“Give me those. I’ll help you with your bricks.” Floyd took them all.
“Do you miss your home?” she asked.
“Some things.” He followed Priyam to check out. “I miss my Nana’s meat pie.”
“What the hell is that?” Priyam hid Icarus in her baggy shirt’s pocket. He was allowed to be inside the airport but that didn’t mean people wouldn’t freak out at the sight of a sugar glider chilling on top of her shoulder like a parrot.
“Quite simple.” Floyd gave the elderly cashier the three books. “It’s meat inside a pie.”
“I figured that… thanks.” Priyam wrinkled her nose with repulsion. “It sounds gross.”
“That’ll be thirty-six dollars.” The old man placed the books in a paper bag.
Priyam scooped coins from her jeans when Floyd stopped her. He showed her the rolled bills. “Daddy Fireball’s treat.” Priyam loved it when the entire camp talked about Edan as Fireball. “I’m dead serious, you have no idea what you are talking about with those meat pies.” Floyd threw the change into the paper bag and carried it with the one full of munchies. “I will make you regret those words of yours.”
“Why, are you going to cook one?”
“No way.” He passed his hand over his blonde mohawk. “The Boss is.”
“I like how you think.”
“Attention please, we will now begin to board flight 0388.”
“Whoops, that’s our flight.” Priyam checked the time. “It’s later than I thought. Do you think they’re still at the restaurant?”
“Only one way to find out.” Priyam and Floyd ran.
Halfway to the restaurant, Floyd saw Synthia’s reflection in a store’s window. “Synthia,” he called. “We gotta go.”
“I’m not done with this,” Synthia whined while trying on a 14k champagne diamond ring.
“Yes, you are.” Priyam slid the ring off Synthia’s finger, giving it back to the store manager. “Flight’s leaving.”
Priyam, Floyd and Synthia dashed into the restaurant and just like they thought, they found the group at the table. Most of the food in the plates was gone. They were struggling with a small screen. “What’s up?” asked Floyd.
“Pink bought a GPS. We were trying to see how far everything will be on bus times,” Gaia explained as she examined how to charge it. “Bad news, she can’t find where to charge it.”
“This would work wonders if we could have the power of electricity,” Veter joked around.
“Funny thing my giant, I do have that power.” Priyam pulled out a USB charger with an add-on to plug it into the wall. “We can charge it on the plane. Speaking of which, get a move on cuz we are boarding now.”
Chapter 23
Ashes Among the Clouds
GAIA WALKED THROUGH THE tunnel. This was the second time in her life she was getting on a plane, the first one being when she was twelve and her school took a class trip to Vancouver. She could hear the engine of the plane roaring on the other side of the tunnel’s walls and the breeze that blew in between the cracks.
She patted Edan’s back to distract him from his thoughts. She knew that like all control freaks, he was terrified of flying in a machine he had zero control over. Even if he was too tough to admit it.
“Good morning,” a kind flight attendant greeted Shui and Veter as they took their seats. The flight attendant closed the luggage compartment above Shui’s head. “Let me know if anyone needs a pillow or a blanket.”
“Hunter and I pick the back!” Donovan jumped past Pink and Willow before they could sit there.
“You can have it.” Willow slid into the closest row taking the window seat. “You guys have to babysit Synthia.”
“Why?”
“She asked to be alone,” said Edan as he walked into the plane. “That corner is the most protected.”
Once the plane was full, the crew closed the doors, gave their usual security choreography and the plane departed. Gaia gave Edan a peck then leaned against his seat looking straight at him. “Still nervous about flying?”
“Maybe.” He caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers.
“The worst is over. Besides, we can always watch a movie.”
He looked upwards and nodded. “I heard those were good.”
“Shut up.” Gaia leaned backwards, staring at him like a strange bug. “You’ve never watched a movie?
“Never had the time.”
“This is super exciting! Trust me, two minutes into one and your fear of flying will be absolutely forgotten.” Gaia turned on the TV that rested in front of her seat.
“What do you want to watch, Red?”
“You choose, it’s your first movie.” She opened the movie folder. “They have romance, action, animation, comedy or horror.”
“What about this one?” He pointed at the new drama of the year.
“Mmm… Maybe something else.” Gaia slid the screen with her finger, thinking for an instant how her nails would look painted red.
“You don’t like that one?” he asked.
“She doesn’t want to cry in front of you.” Priyam helped Floyd open one of his bags of chips.
“Why would she cry?”
“G always cries in movies.” She handed the bag of chips to Floyd after stealing a few for herself.
“No, I don’t.” Gaia shook her head. “I rarely cry.”
“Rarely?” Priyam offered Edan a chip, which he took. “Then what about that time on my birthday?”
“That movie had a happy ending!”
“It was the Avengers.”
“And they almost lost Ironman in the process.” She stuck out her chin.
“If the man hasn’t seen any movies, he should start with the second one to the left,” Pink suggested.
“Great idea.” Gaia clicked on the icon and cuddled against Edan’s torso.
“Floyd.” Priyam turned on her TV. “We’re also watching that one.”
“I guess we are all watching it then.” Donovan pressed the flight-attendant button.
The flight attendant arrived and pressed the button off. “Hello Sir, how may I help you?”
“Apple juice,” Hunter signaled to Donovan.
“Can I get some water and an apple juice for him?”
“Sure thing. Anything else?” she asked and they both shook their heads.
“Hey, you!” Synthia snapped her fingers and shouted to the flight attendant. “Where’s the bathroom?”
“Right behind that curtain.” She pointed at the red-velvet curtain that separated the cabin from the first-class section. “You can follow me if you want.”
She did, right after taking the dropper Azazel gave her and hiding it under her bra strap.
Synthia locked herself in the bathroom and took it from out of her bra. She checked the tube was full, hid it in the palm of her hand, and went to where the flight attendant was.
“I want champagne,” she demanded.
“I would have to see an ID for that,” the flight attendant said, continuing to pour Hunter’s juice into a glass.
“Then get me that juice over there.” Synthia pointed at a box of grape juice that seemed hard to reach.
“Yes, ma’am,” she replied, as she struggled to reach the box of juice. Synthia opened the dropper and poured three drops into Hunter’s apple juice.
Synthia managed to hide the bottle back in her bra before the flight attendant gave her the glass of grape juice. “Don’t want it.” Synthia turned around and left to go back to her seat, where she waited until Hunter drank every last bit of that juice.
* * *
Six-year-old Gaia lifted her hands towards the sky while shiny balls of blue fire floated around her like a beautiful carousel.
“Tell me the story again,” she begged while resting on Edan’s lap.
“I have other ones, you know?”
“I like that one,” she insisted.
Edan gave in. “I was three years old,” he said. “I re
member I was scared, that I needed to run.” He moved his hands, adding some visual drama to the story. “Guessing my plans, Willow took me by the hand and smiled at me. ‘Don’t be scared, Mor said everything is going to be okay,’ she said.”
“And it was.” Little Gaia sat down in a kneeling pose.
“It was.” He smiled as he continued to reenact his story. “I was dragging my feet, afraid of what was going to happen to me. Then, I saw a golden light on the floor. I looked up and I saw the most magical tree outside a house. It had symbols all over its trunk and the leaves weren’t attached to the branches, they floated above them.”
“The First Tree,” she clapped.
“Yes. Enchanted by the tree, I let go of Willow and ran to it. When my hand touched the trunk I saw her, a beautiful new-born baby with big gray eyes and messy red hair.”
“Me!” Little Gaia jumped from excitement.
“You.” He laughed at how happy she got no matter how many times she’d heard the story. “You were smiling and cooing.”
“And then a guard took you,” she continued the story.
“A very tall guard.” He lifted his arms pretending to be that guard. “He was carrying me away when Mor stopped him. ‘He found her,’ she said.”
“Just like she found him,” little Gaia finished the sentence.
Edan wielded a bunch of blue fire stars to float around Gaia. “The end.”
“No.” She lay down on his lap. “The beginning.”
Wow. That’s how it happened… Is that how Edan and I met?
Suddenly, the stars of fire crumbled into ashes and the soft grass dried up, rotting under her back, turning one of Gaia’s best memories into one of her worst. A stab wound on her shoulder grew, filling up with blood. “Edan!” she screamed but he was gone, in exchange was Molly’s Lalaloopsy doll.
Molly? Gaia hugged the doll. “I’m sorry I went to that town. I’m so sorry Molly. I swear I will avenge you.” She fell into the ashes as they swallowed her.
Gaia woke up with Icarus cradled around her stomach. She was wearing Edan’s jacket as a blanket. It might have looked fitted on him but against her body it seemed as if it was meant as a deliciously smelling blanket.
She lifted her gaze to Edan who was still watching the movie while holding her hand. He was staring at the screen like a kid learning new things. Gaia found him so adorable that she moved a little, trying to see what was he watching with such intensity.
“You are up.” He pulled her hand closer to him.
“Did I sleep very long?” She passed her hand over her eye, hoping there were no tears. None…
“Four hours.”
“What?!” Gaia sprung up, scaring Icarus. “Sorry Icarus, go back to sleep. Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“What for?” Edan caressed her wavy hair, curling it behind her ear. “You barely slept last night.”
“I promised to keep your mind out of the whole ‘planes shouldn’t fly’ idea.”
“You did distract me,” he laughed. “Are you feeling better?”
“Yes.” she stretched her legs, making sure not to move Icarus. “How long before we get there?”
Edan checked the time on the screen. “Around forty-five minutes or so.” Gaia’s stomach growled. “Hungry?” he asked and she nodded. Edan took out a hard menu. “Take your pick.”
Gaia opened the menu. It was full of combos and choices. “Pizza with orange juice.”
Edan called the flight attendant. She leaned towards him. “Yes, Sir?”
“One pizza and an orange juice for her, and a platter of fruit and cheese for me, please.”
“Sure thing,” she replied, turning off the call button.
“Your jacket.” Gaia grabbed it by the hem.
“Keep it, you look cold.”
“Very,” she said, though she wasn’t that cold. She just loved having someone as private and picky as him lending her his stuff. “Do you think there will be any dark beasts there?”
“They’ll be in every door of the world.” He moved his arm offering his chest as a pillow.
“How can they get there faster than us?” She cuddled against him feeling the chills she pretended to feel before. “Everywhere we go, they are already there.”
“Because they can exit from Terra.” He played with the tips of her hair. “It’s easier to cross all of Terra than it is here.”
“Is it smaller?”
“Yes.” He rested his head over hers. “Way smaller. Terrians never grew that much in numbers and civilizations.”
“Do you guys have a one-kid rule?”
“No, Veter has seven sisters and a little brother.”
“Donovan?”
“He has one of each.” Edan slid his hand over hers; he entangled his fingers only to let loose and slide his hand softly away once again. “Willow is one of four girls. We don’t know if Hunter has a family somewhere besides us.”
“What about you?”
“My mother passed away,” he said. “I haven’t seen my family since I was three.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You did nothing wrong. Quite the opposite.” Edan gave her a soft kiss, lingering for a moment before pulling away.
“And Shui?” she mumbled, still floating over the kiss.
“She’s an only child.”
“The pride of Nobu,” Gaia said.
“Yes. She received the highest score on the children’s Compos Mentis.”
“I thought it was you.”
“Illegally speaking, yes.” He smirked. “Officially speaking, it was her. I was never allowed to play in the official games.”
“Because you’re different?”
“Yes.”
Gaia held Icarus with one hand while scratching his head with the other. “What are we going to do if there are dark beasts when we arrive at the door?”
“Fight them.”
Gaia laughed. “What I meant is what would happen if they close the next door too?”
“The next door is earth.” Edan rested his hand on the corner of her hip. “Earth is much harder to close. Azazel himself would have to be the one to close it.”
“Do all the doors go to Nádúr Noc?”
“None of them do, actually.” He traced figurines on Gaia’s hip. “The doors of water go to Lakefall. The ones of wind go to Wintercliff. The ones of fire go to Emberdale and the one we are going to go through go to Moonstrand.”
“Moonstrand? Hunter and Mor are from there, right?” Gaia looked at the teen. Unlike everyone else, he was sleeping curled in a ball.
Edan nodded. He took a piece of the cheese the flight attendant had delivered. “I miss the cheese from my time in England,” he said, noticing Gaia’s look of amusement. “Why the grin?”
“You, speaking of England. That’s a first.” She took a sip of juice. “How was it? When you were in England?”
“Foggy.”
“I’m serious.” She nudged her shoulder against his. “Isn’t there anything you used to love from there or something besides cheese that you miss?”
Edan thought for a moment; there was melancholy in his eyes. Whatever his memory was about it was very important to him. “Apartment Eight B at seven p.m.”
“What’s that?”
Edan was about to answer when the airplane began to shake. The turbulence was so massive it woke up all of the passengers and some of them started to pray. Food went flying and Gaia had to catch Icarus from slamming against the plane’s ceiling.
“Veter!” Edan growled, holding a tray before it hit Gaia’s face.
In seconds, Veter calmed the wind returning the plane to a safe mode. “Sorry…The twins and I were betting on how much turbulence the oxygen masks needed before dropping down.” He flashed a childish grin that only made Edan more furious.
“The masks don’t come out with turbulence, you crazy giant!” Priyam slapped Veter’s shoulder. “They’re for cabin pressure,” she said, and everyone could see it, a new
idea forming in Veter’s mind.
“Don’t you even try!” Edan glared at him.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, we apologize for the unexpected turbulence,” spoke the Capitan. “Please remain seated with your seat belts secured. We’re about to land in Cancún, Quintana Roo.”
Chapter 24
Love Potion
EDAN AND THE REST ARRIVED at Playa del Carmen’s most extravagant hotel. The oasis had almost no doors, instead rooms were separated by white gauze that floated with the breeze. There were bowls of fresh fruit at every table, pink Hibiscus at every corner, and wooden doors at the front entrance.
In the middle of the lobby was the reception desk next to a light-blue mosaic fountain. “Pretty lady.” Donovan snatched Priyam’s reservation paper after seeing the tall Latina receptionist. “I’ve got this.”
The receptionist greeted him with a cute wave. “Buenos días, ¿en qué puedo ayudarle?” She twirled a lock of her brown curly hair around her fingers.
“Hola bonita, me llamo Donovan. I’m here to check in,” he said, giving her the papers, making sure his hand grazed hers.
She typed a long code on the computer, took out three keycards, and scanned them on a card charger. “Here’s your reservation, Donovan.” She placed three envelopes on the counter. “You are getting the Sundown suite, Spring suite and an extra double bedroom.” She wrote their corresponding names on each envelope.
Donovan took the envelopes and passed them to Edan, then smiled at the receptionist. “How close are the rooms from each other?”
“The suites are one in front of the other, you’ll just need to cross the hallway. The room with the double bed is two rooms away from the Sundown suite.”
“Excellent.” Donovan winked at the receptionist before walking away with Gaia and the rest.
“Here’re your keys.” Edan passed the envelopes around, all except the spare room’s. They always got a separated one where they kept all the weapons under the ‘Do not disturb’ sign. “Girls take the Spring suite, men take the Sundown.”
Synthia snatched Edan’s key. “I’ll room up with the guys.” She flicked her fake red extensions.
Seasons Within Box Set Page 54