Chapter 13: Dragging him along
Fiona finally turned to face the man that had tried to get her attention after Alyssa left. As she turned she realized it was Galen. “Oh, Galen what a surprise. What can I help you with?”
“Who was that with Alyssa?” he looked and sounded a bit jealous.
“Sweetie, you are going to have to talk to Alyssa. This is one thing that I will not get in the middle of.” She walked off to leave him to his thoughts. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him pace for a moment before pounded a fist to the nearest empty table before exiting.
Galen had never felt this way about a girl his whole life. The man with Alyssa seemed to light up her life like he had never seen before. He wondered if this was why they could not get very close. Granted they had only dated a few times over the last six weeks, he had felt a connection. He also thought she felt it as well. He was determined not to give her up.
He would go over and ask her what was going on. He needed to know if he was going to be a backup plan in case this man broke her heart and left again. He figured again since she seemed to know him very well. Maybe from grade school he decided walking to her house. He knew it would appear in bad taste to show up knowing she had company but he needed answers.
Before reaching the house he saw her come out of her house. “Hi Alyssa. Where are you off to this fine evening?” he was going to approach this like a real man. With dignity and honor.
“I need to pick up some dinner at Fiona’s. Would you like to walk with me?” she countered.
“I would be honored.” He extended his hand for her to hold as he always did when they were on a date. She refused it and they continued walking.
“Galen, I am sorry. This is going to sound really awkward, but my friend came into town today and I need to see where our relationship is before I continue with you.”
They had barely passed Mathias’ house when she laid it all out on the line, “I was actually going to ask you about your friend. Who is he?”
“He is one of my very best friends in the whole world. It is really hard to explain how we met, so can we not go into that, please?” she pleaded.
“If he is one of your best friends I would very much like to meet him. If you are okay with it?” he put the feelers out just in case she shot him down. He still wanted to be a part of her life. Even if it was the way it was.
“I think you two would get along. Plus, he is new to the area like you were so it would be great for you two to meet each other. Thank you.” She was unaware of his hidden agenda of making sure he stayed in her inner circle.
“I look forward to it.” They arrived at Fiona’s and she put in an order for a local favorite. “Anywhere else you need to go?”
“I do need to get some groceries.” She looked at his face as she talked. “Would you mind coming with me?”
“I would love to accompany you.” Galen said.
“Fiona, I need to run to the store. I will be right back.”
“Okay, sweetie. It will be a little bit on the order anyway.”
The walk to the grocery store was quiet. Inside they resumed, “So, when do you think will be a good time to meet your friend?” he asked as they put some bread in the cart.
“It depends on how he reacts to me telling him about you.” She said calmly.
“Oh,” he thought it odd he would react to her dating someone, unless he was more than a friend. Then he recalled her saying that she needed to see where her relationship with her friend was going to go. “Where is he staying?”
“I think with Mathias.” She had not really asked him. She did not have time. He had been so tired when they got home he had crashed on the couch. She hoped he was doing alright at home. “His name is Marco, by the way. Just so you are not saying ‘your friend’ all the time. It is Marco.”
“Good to know. Thank you.” She paid for the items in the cart. Which included bread, milk and eggs; the basic essentials of any home. They left the store with Alyssa carrying the bag with the eggs and bread while Galen carried the milk. Fiona was waiting for them with her order.
“Did you tell him about you know who?” she asked Alyssa quietly.
“Sort of. I told him that I needed to figure out the relationship with Marco before I could go on with him.”
“How did he take it?” Fiona was worried that Galen would be the collateral damage in this whole mess of a situation. She was quite fond of the man whose heart would break and crumble to the ground by the hands of her best friend.
“Very well actually. He wants to meet Marco.” Alyssa looked at Fiona’s twisted facial expression and could not help but laugh. “Do you think that is a bad thing?”
“It could be potentially bad. But knowing Galen, he might take it very well.” Fiona remembered part of the order that she had put together for Alyssa was not complete. “Oh, here, we forgot to put this in your order.”
“Oh, thanks. I should probably get back. I left Marco alone with my Mom.”
“Yikes,” Fiona made another face and let her return to home.
“Ready?” Galen asked when she reappeared from talking to Fiona.
“I am. Thank you again for escorting me through town tonight. It was very sweet of you.” She really was grateful. But her attention turned to Marco as they neared the house. She said good night to Galen and promised to get in touch with him in a few days once everything settled.
Alyssa entered with heavy grocery bags full of food. Marco stepped through the archway that led to the hallway where she was standing and took the bags from her. “Let me help with that, Love.”
“Oh, I am so happy you are here with me. Did you meet my Mom yet?”
“Yes, we had a chat. It was wonderful. It seems I know your father.”
“My father? How did that come up?”
“It seems that we are from the same village, Tempos.”
“Marco, I study geography and there is no village named Tempos.”
“We are not on the map Darling.”
“Oh, well. Where are you then?”
“We are just atop the mountain.”
“There is not a village up there.”
“Have you been there?”
“Well, no, but…”
“Then how do you know if there is a village or not?”
“I guess you have proven your point.”
“What are you making for dinner?”
“Oh, I picked something up on the way home. I hope you do not mind that it is not homemade for your first night here. Tomorrow we will have a fantastic feast.”
“I will eat anything you place in front of me. Granted that it does not smell funny.”
She let out a little chuckle, “Come over here. There is something I have been wanting to do for real since I saw you this afternoon.”
Marco crossed the distance and instinctively pulled her to him placing his lips upon hers. The emotions erupted as if they just needed to be flipped on like a light switch.
…
Life was all new and different for Marco as he adjusted to life in Augusto. The first thing he had to get used to was sleeping. He felt he was sleeping entirely too much. Though that had to do with not needing to sleep when he was a Walker.
Mathias was good to help him through the transition. He, Mathias, remembered all too well when Anthos was adjusting to life in Augusto. It was like watching a memory unfold in a bit of déjà vu. Though in Marco’s case, he had already seen and talked with his love. Anthos had yet to even gaze upon her beauty since entering the village.
Anthos asked Mathias many questions about the town to prepare himself to venture forth in Augusto. “Mathias, tell me about the history of Augusto.”
“We were founded about five hundred years ago by a man named Augusto, that much is obvious. He is said to have had a dream of a valley just like this one in which a village grew and prospered. So, he left his home; which no one seems to remember; in search of this valley. Upon arriving he called out to the mountain in gratefulness. It is said that the mountain answered him by bringing protectors to the people by way of their dreams.”
“That is interesting. Especially about the dreams. Do you believe it?” Anthos asked. There was a similar history lesson on the high mountain. He had always wondered how much of the story was true.
“I am not sure if I believe all of it, but I am grateful for living in a great place.” Mathias smiled. “You know, there is one more story about a woman who comes down from the mountain to meet with Augusto and the legend is that they fall in love. She leaves him after only a couple of months. Crazy stuff, huh?”
“Yeah, sure is, Mathias.” Anthos said. He thought about the woman from the mountain. He would have to do a little digging into his own history. He was sure if the woman had been a Walker that she was the first in the area.
Marco was a little more curious about the woman that came to fall in love with Augusto. “What else is there about the legend of the woman? I would very much like to read about it.”
“I will see what I can find about it.”
Within a few days Mathias had found a book about the legends of Augusto, entitled, Legends and Mysteries of Augusto Township, “Thank you, Mathias. I cannot wait to read through this later.”
“So, how are things going with Alyssa? Anthos left before he knew Tina was pregnant, you know?”
“Things are going really good with Alyssa and Anthos knows about Alyssa.”
“How is that? I have never seen a letter come from Tempos and I have not seen any go to Tempos.”
“He just knows.” Marco hoped that he would just drop the subject and wondered how to change the subject. He did so by bringing up the book again, “So, any other stories I should look out for?”
“Nah, I think it is a bunch of myths if you ask me. Written from someone’s imagination.”
“Thanks anyway. I need to run and meet Alyssa. I will see you tonight?”
“Sure thing,” Mathias said. It still bothered him about Anthos knowing. I guess a father just knows.
Marco found Alyssa by the tree in which he had first met Mathias. “This should be our spot,” Marco said as he strolled up to the base of it where she sat with a book in her hand.
“It should be our spot.” Then standing up she waved her hand high above her head and raising her voice slightly declared, “This spot underneath this tree is now claimed by Marco and Alyssa.”
Laughing Marco could not help but love this woman in front of him. He was slowly beginning to see that the feelings he had before were merely an infatuation as Anthos had stated, but now as he watched her in the sunlight of the day; he saw the depth his love could grow. It was as if his heart was literally growing inside his chest. Though no outward signs suggested it had grown at all.
“Darling, may I ask you something?” He managed to say in between the remaining chuckles that escaped his lips.
“Anything.”
“Have you read this book?” he pulled out the book Mathias had just given him.
“In like the fourth grade, why?” She was not sure where his questions were leading and he could see that.
“Some of the stories match up to some of the legends of Tempos. Almost like our villages are more connected then we thought.”
“That is so cool, which ones?”
“I have not yet read the book. Mathias loaned it to me after he told me a bit of history surrounding the town.”
“So, what did he tell you about?” she asked.
“He told me of the founder of the village, Augusto.”
“What else? I can tell you are more curious with the next part of the story, am I right?”
“Yes, actually. We have a legend that a woman from a village far away left in search of a place to live. She happened about a man and fell in love with him. She was required to return as quickly as possible and without realizing it she was with child when she climbed to the top of the High Mountain. She had twins and one of the children, when he turned ten made the trip to the same place. Not much else is said about the child, only he knew he had to go find his father.”
“Are you suggesting that Augusto had an out of wedlock child? He was happily married and had many children.”
“How many times was he married?”
“Once.”
“That does not coincide with your legends. Or the legends of Tempos.”
“Do you believe all the legends of Tempos?”
“Yes, they are our history lessons. Do you believe all of your history lessons?”
“Yes, but I know the difference between history and legend.”
“What is the difference?” To any passerby it would seem they were quarreling, when in reality this was how they had intellectual conversations. It helped Marco to understand how the mortals thought. They had many time spoken like this in Alyssa’s mind before he guided her to her dreams.
“The difference,” she said soften her tone ever so slightly, “is that history actually happened. It can be proven. Legend may or may not have happened and cannot always be proven.”
“I see. So, what if there is a history lesson that actually happened, but no one remembered to provide proof. Does it mean it did not happen and is now deemed legend or did it happen and we may never know because there is no proof?”
“Who are you and where did you come from? Are people from Tempos always this deep in their thinking processes?”
“You know who I am, you know where I come from and I guess we do. Katia and I always have conversations like this where we try to prove each other wrong or right in some cases. It helps our minds develop stronger imaginations; at least that is what I have been told.”
The rest of the day was spent in quiet as they sat under their tree and held each other. Marco was leaning his back against the tree trunk and Alyssa had her head in his lap. Her long golden brown hair flowing to the ground across his legs had his hand combing through it as they settled into a nice conversation about the legends and mysteries of the villages they hailed from.
…
A week after arriving in the village Alyssa commented, “I do not mean to be rude or anything but you smell.”
“I smell like what?” he asked. He was uncertain what she was meaning.
“I mean that you need to shower. Go back to Mathias and ask where the shower is, then come back. Alright?”
He nodded with a half smile, half smirk he reluctantly left her at their stop by the tree. He lifted an arm and he sniffed himself. He still was not sure why he smelled and why he had not noticed. “Hey Mathias, can you point me in the direction of the…oh what did she call it…the shower.”
Mathias pointed and before he let Marco go he found a bar of soap and handed it to him. “Use the whole thing.”
“Seriously, how is it that you all find my stench revolting.” Marco said rather furiously.
“Have you not caught a whiff of it?” Mathias thought for a moment, “Maybe it is the clothes. How about you take a fresh pair of pants and a shirt from the line out back. And leave the clothes you have on in the bathroom. I will get it later.”
Upon entering the bathroom and removing the clothes he proceeded to sniff out the reason for his stench. He found that it was indeed the clothes. He showered and put on the fresh clothes from the line just as Mathias told him.
He returned to Alyssa and she smiled, “That is a million times better.”
“It was the clothes. It would seem I did not pack very well. We do not seem to have this problem in Tempos.”
“What problem would that be?”
“Stenches; no one smells bad. Either that or we do not notice.”
“Okay, ewe. Are you telling me there are no showers in Tempos?”
“No, I am saying that we do not need them in the same way.” Marco needed to learn to keep his mouth shut or he had to tell her about being a Walker. Either way he was bound to get into trouble with Alyssa no matter what he said. After a few awkward moments of silence he could tell there was something on her mind. He wondered if it was the same something that had been left unspoken between them since he had arrived. “Darling, what is on your mind today?”
“I guess this is as good a time as any.” She said. She urged him to sit down next to him. Taking his hand almost as if her life depended on it. In some ways it seemed as though every touch was life dependant. “Do you remember when I told you that I had been on a date with someone?”
“Do we have to talk about that?” he became very defensive.
“Yes, Marco we do. If we are going to be together then we need to talk about this.” She was shaking in nerves.
He must have noticed when he said, “I am sorry, Love. I can tell you are conflicted. Please, tell me.”
“His name is Galen and he has been very nice and respectful to me. He has helped me through my loneliness for you.” Tears began to fall from her eyes. Marco did not like this sight. He had only seen her cry one other time and that was the night that changed everything. That night had lead him to this point. “Fiona introduced us about seven weeks ago and we have been hitting it off good. The night of our first date I realized that you might not be real. I was so ready to just forget about you and not let you in my head anymore. I could not do that to you.”
Marco was stunned. He had always had faith that somehow they would be together. He wanted her to continue, “Why did you still let me in?”
“Because I needed you. I will always need you to be a part of my life. I could not let you go, but in real life I needed to have a companion. Someone to talk to during the day.”
“Darling, I am very sorry that I was not able to come sooner. There was so much to do that I could not get away until now. I hope one day you will understand everything.”
“I hope so too.” Alyssa looked up at the sky before saying, “The reason I bring up Galen is because he would like to meet you.”
“What did you say?” he actually wanted to meet this Galen fellow too.
“I told him I would have to talk to you about it and he agreed to stay away until I contact him.” She said.
“How about we invite him over tonight?” He threw the question out into the world.
“Alright. I will have Fiona get the word to him.” She leaned over to Marco and with a hand on his face gave him a kiss on the lips. Passionate and longing all at the same time. This was the best reward for having him here for real. She could not deny the feelings that she felt when she was around him and especially when they kissed. If this was not true love she did not know what was.
Fiona was able to get the word to Galen and that night he graced them with his presence at her home over dinner. When the knock sounded Marco was unsure who should answer the door. The ladies were busy putting the finishing touches on dinner and he felt a little out of place. “Marco, can you answer the door for me.” Alyssa asked sweetly from the kitchen.
“Sure,” he answered walking to the front door. Opening it wide he found a man that was tall, blonde and very well kept. “Hello. Come on in. You must be Galen. I am Marco.”
Not wanting to be rude Marco extended his hand for a greeting. Galen gripped it and they shook. “Yes, Alyssa says you are one of her oldest friends in the world. May I ask you how the two of you met?”
“We met as children through her father.” It was not exactly a lie, but more of a half truth.
“I was under the impression that her father had died many years ago.” Galen stated a matter of factly.
“Alyssa’s father. No, he is not dead.” Marco said. As he pondered what to say next he was saved by her mother.
“Boys, behave in here.” She scolded.
“We are,” Marco said, “I was just telling Galen a little bit about Anthos.”
“Carry on,” she said returning to the kitchen. They heard an abrupt sound of laughter coming from where Tina had retreated to.
“It is best to leave them to dinner,” Galen said, pulling Marco back to their conversation. “You were telling me about Alyssa’s father…Anthos.”
“Yes, he was my mentor when I was young.” Hoping he would not give away anything he should not Marco had to think fast as he answered all of Galen’s questions.
“That is very interesting. Where are you from originally?”
“A small village in the mountains called Tempos.”
“Now that is a place I have never heard of. I will have to put it on my list of places to visit.”
“It is very hard to get to. Many windy roads and cliffs to climb just to get to it. Not to mention the time in the canyon.”
“The Forbidden Canyon?” Galen said. When Marco did not answer right away he provided a bit of background. “It is a canyon that no one is supposed to go into or be able to come out of alive.”
“Where is it?” Marco finally asked.
“It is just past the big meadow and small stream.” He replied.
“That would be the way I came into town.” Marco managed to say.
Galen looked at him in surprise. He had been told by many sailors and harbor men the canyon was like walking into death itself. “How did you get through alive? I would love to know.”
I bet you would, Marco thought to himself and then teasing said “It was not easy.”
“Is there some special secret to getting through?”
Marco pondered for a moment about if he should tell Galen about the cider. When he could think of no reason not to tell him he stated, “I drank lots of cider.” He figured his new friend would think he was joking.
“Cider?” Galen was not at all impressed. He would have thought some sort of weapon would be required from all the stories he had heard.
“Yes,” Marco said, “but you must explain something to me that is puzzling me.”
“Anything,” Galen said.
“If the canyon is forbidden and one is not supposed to live through it, who told you and how would one know without making that walk themselves?” he asked, “Just something to think about.”
The ladies announced dinner was ready so Galen did not have the chance to answer him. His face said it all though. He would be asking the sailors and harbor men this exact question in the morning. For now he would enjoy a nice meal with his new friend.
…
The next day Galen sent an invitation to Marco to come to the harbor to see the comings and goings. “I think you should go,” Alyssa said over breakfast. “I have classes anyway, so you should go. It will give you something to do.”
“Then I will go.” Marco stopped eating and leaned over to kiss her on her forehead, “I can see he has a special place in your heart.”
“He does, but you have the rest of it. You always have.” She said making him feel better.
“Thanks, Darling you have my whole heart,” it sounded cheesy, but he meant it.
“You have fun today and play nice.” She glared at him.
“I will be a gentleman the whole time.” He promised.
“I know you will be, but it does not hurt to tell you anyway.”
“Darling, when I get back can…hmm…that was odd,” he had lost his train of thought.
“What is it?” she asked.
“I have no idea. I completely lost my train of thought. I have no idea where I was going.”
“Mom always says that if you forget something it must not have been important.”
“I have a feeling it was, but I just can’t remember right now.”
“If you think of it send me a note at Fiona’s.”
“I will.” He was flustered. It was partly to do with being somewhere new. The other part was knowing that Alyssa had given part of her heart away in his absence. He wished very much that he could have been here the whole time. “See you at the café for lunch.”
“Yes, have Galen bring you so you do not get lost. It can be a bit tricky to find if you do not know your way around.”
“Oh, so how am I supposed to find the harbor?”
“That is easy, just ask Mathias to take you. He owns the place.”
“Good idea. Thank you.” He kissed her good bye. He just could not get enough of the kisses. He had longed to have the dream kisses be real and now that they were, he could not stop giving them to her. Every moment he saw an opportunity he would lean over and kiss her forehead or lift her hand and kiss the back of it. Mostly he loved kissing her lips. There was all the passion that melted away life. Love forgot all those missed days and love held no boundaries.
…
Mathias led the way to the Harbor where Galen was awaiting the arrival of Marco to show him the grand theatrics that went into managing it. Marco stood on the wood platform with railings and gazed upon the majestic waters that seemed to have no end. “What is out there?”
“The world,” Galen said sarcastically.
“Ha! Ha!” Marco retorted. “What I am wondering it what sort of things would one see out there on the waters?”
“In a very broad sense one would see the world. In a more specific manner one would see fish swimming alongside the boats, the wide open sky during the day and night, and then other villages when one would come to land again. Is that what you mean?”
“Yes, thank you.” Marco replied.
Galen thought it a strange question but did not seem to think it appropriate to say so. Instead he asked about Alyssa, “May I ask how you and Alyssa kept in contact through the years?”
“Mostly her father relayed messages,” he lied. No one else was to know the truth. Marco hated lying. Galen was such a nice guy, but the rules state not to tell mortals the truth. But I am planning on telling Alyssa. Though he is part Walker, so the rule does not apply.
“That is so interesting. From what Alyssa tells me of her father; again, I would have assumed the two hardly spoke.” Galen did not like being lied to. He could tell that Marco was keeping something a secret. Though having just met he understood that not all truths would be given up willingly at first. He hoped to win Marco’s trust, but was unsure how he could accomplish the task. For starters, though he would need to be nice. “I guess it does not matter.”
“Anthos, he can be difficult. However, he loves Alyssa and if he could be here he would.”
“Now, see it is things like that that make a person believe…Anthos…is dead.” Galen stated.
“I guess you are right, but if he is dead what have I been my whole life? A person does not just start living at the age of twenty four.”
“Very true,” Galen said. “Shall we go? There is a lot of work to do today.” He led the way along the boardwalk, stopping at each boat to inspect it.
…
A week and a half into Marco’s time with Alyssa he tested his sanity by staying awake all night. It was not fun and actually quite boring. He did not understand how he had filled so much of his time on the High Mountain. It was as if time moved differently, but he knew it was not true. And yet, he still thought of it. In fact, thinking of how long it took him to fall asleep in conjunction with when Katia came to visit each night seemed entirely too long of a wait. Time was definitely different here than it was on the high mountain.
He was to meet Galen each morning while Alyssa was in classes. Marco felt a bit tired, but kept going throughout the day. Parts of it seemed to drag while others felt like they were flying by. Soon it was time to go meet with Alyssa. Her golden brown hair flowing in the wind as he walked up to the tree they met at every day.
“I have lunch for you.” She said holding out a sandwich. “Marco, are you alright?”
His head was a bit droopy and his eyes were slowly fading once he sat beneath the tree and rested his head against the hard bark. “I…am…fine…darling…” he yawned and paused between words. His eyes falling closed and widening along with them.
“No, Darling.” She said imitating him, “you are not fine at all. You are going back to Mathias right now and sleeping…”
The rest of what she said was lost to Marco as he slipped in and out of sleepiness. Within a few minutes he propelled himself forward with wide eyes and a face full of fear and anger. He had had a nightmare in those brief minutes of sleep. He could not let these events take place. “Oh, Darling I am so sorry.”
Frightened by his expressions and obvious discomfort Alyssa tried to remain calm as she spoke, “You seem to be saying that a lot lately.”
“I have, have I not?” he asked.
“What happened?” she asked with pleading eyes.
Author’s Note(November 18th, 2009):
And that is all you’re going to get until I publish it!! Sorry!!
I hope you enjoyed the sampling of my work and I would love any and all comments you have about this story! Thanks for reading it and have a fantastic day!
Sandy
Author’s Note (August 13th, 2010):
After careful consideration and the buzz that this story has drawn in, I am happy to announce that I will be posting more of this story! I will say this much, though: it might seem a bit repeated as I have rewritten most of the beginning and changed from 3rd person to 1st person. Thank you for reading this story and I hope that you will enjoy the rewrite!
Sandy
Sandy Steele 