"Jason!...Jason!....Jason!" That voice...it can't be. There's no way it can be her. The voice was distant but I would recognize that voice even at death's door. "Come on silly, I can't wait forever," The voice sounded again. No.....no.....I'm sane enough to remember that you are dead, so please don't do this to me. Please....
"It's too early for you to be thinking that hard, not that you were even good at it in the first place," There voice added with a gentle giggle as her form materialized in front of me. There she was in front of me, in all her beauty as she reached out and brushed my cheek with her soft delicate hand. It felt too real, not just another voice, image or memory that have been hunting my sleep. It felt different, it felt like her.
"Am I dead?" I respond to her as I try to process everything. We were in a vast field of flowers, the sky a calming ocean blue as a soft whisper of a breeze swept through the air.
"Look at you. I can't believe you let that sasquatch on your upper lip grow out. I thought I told you it made you look like a pubescent troll," she said her hands still on my cheeks as she brushed the bushy moustache on my lip. The feeling was the same as back then, so it is her isn't it.
"Where are we?" I asked as I tried to make sense of the paradise-like area. The place was truly ethereal, I tried to look over the horizon but it seemed to have no end. "Gosh I've missed those deep green eyes of yours," she said with a melodic flutter of a laugh. She ruffled my hair playfully, her face was too....carefree.
I reach for her hand and bring it down and hold it. "Where are we?" I asked once more, this time looking deep in her eyes. She looked down, she could clearly see I wanted answers, answers I wasn't ready yet to bare.
She let out a deep sigh and stepped back a few meters as she faced her back to me. That's when I saw it, her form flicker with the breeze..... a mirage, but of course, as if the world would be kind enough to grace me with her real presence.
"As much as I wanted this to be simply me seeing you one last time...even I know HE wouldn't let me have such luxury." She said and that's when I started noticing, her voice.... the truth is that it was surely hers but it sounded distant as if she was speaking from another room or place entirely.
"HE? what do you mean? Is someone holding you hostage? Are you truly still alive?..." But she stopped me mid-question as she placed her finger on my lips.
"Where I am.....just know I can take care of myself. I just want you to be safe." She said as her form continued to shimmer in and out.
"How can I? When I know I did this to you....I let them kill you. I should have been there to protect you.....Keep you safe....but instead, look at what happened to you." I say as soft wet tears danced along my cheeks.
She placed her hand on my cheek and wiped the tears. "Soon enough Jason you will realize that you are not the villain of this story." She said softly as she rested her forehead on mine.
Just then the world around us started to shake violently as not only her but everything around us started to shimmer in and out of existence. "Looks like our time is up," She said as she pulled away from me.
"No...please don't leave me again....please," I cried out to her as I reached for her only for my hand to slip right through her. I tried to run towards her but she just seemed to go further out of reach with each step.
"I'm sorry Jason. I wish I could stay, I wish I could say more, I wish I could leave you more, but all I ask....is.....take care of.....Adam..." Her voice slowly faded away as well as the paradise of flowers as I then found myself in that familiar darkness that I came to know and love as one word rang in my head, "Adam?".
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"Hey!!! I wanna see. Stop shoving me."
"I'm only shoving cause Mike shoved me first-"
"No, I didn't, it was Alice-"
"Will you three quit it, grandma Clarice will hear us,"
The three children were hurdled in front of the guest bedroom door all trying their best to see through the locked door's key hole. After finding the unconscious guy by the sea shore, I informed Clarice about it and it was mere minutes before she gathered a few guys around the village who helped her bring the unconscious guy into her house. At first I expected this from her, Clarice cared about everyone in the village and she'd do everything she could to save one of their own. But this time it was different, the look she had on her face when handling the guy was one I had never seen on her....fear.
"Oh no someone's coming. Move!" Alice said in a loud whisper as the kids started run away from the door. The person who came from the room was Tasha, the Village healer/nurse. She has been in that room with Clarice ever since last night.
As she walked out the room she was able to catch a glimpse of Timothy's retreating self and simply shook her head. Her eyes landed on me and she made her way towards me. "Morning Anthony," she greeted.
"Morning....didn't think the guy was that roughed up." I say as I try to take a look inside the room but she was quick to close the door after her. "Yeah, he had multiple wounds and injuries not to mention the internal bleeding. It's a miracle you got to him. Any later and I don't think I would have been able to save him," She said as I poured her a drink of water, simply out of courtesy.
"So is he awake now?" I ask as I lend her the glass of water. "Nope, he's still knocked out cold. But I understand why, from what I could tell he must have been in a great battle, he must have exhausted his arcanum, damn near depleting it entirely. It might be a while before he awakens" she said and her words made me turn to the crowd that was outside our house. "Guess it's gonna be crowded around here for the next few days, huh?" I say with a sigh.
"Seems news travels fast in our lil town Fenwick," She said with a simplistic giggle. "Well, I should head back incase your grandma needs me. Oooooh.....and Eunice will be coming by later to bring me some of my equipment. Be a dear and remember to usher her in." Tasha said as she made her way back in the guest room. Meanwhile, I couldn't help but blush at the mention of Eunice. "Snap out of it Jason," I reprimanded myself.
Just then I heard a frantic knock at the back door. At first I was taken a back since not a lot of people knew about the backdoor, but once I caught a glimpse of the black greasy hair of the person behind the door, I instantly recognized who it is. I opened the door and the laughably short guy instantly walked.
"Anthony, please tell me it's true what people are saying around the village," he said animatedly as he turned to me with curious eyes. I sighed, I knew it wouldn't have taken long for news to reach Gift, he always was the nosy type.
"Well if you must know yes, I found a body by the shore late last night," I said to him in a low whisper as if the village in its entirety did not already know the news. The weirdest grin appeared on Gift's face as he cheered at the news.
In his moment of joy he suddenly disappeared or in this case went invisible, which was Gift's Arcane ability. The reason for Gift's evident joy was due to his weird obsessive fixation with.....ninjas. Ever since I knew the guy, he's always wanted to be a ninja, this was mostly brought along after he first cultivated his arcanum and when he got invisibility, he took it as a God given sign or in his case, a 'calling' to be a ninja. Strange, I know. But the real reason he was happy an unconscious body was found is even weirder,
"Gift trust me this has nothing to do with the weird dream you had," I said trying to bring him down from his high. "So you wanna say me having this exact similar dream yesterday of an old wise ninja washing by our town and teaching me his secret arts has nothing to do with the guy you found yesterday," He said as he looked at me with a smug look.
I sighed as I was about to try and reason with him but that's when I remembered when it came to ninjas and Gift, reasoning was never a great strong point, so I simply patted his shoulder and gave him an encouraging smile.
"So where is my sensei who is supposed to teach me how to open my ten gates, hmm?" he said as he started looking around the house. "Slow down Mr. Ninja," I say as I grab him by his shirt to stop his curiosity. "Your 'sensei' is barely alive right now, I doubt he can even lift a finger." I say to Gift instantly killing his mood, but it didn't take long for him to start smiling again. "Then I guess I'll stay here till he wakes up," Gift says as he takes a sit with the widest smile on his face. I sigh and roll my eyes and that's when the backdoor get's knocked again.
Seriously! I thought this door was a secret, seems everyone in the village knows about it. I say as I go to open it. "What do you wa....Eunice.....heyyy." I say as my cheeks instantly went red out of embarrassment. Eunice was stood in front of the door, in a simplistic green sundress as she waved at me.
"~Hey Jason~," she said telepathically as she shined her cute dimpled smile. Meanwhile, I still stood in front of the door looking at her like a goofball."Ummm.....can I come in?" She asked softly. Her question knocked back some sense into me as I stood aside for her to come in.
With a smile, Eunice walked basket in hand, most probably with the supplies her mom asked for. The moment she stepped in, all the kids; Mike, Alice, Timothy and Greg run towards her giving her a hug. "Eunice!" they all said in unison as they hugged her. "~ Hey guys, Did you miss me? I brought y'all some cookies,~" Eunice reached into the basket she was holding and pulled out some cookies that the kids proceeded to fight for. "~Don't worry I brought some for you as well~" She added as she offered me some. I reach out to take them as I say thanks and for a split second our fingers touch sending a jolt down my spine. Damn it Anthony pull yourself together!!!!
She proceeds to pullout another one and offer it again. I smiled and was about to reach for it when a hand materialized out of no where and took it. "Thanks Eunice," Gift said as he bit into the cookie. I quietly stared daggers at Gift as he turned to me with a mouth full of cookies. "What?" he said with a mouth full of cookies.
Just then the door to where Clarice and Tasha was burst open, Tasha looked around frantically. "Did Eunice make it...Where....Good, bring my stuff honey," Tasha said clearly in distress as Eunice rushed to hand her mom her stuff. Tasha was quickly rummaging through the stuff taking everything she needs. Alice approached her and tugged on her dress. "Aunt Tasha, is the young man going to be okay?" Alice asked in a soft voice as silence befell the room. Tasha patted Alice's head. "You kids don't worry about anything Clarice and i have things under control," Tasha said with a smile, a smile I have come to know to well, a smile of lies and false bravery. Once she had everything she needed she went back into the room and as she closed the door I got a glimpse of what was happening inside. The guy who I found yesterday, was convulsing and shaking in bed as Clarice was desperately trying to hold him still and calm him. I wasn't the only one who saw this as me, Gift and Eunice shared the same look with each other