Seasons Within Box Set

by Lele Iturrioz

  “Just like that.” Gaia lay down on top of a bunch of pillows. Her mind kept repeating the scene over and over again. It had happened almost twenty-four hours ago yet she could still feel the warmth of his hand against her arm.

  That morning Gaia and the rest reached the small town of Penticton There they met with Lorenzo, a tall dark-haired man with bright white teeth, a badass mustache, the sweetest wife, and crazy connections. If you needed to buy something, anything, Lorenzo was your man.

  The twins gave him the longest list of swords, firearms, axes, and machetes that Gaia had ever seen. They agreed to have a part of the list delivered the next day while the rest would be sent to a storage unit in Huntsville. Edan paid the man with diamonds and asked him where they could find a secluded place to stay.

  Precisely like Lorenzo promised, “The Crooked Tree Suites” was an incredible bed and breakfast. Set on the top of a mountain, it was divided into three two-story townhouses, each with a full kitchen, balcony, fireplace, a massive bathroom, gorgeous views, and three double beds. The place has heavenly.

  Gaia and Priyam shared the master bedroom of one of the townhouses. It was the only bed that was in a separate room while the other two beds were on the second floor next to the fireplace.

  “And you’re the one who declared it?” Priyam pointed at Gaia with the arrow.

  “Apparently. I have no memory of it.”

  “This is nuts!” Priyam put the arrow down. “Why did you wait this long to tell me?”

  “I wasn’t going to talk about it in front of everyone.” Gaia lowered her voice, afraid that the walls were too thin to cover their talk. “Besides, you were asleep the entire ride.”

  “True.” Priyam clapped, excited. “I can’t believe you’re dating Edan!”

  “Shhh.” Gaia begged her to be quieter. “I… don’t know if we are dating.” Dating… Her body reacted to that last word. As if anyone in the world would’ve guessed that she and that harsh, annoying teacher would end up dating. Not likely. Can this be called dating?

  “How could you not be dating?” Priyam twitched the corner of her plum lips with confusion at her friend’s love situation. “Isn’t he your match?”

  “Yes.” Gaia shrugged her shoulders. “But I don’t know if it works the same way as dating does here on Earth.”

  “You didn’t ask him?” Priyam questioned her. Gaia shook her head. “Why not?”

  “It never crossed my mind.” Gaia bit her lower lip. “Everything happened really fast.”

  KNOCK! KNOCK!

  “Come in!” Priyam yelled in response, hoping it wasn’t Synthia whining about something ridiculous.

  Edan opened the door. His brown hair was messy, as usual, but his smile was so wide it made small wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. He looked so carefree and happy that even with the wrinkles, his face seemed way younger than it used to. Gaia felt thrilled just by looking at him. “Morning ladies. Red, are you tired?”

  “She’s not,” Priyam answered with a grin.

  “Terrific.” Edan opened the door wider allowing Gaia to see he was wearing a pair of black jeans and a white T-shirt. “Would you mind? There’s something I want to work on with you.”

  “Sure.” Gaia stood up from the bed, fixing her loose cami top to its right position, then walked towards the door. Her heart was beating like crazy. Her palms tingled with nerves.

  “Are you guys dating?” Priyam asked Edan before Gaia could reach the door.

  Gaia wanted to die. She felt the skin on her back flushing. Too scared to look at Edan, she glared at her friend who was grinning back at her.

  “We are,” said Edan without hesitation. “See you at dinner time.” He closed the door leaving Priyam smiling and Gaia feeling like she was free falling.

  * * *

  Edan and Gaia walked in silence through the mountain, around the trees, to a view of the lake. It was beautiful. Everything about that town was perfect.

  Having passed the First Tree, Edan drew a breath and took her hand. Gaia flinched, afraid of doing something wrong. Edan let go.

  “Don’t,” she said taking his hand back. Her hand looked tiny and delicate inside his strong one. “I’m just…kinda nervous.”

  “I’m not going to do anything to you.”

  Gaia felt a punch in her stomach seeing Edan’s hurt reaction. “I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just…I’m really new at this dating thing.” She blushed at how lame her life sounded. “It seems like… I can’t get over the fact that we’re a match. I feel so conscious around you… For now.”

  Edan chuckled. “It doesn’t go away. At least not for me.” He passed his hand through his hair. “It’s been a long time since you declared it and I still get nervous each time I’m with you.”

  Her curiosity was stoked. “How long ago?”

  “Twelve years.”

  “Twelve!” Gaia panted. She stopped cold. “I thought it was recent. That I talked in my sleep or something.”

  “Understandable. That sounds a lot like something you would do,” he teased her.

  “Funny, how did that happen?”

  “I’m not telling you.” Edan squeezed her hand tighter, gently pulling her to walk and pay attention. “I want you to remember.”

  “Or you can tell me now,” Gaia said with puppy-dog eyes. Edan smiled but remained quiet. “Fine, I can ask someone else.”

  “Good luck with that. Only Klog and the parliament were there.”

  “Come on, just tell me.”

  “No.”

  “What if I don’t remember?” she feared.

  “Then I’ll remember for the both of us. Here,” he took out the small green-velvet pouch.

  Gaia opened it and saw two ribbon rings. “They were ours when we were little.”

  Gaia inspected the small red-ribbon rings. Edan’s was smooth and had two knots curled together. Cute… Then she looked at hers, and it was perfect. The ribbon was twisted in ways that resembled a twig with curls and a tiny lotus flower. She adored the idea of young Edan making it especially for her. “I don’t remember seeing them in my memories.”

  “It’s because we didn’t wear them on our fingers, we wore them in necklaces.”

  “Because you’re different?”

  “Because we are forb… young-young.” He stuttered.

  That was new… she giggled. “Since when do you stutter?”

  Edan struggled over telling her the real reason why. He wasn’t ready for that so instead, he hugged her closer. “Nerves, I guess.”

  She returned the rings back to Edan and leaned closer to him. Almost reaching his lips. Closer. Until she stopped when a strange sight caught the corner of her eye.

  An open box full of swords, rope, and sticks was staring back at Gaia. “Mmm… Edan? What are we doing here?”

  Without letting go of Gaia, Edan twisted his torso and saw the opened box. “Oh, right. I want to try something I’ve been dying to try for a while.”

  “What?!”

  “I want us to fight as a match.” He smiled at his announcement.

  “You’re kidding, right?” Gaia laughed hysterically; she knew he was her first boyfriend but she was sure fighting wasn’t a top priority in the dating world. “We just started to date and you already want to fight?”

  Edan laughed with her. She really liked the carefree happy version of Edan in front of her. “Not that type of fight.” He passed his hand over her cheek. “Remember when you saw me for the first time at your school? Remember the feeling? Like we knew each other, randomly appearing at the same place wherever we went? Me always beside you when you needed me? Feeling like something was connecting us?”

  “Exactly like that,” she whispered, surprised at how well he knew precisely how she felt all those times she saw him or was near him.

  “I felt the same way, every time. That was thanks to the connection we have as a match. Just like the twins can sense what the other twin is feeling; only a match is a hundred times s
tronger and a hundred percent accurate.” Edan walked towards the box. “Now that you know we are one, I can show you how to tap into it. That way we can also stay connected in fight mode. I’ll be able to sense your mood, predict your next moves, or even know if you are hurt.”

  “Are you trying to use this connection to keep me out of trouble?”

  Edan smiled at Gaia as he knelt in front of the box. “You would keep me out of trouble, too.”

  “Interesting.” She thought about all of the possibilities that connection could bring her. Endless. “I’ll do it.”

  “First, we need to learn how to sense each other apart from the rest of the noise around us.” Edan took two sticks from the box and offered one to Gaia. “Take this.”

  Gaia grabbed the stick and inspected it. It was three feet long with a cotton pouch wrapped at both ends. “And this?”

  “Those pouches at the end are filled with paint. Each time you manage to hit me I’ll get a mark.” He tapped one of Gaia’s pouches, which produced a round red mark on his palm. “Each time I manage to hit you, you’ll get a mark,” he said, as he tapped one of his own pouches with the same hand. A blue circular mark covered part of the red mark he already had.

  Gaia felt a giggle bubbling in her stomach. “Red and blue?”

  “I thought it would be clever.” He smirked at his choice of colors.

  “Very.”

  “Well then, now that you know the basics.” Edan took two blindfolds out of his back pocket.

  “Wow! Wait.” Gaia took a step back. The last time she was blindfolded she slammed against a tree after tripping on a rock. “What is that for?”

  “I’m blindfolding you,” Edan stated the obvious.

  “Did you ask Priyam for advice?”

  “Never again.” Edan chuckled, deep and loud. “This is actually how it’s done. We need to close our main sense so we can guide ourselves with the other ones. Although the paint was my idea.”

  “Can I blindfold you first?” asked Gaia.

  “If you want to.”

  Gaia took the cloth and slid it away from Edan’s grasp. “I want to.” Standing on her tiptoes, she covered his eyes with the fabric. She moved her hands to the back of his head and tied it down. Gaia was too close to him. At that distance she could smell his lemony shampoo, she could feel the tension.

  Gaia’s attention was stolen by his lips. His lower lip was thicker than the upper one yet they both looked soft. She remembered the time he nibbled on her neck, how wonderful it felt. Gaia felt a current pulling her to his lips.

  “Done?” Edan asked, breaking her moment. He was smiling as if he knew what she was thinking of doing, however he never moved away.

  “Yep.” Gaia couldn’t tell if it was the blindfold covering Edan’s eyes or the fact that she knew he was hers, but she curled her hand on Edan’s cheek then pulled him closer. She kissed him softly on the corner of his mouth and jumped backwards.

  “That’s cheating you know.” He smiled.

  “Maybe.”

  Gaia stretched her arm, her fingers curled around the second blindfold Edan was holding in his hands. “Give me mine so I can tie it myself.”

  Edan moved the blindfold away from Gaia’s reach. “You tied mine, I’ll tie yours.” He walked closer to her. His movements were so sure, so precise that Gaia could have sworn he was looking. Damn it, he is definitely going to win.

  “Stay still.” Blindfolded, Edan lifted his hand, touching Gaia’s face. He passed his fingers across her chin, her lips, her cheeks, until he found her eyes.

  He covered her eyes with the cloth. Gaia became more nervous since she was unable to see anything that was happening.

  She could only feel him, his breathing hitting her skin, his hands tracing her neck. “Ready?” he asked, barely a few inches away.

  “Are you?”

  Edan laughed. “Please…” He loved it when Gaia pushed his buttons. “I’m going to take a few steps back. Try to concentrate on my breathing. Try to find me among everything around you. Once you find me, attack.”

  Gaia concentrated. Edan was so quiet she had no idea where he was. She tried to listen beyond the bird’s noise, the water that was falling a few feet from them. She could feel his presence. She recognized it. It was the same feeling she had the day she had been slapped by the trees. She had a tug to look in his direction, like a magnet pulling her. The same magnet she just felt with his lips.

  Gaia followed the magnetic force. She could feel it stronger and stronger with each step she took.

  Right there everything clicked. She wasn’t going insane, all those times that connection was his match with her. A person she chose so many years ago. Always watching over her, always protecting her.

  She jabbed the stick and hit him.

  “Good. That was faster than I thought.” Edan swung the stick like a ninja. “Now the fun begins.” He jabbed against her shoulder leaving a blue mark on it.

  Edan was about to jab again when Gaia ducked and hit him in the leg. “You were saying?”

  Thus the fight began, one after the other hitting and diverting their sticks.

  * * *

  After an hour of training, Edan put his weapon down. “Exceptional,” he said, taking his blindfold away. Edan reached Gaia and took hers off too.

  She compared the amount of blue dots she had against the red ones Edan had. “You got me more times.”

  “I’ve been training since I was four,” he said, picking up both of the sticks. “Besides, I was aware of our match longer than you. Give it some time. You’ll be good in no time.”

  Suddenly, Icarus glided up to Gaia’s shoulder. “Hi cutie, what’s up?” She petted its fur as he barked. “Food’s ready,” she interpreted to Edan.

  “Great, I’m starving.”

  On their way to the Crooked Tree, Edan and Gaia found Priyam waiting for them while drinking a virgin piña colada. It took one look at them to make her choke on her drink. “Wow,” she coughed, hitting her chest. “Did you run into a kindergarten class project?”

  “New workout,” Gaia said, taking a sip from her best friend’s drink.

  “I want in.”

  Edan elevated the box all the way up to his shoulder. “Sorry Priyam, you can’t.”

  “One day of dating and you’re already all cheesy exclusive,” said Priyam, as Edan went to his room to store the box. Priyam turned to her friend. “Want to change?”

  “Not really, I’m hungry.”

  “I thought you would say that.”

  Gaia followed Priyam to the eating area outside the townhouses in the forest. It was far enough for them to eat in peace yet close enough in case they ran into trouble. The table was placed right next to the First Tree and a big white water tank decorated with lights.

  The table was full of fresh food. Even if they were on the run, they always found a way to harvest their food every single day. This made Gaia happy, she had no idea how she could return to those insipid vegetables from the supermarket. “This smells great, Willow.”

  “Actually, I didn’t do it,” she spooned some of the veggies on her plate. “Alix, the owner of the inn, cooked everything. She’s incredible.”

  Donovan looked at Gaia’s outfit and skin covered in dozens of blue dots. “Is that some sort of new fashion?” he asked, laughing.

  “New workout,” Priyam took a seat between Floyd and Gaia. “You’re not invited.”

  “Priy!”

  “What? I thought it would help them knowing it sooner than later.”

  Willow cut a big watermelon in pieces evenly. “Where’s Edan?”

  “He went to take something to his room,” Gaia felt a little sting in her chest. “He’ll be right back.”

  “Speaking of the handsome old devil,” Floyd talked with food in his mouth. Edan was running towards the table. He was still covered from head to toe in red dots, with a big smile on his face. “Looking fresh, Boss.”

  “It seems we just found the culprit in G
aia’s new look,” Donovan put a piece of watermelon in front of Icarus.

  “Everything good, Kapetan?” Veter asked, not because of the clothes but because of his smile.

  “Why wouldn’t it be?” Edan took a seat next to Gaia. “How are we doing on miles, Hunter?”

  “Four-thousand and ten to go.” Hunter grabbed a big piece of bread. He split it in two and gave the other half to Pink.

  “Good, we’re going to divide the drive between days. For each driving day we’ll have a few days of rest and training.” Edan took a slab of red meat and slid it onto his plate. He grabbed a chocolate muffin and placed it in front of Gaia.

  “Here.” She gave him the potatoes she took for him. “I already put salt on them.”

  “Thanks.” Edan ate a potato and turned to Hunter. “Beasts?”

  “None so far,” Hunter signaled as they all stared at the unusual intimacy between Edan and Gaia. “Are we leaving at night?”

  “No. Rest today, we’ll leave tomorrow after midday and it will be a long drive,” he said. “We’ll make four switches of vehicles in total until we reach our first stop at Denver.” He took a sip of his drink. “On other matters, Willow, how’s Gaia’s wielding of earth going?”

  “Surprisingly good.”

  “See, Blondie?” Veter patted Willow’s back. “Saying nice things isn’t that hard, is it?”

  “Only when they are directed to you,” she teased.

  “Hey Fireball, can’t we just move in here?” Priyam stole a bite from Gaia’s muffin. “I love it here! Great food, amazing rooms and Ken rocks. Seriously, have you seen the bubble bath!? Even Synthia is happy here.”

  As if summoned, Synthia arrived wearing a tiny dress and a bright orange silk scarf covering her scar. “I said I was a ‘little happy’, you snitch.” She pushed Pink’s plate aside and sat next to Edan. Pink started to take out a dagger, but Donovan stopped her.

  “Let her, mate!” Floyd laughed. “I’m intrigued by that show.”

  “Whatevs, I do like this hotel.” She flicked her fake red hair and caressed Edan’s hand. He quickly moved it away. “We finally have the treatment we need: a bathtub and soap. We have TV and mirrors and—”