Aetheran Child Page 4

  In the end, Taylor came to see them. He helped both of them get up and kept them separate as they tiredly flung their hands each other’s way, “Come on boys, come on now. The fight’s ovah.”

  Taylor led them back to their dormitory and even let Alexander pass out on his bottom bunk, cursing at him that he would have to wash the sheets afterward. He cursed at Nangern to mop the mud off the floors. Nangern objected and Taylor told them both to shut up and then left.

  Alexander thought deeply while he enjoyed the comforts of Taylor’s bed, bruised and completely powerless. He would not be able to speak to Nangern but he felt too deeply about his sister. The boys have not known each other for long. They had formed a bond and Alexander was sure they would reconcile their differences one day. He did not want to lose another friend. Good friends were hard to come by and the boy had already lost everyone from his previous life, as he called it.

  Loneliness overwhelmed him and he always feared losing Alary, or losing one of his new found friends but that seemed to be the case at the moment. Nangern became a negative influence on his life and Alexander could do nothing about it.

  The days wore on, the nights got shorter and hotter but the gloomy skies did not ever brighten up.

  V

  Alexander and Alary’s relationship progressed further; they spent all their time together. They did not only become a couple but very good friends. Everything else was meaningless as long as they stayed together. When two members of the orphanage “dated”, an unspoken rules triggered that stated they should stay in hiding, and it would be a secret. It bothered many that the two shamelessly walked around hand in hand. Alary got the worst of it from the girls. They would attack her in the showers. She tearfully told Alexander how they raped her and beat her. He could do nothing about it. He threatened some of the girls but he could not beat them. Teachers would come and Leo, the bully, was looking for the perfect chance to get Alexander in trouble. “In trouble” at the orphanage, meant beating. It meant isolation. Most of all, if the over-step was severe enough, they could transfer him and neither Alary nor Alexander wanted to risk being separated.

  The couple stayed united. One night, they took their relationship to another level. It had been months since they met. Alexander’s time in the orphanage started to fly by because Alary’s love inspired him to keep on going. He did not dwell thinking on the negatives anymore because whenever he saw his beautiful girlfriend, his heart fluttered and he felt at peace and happy. Neither of them had planned the night out, the boy wanted to watch the stars together. Look beyond as they had always done but this time, he wanted her to come back to his dormitory so that they could sleep together as they had before. Nangern would never allow it but he had no authority over either of them.

  Alexander and Alary lay down on the grassy ground, close by the shade of the trees so that despite the bright moon light, no one could see them. They talked for a while about rather taboo-like topics.

  “Girls have their needs too,” Alary yawned and cradled her head upon Alexander’s chest, “There are no guys around in our dorms and when we hear other girls,” she paused, “It’s easier.”

  “Have you ever-?” the boy started slightly aroused.

  “Yes,”

  “With a girl?,”

  “Only with a girl.”

  A silence ensued where they both stared out into the darkness above. Alary kissed the boy on the lips and smiled. He smiled back and put his arms around her waist. She bit her lip, like she saw girls do it in the movies, and proceeded to kiss him again. His body shook with adrenaline and excitement, her breathing quickened because they both knew that only this night would be theirs and none other for months.

  She grabbed and twisted his shirt. Alexander lifted his arms and she took his shirt off. He flexed his muscles to show he was meritorious of her. They wildly kissed and the boy let his arms search her petite body. He felt his energy fade away into worry. The excitement overwhelmed him and he decided he could not go on. Alary felt the change in his mood and stopped to lay beside him. Her mood drifted off as well and so they cuddled for a while. They understood each other; both of them wanted it to happen but neither could do it.

  Everything else but this, it was an enigma, a mystery and neither knew what would happen. They knew, but they could not envision it. Everything else seemed natural, exciting, a part of whom they were together.

  Alexander kissed Alary and wrapped his arms closely around her, whispering, “I love you.”

  “I love you, too,” She whispered back.

  It will happen one day, he thought, but not tonight. He smiled at the thought and smiled even more when he took Alary back to his dormitory and let her fall asleep in his arms that night. Before his parents’ death, he ground his teeth to push away the tears, he would not have loved and experienced nights like the one he was having.

  As he watched Alary’s closed eyes, and her gentle breathing, he soon, fell asleep, too.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  I

  It was only a few hours before the one specific day. Master Raki has arranged everything, all should be in order. The art of disguise was impenetrable, the use of his powers excelled. He had already sent a message to the others, and they received it. Months of preparation went into effect.

  They should be here in a month, he thought. He knew the other plane of reality, a bent through the sixth dimension into the seventh, allowed speeds of travel unsurpassed. Ma Raki cursed at the Nethers, knowing full well only they could enjoy the luxury of the seventh dimension and its dangerous exploits. Concentrating on his work, Ma Raki walked through his ship, talking to the ship computer and wondering what the following hours would bring about in the great weave of destiny.

  He had only a few hours to prepare.

  II

  Another month had passed. Alexander and Alary fell deeper and deeper in love. Sex was not an issue for them, they promised each other to wait for their one-year anniversary. They planned their whole life together already. Alexander could not live without her.

  Unfortunately, not everything went well. Since that single night together, Nangern challenged Alexander into a fight on regular basis. He found the couple sleeping together in the top bunk in their dorm, half-naked. The event set him off and another fight ensued where Alexander gave Nangern a bloody lip and Nangern bruised Alexander so much, he could not run in gym class. The effect on their bodies was devastating as well as beneficial. Neither of them realized it but both boys started to look very intimidating, even to Leo. Leo, being the biggest and strongest, dared not provoke them too much. He frequently called them “The Two Little Psychos” because the way they fought each other was bloodthirsty and borderline murderous. No one seemed to notice Leo always stayed at the edge of the circle, ready to run if either of the boys lunged at him.

  The boys increased the speed of their fights. The first one lasting almost thirty minutes, the last one lasting only two minutes. They increased in brutality. In the first fight, both boys ended up with mud all over their clothes and extremely exhausted. In the last fight, neither of them could stand up and both were covered in black and blue spots. Alexander almost broke Nangern’s arm that fight. Taylor tried to stop them but uselessly. Alary tried the same but neither boy would listen. Their friends discussed the situation only circuitously; it was inadvertent for them to hate each other. Despite Nangern’s further pleas, Alary stayed seditious. The tension grew.

  “’Ey Lexan,” Taylor traded up the long name for a short nickname. It stuck and Alexander could do nothing about it, “Nangern’s out for a couple hours. I heard ‘e found ‘imself a girl, finally. So bring ovah that gal if ya want.”

  The boys grew warm toward her. Taylor had a different reason than Dominik, he was interested in Alary’s very attractive friend, Tanya.

  “Oh yeah? Are you going to stay? Because I’m not sure Tanya will come too,” Lexan grinned at the boys. Taylor reddened in the fact and pushed Lexan down.


  “Well, if she’s not then I’m on me way out. If Nangern comes back, ye on ye own.” He punched the other playfully.

  “Alright, alright. I’ll tell Alary to bring Tanya,” Lexan dug in his pocket and turned on his portable multimedia interface device. He logged onto the internet and sent Alary a message. Cell phones were forbidden, but that did not stop the boys from logging on to wireless networks around in the city. Alary confirmed it and the boys waited.

  Lexan felt happy, Taylor knew it too. Life was well at the orphanage, considerably better. The boy even started whistling when the P.A. system turned on, “Alexander from dormitory CI4 and Alary from dormitory HB12 please report to the front office immediately. Alexander and Alary to the front office, please.”

  III

  Lexan and Alary stepped into the waiting room. The room had not change, only tenuous differences could be seen, the boy remembered. It was only the morning after his parents, at least five months ago. Now, on August 13th 20--, he’s back again. Friday the 13th, how lucky…The chair were torn, the bench remained in the same place; only the magazines seemed to have changed in the past months.

  The lady from the office, the secretary, waited for them. A moment later Alary stepped into the office; Lexan glimpsed at a man standing close by inside the office.

  Lexan’s memories of his parents flooded his mind. He lost his parents, now he would lose Alary, and his whole world would collapse. He remembered all the times when he and his father went fishing in a boat out in the sea. All the times Lexan spent on the computer and playing videogames and fighting. Rather unpleasantly, the boy also remembered the times when he fought with his parents, the times when he would rather do something else, than be with them, and the times he broke their rules or lied to them. A tear caressed his smooth face as he regretted all those things. All the stupidity and ignorance he made his proclivity towards his parents, he hated himself for it. He regretted all those and more. Another tear escaped his eye and then the rest followed until his eyes flooded with misery and regret. He knew he would cry soon. Not now, he thought, not now…

  The young orphan relaxed and concentrated on ignoring his thoughts. He could feel the tearing subsided, just when the secretary came in.

  “Alexander, come in, please.” The secretary politely asked and beckoned the boy to enter.

  He stood up and walked in through the door. He caught Alary’s eye as he passed her on the way in. Then he saw the chubby man with her, leave. Lexan did not know how, but he could see past the man's body. He felt the man was out of place. He felt his presence disturbing, unconventional, and not at all…Earth-like. It felt alien.

  As the chubby men left, a different man entered. His height would have been imposing be it not for his slender body. The man moved with grace and resembled a higher race. An elf, the boy thought and laughed at his thoughts. The man had high cheekbones and slightly pointy ears, but not enough to ascertain the boy’s fantasy. His dark hair fell to his ears and shone radiantly black. The man’s eyes glowed, even in the faint light of the office that did not employ artificial lighting. It was the man’s eyes that transfixed Lexan, they could be compared to clay mud in the rainfall. The outside color was light brown but toward the inner radius of the iris, the eye reddened. As the man sat down, and Alexander followed suit, the boy noticed the man’s dead white skin. Lexan noted something strange about the man, just as with the chubby man. When the two walked by each other, they had somehow over-shadowed each other. I’m going crazy; the boy thought and wiped his eyes, realizing that the optical illusion could have been caused by the moisture.

  “Hello Alexander,” said the man in a deep dark voice. “My name is Hamanulus Raki,” He extended his hand, “Nice to meet you.”

  The secretary watched Alexander as he looked at the man warily, “He is here to adopt you, Alexander.”

  Lexan’s head pulsed with an unmistakable beat, adopt me? That was unthinkable. How could this happen?! The synaptic connections in Lexan’s brain connected. The other man adopted Alary. What kind of life, would I live? The boy thought, but he was in a too much of a shock. His head hurt and he felt as if someone had hit him with a large hammer against his temples.

  “Um... are you okay?” The secretary asked cautiously when Lexan did not speak for a minute but she already knew the reaction. She has seen it hundreds of times before. She looked at the boy, worried about him. He simply stood there, wide-eyed. Mister Raki put a hand on the boy’s shoulder, reassuringly, “It’ll be alright. You’re in good hands.”

  Lexan heard them, both of them, but he felt too conflicted to answer. On one hand, he would live normally, to some extent, and live in a normal house without bullies, without Leo, without Nangern’s poisonous remarks. On the other hand, he would live without Alary but perhaps she, too, would find such sanctuary. He did not wish to leave his friends, but he knew he could not stay at the orphanage forever. It was a prison of sorts, bad food, no new video games, terrible school; he would have seen the past five months as torturous be it not for Alary.

  “Sorry, I was just surprised for a while, but-that's great!” He lied through his teeth, and he knew it. The boy smiled while he tried to hide his sadness of leaving his friends and Alary. Though he contemplated running away, the boy knew better. He knew he would live a far better life with this man, unless he was crazy, which he did seem to be. Something led the boy to keep his head and not break down. He heard a voice but he did not see a face.

  “Lexan, you will be in good hands,” the voice said, “You and Alary will be together once more. Leave with this man, and he will take you on a journey. Then, you will prosper.”

  Lexan did not know where the voice had come from but it continued, “This man is not as he seems. He is far beyond his appearance. He will lead you forward but be wary.”

  The boy nodded to himself and the secretary took it as a sign of approval.

  “All right then, you'll be leaving tomorrow,” the secretary said.

  “What?” Lexan responded surprised.

  “Yes, tomorrow, Mr. Raki filled out the paperwork few weeks ago.” she said and Lexan left the office.

  IV

  The day disappeared quickly as Lexan spent his time both deeply thinking and trying to enjoy it as his last. The same night, Alary told the boy about her own adoption. They kissed and went to sleep. Alary softly cried because she knew they would go their separate ways and never return. Alexander promised Alary he would look her up, and try to find her. She kissed him again and agreed to do the same. They wished to stay together forever and not leave each other’s side. But being adopted is good for me, the boy thought. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.

  Lexan suddenly jerked awake in middle of the night. He had a disturbing nightmare. Alary had already left, “probably packing,” he whispered to himself. He jumped down from his bed and packed his things over the few hours left until dawn and had about an hour left until he had to depart to the office. He looked over his luggage and experienced a peculiar Déjà Vu. He had done this before; it was the first day in the Orphanage. Depressing thoughts occurred to the boy: How will this continue? He pondered, Will I stay at the man’s house? Or will he kick me out later? Some last thought included Alary. Will I ever see her again? The boy sat down and felt like crying but he did not. I’ve cried enough, he thought and flexed his muscles, trying to keep the feeling inside.

  He kicked his bag, annoyed at the situation, and walked outside. The orphanage “guards”, as the others called them, let him through; he could break almost any rule on that day, they were the “leaving-privileges.” He could walk around the complex through the morning, which still seemed as night. A fog obscured the boy’s vision and cold droplets soaked his thin coat.

  He shivered and tightened it. How could it be so cold, it’s not even the fall, he thought and walked on through the thick morning fog. With each step, Lexan saw the buildings disappear; he saw the vague shapes and with every step, he saw new objects ap
pear and come into focus.

  Life, he thought, an amazing set of instances that I or no one else can control, but he wanted to control it. He pondered on life and what has happened to him. The events flashed through his mind, burnt into his memory forever. It would haunt him for years, and he knew it. He wished these feelings to go away but they would not. Death, separation, a new parent, it was too much.

  A sound ripped through the air, slicing the fog to reveal its contents. Someone was crying, or weeping in the gray matter. Lexan moved closer to see who the noise came from. A boy sat on a bench close by a swing-set. It was Nangern, the boy realized and moved in closer. Nangern looked up with tears flowing down his face and eyes red.

  “You know, it’s all your fault!” He yelled across the distance,” you could not listen to my advice, could you!? You had to go behind my words, the words of your friend. Now she’s leaving and I couldn’t even spend her last moments with her!” He seemed to have yelled out his energy, “It’s your damn fault.” The boy cried even more.

  Lexan’s blood boiled, “It wasn’t my fault; you just couldn’t see us together!” he yelled back, bringing the old conversation back to life. He did not try to assuage Nangern’s pain; he elicited even more of it. Nangern seemed lurid at the response and sprang to his feet. With incredible speed he ran up to Alexander. He drew back his curled up hand and punched the soon-to-be-adopted boy in the face. Nangern did not wish a fight; the punch was a prerogative to him as a revenge.

  Alexander felt the steel hard knuckles bore into his cheeks and force themselves against his jaw, tearing the tissue. The dark blood came pouring out from his cheek into his mouth and down his throat, spreading the metallic taste. The tiny droplets were enough to make the boy sick.