R.E.birth

by Thomas W. Everson

  “You could take a lesson from her Rain,” Evalyn taunts.

  “Har har,” I mock her with a fake laugh.

  “Don’t tease my Rain!” Emma protests.

  “Your Rain?” Ami questions her.

  “I…I meant Rain. Don’t tease Rain!”

  While I see her like she were a little sister of mine, I know she is a little girl with a crush and find it difficult to address the fact that she will have to give that idea up. Feeling bad, knowing that we will be leaving this time and her, I soon wonder what the ramifications will be when she realizes we will not be coming back.

  Will she grow up okay now that Denis is not harassing her? Will she resent us for having to leave?

  The possibilities continue in my head as I gaze out the kitchen window toward the city and I am only brought back to reality by a prodding by Ami in the arm. Apparently while I was so lost in thought, Ami and Evalyn have finished up and washed their dishes. I quickly finish my food and wash my own plate and fork.

  “Thank you for the meal.” I make sure that Ami and Evalyn know that they are appreciated.

  “Of course Rain,” Agatha responds.

  “Back again, hmm?” I ask her.

  “Yes, Evalyn likes to remember the taste of things once in a while,” she says.

  “The drifting in and out must be disconcerting,” I comment.

  “It’s been so long and happens so frequently that I’ve become accustomed to it.” Agatha smiles at me.

  I smile back and stand in front of the window by the sink, finding two familiar forms off in the distance. Anthony and Driesen make their way through the park and I head upstairs to retrieve the journal from my room. Getting properly dressed, I change into a pair of blue pants and a light green shirt. When I turn back around I find Emma has followed me into my room and I panic a little.

  “How long have you been standing there?!” I ask.

  “I didn’t watch you change, I promise,” she smiles innocently.

  I frown at her and furrow my eyebrows.

  “You should come live in the city, next to me,” she suggests excitedly. “I could use someone to protect me full time!”

  “I cannot do that Emma.” I continue to frown while grabbing the journal from my nightstand.

  “Why not?”

  Now seems as good a time as any.

  “I have made a promise to Ami and Agatha that I cannot break.” Smiling sadly, I turn back to her. “We are going to be leaving here soon and we will not be coming back.”

  “Then I’ll just come with you. I can make a living anywhere,” she responds with just as much energy.

  “That really is not my call, but you have to stay here and live a normal life. Traveling would be bad for you,” I put my hand on her shoulder and kneel down to her level.

  “But…I want you to protect me!” I can see the joy drain from her face.

  “There is nothing you need protecting from anymore. You will be fine.”

  “But…”

  “Emma, it will be okay,” I ruffle her blonde hair a little. “I have to go meet Mister Lindali and give him this book so he can punish Denis.”

  The liveliness is gone from her face and she runs from room. She begins to cry and I can hear her sobbing as she barrels down the stairs and into the kitchen. Though I feel terrible, it had to be done.

  Protecting her from danger here is one thing, but traveling through time must have its own perils that I cannot even fathom. I chose this because I had nothing else, but she can live a normal life for her time here.

  Stretching my legs, I stand back up and return to the downstairs area. By the time I return to the kitchen Driesen and Anthony have reached the door and before they can knock, I have opened it and stepped outside.

  “Welcome.”

  “Yous can hand us the book and we’ll be on our way,” Driesen holds his massive palm out for it.

  “Not a chance,” I shake my head and tuck it under my arm. “I will deliver it to Mister Lindali personally.”

  “I’m afraid that isn’t a possibility,” Anthony retorts.

  “Look, here how it is,” I point aggressively at Anthony. “For all I know Mister Lindali is not back yet and Denis sent you to get the book before his father sees it. I am not handing it over. End of discussion.”

  “You…are a tough man,” Anthony tells me with a grin. “Under different circumstances, I’m sure you’d be working for Mister Lindali and doing well for yourself.”

  “Shall we then?” I motion for them to lead the way.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Our long walk through the city is quiet, uneventful and though there are many fighters out in front of the towering building, including the two large brothers who had guarded it before, we are unhindered as Anthony leads me through while Driesen follows behind me. Inside the building again, for a second time, I do not feel the same air of tension that I felt previously while entering the elevator and climbing to the twentieth floor.

  Upon arriving at the top the room before Mister Lindali’s office is bustling with men and women, busy moving about, shuffling paperwork and conversing. The double doors to his office are wide open and I can see him sitting while speaking with a woman in a short skirt and blue blouse. He waves her off as we walk into the room and watches me intently.

  He is wearing a brown-collared overcoat and a white shirt underneath. Clean cut and shaven, I can see that the features in his face are strong, his jawline solid and rectangular. With his face propped against his right fist and elbow on one of the chair’s armrests he watches me emotionlessly and I cannot tell if I am welcome or not. I quickly find I do not care as I proved myself a formidable opponent and have evidence of corruption within his corporation.

  Regardless of if I am welcome or not he has to oblige me.

  He waves for me to have a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk and proceeds to let out a rather loud yawn. He looks exhausted and not in a particularly good mood. I take a seat directly in front of him, holding firmly onto the book.

  “Be gone from us.” He waves Driesen and Anthony off.

  I briefly look over my shoulder and see that they have retreated out of the room and closed the doors on their way.

  “Mister Lindali.” I nod in acknowledgment of his stature, despite the lack of formal acquaintance.

  “No offence, Mister Rain?”

  “Rain is my name,” I reply.

  “No offence Rain, but I have just returned from a long journey. I have been up for forty plus hours and I was hoping my men would be able to retrieve the book from you and we would be squared up.”

  “I apologize, but I insisted that I bring the book to you directly. I had to take a precaution that it was not Denis attempting to cover his tracks by getting the book before you.”

  “I can understand that. Denis is a bright child, he just lacks discipline. A problem that I am going to rectify.”

  “You should find all logs in here of what has been happening.” I place the book on the desk and push it forward into Mister Lindali’s reach. “I am glad that you will be putting an end to his unethical ‘business’.”

  “Indeed. Now that you know that it’s safely in my possession I must ask you to take your leave. I need some shut-eye.”

  “Thank you for resolving the issue.” I stand up and nod again.

  Turning to walk out, when I reach the door Mister Lindali speaks again.

  “Should you ever need a job Rain, your gall, resolve and strength impressed me and you would be well compensated for your services,” I see a slight grin cross his weary face.

  “Thanks for the offer.” I leave out that I will not be here soon, and exit his office.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Having had enough adventure within the city I find myself back into a routine of chores while we wait for that strange vortex to rip us through time again.

  With my wounds still healing, my body is a
bit stiff, but I manage to help clean and care for the house. As I draw up a bucket of water to douse myself with after a hard day of trimming the yard using what Agatha calls a ‘push mower’, I think about not having seen Emma, as her free time not caring for her shop or sleeping, has been spent here. I pull the push mower back around the side of the house toward the kitchen as the warm sun overhead quickly heats my body again. Entering the kitchen, I find Agatha preparing vegetables for soup.

  “Thank you Rain,” she looks up.

  “I have to make up for your hospitality somehow, right?” I smile at her. “Where’s Ami?”

  “Upstairs, sewing, I think,” she says, returning her attention to chopping carrots.

  “I see. Any sign of Emma today?”

  “No. She was pretty upset the other day when you told her she couldn’t come with us.”

  “Have you had to deal with that before; someone wanting to come along but having to deny them?”

  “To be honest, you’re the first person that wanted to stay. I can’t imagine Emma would want to stay if you hadn’t helped her.”

  “True, but she can have a life here. I had nothing, and wanted to repay my debt by helping you as you had helped me.” I stand next to her with my hands on the island counter. “I will find a way to break this cycle for you.”

  Returning outside to the warming sun, I begin walking around the house while looking up and watching some light clouds slowly shift shape above the cityscape. Leaning against one of the posts of the well I look out to the monstrous, towering buildings, turning my attention to day walkers milling about the park.

  Will Mister Lindali do as he said? When we leave there will be no way of finding out unless a historian writes something on it, and why would they? It’s likely such a small thing within this city’s history that it will eventually fade away.

  Relaxing, I slide to the ground and sit in the freshly cut grass, its potent but soothing smell reaching me quickly. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the drapes in Ami’s sewing room shift and looking up I squint through the sunbeams to find Ami looking out at me. I smile and wave to her which causes her to quickly disappear and the drapes to fall back into a closed state.

  Though we share a connection that seems to extend beyond housemates I wonder if I shouldn’t just focus on stopping this curse before I let something like that get in the way. It’s too late to block the emotion entirely because I have grown accustomed to both of them, but I seem to be fueled by passionate feelings. My actions now not just affect them, but apparently people in different times. I could end up making an emotional decision and hurting her or others.

  With the warming rays of light beaming onto me I find myself in the mood for a nap and close my eyes.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Waking to a gentle breeze and the sun falling to my right, I find my body cooling and I get up from the grass. Quickly, I jog to the door into the living room and I can feel a nice heat waft over me along with the smell of soup when I get inside. Pushing through the swinging door I find that the table is already set, the soup is gently simmering on the stove and fresh cut bread lies on a cutting board on the island counter. The door that leads to the downstairs just past the refrigerator, a place I have not been yet, is propped open and I can hear voices below. Ami and Agatha are conversing and I walk gently over to it and listen.

  I should not be snooping, but I cannot help myself!

  “He’s a nice boy right?” Agatha says.

  “He’s not a boy Mother. He’s a grown man,” Ami protests.

  “Figure of speech, dear.”

  “We’ve been out a few times and of course I like him. But I’ve been sheltered here in this house. He’s the first real male contact I’ve had since Father,” she speaks with hesitation.

  Oh, I should definitely not be listening to this!

  “What happens if he doesn’t like me that way? Then I’ll look stupid and we’ll be stuck traveling together until we die and it’ll be awkward,” Ami continues.

  “Don’t be so pessimistic. He will find a way to follow through on his promise, I can feel it and then we can all settle down together in one time.”

  “Mother! For you to be making such assertions about my life! About his!”

  “Sorry, just looking out for my only daughter – I want you to be happy.”

  At this point, footsteps begin climbing the stairs and I am in a compromising position crouched against the doorframe to the basement.

  I cannot be caught here! If they knew I was listening…!

  Swiftly and quietly I move to the back door and twist the handle and pull. It creaks a little but I cannot care right now. Out the door and spinning around I grab the outside knob, twist and pull the door shut. To alleviate any possible suspicion to any sounds they might have heard I head over to the garden, bend down on one knee and begin to pretend to examine our crop. The door opens behind me and I can hear them talking still.

  “You’re not going to rush me into anything!” Ami pauses when she sees me.

  “Good evening.” I smile and play ignorant. “What’s Agatha trying to rush you into?”

  “I…er…nothing. Just a sewing project,” Ami stammers and blushes while Agatha grins impishly. “I was telling her that I’m working on my own stuff and that she can’t rush me into doing something she wants.”

  “Ah, okay,” I smile.

  I turn my head back to the crop of food while Ami returns back inside but I continue my charade while looking at the plants.

  “Making an assessment?” Agatha moves up next to me.

  “Yeah. Just wondering what we have.”

  “When we harvest, we always keep some and dry out the seeds or roots to replant. We’ve lost it before due to severe conditions, but we always bounce back,” she explains.

  “Smart.”

  “Anyway, soup should be done.” She places her hand on my shoulder.

  As I stand there, Emma’s small familiar figure appears from the border of trees between the park and the city, running toward the house. Turning to enter the house, Agatha waits for her and I open the door for them both. When Emma arrives, she excitedly runs into the house and grabs an extra setting of dishes.

  I close the door behind us and turn to Ami.

  “Bring your bowls over and I’ll dish up,” Ami says and smiles at me coyly.

  As we all get a bowl full of vegetables and rice, and sit down at the table, I get back up and grab the cutting board with the fresh bread and the butter dish. Before they are even on the table, Emma is grabbing some.

  “Thanks for inviting me to breakfast!” Emma says, sitting down next to me.

  “Well, dinner for us, but you’re welcome,” Ami responds, her mood lightening. “But you’re going to have to scoot down. That’s my seat.”

  The look on Emma’s face could kill, but she does as requested and moves one seat farther from me. Understanding that they both have some amount of affection for me, it becomes apparent that they are going to butt heads all night, while one does something to antagonize the other. Ami has made the first move by forcing Emma down. The next move is Emma’s. Though Agatha is settled, Emma interrupts her before she can even take a bite.

  “Um, Aggy. Can I sit by Rain?” Emma frowns and speaks hesitantly.

  “Of course dear!” Agatha shoots me a glance and smirks while moving down a spot.

  Gleefully, Emma jumps up with her bowl and bread, moving hurriedly to the open spot to my left.

  Unable to protest, I make a face at Agatha that tells her I know what she is doing, squinting my eyes and pursing my lips. Emma does not notice or care as she sits and eats, content to be near me.

  As we eat, Emma proceeds to engage me in conversation about everything that is involved in her life. I genuinely listen as she speaks in her normal, hyper voice, nodding and smiling every once in a while to let her know that I am paying attention.

  “One day I will move up in the world and change my
business from a food market to an actual restaurant where I serve hot food to people!”

  “That’s a very ambitious goal,” Ami tells her approvingly.

  “I want you guys to come visit me all the time!” Emma looks directly at me, as if Ami and Agatha don’t exist.

  “I’m afraid that what Rain told you is right. We will be leaving soon,” Agatha tells her.

  “But you can come back right?” She looks over at Agatha.

  “We travel a lot.” Agatha tries to let her down easy. “So much so that it’s unlikely that we will be back.”

  “Can I come with you then?” Emma’s tone drops a bit.

  “No. That would be dangerous,” Ami roughly tells her.

  “Rain can protect us though!” Her eyes dart to me, pleading.

  Leaving it to them, I lift the bowl to my lips and slurp the soup down, since the last time I tried ended with her crying. When I’m done with a mouthful of the soup, I set the bowl back down hoping that Emma’s eyes have been averted elsewhere, but when I see she is looking between the three of us, I speak.

  “I am sorry Emma.” My tone is gentle as I explain. “I don’t know what we’ll be expecting and there may be things that even I cannot protect you from. This is not even my house to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’.”

  “It’s because you really don’t like me isn’t it?! You like Ami more and don’t like me in that way!” Emma slams her spoon down on the table.

  Ami’s eyes go wide and Agatha stifles a laugh.

  My mouth is open, with nothing to say, but I can see she’s about to cry again. Not wanting to cause this little girl any more grief, I scoot my chair back and stretching out my arms, I beckon her in for a hug. She leaps at the chance, bolting from her chair and latches onto my neck with her arms. She begins bawling.

  “Emma, I do not want to see you get hurt,” I tell her. “That’s why you cannot come with us.”