The Ether

by Laurice Elehwany Molinari

  Davina smiled at Danny and turned to leave with him.

  Vero felt a twist in his gut far worse than anything Danny could ever dish out. Davina had come to the movies with Danny? Vero found himself wishing Danny would try to insult him, trip him, put him in a headlock, even punch him in the face. Anything would have been easier to take than seeing Davina smile at Danny that way.

  “Danny’s brother is waiting for us,” Davina said to Vero. “See you.”

  As they walked off, Danny glanced back at Vero with a smirk.

  “She’s too good for him,” Tack said. “Get this . . . Nate said he saw Danny out at that new house they’re building on Fairburn. He was shattering the windows with a slingshot.”

  “Serious?”

  “So don’t worry. He’s gonna wind up in juvie hall. Then you’ll get your chance with Davina.”

  Vero watched Danny and Davina turn the corner with a concerned look on his face.

  Clover waved her hand up and down in front of Vero’s face, trying to get his attention during dinner. Vero finally saw her hand and snapped out of his thoughts.

  “What?” he said.

  “Pass the salt.”

  As Vero handed the saltshaker to his sister, Clover stared at him from across the kitchen table. She knew something was different about him. Ever since she was little, Clover had shared a connection with Vero. It was so strong that she’d been convinced they were twins. No matter how many times her mom and dad explained that Vero was adopted and that she was a year older, Clover still insisted. And as they’d gotten older, Clover felt their connection had only grown stronger. So Clover knew something was happening to her brother.

  Besides the hurdle jumping and the bus incident, something was different . . . something life changing.

  She desperately wanted to know what was happening, but she was afraid to ask.

  Because whatever it was also affected her.

  Clover had secrets too — secrets that kept her awake at night. Even though Vero hadn’t done anything she could name, she secretly blamed her brother for what she was going through. And she punished him for it — unfairly, she knew. But she blamed him anyway.

  “You’re quiet tonight,” Nora said to Vero as she placed a basket of dinner rolls on the table. “You feel all right?”

  “It’s his heart,” Clover said. “It’s broken because Davina Acker went to the movies with Danny Konrad.”

  “I don’t care about them!” Vero shot back.

  “Really? Tack said you were practically crying the whole way home,” Clover said with a smile.

  “Who’s Danny Konrad?” Dennis asked with a mouth full of mashed potatoes.

  “He’s a mean jerk,” Vero said.

  “Watch your mouth,” Dennis scolded him.

  “Danny used to be in Clover’s class. But a few years ago, he was held back. Now he’s in Vero’s class,” Nora said. She passed the green beans to Dennis. “You might remember the Konrads. We met them at Clover’s kindergarten roundup. The teacher said Danny wasn’t ready for kindergarten, but his mother and father insisted the school accept him. I remember wondering what the big deal was about waiting another year, and I really felt like they just wanted him out of the house. They’re divorced now.”

  “I think Danny and Davina make a cute couple,” Clover said. She knew she was hurting Vero’s feelings. Why did she feel the desire to goad him?

  Vero stood up abruptly, knocking his chair to the floor. “What’s your problem?” he shouted in Clover’s face. “What did I ever do to you?”

  Clover felt a twinge of guilt. She wanted to apologize, but then she thought of Vero’s snow angel and the otherworldly raven with its fiery eyes and rat’s tail, and she felt scared. And she was angry about feeling scared. She narrowed her eyes and glared at Vero.

  “Vero!” Dennis said sharply. “Pick up your chair and sit down.”

  Vero picked up the chair, but he didn’t sit down. “I’m done,” he said. He bunched up his napkin and threw it at Clover before leaving the room. “You’ll miss me when I’m gone!” he shouted.

  Clover noticed her mom watching Vero as he walked away. Was she scared too?

  After dinner, Vero retreated to his bedroom and stared at the ceiling, wishing it would cave in and crush him. Or maybe Mr. Atwood would miss his driveway and plow his SUV through Vero’s bedroom window.

  Davina and Danny. Davina with Danny. The more Vero thought about it, the less he understood.

  Vero longed to go back to the Ether. He desperately wanted to get away from Clover and the idea of Davina being with Danny. But no catastrophe befell him. It was a quiet night, broken only by the sounds of his parents’ muffled conversations about Vero.

  Suddenly his bedroom door flew open, and Clover walked in.

  Vero shot up. “What are you doing here?” he asked. “I’m surprised you even remember where my room is.”

  Clover ignored his comment and asked, “What did you mean by ‘when I’m gone’?”

  Vero wanted so badly to tell her the truth, to tell her their time together would be coming to an end soon, maybe even before he got his driver’s license. He didn’t want to spend his remaining time on earth fighting with Clover.

  But he couldn’t tell her. It was the rule. If he tried, Uriel would send a fire truck or set off a smoke alarm — just like he did in Dr. Weiss’s office. So Vero shrugged and said, “Nothing. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

  Clover studied him. She knew he was lying, but they no longer told each other their secrets. It had become too dangerous. Clover feared her secrets would land her on the shrink’s couch next to Vero. Silence was the one thing they both shared.

  “Okay, fine,” Clover said, and she turned to leave.

  “Clover, wait!”

  She spun around, keeping her hand on the doorknob. Now that she was looking at him, now that he had her attention, Vero wasn’t sure what to say.

  “Um . . . ” Where to start?

  “What?” Clover demanded.

  “Do you remember when I was four and I fell off the roof and twisted my ankle?”

  Vero could tell his question disturbed her. He saw her hands start to shake. But now that he’d started, he couldn’t stop. “Do you remember the man . . . the man in the tree?”

  His eyes begged for an answer, for something, anything. All she had to do was give him a nod, whisper yes. Clover locked eyes with her brother, staring him down. It was a silent showdown, and it was her move.

  “No,” she said. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Then she walked out of the room and slammed the door behind her.

  Silence had never sounded so loud to Vero.

  Bright and early on Monday morning, Vero and Tack marched into Coach Randy’s office and signed up for the track team.

  “You’re going to put this school on the map,” Coach said. “We’ve lost every single track meet since I’ve been here, but now that’s about to change. And Tack, I think the shot put is definitely a better choice for you than the hurdles.”

  “Me too. I’m pretty good at it. I’ve been practicing in our backyard.”

  “Keep it up,” Coach Randy said.

  “I can’t anymore.”

  Vero and the Coach looked at Tack.

  “I accidentally threw the ball through Mrs. Carlotti’s window next door. Broke the glass. And her cat was sunning itself on the windowsill . . . ”

  “Did you kill it?” Vero asked, wide-eyed.

  “No, but it beaned him good. Ever since then, the cat keeps head-butting the walls.”

  “Do everyone a favor and stay away from the javelin toss,” Coach said.

  Vero’s first track meet was against the crosstown rival, Lexington Junior High. The bleachers filled quickly with rowdy students, anxious parents, and the occasional miserable sibling who resented giving up a whole Saturday for a stupid track meet. They watched the oval-shaped field below as athletes stretched on the grass. As Vero and Tack were walking alo
ng the track, Coach Randy caught Vero’s eye and gave him a double thumbs-up. Vero nodded back.

  “And here we are . . . our first track meet,” Tack said between bites of his chocolate protein bar. “Still glad you changed your mind?”

  Vero looked across the track and saw Danny sitting in the middle of the field, stretching.

  “I guess we’ll find out,” Vero said, never taking his eyes off Danny.

  “I’m glad I decided to go back to shot put,” Tack said. “I figured, why not?” Tack messily shoved the rest of the protein bar into his mouth. After he’d finally swallowed, he said, “Plus, I realized I shouldn’t deny my fans any longer.”

  Normally this remark would have gotten a rise out of Vero, but he was too intent on watching Danny scan the bleachers. He’s probably looking for Davina, Vero thought, and his insides burned.

  When Danny spotted Davina, he gave her a smile and slight wave, but then he continued searching the stands — until he caught Vero staring at him. Danny held Vero’s gaze, refusing to turn away. But he didn’t look like his normal, malicious self. Did he look disappointed? Nervous? Danny finally looked away first. You should be nervous, Vero thought.

  “Runners for the boys’ 400 meter to your starting positions,” the announcer called.

  Danny walked to the starting line.

  Vero followed.

  “Please don’t embarrass me,” Clover said to her parents as they found their seats in the stands. “It’s bad enough I’m giving up my Saturday for this.”

  “Hush, Clover,” Nora said while she adjusted the camera’s strap around her neck. “You should be rooting for your brother. This is the first sport he’s really gotten into.”

  “And we are . . . ” Dennis shouted in Clover’s face while waving a large, yellow foam hand, “ . . . number one!”

  The foam finger accidentally grazed the head of a father from the rival school, knocking his sunglasses from his face. Dennis quickly threw the finger into Clover’s lap as the man turned around and gave the hairy eyeball.

  “Sorry, she’s overly excited for her brother,” Dennis said.

  Clover threw the foam hand back at her father, then slumped down and pulled her hoodie up over her ball cap. “Vero’s played soccer and baseball,” Clover said. “So what’s the big deal now?”

  “He never scored a goal in soccer or ever got on base,” Dennis said. “But he was always lightning fast. I should have known back then that track-and-field was his calling.”

  Clover stood up.

  “Where are you going?” Dennis asked. “As fun as this is, I’m gonna go sit with my friends.”

  “Stay here with us. We’re Vero’s cheering section,” Dennis said.

  Clover rolled her eyes and sat back down, “Mom, please stop him . . . ”

  But Nora wasn’t paying attention to Clover. She watched eagerly as Vero positioned his feet on the starting blocks. She was as excited as her husband was, but for different reasons. After the school bus incident, Nora had been desperate to get some normalcy back into their lives. If Vero played sports, then he’d be just like all the other boys. He’d fit right in. And if he performed well, then maybe people would simply come to know Vero as the track star and forget about the whole bus incident. And then maybe Nora would be able to move beyond it and stop lying awake at night, worrying. Maybe she could convince herself that the man who chased them in the grocery store all those years ago never existed.

  Bang!

  The official shot the starter’s gun, and the runners took off. Danny took the lead by a few paces. The crowd cheered him on. Vero lagged behind in fourth place. As Danny raced ahead of him, stretching his lead, Vero glanced into the bleachers and saw Davina cheering her little heart out. But who is she cheering for?

  Jealousy seized Vero, and before he knew it, he was gaining on the other runners. The crowd jumped to its feet as Vero flew by the two runners in second and third place and then caught up to Danny. The two ran neck and neck. As Vero saw the perspiration streaming down Danny’s face, he realized that he was barely sweating.

  The scene suddenly seemed surreal, like Vero was observing it as a spectator, seeing things in slow motion as Danny pushed himself harder than he ever had in his life.

  And then Vero smiled smugly and left Danny in the dust, crossing the finish line a full two paces ahead of him.

  The crowd erupted into cheers as Attleboro Middle took first and second place in the boys’ 400 meter dash. Without thinking, Coach Randy whipped off his ball cap and threw it high into the air in celebration, revealing his bald head for all to see.

  Vero saw Tack elbow Nate and say, “Look! Coach is bald!”

  Vero looked up into the stands. His dad was on his feet, waving his foam hand proudly. Vero’s mom was taking picture after picture, capturing the moment. Clover’s mouth was ajar. But when her dad started whistling loudly, she inched her way to the next bench down and tried to disappear farther inside her hoodie.

  Then Vero saw Blake and Duff in the stands, applauding and high-fiving each other. Why are they celebrating Danny’s defeat? Nice friends.

  Vero turned and saw Danny hunched over, still trying to catch his breath. Oddly, he suddenly felt bad for the guy. He considered confronting Blake and Duff, but then he saw Davina walk over and place a hand on Danny’s shoulder as she handed him a water bottle. Vero changed his mind.

  Vero went on to win the high jump and the long jump events. His long jump even set a new school record. Soon it was time for the 80 meter hurdles. By now, it was Vero’s day, and he was expected to win this event. The story of how he jumped two hurdles in a single bound had been exaggerated to four hurdles. And after watching him break the school’s long jump record, the crowd totally believed the rumor.

  “Good luck — not that you need it,” Tack said as he shook Vero’s hand. “The shot put is next, so I won’t be able to watch you run.”

  “Good luck to you too,” Vero said. “Try not to hit any cats.”

  As Tack walked over to the shot put ring, Vero took his place in the lane next to Danny. They got into position on their starting blocks, and Danny glanced over at Vero. His menacing look was meant to intimidate, but it didn’t work. After the starter’s gun went off, Vero dashed ahead of everyone. As he approached the first hurdle, Vero cleared it with no problem. The crowd’s exhilaration spurred Vero on, and as the next hurdle got closer, he decided to leap over it and the next one in a single jump. Vero sprung into the air. A hush fell over the crowd as he hung in midair between the two hurdles . . . when suddenly . . . from out of nowhere . . . an errant shot put ball smashed into Vero’s skull. He crumpled to the ground.

  The crowd gasped as Tack looked on in horror.

  15

  C.A.N.D.L.E.

  “Yeah, you deserved that.”

  Vero felt the back of his head. No lump yet. He found himself sitting on the thick green grass of the Ether. It took a few seconds before he realized Uriel was standing over him wearing a scowl.

  “What’s the point in humiliating Danny like that? Your job is to safeguard people, not make them feel like dirt!”

  Vero understood, but he didn’t care. He was sick of Danny. “He’s the one that deserves it!” Vero said. “He beats me up at school!”

  “We saw that. I’m the one who held your fist back so you couldn’t hit him.”

  That explained why Vero couldn’t punch Danny that day.

  “ ‘Turn the other cheek’ isn’t some cute catch phrase. It’s a way of life for an angel,” Uriel said.

  Vero leaned forward and put his head in his hands. Could he do this?

  Uriel sighed heavily and sat down in the grass next to Vero. “Track is one of the few good things Danny has in his life,” he said softly.

  “Not quite,” Vero muttered.

  Uriel knew exactly who Vero was talking about.

  “Vero, it can never be. You know what you are and what will happen when you complete your training.”

&n
bsp; It was a hard truth to swallow, but Vero nodded. As much as he loved the Ether, though, it didn’t diminish his love for the earth and its people — especially certain people.

  “Come on,” Uriel told him. “Take my hand. It’s a much faster way to travel.”

  Vero grabbed Uriel’s hand, and the next thing he knew, his feet were landing on rocky soil. Vero and Uriel now stood before an ancient Greco-Roman style temple. But it wasn’t exactly like the temples Vero had seen illustrated in history books because this one wasn’t in ruins.

  Vast rows of columns, brightly adorned in soft pastel colors, lined the rectangular structure. They held up a perfectly arched dome roof. The stark white dome matched the equally stark white walls. The temple’s design was simple and elegant.

  Vero felt small and inconsequential as he walked up the glossy marble steps. The massive stone doors swung open as if they were expecting Vero. The entrance hall did not disappoint. It was the size of several football fields. Vero spun around and saw that the temple was many floors high. Each level had massive balconies that overlooked where he stood. The inside walls of the temple appeared to be made of gold mixed with diamonds — a gold that sparkled with crystal clarity to its core. The dome ceiling was quite high, yet Vero’s eye could make out the intricate colorful tile patterns laid into the top. Vero’s mouth hung open in awe. Uriel smiled as he watched Vero’s reaction.

  “It’s my favorite architectural style,” Uriel said.

  “Greco-Roman,” Vero said.

  “Ha! Hardly. The Greeks and Romans got all of their ideas from us.”

  “What do you mean?” Vero asked.

  “This temple was here long before the Greek civilization existed. See, one of the jobs of an angel is to inspire humans. So when those future Greek architects were sitting around in mud huts, we thought we’d help them out a bit. I believe it was Raphael who gave them a vision of this place.”

  “How?”

  “Mainly through dreams.”

  Vero was curious. He wanted to know everything there was to know about the angel’s role. There was so much to learn, and he was growing impatient.