeing, and thinking about the dreams when I heard the voice again “Akira …” I wanted to get away from that voice, I wanted my head to clear, to be free of any thoughts about the dreams. Not wanting to go back into the church, I slipped out the side entrance, where I ran into Sean who was waiting outside.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, surprised to find him there.

“Uh, I went to your house but you weren’t there, so I figured you were here.” He said. “Did you sort everything out with Maria last night?”

“Yeah I did. Thanks.” I said, thinking back to my discussion with Maria. It seemed so long ago now.

“Good. I’m glad. Um, I was also wondering if you would like to spend the day with me today. I thought we could go for a picnic or something?” Sean asked.

“That would be nice. Let me get my jacket.” I said. I guess my newfound control had disappeared since last night.

Sean had packed a basket, which was already on the back of the bike, and we rode off to Fraser’s Woods, to our usual spot by the lake. Over lunch we chatted about many different things, and I realised that I hadn’t thought about the dreams for the whole day. I felt very relaxed around him, more than I had been on our previous dates. I wondered if it was just because I was beginning to know him better, or whether it was because of my dream. In my dream we had been in love, he had put my life before his own, which I never imagined anyone would ever do for me. I knew that I shouldn’t be basing Sean’s character on what had happened in my dream, it was only my subconscious talking after all, but I guess I just wanted it to be true – that someone could love me that much.

I looked at Sean who was lying next to me on the rug and said “I could really fall for a guy like you.” I don’t know what made me say that at that moment, but I did. He looked at me seriously for a moment and said, “I fell for you a long time ago.” He then kissed me, and I saw the flash of red again, but I also saw images of Sean and I kissing, as though I was seeing it through the eyes of a third person. We were by a lake, but it was different to the one than Fraser’s Woods. And in the sky, there were two moons. Sean was wearing the same military uniform I had seen in my dream, and I was wearing a long flowing dress with a crown on my head.

Sean must have sensed my confusion and pulled out of the kiss.

“What’s wrong?” He asked.

“Nothing. It’s nothing. I have to go.” I said, getting up and beginning to pack up the picnic basket.

“Liz, please tell me what’s wrong. Why is it that whenever it gets intimate between us, you suddenly need to run off home? Did I do something wrong?”

“No, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Then what is it?”

“I can’t talk about it.”

“Don’t you feel like you can trust me?” He asked.

“Of course I do, but … I just can’t talk about it now. Please don’t push me.” I pleaded. How could I tell him what was going on, he would think I was completely insane and I would never see him again.

“Okay, I’ll take you home.” He said, loading the basket and rug onto the back of the bike.

We rode home in silence, not that we could have talked that much over the sound of the engine anyway. When we reached my home, Sean didn’t try to kiss me goodbye, he didn’t even bother to take his helmet off, but sped off down the road the second I was off the bike. I couldn’t help but feel that I had screwed everything up between us, and that Sean probably thought I was a basket case. Why wouldn’t he? Even I felt like I was losing it. One minute I’m falling in love with him because of the way I felt about him in my dreams, the next minute I’m running because he was giving me more flashes of us together in my dream-world. Could my life get any more confusing?
"Do you see what we’ve done?
We’ve gone and made such fools of ourselves..."
Paramore - Decode
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Oz
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Post by Oz »

8

On the way to school I thought over what I had dreamt the night before. I woke up more confused then ever. The questions kept going over in my mind – why was I now dreaming about Max too?

Max, Sean and I were running down a dark corridor.

“In here.” Max said, opening the door to my mother’s room. The three of us ran inside and Max locked the door behind us. A few moments later we heard half a dozen soldiers run past.

“We need to come up with a plan.” Sean said. “Running aimlessly is just going to get us caught.”

“We have to keep running if we want to get out of here alive!” Max whispered forcefully, not wanting to alert the soldiers where we were, but obviously annoyed with Sean. “If we don’t keep moving we will be caught. They’ll corner us and there will be no escape.”

“What if we split up? The three of us make too much noise together.”

Max was not given a chance to reply, because he was interrupted by the sound of my scream. As they had been arguing, I had walked further into the room, to my mother’s bed where I had intended to sit for a moment to catch my breath. On pulling back the curtain of her four-poster bed I found my mother lying there dead. There was blood everywhere, and she was naked and her body bruised and beaten. I felt ill, I couldn’t stand, my legs gave out beneath me and I crumpled to the floor. Sean and Max ran over to me, helping me to my feet. Sean held me in his arms, turning my face away from the sight of my mother, while Max pulled a clean sheet over her still body.

“We need to leave, now!” Max demanded. “They must have heard you scream. They’ll be here any minute.”

“I can’t. I can’t run anymore.” I said, feeling exhausted and defeated. If they could do this to my mother, I could only imagine what they were going to do to me.

“Yes you can. You have to get to the pods. Our survival relies on yours.” Max said. “Let’s go.”

I nodded, knowing what I owed to my people. We headed to the door, and after Max checked that the coast was clear we headed back out into the corridor. We ran down the hall towards the stairs when we heard the soldiers coming back towards us.

“Hide.” Max said, indicating towards the door to another room. Sean and I went inside but Max didn’t follow us. “Get to the pods, I’ll meet you there.” He said running off down the corridor.

Sean quickly locked the door just in time to hear the soldiers shouting, “There he is!” and running in the Max’s direction.

“He’s as good as dead.” Sean whispered to himself.

“Why… Why did he do that?” I asked, not understanding why Max had not followed us into room to safety.

“He had to distract the guards long enough for us to get to safety. He’s braver than I gave him credit for.” Sean said, beginning to pile furniture up against he door. He opened the cupboard and found a pile of sheets. “Here,” he said, “tie these together like a rope and attach them to the bed.

“Surely you’re not thinking …” I began, but he didn’t let me finish.

“It’s our only way out. If we go back out there they will find us, and we will share his fate. As soon as they realise we are not with him they will come back for us. We need to get to the ground and run to the pods. It’s our only chance.”

“What about my father. We have to find my father.” I said.

“I am sure he has being taken care of, and is probably already at the pods. The Royal Guards would have made sure of that.”

“Okay…” I said, wanting so much to believe it. I began to tie the sheets while Sean finished piling furniture up against the door…


Entering the school grounds, I was snapped out of my day dream, reliving the nightmare I had dreamt the night before. I smiled and waved to some of my classmates, but soon slipped back into my reverie.

Wasn’t it enough that I had dragged Sean into my dreams, but now I was dreaming about Max too? I wondered what was happening to me.

I began to think back to all the conversations we had had in the past few weeks. For some reason my mind took me back to the first time I had mentioned my dreams with Max. His initial question was ‘Are you alone in these dreams?’ I hadn’t thought anything of it before, but why would that be the first question that came into his mind? And all the concern he has had for me, and wanting to help me decipher my dreams. It was crazy to think, but somehow I felt Max knew more then he let on.

As I waited at my locker I watched everyone pass me in the hall. I was on the look-out firstly for Max, wanting a chance to talk to him; and secondly for Sean, wanting to avoid him. I know our little mini-disagreement was my fault, and I should apologise, but I really wanted to talk to Max first. I wanted some kind of explanation as to what was happening to me, and for some reason, I felt Max could give it to me. Once I was clear in my mind what was happening, I could then attempt to explain to Sean why I have been acting so weird lately.

The bell rang hailing the beginning of the first lesson, and I had not seen either Max or Sean. My first class was Biology, which I had with Max, so I quickly scribbled a note on a piece of paper and rushed off to class. I was one of the last to arrive, but luckily before the teacher had begun the lesson. As sat down next to Max I discretely dropped the piece of paper in front of him on the desk. I saw him grab it immediately and hide it before the teacher saw, and then glanced at me with a look of surprise. We had never passed notes to each other before, so I can guess why he was a bit shocked. As I sat down at my desk I saw Max peeking at the note, before putting it away in his pocket. I don’t know what the teacher taught us that lesson; I was too nervous thinking about what Max would be thinking, and what I was going to say.

“Are you okay?” whispered Maria who was leaning over from where she was sitting across the aisle from me. “You look like you’re vague-ing out.”

“Yeah, fine. Just didn’t get much sleep last night.” I replied. It was the truth after all, just not the whole truth.

At the end of the class I took my time, feigning some excuse that I had to see the teacher so Maria wouldn’t wait for me. She left and I deliberately waited for Max to walk out of the room before me. I followed ten steps behind him as he walked down the hall before he slipped into the eraser room. I waited a few moments before I followed him in and closed the door behind me. It was dark, as we were unable to turn on the light for fear of having someone find us in there. The eraser room was generally out of bounds, and only used by those hard-core rule-breakers, and make-out junkies. I had never before fitted into either of those categories.

“Hi.” I said, after my eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room.

“Hi.” Max replied, obviously still surprised that I had asked him to meet me here.

“So I guess you’re probably wondering why I asked you here.” I began.

“Yeah, kinda. I am assuming it’s not for a bit of nookie, so what’s up?” Max joked.

“Okay, I’m not exactly sure how to begin, but I have been dealing with something lately, and for some reason I think you can help me.”

“Me? Well, I’ll try.” Max answered hesitantly.

“Alright, here goes…” I hesitated, took a deep breath, and thought to myself ‘it’s now or never’.

“It’s about those dreams I told you about … it’s just that, well, now you’re in them.” I blurted, hoping that he wasn’t going to take what I said the wrong way.

“Oh.” He replied. At first I interpreted that single word as ‘I am trapped in here with some psycho-stalker’ and he was quickly planning his escape. But as he sat in silence and I played that one word over and over in my head, I knew that it meant something different. What that ‘oh’ meant was ‘how am I going to talk myself out of this one’.

“See there – that is not a normal response. Just like when I first told you about my dreams; you asked if anyone else was there. That’s not the first question that would have popped into my head if I had been in your place. I want to know what you know.” I demanded.

“N-nothing. I don’t know anything.” Max stammered, avoiding looking me in the eyes.

“I don’t believe you.”

“Why do you think I know anything? We barely know each other.”

“Ever since the dreams started, you always seem to be around, and you have been very concerned about me. Why is that?”

“Why? Because … well because I know exactly what it is like to go through what you are going through. I was adopted too and I thought I could help you.”

“Great, another member of the ever burgeoning ‘adopted kid club’.” I said sarcastically. Max just looked at me confused.

“Sorry.” I apologised. “So that’s really it. You’re worried about my state of mind in discovering that I’m adopted. Not the fact that I have not had a decent night’s sleep in weeks due to the incessant nightmares. Or that every night when I close my eyes I see the people I care about dying, and there is nothing I can do about it!” I had tears running down my face at this stage.

“Liz… I’m sorry.” Max said, reaching for me.

I pulled away and grabbed my bag.

“Why should you be sorry? As you said, you know nothing about it.” I was about to run out the door, when he grabbed my hand.

“Wait, Liz.” He said, but as he touched me I felt an electric shock and there was a flash of bright blue light.

“Great. That’s all I need.” I said, fed up. “First I get these flashes from Sean and now from you. I really must be going crazy.”

“You’re not crazy.” Max said.

“Yeah, well, lately I’m not so sure. I’m sorry to have made you late for class.” I replied, this time walking out the door. As I rounded the corner I turned back to see if Max was following me, but the hall was empty. He must still be in the eraser room, obviously thinking about what a psycho he had gotten involved with. I was now late for my second lesson, but there was no way I was going. I must look a mess, all red and splotchy, so I spent the entire lesson sitting in the girls’ bathroom thinking about how much of an idiot I must have looked to Max.

* * * * *

At lunch time I was sitting with Maria and Kyle when Sean walked up to the table.

“Hey.” Sean said.

“Hey.” I replied, dreading what would come next.

“Can we talk alone for a minute?” He asked. Yep, there it was, there was no avoiding it. We walked to the oval and took a seat on the bleaches. I didn’t say anything, at first, not knowing what to say. Sean didn’t speak either, and was fidgeting with the ring on his little finger.

“I’m sorry.” We both said at once. We looked at each other and smiled.

“You go first.” I offered.

“Okay, I just wanted to apologise for getting mad last night. You didn’t do anything wrong. I just wanted you to know that.”

“It wasn’t your fault, it was all mine. I got weird, and I couldn’t explain it, so it’s understandable that you reacted the way you did.” I apologised. “I want you to know that I love being with you, it’s just that I am going through something at the moment.”

“And you can’t tell me what it is?” He asked. I wanted so much to tell him but something was stopping me. I don’t know why, I had tried to bare everything to Max, who I barely knew, but I couldn’t tell Sean, who was the person I thought I was falling in love with.

“Not yet. One day I will, but not yet.”

“Okay, I’m going to hold you to that.” Sean smiled as he put his arm around my shoulder. “So … you wanna do some making up tonight?”

“Sorry, can’t, I have to work.” I replied.

“No problem. I was thinking of grabbing a bite to eat at the diner tonight anyway. Just keep my favourite booth free for me won’t you.” He said.

“Of course.” I smiled. I was glad we had made up, and without me needing to explain anything. I should have given Sean a lot more credit than I did.

* * * * *

Sean kept his promise and came to the diner that night. It was nice having him there, stealing glances and exchanging smiles across the room. It was so good to feel loved and wanted. I can’t believe I had been so worried that I was going to lose him.

It was so busy that night that I didn’t see Max enter until I went back to the counter where I saw him sitting on a stool.

“Can I get you something?” I asked.

“Yeah, um, I’ll have some fries and a chocolate milkshake.”

“No problem.” I said, walking away and placing the order with the kitchen. I came back a moment later with his drink.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

“Fine.” I replied curtly. I was still upset about my outburst at school today, and I was also mad at him. I was sure he knew more than he was telling me, but was keeping it to himself. “I’ve got to get back to work.”

“Sure.” He said defeated. I felt guilty about it for a moment, but I quickly put it out of my mind.

Later in the night, when the customers had since left, I was busy cleaning up. As I took a bag of garbage out the back door to the bin I overheard some voices in the alley. Fearing going out there by myself in the dark, I carefully listened from the door.

“Stay away from her.” The first voice said.

“Why? What are you so scared of?” The second voice demanded. I recognised both voices, so I peaked out around the corner to confirm whom they belonged to. The first voice belonged to Sean, and the second to Max.

“I’m not scared of anything. I just don’t want her to get hurt.” Sean said.

“Why would you think that I would hurt her? How could you think that?” Max replied.

“She’s not ready for the truth.”

“I don’t know… She’s starting to ask questions.”

“Is that what that meeting was about today?” Sean questioned. “You think I didn’t know about that?”

“I wasn’t trying to hide it. I only found out about you because of something she said today.”

“You knew. You knew about me sixteen years ago but conveniently forgot about me. You were supposed to protect me.”

“I don’t know what went wrong, and I tried searching for you everywhere, but I couldn’t find you.”

“You didn’t look hard enough.” Sean said.

“I’m sorry okay. What more can I do?” Max asked.

“You can stay away from her.”

Max was silent for a moment before replying, “I can’t do that.”

“That’s a big mistake.” Sean said threateningly before walking off down the alley to the street. Max waited for a moment before leaving as well.

I couldn’t believe what had just happened. They had to have been talking about me, I was sure of it. Max definitely had the answers I needed, but for some reason Sean didn’t want me to know. Everything was so confusing. Sean had said that he had been forgotten sixteen years ago, but he was only sixteen years old now. How was Max supposed to protect him when he was the same age as us? I had so many questions, and felt more confused than ever.

After putting the garbage in the bin I went back inside to close up. I took one last sweep of the diner and kitchen to make sure everything had been tidied up before walking to the front door to double-check it had been locked. As I looked through the glass onto the street I saw Max standing there looking back at me. I hesitated for a moment, before I opened the door and let him inside.

“Hi.” He said.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, minus the usual pleasantries.

“Um, I was hoping we could talk.”

“Oh, so you want to talk now? You didn’t particularly want to talk earlier today.” I blurted.

“That’s because I didn’t have anything to say that you wanted to hear.” Max said.

“Cut the crap Max. I heard your conversation with Sean.” I stopped walking and stared him down.

“You … you did?” Max was obviously uncomfortable. “What did you hear?”

“Enough to know that you have the answers I want and you are deliberately keeping them from me.” I accused.

“I’m sorry.” Max said with his eyes downcast.

“That’s just great, you’re sorry. You lied to me and you made me feel as though I was going insane.”

“I’ll tell you everything you want to know. Can we go someplace to talk?” Max begged.

“I have to get upstairs, it’s late, and my parents will get worried.” I replied, desperately wanting the answers, but hesitant about going somewhere late at night with Max. I didn’t particularly trust him at this moment.

“Okay. But take this with you.” Max replied taking his keys out of his pocket. From the key ring he detached a tiny torch, the size of my little finger.

“What’s this for?” I asked.

“This is an ultra-violet light torch. Shine it on the journal I gave you. It will give you some of the answers you need.” Max said handing me the torch. “I’ll see you tomorrow at school.”

Max began to walk away, and I was left feeling more perplexed than ever. I had the answers within my grasp; I’d had them for a while now and didn’t know it. I practically ran upstairs, desperate to see what was written in my journal.

After saying goodnight to my parents I rushed off to my room, making sure I locked the door behind me. Anticipating a long night ahead, I changed into my pyjamas before grabbing my journal and getting into bed. Turning the torch light on I noticed that some of the pages in my journal began to glow. I quickly flipped to the back of the journal and opened it up. There were pages and pages of writing. I turned to the first page and began to read …

‘What you are about to read is probably going to sound farfetched and unbelievable, but I pray that you believe what I say for it is the truth. I have spent many hours, and have made many attempts of finding a way to explain everything to you, and have come to the conclusion that there is no easy way to say it. Please forgive the writer for his incompetencies, and read all that I have to tell you with an open mind.

‘Now I guess the logical place to start is telling you who you are. Your name is Princess Akiramon, the only child of the King and Queen of Antar…’


‘Antar… That was the star Sean pointed out to me... Surely it’s a coincidence, he can’t possible be suggesting that I come from another planet.’ I thought to myself before continuing to read.

‘… the fourth planet in the Whirlwind galaxy…’

‘Okay, well I guess he is suggesting that.’

‘… Your father was a great ruler, and the planet lived in peace and prosperity for many years. There was no poverty, no hunger and no violence. Unfortunately, there were those in society who did not enjoy this peaceful existence. A rival faction sprang up in the western province with a desire to overthrow the ruling class and take control for themselves. This group was led by Kivar, your cousin. He believed that his father’s bloodline were the rightful heirs to the throne and somehow had managed to convince others that your Father was a bad leader and needed to be removed from the throne. In the desert they trained in secret for years, building weapons and training in combat. They knew the desert well, and remained undetected by the Royal Guard who patrolled the area.

Your father had received warnings of an uprising by his advisors, but refused to believe them until it was too late. One day, in the horizon, the lookouts saw what looked like a sand storm approaching the city. The alarm was raised, and all citizens locked themselves in their homes waiting for it to pass. Unfortunately the lookouts were wrong. The sandstorm was in fact caused by the dust being kicked up by the approach of a massive army, who was now able to make it all the way to the palace through the empty streets of the city. The gates were barricaded and the Royal Guard alerted, but they were only able to slow down the approaching army. Once the gates were destroyed, some of the soldiers entered the palace in search of the royal family, while the rest dispersed among the city, looting, pillaging, raping and murdering anyone who stood in their path.

Luckily for the royal family, someone had taken the advice of an impending threat very seriously, and for the previous six months had been building a craft to allow the royal family to escape the planet if necessary. There were five pods, one each for your parents, yourself, a Royal Advisor and a Royal Guard, your fiancé. As soon as the palace was aware of the approaching army, the pods were prepared for departure. However the Royal Family had to get from the palace to the pod chambers. Unfortunately both your parents were killed before they could leave the palace, and you only barely escaped with your life.

The pods successfully transported us to earth, to the desert outside Roswell to be precise. There you took the form of a baby where your adopted parent’s found you. Unfortunately your fiancé was separated from us before we landed and I have been unsuccessful in all attempts to discover his whereabouts.

Since your arrival to this planet I kept watch over you, ensuring your safety, as well as waiting for a time when I could tell you the truth about who you are. Fearing that something may happen to me before I could tell you, I wrote it down in this journal with the hope that it would get to you somehow…”


How was I supposed to believe everything I had just read? Admittedly it explained part of what I had seen in my dreams, but come on – space travel? And me, a princess? This was too weird; too unbelievable. But I couldn’t ignore the fact that there was no way Max could know that much about my dreams. I had never told him what was happening, not in that much detail.

I threw the journal to one side and looked at the bedside clock. It was 3:00am – yet another late night. I tried to get some sleep, but of course, I could never escape the dreams …

I was standing at a window, watching the approaching sand storm about to hit the city. I didn’t feel scared; it was as though I had been through many similar storms in the past. I saw the inhabitants in the city pack up their shops and lock themselves inside to wait out the storm. I knew I would be safe in the palace so I waited and watched.

I heard the door to the room open, and turning around I saw Max enter.

“You shouldn’t be near the window. It could be dangerous.” He said, walking over to where I stood.

“I’ll be fine. It’s just a sand storm.” I said, turning back to the window.

“You always did like living dangerously.” He smiled, giving me a sideways glance.

“You know me well.” I replied, not taking my eyes of the window. I felt uncomfortable being alone with Max and he must have felt it too because he quickly moved away and sat at the table in the middle of the room.

I waited at the window a while longer, watching as the sand storm reached the city limits, but as it did, the sand began to disappear revealing something else.

“Oh my goodness …” I said, when I finally realised what I was seeing.

“What’s wrong?” Max asked, looking up from the table.

“It’s not a storm … its … thousands of people…”

Max came running up to the window. When he saw what I was seeing he went white as a sheet.

“Who are they?” I asked, looking out of the palace window at the impending attack of hundreds of soldiers.

“It’s true. It’s really true…” He mumbled.

“What’s true?” I asked, starting to feel scared.

“Six months ago we received unconfirmed reports that there was a rebel army training in the desert, planning to overthrow the King. We checked it out, and couldn’t find any evidence. We thought it was a hoax.”

“Kivar?” I asked.

“Very possible.” Max answered.

“No, not yet, I’m not ready. This can’t be happening now.” I asked, starting to panic.

“We need to get out of here.” Max replied.

“Go where? They’re surrounding the palace.” I said, seeing the soldiers come closer and closer to the palace walls.

“To the pod chambers. We need to get to the pod chambers before it’s too late.” Max said grabbing my hand.

I pulled my hand away harshly. “Not until you tell me what you are talking about.”

“There were a few of us who wanted to be prepared in case the rumours were true. We needed a way of getting the Royal family off this planet if anything like this happened. We built five pods that would take you away from this planet.”

“What?” I said, not believing it was true. “Why have I never heard of this before?”

“You father decided that he preferred that you didn’t know until it was necessary. Now it seems it is necessary.”

“What about the prophecy?” I asked.

“You said it yourself – you’re not ready.”

The soldiers had reached the gates and were trying to get in. The Royal Guard was attempting to hold them back for as long as possible but were outnumbered. The army burst forth, pouring into the palace grounds. From where I was standing I could see others in the streets of the city, smashing shop windows, killing anyone that tried to defend themselves or their property.

“Princess, we need to leave right now!” Max said.

At that moment Sean burst into the room.

“They’ve entered the palace. If we’re leaving we need to go now.” He said grabbing my hand.

The three of us ran out into the passageway, trying to find the quickest route out. We heard a few shouts from behind and we knew they were chasing us. We would hide in different rooms when we heard them getting closer, and when the coast was clear we would continue running down the passageway, and down stairs to get out of the palace. Eventually we came to my mother’s room…


I woke up with a start, feeling grateful that I didn’t have to see the image of my mother’s dead body again. I looked at my bedside clock. It was almost time to get up for school, but I had a raging headache from the lack of sleep and restless dreams. I really didn’t want to face school today, or face Max for that matter. I got out of bed and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water and some aspirin. My mother was already beginning to make breakfast.

“Good morning, how did you sleep?” She asked.

“Not well, and I have a really bad headache.” I said as I took an aspirin.

“No, you don’t look very well. Why don’t you go back to bed, and I’ll tell school you’re not coming in today.”

I was so grateful that my mother knew exactly what I needed, without me having to beg for permission to stay home.

“Thanks mum.” I said giving her a quick hug before returning to my room. I immediately got back into bed, closed my eyes and tried to sleep.

It must have been the pain killers I had taken, because my dreams were incoherent and restless. Images flashed before my eyes … my parent’s dead bodies … clouds of smoke billowing from the city … the sound of gunfire and screaming. Over and over the same visions repeated like a scratched CD. I finally woke to the sound of someone saying my name. As my eyes adjusted to the light I saw Max leaning over me.

“Hey, bad dream?” He asked when he saw my eyes open.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, sitting up quickly.

“I was worried when you didn’t show up for school today.”

“So you decided to try your hand at breaking and entering?” I quipped back.

“No … um … I’m sorry. I’ll just leave.” Max said as he headed back to the open window which he had obviously just climbed through.

“Wait. I’m sorry for being rude. You just surprised me, that’s all.” I apologised after seeing the pained expression on his face. “I guess we should probably talk anyway. Just wait a minute and I’ll get dressed.”

I quickly climbed out of bed, grabbed a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and headed to the bathroom. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and tried to fix my messed up hair. I quickly changed and walked back into my bedroom to see Max was looking at some photos on my pin-up board. He was smiling for some reason.

“What?” I asked, curious as to what had gotten his attention.

“Nothing.” He replied, quickly spinning around when he realised I had caught him looking at my things.

“So … the journal…” I began, seating myself on the edge of my bed. Max took a seat on my desk chair opposite me.

“Yeah … the journal.” He replied.

“It was a fascinating story, but you don’t expect me to believe any of it, do you?” I asked.

“I know it is hard to believe, but it is the truth, and I know that deep down you know it is too.”

“I’ll admit that it is uncanny how similar it is to the dreams I have been having, but there has to be another explanation.” Please God, let there be another explanation.

“It’s all true. Your name is Akiramon, heir to the throne of Antar. You travelled to earth sixteen years ago, where you were born again…”

“It’s not possible.”

“It is.”

“Why are you doing this to me?” I begged.

“I’m just trying to give you the answers you wanted.”

“Why now? Yesterday you denied everything, why talk now?” I asked, wanting to know what had changed his mind.

“You threw me off guard yesterday. I wasn’t prepared to answer your questions. I needed time to think about what to say.”

“You mean to make up something!”

“I’m telling the truth. You have to believe me.”

“You haven’t given me any proof.”

“You said yourself that your dreams are the same as what is written in the journal. How do you explain that?”

“The journal. Everything is written in there. How do I know you didn’t read it, and then write you story in the back afterwards?” I demanded.

“I swear I didn’t.”

“That’s not good enough. You need to give me something more than your oath.”

“Okay, come over to the mirror.” He said, reaching out his hand.

“Why?” I asked hesitantly, moving over to stand in front of the mirror. Max reached for the UV torch on my desk. Moving to my side he made me turn my head side on to the mirror. He gently pushed the hair away from my ear where he shone the torch. Behind my earlobe was a tiny mark, small enough to look like a freckle, but on closer inspection it seemed to be a small triangular symbol.

“What is that?” I asked, never having seen it before.

“That is the Royal mark. Every member of the royal family is given this mark behind their ear when they are born as proof of their parentage.” Max explained, turning off the torch.

I didn’t know what to say. How could he know to find that mark there?

“I … I still don’t know.” I said hesitantly. How could I believe what he was saying? It was still so ridiculous. My heart was beginning to believe but my head was still saying ‘no’.

“You need more proof?” He asked.

“Yes.” I admitted.

“Alright. When you dreamed of flying through space and crashing to earth, do you remember what you saw when you landed?” He asked.

“Yeah … I was the desert, and there were strange lights, and then it all went black.”

“Lights, like this?” Max said putting his palm up. From his hand a bright ball of blue light began to form and swirl in his palm. The light lit up every corner of the room. I sat there watching with my mouth gaping wide… this was getting too weird. Max played with the light in his palm for a moment, before it disappeared again. He looked at me, trying to gage my reaction.

“Was that the light you saw?”

“There was a white light too.” I said. Anxious to know how he did it, but letting my mouth speak the doubts I still had.

Max took my hand in his, holding my palm up towards the ceiling with his underneath. I felt a heat emanating from his hand, and in my palm formed a ball of white light. Just as bright as the previous blue light, the white light filled my room.

“Like that?” Max asked.

“Yes …” I said in wonder, watching the bright ball of light lightly touching the palm of my hand. Was this really happening? All I could do was stare. The only word I could form was “How?”

Max took his hand away and the light disappeared.

“It’s hard to explain. The simple answer is, the light is our energy, our essence, our soul.”

“So how did you do it? How did you take your essence, or whatever, and form that ball in your hand.” I questioned.

“I just had to access a certain part of my brain which enabled me to project the light. You could do it too one day, with practice.”

“What else can you do?” I asked curiously.

“Does this mean you believe me now?” Max asked.

“I don’t know… I’m finding it really hard to come up for another explanation, except that you are David Copperfield’s long lost son.” To which Max just smiled.

“You don’t know what a relief it is to be able to talk to you about this … your past. Our past. I have wanted to tell you for so many years now, but I was scared.” Max admitted.

“Scared of me?” I asked.

“No, scared that you wouldn’t believe me. Scared that I would lose my only chance to explain everything because you would run from me.”

“Are you still scared?” I asked.

“A little. But your still here, that’s a start.” He smiled again.

“I still have questions though. There is so much that I need to know… that I need explained.”

“I know, but not now, your mum’s coming.” He said as he backed towards the window. “We’ll talk more later, I promise.”

Max ducked out the window the very moment I heard my mother coming up the passage way. I wondered how he had heard her before I had. That was something else to add to my list of questions to ask.

“Hi honey.” Mum said when she entered my bedroom and saw that I was up and dressed. “How are you feeling?”

‘Confused and overwhelmed.’ I wanted to say, but instead I simply said “Better. Thanks.”

“Well, you look better. Do you want me to make you something for lunch? You didn’t have any breakfast this morning.”

“Thanks mum. That would be nice.”

As she left the room, I laid back on my bed, reeling in everything that had happened with Max. I had gone from complete disbelief of what he had written in the journal, to seeing strange markings on my body, and creating balls of light in the palm of my hand. I picked up the diary again, rereading what Max had written, and then reading my own dream diary. How could I believe that this could be true? It was completely impossible. But I had seen a couple of things this morning that were unbelievable, yet they happened. If I let myself believe what Max had told me, my life was going to change, and there would be no going back.
"Do you see what we’ve done?
We’ve gone and made such fools of ourselves..."
Paramore - Decode
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Oz
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Posts: 264
Joined: Thu Mar 09, 2006 7:06 am
Location: Down Under

Post by Oz »

Thanks for the feedback guys, you're all very motivating (although if I fail this semester because I've spent more time posting than writing my assignments, I'll blame you all! :lol: )

I just need to give you a heads up with this part. It does answer a few questions (while, as always, raising more), but please don't freak out with the direction I'm taking with Max - this is an alternate universe don't forget (and no, he's not Nasedo, he just has some of his abilities). Hopefully it makes sense when you read it...


9

The next day I was desperate to talk to Max again. I had so many questions, although I knew we wouldn’t be able to talk at school. He must have been feeling the same way too, because first thing in the morning, while I was at my locker, he came over to talk to me.

“Hey. How are you?” He asked.

“Still here.” I said, remembering what he had said yesterday about being scared of me running away from him.

“You are.” He replied, smiling.

“We really need to talk some more.” I said.

“How about after school? I’ll drive you home.” Max offered.

“Sure. I’ll see you in the car park after sixth period.” I agreed.

“Okay…” Max replied. He looked like he was going to say something more, but went quiet when he saw Sean walk up to us. I remembered the conversation I had overheard a couple of nights ago and could understand Max’s silence. I gave him an understanding look.

“What’s going on here?” Sean asked, giving Max a menacing look.

“Max’s just catching me up on Biology.” I lied, with a smile.

“I’ll see you later.” Max said, making a quick exit.

“So how are you?” Sean asked.

“Better. I just had a headache yesterday, so I slept most of the day.” I replied.

“Well I’m glad you’re better. Do you want to do something after school today?” He asked.

“Sorry, I can’t. I’ve got to catch up on the classes I missed yesterday. I was already behind on my assignments, let alone missing a day of school. Raincheck?”

“Sure.” Sean said, slightly disheartened, but obviously not wanting to push.

“I’ll see you later.” I said, closing my locker and heading to my first class, with only the slightest pang of guilt for lying to Sean.

* * * * *

After school I waited in the car park for Max. I carefully looked around to ensure Sean didn’t see me, wanting to avoid an uncomfortable situation. Luckily Max didn’t keep me waiting long, and we were soon driving out of the car park. Max didn’t drive me straight home, instead we began to drive towards the highway, and out to the desert.

“Where are we going?” I asked, not worried, but curious. Max seemed to have a specific destination in mind.

“Somewhere we can talk without the risk of being overheard.”

I could understand why he wanted to keep the subject matter between us. Eventually, he pulled off the highway to a dirt road that led up towards the mountains, and turned the engine off.

“Let’s walk for a while.” He said.

We took a path leading up the side of a small rocky hill, and on reaching the top I took in the view of the surrounding area. All the years I had lived in New Mexico, I never got sick of the sight of the desert. We found a rocky seat near the edge of a sharp drop down to where we had parked the car.

“Okay, question one …” Max said looking at me.

“Question one is - why? Why build some space ship and fly all the way to Earth?” I asked.

“Because, your life was in too much danger on Antar. We had no choice.”

“But didn’t you say Antar was a peaceful planet? Surely there were other options. We could have left the city, gone somewhere else, and hid from the army.”

“They would have found you. They would have stopped at nothing until they found you.”

“Why? What was so special about me? Why would anyone care enough to hunt me down?” I questioned. Leaving the planet seemed like such a drastic option.

“You were … special. You had … gifts.” Max said hesitantly, as though he was searching for the right word.

“Like yours? Like what you did yesterday?” I asked.

“No… my powers are immature compared to yours.”

“What do you mean? What could I do?”

“There was an old prophecy that one day evil would come to Antar. The land would be taken over by a Dark Prince, and the King and Queen would be killed. The land would go to ruin, people would be enslaved, and darkness would fall over all the land. But one day, a saviour would come to free the people from their enslavement and the Dark Prince would be defeated. Freedom would come from the hand of a woman.”

“Me?” I asked, seeing where he was leading with this story.

Max nodded.

“How do you know it was me?”

“One day an old prophet came to the palace to consult with your father. He had received a vision of such importance that he had made the long journey to see your father personally. He prophesised before your parents and all the Royal Advisors that were gathered in the room, that you were the woman that would save Antar from evil. Of course the news spread fast, and it was not long before the entire world had heard the story about the saviour princess. However, this put you in greater danger, as your parents feared that one day someone would harm you.”

“To stop the prophecy coming true?”

“Exactly. You were under constant supervision whenever you left the palace grounds, never allowed to go anywhere on your own. One day the prophet returned to the palace with a new prophecy. He said that once the army came, if you stayed on Antar you would be killed. Plans were immediately put in place to find a way to get you, and your parents, off the planet as soon as the uprising began.”

“So the pods were built.”

“Yes, and I think you know the rest. The uprising began, you were evacuated, but your parents didn’t make it. You were sent to Earth with myself and …”

“Sean.” I said, the first time mentioning his name to Max.

“Yes.”

“Well I guess that takes me to my second question – How does Sean fit into all of this?”

“He was your fiancé.” Max replied uncomfortably, as if he would rather be discussing anything but this.

I remembered what Max had written in the journal. I had come to earth with a Royal Advisor and my fiancé, but my fiancé got separated. It made sense. That’s what Max meant the other night when he said that he had tried to find Sean. Sean had been separated from us when we reached the Earth’s atmosphere.

“Sean said the other night that he didn’t want me to know anything. Why not?” I asked curiously.

“I don’t know. I guess he is scared like me. Not wanting you to run from either of us when finding out about the truth.”

“Okay, so you and Sean are obviously both in the know. Why am I so far behind? Why have I suddenly only begun to have these dreams, memories, whatever, now?” I questioned.

“It was the way you were programmed. You were designed to begin remembering everything when you were sixteen years old.”

I remembered back to the night of my first dream, which was on my sixteenth birthday.

“So what about you? Why do you know so much? Why are you different to me?” I asked.

“I was programmed differently. I was sent here as your protector, therefore I needed all of my memories.”

“So when you got here, you were a baby like me, but with an adult’s lifetime worth of memories?” I asked.

“Not exactly. I needed to be able to protect you. I took the form of an adult so I could watch over you.”

“But I’ve known you since we were twelve years old.” I stated.

“That’s true, I have been in this form for the past four years, but before that I took a different form.”

“You can do that?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Can I?”

“No.”

“How come?” I questioned.

“Again, it’s all in the programming.”

“So what form did you take before this one?” I said, pointing to him.

“Do you remember James?”

“No …” I said, not being able to believe it.

“Yes.”

Of course I remembered James, and how close we used to be. James used to work the grill at the restaurant. He’d been there for as long as I could remember, and was practically one of the family. He even used to rent our spare bedroom off of my parents. He left when I was twelve, claiming he was going to travel around the world. As I thought about it some more I could see the resemblances, especially his eyes, Max had the same eyes. Why had I never noticed Max’s eyes before?

“He … you … still send me postcards.” I said, remembering the box I had in my room full of postcards from around the world that James had supposedly visited, and those still pinned to my pin-up board. Now I knew what Max had been looking at in my room.

“I know. I didn’t want to disappear from you life altogether. I didn’t want you to feel as though I had abandoned you.”

“Thank you.” I replied, touched that he had felt about my feelings at losing such a good friend, almost a member of the family, at such a young age.

“Okay, so what about Sean? Is he the same? Is that why he has his memories?” I asked.

“No. He was programmed like you, so I am not sure why he has developed his memories already.”

“So he is not going to turn out to be another of my long lost relatives?” I joked.

“No. At least, I don’t think so …” Max smiled. “Anyway, on the subject of Sean… I just want you to be careful around him.”

“Why? I thought you said he was my fiancé?”

“He was. It’s just … I have been picking up a bad vibe from him since he arrived in town.”

“You too huh?”

“You’ve felt it too?” He asked.

“Yeah.”

“I’m not sure if we should trust him yet.”

“But he’s one of us.” I argued.

“Yeah I know, just be careful.” Max warned.

“I will. There’s something I still don’t understand though. In my dreams, my memories, when we were running to the pods… well, Sean was captured. How could he have made it to the pods?”

“What?”

“The army had us trapped, I managed to get away, but Sean didn’t make it. I heard the gunfire, there was no way he could have made it out alive.” I desperately wanted Max to have an explanation.

“I don’t know… I don’t have an answer for you. Just be careful okay?”

“Okay.”

“So, anymore questions?” Max asked.

“Hundreds.”

“It’s getting dark, we probably should get going soon.” Max said.

I looked at my watch and saw that it was almost 6 o’clock. I was going to be late for work.

“Yeah, I really have to go. But don’t think that means you are off the hook. You have many more questions to answer.”

“I know, I promise I’ll answer every question you have.” Max said as he helped me to my feet.

* * * * *

I did get to work late that night; so I sneaked in the back entrance and quickly put my uniform on. As I peered out the small window in the door to the diner I noticed that Maria and Sean were talking together at the counter, laughing at something Maria had said. I suddenly felt a pang of what I could only put down to jealousy. I mean, Sean was my fiancé in a past life, he was mine. I felt uncomfortable seeing someone else make him laugh, even if she was my best friend. I walked out into the diner, still tying my apron around my waist.

“Hey Maria, sorry I’m late.” I said to Maria, and giving Sean a shy smile.

“No probs. The restaurant is quiet tonight anyway.”

“Get your study done?” Sean asked.

“Um, oh yeah, some of it. I still have a pile of work to do when I finish here though.” I lied, remembering the excuse I had given Sean earlier that day.

“I guess there goes any chance of going for a ride tonight.” Sean said, obviously disappointed.

“Yeah, sorry, maybe on the weekend?” I apologised.

Later that night I was in my room, digging through my shoebox full of postcards from James aka Max. At the bottom of the box I found something that he had given me long ago. It was a silver cross, and I used to wear it everyday for a year after James gave it to me. I stopped wearing it the day he left. I was an upset twelve year old, who didn’t understand why he had to leave. Looking at it now I decided that I would start wearing it again. Technically James had come back into my life, reincarnated as Max. The cross was comforting to me now, rather than being a reminder of someone who left me. I looked at the cross closely and saw something I hadn’t noticed before. In the middle of the cross was the symbol - the symbol! The one behind my earlobe. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed it before, and I couldn’t help but wonder, was this from my home planet? Did I have a piece of where I came from, and kept it forgotten in a shoe box all this time? I undid the clasp and put the necklace around my neck. I would not leave it forgotten anymore.

As I was putting the shoebox back on the shelf in my wardrobe I heard a tap at my window. Turning around I saw Sean standing there.

“Hi.” I said as I opened the window for him to enter. “What are you doing here?” I asked.

“I decided that since we couldn’t go riding tonight, that perhaps I could help you with your study.” He said looking over to my unopened books on by desk. “And it seems I got here just in time.” He joked.

“Yeah, I was about to start.” I lied.

“Well, I’ll help you. I managed to get some notes from someone at school to help you out.” He said, pulling a book from his bag.

“Thanks. That’s really sweet.” I replied.

“I know.” Sean said grinning. “Now let’s get started.” He said pulling me over to the desk and sitting me down in front of my books. “Where shall we begin? English or History?”

“English.” I replied.

For the next couple of hours we talked about nothing but school work, and I must admit, I got through more of my homework than I had expected. Sean was very bright, and helped me through some of the work I had missed. As I packed up my books and Sean was getting ready to leave, I couldn’t help but wish he could stay longer. I was beginning to feel comfortable with him again, despite what I had said to Max earlier that day. How could Sean be dangerous when he could be as sweet as he was tonight?

“Well, I guess I will see you at school tomorrow.” I said as he picked up his bag to leave.

“Yeah.”

“Thanks for your help tonight. I don’t know what I would have done without you.” I said.

“No problem. There is something you could do for me though.” Sean said.

“What’s that?” I said.

“Kiss me.” Sean said.

I couldn’t help but smile shyly at Sean. He slowly put his bag back on the ground and took a step closer to me. Reaching out he put his hand on my cheek and lifted my lips up to his. The kiss was so tender that I could feel myself tremble. My heart was pounding, and I began to feel light headed. Why was it that Sean could make me melt with just a simple touch? As the kiss intensified I began to get flashes, flashes of red, flashes of Sean and I, and flashes of the symbol from my cross. I felt a warmth on my chest, that was getting hotter and hotter. I pulled away from Sean to see that my necklace was emitting a bright white light. I pulled my shirt around my neck in an attempt to hide it from Sean, but I knew that he had seen it too.

“What’s that?” He asked, reaching for my necklace and holding the cross in his hand. The light had gone, but he still studied it intently. “Where did you get this?” He asked.

“An old friend gave it to me a long time ago. I found it in a box tonight and decided to wear it again.” I said truthfully.

“It’s nice.” He said, tucking back under my collar. “I had better go. See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Thanks again for your help tonight.” I replied.

Sean just smiled as he climbed out the window. Closing it behind him, I wondered why he hadn’t said anything more about the necklace. It was impossible that he could have missed the bright light emanating from it. It made me wonder whether I should tell him what I had remembered, what Max had told me. After all, he was my fiancé in our past life, why shouldn’t I tell him everything?

* * * * *

“Mother? Can I ask you something?” I asked. We were in her bedroom, and I sat on her bed watching her put on her make-up.

“Of course. What is it?” She asked, pausing before she began to apply her lipstick.

“How did you know that you were in love with father?”

“Well, I just knew.” My mother asked vaguely.

“Yes, but how?” I persisted.

“I guess it was the way my heart would flutter whenever he was in the room. The way I used to melt if he just touched me… Why do you ask? You’re not having second thoughts about marrying Sean are you?”

“No … I just … I don’t know. I just feel so confused.”

My mother moved from where she was sitting at her dressing table and sat down next to me on her bed.

“I know it feels overwhelming, but if you love him then what is there to be confused about?” she said, taking my hand in hers.

“I do love him. But how do I know that he is the only one for me? What if there is someone out there who I could love more? What if Sean is not my soul mate?”

“Is there someone else?” She asked, startled.

“No…” I quickly denied, getting up from the bed and pacing the room. “I’m not talking about anyone in particular, I’m talking generally.”

“Honey, you are just having cold feet. That’s understandable. Besides, even if there is someone else out there, how can you be certain that you will ever meet them? What if you wait your whole life waiting only to end up spending your life alone?”

“You are probably right...”

“Of course I am right. Now go off and find that fiancé of yours and tell him how much you love him.” She said giving me a kiss on the forehead.

“Thanks mum.” I said leaving her room. Walking down the corridor I went into the drawing room, which was empty. This was my favourite room in the house, and I knew that Sean would find me there this morning. He was probably out training this morning, so until he came I would stand near the window and watch the world go by around me. I fiddled with the cross around my neck, like I did whenever I was nervous or deep in thought. I prayed that I was doing the right thing marrying Sean. It was true that I loved him, but I still felt so hesitant.


10

The next day at school I grabbed Max in the hallway as he was walking passed.

“We need to talk. Now.” I said, pulling him into a nearby empty classroom.

“What’s going on?” He asked when the door was shut.

“This.” I said showing him the necklace I was still wearing.

“I didn’t realise you still wore that.” Max smiled, remembering how many years ago he had given it to me.

“I didn’t, not until last night.”

“So what’s up?” He asked, still confused as to what was wrong.

“Why did you give it to me?” I asked.

“Well … because I wanted you to have it. It was a birthday present, I think it was your 11th birthday.”

“But why this cross? Why this symbol?”

“What’s with all the questions. It was a gift, that’s all.”

“I saw this cross in my dream last night, I remember wearing it.”

“Oh.”

“Did you give it to me then too?”

“No, I don’t know where you got it from.”

“Is this the same cross? Is this from home?”

“No, I made it. It is an exact replica of the one you used to wear.”

“What did you make it with? What type of metal is it?” I asked.

“I don’t know, sterling silver maybe.”

“Then why did it start glowing last night?”

“It glowed?” Max asked quizzically.

“It practically emitted a bright light that lit the entire room.”

“Were you alone?”

“No, I was with Sean.”

“And it just started glowing for no reason? What were you doing?” Max asked.

“Um … we were, uh … kissing.” I blushed.

“Oh.” Max went quiet for a moment. “Did Sean see it?”

“I think so. He didn’t say anything but there is no way he could have missed it.” I replied.

“Okay, don’t panic, I’ll deal with Sean.”

“You still haven’t told me what is going on. Metal is not supposed to glow like that.” I demanded, knowing full well that Max would try to get out of explaining if he could.

“I designed it to be able to protect you. It was supposed to warn you if you were in danger.”

“So, what? Sean is dangerous? This tune is getting old.”

“Just be careful okay?”

“Yeah, you keep saying that… I’ve got to get to class, I’ll see you later.” I said, picking up my bag and walking out of the classroom. I was beginning to get tired of Max’s warnings. The more time I spent with Sean, the more comfortable I felt around him, and the less I considered he was threat. I was annoyed at Max for not seeing him the same way.

I flopped down at my desk and waited or the class to start. I saw Max’s empty chair and started to feel a little guilty for being so rude to him. But then again, I was sick of his secrets and his warnings. He deserved to suffer for a little while. I would apologise at lunch.

As I thought about Max images of him flickered in my mind. They were not clear at first, only flashes, but as I concentrating on seeing the images more clearly, they stopped flickering, and remained clear and constant like a day dream.

I could see Max still in the room where I had left him, about to pick up his backpack and head to class. Suddenly the door opened and Sean walked into the room.

“Sean.” Max said in acknowledgement.

“Max. You’ve told her, haven’t you?” Sean began the accusations immediately.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“She knows. I thought we agreed not to tell her yet.”

“I never agreed with you, and I will not be threatened into following your orders. Don’t forget who’s in charge here. You are merely a solider, I am her advisor, and I believed it was in our best interests if she knew the truth.”

“More like you were trying to rekindle the past. Manoeuvre your way in like you used to.” Sean accused.

“What are you talking about? You were her fiancé, she loved you.” Max said sullenly.

“We both know that’s not the complete truth … that’s why you gave her that necklace.”

Max was silent, obviously not sure on how to reply to Sean. Sean let the subject drop.

“How much does she know?” Sean demanded.

“Not a lot. She’s been having some memories, but nothing critical.”

“Does she know about me?” Sean asked.

“Yes.” Max replied.

“How much?”

“She knows that you were engaged. She knows that you were there when the attack came. She knows that you were in the pods with us.”

“And that’s it?”

“Yes.”

“What else have you told her?”

“Just the basics, who she is, where she came from, why we had to come here.”

“But you haven’t told her about her powers yet have you?”

Max was silent.

“Oh please tell me you didn’t activate them.” Sean pleaded.

Max was silent still.

“What the hell were you thinking? Does she understand them? Does she know how to use them?” Sean fired the questions.

“No she doesn’t. We’ve talked about it a little, but I didn’t want to freak her out too much.”

“Great, so now she’s walking around with all these abilities she doesn’t know she has, and unable to control them!”

“She’ll be fine. Relax.”

“How do you expect me to relax? You have put all of us in danger, especially Akira.”

“I was doing what I felt was best. I decide what is going to happen and when; your job is to protect her, not to make decisions.” Max said aggressively, taking several steps towards Sean.

“Oh, so now I am supposed to protect her. What about the last sixteen years of our lives? How was I supposed to protect her then?” Sean demanded.

“I told you I am sorry for what happened, but now that you are here you have to fulfil your duty.”

“How do you expect me to be able to do my duty when I am kept in the dark about everything?”

“Try harder.” Max snarled.

Sean and Max stared each other down until Sean turned and headed out of the room.


Suddenly I felt someone kick my chair and I snapped back to reality. When I say ‘snapped’ that’s exactly what I mean. You know how if feels to have an extended rubber band snap back on your fingers, well that’s how my head felt when it was rudely brought back to the present. When I was finally able to adjust to where I was I saw the teacher looking at me strangely. She was calling the role and I had obviously not answered her, hence the kick of my chair by Maria.

“Liz?”

“Present.” I stammered, the class erupting in laughter. So much for hoping no one had noticed me vague-ing out.

“Are you alright Liz? You look pale.” The teacher looked at me concerned. Twenty other heads in the room turned to look at me too.

“Can I have a hall pass?” I asked, getting up from my seat. Suddenly the world started spinning and I had to clutch onto the desk to stop myself from falling over.

“I’ll take her to the nurse’s station.” I heard Maria say from behind me. She picked up my books, grabbed my arm and directed me out of the room.

“Are you okay?” Maria asked.

“I don’t feel too good.” I said, holding my head which was burning up. How was it possible that it could hurt so much?

“Let’s go to the bathroom. You’ll feel better when you splash some cold water on your face.” Maria suggested.

I nodded in agreement. Cold water sounded good right about now.

As I sat on the bench in the girls’ bathroom, holding some wet paper towels to my head I thought about what I had just experienced. Was it really possible that what I saw had been real? I have heard about astral projection and ESP, but never really believed that it could happen. I guess weirder things have happened to me lately. I just wish it didn’t hurt so much, or could make sure it doesn’t happen at inopportune moments. I made myself a mental note to ask Max about it.

Max… I remembered the fight we had this morning, and I thought about all the things he had said to Sean. If true, I had seen another side of him that until now he had kept hidden. An aggressive side. More proof that he was not telling me the whole truth, keeping things from me that I have a right to know. And Sean, he had been so worried about me, but there was something else. He too seemed aggressive, as he was the other night in the alley, and as though he was angry that things weren’t going his way. He had another agenda too, I was sure of it. Right now the best thing for me would be to stay away from both of them for a while. I needed time to think, time to assess, and time away from all the weirdness.

“Is there anything more I can do for you?” Maria asked, handing me some fresh wet paper towels.

“Yeah there is. Let’s get out of here.” I said standing up, but swaying slightly as I felt the blood rush to my head.

“You’re not fit to go anywhere except home to bed.” Maria replied, taking hold of my shoulders to steady me.

“No. I’m fine; I just want to get out of this place.”

“Out of the girls’ bathroom?”

“I was thinking bigger.”

“The school?” Maria guessed again.

“I was thinking more like New Mexico.”

“What? Are you serious?” Maria asked.

“Yeah. I need a break, I need to get away from this school, this town. Will you come with me?”

“When?”

“Now.” I replied. Maria smiled thinking I was joking, but stopped as soon as she realised how serious I was being.

“Now? We can’t. What about school, work, our parents?”

I had to admit, they were all valid points, and my face dropped in disappointment.

“Look, what about this weekend? Ask your parents if we can get the weekend off from work, and then we’ll leave tomorrow afternoon, straight after the class field trip. Okay?”

“Okay.” I agreed. I could cope with one and a half days.

“Now, I think you should go home and get some rest.” Maria said, leading me towards the door.

“No, I’m feeling better now.” I lied. I knew if I went home sick from school there was no way my parents would let me go away for the weekend. I could tough it out.

“Okay, but I’ll be keeping my eye on you.” Maria said, putting her arm around my shoulders.

“Thanks.” I smiled. It was nice to know someone was watching over me. All I had to do now was work out how to avoid Sean and Max for the rest of the day.
"Do you see what we’ve done?
We’ve gone and made such fools of ourselves..."
Paramore - Decode
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Oz
Addicted Roswellian
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Joined: Thu Mar 09, 2006 7:06 am
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Post by Oz »

So, I had a bit of fun with Liz in this part. I wanted her to give a bit of attitude. She's stressed, tired, confused, so she needs a bit of release. Unfortunately it is pretty much all directed at Max. Hopefully I am able to redeem myself towards the end for all those out there rooting for Max.

11

We told our parents that we were visiting Maria’s Aunt in Sante Fe, and they let us go with few questions, thank goodness. Maria’s mum had even let her borrow the Jetta. The past two days had passed quickly with the knowledge that I was getting away for the weekend. I had managed to avoid Max and Sean for a while, but I knew that I couldn’t avoid them forever. Sean was fine, I was able to blow him off with excuses of study and work, but Max managed to corner me at my locker Thursday afternoon -

“Hey, I heard you weren’t well earlier.” Max said.

“I’m fine now.” I said not turning around as I continued to pull books out of my locker.

“Is it something I should know about?” Max asked.

Now I chose to turn around and look at him. “What makes you think you should know about it? You’re not my keeper.”

“I just thought …” Max began but I wouldn’t give him a chance to finish.

“I don’t need to tell you everything that happens to me. Not everything about me is alien-related.” I said the final part in a forced whisper.

“I’m sorry. I just thought…”

“I’ll see you ‘round.” I said closing my locker and walking away from him. I felt bad for a moment. I mean, all he did was ask how I was feeling; he didn’t need me jumping down his throat for asking after my health. That feeling passed quickly because I was so annoyed that he felt that I should be telling him everything about my life, when he wasn’t returning the favour. I knew he was holding things back from me, either because it would hurt me, or more likely, because it would hurt him. It was his turn to be left in the dark.

I guess what really bugged me, when I had time to think about it, was the fact that he knew more about my life than I did. Not just my past life that I had supposedly spent in a galaxy far, far away, but he also knew too much about my life here on earth. Being so close to me as a child, and watching me grow up, there is no telling how much he saw or heard about me. It still felt creepy that he could have been my James. This man that I idolised as a young child, was now just a boy. This man that was a father figure, that I felt had all the answers, now seemed to be just as lost as me. That was a scary thought, and one that I decided to ignore for as long as I could. This weekend was about getting away from all this rubbish, not analysing it until I went insane.

I was walking home from school with Maria on Thursday afternoon, contemplating about my very complicated life, when I was broken out of my reverie by Maria shouting at me to look at the sky. I did, but was at a loss as to what I was supposed to be seeing.

“Did you see the shooting stars?” Maria exclaimed.

“No, I must have missed them.”

“There were two, one after the other.”

“How can there be shooting stars in the middle of the afternoon?”

“Freak of nature I suppose.” Maria replied.

“Well, did you make a wish?” I asked.

“I was too busy trying to get you to look at the sky. Where have you been for the past ten minutes? I thought I was talking to a brick wall.” Maria asked.

“I’m sorry, I was just thinking.” I replied. “So, what would you have wished for?”

“I would have had two wishes right? So I guess the first wish would be to have you feeling better again.”

“That’s sweet. Thank you.” I said, feeling grateful that Maria would put me before herself, but then I shouldn’t be surprised if the past was anything to go by. “And the second wish?”

“To have Brad Pitt realise that I am the only woman in the world for him.” Maria joked.

* * * * *

So, the class field trip was a little uneventful. I’ve lived across the road from the UFO Centre my whole life, so I really didn’t need the school to take me there on a field trip. Maria’s theory was that the teacher blew the annual field trip budget on alcohol, so he couldn’t afford to take us anywhere better.

“Well, we might as well make the most of it.” Maria announced, as she began dragging me around the exhibits. “At least we’re not in school.”

It suddenly dawned on me that it would be a good place to do some personal research, but as I looked around I realised that it was nothing more than a few mannequins depicting alien autopsy’s and government conspiracies. Maria seemed to be enjoying it though, pulling me around the centre like a little kid at a sideshow.

Just when I thought we had completely exhausted the extent of non-credible info and conspiracy theories, we came to a photo board depicting ‘real footage’ of alien phenomenon. Maria drew my attention to it first, a photo of a streak of colour across the sky.

“Hey, that’s like what I saw yesterday!” Maria exclaimed. “The shooting stars!”

I looked closer at the photo, wanting to show an interest, when my eyes were drawn to the inscription at the bottom, which read:

16th September, 1986 – Roswell, New Mexico

“That’s your birthday.” Maria said, reading the inscription as well.

“How bizarre.” I said, feeling all the colour drain from my face. I now had outside confirmation that Max was telling me the truth, extinguishing the small amount of doubt that I had subconsciously clung to.

Maria went on to look at the other photos, and I was relieved that she hadn’t made too much of the fact that the photo was taken on my birthday. I was also thankful that she hadn’t noticed that I was standing motionless, staring at the photo with such intense concentration. At that moment, the man who was obviously the owner came running up with another photo in his hand.

“You two girls are very lucky today. You get to be the first to see the latest evidence of UFO phenomenon. A photo taken by me, right here in Roswell.”

The man proceeded to remove another photo on the board, and replace it with the new one he held in his hand. When he moved out of the way he revealed what looked like a photo of the same streaks of light as the preceding photo.

“Hey, I saw this yesterday.” Maria exclaimed, addressing the owner.

“Well you are privileged indeed. You have witnessed an extraordinary event. Proof that aliens do exist, and have once again come to earth.”

“What do you think it was?” Maria asked, to which the owner starting raving on about aliens, UFO’s and other stories, but I tuned out by this stage. If this really was true, if these streaks had come yesterday, it meant that Max, Sean and I were no longer the only aliens on this planet…

I stood listening as Maria and the owner chatted away, and eventually my curiosity got the better of me and I had to ask if he knew where they landed. The owner quickly looked around to check if we were being watched, and then spoke in a very low whisper. “They landed in the desert, just south of highway 265.”

“Did you see them land?” Maria piped up.

“Well, no, but that’s where they were headed, you could tell from the speed and trajection …” I began to tune out again. If this guy did actually know where they landed he would have gone to take a look. A sci-fi enthusiast like him would not let anything stop him from trying to locate these ‘aliens’.

At that moment a busload of tourists burst in, and the owner was off to help show them around.

“Are you ready to leave?” I asked Maria.

“Yeah, sure, I’ll just let Mr Petersen know that we won’t be going back on the bus with the rest of the class.” Maria replied walking away to find the teacher. When she was gone, and after making sure the owner was sufficiently swamped by the tourists to be concerned with me, I used the opportunity to snatch the two photos off the board. If this was proof of my ‘birth’ and the threat that there were more of us out there, I was not going to let them slip through my grasp. Besides, I was sure the owner had copies, he wouldn’t miss them.

Maria came back and I quickly pulled her out of the centre, hoping that the owner wouldn’t notice the photos missing before we were out of sight.

“What’s the big hurry?” Maria asked after we were once again outside in the sunshine.

“No hurry, I just don’t like crowds.” I said, referring to the tourists that were still roaming around the centre. “Besides, you had seen enough hadn’t you?”

“Yeah. So now, let’s go to Sante Fe!” Maria said excitedly.

As we reached the car, and Maria was fumbling through her bag for her keys, I suddenly received an image flash. As I focused I realised that it was a green hazy image of two girls by a car. As I concentrated even harder I realised it was an image of myself and Maria at this exact moment. Spinning around my eyes searched the street to identify who the image was coming from. The picture was zooming in, obviously moving, coming closer, and I was beginning to panic. There were a few people walking towards me, but none of them looked particularly menacing. Just as I felt we must have been almost face-to-face the bus-load of tourists exited the UFO Centre between us and the image disappeared as quickly has it had begun. When the crowd had finally cleared the street was deserted.

“Liz? Are you okay?” Maria asked opening my door from inside the car.

“Fine, just get us out of here.” I said jumping into the passenger seat and fastening my seatbelt.

“Go!” I yelled. Maria complied and we were soon on the highway and headed out of Roswell while I watched the rear view mirror to ensure we weren’t being followed.

“Liz?” Maria said hesitantly.

“Yeah?” I replied, finally tearing my eyes away from the rear view mirror.

“What was all that about?” She asked.

“Nothing, I just wanted to get out of this town.” I said casually. I knew it wasn’t a very good lie, but I was hoping that she would buy it and let the matter drop.

She didn’t.

“It kind of seemed a bit more urgent than that. You looked like you were scared to death. You still look so pale.”

“My blood-sugar levels must be low, I’m gonna have a Coke, do you want one?” I said reaching for our stash of food and drink on the back seat.

“No, thanks. Are you sure there is nothing wrong?” Maria asked. “You haven’t been yourself lately, and now you are beginning to scare me.”

“I’m sorry Maria. I guess I have just been a little preoccupied lately with this whole adoption thing. It has given me a lot to think about.” Would she buy it this time?

“Oh Liz, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pester you about it, I should have realised.” Okay, she bought it this time, but now I was beginning to feel guilty for lying.

“It’s okay.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” She asked.

“Not really. I wanted to get a weekend were I could forget all about it.”

“Well then, what you need is some ‘Summer Loving’!” Maria said, pressing play on the CD player. Very soon to tones of John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Maria and Liz could be heard singing at the top of their lungs. ‘Grease’ was our favourite movie, and we knew all the words off by heart. That is how we spent the rest of the trip to Santa Fe, singing and laughing as we drove.

* * * * *

Later that afternoon, we had arrived in Santa Fe, and had booked into a hotel for the night. Maria was in the shower, having complained of being gritty from all the dust on the road, and I was lying on my bed, staring at the photos I had snatched from the UFO centre. Was that glow in the sky really me? Is that white light my spirit? It was an independent confirmation of what Max had been telling me all this time, and I had no choice now but to believe him 100%. That didn’t make me any less mad at him than I was, in fact for some reason it made me a little angrier. It wasn’t his fault that this was happening to me, but it was his fault that it was happening to me now, that he had held out on me for so long, and had been, and was still being, so secretive about the whole thing.

I picked up the other photo, the one taken last night. There were two streaks of light this time, one green and one orange. I quickly sat up on the bed with a start – that image I had seen today, and had since tried to discount as an overactive imagination, had a green haze over it. Was I being watched by this alien, and if so, where were they now? Had they followed us to Santa Fe, or was my identity still a mystery? I needed to talk to Max about this, and I began to think that it couldn’t wait until we got home. It was not something I really wanted to talk about over the phone either, especially with Maria in the next room.

Then an idea came to me. Remembering the incident at school where I was able to see and hear a conversation between Sean and Max without being in the room. I wondered whether I was able to create that type of connection again, this time speaking to Max myself. Lying back down on the bed I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate on Max’s image. As my body relaxed I could feel mind searching for Max, and flashes of images shot into my mind. I concentrated on being able to control those images and slow them down enough to interpret them. Suddenly a clear image of Max and Sean shot into my head. Like last time they were arguing, but they were no longer at the school, instead they were in the desert.

“Where the hell is she?” Sean shouted at Max.

“How should I know?” Max retorted.

“That’s your job isn’t it?” Sean shot back.

“That doesn’t mean I know her every move, it’s not like she has a tracking device on her.”

“Can’t you use your powers to contact her?” Sean asked.

“I don’t know if her mind could handle it, her powers have not yet matured.”

At this point I decided I should try and make the discussion a three-way. I didn’t know how long I could keep up the connection over such a long distance.

“Don’t be so sure about that.” I said.

“Liz?” Max said, holding his hand to his head like I was a radio station he was trying to tune into.

“The one and only.” I replied, getting a kick out of being the one in control for once.

“Where are you?” He asked.

“What’s going on?” Sean said to Max, while Max ‘shushed’ him so he could hear my answer.

“I’m in Santa Fe.” I answered.

“She’s in Santa Fe.” I could hear Max whisper to Sean. “What are you doing in Santa Fe?” He then said to me.

“I decided I needed a break from all of this. I needed time to think.”

“You should have told us where you were going. We were worried about you. You could have been in danger.” Max replied.

“Yeah well, that’s kind of what I am calling about.” Yeah, this beats having a mobile phone, not to mention saving the cost of a long-distance call.

“What happened?” Max asked almost panicked, and I was almost touched by the fact that he cared so much.

“I think there may be more of us down here.”

“What do you mean?” Max asked.

“I mean, I think there may be more aliens on this planet.” I clarified. “Maria and I went to the UFO museum for our field trip this afternoon…”

“I’ve checked that place out before, there is nothing credible there, just a bunch of lame fake alien spaceships and alien autopsy’s.”

“Well then I guess you must have missed the photograph of our landing.” There was silence so I continued. “Oh, and you would have definitely wouldn’t have seen an identical photograph taken yesterday afternoon outside Roswell.”

“What?” Max blurted out.

“I’ve got them right here in front of me. The night of our landing: one blue, one white, and one red streak across the sky above Roswell. Yesterday: an orange and a green streak above Roswell.”

“How can you be sure that photo is real?” Max asked.

“Firstly, because Maria saw the exact same thing when we were walking home from school.”

“And secondly?”

“And secondly, because I had a close encounter myself. Just as we were leaving the UFO centre I felt someone watching us.”

“That’s hardly credible evidence Liz.”

“It is when you are watching yourself from their eyes, which happens to be looking at you through a haze of green light, just like the streak across the sky.”

Max was silent for a moment, and then said “You need to come home right now.”

“No.” I replied, annoyed at his presumption that he could order me around.

“You’re not safe on your own. What if they have followed you?”

“They didn’t. We left in a hurry, and we had wheels - they didn’t.”

“You need to be with us so we can protect you. They probably know who you are.”

“How?” I asked, starting to worry that maybe I was in danger.

“The same way Sean found us, and the same way you sensed their presence. It’s like a built in sensor.”

“Great. So what now, I dye my hair? Put on a disguise? Move to Switzerland?”

“You may be okay still. You said that they were looking at you through a shade of green. That means their bodies have not yet adapted to the new environment. They may not have all their powers yet, and their eyesight is probably not that that great either.”

“So there’s no problem. They didn’t follow me; they don’t know where I live.”

“You still need to come home Liz.”

“No. I didn’t tell you all this to have you tell me what to do. I will be back when I want to come home, not before. I just wanted to warn you to prepare the welcome wagon.”

“At least tell me where you are staying. Give me a contact number … something, please.”

“I’ve gotta go.” I said, hearing Maria opening the bathroom door.


The noise of the door opening broke my concentration and I snapped back to my part of the world.

“Hey, were you asleep?” Maria asked, seeing me open my eyes.

“Yeah, I must have dozed off.” I said, trying to sit up, but feeling like my head was spinning from the pain and nausea. Mental note: don’t try to do that again for a while. “What time is it?”

“A little after two. Hey, what are these?” Maria said, picking up the photos that were still lying on my bed. Damn. “Liz? Did you steal these?”

“Hey, it’s not everyday you see real life confirmation that aliens exist.” I tried to sound unconcerned.

“But it’s not like you to take something that doesn’t belong to you.”

“It’s not like they can’t be replaced. He’s got the negatives. Besides, these make up for the admission price for such a lame museum.” I joked.

Maria just gave me a look that made me feel a bit guilty for the second time that day. If only I could tell her how important they were for me.

* * * * *

“So what should we do?” Maria asked, flipping through a complimentary Santa Fe Tourist brochure that was left in our room. “We could hit the shops?”

“Shopping sounds good. The range has gotta be better than what we get in Roswell.” I replied, not really caring what we did, as long as it took my mind of everything that was going on in my life. The thought that our new alien friends were on our side never crossed my mind, as far as I was concerned they should be feared. Max’s urgent need for me to get home had kept playing in my mind, and for a moment I had begun to think that he was right. But now, my fears were subsiding and I returned to my defiant-self, wanting to punish Max by being somewhere where he could not control me. I wanted the power, and while I was here I had it.

The shopping was good, too good. We returned with armloads of bags full of clothes and shoes. We would be the trendiest looking pair at school on Monday.

“What should we do now?” Maria asked, grabbing the Santa Fe brochure again. She has always had trouble just sitting and relaxing, which is what I was dying for at this moment. I just didn’t have her stamina when it comes to shopping. “Hey apparently there is a gym just down the road. Do you want to check it out?”

“Aren’t you tired yet?” I said grabbing the brochure from her. “I don’t think I am quite up for an aerobic session, but how about Yoga?” I asked, hoping that she would agree to some less strenuous exercise.

“Sounds good, and I bought just the outfit for it.” Maria answered, rummaging through her bags to find it.

Walking into the gym we looked completely opposite, Maria in her new trendy tight lycra clothes, and me in my daggy tracksuit pants and tank top. It didn’t bother me though, I didn’t care that all the guys were staring at Maria as we walked past the gym. I think someone actually wolf-whistled.

Neither Maria nor I had done Yoga before, not really being something that was too big in Roswell. On seeing our instructor the first thought that came to mind was ‘aging hippy’ and I couldn’t help but nudge Maria and smile. My smile disappeared when the class started though and I saw just how flexible and strong that woman was. Maria and I were finding it very hard to keep up.

We were getting close to the climax of the class, you know the point where you are starting to think that doing the class was a bad idea, and we were standing in some complicated looking pose. I couldn’t even begin to tell you how we got into it, and I was beginning to wonder if I would ever get out of it too. The instructor was rambling on about sending all your energy back into the heavens to mother nature or some other rubbish, and I was about to burst out laughing when I saw the stern faces of the other participants. I tried really hard to take it as seriously as they were, so I began to concentrate on this energy she was talking about. I wasn’t prepared for the result. As our arms were outstretched towards the ceiling, I felt my fingers begin to twitch, and before I knew it there was a ball of light forming between my two palms. The shock of this caused me to lose my balance and fall onto the floor. The whole room was looking at me, and I had no idea whether it was because of the light I had created, or the fact that I had fallen over and made myself look like an idiot.

“I’m sorry. I’m very sorry.” I said getting my legs untangled beneath me and running out of the room. I was panicking now. What if they had seen, or more importantly, what if Maria had seen? What was I going to tell her?

I didn’t have long to think about it as I saw Maria had followed me out of the room, having first collected our shoes and towels.

“What was that all about?” Maria asked.

“Uh, nothing.” I said, not knowing whether she was referring to the light or the fact that I had just made a fool of myself. “I just had to get out of there.”

“Okay…” Maria said, still looking at me concerned. Damn, she had seen the light, I was sure of it.

“Can we go now?” I asked, not wanting to get into anymore now, not here.

“Sure.” Maria said, handing me my towel and shoes.

As we walked back to our hotel Maria barely said a word, and I was panicking. What on earth was I supposed to say? ‘Uh, that light you saw was just some static electricity’. I don’t think so.

To my surprise, when we returned to the hotel, Maria didn’t bring up the subject again, but I could tell she had something on her mind. She was really quiet, and would only reply questions with one word answers. It was driving me crazy, and in the end I decided that I had to do something because I wouldn’t be able to stand this for the entire drive home. I had to tell her the truth; she was my best friend after all.

I opened my mouth to say something, trying to find the best way to start, when Maria began talking.

“What’s going on with you Liz? I know you tell me that it is just the adoption thing, but you have been acting so strangely lately, it can’t be just that. Why won’t you tell me what is really going on?” She asked.

What was I supposed to say to that? I hesitated. Do I say, ‘well I have been acting strange because I am an alien from another planet who is just learning her identity, and is having a bit of trouble controlling her powers?’ Or do I say ‘I have a drug problem, and have been hallucinating that someone is chasing me, hence the need to leave Roswell, the need to get out of Roswell in a hurry, and the need to leave a perfectly safe Yoga class?’ Hmmm, the second choice sounded more plausible. I could see she was waiting me to say something, and I knew that if I didn’t tell her the truth right now she would know it.

“You may want to sit down for this.” I began. She went pale, obviously expecting the worst. She sat and I continued, “You know how I said that I found out I was adopted?” She nodded. “Well, what I didn’t tell you is that I also found out where I come from.”

“Where?” She asked, curious as to how this was going to explain my erratic behaviour.

“Let’s just say that I am not of this earth.” I replied.

Maria looked at me for a moment, and then a smile spread over her face.

“Yeah, good one Liz. If you don’t want to tell me what is really going on you just had to tell me. I knew going to the UFO Centre wasn’t a good thing, it’s giving you bad ideas.” She replied getting up again and walking to the bathroom. “Next you’ll be telling me that your parents arrived in the 1947 Roswell crash.” She was now laughing.

I couldn’t believe it. Not only did she not believe me when I was finally telling the truth, but she also seemed to have forgiven me. I played along with it, and was relieved that I was able to get out of her questioning without feeling guilty for lying to her. I knew that I would have to explain everything to her eventually, and get her to believe me, but until that time came it would be a running joke between us.

12

Monday morning, I dragged myself out of bed after a very long drive home Sunday night. When I reached my locker I found both Max and Sean waiting for me.

“What? You’re ganging up on me now?” I asked, pushing them aside so I could get my books.

“I was worried about you.” They both said in unison.

“Did you rehearse that?” I laughed, before walking off down the corridor. I was not going to make this easy on either of them. I could feel them watching my back as I walked away, probably wondering how I had managed to suddenly develop such an attitude.

“Liz, don’t you think we should talk?” Max said as they both caught up to me.

“A talk is probably a very good idea. After school, I’ll meet you both in the car park and we’ll take a little drive.” I replied, heading into my first class.

They were both waiting for me after school, and looked as though they had been having a heated discussion. I would have loved to know what had been said, but it’s unfortunate that my powers don’t always work when I need them to. That was something that I would have to work on…

We drove in silence to the same spot where Max and I had had our talk.

“So who wants to go first?” I said, standing defensively with my arms folded. I was really enjoying this new-found outspoken personality. “How about I start?”

Sean and Max nodded in agreement, probably scared of what would happen if I didn’t get my own way.

“Firstly, Max.” I said, directing my attention to him, “I need to know everything that you can possibly tell me about what is going on. I am tired of finding out things on my own. I am sick of the dreams, and I really don’t like being unable to control my powers, or whatever you call them… Generating electric sparks from my fingertips does not really conform to our ‘hide-in-plain-sight’ strategy now does it?”

Max mumbled something that sounded like agreement.

“And Sean … You know about me and I know about you. No more lies and pretences. I know that we were apparently engaged to be married in our last life, but I want you to know that that has no bearing on our present relationship. I need time to figure this all out, and I can’t have our past relationship hanging over my head while I do that.”

“I can accept that.” Sean said reluctantly.

“Why don’t we just start from the beginning? Hi, I’m Liz.” I said extending my hand. He took it and shook it.

“Hi Liz, I’m Sean.” He said smiling. Why did I feel like I could just melt at the sight of that smile? Just looking at him shook my resolve to take it slow. I reluctantly let go of his hand and turned back to Max who was looking very uncomfortable. Actually, he was looking at the ground with his hands in his pockets.

“Okay Max. I need you to tell me everything right now.” I said taking a seat on a nearby rock. Max and Sean did the same. “What exactly are the powers that I have? I know that I can generate some kind of electricity in my hands. I also know I can telepathically connect with people, or just listen in on their conversations.”

“You discovered that huh?” Max said. “What did you hear us say?”

“How do you know it was you?” I replied in return.

“It was last week wasn’t it, when Sean and I were talking in the music room?” I nodded. “I thought I could sense you.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Sean asked Max, obviously annoyed that Max had let him believe that their conversation was not being overheard.

“Worried that you said something you shouldn’t have?” Max smirked.

“You should be more worried.” I replied curtly to Max. He looked at me and his smile quickly disappeared. “So is there anything else that I can do that I need to know about, to avoid exposing myself in public?”

“Let’s see, you can change the molecular structure of things, which also means you can heal people…”

“What? You mean I could actually bring someone back to life?”

“Well, that is a lot harder, but possible.”

“Wow.” Was all I could say. Imagine being told that you had the gift of life, when you had been told your entire life that only God could do that.

“Anything else?” I asked.

“What, that’s not enough?” Max joked but stopped smiling when he realised no one else was. “No, nothing else that I know of, just the strength of your powers will increase over time.”

“So what, I’ll be able to use my telepathic abilities without giving myself a migraine?” I asked.

“Yes, and that electrical current in your fingers will mean that you will eventually be able to focus it to use as a weapon.”

“So I’ll be able to blow things up? Cool.” I said, imaging the fun I could have with that. “Uh, but will I be able to control it better, so it doesn’t go off when I don’t want it to?”

“Yes, with practice.” Max replied.

“I’ll help you with that.” Sean said taking my hand.

“Thanks.” I smiled, and then continued the conversation, “Do you both have the same powers as me?”

“Not quite. I have the same telepathic ability and Sean has your ‘electricity-thing’, for want of a technical term. ” Max replied.

“Why don’t you have both?” I questioned.

“We received different training. All the Royal Guards are taught to fight with their ‘powers’, and only a select few of us are taught to use our telepathic abilities. The secrets of the Mystic Arts are strongly guarded.”

“Who taught you?”

“You did.” Max replied simply.

“Me?”

“Yeah, when we were children you used to think it was fun to communicate to each other without being overheard by our parents. We would talk for hours when we went to bed at night, even though our bedrooms were on opposite sides of the palace. When you gift was discovered by your parents you were sent away to receive formal training.”

“Okay, so we are really going to have to set up some ground rules about listening in on other people’s conversations and private thoughts then aren’t we?” I said, suddenly worried that all my private moments would be intruded upon by Max.

“Hey, you were the one doing the listening here!” Max got defensive.

“Yeah, but I still have training wheels. I am not too good at controlling when these things happen to me. You have both had time to practice.”

“We’ll both help you.” Max said looking at Sean.

“But wait, if we all share the same abilities, why did you say the other day that your powers are immature compared to mine?” I asked. I really needed to know why I was so special.

“You’re powers are stronger than ours. You received training from the Monks at Meteraen – very few are so lucky. I’m not sure that you ever told us everything that they taught you.”

“So, what about the new arrivals? I assume they have the same powers as you both have?” I asked.

“Most likely.” Max replied.

“So we are going to be in trouble when they get here.” I said.

“We’ve got no reason to believe that they will find us here.”

“Why not? Sean did. How did you do that by the way?” I asked, turning to Sean.

“I felt drawn here for some reason. I had just intended on passing the town and moving on down the highway, but I could feel something here so I turned off the highway to take a look. As soon as I saw you I knew you were the one I had been searching for.” Sean said shyly.

“Oh crap!” Max said. We both turned our attention to him. “The transmitter!”

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“When we landed, and Sean wasn’t with us, I developed a transmitter to send out a signal, hoping that he would feel it and find us.”

“Okay, so where is this transmitter?” I asked.

“On the sign of the diner.” Max replied.

“And you didn’t think to take it down when I got here?” Sean accused.

“I forgot all about it. It has been sixteen years.”

“So they could on there way here right now. They could have arrived already… You said that they landed just outside Roswell. So they had two choices right? North or South. If they had headed south they would have felt it as soon as they passed through Dexter.” Sean said.

“Damn.” Was all Max could reply as he got up to leave. “I’ve got to destroy it.”

“We’ll go with you.” I said, getting to my feet with Sean following close behind.

* * * * *

Later that night, after Max had successfully managed to retrieve the transmitter from the sign on the diner, I was back alone in my room. However, the solitude didn’t last long when there was a knock at my window. It was Sean.

“Hey. What are you doing here?” I asked, letting him into my room.

“I wanted to talk.” He replied.

“Ok.” I said, sitting back on my bed.

“Ever since we first met I have wanted to tell you how happy I am that we have found each other. I have been dreaming of you for so long.”

“I thought we said that we weren’t going to focus on our past?” I said.

“I know we did, but I want you to know that even if we didn’t have a past together, I would still have fallen in love with you in the present.”

“You … You’re in love with me?” I stammered. Is that what he was saying?

“How could I not be? Don’t you realise how special you are, how beautiful?” He said stroking his hand through my hair. He was now kneeling on the floor in front of me.

I didn’t know what to say, no one had ever said anything like this to me before. As I looked into his eyes I could see all the love he had for me, so I did the one thing I could do at that moment - I kissed him. As I did, I started receiving flashes, first the red flash of light, which was then followed by a series of flashes of Sean and I in our last life…

“You are the love of my life. I knew from the day we met that if I was lucky enough to win your heart I would be the happiest man alive, and I would devote the rest of my life to you. I know that I am not worthy of you, but would you take pity on me and consent to be my wife?” He said on bended knee.

“Oh, Sean. Never think you are not worthy. I love you with all my heart, and I want nothing more that to be your wife.” I replied.

“Really?!” He said, jumping up from his kneeling position, picking me up off the ground, and swinging me around until we were both dizzy. “You’ve just made me the happiest man on Antar!”

“And me, the happiest woman.” I giggled.

*

“Do you realise you are the most beautiful woman in this room?” He said, tucking a piece of my hair behind my ear with such tenderness.

“You don’t need to flatter me; I have already agreed to marry you.” I replied, unable to hide the smile on my face. I was getting married to the man of my dreams.

“I will flatter you every day of your life if you let me.” He replied.

*

“I can’t concentrate with you here. I am supposed to be working.” He protested.

“You’re a member of the Royal Guard. Your primary responsibility is to protect the Royal family, and right now, I need protecting.” I battered my eyelids.

“And what do you need protecting from?” He asked.

“An insufficient amount of kisses from your lips.”

“Well, that I can help you with.” He said and he pulled me around the corner and out of sight of the other guards, kissing me to distraction.

*


We looked so happy together. I was overwhelmed by the love I had for him in the past that I was no longer able to ignore what I had felt for him.

“Sean, I have missed you so much.” I said hugging him close to me.

“I have missed you too Akira.” He replied.

We held each other for a few moments longer, and when we pulled away we both had tears in our eyes.

“So we have some catching up to do.” I said. “Well, I have some catching up to do. I don’t have all my memories back yet.”

“What have you remembered so far?” He asked, taking a seat next to me on the bed.

“Well, my dreams, they seem to be going in reverse sequence. I remember the city being taken over, seeing my parents dead, running to the pods, and landing here. That’s all. I have had the occasional flash of us together but I want to remember more. I want to know everything about us.” I replied.

“You will, one day soon.” He said.

“There’s one thing I don’t understand that I need you to explain to me.”

“Anything.”

“When I was climbing out the window of the palace, I heard gunshots. I thought you were dead. How did you survive?”

Sean seemed to hesitate for a moment. He had obviously not expected that question.

“There was gunfire, but luckily for me they weren’t accurate shooters. Having second thoughts they decided to take me into custody, probably to interrogate me. As we were walking out of the palace some of the remaining members of the Royal Guard killed my captors and I escaped to the pods.”

“I am so glad you survived.” I said, hugging him tightly as though he was going to slip from my grasp.

“Me too.” Sean said, hugging just as tightly back.

“So when did you start remembering who you were?” I asked. Max had said that he was only supposed to begin remembering at the same time as me.

“About a year ago I started having the same dreams. A few months ago I knew everything and decided it was time to search for you.” He replied.

“Wasn’t it a little hard to accept, that you were … you know … from another planet?” I questioned. He sounded so blasé, as though it was no big deal to find out you were not human, and he had just understood it and accepted it without question.

“I guess I always knew there was something different about me. It seemed to make sense.”

“That’s funny; I always felt there was nothing different about me. I always thought that I was a regular small town girl.” I laughed.

“You’re anything but that.” Sean replied, leaning in to give me another kiss. As he did, the pendant around my neck began to glow again, and this time Sean didn’t ignore it.

“Max gave this to you didn’t he?” Sean said, picking up the pendant and letting it rest in his hand.

“Yeah, he did. He said it would protect me.” I replied.

“Did he tell you about your original necklace?” Sean said.

“Not much, only that it looked the same and he didn’t know where I got it from. Do you know?” I asked.

“No, sorry, I don’t. I just remember you used to wear it when we first met.”

“You said ‘used’ to wear it. Did I stop?”

“Yeah, I don’t know why. Maybe it had something to do with the person who gave it to you.” He replied. I’m sure he knew more than that because he was looking slightly uncomfortable, but I let the topic drop.

“So, you were going to help me work on controlling my powers?” I said, changing the topic of conversation.

“Yeah, I was thinking that we could practice after school, out in the desert somewhere, where we won’t be seen.”

“Sounds good. Do you want to start tomorrow?” I asked.

“Keen to blow stuff up are we?” Sean laughed.

“Yeah, I thought it would work as a great stress reliever.” I joked in return.

“What are you stressed about?” He asked seriously.

“Nothing much, just the fact that my world has been completely turned upside down, I don’t know who I am, I am not sure who to trust, we have two alien hunters tracking us down to kill us… and oh, I have a English assignment due next week that I haven’t started.”

“I hope you know that you can trust me.” Sean said, cradling my face in his hand. I could feel the warmth emanate from him and at that moment I felt I could trust him with my life.

“Of course.”

“What about Max?” Sean asked.

“Max I am not as sure about.” I replied, but I had astonished myself with the admission. Did I not trust Max?

“Well, just remember that I’ve got your back, no matter what happens.” Sean said, squeezing my hand.

“Thank you.” I replied with a smile.

* * * * *

Sean left soon after, and I began to think about what had just happened. I had gone from being uncertain about him and wanting to forget our past relationship, to telling him how much I had missed him and wanting to know more about our past together. How was he always able to turn my brain to mush whenever he was around, and make me lose any resolve I had previously clung to? He also made me admit my doubts about Max. Did I really not trust Max? I knew I was upset with him for holding out on me for so long and feeling like he was the one messing up my life, but not trust him?

I shook myself out of my thoughts, and was about to get ready for a much needed early night when there was another light tap at my window. As I opened the curtain I saw Max standing outside my window.

“Hey, what’s up?” I asked casually.

“I just wanted to see how you are? You’ve seemed very … um, stressed lately.”

“Well, wouldn’t you be?” I replied curtly. Why did he seem to always bring out my bad side?

“And you blame me.” Max said.

“Yeah, I guess I do. You have kept this secret from me for so many years, and now I feel as though you aren’t telling me everything I need to know.”

“I’m sorry. I just wanted you to have a normal life. And now, I don’t want to overwhelm you. I’m not deliberately trying to hide things from you. I will tell you everything in time.”

“I’m sorry. I guess I just wish I had all my memories, like you and Sean. I feel so lost.”

“That’s actually the reason I came. I thought maybe we could start some memory retrieval sessions to speed up the process a bit.”

“What does that involve?” I asked suspiciously.

“Nothing too difficult, I just need to teach you how to access your memories through meditation.”

“Meditation? That doesn’t sound too bad. When do we start?”

“We can start right now if you like.” Max answered.

We got comfortable sitting on the bed with our legs crossed, facing each other.

“Now clear your mind.” Max said as he reached his hands to my temples. The moment his fingers touched my face I saw a bright flash of blue, and then a rush of images that I couldn’t quite focus on. The images began to slow down and I gradually began to understand what I was seeing…

I saw images of myself as a child, of my parents, of my home. I won’t bore you with the details, only that it appeared that I had a pretty happy childhood. I could feel the love my parents had for me, and could see that they would put me before everything else - even once when I interrupted a meeting between my father the King, and his government officials just because I had a bad dream.

When I was eight years old I met my first tutor. My parents had decided it was time to speed up my learning, and hired a full time tutor to live at the palace. It was impossible for me to go to school due to my birthright, and my mother had been teaching me up until that point. But now, I was getting beyond the limits of what she could teach me.

I saw it clearly. I was in the schoolroom within the palace, drawing a picture with some pencils, when my father came into the room. This in itself was a very unusual occurrence, as my father generally left my education in the hands of my mother. With him he had brought a man, about forty years of age.

“Akira, I want you to meet your tutor Xavier and his young son Zan.”

At this moment I noticed the young boy hiding shyly behind his father.

“Pleased to meet you.” I curtseyed to both of them, giving them the sweetest smile I could.

“Xavier will be taking over your studies from your mother, and Zan will be joining in all your classes. Now, I shall l have pressing appointment so I will leave you to get to know each other.” My father said before walking out of the schoolroom, closing the door behind him.

My tutor began to unpack his bag, placing large books and pens and pencils on his desk. At this point Zan slowly began to step out from behind his father and made his way over to me.

“Are … are you really a princess?” Zan asked shyly.

“Yes.” I replied, not really sure what the big deal was.

“You’re beautiful.” Zan blurted out.

“Thank you very much.” I replied matter-of-factly.

“Now children, it is time to begin our lessons. Please take a seat.” Xavier began to start the lessons for the day. I took a seat back at my table, and Zan sat in the one beside me. The day seemed to fly by, Xavier talking about fascinating things that I had never heard of before. I was in awe by the knowledge he possessed, and his ability to put up with my curiosity, answering every question I had – even if it was off the topic at hand. Zan on the other hand was quieter, doing what he was told and speaking only when directly asked a question.

The images began to flash by again and I could see that my childhood remained happy and innocent. Zan and I became best friends, spending all of our spare time together. If we were not busy studying with his father, we were playing somewhere in the palace.

As the images slowed down again, I saw Zan and I running through the halls of the palace. When we passed the door of the Great Hall we saw that it was filled with guards and advisors. My parents were seated on their thrones, and before them was an old man.

“What’s happening?” I asked Zan.

“Ssshhh.” Zan said placing a finger to his lips. “Come with me.”

We crept into the hall, passing silently behind a row of guards, before hiding under a table against the wall. Between the legs of the guards standing in front of us we had a clear view of what was taking place before us.

“Your majesties, I have come a long way to see you.” The old man began.

“We thank you for your trouble.” My father replied. “What is it that you have to tell us Bartholomew?”

“Bartholomew…” Zan whispered.

“Who is he?” I asked.

“The prophet.” Zan replied, not taking his eyes off the scene.

“I have had a vision, one of such great importance to the entire world that I had to come at once to inform you of what I have seen.”

“Tell us what you saw.”

“I have seen the identity of the saviour.” Bartholomew replied.

The crowd in the room gasped, they had all heard the story of the Dark Prince, and they knew just how long my father had been searching for the woman who would save the world.

“Quiet!” My father demanded, “Who is it?”

“Someone in this very room.” The Prophet said, before slowly turning around to look at the people congregated. The crowd began to look at each other, some women looking frightened that he would point to them, others meeting the Prophet’s eyes, certain that it would be them. Slowly the Prophet turned to face the direction of where Zan and I were hiding under the table.

“Come out child.” The Prophet said, and I knew he was speaking to me.

Slowly I lifted up the tablecloth that had been hiding our presence, and I stepped out to reveal myself.

“This is your saviour.” The Prophet said, turning to my father. I felt the eyes of everyone in the room staring at me, but instead of feeling shy or embarrassed I met their eyes with a new-found determination.

“Akira?” My father said bewildered.

“Yes, your daughter is the ‘Chosen one’.” Bartholomew said.

My father got up from where he was seated on his throne, and walked towards me. Kneeling down in front of me he placed his hands on each of my shoulders. I could see tears glistening in his eyes.

“My child, do you understand what this means?” He said.

I nodded. I had heard the legend many times, and knew that the ‘Chosen One’ would be the one to slay the Dark Prince.

“When will this happen?” My father asked, looking up at Bartholomew.

“Not for many years. She will have lived the length of two lives before that time.”

My father immediately cleared the room of onlookers, to have a meeting with his council. The Prophet was given a room in the palace for the night before his journey home, and I was ushered out to my mother’s private rooms. We stayed there undisturbed, both contemplating what my new destiny would entail. Our solitude was broken by the entrance of my father.

“Athezon? What is going to happen to her?” My mother said, jumping up from her chair to greet my father.

“Nothing. We will go on as we have been, as though nothing has changed.” My father replied.

“But someone might seek to harm her.”

“The Prophet said that she will have lived the length of two lifetimes. The Dark Prince who has been prophesised has probably not even been born yet. She will be safe, but to be sure, we will teach her in combat and the mystic arts so she is prepared for when the time comes.”

I listened to my father and began to feel more at ease. Of course there was nothing to be afraid of, I would be a grown up when I would be called upon to fulfil my destiny. I still had the chance to enjoy my childhood.

“Father? May I go and find Zan?” I asked.

“Of course child. I think you have had enough of being with us grown ups for one day.” He said patting me on the head and ruffling my hair.

I ran out into the hallway and made my way to the schoolroom. I tried to ignore the stares directed at me from the people I passed. I found Zan sitting by the window in the schoolroom, looking down upon the Royal Guards training on the lawn.

“Zan?” I said quietly, not wanting to disturb his solitude.

Zan turned to look at me and I couldn’t help but notice the look of sadness on his face.

“What’s the matter?” I asked hesitantly.

“I was just thinking … when I grow up I want to be a Royal Guard.” He answered, turning back to look out the window again.

“Why?” I asked, not really able to picture Zan as a Guard, he was too quiet and far too skinny.

“Because then I could protect you.” He turned back to look at me again. “I need to make sure you are safe.”

“I don’t need protecting.” I said defensively. “I am the ‘Chosen one’, remember.”

Zan stood up from where he was sitting at the window, walked over to me, put his hands on my shoulders and stared me in the eyes.

“Don’t you realise how much danger you will be in now? The bad people will come after you, while you are too young to protect yourself.”

Tears began to form in my eyes. Zan’s words sunk in and, for the first time since I discovered my destiny, I began to panic.

“Don’t cry.” He said hugging me. “I will protect you, I promise.”


The connection was suddenly broken off and I opened my eyes. Max had sweat beads on his forehead and looked exhausted.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, it just takes a lot out of me, especially keeping it up for such a long time.” He replied.

I looked at my bedside clock and saw that it was almost three in the morning.

“Wow, I didn’t realise it was so late.”

“Time flies when you’re … learning about your past life on another planet.” Max joked.

“So we were friends?” I asked replaying in my mind all that Max had shown me about my childhood.

“Best friends.” Max replied.

I thought about that for a moment. The way I have been treating him lately must really be hurting him. To be once so close, then to spend sixteen years watching from a distance, unable to tell me who I really am or who he is. But I couldn’t think about that now, it was his choice not to say anything; it was his choice to keep secrets from me. And now that he had told me, would it be too late? Were we going to be hunted down and killed, before I can know everything about my past?

“Can I ask you something?” I asked, breaking the awkward silence.

“Anything.” Max replied.

“Are you scared, you know, about these other aliens?”

“Yeah, a bit.”

“They’re going to find us aren’t they?” I asked, well no, stated.

“I don’t know.” Max replied honestly.

“So what will happen? They’ll just rock up in town one day, and be able to pick me out of a crowd? They’ll know who I am before we know who they are.”

“Not if you are wearing that necklace I gave you. It’s designed to conceal you.”

“How could a necklace do that?” I asked curiously, holding the pendant in my hand.

“The only thing that differs between you and a normal human is your brain capacity. You are able to utilise parts of your brain that human do not, that’s what gives you your powers. The rest of you, your organs and tissue, are completely human. Therefore these aliens will need to tap into your brainwaves to be able to identify you. The necklace is designed to reconfigure the brainwaves that you send out, so they ‘feel’ human. They won’t be able to identify you while you are wearing it.” Max explained.

“Really? You don’t know what a relief that is to hear… But what about you and Sean?”

“We have the same thing, except it comes in the form of a masculine watch of course.” He said as he pulled up his shirt from his wrist to reveal his watch. “We will be concealed as well.”

“So we’ll be safe now.” I asked hopefully.

“I hope so. But we still need to be careful. We don’t know what they are capable of.”

“Okay.”

“Okay. So I guess I’d better go and let you get some sleep.” Max said, heading towards the window.

“Thanks Max.” I replied.

“No problem.” Max smiled before disappearing into the dark night.
"Do you see what we’ve done?
We’ve gone and made such fools of ourselves..."
Paramore - Decode
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Oz
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Joined: Thu Mar 09, 2006 7:06 am
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Post by Oz »

This is a long post, so you may want to settle in with a nice hot cup of coffee. We find out a lot more about Sean in these chapters, and get a small inkling of what he may be up to. Sorry, but Max still cops the blame for most things that happen to Liz, but there is a little ray of sunshine in there for him too. Lots of flashbacks, and finally we find out where the title of the story comes from. All in one action-packed episode ...

13

“Did you hear the news?” Maria said coming up behind me while I was pulling books from my locker.

“You’re running for President? No, wait, they’ve found a cure for cancer?” I replied sarcastically.

“No, Pam Troy's parents are out of town this weekend, so she is having a small gathering at her house.”

“So? Since when were you friends with Pam Troy?” I asked closing my locker and proceeding with Maria down the hallway.

“Since she invited practically the whole school to her party.”

“A small gathering? That’s hundreds of people.” I stated.

“Okay, maybe it’s not that small, but what do you think? Do you want to go?”

“Do I have a choice?” I answered, raising an eyebrow at Maria.

“No, but I thought it would be nice if I pretended that you had one.” Maria joked.

“Thanks. Do you mind if I ask Sean to come with us?” I asked.

“Now do I have a choice?”

I just smiled.

“Fine, but I’m going to feel like the third wheel all night.” Maria protested.

“You could always find yourself a date, we could double.” I suggested.

“Yeah, like who? I know you are too consumed with your man to notice, but we have very slim-pickings in this town when it comes to nice guys.”

“What about Max.” I suggested.

“Max?!? Your kidding aren’t you?”

“He’s a nice guy – you just said that’s what you wanted?”

“Yeah, but one that also knows how to interact with other human beings is also a requirement.”

I couldn’t help but smile at how close to the truth that was.

“You’ll find he’s different when you get to know him, I promise.”

“I don’t know Liz…”

“C’mon, it’s better than being a ‘third-wheel’.” Making one last ditch effort to convince her.

“Okay, fine. But I don’t want it to be a date. Couldn’t we just say that we’re going as a group or something? Then I’m free to bail if it gets to awkward.” Maria conceded defeat.

“Fine, it’s a ‘non-date’. I’ll arrange it all. It’ll be fine, I promise.”

* * * * *

Saturday night came, and Sean and Maria were already waiting at the diner when I arrived.

“Hey.” I said, squeezing next to Sean in the booth and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“So where’s Max? He’s late.” Maria said, obviously still not very enthused about the ‘non-date’.

“Not a fan?” Sean asked, picking up on Maria’s tone.

Before Maria could reply I jumped in - “Maria just doesn’t really know Max all that well.”

“The guy is an enigma… but you know how much I like a challenge, don’t you Liz?” Maria said slyly to me.

“Well that’s what you’re going to get. Good luck with that.” Sean replied.

The bell of the diner soon announced that Max had arrived, and Maria bailed us all out to the car before he could get too comfortable. I could tell already that this was going to be a long night. Max looked extremely uncomfortable, and I couldn’t blame him. He had said ‘no’ when I had first asked him to come out with us, and it had taken a lot of convincing to get him to come. In the end I had to promise a whole week of free pecan pie at the diner. It would come out of my tips, but it was worth it. I was doing this for Maria, at least, that is what I kept telling myself.

The party was in full swing when we arrived. The furniture in the lounge and dining room had been moved out to make room for the dance floor, and the kitchen seemed to be converted into some sort of chemistry lab, with all types of concoctions being made up for the guest’s drinking pleasure.

“Drink?” Sean asked.

“Just a cola thanks.” I replied, not wanting to try the blue mixture that was being handed around.

“Back in a sec.” Sean said.

“Okay Max, we’re dancing.” Maria said, pulling an unwilling Max onto the dance floor. ‘Maybe Maria and Max will hit it off after all’, I thought to myself.

I stood there, watching Maria dance circles around Max, waiting for Sean to return with my drink. I couldn’t help but wish that I was out there dancing too. I had know idea whether Sean liked to dance or not, but I guess I would soon find out.

“You’re not jealous are you?” I heard a voice next to me.

“What, of Zan?” I asked.

“No, of the girl he is dancing with.”

“No… I… I just didn’t know Zan could dance.” I replied.

“Well, perhaps you should pay more attention in the future. You may see more than you could ever realise.” The voice replied.


"What? …” I said, turning around.

“I said ‘here’s your cola’.” Sean said, handing me a plastic cup. “Are you okay, you look a little spaced?”

“Yeah, fine. Do you want to dance?” I asked Sean.

“I would love to.” Sean replied, taking my cup and putting it down on the mantelpiece before we joined Max and Maria on the dance floor.

I hadn’t had so much fun for so long, since my birthday actually. I was able to forget the fact that I was an alien, dancing with two other aliens, and my best friend who didn’t know who we really were. Instead I just enjoyed being with my friends, having a good time.

When the music slowed down in tempo a little, I had a chance to catch my breath and talk to Sean, as we slow-danced.

“I didn’t realise you were such a great dancer.” I complimented him.

“Thanks. I guess you pick up a few things living with an exotic dancer.” He replied.

“What?!” I stammered. This was something from his past that he had yet to tell me about.

“Yeah, my mom. She taught me a few things.” Sean smiled, knowing he had successfully reeled me in.

“I thought you said she was a waitress.”

“Yeah, um, that was the, uh … edited version.”

“What else did she teach you?” I asked flirtatiously.

“This …” Sean replied, spinning me around before dipping me.

“Very nice moves.” I said when he eventually pulled me back up.

“Why, thank you very much.”

“So living with your mum wasn’t all bad?” I asked seriously.

“Nah, she was fine when I was young. But as I got older she started to drink more. She was an angry drunk, and used to take it out on me. I made myself scarce when I was old enough.”

“You would get such a shock to meet my parents. I’ve only ever seen them drink on very special occasions.”

“So when can I meet them?” Sean asked.

“When I am eighteen and can legally cross state lines.”

“Am I that bad?” Sean asked, giving me the sweetest ‘puppy-dog’ face.

“Of course not, but my parents are a bit … um, conservative. I don’t think they would be very … receptive.”

“That’s a bit judgmental don’t you think?” Sean pointed out.

“Yeah, I know. It’s just that they have lived a very sheltered life.”

“Okay, okay. I won’t meet them … for now.”

When the song finished we moved out onto the veranda, where we were soon joined by Max and Maria. Sean quickly excused himself to get everyone another round of drinks.

“Having a good time?” I asked.

“Yeah, great.” Maria replied, rolling her eyes at me.

“I think I’ll go and help Sean with those drinks.” Max said excusing himself as well.

I waited until I was sure Max was out of hearing before I continued talking to Maria.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. “Don’t you like Max?”

“Max’s alright.”

“Just alright?”

“Okay, I must admit that he surprised me tonight. He does actually have a personality.” Maria joked.

“Maria…” I began but she cut me off.

“Okay, okay, he’s great … But I really don’t see a future in it.” Maria replied.

“Why not?” I asked.

“Because he has this one very annoying habit. It drives me crazy.”

“What’s that?” Wondering what on earth Max could do that is that annoying. I had never noticed him biting his nails or anything like that.

“He’s in love with someone else.” Maria announced.

“What? Who?” I said surprised. Surely if that was true he would have told me, he wouldn’t have agreed to come out with Maria tonight.

“Who do you think? He couldn’t keep his eyes off you the entire night.”

“Me? Your kidding aren’t you?”

“And look at her blush!” Maria smiled pointing to my cheeks, which made me go even redder.

“I’m not blushing, I’m just really hot from dancing.” I said, avoiding all eye contact so she couldn’t catch me in a lie.

“Whatever you say.”

“And anyway, I don’t believe you. I know for a fact that you were both deep in conversation on the dance floor. You had his full attention.”

“Checking him out were you?” Maria laughed. “Okay, okay, for about five minutes I had his undivided attention, but that was it. The rest of the time he pretended to be interested in what I was saying, when really, his eyes were drifting over to you.”

“Man, I would love some of the drugs you are obviously on. There is no way… He’s just a friend.”

“Sure Liz, whatever you say.” Maria smiled.

“Look, there’s this whole history that you don’t even know about.” I began to explain, but realising I had put my foot in it.

“What are you talking about? What history?”

“Nothing. Forget it.”

“Great, another secret you feel you need to keep from me. Fine Liz, we’ll play it your way. I’m going to see where those boys are with our drinks.”

And with that Maria stormed off, with me calling feebly behind her for her to come back. I really had to tell Maria what was going on. I needed my best friend to help me through what I was going through. Having Max and Sean to talk to wasn’t enough, especially since they knew more than I did. If I could just tell Maria everything, try to explain to her what was happening, who I was, then I might be able to cope better with the constant fear, the doubt, and the … weirdness that my life had become. But it wasn’t just my secret to tell. If I told her about my past life, I would have to explain about Sean and Max’s part in that. I had to talk to them before I said anything.

I then saw Max push past the crowd at the front door, and walk down towards the street. He looked mad; I have never seen him so angry. I called out to him, but he was too far away so didn’t hear me. I had another option available to me, however. I concentrated on reaching him with my mind like we had been practicing.

“Max, what’s wrong?” I asked.

“Leave me alone Liz.” He replied, and he broke the connection.


The sudden break felt like a door slamming in my head, and I fell over onto the chair behind me. The pain in my head was worse than I have ever experienced. I felt like my head was splitting, and I was feeling so dizzy.

“Liz? Are you alright?” I heard a voice next to me. It was Kyle, Maria’s brother.

“Um … no, actually. Is the world spinning really fast or is it just me?” I asked.

“I think it’s just you. How much did you have to drink?” He asked.

“Nothing. I haven’t had anything to drink.”

“Okay. I’ll get Maria to drop you home.” He offered.

“No, don’t get Maria. We had a fight. Could you get Sean for me please?”

“Sure. Wait here, we’ll be right back.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.” I tried to smile, but cringed when it hurt my head even more.

A few minutes later Sean was by my side.

“Hey, what happened?” He asked, kneeling beside me.

“I just got a sudden headache.”

“I’ll take you home.”

“Not on the bike, I don’t think my head could take all that noise.” I pleaded.

“Trust me, okay? I’ll take care of it.” He said, helping me to my feet.

“Kyle, can you make sure Maria gets home okay?” I asked.

“Sure, no probs.” Kyle replied.

“What about Max?” Sean asked.

“He’s already gone.” I said, not really wanting to get into the details right now. “Let’s go.”

He led me to his motorbike, and before helping me put the helmet on my head he held his hands to my ears for a moment. I felt a warm sensation, before noticing that the noise from the party was beginning to die down. As Sean started the motorbike, I could feel the engine start, but I couldn’t hear a thing. I was so relieved, because the way my head felt at the moment, the noise of the motorbike would’ve killed me.

We reached my home, and Sean helped me through my bedroom window before putting his hands to my ears to reverse whatever he did before. Noises began to filter back in, but as my parents were already asleep, the noise was minimal.

“So are you going to tell me what happened?” Sean asked.

“I saw Max leaving the party, looking upset, so I formed a connection to ask him what was wrong. Anyway, he broke it off and it hurt like hell.” I explained.

“Do you have any idea why he would have done that? He should have known what the repercussions would be.”

“Well he obviously really didn’t want to talk about it.”

“What could it have been that made him react that way? He was okay earlier in the night wasn’t he?” Sean asked.

“Yeah he was fine. Then he went off to help you get the drinks and left Maria and I to talk. Ten minutes later he was storming off from the party. Did you see him come inside?” I asked.

“No, I didn’t. Are you sure he and Maria were getting on alright?” Sean asked.

“Yeah, they seemed to. At least that’s what Maria said before getting angry at me and storming off.”

“Why did she get angry at you?”

“Because she knows that I am keeping things from her. We used to tell each other everything, but now, with all of this happening, she has noticed that I have been vague, and on my guard around her. There’s only so much I can do to explain away my weird behaviour. She knows me so well that she can tell when I am lying to her.”

“I’m sorry.” Sean said, as if this was all his fault.

“You know what the funny thing is? I actually tried to tell her once. I tried telling her that I was an alien. She didn’t believe me; in fact I have never seen her laugh so hard in her life.”

“It is really hard for them to believe. Humans just can’t comprehend that they are not the sole inhabitants of this universe. It is quite arrogant actually.”

“Hey, up until a little while ago I used to be one of those arrogant humans myself!” I joked, hitting him with the pillow I had been hugging during our conversation.

“Right, that’s it! You’re in trouble now!” Sean said, grabbing another pillow and starting a full blown pillow fight.

“No fair! You were trained in defence.” I protested.

“So were you!” Sean retorted.

“Yeah, but I don’t remember it so it doesn’t count!”

“Do you want to remember more?” Sean said, becoming serious and putting down his feather-filled weapon.

“I want to remember everything.” I replied.

“Okay, maybe I can help.” Sean said, settling cross-legged in front of me on the bed.

“Let me guess … I have to clear my mind.” I said, remembering when Max and I did this.

“Yeah, just relax.” Sean said, placing his hands on my temples.

“So how come you can do this? I thought Max was the one with the telepathic abilities?” I asked.

“This is different, I am just being a facilitator, you are the one doing all the work. Now clear your mind or this won’t work.” Sean replied.


“Just for the record, I don’t think this is a good idea.” Zan stated.

“Your objection is duly noted, but I am sick of being couped up in this castle. Anyone would think I was a prisoner the way I have been treated.” I replied.

“I don’t know of any other prisoner that has servants to satisfy their every whim.”

“You know what I mean. I am not allowed to leave the palace grounds unless escorted under cover by twenty armed guards. I need to get out and experience the real world, and you are going to help me do it.”

“Fine, but let’s make this quick, the guards will make their rounds any minute.” Zan said, giving me a boost over the Palace wall.

Once safely on the other side, we made our way to the nearby town.

“So what first?” Zan asked.

“The market. I want to see what ordinary people do.”

“Once they recognise you, you’ll be mobbed!” Zan exclaimed.

“Hence the disguise.” I said, putting on a pair of dark sunglasses and hat.

“Yeah, they are really going to be fooled by that.” Zan said sarcastically.

“It’ll be fine, you’ll see.” I said confidently. Nothing was going to ruin my day of freedom.

The market was everything I had imagined. Colourful, loud, busy, and … smelly. The aromas that came out of all the different food stalls and flower shops mixed with the smell of the animals for sale, gave the market a unique odour. I breathed it in, rejoicing in the new sensations that I missed while being couped up within the palace walls.

Zan and I walked amongst the crowd, haggled with shopkeepers, and bought interesting knick-knacks and food. I tried so many things that I had never eaten before, with Zan explaining what all the foods were. Although he lived in the palace with me, his father had ensured that he also experienced his fair share of the ‘real world’. He would explain to me the cultures of my people, as well as laugh at my ignorance.

Down a narrow alley, off the marketplace I saw a sign advertising a fortune-teller.

“C’mon Zan, let’s have our fortunes told.” I said, grabbing him by the hand and dragging him down the alley to the fortune teller’s door.

“I don’t know …” Zan hesitated.

“C’mon, it will be fun. Don’t be a spoil-sport.” I replied.

“Don’t you already know your future?” Zan asked, referring to the Prophecy.

“Not the part I want to know. Besides, that will tell us whether the fortune teller is any good or not.” I said, knocking on the door.

After a few moments the door opened to reveal an old woman, wearing dangly jewellery and a scarf around her head, not quite covering the strands of long grey hair that fell around her face.

“Welcome to Madam Vivian’s. Please come this way.” She said, indicating that we should follow her inside.

Inside was dark and gloomy, with only the light of a few candles to illuminate the otherwise dark recesses of the room. There was a myriad of smells from the numerous herbs and spices that were sitting on the shelves. I looked over to Zan and smiled, and he tried to return my smile but I could tell he was looking for the nearest exit.

“Who’s first?” Madam Vivian asked.

“I’ll go.” I offered, and I followed Madam Vivian into the next room.

“So, you would like your fortune told?” She began, after we were seated either side of a small table. This room was also lit only by candles, which gave Madam Vivian a mysterious glow about her.

“Yes.” I replied.

“You would like to know about love.” Madam Vivian stated.

“Yes.” I answered again.

Madam Vivian took my hand and closed her eyes, as she ran her finger lightly over the bumps and crevices of my palm.

“I see a man … tall … dark … powerful … he will seek to do you harm…”

“The Dark Prince …” I interrupted. Surely she wasn’t thinking that I would fall in love with the Dark Prince?

“… The one who loves you … the one you love … will give his life for yours to save you from this man.” She continued, ignoring my interruption. I physically breathed a sigh of relief.

“What else do you see?” I asked.

She paused for a moment, studying my hand some more.

“I see death and destruction coming to this world … all around you… suffering … hunger … but you will not die … no … you shall live … to save the world.” She said, suddenly turning her eyes from my palm to my face, with an expression of shock on her face. “You are The Chosen One …”

“…Yes.” I replied hesitantly, not wanting to admit what everyone had been trying to tell me for so long.

“I have been waiting for you for so long…” Madam Vivian said.

“Why?” I asked curiously.

“To give you a warning … Beware of the Phoenix.”

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“Beware of the Phoenix … Beware of the Phoenix … Beware of the Phoenix …” Madam Vivian repeated over and over like a mantra.

I realised after a few minutes that I was not going to be able to get her to tell me any more, so I dropped some money on the table and walked out of the room.

“Let’s go.” I said to Zan, heading straight for the door.

“What did she say?” Zan asked, obviously worried about my sudden desire to leave.

“I’ll tell you later. C’mon, let’s see what else we can find to do.” I replied, leading him back into the busy marketplace.

We found a place to sit where I got the chance to just watch the people go about their lives. I was fascinated with the women shopping for food, the children getting into mischief, and the men sitting in groups smoking pipes and playing card games.

“I wish I could come here more often.” I said, contently.

“Well, maybe you can. I am a bit surprised as to how anonymous we have stayed today. Perhaps it is not that dangerous for you here after all.” Zan admitted.

I just smiled, not wanting to say ‘I told you so’. I was happy in the fact that I finally had him on my side. I wasn’t about to tell him that the fortune teller knew who I was, that would only worry him.

As we sat there a crowd began to gather, and I could hear music in the distance, getting closer and closer.

“What’s going on?” I asked Zan, trying to see past the people in front of me.

“It’s called a Tibulka. Once a month, the musicians in the town band together to put on a performance. They meet at the other end of town, then gradually walk the streets of the town towards the market. The people in the houses follow them until almost all the town is here. They then play music and dance until late.”

“Why do they do it?” I asked. I had never heard of such a thing before.

“Back in the Golden Age the King used to put on a festival once a month for his people. Now the people have taken it over as their own. The Tibulka celebrates life, and all the good things the people have, which includes music, dancing and food.”

As Zan had been explaining all of this to me, the musicians had reached the market place and the crowd parted to give them room. I watched as the musicians played their fascinating instruments, and the women dance around in the crowd, pulling spectators out of the crowd to dance with them. They reached the spot where Zan and I sat.

“You come to dance, yes?” The woman said.

“We were just watch-” Zan began, but was soon stopped as the woman dragged us both onto the dance floor.

“You must dance. Come.” She said, linking our hands. “You make such a charming couple.”

“Oh, we’re not, um …” I tried to protest, but the woman had begun walking away, seeking her next victims.

“I guess we had better …” Zan began, nervously taking my hand. We hadn’t been in such close proximity since … well for a while now.

“I don’t know how to do this dance.” I said, turning to Zan.

“That’s okay. I’ll show you.” He replied.

Surprisingly Zan was a very good dancer, and a very good teacher. He soon had me spinning around him and doing flashy moves. I had danced many times in the ballroom at the Palace for Royal functions, but I had never danced like this before.

“It’s a very different style of dancing.” Zan explained. “Much more movement, and it’s freer, not so constrained and regimented.”

“I like it.” I said beaming. “And I like dancing with you.”

“Princess…” Zan began, giving me a warning to turn back before I broached the subject.

“Doesn’t this make you wonder, about what might have been if …”

But I was interrupted by someone shouting for us to change partners. Couples separated, and turning to those around them, linked up with different people. Zan and I were forced to do the same, and I felt someone sweep up behind me, and spin me over to the other side of the market square. I felt comfortable, until I felt the man grip me tighter and pull my body towards him so his face was millimetres away from mine.

“Princess.” He whispered hoarsely into my ear. “I have been waiting for this a very long time.”

I tried to pull back to get a look at his face but he held me firmly where I was.

“Don’t create a scene. I want you to do exactly what I say and we shall all get on fine.”

“What do you want from me?” I asked, suddenly very afraid.

“I just want to talk, in private. What I want you to do is come with me, just for a short walk, away from this noise. If I release my grip, will you promise to behave?” He said.

I nodded, fearing what would happen if I didn’t comply.

“Let’s go.” He said, reaching for my hand and pulling me away from the market square and towards a deserted alley.

I looked around for Zan but I couldn’t see him anywhere. I stumbled as the man forced me through a door and down some stairs into a darkened room. Closing the door, he pushed me to the dirt floor. The only light coming into the room was from a small window at street level, and the man made sure that he stayed in the shadows so I couldn’t see his face.

“Who are you?” I stammered, able to detect the sound of fear in my voice.

“That’s not important. What’s important right now is who you are.” The man paused for effect. “What’s it like being the ‘Chosen One’? Knowing that one day you are going to save your people from the devil himself? That must be such a burden. Not to mentioned being couped up in the castle because your father fears for your safety. I knew that one day would come when you left the confines of your Father’s protection, and I have waited eight years for that day.”

“What do you want with me?” I asked again.

“Well, you see, I have great plans for my future, and I really don’t need you around to mess them up. Honestly, I don’t believe in the prophecy, I mean, really … in what world could you ever defeat me? But, it always pays to be careful.”

“You’re … you’re the Dark Prince?” I stammered.

“Oh, sorry, did I forget to introduce myself? How very rude of me. Yes, I am the Dark Prince. But you can call me Kivar.”

“Kivar? As in, my cousin Kivar?”

“What? Don’t you recognise your blood?” Kivar jeered.

“What do you plan to do with me?” I asked.

“At the moment, I will use you to seek a large ransom from your father. And when he has paid it, I will kill you.”

“Why not kill me now?” I questioned.

“Because your father is a smart man. He will want proof that you are alive before he pays over the money. Until then, you are safe. Right now I suspect your little boyfriend has observed your disappearance and is on his way back to the castle to inform your father, so I have a ransom demand to make. If you will excuse me.” He said as he left the room.

When I heard the latch click, I jumped up to the door to try and force it open, but it wouldn’t budge. I tried to reach the window but it was too high, and there was nothing in the room to stand on. In fact, there was very little in the room at all, just a few Hessian bags and a blanket. Just when I had resigned myself to the fact that I was not getting out of this room, I heard something at the window. There I saw a boy, a younger version of Sean, opening the window and calling out to me.

“Princess, are you okay?” He asked.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“There’s no time for introductions, I have come to rescue you. Can you reach my hand?” He said, reaching his arm down as far as he could. I jumped with all my strength, but could not quite reach him.

“What about using the blanket?” He said, pointing to where it lay in the corner. “I will use it to pull you up.”

I grabbed the blanket and threw it up to him. He wrapped on corner around his arm, and draped the rest back down to me. I was just able to reach the end of it, and tried to pull myself up towards the ledge.

“He’s returning. I have to go.” He said.

“Please don’t leave me here.” I pleaded.

“I will come back for you, I promise.” The boy said, letting the blanket go and scrambling away.

I fell to the floor, and quickly put the blanket back on the Hessian bags. I slumped down against a damp dirty wall and let the tears run down my face. “It may be too late.” I said, letting the tears fall.

“Now, now, don’t despair.” Kivar said as he entered the room. “You still have about … three hours left to live. Plenty of time for us to get more acquainted. Are you hungry? Thirsty?” He said, holding up a bottle of wine.

“No.” I spat.

“All the more for me then.” Kivar replied, taking a seat on the floor in front of me.

“Your father has received the ransom demand, and is no doubt assembling an army to rescue you. Too bad he doesn’t know where you are… nobody does. Also it’s a shame that the Prophet didn’t see this in your future; it may have stopped you leaving your safe little palace this morning.”

“Has it occurred to you that our entire futures have been foretold, and there is nothing you can do to stop the Prophecy from coming true? I will survive, and I will live to see the day that I bring you to your knees.” I seethed through clenched teeth.

Kivar hesitated for a moment, obviously not expecting the powerful retort.

“Nice try, but I am afraid you are still going to die. It is just a matter of when.” He jeered.

I knew the only way I was going to get out of here, was to get rid of Kivar so the boy could come back and save me. I concentrated on what the monks had trained me to do. I focused on the Dark Prince’s mind, making him hear a knock at the door.

“What is it?” Kivar yelled towards the door.

“I think you need to come and see this.” He heard a voice say.

“Wait here, I’ll be right back.” Kivar said, as if I had the choice whether to be here or not.

I knew the exact moment Kivar was out of sight, and within seconds the boy was back at my window.

I threw the blanket up to him, and this time he was able to pull me up and out of the window.

“Let’s go.” He said, taking my hand and running in the opposite direction to where Kivar had gone.

We ran and ran until I was so exhausted that I could barely put one foot in front of the other. We had run through the back streets which were deserted as everyone was in the marketplace at the Tibulka. We reached the outskirts of the town and quickly ducked through a hedge and into a forest.

“We’re almost there.” The boy said.

“Where?”

“The Palace. I know a back way.”

Within minutes we came to the edge of the forest and I could see the Palace looming in front of me.

“You’ll be safe now.” The boy said, slowing to a steady walk. “There are some guards.” He said pointing, “They will take you safely the rest of the way.”

“Please come with me. My father will want to reward you.”

“I didn’t do it for a reward.”

“Why did you do it? You could have been killed if he had caught you.”

“Because you need to live; you are our saviour.” The boy replied.

“What is your name?” I asked.

“Sean.”

“Thankyou Sean, for saving my life. Please come and meet my family.” I asked.

“I am at your service.” He said, bowing.

We walked to the gate where we were let in by the guards who had been keeping watch.

“It’s okay, he’s with me.” I said when I noticed that they were about to stop Sean from entering the grounds. The guards relented and we were escorted to the Palace.

“My baby!” My mother cried as she threw her arms around me. “I thought we had lost you.”

“I’m okay.” I tried to assure her, but that didn’t stop her from checking me for cuts and bruises.

“Did he do anything to you?” She demanded.

“No, mother.”

“Thank goodness.” She said, giving me another hug.

By this stage my father had walked over to us.

“You had us worried child. How did you get away?” He asked.

“Sean saved me.” I replied, turning to where Sean had been unsuccessfully trying to make himself invisible. “Sean, these are my parents.”

“Nice to meet you young man.” My father said, while my mother turned to Sean and hugged him tightly.

“You saved my baby girl?” My mother said. “God bless you.”

Sean was going bright red from all the attention.

“You will both tell us all about it, but first, you had better see your partner in crime, how has had a rough couple of hours.” My father said, indicating for the guards to go and get Zan.

“It’s not Zan’s fault. I forced him to go with me. He warned me of the dangers but I wouldn’t listen to him.” I confessed, worried that my father had taken out his anger on Zan.

“I had guessed as much.” My father replied with a smile. “Don’t worry, I haven’t been as hard on him as he has been on himself.”

At that moment Zan burst into the room and ran straight towards me, throwing his arms around me.

“I’m so sorry Princess Akira. I am so sorry.” Zan repeated.

“It’s not your fault.” I replied. “Anyway, I am safe now, thanks to Sean.”

It wasn’t until this moment that Zan realised the boy I was standing next to.

“You rescued Akira?” Zan asked Sean.

“Yes.” Sean replied.

“Thank you.” Zan said, taking Sean’s hand and shaking it. “Thank you.”

After the story was told, my father immediately sent out a search party, looking for Kivar.

“Now that we know his identity, he will be on the run. He will not be able to return to his father’s protection and will find it more difficult to surprise us in the future.” Turning to Sean, he addressed him. “An act of bravery like yours deserves a reward.“What can we do to repay you?”

“Well, there is something …” Sean began.

“What is it son?” My father prompted.

“I would like to become a Royal Guard.”

“Granted. You will begin training in the morning.” My father replied. Sean smiled for the first time all night.

Later that night, when I saw Sean in the hallway as he was being led to his new home at the barracks, I quickly caught up to him.

“You could have asked for anything. Why did you choose to become a Royal Guard?” I asked.

“So I can protect you.” He said as he gave my hand a squeeze before being led away.

I stood there in the hallway, a smile slowly creeping over my face.

Even later that evening, I was lying in bed thinking about my ‘adventure’ that day. Being abducted by Kivar had overshadowed what I had been told by the fortune teller – ‘Beware of the Phoenix’. I didn’t understand what that meant.

‘Zan.’ I said to him telepathically. ‘Are you awake?’

‘I am now.’ Zan said. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘Nothing … it’s just … have you ever seen a phoenix?’ I asked.

‘A phoenix? Not a live one, but I think my father has a picture of one in his books somewhere. They are a very rare bird, only found in certain areas of Antar. Why do you ask?’

‘The fortune teller … Madame Vivian said something to me before I left, she said ‘Beware of the Phoenix’. What do you think she meant?’

‘I don’t know, but how do you know that what she said was real? She may just have been toying with you.’

‘Because she knew who I was, she knew of my destiny, and said that she had been waiting for me for many years to give me that message. I believed her.’

“What else did she tell you?” Zan asked, suddenly more interested in what she had to say.

‘Nothing … nothing important.” I replied, not wanting to tell him about what she had said about my true love. How was I supposed to explain to Zan that I believed that she could have been talking about Sean? I didn’t want things to be any weirder between us. Thankfully Zan didn’t question me further, realising that I wasn’t going to share whatever was on my mind.

“Well I am glad that you are safe. I don’t know what I would have done if anything had happened to you.” Zan admitted.

“I’m sorry … I should have listened to you.” I apologised.

“Yeah, you should have… But then again, if you had, we would have never had that dance…”

“Yeah, that was nice.” I confessed, knowing this conversation was again taking a sharp turn into dangerous territory. Luckily Zan must have been thinking the same thing, and quickly put an end to it by saying ‘goodnight’. Just when our relationship was finally getting back to normal, we had to go and bring up feelings of the past…



I felt the memory end, but instead of opening my eyes and finding myself in my bedroom with Sean, I felt myself spiral into darkness. I felt so dizzy and my head was aching, much more than it had earlier that night.


‘Akira …’ I heard a voice say. It sounded similar to that which I had heard call my name previously.

‘Who are you?’ my thoughts echoed.

‘You know who I am.’ The voice replied.

‘Kivar …’ I said.

‘Clever girl.’ Kivar replied.

‘Where are you?’ I asked, squinting into the darkness.

‘I am everywhere …’ He replied, his voice coming from all directions. I felt the dizziness overcome me again and I felt myself spinning.

When I was able to get my bearing again I saw a man coming out of the shadows.

‘Hello Akira. It’s nice to see you again.’ Kivar said, and I recognised him from my memory.

‘I wish I could say the same.’ I replied defiantly.

‘Now, now. No need to be like that. I’ve just come to have a little chat… I have been waiting for this for a long time. It was nice of Zan to give me the opportunity.’

‘Zan?’ I asked confused.

‘Well, reaching out across the galaxies is hard work, not to mention being then able to access the mind of an unwilling recipient. Lucky for me, your mind was weakened already tonight, which made it so much easier… I have been successful before, but never more than just a whisper...’ He replied. Then, with his lips up against my ear he whispered ‘Akira … you’re not who you think you are …’

‘That was you?’ I stammered, suddenly conscious of how many times he has attempted to access my mind in the past.

‘Yes.’

‘Okay, so now that you have my attention, what do you want?’ I demanded.

‘I came to offer you a deal … you agree to return to Antar to take up your throne in name only. The real power will stay with me.’

‘And what do I get out of the deal?’ I asked.

‘You get to live.’

‘I think you are slightly confused. The prophecy states that I will save my people from you. At no point does it say that when I return you get to kill me.’

‘Who says I will wait for you to return?’ Kivar stated.

‘… You’re bluffing.’ I stammered. ‘You can’t touch me here.’

‘Do you want to test me? I would advise against it. You don’t know what you are up against.’ He snarled.

‘I know that you are struggling to hold this connection, even in my apparently weakened state, so I doubt that you have the strength to do anything more than threaten me with fancy words.’

‘You are just a child who has been told fairy tales and myths. You are not the ‘Chosen One’, and you will not defeat me. I have ways to bring you down, and it doesn’t require my physical presence.’ Kivar retorted, then grabbed me by the throat and squeezed. Even though I knew he wasn’t here, and that he wasn’t really touching me, I found myself unable to breath.

‘From now on, you had better be closely watching over your shoulder because I will strike you down … And don’t think that Zan or Sean will be there to protect you. You will never return to Antar, and your people will cease to remember your name’.



At that moment, the darkness disappeared and I felt myself gasp for air as I sat up on my bed. I saw Sean and Max look over from where Sean had a solid hold on Max’s shirt, obviously in the middle of a heated argument.

“Liz … are you okay?” Sean asked, rushing over to the bed and wrapping his arms around me.

“I … think … so…” I replied between gasps.

“What happened? What did you see?” Max asked from where he stood watching at the end of the bed.

“Get out. Get out right now.” I snarled at him. “This is all your fault.”

“Liz?” Max said, confused.

“Get out. I can’t deal with you right now.” I said, walking to the window and opening it, indicating that he should climb through it.

“What did I do?” Max asked.

“What did you do? I’ll tell you what you did. You let Kivar into my head!” I said getting hysterical.

“I didn’t …” Max began, trying to reach out for me, but I stepped away.

“You did. When you broke the connection you weakened me, giving him the opportunity to take advantage of me. He could’ve killed me … you could’ve killed me.” I yelled, but the room started spinning again and I felt myself black out.

When I came-to, I could hear Sean and Max arguing again. I was somehow back on my bed, and I couldn’t be sure how much time had passed since I fainted. They hadn’t heard me stir, so continued arguing.

“You shouldn’t be here when she wakes up. She doesn’t want you here.” Sean was saying.

“Thanks to you.” Max replied.

“Hey, you did this all on your own. It had nothing to do with me.”

“You’re really loving this aren’t you?”

“It’s just like history repeating.” Sean smirked. “Just face it, you will never win.”

“I could tell her what I saw tonight …” Max began.

“No you wouldn’t. You remember what happened last time you did that.”

I waited with baited breath to here what would be said next, I must have moved because I seemed to have grabbed their attention.

“Hey, Liz. Welcome back.” Sean said, sitting down next to me. “Are you okay?”

“I think so. What happened?” I asked.

“You fainted. You were probably exhausted from all the stress. You scared me, you know.”

“I’m sorry.” I replied, as Sean hugged me. Looking over his shoulder I saw Max give me a weak smile before turning and climbing through the window. I felt a pang of guilt for how harsh I had been to him, but I was so scared that Kivar had been able to violate my mind like that.

“Do you want me to stay here with you tonight? … On the floor of course.” Sean offered.

I hesitated for a moment, wanting so much to say yes, but the thought of my parents walking in on us forced me to decline. I was surprised they hadn’t come in already to check on who was making all the noise.

“You should get some rest now. I’ll come by and see you tomorrow, just to make sure you’re okay.” Sean said, kissing me on the forehead.

“Thanks - for everything.” I replied, smiling.

“No problem. Now get some sleep.” Sean replied before grabbing his helmet and disappearing out the window.
"Do you see what we’ve done?
We’ve gone and made such fools of ourselves..."
Paramore - Decode
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Oz
Addicted Roswellian
Posts: 264
Joined: Thu Mar 09, 2006 7:06 am
Location: Down Under

Post by Oz »

14

The weekend passed quietly. I managed to get out of my shifts at work, so I spent the weekend in bed, either sleeping or tossing over what had happened. I told my parents that I had a cold, and luckily they didn’t insist that I go to the doctor. My mum even cooked me some chicken soup to make me feel better. They came in to check on me every once in a while, but most of the time I was left alone. The main thoughts occupying my mind were that Kivar was going to find me, that my life was in danger, and I wouldn’t be able to protect myself. Having thoughts like that running through my head didn’t do much to ease my headache, and come Monday morning I was still a wreck. I knew that if I took the day off sick my parents would insist that I saw a doctor, so I dragged myself out of bed and forced myself to go to school.

Sean had visited me a couple of times over the weekend, but I hadn’t seen Maria since our fight on Friday night, so I was dying to talk to her. I waited patiently at her locker until the final bell rang to announce the beginning of class, but she never came. Hurrying off to my first lesson, I decided I would have to wait until lunch to speak to her.

I somehow managed to survive my first few classes, and by some miracle I didn’t fall asleep during Mr Stelegman’s long-winded lectures about the mating habits of beetles. My head was still tender, and the slightest noise was like a sledgehammer. Walking through the hallway to the cafeteria, my head began pounding and my eyes hurt from the bright lights that were streaming through the doors at the end of the corridor. I felt the world start to spin again, and as people pushed past me, I felt images flash before my eyes. I saw Johnny Spadecci taking a mark on the football oval; Taylor Beames practicing a new cheerleading move; and Troy Walsh driving this brand new convertible. I soon realised that I was picking up these images from anyone I touched, or who touched me. I could see what my class mates were thinking, and how they were feeling.

As I struggled to get to the end of the corridor without touching anyone else, I was accosted with images of flying through space, just like I had seen before. I searched around me, trying to see Max or Sean, the only two people I could think of that could have projected that image to me. They were not there, and I could not distinguish who in the crowd I had received the image from. Suddenly it dawned on me, that the image was different to the one I had seen before. Rather than seeing red, white and blue lights, I saw orange and green, just like I had seen in the photo from the Roswell UFO Centre. Panic swept over me, and I pushed myself out of the corridor to the outside. The one thought repeating over and over in my head – ‘they’re here’.

I searched the school grounds for Sean and Max, but could not find them. Eventually, exhausted and starving, I found a place to sit in the back of the library. On the floor, between two rows of books, I sat with my legs curled up against my body. There was only one thing left to do, and that was to try and connect with Max. My mind was still weak, and I was so tired, but I was scared, and I hoped the adrenaline running through my body would be enough to help me make contact.

I was able to get through to him, but had only enough energy to say one word – ‘library’, before the connection broke. Less than five minutes later Max was bending down over me, asking me if I was alright.

“They’re here … they’re here.” I repeated.

“Who’s here?” Max asked softly.

I looked at him, the tear welling in my eyes. “Them …” I said pointing my finger to the ceiling, indicating to the heavens.

“Are you sure?” He asked, his eyes widening.

“In the corridor, I had a vision.” I said.

“How do you know that wasn’t just your imagination? You have been under a lot of stress …” Max began.

“You don’t believe me …” I replied, disappointed.

“It’s not that I don’t believe you, I just think we need more evidence before we make any rash decisions.”

“In the meantime they could kill us all.” I replied. “Kivar said that he had the ability to find me … to make sure that I didn’t return …”

“We’ve got time to figure this out. Remember your necklace? They can’t find you, not if we’re all careful. We’ll figure them out before they find us.” Max replied. “You’re safe at the moment … I promise.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, wanting so much to believe him.

“Positive. We’ll just be really careful about what we do or say from now on. Okay? Now we had better get to class, we have to act normal remember?” Max said as he helped me to my feet.

As my hand touched his I felt a sudden rush of images. One that I could distinguish clearly was from the party. It was Sean kissing another girl. They were standing in a darkened corner, and his hands were around her waist, pulling her to him. I couldn’t recognise her, as she was facing away from me … from Max … who must have been the one to see them together.

“No!” I said forcefully, the tears welling up in my eyes again.

“Liz? Are you okay?” He asked.

“It’s not true, it can’t be true…” I said.

“What’s not true? Liz, you’re not making sense.”

“This is what you didn’t want me to see, isn’t it? Why? Why would you not tell me?” I begged to know.

“Liz … I …” Max hesitated.

“Forget it… I don’t want to hear it. How can I believe anything you say anyway?” I said, pushing past him and running out of the library.

I ran back through the corridor, past Maria’s locker, where Maria was standing with someone I didn’t recognise.

“Hi Liz.” Maria said, and I could hear from the tone of her voice that she hadn’t forgiven me yet.

“Hey.” I replied.

“This is Tess, she just moved here.” Maria introduced the person standing next to her.

“Nice to meet you.” Tess said extending her hand.

I took her hand and shook it, being assaulted with a rush of images of Tess moving from her home in LA and unpacking in her new home here. I felt her sadness at having to leave her home and her insecurity at being in a new school with no friends.

“Nice to meet you too.” I smiled.
“Well we have Trig together so we had better go. I’ll see you at work Liz.” Maria said before they left together.

I must admit I did feel a pang of jealousy that perhaps I was being replaced as Maria’s best friend, but I tried to ignore it. Spending one day with the new girl was not going to replace ten years of friendship, not matter how angry Maria was with me.

The bell rang to announce classes were starting again, but I couldn’t bear the thought of sitting in class with all of these images running through by head. Instead I made a bee-line for the janitor’s closest and sat down in a darkened corner with my knees pulled into my chest.

‘It’s not true … It’s not true …’ I kept repeating in my head, over and over. How could it be possible that Sean could be so sweet to me one minute, and then be kissing someone the next? Not when we were the same … species. But what would be Max’s motivation to lie?

I looked up as I heard the door creak open.

“Liz? Are you in here?” Sean said and he stepped inside.

“I thought I locked that.” I said, referring to the door.

“You did.” He replied, and then, when seeing me curled up on the floor, he asked “What’s wrong?”

“I need to ask you something, and I need you to be honest with me.” I began. Sean nodded. “Friday night, at the party, did you kiss someone else?”

“What? No, Liz, of course not.” He replied. “Who told you this? Did Max tell you this?”

“He didn’t tell me, he showed me. All day I have been receiving flashes of images whenever I touch anyone. That is what I saw when I touched Max.”

“Will you let me touch you? I think I can explain why you got those images from Max.” Sean asked, reaching out to touch my cheeks with his hands.

I began to receive flashes of a conversation Sean and Max had in our past life.


‘Look. I know you don’t like me, but can we try to be friends, for Akira’s sake. You’re her best friend, but I am her fiancé…’ Sean said.

‘For now.’ Zan interrupted.

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Sean asked.

‘It means that I will do everything possible to get her away from you.’

‘Why would you do that?’

‘Because I don’t trust you, because you are no good for her and I know that you will end up hurting her in the end.’

‘Why don’t you just admit the real reason? It’s because you are in love with her yourself, and the jealousy is driving you mad.’ Sean replied.

‘No.’

‘Deny it all you want, but it is so obvious. It must really hurt to see her with me; to see the woman you love, in love with someone else.’

‘Yes I love her, I love her as a brother, and I would do anything to protect my family.’ Zan replied.

‘And why do you think she needs protecting from me? I saved her from the Dark Prince, remember?’ Sean replied.

‘Yes, and I will do every thing I can to save her from you. I will be watching, and the first time you step out of line, I promise you’ll be gone.’



The flash ended, and Sean removed his hands from my face.

“So you think Max was trying to break us up?” I asked.

“Yes, I think so. He has been on my case ever since I showed up in Roswell. He definitely hasn’t forgotten his promise.” Sean replied.

“But I saw the flash when he touched me, I saw you kissing someone.” I replied, still sceptical.

“It’s called mind-warping; making your mind go somewhere you are not taking it. To see things that seem so real, but aren’t. Few people have been taught in the art, and Max is one of them.”

“And you think he used this on me?” I asked.

“Yes. Did he know that you had been receiving flashes from touching other people?”

“Yes, we had just been talking about it.”

“Well, he would have deliberately sent you a false image, knowing that you would believe it to be real.” Sean replied.

“Just to break us up? I can’t believe he would do that to me.”

“He has tried in the past.”

“I really want to believe you …”

“I am telling you the truth.”

“Do you promise that you would never lie to me?” I pleaded.

“I promise.” Sean replied.

I smiled. Why was it that he could always make be believe that everything was going to be okay? And believe that Max was not to be trusted …

* * * * *

Later that night at the diner, the restaurant was almost empty, apart from a few tables of regulars. The customers had been served, the dishes were clean, and there was not much to do besides stare at the ceiling while aimlessly wiping the already-very-clean clean counter. Maria and I used to love nights like this, because we could stand behind the counter and gossip, but tonight she was making herself look busy in the store room, leaving me to watch the front for any new customers. She was obviously still annoyed at me, as she had barely spoken to me all night, besides the usual pleasantries. As I stood there contemplating how I could almost see my reflection in the now very shiny counter, the bell rang to announce the next customer. Looking up I saw the new girl, Tess, taking a place at one of the booths with a guy. I debated whether or not to go and get Maria to take their order, but decided against it, needing something to break up the monotony myself.

“Hi, what can I get you both?” I asked in my sweetest waitress voice.

“Hi, Liz isn’t it?” Tess said just as sugar-sweetly.

“Yeah … Tess.” I replied, pretending for a moment that I had to try to remember her name.

“This is my brother Nicholas.” Tess introduced the guy sitting opposite her.

“Nice to meet you. Are you going to Roswell High as well?” I asked, trying to make polite conversation.

“Yeah, I am. Maybe I’ll see you around there sometime.” Nicholas smiled.

“Don’t even bother Nick, Liz has a boyfriend.” Tess interrupted.

“Now what can I get you?” I said, quickly changing the subject as I was not sure I liked where it was headed. Honestly I was a little peeved that Maria had been talking to Tess about me. I mean, they knew each other less than twenty-four hours and somehow Tess already knew about my life.

After I had taken their order, and returned with their drinks, I went to find Maria who was talking to the cooks in the kitchen.

“Hey, your new best friend is at booth two.” I quipped.

“Liz, she’s not my best friend… she’s just a girl I met at school today.” Maria replied, and I thought it odd that she didn’t even need to check to see who I was referring to.

“Well she seems to know a fair bit about me. I wonder where she heard that from?” I retorted.

“I don’t know, maybe from one of your boyfriends.” Maria replied as she walked out of the kitchen into the restaurant.

Moments later I followed her out and saw that she had pulled up a chair to join them at their table. They were all laughing together, and I felt that pang of jealous in the pit of my stomach again. Luckily I was distracted me from such annoying feelings, when the door opened to reveal a new customer to serve. It was Sean, who gave me a large smile before taking a seat at the counter.

“Can I help you sir?” I asked seriously, picking up my order pad.

“One waitress to go.” Sean smiled, perusing the menu.

“I don’t see that listed on the menu.” I joked, peering over his shoulder.

“I thought she was one of the specials.” Sean replied.

“Flattery will get you only as far as a free drink … Cherry Coke on the house.” I replied, filling a glass and placing it in front of him.

“Cheers.” He said, raising his glass.

At that moment the door bell chimed again, and I looked up to see Max walk in.

“Here comes trouble.” Sean muttered.

“Play nice.” I said smiling.

“Hey, can we talk?” Max asked, taking a sideways glance at Sean. “Alone.”

“Uh … sure.” I replied, leading him out to the back office.

“What’s up?” I asked, once we were alone.

“I wanted to talk about what happened today; about what you saw.” He began.

“Yeah, I have spoken to Sean and he has told me what is going on.” I replied.

“He has?” Max replied, a little shocked. “What exactly did he say?”

“It’s not so much what he said, but what he showed me… In the past, did you threaten him? Did you tell him that you would do anything within your power to separate us?”

“I … I don’t remember… I may have said something along those lines, yes.” Max replied.

“Sean also said that you can do something called ‘mind-warping’, where you make people see things that aren’t real. Is that correct?”

“Yes, but I have never used that on you.”

“I’m sorry, but why don’t I believe that?” I retorted.

“Please Liz… I am telling you the truth. The images that you saw were real, I promise you I am not lying.” Max begged me to believe him.

“Then why didn’t you come straight to me and tell me what you saw at the party, instead of blocking me out and giving me the worst migraine in history?” I demanded.

“Because this has happened before… In the past, I saw exactly the same thing, and in the past I told you everything I saw. Do you want to know what happened? You didn’t believe me, and you told me that our friendship was over. So this time I decided to keep it from you, in an effort to stop history repeating itself. But it didn’t work, you are still upset at me, and I am not even the one doing the cheating!”

“I want you to leave right now.” I demanded, not wanting to hear anymore of his ranting.

“Liz, please don’t do this. Let me show you that I am telling the truth.” Max begged, reaching out to me to form a connection.

“Don’t touch me.” I replied, fearing he would use his mind-warp powers on me again.

“Liz …”

“You heard the lady … leave now.” Sean said from the doorway where he had just walked in.

Max turned to look at Sean and then back to me, and said “I wish I knew how it is that Sean can hold such power over you that you can’t see what is right in front of your face.”

“Do you need me to throw you out?” Sean asked.

“Just a second.” Max said to Sean before turning back to me.

“I promise you I am telling the truth.” Max said before reaching out to touch my face. Before I could take a step out of his reach, I felt his hands connect with my temples, and then everything went black as I collapsed to the ground.

“What the hell did you?” I could hear Sean scream at Max, and then I felt him next to me saying my name. I tried to open my eyes, but they were too heavy. Images were flashing before my eyes, and I felt nauseous as they spun through my head, as though I was on a carousel going at warp speed.

“What’s going on in here?” A female voice said, and I knew instantly that Maria had entered the room. I heard her gasp and then quickly walk over to where I was on the floor.
“What have you done to her?” Maria asked.

No one answered.

“I’m calling an ambulance.” Maria said reaching up for the phone.

“No … you can’t do that.” Sean said, standing up from where he had been crouching next to me on the ground.

“Why the hell not? She needs a doctor.” Maria demanded.

“If Liz sees a doctor her life will be over.” Sean replied.

“You’ve got ten seconds to convince we why I shouldn’t dial this number.” Maria stated.

“Look I know that you are worried about Liz, but she will be fine … she’s just really tired. What she needs is some sleep.” Sean explained, using a softer tone of voice than I had ever heard him use before.

“Take her to my place; it’s closer than her house.”

“And her parents?” Sean continued.

“I’ll call them and tell them we are studying late.”

“Good. You’ll need to get rid of these customers and close up then.” Sean said.

“Yes, give me five minutes to close up.” Maria said exiting the room.

“I didn’t know you could mind warp.” Max addressed Sean.

“That wasn’t mind warping … I am just a really persuasive guy.” Sean replied before turning back to me.

I had struggled until then to keep from completely blacking out, but my strength ran out and the images took over…


‘Zan? Are you out here?’ I called, exiting the ballroom where all the gentry had gathered for the celebration of my engagement to Sean, to the large patio where I thought I had seen Zan disappear to.

‘I’m here.’ Zan replied, stepping out of the shadows.

‘What are you doing out here?’ I asked.

‘Getting some air, its stifling in there.’ Zan replied.

‘Are you sure that’s all?’ I asked, sensing that something was on his mind.

‘Do you love him?’ Zan asked out of the blue.

‘Of course I do.’ I replied, shocked that he had needed to ask me.

‘Do you trust him?’

‘With my life.’

‘Are you sure he deserves that trust?’ Zan asked.

‘Why are you asking me this?’ I replied, not knowing where these questions were coming from.

‘Because I just saw him kissing someone else.’

‘Wh…what?’ I stammered.

‘Five minutes ago I walked in on him kissing a girl in the Library. Sean saw me over her shoulder, but he didn’t stop. It was as though he was daring me to tell you… I’m sorry Akira.’

‘No. You’re lying. Why are you doing this to me?’

‘I’m just trying to tell you what I saw.’

‘It’s my engagement party. It’s supposed to be a happy occasion, and you are attempting to ruin it with these lies. Why do you want to hurt me? I thought you were my friend.’ I accused.

‘I am your friend, that’s why I thought you needed to know. I don’t want to hurt you, but I also don’t want to let you marry someone who is unfaithful to you. He doesn’t love you the way you deserve to be loved.’

‘Sean said you would try to do this.’ I replied.

‘Try to do what?’ Zan asked.

‘Try to break us up. Sean has got this theory that you are in love with me, and you are jealous of him. That’s why you have been so unfriendly towards him ever since you met him.’

Zan reddened, and then replied, ‘The reason I may have appeared to have been unfriendly to Sean is because I was looking out for you. I didn’t trust him then, and now I can see that my instincts were correct.’

‘So it is not because you are in love with me?’ I asked, my voice quivering.

‘I do love you … like a brother, and it is a brother’s duty to protect his sister, isn’t it?’ Zan replied.

‘Well brother, if that is the case, I want you to stay away from me; stay away from Sean and accept the fact that your sister can look after herself. I love him, he loves me and we are getting married in less than a month. Nothing you say is going to change that, so you had better join the rest of the people here tonight and start being happy for us.’

When my speech was finished I stormed off, back to the ballroom, where I saw Sean waiting for me.

‘Where have you been?’ He asked.

‘Talking to Zan on the patio.’ I replied, watching his face to catch any glimpse that he was worried that Zan might have told me something about him and another girl.

‘Well I have been looking for you, because I had an urgent desire to dance with my fiancé.’ He said, taking my hand and leading me out onto the dance floor. Sean was smiling, and I melted when I looked into his eyes. How could Zan think that I would believe Sean capable of cheating on me? The fact that he had not flinched or faltered when I had told him that I had spoken to Zan meant he knew nothing of what Zan had tried to accuse him of and was innocent of his accusations.


* * * * *

When I woke up is was morning, and the sun was streaming through the window onto my face. I blinked my eyes open and felt my head begin to throb, which wasn’t helped by the bright light in my eyes.

I saw a figure walk to the window and pull the blind down, and through my squinting eyes I could just make out that it was Maria.

“Where am I?” I asked.

“You’re at my place. You’ve been asleep since you collapsed at the diner last night.”

“How did I get here?” I asked, struggling to lift myself up from the bed.

“Max and Sean carried you.”

“Oh.” I replied, knowing that I should be giving her some reason for what had happened to me, but also wondering what Max and Sean had told her.

“Maria …” I began.

“Look, I have to get to school to see Mr Phillips about my maths assignment before school starts.” Maria interrupted. “But if you value our friendship at all, you will tell me what is going on.”

“I will. I promise.” I replied.

“Okay, I’ll meet you on the bleachers after school. You can tell me everything then… Oh, and if you want to get to school on time you had better get up now.” Maria said before walking out of her room.

After I heard her close the front door I climbed out of bed and got ready for school in record time. I wanted to talk to Sean and Max before school started so I had time to think about how I would explain everything to Maria.

I didn’t have to look far for Sean and Max as they were both waiting patiently at my locker.

“Liz! How are you?” Sean asked, giving me a hug.

“Fine.”

“You’re sure? I was so worried.”

“Yeah, I am okay. I just need to know what you said to Maria. How did you explain what happened?” I asked.

“We didn’t.” Max replied.

“What, she just looked after her unconscious friend no questions asked? She didn’t get worried and call a doctor or my parents?”

“She wanted to at first, but we convinced her it was a bad idea.”

“How? What did you say?” I asked confused.

“Let’s just say that we are very convincing people.” Sean answered.

“You mindwarped her?” I said, turning to Max. “How could you do that to my friend?”

“We were trying to stop her taking you to hospital; we were saving your life.” He replied.

“Well now she wants an explanation.” I stated.

“What are you going to tell her?”

I didn’t answer, but Max could read exactly what I was thinking.

“You can’t tell her Liz.” Max said.

“Why not? She’s my best friend. I trust her.”

“I know you do, but you can’t put her life in danger like that. Don’t forget that we potentially have alien’s hunting us.” He said, whispering the last few words so no one could overhear us.

“She will still be in danger by being associated with me. At least if she knew the truth she would know of the danger she was in.”

“Well maybe that’s what you need to do … stop associating with her. Then she will be safe.”

“You can’t be serious?”

“It’s for the best Liz. You know it is.”

“No. I will not lose my best friend over this. I need her.”

“You also need to live.”

I didn’t have a reply to that. I could see Max’s point, and staying alive was definitely something that I wanted to keep on doing for a very long time. But Max didn’t seem to understand what he was asking of me.

“We’ll come up with something.” Sean said, interrupting the silence. “Just don’t say anything just yet.”

“Okay.” I agreed, but not knowing what to tell Maria after school if I wasn’t going to tell her the truth.

* * * * *

I was distracted from my classes all day, debating what I was going to tell Maria. My gut feeling was still that I should tell her the truth, and that she would understand; but I also kept thinking about what Max had said. Maybe I was being selfish and putting her life in danger. Maybe I should sacrifice our friendship to keep her safe.

I was in my last class for the day, counting down the minutes until I had to meet Maria, when I was interrupted by one of the administration ladies entering the classroom and whispering to the teacher.

“Liz?” The teacher addressed me. “You are wanted in the front office.”

I quickly packed up my books and followed the woman to the administration office. I had never been called out of a class before, and I could feel the entire class stare at me as I left the room. When I reached the administration office I was met by the school counsellor, Mrs Carson, who led me into her office.

“Liz, how are you doing?” The counsellor began.

“Fine.” I replied, still confused about why she would have pulled me out of class to talk to me.

“Is everything going alright at home?” She continued.

“Everything’s fine.” I replied, still in the dark.

“I spoke to your parents today, and they informed me that you recently found out about your adoption. They thought that you may need someone to talk to about it.”

“No, really, I’m fine.” I replied, beginning to feel irritated as to where these questions were going.

“Well, your grades would appear to show otherwise. In the past few weeks your performance has dropped considerably, and there are more than a few teachers who are concerned about you. They say you are skipping classes, and when you are there you are distracted and have ceased participating in class discussions.” I stayed silent so the counsellor continued, “Now, you are an outstanding student, and we have never had any problems from you in the past. I would really hate to see you get into trouble when we could have done something to prevent it.”

“Really, I’m fine. I know I have been a little distracted lately, and I have been skipping classes because I have been feeling ill, but I am getting better.” I lied. The fact was that I was becoming less and less interested in being at school when I had a past and a future to think about.

“I really hope that is the truth, because if this continues any longer you will be affecting your chances of getting into a decent college when you graduate. I would really hate to see that happen… Okay look, if you find you need to talk to someone, just remember that I am here and my door is always open. And if you don’t want to talk to me, please talk to someone, one of your friends perhaps.”

Her reference to Maria made me realise that the final bell had long since rung, and Maria would be waiting for me on the bleachers.

“Thanks Mrs Carson, I promise to work harder from now on.” I said, picking up my school bag and rising to leave.

“Good girl, I will be checking up on you to make sure you are.” She replied as I turned to exit the room.

* * * * *

I ran down the hallway, which was deserted, briefly stopping to grab some books from my locker that I needed at home that night. I still had no idea what I was going to say to Maria, but I knew that I would know when I saw her. I raced out to the oval, and saw Maria had waiting for me on the bleachers.

“Hey, sorry I’m late; I had to see Mrs Carson.” I said, putting down my backpack.

“What did she want?” Maria asked concerned.

“Nothing much, just checking up on me. Apparently I got a C on a Bio assignment and my teacher thought the world must be coming to an end. ” I joked, trying to ignore the critical glare Maria was giving me.

“So, are you feeling better?” Maria asked.

“Yeah, I am, thanks… I’m sorry to have worried you.” I replied.

“I was worried, I still am worried about you. Tell me what’s going on with you. No more lies, I want the truth, or our friendship is over.” Maria demanded.

This was it; I had to make a decision whether I would tell her the truth or not. I knew at that moment that if I didn’t tell her the truth then she would know I was lying. I could tell by the look in her eyes that if I lied she would go through with her threat.

“I am afraid to tell you the truth.” I replied, tears welling up in my eyes.

“What are you afraid of?” Maria prompted.

“I’m afraid that if I tell you … you may hate me.”

“I could never hate you …” Maria interrupted.

“You could hate me,” I continued, “And I could live with that, but I am also afraid that I may put your life in danger. That I couldn’t live with.”

“What are you talking about? How can you put my life in danger?”

“Because there is someone looking for me, and you may get hurt just by being my friend.”

“What’s going on Liz? Who is looking for you?” Maria said, suddenly very concerned for me.

I hesitated. This was it, this is where I confessed everything to her, and after I did there would be no going back. I took a deep breath and answered her.

“Aliens.” I replied.

“Aliens? Okay, now I know you have definitely been watching too many b-grade movies. What would aliens want with you?”

“They want to kill me.” I said matter-of-factly.

“Okaaay, why would they want to kill you?”

“Because I am one.” I stated. Maria looked at me for a moment as though she was waiting for me to crack a smile at any moment and tell her I was joking.

“Is this because of the whole adoption thing? You’re having identity issues because you don’t know who your parents are?” Maria asked, believing that I probably needed psychiatric help at this moment.

“No, it’s not because of my adoption. It’s because of this …” I said, putting out my hand, with the palm facing up. Concentrating, I formed a white ball of light in the palm of my hand.

Maria looked dumbfounded. I wasn’t sure what was going through her head; whether she was scared of me, and deciding whether to run away and never come back; or whether she was having serious doubts as to my sanity. Before I could say anything more, my uncertainty was clarified by the tentative steps she began to take away from me.

“Maria …” I began, desperately wanting to find the words to make her stop walking away from me.

“Don’t touch me …” Maria said, when I reached out for her. “You’re … you’re a … freak.” She said trembling. I had never seen anyone look so scared of me all my life.

“Maria, please …” I begged, but couldn’t find the words to say to make her stay.

“I can’t deal with this … I have to go.” She said, grabbing her bag and running down the steps. She didn’t stop running until she was out of sight.

I began to tremble, not able to find the strength to hold myself up for a moment longer. A few minutes later Max found me curled up on the floor with tears streaming down my face.

“Hey … shhh … it’s alright.” He said, cradling me on his lap.

“No … it’s … not …” I managed to stammer. “Maria … hates … me …”

“What did you tell her?” He asked.

“I … told her … I told her the truth … and she ran from me … like I was a m-monster.” I said, bursting into tears again.

“Shhhh …. Shhhh now, it will be alright … everything will be alright.” He said, giving me a kiss on the forehead.

“I’m so sorry. You tried to warn me … but I wouldn’t listen … I should have listened to you.” I said.

“You wanted to trust her, that’s understandable, I don’t blame you.”

“But I have put us in danger. What if is she tells everyone … what if she tells someone who shouldn’t know … like the others who are looking for us … or … or the government?” I asked.

“She won’t. No matter how she is feeling now, she has been your best friend for years. She wouldn’t do anything to hurt you like that.”

“But you didn’t see her face… that look of fear … of hatred … of disgust … I never thought she could look at me that way.”

“I’m so sorry Liz… I should have left the diner when you asked me to yesterday… I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.” Max apologised.

“Yes it is.” I said honestly.

“I don’t blame you if you are angry at me.”

“I was angry, but now I am too exhausted to be angry anymore. I have had enough of feeling sorry for myself, and life is too short to feel so hurt. I want to trust that you had reasons for doing what you did.”

“I just wanted you to remember, so you would believe what I was saying.” Max admitted.

“Well I did remember … I remembered that I didn’t believe you last time either.”

“No you didn’t.” Max agreed.

“I also remember that I told you that I wanted you to stay away from me.”

“Yeah you did… That was a bad day.”

“Well I wanted to say I am sorry.” I apologised.

“Does that mean you believe me?” Max asked.

“No … it just means that you and Sean are my only friends now, and I don’t want anything to come between us anymore. I need to know the truth … good, bad and indifferent, and I don’t want you to feel you have to hold things back from me.”

“I wish there was something I could do...” Max said.

“There is.” I said, looking up at his questioning expression, “Please give me a nice memory. We were good friends once, weren’t we?”

“Yes …” Max replied.

“Show me.” I begged.

Max nodded, as he gently closed my eyelids with his fingertips. I felt his hands rest on my temples, and gently the images began to flow into my mind …


‘You still haven’t told me what we are doing here.’ Zan said, tearing off another piece of bread and putting it in his mouth. We were both sitting on a picnic rug with the remains of the lunch we had just eaten. In a clearing surrounded by trees, we were still within the Palace walls, but away from the Palace itself, with not another person in sight.

‘You’re not complaining are you? Or do you have somewhere else to be?’ I teased.

‘Of course not, you know I would drop everything to go with you anywhere in the world. I’m just curious, that’s all.’

‘Okay, there is actually something I wanted to show you.’ I said as I sat upright on the rug, looking around once more to confirm that we were definitely still alone. Putting out my hand I concentrated very hard on my palm. Gradually a bright ball of white light began to appear and hover an inch off my hand. As I moved my hand around, the ball swirled left and right, and around my wrist. Once I was sure that I had Zan’s full attention, I snapped my fingers and the ball of light turned into a white butterfly which sat on my index finger for a moment before flying off into the sky.

I looked at Zan’s expression and noted he looked suitably impressed.

‘How did you …’ He began to ask.

‘I have been working with your Father. He has been developing my talents in the Mystic Arts.’

‘My father? I didn’t realise he knew the Arts. He never said anything...’ Zan replied. ‘And you … how did this come about?’

‘My father asked your father to teach me. He wanted to see if I was one of the ‘gifted’. I guess he figured that may be my strength if I am to save the world. It turns out that I do have the gift. My telepathic abilities were just the beginning of what I could do.’ I explained.

‘How long have you been learning?’ Zan asked.

‘Almost a year.’

‘A year?’ Zan said in disbelief. ‘And you never said anything. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?’

‘My father didn’t want anyone to know. For some reason he thinks it is imperative to my survival if I am able to catch my enemies by surprise. Only my father and your father know.’

‘Since when do you obey your father? We usually tell each other everything. Didn’t you trust me?’ Zan questioned.

‘I trust you with my life. I didn’t tell you because I wanted to be sure that I had the gift before I told you. I didn’t want to disappoint you.’

‘You could never disappoint me.’ Zan replied.

I blushed and thought it wise to quickly say what I had brought him here to say, before I lost my nerve.

‘I’ve learnt all that your father can teach me, so I am being sent to learn from the monks at Meteraen.’ I said.

‘When?’ Zan asked anxiously.

‘Today.’ I replied.

‘How long for?’

‘I’m not sure. A few months at least.’

‘That long? Well … I’ll miss you.’ Zan said.

‘I’ll miss you too.’ I replied, forcing a smile.

‘I’ll miss you saying goodnight.’ Zan said, referring to our nightly telepathic discussions.

‘You never know, as my gifts improve I may have enough strength to still reach you.’ I said optimistically.

‘It’s over one hundred leagues away!’ Zan pointed out.

‘Well I promise to keep trying, if you promise to keep listening out for me.’ I said.

‘I promise.’ Zan smiled. ‘Now, can you show me more of what you can do?’

‘I’ll do more than that, I’ll teach you if you like.’

I took Zan’s hand in mine, and told him to concentrate. Using my own power to support his, after half an hour and a couple of failed attempts, a blue light began to glow in his hand.

‘We did it!’ He exclaimed, his eyes lighting up like a child opening a present.

‘No, you did it.’ I corrected him, giving him a hug. As I began to pull away, our faces were only centimetres apart. I knew I should keep pulling away, but for some reason I wasn’t able to make myself move. In that moment my lips drifted towards his and we kissed, slow and gently. Zan didn’t pull away, but responded with a more passionate kiss that I had initiated. When our lips parted, Zan rested his forehead against mine, with his eyes shut.

The moment was interrupted by the sound of someone approaching. We quickly pulled apart, just as I saw my father coming into the clearing.

‘Akira, I have been looking for you everywhere.’ My father began. ‘The carriages are waiting, it’s time to leave.’

‘Yes father.’ I replied, hastening to my feet. Zan also rose, and helped me to gather the picnic rug and basket. I gave him an apologetic glance, and he gave me a shy smile in return.

‘Why don’t you say your goodbyes, and I will wait for you by the carriage. Don’t be too long.’ My father smiled before walking back towards the castle. I suspected that he had probably seen more than I would have wished, but even if he hadn’t, he was sure to know something was up by the way we were blushing and trying to avoid eye contact.

‘Well, I guess I won’t be seeing you for a while.’ Zan began, looking despondent.

‘I guess not.’ I replied, suddenly feeling awkward around him. I really wanted to know what he was thinking, but Zan had retreated into his shell. I knew that I had to say something otherwise the next few months would be absolute torture, wondering what Zan was feeling.

‘I’m sorry.’ I blurted out.

‘What for?’ Zan asked, confused.

‘For the kiss … I know I probably overstepped the boundaries of our friendship.’

‘So, you regret it?’ Zan asked.

‘No … well yeah, if it means that we can’t be friends anymore. Do you … do you wish that it didn’t happen?’ I asked.

‘Do you realise how long I have been trying to work up the courage to kiss you?’ Zan confessed.

‘Really?’ I said in disbelief. ‘What stopped you?’

‘I couldn’t believe that you would feel the same way about me, and I didn’t want to lose you as a friend.’

‘You couldn’t, ever.’ I smiled, stepping closer to him. He did the same, after placing the rug and basket back on the ground. Slowly reaching up to touch my face with his hand, he leaned in to kiss me again.

‘I had better go; I shouldn’t keep my father waiting.’ I said, after we had pulled apart.

‘I am going to miss you.’ Zan said.

‘I’ll miss you too. But I will come back soon, I promise.’

‘I’ll be waiting.’ Zan said, picking up the rug and picnic basket in one hand, and taking my hand in the other. He didn’t let go until he had helped me into the carriage where my father was waiting for me. As the carriage drove away, I saw that he tried to give me a smile, but I could tell that he was feeling disappointed at having to say goodbye for so long. It gave me a warm feeling to know he would miss me as much as I would be missing him.



My eyes fluttered open, and I focused on Max’s eyes staring down into mine. It was now night time, the sky was full of stars, and the moon was full.

“Hey.” Max said. “Welcome back.”

“What time is it?” I asked, sitting up and looking for a way of seeing my watch in the dark.

“It’s about eight.” Max replied. “You were out for a few hours.”

“I’m sorry. You must have been uncomfortable.” I said, realising that he hadn’t moved from his position in all that time.

“Once I lost the feeling in my legs I was fine. The pins-and-needles really hurt now though.” Max joked, grimacing as he moved his legs. “Anyway, it was worth it if it meant you saw something good.”

“I did.” I replied.

“What did you see?” Max asked.

“I saw the day I showed you my powers, the day we kissed.”

“That was a good day.” Max replied.

“When did that happen?” I asked.

“You mean before or after Sean?” Max read my mind. “It was a few months before.”

“What happened?” I asked, confused how I could be so happy with Zan, and the next be falling in love with Sean.

“Let’s not ruin the memory tonight.” Max said, looking uncomfortable and standing up.

“Okay.” I replied.

“Okay?” He asked, a little shocked that I conceded that easily.

“I trust you… and I don’t think I could bear any more pain today. But you will tell me sometime, won’t you?” I asked.

“I promise.” He replied. “But now, let me walk you home, it’s almost dark.”

* * * * *

My parents were waiting up for me when I got home, and I knew instinctively that this couldn’t be good.

“What’s up?” I said casually, attempting to hide my nervousness.

“The school counsellor called today, she said that some of your teachers are worried about you.” My father began.

“I know, I spoke to her today. But don’t worry, it’s all under control.” I replied.

“We also spoke to Maria this afternoon, and she said that you have made some new friends this year.”

“What’s that got to do with anything?” I asked.

“Are they the reason your grades have dropped?” My father asked.

“No.” I said abruptly.

“Then what is it? Is it the fact that we told you about your adoption?”

“No.” I said more forcefully.

“Can you give us any explanation?” My father replied.

“I haven’t been feeling well lately, and I have had trouble sleeping.” I replied honestly.

“Why didn’t you say anything sooner? We could have arranged for you to see a doctor.” My mother replied concerned.

“Because I assumed it was just stress from school, or growing pains or whatever.”

“Well, if that is the case I think you should spend less time at the diner, and more time at home to rest and concentrate on your schoolwork. This is an important stage of your school career, so it is best that you make that your first priority.”

“Okay.” I agreed. With the way Maria was feeling at the moment, the less time we were forced to spend in each others company the better.

“Good.” My father replied, a little shocked that I had agreed to readily. I was only relieved that my parents weren’t going to go through with their threat to take me to a doctor.

* * * * *

As soon as my head hit the pillow that night, the memories that Zan had helped me retrieve today came flooding back …


I was sitting cross legged on the lawn with one of the senior monks of the monastery.

‘Princess Akira. Your three months with us have taught you many things about the Mystic Arts. Your telepathic abilities are the strongest I have ever seen in someone so young. You are able to use your mind to contact others over a hundred leagues away …’ I thought of the many times Zan and I had spoken during my stay in the monastery, ‘… You are skilled in the use of the Mystic Weapons …’ I pictured the hours I had spent learning to blow up rocks with the balls of light I could generate in my hands, ‘… You have learnt the art of meditation to enable you to concentrate and magnify your powers, and you have also learnt the art of healing.

‘Now there is one final lesson for you to learn. Your telepathic abilities are strong, but you are capable of more. You have the potential to enter a person’s mind, without their knowledge, to read their thoughts, and feel their emotions.’

‘Isn’t that an invasion of privacy?’ I asked.

‘If it is used unwisely, but if used in the right situation it could allow you to see those who mean to harm you before they have the opportunity. This ability could save your life and will be an important weapon in your fight against the Dark Prince.’ The monk replied.

‘Okay, that’s good enough for me, what do I need to do?’ I asked.

‘Close your eyes, and take deep, slow breathes.’ The Monk began, after a few minutes he continued, ‘Think of someone you know, perhaps your father or mother, or a friend, and picture their face.’ I immediately thought of Zan. ‘Reach out for their mind, as you would if you were trying to contact them telepathically, but keep your own mind unseen, do not allow them to latch onto you.’

As I made contact I heard Zan say my name, and could feel him reach out for my mind, but I stayed out of his grasp. I was immediately flooded with the feeling of confusion and the disappointment he felt, believing that it had just been his imagination.

I was overwhelmed with the rush of emotions that I could feel, and also with the fact that I knew exactly what he was thinking at that moment. I waited longer, trying to get a handle on the many emotions and thoughts going through Zan’s head…

Love… I could see exactly what he felt for me, and I was overwhelmed with the love he had for me. More than a brother, or a friend, but as a soul mate.

Happiness… Overwhelming joy that I had kissed him that day.

Insecurity… The thought that he was not good enough for me.

Fear… Of putting my life being in danger, and stopping me from fulfilling my destiny.

Grief… That our friendship will come to an end when he tells me that the kiss was a mistake; that we are not meant to be.

When I opened my eyes, a single tear ran down my cheek, and I quickly wiped it away.

‘This power can be dangerous, as you may discover something that you don’t want to know.’ The Monk said. ‘So I trust you will only use it when necessary.’

I nodded. Was I glad that I had discovered what Zan really feels? I didn’t know, but what I did know is that I refused to lose our friendship over this.

‘You are now ready to leave us. We have taught you everything there is to know. Your Father will come for you tomorrow.’

Home… My heart leapt at the thought of being with my family again, but my stomach flipped at the thought of seeing Zan…

* * * * *

Zan wasn’t there to meet me when I returned home the following day. For an hour I paced my bedroom watching the window for any sign of him. I was making myself sick with anxiety, not knowing how it would now be between us. Feeling like I was doing myself harm worrying so much, I decided to do what the monks had instructed of me, and turn to meditation. I went out to my private balcony and made myself comfortable sitting cross-legged on the ground. I closed my eyes and began to tune out the sounds from people moving around in the courtyard below; the birds flying above me; and the wind blowing in the trees. I concentrated only on my own heartbeat, and my own thoughts.

I could not tell you how long I was there, but eventually I felt the presence of someone else on the balcony.

‘Hello Zan.’ I said, not needing to open my eyes to know who it was. I didn’t get up, partly because half of me was still in my meditative state, and didn’t want a headache from coming out of it so quickly, but also because it gave me a bit more time to prepare myself for seeing him again. Talking to him with my eyes closed made it feel like I was talking to him telepathically like the many times we had done while I had been away.

‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you. Your Father told me you had returned... I didn’t realise you would be coming home today.’ He lied. He knew exactly when I was coming home, but had needed a few hours to build up the courage to tell me what he had to say. I didn’t need to search hard to read his emotions, they were glaring at me.

‘How did your training go?’ He asked.

‘Fine. I am now a lean, mean fighting machine.’ I joked, and I felt him smile for a moment.

‘Akira, I think we need to talk.’ He began, his smile dropping. ‘Do you want me to come back later when you are done?’

‘No, I’m finished.’ I said, opening my eyes to look at him. I slowly stretched my legs out before rising to me feet. The truth was that if this had to happen, we should just get it over with, and I didn’t want to make Zan suffer more than he had already, evident by the dark circles under his eyes.

‘What did you want to talk about?’ I asked, pleading ignorance even though I knew what he was going to say.

‘We need to talk about that kiss, about us.’ Zan began. ‘That kiss was…’

‘… a mistake.’ I finished for him.

‘I wasn’t going to say that.’ Zan quickly corrected me.

‘But it is what you think, it’s written across your face.’ I replied. ‘And it’s okay, in some way I agree with you.’

‘You do?’ Zan asked, not expecting me to be so understanding.

‘Yeah, I do. While I was with the monks, I learnt a lot about myself, about my destiny, and it made me realise that I am going to need a lot of help to help me fulfil it. What I need is my best friend by my side, every step of the way. I can’t do anything to risk our friendship, and I think that if we try to become something more than just friends, we may end up losing everything. Do you understand?’

‘Yeah, I know exactly what you mean.’ Zan replied, and I could hear the relief in his voice.

‘So we are still friends?’ I asked.

‘Of course we are still friends.’ Zan said pulling me in for a friendly hug.

With my head on his shoulder I let a single tear slide down my cheek. If this was the way it had to be, why did I feel like I now had this gaping hole in my heart?
"Do you see what we’ve done?
We’ve gone and made such fools of ourselves..."
Paramore - Decode
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Oz
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Post by Oz »

15

The next morning Maria surprised me by coming up to speak to me at my locker.

“Hey.” I said, surprised.

“Hey… I uh, spoke to your dad yesterday and he told me that you had dropped some shifts.” Maria stated.

“Yeah, I did.” I replied.

“Well, I just wanted to make sure that you didn’t do that because of me.” Maria admitted.

“Why?” I asked confused. I thought she would have been grateful have some space from me.

“Well, because no matter what is going on between us you shouldn’t feel like you have to give up you job over it.”

“Well you made it perfectly clear that you didn’t want to be around me, so I would have thought you would be relieved.”

“Liz…” Maria began, but seemed unsure how to continue.

“Well, you can sleep easy at night. I didn’t do it to avoid you; I did it because my parents want me to concentrate on my schoolwork for a while.”

“Have you told them what is going on?” Maria asked.

“No.”

“Maybe you should. They could get you some help.” Maria suggested.

“Some help? Help from whom?” I demanded.

“Professionals…”

“Do you even understand what you are saying?” I spat. “My life is at stake here …”

“… And you need help to deal with it.”

“Yeah, well, I needed help from my best friend, but she ran from me as if I was the biggest freak on the planet.”

“I didn’t.” Maria denied, but then seemed to rethink that denial, “… I’m sorry, I just didn’t know how to react. You took me by surprise.”

“Yeah well, if you can’t stand by me, do you really expect me to trust anyone else?” I said, closing my locker.

“You seem to trust Max and Sean, but then … they’re the ones that got you into this mess, aren’t they?”

“I wouldn’t put it that way, but they are just like me, if that’s what you mean.” I replied.

“Speak of the devil.” Maria said, looking over my shoulder. I turned to see both Max and Sean up the other end of the corridor and headed my way.

“I don’t think you should spend any more time with them.” Maria admitted.

“They are the only friends I have left.”

“You still have me.” Maria offered.

“Do I?” I asked.

“Of course you do… but I can’t help you if you continue to associate with them. You need to make a choice… them or me.” Maria finished just as Sean and Max joined us.

“That’s not fair.” I replied.

“Let me know what you decide.” Maria said before walking away.

“What was that all about?” Sean asked, putting a hand on my shoulder.

“Nothing, just my best friend giving me an ultimatum.” I replied as I closed my locker. “C’mon, let’s get to class.”

* * * * *

I knew what I had to do, I didn’t have a choice. I needed to make things right with Maria, and the only way to do it was to give into her demands. Okay, admittedly it wasn’t actually giving into her demands completely, because I still needed Sean and Max in my life if I was going to continue to have a life in the near future. I was merely going to give Maria the impression that I was doing what she had asked, simply by rearranging the places and times it would be safe to see Sean and Max.

“You’re going to agree to do what!?!” Max exclaimed when I told them both of my decision. “We’ve been through this before … It’s better for you to stop being friends with Maria. She’s given you the chance to get out of the friendship … why won’t you take it?”

“Because as I have told you before - I need her.” I replied just as forcefully. I should have known that Max would react this way. Sean hadn’t said anything as yet, but I knew that a heart-to-heart would be coming later.

“You are putting her life in danger. Why can’t you see that?” Max was fuming now.

“I can protect her … more easily now that she knows the truth.”

“You can’t protect her, you don’t have control over your powers yet.” Max argued.

“And who’s fault is that?” I retorted.

“Well how are we supposed to teach you now, if we can’t see you anymore?” Max demanded.

“We can still meet out here in the desert after school, we just can’t talk at school, and you can’t come around to the diner anymore.”

“What if you are in trouble, we won’t be there to help you.”

“Using that argument, you would have to be with me 24/7, and I can tell you that is not going to happen. We’ll just have to work on those telepathic abilities … we could talk and Maria would never know.” I suggested.

“I still don’t like this Liz…” Max admitted.

“Well, I don’t give a damn. I am the Princess, so you have to do what I say. I have made my decision so you’ll just have to deal with it!” I shouted before storming off back to the car. Sean followed closely behind me, but Max didn’t move.

‘In all the years I’ve known you, you have never played the ‘Princess’ card on me. You always treated me as an equal, and respected my opinions.’ Max said telepathically.

‘Maybe I’m not the same person I used to be.’ I replied, continuing down the path away from him.


“Okay, let me have it.” I said, turning to Sean as we reached the car. “You haven’t said a word about my decision.”

“What do you want me to say? That I agree with Max?” Sean replied.

“Do you?”

“Well, I can see his point.” He replied, but quickly continued before I could give him a serve as well. “But… I also want you to be happy, and if doing this will make you happy, then I can live with it.”

“Really?” I asked, overjoyed that he was on my side.

“Yeah, besides … it just means I’ll have to be more creative about how to whisk you away for our romantic interludes.” Sean grinned.

“I can’t wait.” I replied, giving him a hug. I really didn’t deserve him.

* * * * *

Later that night I walked into the diner where Maria was already working behind the counter. As I passed to the backroom to change, she followed me through the backdoors.

“So where are the other two musketeers?” She asked.

“Not coming.”

“Really?” Maria looked relieved, but a little surprised that I had really told them we couldn’t be friends anymore.

“No matter what you think, your friendship is important to me. So I have done what you asked, Sean and Max are no longer a part of my life.” I lied.

“How did they take it?” Maria asked, somewhat concerned.

“Not well, but I guess that is to be expected.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Maria replied, not really knowing what she was supposed to say.

“Look Maria, I have done what you asked, and I need you to do something for me in return.” I said seriously.

“What’s that?”

“I need you to promise me that you won’t tell anyone about what I told you… about Max, Sean and I. Our lives are in your hands.”

“I promise Liz, as long as you let me help you.” She answered.

“Okay. So we’re friends again?” I asked.

“Of course we are.” Maria replied giving me a hug. “But we really need to talk this through more.”

“Sure. How about after your shift tonight? My parents want me home studying, but I can tell them that you have come over for a study session.” I suggested.

“Sounds good.” Maria replied.

“Maria, I need you out front!” My dad called from the kitchen.

“Coming.” She replied, heading out to the diner, while I continued up the stairs to my room.

* * * * *

An hour later, when the rush was heating up and the bell on the door wouldn’t stop ringing from the amount of people coming in and out, my dad begged me to come down and help. Apparently my need to concentrate on schoolwork only applied outside the dinner rush. As I was taking what seemed like the millionth order to the kitchen, Maria sidled up to me.

“What’s he doing here?” She said, motioning to Sean who had taken his usual booth.

“I don’t know.” I replied, feeling nervous that Sean had specifically gone against our agreement. What did he think he was doing? This was something I would expect from Max, not Sean.

Maria just raised her eyebrow at me.

“I can’t talk to him, not after what I said to him this afternoon. Could you take his table?” I begged Maria, hoping she would believe that I had been genuine about my resolve not to see either Sean or Max again.

“Sure. I’ll see if I can get rid of him okay?” Maria smiled.

I watched as she walked over to Sean’s booth, and used my powers to tune into their conversation.

“What are you doing here?” Maria interrogated.

“What can I say, I like the food.” He replied. “I’ll have a cheeseburger and fries, thanks, oh, and a Cherry Coke.”

“To go?” Maria replied, writing down his order.

“Nah, I think I’ll eat it right here.” Sean smiled, folding his arms across his chest defiantly.

“I know what you are doing, okay? And if I so much as see you breathe the wrong way, I’m going to the cops.” Maria retorted.

“Look, I know you are just trying to look out for Liz, and I respect that. But I love her, and I can’t just let her go as easily as she let go of me.” Sean said, changing tactics and playing the wounded ex-boyfriend role. “Has she … said anything to you about why she broke up with me?”

“She didn’t give you a reason?” Maria asked taking the seat opposite him in the booth. He had obviously piqued her interest, probably because she had assumed that I would have told him of the ultimatum.

“She said something about moving too fast, or moving in different directions or something … I can’t remember… I was too busy trying to pick my broken heart up off the floor.”

I smiled at the way Sean was trying to play to Maria’s sympathy. The funny thing was that Maria was falling for it. Sean should really consider acting as a career.

“She hasn’t told me much more than that.” Maria lied. “But I know that if she asked for space, then that is probably what you should give her.”

“And what about what I want? I have needs too.” Sean replied somewhat suggestively.

“I really don’t need to hear this.” Maria said as if she had been offended.

“You have a dirty mind.” Sean smiled. “I wasn’t talking about those kinds of needs. I was talking about the fact that I can’t breathe without her. I can’t just let her go; I can’t pass her in school without speaking to her, or touching her. I can’t live knowing that she is so close yet I can’t be with her. I can’t even get her to look in my direction.” Sean said, and I quickly made myself look engrossed with the soda machine when I saw Maria was turning following his gaze in my direction.

“Do you think that maybe you could try talking to her for me? Convince her to give me another chance?” Sean asked.

“What makes you think I would do that?” Maria asked.

“You’re right; I’m not good enough for her. How could I believe that I could ever make her happy?”

“Look Sean, I am sure you are a great guy, and I know that you made her happy when you were together. But, you’ve gotten her involved in some things that are not good for her. If you really love her then give her the space she needs. Take time to sort yourself out, and maybe one day the two of you will have a future together.”

“Do you really think so?” Sean asked, as though Maria had given him a ray of hope.

“Sure.”

“Thank you.” Sean smiled. “Do … do you think that we could talk again sometime. Maybe you could let me know how she is doing, since she probably doesn’t want to speak to me herself.”

“Maybe.” Maria replied, rising to her feet. “But I really need to get back to work now.”

“Okay. Thanks for listening. Liz is lucky to have you as a friend.”

“No probs… Look, do you want me to pass on any message to her?” Maria asked, after a moment’s hesitation, as though she was debating with herself whether it was a good idea or not to make such an offer.

“Can you just tell her that I’m sorry for whatever I did wrong, and that I love her?” Sean asked.

“I’ll tell her.” Maria replied before walking away. I quickly grabbed an order pad and began taking the order from the man who had been trying to get my attention for the past few minutes, attempting to hide the fact that I had been listening in on their conversation. Maria came over to me after placing Sean’s order at the kitchen.

“That guy has got it bad for you.” Maria proclaimed.

“What did he say?” Pretending to be ignorant of what had passed between them.

“That he loves you, doesn’t know why you broke up with him, and would do anything to get you back.”

“Oh.” I replied. How was I supposed to respond to that? “You didn’t send him away?”

“Nah, felt sorry for the guy. Besides, he’s a paying customer, your dad would kill me.” Maria smiled before walking away to serve some more customers who had come in.

I wondered just how it was that Sean was able to weave his magic with Maria. She had been adamant that he and Max were both the devil incarnate, but now she was encouraging him to stay in the diner? It seemed that I was not the only one to fall for Sean’s power of persuasion.

Later that evening, when I was sure Maria was busy in the storeroom, I made my way over to where Sean was sitting, under the pretext of clearing the plates from the booth next to him.

“That was a very bold move.” I said to him. “I thought we had made a decision not to be seen together?”

“Oh c’mon, you loved the fact that I came here anyway.” Sean grinned. I really tried not to return his smile, but he could be so charming. “Besides, you made the decision believing it was the only course of action open to you. I have merely discovered another way around the situation. As long as she thinks I am merely pining after you, we can be in the same room together.”

“Until she catches us talking and then there will be hell to pay.” I replied. “Speaking of which, she’s due back any minute.”

“Can I see you later?” Sean asked.

“I have to get back to my homework. My parents are trying to keep me close to home for a while.”

“Okay, after school tomorrow then?”

“Sure. I’ll meet you at our spot in the desert. I wouldn’t mind a few more lessons blowing up rocks.”

“It’s a date.” Sean said, placing his money and tip on the table. “Now that tip isn’t for you. Please pass that on to my waitress.” Sean grinned before leaving the diner. I picked up the money on the counter and saw that he had given Maria a $20 tip on a $6 meal. This was going to make her night.

Maria appeared from the back doors moments later, and I gave her the tip. She was a little astounded, and I could see the smile creep over her face that she tried to hide. Sean really knew how to manipulate people to get what he wants, and I began to believe that things may work out alright in the end after all.

* * * * *

Near the end of my shift I was in the alley behind the diner, emptying the rubbish into the bin, when I heard someone come up behind me.

“Max, you scared me. What are you doing here?” I demanded.

“What was Sean doing here tonight?” Max asked in return.

“Having dinner.”

“Doesn’t that break the rules?”

“Yes, but apparently he has this theory that he can win Maria over, and it seemed to work. They seem to be getting on a little better.”

“Are you sure he didn’t mind-warp her?” Max asked.

“I thought you were the only one who could do that?” I replied, remembering the discussions we had had about our different skills.

“That’s what I thought too until recently.”

“Well, even if that is true, I don’t think that is what was happening. I heard everything that he said to her.”

“I just want you to be careful. I don’t want you or Maria getting hurt.”

“So now you’re worried about Maria. You don’t want her to be hurt by Sean, but it is okay if I hurt her by telling her I don’t want to be her friend anymore?” I retorted.

“Believe me; Sean could do a lot more damage.”

“You don’t trust him, I get it, but until you can give me a good enough reason, I can’t agree with you. Now if you don’t mind, I have to get back to work.”

“Can I see you later tonight, when you get home? Maybe we could work on your memory retrieval?”

“I can’t. I promised Maria that we would talk tonight.”

“Tomorrow after school then?” He asked.

“No, I am meeting Sean after school.”

“Well I guess I’ll just wait until you let me know when you can fit me in to your busy schedule.” Max replied before storming off in a huff.

I couldn’t figure out why he was overreacting, but I was too tired to find out. It would probably be a good thing to put a bit of space between us for a while; apart from the brief interlude of friendship yesterday, we only seemed to get into arguments lately.

* * * * *

I went to find Maria, to see if she was ready to go home, and I found her near her locker, putting her mobile phone in her bag.

“That was my parents. They want me home, so can we get a raincheck on that talk?” Maria asked.

“No probs. Is everything okay?” I asked, curious why her parents wanted her home; they didn’t usually impose Maria’s curfew.

“Yeah, they are just doing that over-protective parent thing. I’ll see you at school tomorrow.” Maria said, grabbing her bag and heading out the door.

I half contemplated letting Max know that I was now free for the night, but decided against it. I needed a night to myself more than I needed him to help me access my memories. A night without my memories sounded like bliss at the moment.

Unfortunately the rest of my night didn’t turn out that way. As I walked upstairs and through the front door I heard my parents talking to someone in the living room.

“Liz? Is that you? Could you come into the living room for a minute?”

“What’s up?” I asked, but when I rounded the corner I knew exactly what was going on. My jaw dropped open as I stood gaping at someone I hadn’t seen in four years – James.

“Hello Liz.” James greeted me.

“What are you doing here?” I demanded, after managing to pick my jaw up off the floor. It was one thing to have Max tell me that he used to be my James, it was another thing to see him again in that form.

“Liz! That’s no way to talk to James.” My mother exclaimed. “Go and give him a ‘welcome home’ hug.”

Not wanting to upset my parents any further by creating a scene, I slowly walked over to ‘James’ and gave him a quick hug.

‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’ I asked telepathically.

‘Sean has his tricks and I have mine.’ Max replied.


Releasing him from the hug, I ran from the room. I couldn’t take this at the moment. I was so angry at Max for doing this, and I wasn’t sure I could control that anger in front of my parents.

“I’ll go and talk to her.” I heard my father say.

“No, let me.” Max said, and I soon heard his footsteps coming up the hallway.

“Liz?” He said knocking lightly on my door before opening it and shutting it behind him. “I’m sorry, but you left me no choice. This is the only way I could see you more, without Maria knowing.”

“You had a choice. You could have respected my wishes and stayed away. Now you are bringing my parents into this.”

“Your parents only know that I am James, returning from travelling to settle back into town. They will never know the truth.”

“You have brought them into this by making me lie to them.” I burst out.

“Liz, you were already lying to them. This is no different.”

“Well it feels different. What are you going to do, move back into the spare room?”

“Actually, your parents did offer, and I couldn’t very well refuse them.” Max confessed.

“What?” I exploded. “We are going to be living under the same roof?”

“Just temporarily, until I settle back into town.”

“So I guess you will be taking up working with my Dad again?”

“I’ve told him I’ll help out until I can find another job.”

“So what happens to you? I mean the younger version of you. Don’t you think people will notice that you aren’t going to school anymore? Or do you also have the ability to be in two places at once” I asked.

“I’ve got it covered, don’t worry about it.”

“What about Sean, are you going to tell him?”

“I would rather not, so please can we just keep this between ourselves?”

“Why? Oh yeah, you don’t trust him. Don’t you think he will find out anyway? When he first came to Roswell he could sense you were like him, before he even knew you.”

“Remember the watches? He can’t sense me anymore. Please, will you keep this a secret for me? We were good friends once; will you do this for an old friend?” Max pleaded.

I thought about our conversation yesterday, and the memories of how close we once were. I had told him that I didn’t want to be angry anymore but that had only lasted a few hours.

“Okay, okay. We won’t tell Sean… for now.” I agreed.

“Thank you. And look on the bright side; now that we are living under the same roof we have more opportunity to work on your memory retrieval. And I can be here to protect you.”

“You still think I need protecting?” I asked. We hadn’t had any trouble since I discovered the lights in Roswell, and I was beginning to think that I had been wrong about believing the lights were ‘other-worldly’.

“I think you need protecting more than ever.” Max answered seriously.
"Do you see what we’ve done?
We’ve gone and made such fools of ourselves..."
Paramore - Decode
User avatar
Oz
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Joined: Thu Mar 09, 2006 7:06 am
Location: Down Under

Post by Oz »

16

The following night I wasn’t working, but my parents lifted my curfew to allow me to take ‘James’ to the diner for dinner. Maria was working, and Sean was there also, still pretending to be the wounded-ex-boyfriend. Max and I took a seat at the counter, and I couldn’t help but feel Sean’s eyes boring into the back of my head. He obviously was a bit uncertain about who I was there with, and I couldn’t help but overhear him questioning Maria who was talking to him as we came in.

“Do you know that guy?” Sean asked.

“Yeah, that’s an old friend of Liz’s family. Used to live with them, and helped run the diner. No one you need to worry about.” Maria replied, knowing exactly what Sean was thinking.

“She never mentioned him.”

“He hasn’t been around in a while. Last I heard he was in Cambodia or Thailand or somewhere.”

“Were they close?” Sean asked. Now he was starting to get a little too inquisitive.

“Yeah, Liz adored him. She was devastated when he left.” Maria replied. “Anyway, I had better get back to work. Your order will be ready shortly.”

Maria walked from Sean’s booth straight to where we were sitting at the counter and tapped Max on the shoulder.

“Howdy stranger.” She said to him.

“Maria, Hi.” James replied, standing up to give her a hug. “Look how much you have grown. You and Liz must have the boys lining up to get a date with the both of you.”

I had to hand it to Max, he really played the role well.

“Thank you, compliments will get you everywhere in this town. But I have to admit, it’s hard to compete with our Liz here.”

“Really? She hasn’t filled me in on her love life yet.” Max said, giving me a wicked grin.

“Well there isn’t much to tell.” I replied, glaring at Max.

“You’re telling me that there isn’t a special someone in your life?”

“We are so not having this conversation.” I replied.

“C’mon Liz, tell James all about it. Or do you want me to?” Maria teased.

“Don’t you have customers to serve?” I asked, trying to get Maria to drop it.

“Nah, I’m on a break.” Maria replied, grinning.

“Fine, you tell him. I’m going to get us some drinks since there doesn’t seem to be any waitresses here who are actually working.” I teased Maria.

Truth is, I was really interested to see what Maria would say, considering she was the reason I was supposedly not seeing anyone at the moment. Moving behind the counter also gave me the opportunity to glance in Sean’s direction without being so obvious. I needed to make sure he wasn’t listening in to our conversation. Unfortunately his eyes met mine and I could tell he was hanging on every word.

“Well, up until yesterday there were two gentlemen vying for Liz’s attention.”

“Really? So what happened yesterday?” Max asked.

“Liz came to realise that she could do better.”

“I never said that.” I exclaimed, not wanting either Max or Sean getting the wrong idea.

“Well as far as I’m concerned, there is no one on earth good enough for Liz.” Max replied.

‘Nice choice of words.’ I said to Max telepathically. ‘But I think you just made an enemy over in the corner.’

Max glanced at Sean before replying ‘Maybe that was the intention... Besides, it’s the truth.’


“Can we change the subject please?” I begged, unsuccessfully trying to hide the fact that I was blushing.

“So how long are you staying James?” Maria asked.

“I’m not sure. Hopefully for a while. I am looking forward to catching up on my dietary intake of greasy burgers and fries. I have been eating boiled rice for far too long.” Max replied.

“Well you have come to the right place.” Maria said, hopping up from her chair and grabbing her order pad. “What can I get you?”

* * * * *

Before leaving the diner I went to find Maria in the back room.

“So I guess we can’t have that talk tonight, since James is here and all.” Maria said as she was taking off her apron.

“I guess not. I could probably convince my parents to relax my curfew on Friday night. I could go to your place after you finish work?” I suggested.

“Sorry, I have already made plans for a DVD night with Tess and Nicholas.”

“Oh.” I said, not able to hide my disappointment.

“Do you want to come?” Maria offered.

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Oh c’mon. It would be really great if you got to know Tess and Nicholas better.”

“Do you really want me there?” I asked. If it was that important to her than I would go.

“I do. Please?” Maria replied.

“Okay, okay, I’ll come.”

“Thank you.” She said giving me a hug.

As I went to leave the backroom, I bumped into Sean who was walking in.

“Oh, I … um.” I said intelligently as I stood gazing up at him. I had seen him that afternoon in the desert, blowing up rocks, but from our awkward exchange it would look to Maria that we hadn’t spoken since we had ‘broken-up’. I had conveniently forgotten to tell him about ‘James’ visiting and I could tell he was more than a little annoyed about being kept out of the loop; or maybe Max’s comments had hit a nerve.

“Hi.” He said. “How have you been?”

“Good, I’ve been good. And you?” I asked in return.

“Good.”

“I … I have to go.” I said, quickly excusing myself passed him. It didn’t even occur to me at the time to wonder what he was doing going into the backroom in the first place; I just wanted to get out of there as fast as possible.

* * * * *

“So where are you parents tonight?” Max asked when we entered my empty house later that night.

“Playing Bridge with the Whitman’s. They will probably be gone for another hour or so.”

“So what do you want to do until then?” Max asked. “Do you want to work on your memories?”

“Well, I was thinking about what you said about being able to heal. Could you teach me that?”

“Yeah, sure. I have to warn you that it is difficult, and you may not get it the first time, but we can try.”

We got comfortable on the sofa in the lounge room, sitting cross legged in front of each other.

“So, in order to be able to heal, you will need something to work on.” Max said, grabbing a piece of paper from the coffee table.

“What are you going to with that?” I asked.

“Ever had a really bad paper cut?” He asked, while running the edge of the paper across his finger. I could see him wince as the paper made a slight cut on his index finger.

“Now you need to put your hand on the cut, and concentrate on the molecules in my tissue and skin.” Max directed me. “Close your eyes and visualise the tissues reforming to heal the cut.”

I did what he said, and I felt my hand heat up. Opening my eyes slightly to take a peek, I saw that my hand was emitting a white glow.

“Very good.” Max said after a few more minutes. Pulling his hand away I could see that the paper cut had completely disappeared.

“I did it!” I exclaimed, surprised at myself. “It wasn’t that difficult.”

“Okay, so you’re a natural. But it does take more out of you to heal something larger than a paper cut.” Max said, taking his pocket knife out of his back pocket and holding it to the palm of his hand.

“You’re not serious?” I said in disbelief. “What if I can’t do it?”

“I have faith in you.” He replied, cutting his hand from one side of his palm to the other. The blood began to pool in his hand as I looked on in horror. Reaching out I took his hand in mine, trying to do exactly what I had done with his paper cut, while trying desperately not to think about the amount of blood. I would definitely not make good doctor, as the sight of blood has always made me feel queasy. I kept the connection, and within a minute his hand was completely healed. But I felt drained. It had taken everything thing I had to heal the wound.

“Are you okay?” Max asked, seeing the beads of sweat that had formed on my forehead.

“Yeah, just feeling really tired. Is it always that hard?” I asked.

“It gets easier, but the worse the injury, the harder it is.”

“What about things besides injuries? Can I heal illnesses, like Cancer?”

“You can heal anything where you can manipulate the molecular structure. With Cancer you could remove the Cancerous cells from someone’s body.”

“What about someone who is already dead?” I asked curiously.

“It’s possible, but the amount of molecules you would have to heal will increase with the length of time that passes after they die. The tiredness you feel now would be nothing compared to how you would feel if you tried to bring someone back to life. If you didn’t kill yourself in the process you would probably be unconscious for days.”

“Have I done it before?” I asked curious as to how strong my powers were back home.

“No, you never had the need to try.”

“What about my parents? I didn’t even try to heal them.” I felt like an uncaring daughter.

“You were in shock. Besides, we didn’t have time. We had to get you out of the palace before you were captured.”

“How very selfless of me.” I replied sarcastically.

“Akira. You were a good daughter.”

“You’ve never called me that before.” I said, picking up on the fact he called me Akira instead of Liz.

“Sorry, it must have been all the talk of past.”

“Don’t apologise… I liked it.”

Max just smiled at me, like I had just made his day.

“You know. I find it easier talking to you when you look like James.”

“Yeah? Why’s that?” He asked.

“I don’t know. You’re different … more confident, more relaxed.”

“I guess it is easier the fall back into old habits, and talk like we used to… And I guess I don’t feel like I need to prove myself to you all the time, to win your trust.”

“Why did you change from being James to being Max?”

“Well, because I thought I could watch over you better if I was able to be at school with you.”

“But you have barely spoken to me until recently, how could that have been better?” I demanded.

“Just because we didn’t speak it doesn’t mean I didn’t watch you.”

“But how were you going to watch over me when I wasn’t at school?” I said, with my eyebrow raised. What he was saying just wasn’t adding up.

“Well I never said my plan was foolproof. Okay … the truth is that as I watched you grow up, I saw you become more and more like the woman you used to be. I watched you become ‘Akira’, and I guess I decided it wasn’t a good idea to be so ... close to you.” Max replied.

“Why?” I asked, unsure what he meant.

“Because … well … how could I see you every day and not tell you everything?” Max confessed.

“Would that have been a bad thing?”

“You were only twelve. Could you honestly say that you would have been able to handle the truth at twelve years of age?”

I thought about how badly I was handling it at sixteen, so I reluctantly replied “I guess not”.

“So I became Max. It gave me the space I needed.”

“Well I missed you.” I said, yawning.

“Tired?” He asked.

“Extremely.”

“Here, lie down. I’ll put the TV on.” Max said waving his hand in the direction of the television. It came to life, ‘Sleepless in Seattle’ was on.

“I love this movie.” I said, curling up on the couch and putting my head on Max’s lap.

“To meet on the Empire State Building on Valentines Day is so romantic …” I mumbled, as I drifted off to sleep, my body exhausted from healing Max’s hand. I vaguely remember waking up when my parents came home, and being ushered to bed by my mother, but I was asleep again when my head hit the pillow.
"Do you see what we’ve done?
We’ve gone and made such fools of ourselves..."
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Oz
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Post by Oz »

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'm home in bed with the flu, but I thought I'd get up and post a chapter before going back to sleep for the next ten years ...

17

Friday night I found myself sitting in a booth at the diner, waiting for Maria to finish her shift, and basically dreading what the night had in store. I didn’t know Tess and Nicholas well, and quite frankly could go through life quite happily without getting to know them any better. I know that was not the right attitude to have, but there was something about them that I didn’t like. Okay, okay, maybe it was the fact that I didn’t want to share Maria with anyone else. We had been best friends for so long, just the two of us, and I liked it that way. Then it suddenly dawned on me, that was probably exactly how Maria had been feeling since Max and Sean entered my life. With this thought in mind, I made a vow that I would make an effort to be friendly with Tess and Nicholas, and would keep an open mind about them both.

It wasn’t long after I made this promise to myself when I was called to act on that promise, as both Tess and Nicholas strolled into the diner and headed straight for my booth.

“Hey Liz,” Tess said, sliding into the seat opposite me, “I was so excited when Maria said that you would be joining us tonight. We’ll finally get a chance to get to know each other.”

“Yeah, can’t wait.” I tried to sound enthusiastic, although a little unsuccessfully. Luckily Maria chose that moment to announce that her shift was over and she would be ready to go in a couple of minutes. Not a moment too soon I thought, before I chastised myself for not being able to keep my promise for more than a minute and a half.

“So what movie did you rent?” I asked, when we were all settled in Maria’s living room.

“ ‘Men in Black’ and ‘Men in Black 2.” Maria replied.

“Riiigghht.” I replied, shooting Maria a deadly look. What was she playing at hiring alien-themed movies?

“Oh come on Liz, you love Will Smith.” Maria replied.

“Yeah, I guess I was just more in the mood for some chick-flicks.” I answered, still glaring at Maria.

“Well I would like to see them.” Tess interrupted, completely oblivious to the exchange occurring between Maria and myself. “What are they about anyway?”

“You’ve never seen the movie ‘Men in Black’?” Maria asked surprised, looking away from me and turning to Tess.

“No, but our parents wouldn’t let us watch many movies. They were strict like that.”

“Well it’s a comedy, about aliens living on earth, and the secret branch of the government that monitors them, and exterminates them if necessary.” Maria replied.

“Oh.” Tess replied, looking a little less enthusiastic.

“You’ll love it, I promise.” Maria said, grabbing the DVD and putting it in the machine. We all got comfortable on the sofas and floor and passed around the pizza and cola.

As the beginning credits began to roll I couldn’t concentrate on the movie because I couldn’t get out of my mind the fact that Maria had blatantly chosen alien-themed movies. Was she trying to be funny? Was she doing it to get some kind of insight into my life? She had called me a freak once, and now she was subjecting me to watching a movie that depicted aliens as slimy, disgusting creatures. Okay, I have to admit that I loved this movie when it first came out, but since learning the truth about myself I couldn’t help but watch it in a completely different light.

I looked over at Maria who was laughing hysterically at a talking pug dog, and then I watched Tess and Nicholas who didn’t seem to be enjoying it so much. They laughed once in a while, but I could tell that most of the time it wasn’t sincere. I wondered what they were thinking. Was it the fact that they didn’t watch many movies growing up, so were a little shell-shocked by such an over-the-top movie? Or did they just not share the same sense of humour as Maria? I think they were almost as relieved as I was when we reached the ending credits.

“Anyone for some popcorn?” Maria said, standing up and having a stretch and a yawn.

“Sounds good.” Nicholas said.

“I’ll help you with that.” I said, following Maria into the kitchen.

“What the hell was that all about?” I asked, when I was sure that Tess and Nicholas were out of earshot.

“What are you talking about?” Maria said, either faking ignorance or completely oblivious to what I was referring to.

“The choice of movie. It was a little insensitive don’t you think?” I replied.

“What do you mean?” Maria said, as she poured the popcorn into the popcorn-maker.

“Look, I know that we haven’t had a chance to talk about … well, everything we need to talk about, but I thought that you would have a little more class.”

“Okay, I would love to know what drugs you are on now … sorry … bad choice of words. I’m just not understanding what you are saying. I thought you loved that movie. I remember when we went to see it at the cinema together; you couldn’t stop talking about it for weeks.” Maria said, watching the popcorn begin to pop in the machine.

“Well that was before.” I said, assuming she would get the reference.

“Before what?” Maria said, obviously not getting it.

“Look I am not going to get into it with you here, but we are obviously long overdue for that talk.” Absolutely confused as to why she couldn’t understand what was upsetting me so much.

“I promise we’ll talk later.” Maria said, as she opened the popcorn maker to retrieve the now-popped corn.

“Owwww!” she screamed, dropping the popcorn on the bench and reaching for the cold water tap.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, rushing over to her by the sink, where she was running her hand under a stream of cold water.

“I burnt myself on the popcorn machine.” Maria winced.

“Let me have a look.” I said without even thinking, and reaching for her hand.

I held her hand in mine and concentrating on repairing the burnt and blistering skin. As I was concentrating I received a quick flash from touching Maria. It was only a second but I swore I saw Sean’s face, leaning in for a kiss.

“What the …” We both exclaimed at once. I quickly dropped her hand from mine and we both took a step away from each other. My head was reeling from what I had seen, confused as to whether it was a memory of Maria’s, a fantasy, or something that had come from me. Maria was obviously reeling for a different reason. She was staring at her now-healed hand.

“What did you do?” Maria asked.

“Your hand should be fine now.” I replied, as though it was just a normal thing to be able to heal someone.

“How did you …” Maria stammered.

“Let’s just say it is a nice side-effect of that thing we really need to talk about.”

“I don’t understand …”

“Hey, what happened in here?” Maria’s brother Kyle had just come home from work to find the popcorn all over the bench.

“We had a little accident.” I replied.

“I can see that.” Kyle grinned. “Lucky for you girls I had the presence of mind to stop off at the store on the way home and grab some ice cream. You girls go back to your friends and I will clean up your mess.”

“Thanks Kyle.” Maria said, giving him a hug, and then offered “Come and join us if you like.”

“Yeah, I might. Thanks sis.”

Something I had said to Maria must have got through to her, because she didn’t make us watch ‘Men in Black 2’ but settled for a ‘chick-flick’ instead. Tess seemed to enjoy ‘How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days’ more than the previous movie, and even Nicholas and Kyle seemed to enjoy it. I, on the other hand, couldn’t stop myself from thinking about the discussion I had had with Maria earlier; and the way she looked at me when I had healed her. But the thing that stuck in my head the most was that image of Sean. Why had I thought about Sean at the moment? I had hardly seen him for the past few days, and I have to admit, he was not at the forefront of my mind at that moment. Had it been an image that I had received from Maria, just like the other day at school? Was it a memory of something that had happened between her and Sean? I know they had been getting close, but that was for my benefit … wasn’t it? Sean and I were together, so why would he be chasing Maria. We had history. But then, that history had also included two instances of Max seeing Sean kiss someone else. Was there truth to what Max saw? Or was it just a fantasy that Maria had? Was she falling for Sean, the more he tried to win her over so she would let me see him again? And if he was so bad for me, why was it okay for her to want to be with him?

I caught Maria watching me, before she quickly glanced back to the television to avoid eye contact. I really wanted to know what she was thinking at that moment. Was she scared of me? Did she hate me? Or worse, was she thinking about Sean and worried that I would find out. I wish I could tell. Then it occurred to me, I could try and read her mind. I could do that right? I mean, I hadn’t tried it with anyone other than Max, but there shouldn’t be any reason I couldn’t? But there was a reason - she was my best friend and I couldn’t invade her privacy like that.

“Are you okay?” Kyle leaned over from where he was seated on the sofa behind me, and whispered in my ear, “You seem a bit tense.”

“Yeah, just a bad day, that’s all.” I replied.

“Here, let me relieve your tension.” He replied, massaging my shoulders. Through his touch I could feel his genuine concern for me and it made me smile to myself that at least I had one friend left in the world who still liked me for me without any conditions.

* * * * *

After a couple more hours of junk food, movies and gossip, I got the feeling that Tess and Nicholas were never going to leave. I was trying to wait them out so I could talk to Maria, but they seemed to be permanently planted in Maria’s living room. My parents had given me a generous curfew of 1:00am, but that was fast approaching so I had to make my exit.

“I’m off.” I said, getting up off the floor and grabbing my coat. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow Maria.”

“Okay. I’m working but maybe I’ll see you at the diner?” She replied.

“Sure, I’ll come by.” I agreed.

“I’ll walk you home if you like.” Kyle offered.

“No, I’m fine, it’s not far.” I declined.

“Let me rephrase that – I’m walking you home whether you like it or not. It’s late, and you don’t know who is roaming the streets this time of night.”

“Okay, fine.” I agreed, knowing I wouldn’t win this argument.

“We can walk her.” Nicholas offered, nudging Tess that it was time to go.

I felt a sudden rush of panic.

“No, that’s okay.” Kyle countered. “I need to stretch my legs. Let’s go Liz.”

Kyle grabbed his coat and ushered me out of the house.

“Thanks for that.” I said, when I was sure we were out of earshot.

“Yeah, I kind of picked up the vibe that Tess and Nicholas were more Maria’s friends than yours.”

I just smiled. Guys could be very intuitive when they wanted to be.

“I haven’t seen you around lately. Have you and Maria been fighting?” Kyle asked.

“I guess you could say that.”

“Well, I’m glad it’s over. I like having you around.” He confessed.

“Ahhh, shucks.” I grinned, giving him a friendly elbow in the ribs. “I didn’t know you cared so much.”

“Well, you know I did adopt you as my other twin.” He grinned, referring to when the three of us used to be inseparable when we were growing up.

“That would make me your other triplet, not twin.” I teased.

“Yeah, I guess it would.” Kyle laughed.

As we continued down the road a little further towards my house, I heard the familiar sound of Sean’s motorbike coming towards us. Looking up I saw Sean had noticed us, and was slowing the bike down to park near where we were walking. When he took his helmet off I saw a look on his face that I had never seen before; he was mad. Maybe ‘mad’ was not a strong enough word, he was furious. His face was bright red and I could see the veins about to pop on his neck.

“What the hell are you doing with my girl?” Sean demanded, giving Kyle a shove.

“Nothing man, just walking her home.” Kyle replied honestly.

“The hell you are!” Sean shouted, shoving Kyle again.

“Stop it!” I yelled, trying to put myself between Sean and Kyle, but Sean pushed me away.

“Hey man, I was just making sure she got home safe, nothing more.” Kyle tried to calm Sean down as Sean had a fist clenched ready to hit him.

“It’s true Sean, Kyle’s just a friend.”

Sean seemed to hesitate for a moment, and I could see the moment he broke out of the rage he was in.

“Get on the bike Liz, I’ll take you the rest of the way.” Sean said, leading me away from Kyle.

“I’m sorry.” I mouthed at Kyle before I hopped on the bike. Kyle just stood there looking at us in disbelief, and I prayed that he wouldn’t tell Maria what had happened.

When Sean pulled up the bike in front of my house, I jumped off the bike and turned to walk away from him without saying a word. I was so angry at Sean for causing a scene, but more than that, I was scared. I had never seen him look so angry, so not in control of his actions. I didn’t know Sean was capable of such rage. I had seen him angry at Max, but generally Max had provoked it. I knew Sean had built up sixteen years of resentment towards Max, but I had never seen him strike out at anyone else, least of all someone like Kyle. Sean knew we were friends, and the fact that he thought Kyle was trying to make a play for me made me doubt whether Sean had any faith in me at all.

“Liz?” Sean called feebly behind me as I was walking towards my house; his voice sounding completely different to what it had been a few minutes ago.

“What?” I replied, turning around to face him.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”

“That makes two of us.” I replied. “How could you think there was anything going on between Kyle and I? He’s like a brother to me.”

“Isn’t that what you always said Zan was to you?” Sean countered.

“What’s your point?” I snapped.

“Well, you can see why I could have thought there was more going on, just by going on past experience.”

“What do you mean?” I asked confused.

“Never mind.” Sean said.

I let it drop, too exhausted to find out what other things had happened in my past that I didn’t know about.

“There’s still no excuse for what you did. You scared me tonight.” I confessed.

“I’m sorry.” Sean said, pulling me into his arms. “I promise I will never let it happen again. I guess I have been feeling a little left out of your life this week. I’ve barely seen you, with you spending so much time with your and with Maria. I guess I let my imagination run away with me.”

“This has been hard on me too. I wish you could as much faith in me as I have in you.” I replied, for a moment pushing out of my mind the images I had received when I had healed Maria. I would live up to my words and trust him with all my heart.

“I’m sorry. It will never happen again.” Sean promised.

“Good. Now I have to get inside, it’s already past my curfew.” I said, pulling out of Sean’s arms.

“Can I see you tomorrow?” Sean asked, as he got back on his bike.

“I’ll see if I can get away for an hour in the morning. I’ll meet you in the desert?”

“I’ll be there.” Sean smiled, before starting his bike and riding off down the road.

* * * * *

I did meet Sean in the desert the next morning, while my parents were out doing the shopping. I even managed to give Max the slip as ‘James’ agreed to work the grill in the diner for my father.

“So how are things going with Maria?” I asked. I still hadn’t been able to forget what I had seen, and I thought I would test the waters a bit to see Sean’s reaction at the mention of Maria’s name.

“Oh, I think I have almost won her over.” Sean smiled, and my stomach lurched. “Soon she won’t mind us being together. In fact she will be begging you to take me back.”

“What makes you think you are that persuasive? Maria usually doesn’t change her mind so easily.”

“I am a persuasive guy.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“My reputation precedes me.” Sean said proudly.

“I’m still yet to see it for myself.” I teased.

“I can give you a full demonstration if you like, free of charge.”

“Okay, let’s see what you’ve got.”

“Well, you are going to take three steps towards me...”

I shook my head in the negative, but my feet walked the three steps, closing the distance between us.

“You are going to close your eyes…”

My eyes involuntarily closed.

“And you are going to kiss me.” Sean concluded.

My lips parted and met his, kissing him like I had never kissed anyone before. As we parted for breath he smiled.

“Satisfied?” He asked.

“Very.” I replied, returning his smile.

* * * * *

Later that night I was sitting with ‘James’ in the diner. I had wanted to meet Maria alone to talk, but Max apparently had a craving for apple pie. I figured he wouldn’t be bad having some company for dinner while I waited for Maria to finish her shift. Around 10:00pm I hinted to Max that he might want to leave and I would wait for Maria, but he annoyingly didn’t take the hint. By 10:30pm I decided that he wasn’t going to leave so I went to find Maria who had disappeared out the back ten minutes earlier.

“Maria…” I called, pushing the back room door open, when I saw her with her arms wrapped around someone, engrossed in a serious kiss. When she noticed I was in the room, she broke the kiss, and looked up at me in horror. A second later the person she was kissing turned to see what had caught her attention, and I saw that my worst fear had come true. It was Sean.

“Wha-.” I couldn’t get any other words out before they hitched in my throat. I felt the blood rush from my head to my feat and the tears well up in my eyes. How could Sean do this to me? And more importantly, how could Maria, my best friend, do this to me?

My brain eventually managed to focus on moving my legs, and I turned and ran out of the back room, and through the diner.

“Liz, wait.” I heard Sean call, and I knew he was right on my tail.

As the cold night air hit my face, I thought about where I was going to go. I knew I couldn’t stay here, I couldn’t talk to Sean and I couldn’t talk to Maria. I couldn’t go home as Sean would obviously follow me there, and if not, there would be Max there to deal with. What I really wanted was to be on my own. I heard the diner bell ring as Sean pushed it open, and panicking, I ran out onto the street with Sean calling my name.

The last thing I remembered was hearing the sound of the car tyres screech, the pain of my body hitting the dashboard, and feeling of lying on the cold bitumen. As I lost consciousness I saw Sean, Maria and Max leaning over me, calling my name…


End of Book 1
"Do you see what we’ve done?
We’ve gone and made such fools of ourselves..."
Paramore - Decode
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