Fortune's Detour: Prequel of the Deka Series by Abigail Schwaig

by Abigail Schwaig

  I curled up in a ball underneath my fluffy comforter. It didn’t matter if I fell asleep quickly or not. Tomorrow was the start of the week’s end, three whole self days, and I had nothing besides some tutorial work. For the next sizeable chunk of time I was as free as the wind. My frustrations somewhat abated by human interaction, I fell asleep.

  ~

  4811/2/2/10

  I stretched awake and opened my eyes to the solar star’s rays pouring through the slowly turning blinds. They were on a timer system to open with the rise of the solar star. I hummed happily; elongating every muscle in my body and feeling the prickles tingle down my spine. Delicious.

  I flopped over on my stomach. “Good morning,” I said to the empty room while reaching across the bed, pulling the second, unoccupied pillow under my stomach. Burying my face in the mattress, I privately gloried in the fact that today was my own to do with as I wished. I never did anything but daydream or make pretty things on self days- and that made them the best days of the week.

  I cracked an eye and glanced at the shiny brightness pouring in through the shade. I had the whole day to lounge and take a walk on the beach... and maybe take some stills.

  I was not very particular about the order. I never cared when a certain thing happened, just as long as it did.

  ~

  It was much later than I intended, but I had finally made it out of bed and was now enjoying the dayshine on my skin and the salty breeze in my face.

  I bit my lip and twirled around, arms open wide to the cool ocean breeze. In just one moment, the speckles of saltwater must have kissed my skin a thousand times. I breathed in the thick, briny moisture of the sea and observed the scene before me.

  Young families were camped out on the pale golden sands of beach, looking uncomfortably red from that day's solarbathing. Children ran about, splashing in the surf and generally causing mayhem.

  The sand underneath my feet was wet and cool, sending a shiver down my spine

  though the dayshine was bright in the sky, nearly washing out the shimmery planets that hung far away like jewels in orbit. The sand tensed as I padded atop it, softening once again as I left. Sand was so curious. It meant nothing without the water though. Sand by itself was a disappointment.

  There was a shrill shriek, which turned into a full-blown scream of disapproval. Musings shattered and blown away on the wind, my full attention snapped towards the activity in the opposite direction of the ocean-scape view.

  It was only a spoiled toddler, being firmly placed into the magnetic restraints of a four-board. The young woman sighed and handed the little tyrant a treat to stay quiet. All was tranquil once again.

  I pulled out my still-snap from my beach bag and focused on the ripples in the sand. The undulations were especially impressive right here and I wanted to make a unique ocean collage for my mom’s annum day. She was a Springborn. There may not be much I was good at, but I remembered the little things with vivid detail.

  It snapped, flicking out a projection of light that washed out the afternoon colors.

  "Okay…turning the flash off." I muttered to myself, flicking through options on the interactive screen with my thumb. The problem was righted and the taking of photos commenced. The dayshine was slanting down towards the ocean. The meeting of sky and sea was crystal through the lens; a perfect line of separation.

  The clicks continued, satisfyingly. The afternoon shadows were transitioning to early evening. I could tell it would be a spectacular solarset.

  I didn't even notice when a grey lump in the water, what many beach-goers would assume was a lost surfboard, started making its way toward the shore.

  I was staring out into the horizon, captivated by my quest for the perfect angle. I scarcely noticed the glistening object, steadily making its way toward my stretch of sand.

  My attention was caught, however, by a man stripping off his clinging wet t-shirt, exposing a shoulder with a unique marking. A series of dots and dashes, almost resembling a constellation appeared on his lightly tanned skin. His attention was fully focused on the object in the water; I didn’t bother to see what he was looking at.

  I liked the way the dayshine radiated off his skin and black ink. Raising the still-snap discreetly to my eyes, I took a quick still of the remarkable shoulder without the tell-tale flash. The man didn’t notice. I looked down into the view port and smiled. It was an eclectic shot, but a good one. Every dot and dash stood out perfectly, its enigma captured in crystal focus.

  I grinned, enjoying my photo. Catching a flicker of movement out of the corner of my eye, I glanced out at the water. A man, good galaxies, a beautiful man stood, chest covered in a wet suit, his eyes focused in my direction. He was wading in to the shore, obviously after exploring the bay from the looks of his snorkel gear.

  Clear pouches in a black mesh bag hung from a well-muscled and languid arm. He rose up from the water like a fluidly sculpted statue, his expression was unidentifiable. I quickly glanced away from him, pretending the dayshine was in my eyes. My gaze fell back on the man with the tattoo. He was looking out across the ocean, casually massaging his arm right above the black marks implanted in his skin. He glanced in the direction of the man rising from the water.

  At the thought of the chiseled man, I felt my breath quicken and the beginnings of a blush press itself through my cheeks. Why had he been looking at me? Probably something behind me- just looking in my direction and happened to catch my eye- that sort of awkwardness happens all the time…

  I glanced up. He was still looking at me.

  He smiled. I gasped. That smile should be illegal. He kept walking toward where I sat on the sand, rising out of the water and easily finding purchase even with the surf pooling and grasping at his ankles. He stripped off his chest gear and that too dangled from a sculpted arm as the solar star’s rays glittered off of the water droplets adorning his chiseled physique.

  My stomach protested weakly; a little gurgle of surprise. “Kriv it,” I whispered, nervously. Never had I been more acutely aware of the dayshine burn on my nose and the state of my wind-whipped hair hanging in strings down my shoulders. Why was he still looking? Act natural.

  He stood presently before me, dripping wet, blocking the shine of the solarset from my face. I looked up at him; the breathless, silent question hung on my lips. What would he do?

  His gaze took in the still-snap in my limp hand, the photo of the man in dots and dashes displayed as the last still taken. He gestured to it. “Nice still. Not blurry at all.”

  It took a while before I found my voice so I cleared it before speaking, just in case it came out hoarse and ridiculous. “Thanks.” There. Not too much damage done.

  He dropped his gear beside me and cold droplets fell on my legs, ice cold on my hot skin. I twitched. Great. Now I look deranged. He sat down, throwing himself into the sand beside me, rubbing his face with salt-water clean hands. “I’m David.” He sat up and held out a hand. A very nice hand.

  I stared at it and shook it, trying to avoid looking at his electrifying face. “Natalie.” Maybe if I just stick to monosyllabic sentences I won’t make a joker of myself.

  He shook the water from himself, this time carefully avoiding my direction. “Well Natalie, let’s see the pictures.” He grinned. “May I?”

  I felt a palpable surge of gratitude to the universe for not letting me take any embarrassing photos today. “It’s a project for my mom’s annum.”

  He smiled and reached into my hand to pick up the still-snap, brushing against my skin as if it were the most normal of occurrences. My head was buzzing with inner dialogue; I practically saw spots. Normally guys as attractive as this didn’t approach me.

  “A project?”

  “Uh, my mom’s a Springborn, so I thought I’d get it done before the day came and went.”

  At his encouraging glance, I figured he was interested in knowing more. So I talked. A lot.

  “You know, even though nobody really pays attention
to the thousands of years old thoughts pertaining to the Age of Mysticism, I feel a connection with what your birth season says about you. I mean- I get not believing in it and all. Especially on this planet, since culturally, we’re obsessed with rationality. But I kind of wish we did embrace some of the old ways. It would make life so much more meaningful if we all paid attention to those kinds of things, don’t you think? I’ve heard of other planets holding on to the old beliefs, but I’ve never gotten involved in religious disputes. To me, it only clutters up day to day life and makes good relationships sour.” I paused for breath and wondered how long it had been since I had said something in such a hurry.

  He just smiled and nodded, and flicked through the pictures.

  “So… are you interested in photography?” I ventured, leaning in as he shared his space with me so we could both glance at the stills, when we weren’t glancing at each other.

  “I think art is the only worthwhile method we have to share the human experience.” He looked at me with an intimacy that destroyed my personal bubble.

  I caught my breath at his sky blue eyes. I dug my toes into the sand to keep from saying something krivving.

  His eyelashes dripped water as he focused on my eyes, and then glanced ever so slightly longer at my lips, then going back to my eyes. Seriously? I couldn’t believe it. I found myself lost in his gaze- two huge blue pools of languid depths that tugged at me.

  Blue angels, what am I waiting for?

  Impulsively, I moved my face closer and his lips took sweet possession of mine. I closed my eyes and let him pull me closer, wrapped up in his wet arms. I shivered, his skin was cold from the water, and his muscles rigid, but his lips were soft.

  Natalie Pryce, you will wake up now.

  But I didn’t. Reflexively opening my eyes, I pulled my still-snap away from his watery skin and dried it off, putting it back in its satchel. His eyes followed my movement. He lightly traced a smooth pattern in the middle of my back, a ghost of a smile hovering across his lips.

  “Natalie,” he whispered, as if tasting the name on his tongue.

  I looked at him, feeling completely imbalanced. “I have to go. It’s late… and I have to go,” I finished lamely, breathlessly. I couldn’t think.

  “Have dinner with me tonight?”

  I stopped playing with my satchel strings and looked up at him. “You want to see me again?”

  He closed his eyes and smiled, nodding. “Yes. Dinner with me? Tonight? You can’t say no- it’s the first self-day of this week so you have no excuse.” His eyes shimmered. Or maybe it was the dayshine.

  His gaze was present, fervent even; his hand found mine and wound his fingers through the natural spaces.

  I closed my eyes and glanced back at his face, his lips. Lips that had just a moment before been pressed like heaven against my own.

  He seemed to read my thoughts and bent close, brushing his lips back over mine. “I need to see you again.” His voice found its way inside my head and turned me inside out.

  I nodded, forehead against his. I felt completely split apart, like I couldn’t move without losing fingers and limbs, my tongue unable to utter speech.

  “I’m new here; do you know a place where I can get cleaned up?” His eyes were so luminescent, so full of feeling.

  I hardly knew myself. “You can come over to my place. Where are you staying in town?”

  He shrugged. “Wherever. I just floated in from across the bay; wanted to test my gear. I was supposed to meet some friends today, but they canceled, so I’ll see them tomorrow.”

  “Alright.”

  ~

  We made it back to the beach house without mishap, except I found some thorns as I wandered off the path. David wrapped an arm around my waist, and easily carried me across the patch.

  We walked side by side the rest of the way, hand in hand swinging. I thought of nothing but the texture of his hand and the way electricity shot up my arm and traveled through me like an echo that never fully disintegrated.

  Once arrived, we rinsed our feet and I shoved the back door open on rusty locks and directed him to the lavatory inside. He disappeared within and the shower water cranked on full blast within moments. I laughed to myself, disbelieving the way the day had turned out. Remembering the still-snap, I took the satchel and sat down at my desk flipping out the extended Comms into portal mode, and leaving the door wide open

  I passed the still-snap over the Comms; completing the transfer. I flicked through the pictures, smiling at the silly ones that David had taken of the two of us on the walk back.

  The shower in the lavatory became silent. I uploaded a few of the stills, including the man with the tattoo, into my art gallery on the Portal. Now it was public access. I had been building my portfolio for a few seasons now. It seemed to be the only thing I didn’t get tired of doing.

  I forgot to wipe the memory on the still-snap and laid it on the counter in the airy kitchen and communal space. We might use it this evening during dinner. I couldn’t turn my smile off, so humming a tune I flipped through my assignment calendar. Not too much to do. I was definitely taking tonight off.

  David came out wearing a new change of clothes.

  “You look nice.” I smiled appreciatively. “How did you manage-?” I gestured to his threads.

  “Uh- I had some spares. You see the gear bag- well you drain the air out of it with a vacuum and it shrinks down your luggage.” He was charming.

  “Nifty.” I smiled.

  “Well, I thought that I’d go scout out Cornish for the right place to take you and give you all the time you might want to get ready.”

  I smiled. “Sounds perfect. And you could take your gear and find a hostel and get comfortable and everything.”

  “I thought of that. Can I get your Comms extension?” He flipped open his Comms device.

  I rattled it off.

  He left, but before he did so, he looked at me with that same half-lidded look of fondness and brushed his lips across my cheek. He left with a twinkle in his eye.

  I was breathless once again and sighed, leaning into the door after closing it. “For Tera’s sake.” I clapped a hand to my forehead and laughed hysterically.

  CHAPTER TWO

  The dark of the evening had settled calm over the world. I was enjoying myself “far too much” as Gran would say with a twinkle in her eye. A few hours had passed since David left my house and a nervous sort of feeling overcame me. I had found myself living a strange adventure and now here I was, walking up the curb to a restaurant to meet him. Anxious nerves spread out inside me like butterflies readying to take flight.

  His eyes lit up when I finally spied him out, in a candlelit corner outside on the patio. The soft light played on his face, a mixture of light and shadow, like designs on his skin. It reminded me of the man I took a picture of earlier. The anxiety quelled in my stomach, I smiled and waved.

  We sat out of doors in a secluded little area of the restaurant, both on the street and yet kept out of sight of it with tall shrub bushes. It was intimate and inviting with lit lamps swaying in the breeze. It was so peaceful, yet there was a steady hum of energy between us. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but it felt like a “zing” whenever we made eye contact or accidentally brushed against each other. And I was starting to wonder how many accidental touches can happen during one meal. Not that I was complaining.

  "What's the first thought that crossed your mind when you met me?" I wondered aloud, tapping my glass with a nail. It ting-ed delicately.

  He smiled, his eyes sparkling and crinkling up as he did so. It was quite possibly the most attractive view I had ever seen.

  "It was your openness; lack of judgment, I think. It's attractive to see that." He leaned in closer, teasingly, "what did you think of?"

  I smiled self-consciously. "I don’t know if I want to answer that…"

  He chuckled. The air between us zinged once more.

  "I have the feeling this isn’t the firs
t time you’ve been compared to perfection." I decided to be open. "You seem so… well-traveled. I’ve never left the planet, never even left the country. You’ve probably seen the universe- I mean who else vacuum packs but those who travel all over?”

  He nodded, his face unreadable. “I do travel a lot.”

  “Then you've seen plenty of things that I haven't. What places have you been to?”

  “All over Tera, even her deserts and mountains- for nature trips you know- I’ve been to Hecta a number of times and lived in World City for a while- don’t ever live there it is nasty-“

  I laughed at his crunched up face.

  “I’ve been to Peta, but they’re very different there- kind of stuck in the past, you know what I mean? Almost in a storybook way. And the Doorways to Giga have been closed off for a while. Although I’d like to explore it and see why…” He grinned. “I’ve never been to Kila, but that’s because you’ll die unless you are a native Rka or have contacts waiting to lead you into the underground caverns where you’ll be safe from their boiling solar rays. And Exa- that place is a trip. If you ever just want to be entertained for a whole vacation, just go to Exa. The people there are unreal. They’re so… mannerly. And so fastidious. And obsessed with mechanical engineering and midday tea.”