ELEMENTARY VIRTUE: The Savior

by Sonja Wuthrich

  She had assured Brooklyn that she could always call or text her and she would get back to her as soon as she could. Brooklyn had watched her leave, looking miserably. Aiden was at her side solid as a rock and Mila winked conspiratorially at her. Leyla's heart grew wide despite the whole mess. She loved her three friends with all her heart and without that untold savior story, two of them wouldn’t be her friends, which would be an incredible disaster. She turned around getting back in the room to hug Mila and Aiden feverishly. They both looked kind of dumbfounded. Leyla kissed Brooklyn on both cheeks and pressed her hand gently. She had to leave immediately before she started getting all emotional. After the hospital, she went home to get her backpack. She had prepared everything she thought was necessary for her mission.

  Then she texted her mom and dad that she could only be reached on her mobile as she was staying with Brooklyn. She was dressed as practical and ordinary as possible. Finally, she wanted to be neither recognized nor prosecuted, not to mention the hiking part she was not really keen of. She hated strolling alone through the woods. She always felt kind of creepy. She took her phone out of her backpack to call Maria. The display of her phone looked quite shattered. She hoped though that it was still working for a while. Maria was delighted to hear from her and assured her that she was very welcome, even late in the evening. Yet, when she heard that her parents didn’t know about her plans to come to Port Hope, Leyla needed all her powers of persuasion to prevent Maria from calling her mother. She promised to explain her reasons why her parents didn’t know about her plans once she arrived in Port Hope. She didn’t feel like talking about any of it on the train. One never knew who was listening, although nobody was to be seen around her who seemed to be suspicious. Yet the walls had ears as an old proverb said.

  It was already dark when Leyla finally arrived in Port Hope. Tonight, she would definitely not hang out in the woods. That much was clear. She felt exhausted, after the busy day she had behind her. She rummaged through her bag to see if she really had packed everything that Gregory could possibly need for a quick escape. She was quite satisfied with the content when she arrived at the train station. She got off the train and on the way to her godfather’s house. She let her plan go through her head once again. The more she thought about it, the crazier it seemed to her, going all alone after Gregory into the woods. It was pretty reckless she had to admit. Finally, she was no super girl or something like that. She stored the prophecy as a file on her laptop and had brought it also as a print out which was neatly folded in the side pocket of her cargo pants. She could not get rid of the thought that she probably should tell someone where she was going exactly and what she was doing. If something went wrong, someone had to know. Someone who didn’t freak out easily. Spontaneously, Mila or Shane popped up as allies in her mind. They both had a lot in common. Both were reliable, discreet and a little crazy, which was certainly not a disadvantage in this matter.

  They would shut up if she asked them to. Mila just knew that she went after Gregory, but she had no idea so far about the woods. What would she say if she knew this tiny little detail? On the other hand, she didn’t want to bother Aiden; he had enough on his plate as it was with Brooklyn's accident.

  The rest of the Akandos were not apt to cope with a situation like that in her opinion. Maria was standing like a statue or an archangel in front of the Sullivan House waiting for her. She hugged Leyla briefly holding her then at arm’s length away to look at her searchingly.

  “Dios Mio."

  She had seen Leyla scrape hands and the scar on her cheek, a result of the umbrella that had hit her in the face.

  “Que pasa mi linda? What are you up to? Sure, this boy is behind it.”

  She looked at Leyla cautious.

  “You're in love with him Querida. I know it, no need to deny it. Yet I'm worried about you, he is at least as loco as Shane is.”

  She tapped her forehead.

  "Coming here in the middle of the night and your parents don’t know about it. Ai, ai, ai! Todo para un ombre.” She shook her head in disapproval. Leyla could not help but to smile.

  “It's nice that you're worried about me Maria! First, it is half past ten and that hardly qualifies as middle of the night. Second, don’t forget that today is Friday evening and many girls my age go to clubs to drink and do all sorts of other stuff I don’t do. Would you like it better if I did that sort of thing?”

  Maria apparently started to say something, but Leyla cut her off.

  “Third, Gregory is not as loco as you might think. He is in fact quite reasonable. And fourth, you're right, I like him a lot and I even think that he likes me back, but the whole thing is a little bit more complicated than that. You are not going to believe this, but I think it would be much easier if it was only about love.”

  Maria snorted, “Ha, don’t tell me no fairy tales. What can be more complicated in a woman's life than her love life?”

  "I don’t know, you tell me. Indian tribes, maybe.”

  Leyla replied laughing.

  “Querida, don’t make fun of an old woman. Where do you see an Indian around here?”

  "Oh come on Maria, you're not old.”

  They fooled around for a while and Leyla was glad to be here. Maria was unique.

  "Where is Steven, the master of the house?”

  Maria made a mysterious face.

  “Promise me that you are not going to say a word to Shane, ok? He has a date with Mrs. Benson.”

  She winked at Leyla, meaningful.

  “I think the two of them like each other, but if Shane finds out, he will…. How do you say that?” she grimaced.

  “Oh, freak out. Go plumb loco. You know what I mean.”

  Leyla symbolically sealed her lips,

  ”I will be silent as a graveyard when I skype with him later on.”

  Mary looked worried.

  “Swear to everything that is holy!"

  "All right Maria, don’t worry. I have other things to worry about than Steven's date with Mrs. Benson, believe me!"

  Maria seemed to have calmed down and was busy with her favorite activity. She was standing in the kitchen and started to prepare a late night snack for Leyla.

  “Maria, do you have any idea where Gregory is?"

  "Ah, I knew it. You came here because of him.”

  She threw an apple after Leyla, who skillfully caught it and took a healthy bite.

  “So, are you going to tell me now where this guy is staying or not? Is he in the cottage?”

  “Non lo se,” Maria stirred the soup she was just warming up for her.

  “I don’t know exactly. As far as I‘ve heard, he occasionally works with Mrs. Benson’s horse and he seems to be a lot better. He came by to visit your godfather some days ago.”

  She gave Leyla a sly look.

  “I can understand why you like him, esos ojos azules,” she giggled.

  "Did you happen to overhear their conversation?”

  Maria shrugged, “Mrs. Benson seems to be pleased that he has a talent with horses. Maybe he lives in the resort. Why is he not going back to school now that he's fine again? Is that why you are here to take him back with you?”

  Leyla didn’t think that he was staying at the resort; far too obvious for someone who had gone into hiding.

  "Maybe, we'll see,” she replied vaguely.

  "Has anyone else asked about him?"

  "No, no. Why are you asking?"

  "Oh, just like that. By the way, please don’t call my parents Maria. Dad is in Vancouver and Mom has her aerobics marathon this weekend.”

  "So they didn’t want you to come here because of that blue-eyed boy, right?”

  Leyla shrugged, “Possibly, but please promise me that you are not going to tell them. Please!” She looked pleadingly at Maria.

  “Ok, stop it. How could I refuse any request from this little angelic face.”

  Maria chuckled sympathetically.

  "But take care of yourself, otherwi
se Corazon espinada, as Carlos Santana sang so beautifully.”

  Leyla grinned, “Thanks for the tip Maria, but I'll take care of this little red thing in my chest, I promise.”

  She kissed Maria on the cheek.

  “I'm going to sleep now. Tomorrow morning I‘ll be heading to the resort. Do you think I can borrow Shane’s motorbike?”

  "Claro che si, porche no?”

  Maria took the key of the scooter from the key board and threw it over to Leyla.

  “Shane is in Boston; he does not need the scooter and he would lend it to you, I know it.”

  Leyla caught the key, put it in her backpack and made her way to the first floor where the guest room was. She sat at the desk, reached out for her bag to take out her laptop and turned it on. She hoped fervently that she could reach Shane.

  She logged herself into her Skype account, clicked on Shane’s nickname and waited. Luck seemed to be on her side as Shane answered after the second attempt.

  “Kind of late to harass a student, love, who has been actually invited to a party and could now be swarmed by a bunch of drunken dancing chicks at a bar,” Leyla smirked.

  “Sorry Shane, I had no idea that you had gone off to Boston for drinking and flirting around. I thought you were a serious university student. I didn’t mean to mess up your leisure program in any way. Yet, if you have a minute, I would be glad if you could lend me your ear shortly before you surrender to the excesses of the evening. It's pretty important.”

  He laughed.

  “No problem, I was just kidding about the party. You know me. I'm not the sociable type, and Monday I have to write a test that I don’t really want to mess up. Hey, is that our guest room in the background? I know that ugly painting.”

  "Guess what Shane. I 'm actually in Port Hope. I have found out something and I‘d rather don’t want you to get involved, but Brooklyn and me were hit by a car and Aiden is completely out of line. You're the only one I do trust except Mila.”

  He rolled his eyes.

  “Do me a favor and don’t mention that lunatic Mila chick. What happened? Why have you been hit by a car? My God. Are you okay? Is Brooklyn ok? How did that happen?”

  “Whoa, calm down and don’t ask that many questions at once, otherwise I‘ll get dizzy. It happened when we crossed the street and the driver of the car committed a hit and run.”

  "That is hardly a coincidence and it makes me think of the storm. What are you going to do about it?"

  Leyla continued, “No, you are right. I don’t think it was a coincidence. Brooklyn's leg is broken and she has a concussion. I'm fine; I got merely a few scratches. That’s it. I've found out something about this prophecy, and I have to find Gregory, tell him about it and help him eventually to get away. Do you know where he is?"

  He seemed to be thinking hard.

  ”I honestly don’t have a clue. Maybe he's at the Cottage?”

  "That’s what I thought, but Maria is quite sure that he is not at the cottage. I'll go to the resort tomorrow morning. I ‘ll borrow your scooter if you do not mind. Apparently, he occasionally helps there with the horses.” He nodded, “Do that. Maybe Mrs. Benson can tell you where he is.”

  "Shane, I'll send you a mail with the text I have found on the Internet. Please save the file on a stick so that no one else can read it. If you don’t hear anything from me by Sunday evening, please contact Mila. Then, something has gone wrong.”

  “Leyla you're scaring me. Are you being followed?"

  "I don’t think so, but it's important that someone else knows about the file except me. I'll send it to you.”

  He nodded.

  “Take care of yourself and call me as soon as you found him.”

  They said goodbye and Leyla sent him the file. After that, she was so exhausted that she lay down not even bothering to undress. She curled up on the bed and fell asleep. She fell into a fitful sleep and rolled from one side to the other. She had a series of terrible dreams she could not really remember when she woke up. She only knew that someone had died in her dreams over and over again, but she could not remember who it was. She felt whacked, and that she had slept with her cloth on did not really make it any better.

  Her knees burned and the scar on her cheek didn’t look exactly better than yesterday. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was something close to a bird's nest. She was deathly pale except for the red scar on her cheek. She would be the perfect fit for the role of a vampire in a movie, she thought to herself. She wouldn’t even need any makeup for her role.

  She grimaced at her reflection. She took a long shower trying to clear her head. Then she felt like a human being again. She brushed her teeth and nursed her scar. Then she braided her wet hair into a pigtail putting a little lip gloss on. Well, at least now, she looked kind of normal again checking her appearance in the mirror. You will get through this; it will be a piece of cake, she said to herself full of confidence. Then she checked the contents of her backpack once more and went downstairs where she heard Maria already working in the kitchen. Steven was sitting at the table reading the newspaper.

  He looked up pleased.

  ”Hey kiddo, what a pleasant surprise. Maria told me that you're here. Why did you come alone without your parents?”

  Leyla tried to act innocent and normal, kissing Steven on both cheeks.

  “Hi Steven, Dad is in Vancouver and Mom has an event at the studio. When I was here last time, I promised Mrs. Benson that I d’ be coming occasionally for some riding lessons and this weekend, it fit just fine for me.”

  Steven seemed a bit confused.

  “That’s strange. Emma hasn’t told me anything about your coming.”

  Leyla cocked her head and looked at him questioningly.

  ”Who is Emma?”

  He cleared his throat and Leyla could have sworn that a hint of blush flustered his face for a second.

  “Um, I mean, Mrs. Benson. I met her yesterday accidentally.”

  Leyla grinned to herself. Accidentally my ass, that’s what they call it these days. It was a good thing that he had something to hide and that he didn’t want her to find out that he had been on a date with Mrs. Benson. This would keep him from asking her too many question about why she was here. Maria raised her eyebrows knowingly, as she brought Leyla a cup of steaming coffee and a bowl of cornflakes.

  Leyla gulped down her cereal and drank her coffee quickly. She wanted to get out of here before Steven came back to his senses and asked her any awkward questions.

  “I have to go now. It's already after eight and Mrs. Benson is waiting for me.”

  Steven looked at her frowning, “Are you sure that the lesson is that early? Shall I go with you?”

  He sounded a bit hesitant and Leyla concluded that his date had probably been quite emotional and he might need some time before he was going to see Emma again. All the better for her, then she wouldn’t be busted that easily.

  “No problem, Steven, I ‘ll take Shane’s scooter. He gave me his blessing yesterday when we skyped.”

  Steven was a little pale all of a sudden.

  “You have skyped with Shane? Did you tell him that I was not around?”

  Leyla shook her head.

  “We didn’t really talk about you. Is everything okay with you?”

  Steven seemed relieved.

  “No, everything is fine. Are you coming back tonight? Then we can talk over dinner.”

  She hesitated, “I'm not sure. It could be that I’d go back this evening by train.”

  She had no idea how this day would end let alone how and when she would go home. She said goodbye to Steven and Maria after he had questioned her intensely how the scar on her cheek had happened. She didn’t even lie when she told him that an umbrella had caused the scar. They both waved at her when she drove away on Shane's dark blue scooter in direction of Elmhirst Resort. She felt Maria’s worried look lingering on her and suddenly she had a queasy feeling that couldn’t be shaken off that easily.r />
  The Cottage among the reeds

  The ride on the scooter to the resort took a lot longer than by car. But with the cool wind dashing around her face, she was finally wide-awake and full of energy when she got there. She parked the scooter in front of the entrance and went in search for Mrs. Benson. She found her in the stable where she seemed to get ready for a ride. Steven really didn’t know much about her yet. An equestrian was not sleeping until noon even if she had her day off.

  No, a woman like her got up early and made sure her horse was ok. She looked through the half-open stable door staying outside the stable crossing her arms watching her saddle up. “Hi Mrs. Benson,” Leyla said giving her a charming smile.

  “Oh, hey Leyla. I didn’t know you were coming over today. Steven hasn’t told me yesterday.”

  Oops, Leyla thought. Apparently, Emma didn’t care that much about keeping their date a secret as Steven did.

  "Oh, you know this is kind of a surprise visit,” she said laughing nervously.

  “Then I suppose you're not here to improve your skills to gain acceptance with horses?” Mrs. Benson said, glancing at her. Leyla took a deep breath.

  “No, I'm here because I'm looking for Gregory. You wouldn’t happen to know where he is I suppose? Maria mentioned that he feels much better now and that he occasionally helps out with the horses.”

  Mrs. Benson looked strangely alerted and nodded, “Yes, he sometimes helps me out, that's true, but this week he hasn’t been around. He is quite unpredictable you know. Yet, I recall having him mentioned that he wouldn’t be around this weekend. I guess you‘ll have to wait until Monday.”

  "Do you know where he is Mrs. Benson? It is really important!”

  “Leyla, you are a nice girl and I have known you for quite some time, but I promised him not to tell anyone where he is. I usually keep up to my promises,” she said firmly.