by Devan Skyles
“Yeah, that’s us at the Grand Canyon. Have you been there?”
He shook his head no. It did indeed look grand, as the name implied. It reminded him very much of the canyon his home overlooked.
“It’s beautiful,” she said. “We used to take a trip somewhere new every summer. That was the last trip we took together.”
“Are you taking another one this year?” he inquired.
She closed the white box and walked back into the living room, gingerly taking the photo and examining it fondly. “They wanted to take a cruise last year. I wanted to go to Europe. They weren’t happy about it, but I went on my trip anyway and they went on theirs. It wasn’t until I got back that I found out—” a tear welled up in her eye. “—the ship went down. They never found their bodies.”
Rhydian placed a tentative hand on her arm. “I’m so sorry.”
She took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her face, regaining her composure. “I’m sorry. It’s just, that’s the first time I’ve said it out loud.”
“My father died when I was little,” he offered, not knowing if it would help.
She looked at him compassionately. “What happened to him?”
“He was a war hero,” he said. “I actually don’t remember a whole lot about him. Most of what I know about him comes from war stories. My mom doesn’t talk about him much. But the memories I do have are good. I guess everybody expects me to follow in his footsteps.”
“That must be really rough. I’m sure he’d be proud of you, though.”
Rhydian was unsure, but he appreciated the gesture. He knew she could relate to losing a parent and he could sense the empathy in her voice.
“So,” she said, changing the subject, “turns out I need to go shopping. All I have is peanut butter and canned ravioli. What’ll be your pleasure?”
Rhydian had no idea what peanut butter or ravioli were, so he avoided the choice altogether. “Whichever you’d like.”
“Ravioli it is,” she resigned, spinning on her heel and going back into the kitchen.
She opened a cupboard and retrieved two bowls, then emptied the contents of a metal can into each one. She placed the bowls into a small sort of oven and hit a few buttons, after which it made a humming noise and lit up from the inside.
Rhydian was curious about the device. Ovens in Ilimíra were made from hollow heat stone material, through which ilïmbalm could be circulated in different amounts to control the temperature. This contraption was dissimilar in almost every way.
“I’ll get you that shirt,” she said, and walked down the hall to another room. A few minutes later she came out in a dry set of clothes, toweling her hair, and handed him a red t-shirt.
He took the garment and looked it over, unsure which side was meant to be the front. His shirts at home were all open in the back to accommodate his wings. He ventured a guess and slipped it on.
“Looks good on you,” Ellie said.
She went and took the bowls of food out and brought them into the living room, moving the stack of photographs to make room on the coffee table.
“Sorry about the mess,” she apologized again.
Rhydian sat down and took a bite of the ravioli. His eyes widened. The flavor was exquisite! He had seen and heard of many human accomplishments in the past, but he had no idea they were such culinary artists!
“What is this called again?” he asked through a mouth full of food.
She giggled. “You’ve never had ravioli?”
He shook his head and took another bite.
“It’s just the cheap canned stuff,” she laughed, taking a bite herself.
“It’s delicious!”
“Wow, you think that’s good, I’ll have to make you some real pasta some time.”
He put his fork down. “I’d like that.”
She smiled and caught herself blushing.
Rhydian found he enjoyed her company tremendously. The longer they talked, the easier it was for them to connect, and hours rolled by without them even realizing. A few times, a device in her pocket played some musical notes. Every time it did, she’d take it out and touch its glass face, which would silence the music. Then they’d continue their conversation. Rhydian didn’t ask what the device was.
Their conversation was interrupted when Ruger began barking at something up the dirt road. Ellie got up and peered out the window.
“Oh, not now,” she said under her breath, her attitude changing suddenly. She turned back to Rhydian and said, “Whatever happens, I am so sorry.” She ran out the door and onto the gravel driveway.
Rhydian looked out the window and saw a cloud of dust making its way down the road. After a moment, he noticed a human vehicle tearing toward the house at a rapid pace. It slowed only a few hundred feet from the house, where it pulled up and stopped abruptly. This was different than Ellie’s vehicle. It was small, aerodynamic, and loud.
Ellie walked up to the car with her palms in the air in apparent frustration. The car door opened and a man stepped out, tall and lean with short-cropped hair. Rhydian could hear an argument ensue through the window.
“I’ve been calling you all day!” the man exclaimed.
“Yeah,” Ellie replied in annoyance, “and me ignoring your calls was not an invitation to come on over! What are you doing here, Desmond? This has got to stop!”
“I just need to look for something,” he reasoned.
“That’s your reason every time! You never even know what you’re looking for!”
“Ellie, just let me look around.”
He tried to walk around her but she stepped in his path, to which he shot her a dirty look.
“I’m going to find it,” he spat. “I know you have it here.”
When she held her ground stubbornly, he placed his hands on her shoulders and shoved her back forcefully.
Rhydian couldn’t abide this display any further. He burst through the screen door so hard that it recoiled off the wall, and it would have hit him if he hadn’t been bounding off the porch already, skipping every step. He stopped between Ellie and Desmond.
Desmond looked at him in surprise, then back at Ellie. “Who’s this? Your new boyfriend?”
Ellie came up beside Rhydian. “That’s really none of your business.”
Desmond looked again at Rhydian. “Hey, pal, why don’t you just mind your own business? This doesn’t involve you.”
“Yeah, maybe you’re right,” Rhydian said, taking a step toward him. Without warning, he punched Desmond square in the face, sending him sprawling onto his back in a spray of gravel. “But now it does.”
Desmond, a stunned expression plastered on his face, touched his hand to his mouth, which came away bloody. He scrambled to his feet, leaning heavily on his car, and shot looks of disgust between Rhydian and Ellie.
“I believe the lady said it was time for you to leave,” Rhydian stated calmly but forcefully.
Desmond, his ego shattered, got back into the car and started the engine. The side window rolled down just before he drove away and he shouted, “This isn’t over!” He kicked up another cloud of dust as his car roared back down the dirt road.
The two stood motionless for a moment, both stunned. Finally Ellie leaned her forehead onto Rhydian’s chest.
“I’m so sorry!” she said.
Rhydian, still glaring down the road at the trail of dusty air, said, “He should be the one apologizing.”
“Things have been getting worse with him, but he’s never put his hands on me like that before.”
“And he never will again if I have anything to say about it!” Anger and adrenalin were still coursing through him, and it took him a moment to realize that she was leaning on him. Suddenly his whole body filled with warmth and his heart pounded in his chest.
“Thank you,” she said softly.
Unsure of what to do, he wrapped his arms around her and embraced her. She exhaled heavily and turned her head sideways, laying her cheek on his chest. Th
e sky was turning the color of straw and the sound of cicadas again filled the air.
She pulled away slightly and looked up at Rhydian, an uneasy expression on her face. “I know you probably have to go, but if it’s not too much trouble— I don’t know. Do you think you could stay a little longer? You know, in case he comes back?”
Rhydian’s heart lit with joy. “I’d be happy to.”
Ellie beamed. “Thank you. I could put on a movie if you want. Do you have a favorite?”
He didn’t, so he said so. He again followed her inside, where she opened a cupboard and started looking through numerous cases with images and titles on them. At first, Rhydian thought they were books, but then he realized they had no pages. He resisted the urge to question her about it. Instead, he asked her a different question.
“So, who was that creep, anyway?”
She sighed. “My ex-boyfriend. We met a few months after my parents died. At first, he was really sweet, you know? After a while, though, he started calling all the time. Always wanting to know where I was, showing up to my house unannounced, that sort of thing. I broke it off after coming home to find him in the house waiting for me. He’d been rummaging through my things, through my parents’ old things—” She stopped short. “My life isn’t usually this full of drama, just so you know.”
“I hadn’t assumed that any of this was your fault,” he reassured her.
She smiled at him warmly. That’s when he realized that her smile had changed since the beginning of the day. At first, it had been a fun, lively expression, full of laughter. Now it was one of endearment and fondness.
Rhydian watched intently as Ellie pulled a case from the cupboard and extracted a shiny, iridescent disk from it. She inserted the disk into a small box and suddenly the blank picture frame on the wall came to life with moving images and sound! He nearly jumped out of his skin at first but managed to keep his composure.
He soon realized that a “movie” was a live dramatization that had been recorded on some sort of technology for later enjoyment, though for the life of him, he could not fathom how. This particular movie was about a daring explorer who goes on an expedition to find an ancient, religious artifact, all the while thwarting evil, foreign soldiers who sought the same prize. He was riveted to every moment of the performance.
Ellie, more than watching the movie, enjoyed Rhydian’s reactions to the film. “I can’t believe you’ve never seen this!” She exclaimed. “It’s a classic! What, were you born in a monastery?”
They then continued on to watch the movie’s subsequent films, which he was equally captivated by, so much so that he didn’t notice her fleeting glances in his direction throughout the night.
Conspiracy
Rhydian’s father knelt before him and embraced him, wrapping him in his strong, rust-colored wings. He felt engulfed in his love, but anguish for his imminent departure.
Rhydian wept into his father’s shoulder and pleaded, “Why do you have to go again?”
“They need me on the ground, son. I’m the only one the ground-dwellers will speak with. But when I come home, it will mean that the war is over, and we can be together every day.”
“Then try really hard to make them agree,” he said.
“I have every confidence that they will,” he replied with a smile. “I’ll see you again very soon, my boy.”
His father held him tight. Soon, his grip became so tight that he couldn’t breathe, and when the boy looked up to plead with him to let go, his father wasn’t there. In his place was a gigantic, black beast with countless claws and hundreds of razor sharp fangs. Its eyes reflected bright green against its dark mass. The massive beast gave a roar that shook the whole earth, squeezing tighter and tighter until he thought he’d suffocate. Sheer terror engulfed him as it then opened its gruesome jaws as wide as the sky and came down to devour him. He screamed at the top of his lungs for his father, but no sound escaped his lips. His voice simply wouldn’t come.
His father would never come.
Rhydian woke with a gasp, panting heavily. It had been years since he’d dreamed of his father. He looked around at his surroundings. He didn’t remember falling asleep, but he was still there on Ellie’s couch. The TV displayed a blank, blue screen and golden sunlight peeked in through the window.
Ellie stirred next to him, her head on his shoulder. Her eyes opened slowly, then all at once she shot up.
“Oh, my gosh,” she exclaimed. “I didn’t mean to keep you all night.”
“It’s okay,” he said, his voice deep and groggy.
“Do you need a ride into town? I can drive you.”
He shook his head, “I can walk.”
“Are you sure? I mean, I don’t want you late for your day of sword making.” She chuckled.
He stood up and stretched his limbs. “I’ll be fine, really. Thanks.”
They both walked out onto the porch and stood there for a moment, a little awkward. The air was crisp and cool, birds chirping in the trees.
“I really enjoyed meeting you,” Rhydian said.
She smiled. “I enjoyed meeting you, too.”
Not knowing how to depart, they hugged awkwardly. Rhydian started away when Ellie spoke up.
“Uh, you could, you know, call me,” she proposed, “if you want.” She cast her eyes downward for a moment, then back up to meet his.
Rhydian was unsure what she meant by “call me,” but it seemed she was awaiting his response, so he replied. “Of course. Um, h-how do I call you?”
“Do you have your phone?” she asked.
“Must have left it with my shoes,” he lied.
She shook her head in amusement. “Hold on.”
She went back into the house briefly and returned holding a ball-point pen. She grabbed Rhydian’s hand (causing his insides to burn) and wrote seven digits on the inside of his forearm.
She let go of his hand and smoothed the front of his t-shirt. “Keep this. It looks good on you.”
Confused by her actions, he departed, not wanting to admit his ignorance. He almost walked straight for the threshold in the woods, but then realized she thought he was going into town, so he instead walked down the dirt road a ways until he was sure she was no longer looking and ducked into the woods. As he made his way back to the threshold, he was almost skipping with bliss. His head was spinning from the chance encounter, and he couldn’t wait to come back and see her again. His cheeks soon ached from smiling.
He stopped at the stream along the way and filled a small bottle he had in his pocket, just big enough for a gulp or two.
When he came to the mouth of the cave he retrieved his sword, which he’d hidden within, and removed the t-shirt. Replacing the timekeeper around his neck and examined it, he found that he’d been on the other side for nearly twenty-four hours. He was glad he’d wound it all the way now. Once you crossed through, you couldn’t simply re-wind it to add more time.
Upon crossing back to Ilimíra, he felt his injuries return, though they had mostly healed by now. He ruffled his feathers and prepared to fly, but at the last moment he remembered his attackers from the other day. So he went back into the cavern and stowed the timekeeper deep inside a crevice in the wall, packing it with rocks and gravel to conceal it. He also left the t-shirt (which had completely changed color on this side and became stiff and scratchy.) Satisfied his property was well hidden, he leaped from the cave and soared home in a far more jovial disposition than that in which he had left.
As the Monolith City came into view and he approached his home, however, two big soldiers soared in from opposite directions and closed in on him so close that their wings overlapped his.
“Rhydian, son of Warlord Gideon?” one of them said.
“Yes?” Rhydian replied. “What’s going on?”
“We’ve been asked to escort you into custody. Please drop elevation and follow us to the detention cell.”
“Custody!” he exclaimed. “What crime have I committed?”
“We haven’t been told, sir. Just following orders,” he replied. “I suggest you do the same.” The soldier placed a hand on the hilt of his sword.
Rhydian’s heart sank. Whoever had created his secret threshold had clearly realized he’d been using it. He’d be flightless by the end of the day! If anyone knew how much he’d interacted with humans, he’d never go to the other side again! He’d never be able to get to know Ellie. For a brief moment, he considered fleeing, but he knew that would only make matters worse. He had no choice but to cooperate with the men.
The soldiers escorted him to a facility at the very bottom of the Monolith City, a dark place, overshadowed by the immensity of the City above. There, they searched and disarmed him. One of the soldiers retrieved the small bottle of ilïmbalm from his pocket and gawked at it in amazement. He elbowed his partner and showed it to him.
“Skyward! That’s got to be the richest batch I’ve ever seen!” said the other soldier, a skinny man with red hair and scrawny, beige wings that looked as though they hadn’t been cleaned in weeks.
The first soldier, a short, bald man about ten years his senior, said, “Do you suppose anyone would notice if we had a taste?”
“I think I would,” Rhydian said, annoyed, “considering it’s mine.”
The two looked at him as if just realizing he could speak.
“Put it with the evidence,” the bald man said begrudgingly.
After finding nothing else on him, the men put Rhydian in a stone cell with a bed and toilet and closed the big, wooden door. There was only one small window with bars that allowed very little light to enter. He had almost grown accustomed to being on the ground, but being locked beneath it was enough to send any Ilimíri over the edge. He paced the cell, ruffling his feathers and flexing his wings. The room was so small he couldn’t fully extend them, which caused him no end of panic and anxiety. To settle his nerves, he fiddled with the two amethysts he’d bought from the Treetown merchant, tossing them on the ground and watching them roll towards each other. Minutes stretched into hours and he began to wonder how long he’d be detained.
After what seemed an eternity, a clanking sound came from the latch and the door creaked open. There, accompanied by a big guard, stood Governor Redwing, who stepped inside the cell and gave a nod. The guard, in turn, pulled the door closed and locked it from the outside.