Saphora vol.1 Retention

by Jaz Johnson

  Out of the darkness of her mind, slowly came the image of what looked to be a bedroom. White washed stone made up the four walls, incasing the sage green carpets that covered the floors, where a younger Saphora sat. In her gold dress, long sleeves and ruffled skirt. Her long hair braided and wrapped around the top of her head into an intricate bun. Her large eyes, in comparison to the rest of her face, stared up at her caretaker, while her lips smiled mischievously at her. The woman who was standing before her, smiled, giggling to herself with a shake of her head.

  “Is that so?” she asked the child, who could not yet speak. The child squealed in response, crawling towards the woman. The woman chuckled, nodding as she bent down to lift the child into her arms.

  “Yes, your father will be back shortly. He has just gone to talk to his brother,” the woman answered to the child. Her eyes lowered at the answer, then raised back to peer into the multicolored ones of Dizabethere. One blue, and one brown. And in her stare, she was able to distinguish her thoughts. One of her powers – the ability to read minds. Even the minds of infants. Her people had been sought after for generations for their talent, and they were found to be extraordinary caretakers for children, being able to understand them as none else could. Dizabethere smiled, shaking her head at the infant.

  “No, you cannot go with him, I’m afraid.”

  The child whined and hit at her chest in her pouting fit. Dizabethere tapped the child’s arm in a scolding manner.

  “Hey, what did we say about that?” The child let out what sounded like a low growl and Dizabethere giggled. “Don’t growl at me! Did your father teach you that?” The child laughed as her sides were tickled, her inexperienced vocal cords coming more across as a mumble than a menacing growl.

  “Yes, well, you shouldn’t growl at me,” she said in response to the child’s thoughts. “Oh he did, did he? Well, you’re a little too young for your growl to scare me,” she giggled. A motion in the corner of her eye made her turn around, catching sight of Hydra in the doorway. Hydra sighed, shaking her head and leaning on the doorframe.

  “I always think you are talking to yourself, Diz,” Hydra grumbled. “I came in here to see-“

  “To see if I had lost my mind, I know,” Diz laughed. “Have you forgotten that the kingdom has a new member?” she asked her, turning around to show Saphora to her. Hydra smirked, giving a playful wave to the child.

  “Vida would never forgive me if I had.”

  “And yet you accuse me of losing my sanity.”

  “You are one of the only ones that constantly speaks to the children they look after.” Diz shrugged, looking at Saphora, and nodding.

  “She seems to like that I talk to her.” Hydra shook her head, watching Saphora with raised brows.

  “Children her age can’t even comprehend basic dialog, and here you are having a conversation with her,” she said with a sigh. “Incredible.”

  “Well you have to remember that we’re dealing with a very special little girl here,” Diz noted, poking at Saphora’s side to get her to giggle. “Why are you special?” Diz repeated, hearing the question. “Because your mother and father are a very special couple. So their love made you extra special,” she said in a child’s voice, nuzzling her nose against her cheek. “And extra cute!” Saphora squealed a giggle, trying to move away from her ticklish nuzzles. Setting Saphora down, she let her crawl to her pile of toys across the room.

  “How is she doing?” Hydra asked, once she had crawled away. Diz sighed, walking over to her to speak more softly.

  “She has the curiosity and tendencies of any child. But her power is developing with the rate of an adult. And she doesn’t know how to filter them.”

  “Filter?”

  “They’re showing in her emotions. Fire spreads when she’s upset. Lightning clouds appear when she cries. When she’s too excited, things float, including her. And she plays tricks.”

  “Tricks?”

  “Little force fields. I have a feeling she knows how to use those – ah!” Dizabethere scolded in Saphora’s direction, receiving the incoming thought of mischief. “Don’t you even think about it!” Saphora erupted into a fit of giggles, flailing her arms about.

  “All of that as an infant? Most are only blessed with two, if not one. That’s … that’s four, isn’t?”

  “And that’s not even all of it. What happens when she finds her guardian? She could gain another one or two. And there’s no doubt that Vida will teach her witchcraft.”

  “A guardian. Do you think she’ll even have one? I mean, with her circumstances …”

  “No one has any way of knowing. But if she does, that will be an entire new path of power, combined with her own,” Diz said, looking over at the playful child.

  “If she lives to see-“

  “Hydra,” Diz pleaded with a frown, making sure that Saphora was still distracted by her toys. “Please.” Hydra paused, taking back the last of her sentence.

  “… What has Artemis seen?”

  Dizabethere opened her mouth to answer, but her words were muted. The scene around Saphora’s subconscious started to blacken around the edges. Saphora’s chest began to heave as her body tensed on the sofa. With her memory coming to an end, her body was beginning to fight to receive more of the vision.

  Back in Maverick’s apartment, Hydra was beginning to notice the signs of the memory ending. She and Maverick were sitting at the bar in his kitchen. About thirty minutes had passed, and Hydra had downed the jug of water, while explaining to Maverick why she needed it. She turned her head towards Saphora, who was beginning to shift in discomfort. Maverick turned with her, as she got up from the stool and walked over to sit in front of Saphora on the floor. Maverick turned in his stool, watching as Saphora’s body jerked, eventually leaning forward as her eyes opened completely. Taking in a sharp breath, her hands gripped the cushions as wind began to pick up around the room. Maverick flinched as she reached beside him to catch the empty jug that was scooting across the counter. The books that were scattered around the sofa flew open, their pages whipping about as Saphora gasped for air.

  “Saphora,” Hydra called out to her, trying to get her to remember where she was. The wind picked up a notch at the calling of her name, and Hydra raised her hands to protect herself from any scattering debris. “Saphora,” she called again.

  “Saphora!” Maverick called out. The winds started dying down as her eyes shifted back to their ruby gleam. She looked around in panic, her eyes watering from the shock of being brought back into reality. Furiously blinking, she made eye contact with Hydra, and her eyes narrowed.

  “You,” Saphora breathed, sitting forward on the sofa. Hydra’s eyes widened at the sudden hostility in her voice. “You doubt me and now you come here and say you’re here for me? Acting like you believe in me?” Saphora questioned, standing up with wobbling legs. Hydra’s mouth opened to defend herself, but she hesitated. She hadn’t expected to appear in Saphora’s memories. “You thought I was going to die!”

  “What?” Maverick asked looking at Hydra with a new perspective. Hydra sighed, putting her hands up submissively to Saphora to dim her rage. Saphora stood still, rocking from heel to heel as Hydra stood up to meet Saphora’s angry assumptions.

  “Wait a minute. Just let me explain why-“

  “Yeah, explain your lack of faith, and now sudden belief in me. What changed, huh? You – you come here and you act like you know so much, telling me that I can do all this, and … and save everyone,” Saphora shouted.

  “No one knew if you were going to live,” Hydra clarified. Saphora let her saved breath go. She scoffed, her head shaking in denial as she took a step back. After what seemed like a lone pause, she spoke up.

  “What?”

  “We didn’t know if … Your birth … It was … We didn’t know if it was going to last. We didn’t know how long you had. We didn’t know if your body would withstand your power.”

  “What …” Saphora mumbled in c
onfusion, her eyes blinking back her anger. “What was so special about it that you doubted my life?” Hydra sighed, looking down momentarily. “Tell me,” Saphora said with a shaky voice.

  “Not until you’ve calmed down.”

  “No. No, I want to hear what gives you the right to have me trust anything you say.”

  “Because you proved me wrong. You proved everyone wrong. You’re alive, and stronger than any of us could have predicted.”

  “What caused the doubt?” Saphora asked again, trying to steady her voice. Hydra was hesitant, wondering how to say what she was being asked to reveal. She knew if she was not delicate, Saphora may end up destroying the apartment.

  “You are an ekechi,” Hydra said warily. She didn’t expect Saphora to understand the term, seeing as though she did not know it as a child.

  “A what?”

  “Your father … He is a guardian.”

  “And?” Saphora asked with a shake of her head.

  “And your mother is not. Mating with a guardian is forbidden on our planet. Our genetics are too strong for our companions’ anatomy. All before your mother have died during pregnancy. Your mother was the first to survive not only pregnancy, but childbirth. You are the only surviving offspring of an Athenian and a guardian.” Saphora fell silent, thinking of her mother.

  “As a child, your power was verging on surpassing your body’s capacity. It was exposed in your emotions, even unleashing itself at random. No one knew if you would survive the amount of raw energy you possessed.”

  “What about my parents … What did they think?” Hydra gave a soft smile.

  “Your mother was unwavering in her belief.”

  “And my father?”

  “… He carried guilt with him. He blamed himself for the labor Vida underwent, and was constantly worrying over you.”

  “Vida?”

  “Your mother.” Saphora’s chest heaved as she reached up to place a hand over it. Blinking back tears, she smiled.

  “Oh,” she breathed. “Vida … And my father’s name?”

  “Dolphus.”

  Saphora laughed as tears welled in her eyes. Two names, so foreign to her, yet names she had longed to hear.

  “Dolphus,” she laughed between her breathy sobs. “No wonder my name is so strange.” Hydra smiled, glad to see a smile in the mists of all the information.

  “He did not doubt you. He devised a way to save you, in fact. He taught you to refrain from using your power at a young age. He had a theory that if your body had the chance to mature, and grow into the capacity needed to wield your power … that you would live. In a way … losing your memory of your power when falling to Earth saved your life. It gave your body the chance to develop before your power overtook it.” Saphora took in a breath. All this time wondering why she had been left in that house. Never had she considered that it was to save her life.

  “Send me back.”

  Hydra blinked.

  “Send you back where?”

  “Do it again. I want to remember more. Where is Diz now? Dizabethere.”

  “She is still at the castle.” Hydra smiled. “She survived the war.”

  “But … others didn’t. Who fell? Did I know any of them?” Hydra fell silent. She did not want to reveal anything else before she deemed Saphora ready to hear it. But just then, saving Hydra from making that decision, Saphora’s phone rang. Reluctantly, Saphora pulled the phone from the pocket of her dark denim jeans and turned it over, seeing the picture of Fran that popped up. She sighed, wondering what she could want at three in the afternoon. She was still at work.

  “Hey, Fran.”

  “Hi, honey. What are you up to?”

  “Nothing. Is something wrong?”

  “No, I was just wondering where you were.”

  “I’m in town …”

  “Oh.”

  “Why?”

  “Well because the police called me asking where they could find you. And I sent them to the house but they said you weren’t there.”

  “What do they want?”

  “They just wanted to get your fingerprints so they could cross them off any suspect list they develop.”

  “Oh … When do they want those?”

  “Well, honey, they went by the house so they could get them today. Where in town are you? They can come pick you up.”

  “No. No … I’ll just go home. Tell them to go back to the house,” Saphora sighed, rolling her eyes.

  “Okay. I’ll let them know. Hurry home, okay? Don’t keep them waiting!” Fran warned. Saphora nodded instinctively.

  “Yeah, I know. I won’t,” she responded, hanging up the phone. Groaning, she stuffed her phone back into her pocket. “I have to go home.” Maverick frowned.

  “What? Why?” he whined.

  “The police want my fingerprints for the investigation.”

  “Police?” Hydra asked.

  “Our authorities,” Maverick clarified. Hydra’s eyes widened, her attention caught.

  “What?”

  “It doesn’t have anything to do with this,” Saphora explained, getting up from the sofa. She paused. “Well, in a way it does. The first time I saw Tebias again, a man was killed while I tried to get away. Since I took his car to get away, I was a suspect.”

  “Why didn’t you fly? It’s to my knowledge that is one of the things you remember how to do.” Maverick’s mouth fell agape.

  “You can fly?” he asked, leaning over the counter in shock. Saphora looked over at him, giving a slight shrug. “Oh my god. Why the hell are we driving? Wait, can you fly?” he asked, gesturing to Hydra. She shook her head.

  “Not like this.”

  “Oh. Well, good. At least I’m not the only one here.”

  “So why didn’t you? Why aren’t you, for that matter,” Hydra asked again.

  “I was afraid to. After hearing that noise – Arol, it made me fall. I don’t want to fall again.”

  “But now that you know that that noise was not from something meant to harm you, but protect you, flying should easier now.”

  “Yeah, can I see?” Maverick asked. Both Hydra and Saphora turn their heads to look at him. And like a child, his head lowered ever so slightly. “Sorry.” Saphora sighed, as her feet began to leave the safety of the floor. Noticing the difference in her height, Maverick’s eyes widened, looking down at her feet. He smiled, leaning on the counter in amazement.

  “So cool,” he breathed, as Saphora lowered herself back onto the floor.

  “I’ll fly again, just not now. Are you going to give me a ride home?” Saphora said to Maverick. He stayed staring at her feet for a moment longer before nodding and pulling his keys out of his pocket.

  “You got it.”

  “What are the chances that both of those fingerprints we picked up wouldn’t be in the database? I mean, how many people have gone through life without being fingerprinted?” Roland asked, his hands on his hips, with his blazer curving behind his elbows.

  “I don’t know, but at least we’ll get one set out of the way,” answered Glover, who had his arms crossed.

  “I mean, doesn’t she have healthcare or something?”

  “I don’t know. But at least we’re getting them.”

  “I guess. But what was up with that tree? She said she was climbing it or something, right? But there were no scrape marks or anything on the trunk. How the fuck did she get on the branch with the prints? What’d she do, jump up the tree?”

  “Why don’t you ask her?”

  “Come on, aren’t you a little curious?” he asked, gesturing his hand upwards with his question, his eyes squinting behind his sunglasses.

  “Yes. But we’re not going to know anything until we talk to her,” Glover answered, peering around Roland to look down the street

  “You don’t even seem excited.”

  “Because I’m not. I just want to do my job and go home,” he said bluntly. “Without having to taze you.”

  “Me?�
��

  “If you don’t behave yourself, I might have to.”

  “Have you tried talking to that girl? She’s like a … a … Like a steel trap or something.”

  “Well if she’s innocent, she has the right to be defensive of us intruding on her life. Hell, she has that right even more so if she’s guilty.”

  “Man, whatever. I just wanna see if-“

  “Maybe that’s her,” Glover pointed out, eyeing the black Camaro coming up the street. The car slowed to a stop about a house away from hers, and Roland turned around to get a look at the car as well. It stayed there for a few minutes, and the two men looked at each other in curiosity. Their suspicions were confirmed when the passenger door opened and Saphora stepped out, closing the door behind her. She didn’t look back at the car as she started the walk up the remainder of the road. Maverick turned around in a nearby driveway as Saphora approached the two officers, a little less than thrilled. Roland set his hands back on his hips as the distance closed between then, and gave a smile, once they were close enough to speak without shouting.

  “Well hello there,” he greeted enthusiastically.

  “It’s nice to see you again, Saphora,” Glover added. Saphora turned her attention to the more sensible of the two, her eyes squinting from the sunlight.

  “Fran said you wanted my fingerprints?” she asked him. Glover nodded.

  “Yes. We’ll give you a ride to the station. It should only take a few minutes,” Glover assured, gesturing to the police cruiser. Saphora glanced over at the still smiling Roland skeptically.

  “Something wrong with him?” she said before getting into the car, once Glover had opened the door for her. Roland’s smile slid off his face as Glover closed the door. His hand shot up in annoyance, his jacket swinging to the side.

  “You see!”

  “Don’t start,” Glove warned, walking over to the driver’s side of the car.

 

  “Listen,” Roland started, as Glover drove down the roads of town to the police station. Glover sighed, as Saphora’s eyes reluctantly met Roland’s sunglasses. “I know, maybe we got off on the wrong foot. But what do you say you and me try to hash things out?” he asked with a smile, sticking his gum against his left cheek. Saphora stared with narrowed eyes in silence. About ten seconds went by before Roland spoke up again, with a bit of a shrug.

  “Welp, so much for that. So you wanna tell me how you got up that tree?”

  “What?” Saphora asked with squinted eyes.

  “Roland,” Glover warned. Roland waved his hand to the side.

  “Well, you know we just thought it was a little odd that there was no sign of anyone climbing that tree. No scratches … No scuffs … In fact, the prints, which we’re assuming are yours, were only found on one branch. Waaaay up in the tree,” Roland continued, pointing up with his index finger. “So you know, I was just wondering how that could be. Maybe you could tell me.” Saphora was silent. And although her face was blank, her heart had begun to race with anxiety.

  “How am I supposed to know why it didn’t leave any marks?” Roland smiled.

  “Because you’re the one that climbed the tree,” he said, chewing on his gum.