by Kim Cormack
Zach met Markus’s eyes as he replied, “Of course I am. I never felt like I was supposed to be there. I can’t explain why. I just felt like I was with the wrong people.”
Markus looked at Melody and probed, “How about you?”
Melody calmly replied, “I made a choice. I knew there was no going back.” She paused for a second and then she continued to speak, “I never wanted to leave you guys in the first place.”
Markus grinned while he verbalized his thoughts, “Alright then, if Triad already has six people, they might not want to risk coming after Kayn again. She definitely wouldn’t be compatible with that group. Also, his grandson Kevin is too close to her. It might mess with the memory wipe.”
Grey caught Zach’s attention and added, “Anytime more than three people are in a tomb that is created for one, it is an enormous strain on the Healer’s abilities. It takes a very old and experienced Healer to create the energy to transport three people. This next year is going to be a shitty one for Triad’s Healers. One tomb is housing bodies and six extra people will have to be doubled up in tombs in order to train in the in-between.”
The RV moved off of the smooth road, there was a crackling sound under the tires again. They were parking.
Markus announced, “I won’t be seeing you kids for a while. Become best friends and learn to love each other. You three are going to be spending an insane amount of time together. I have faith in you.”
With that he turned around and walked out of the door. That was rather abrupt. Kayn heard the rumbling sound of the motor and they began to move again. Grey strolled over to the fridge, grabbed some pink plastic wine glasses and poured peach cider into each of them. Kayn wasn’t sure she wanted to drink anything but she didn’t want to be rude. Kevin was gone and she was feeling a bit exposed without him. Grey handed a very overfull glass to each of them. He then poured one for himself and sat back down at the table.
Grey grinned as he raised his glass and gave a toast, “To the newest of the Ankh. May you kick ass and take no names.”
Kayn had no idea what he meant by that. They all raised their glasses and awkwardly attempted to clink their exceptionally classy pink flamingo plastic wine glasses. Kayn took a big gulp of the peach cider. It was delicious. She glanced at Grey and questioned, “May I ask who picked out these delightful pink flamingo wine glasses? They are absolutely amazing.”
Grey chuckled, “That would be me. Do not mock my flamingo wine glasses.”
Kayn casually replied, “How can one mock these flamingo wine glasses when they are so obviously awesome?”
Grey’s face exploded into a rather contagious grin as he stated, “And that is why Miss Brighton and I are going to be best friends.”
Kayn smiled as her eyes darted towards the two new Ankh and then back to Grey as she said, “Miss Brighton is a way better nickname than frog sticker girl.”
Grey took a drink from his pink flamingo glass and replied, “There’s a really cute story behind the frog sticker girl nickname but I’m afraid it’s not my place to tell it.”
The motorhome rode over something with a thud and they all rather skillfully maneuvered with the motion to avoid spilling their cider.
Frost hollered from the driver’s seat, “Sorry about that! Road kill! Already dead road kill!”
Grey slowly shook his head as he took a giant drink of the cider in his hand.
Melody took a sip of her own drink, glared at Grey and quietly accused, “You could have mentioned you were Ankh.”
Grey flirtatiously replied, “I’m sorry, my thoughts and lips were preoccupied.”
Kayn glanced at the new guy and whispered, “I’m obviously missing something?”
Zach grinned and said, “I think I understand. You have to read between the lines Miss Brighton.” Kayn smiled as she clicked into what they were talking about. She glanced at Melody and raised her eye brows.
Zach nudged Kayn and teased, “Miss Brighton. That nickname makes you sound like a naughty librarian.”
Grey chuckled, “Exactly.” He finished his drink and jumped up to grab another one.
Kevin used to call her Brighton. She called him Smith and he called her Brighton. She was not going to cry. She was not going to cry. She would see him again. It was only a matter of time. Grey held up a cider in front of her. She nodded and he refilled her flamingo glass. If there was ever a time to have a drink, it was now.
Grey sat back down, reached for her hand, leaned across the table and tenderly kissed it. He apologized, “I’m sorry we lost Kevin. He was a great guy. We all liked him.”
Kayn gave him an extremely unmotivated half smile as she stared at the plastic flamingo wine glass, while tracing the rim with one of her fingers. It still didn’t feel real. Here she was sitting in a motorhome drinking cider out of flamingo wine glasses, while he was having his memory wiped and lord knows what else.
Zach enquired, “This Kevin guy was your boyfriend?”
She glanced up, realizing that he was waiting for her reply. Kayn explained, “He wasn’t just my boyfriend. We’d been best friends since kindergarten. It’s a long story but his grandmother was a psychic. He heard my already dead twin sister Chloe screaming for me to run on the night of my Correction. That night triggered his abilities. Then these guys helped him along. They took both of us into Ankh. It was too good to be true.”
Melody replied, “Isn’t that a karmic kick in the ass?”
Kayn nodded at Melody and almost smiled. It was a seriously messed-up karmic kick in the ass. Kayn allowed Grey to continue to hold one of her hands. Grey reminded her of Matty. There had been death and loss. There had been two new additions to the clan. This was a lot to absorb. Kayn reached over with her free hand and snatched Grey’s wicked pink flamingo glass from in front of him and chugged his cider. He gave her a strange look and then placed his free hand strategically across his lips to stop himself from smiling. She noticed the rise of his cheeks under cover of his hand but didn’t say a word.
Melody looked at Kayn and said, “Trinity came for you. We didn’t know about Kevin. Your gifts are supposed to be a pretty big deal. What can you do?”
Kayn replied, “That’s what they keep telling me but I can’t do anything yet. What if I can’t ever do anything special?”
Grey squeezed her hand and affirmed, “I have faith in you Brighton.”
Zach added in solidarity, “I can’t do anything either Kayn. I know how you feel.”
Grey stood up, poured himself another drink and placed it on the table. As Kayn attempted to grab for it, he smacked her hand and scolded, “Simmer down Brighton! Getting hammered tonight will only postpone the inevitable. You have to feel the pain in order to get past it. I also don’t want to spend all night holding your hair while you ralph in the toilet. You three, go choose a bunk. Not the top bunk on the right. That’s Lexy’s bunk. The one directly underneath it is Frost’s. The rest of us are pretty flexible. Most of the time, I just sleep wherever I happen to pass out. Lily usually sleeps in that back room. Go relax; I’m making chili dogs for dinner.”
The three of them wandered through the motorhome. It was quite spacious. The hallway became very narrow around the bunks. The bathroom was tiny with a stand-up shower. Kayn smiled as she thought about how difficult it would be to puke in that toilet while the motorhome was moving. She followed the others past the bathroom. The back room was very cool. There were large pillows all over the floor and shelving on one side. They all sprawled out on the pillows.
Zach grinned as he stretched and said, “If this is where Lily sleeps I’ll just sleep back here. I would hate for her to have to go looking for me in the middle of the night.”
Melody smoked him in the face with a pillow and he began to chuckle. She teased, “Like that would ever happen.”
Their comfortable comradery reminded her of Kevin. She closed her eyes while trying to stop the tears that kept threatening to start. She was without him for the first time in her life.
What was she going to do? She couldn’t do this without him. Her heart felt so empty. She rested her back against the wall and covered her face with her hands.
Zach shuffled over to sit beside her and said, “You haven’t even had the chance to cry for him, have you?” He took her in his arms and the river of tears began to flow in a wild uncontrollable stream down her face.
Melody moved over, joined in and hugged them both. The three of them sat wrapped in each other’s arms. Strangers bound together in a new life. All of them began to cry for different reasons. They had all lost something that mattered today. All equally emotionally exhausted, they fell asleep in each other’s arms.
Kayn stirred to the sound of Grey’s voice, “Wake up you guys, dinner’s waiting.”
Kayn rubbed her swollen eyes, still emotionally spent. Grey’s eyes were glistening with tears for some reason. Why was he upset?
Zach looked up at him and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Grey leaned up against the door’s frame as he replied, “You three remind me of Lexy, Arrianna and I. Nothing’s wrong, it’s just the opposite. I think for the first time in forty years, everything is exactly right.
The Moments We Take for Granted
They drove for days without any explanation of where they were going. On the fourth day, they awoke knowing they had parked. The scent of the ocean drifted in through an open window. Kayn was personally excited for a day that held the promise of more than just open road and Scrabble. She quickly brushed her teeth and got dressed. The three of the newest Ankh shoved past each other as they raced down the hall towards the welcoming scent of bacon.
Lily happily announced, “Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes. Eat quickly; we’re going to spend the whole day at the beach. It’s time for a break.”
Lily was breathtakingly beautiful as always, even without a stitch of makeup on her face and her glossy raven hair up in a messy bun. It should be illegal to look that good in the morning. Kayn shoved open the motorhome’s door and wandered outside. She inhaled the potent fragrance of the trees mixed with the salty ocean air. They were parked in a campground and in front of the RV was a rickety weathered looking picnic table.
Grey poured and passed them each a steaming mug of coffee. He proudly stood in front of them and said, “Settle an argument. This coffee is made with a french press. Tell me it’s not the best coffee you’ve ever had?”
Lexy was sitting at the picnic table. She sighed, “I can’t taste the difference.”
Frost was sitting beside her. He winked at them and exclaimed, “Neither can I… Sorry buddy.”
Kayn could tell they were messing with Grey. They all took a sip of their coffee.
Melody nodded and affirmed, “It’s very good Grey.”
Kayn smiled sweetly as she added, “Yes, it’s absolutely amazing.”
Zach sat down across from Lexy, winked at her and said, “It’s alright.” Zach was trying to make up for their murderous introduction.
Frost kept a straight face as he sighed, “Well, that is three against two. The coffee tastes normal. It’s all in your head.”
Grey started huffing around having a hissy fit. He blurted, “You people wouldn’t know class if it hit you in the face!” He stormed into the motorhome and dramatically slammed the door.
Kayn took another sip and thought, Says the guy who picked out the plastic flamingo wine glasses. Everyone started to chuckle and she remembered that her thoughts were not always her own.
Lexy grinned and said, “Brighton, I like you.” She smiled at Kayn and Melody, then grimaced at Zach like he smelled funny. She got up and went inside after Grey.
Lily stuck her head out the door and scolded, “Frost! Was that really necessary?”
Frost chuckled, “A little bit.” He winked at Lily. She shook her head at him as she closed the door.
Kayn got a kick out of the sibling relationship that Frost and Grey appeared to share. She glanced up and caught Frost watching her and he immediately looked away.
After eating an enormous breakfast, they piled into the truck with plans to spend the day at the beach. Grey rolled the windows down, presumably to smell the scent of the ocean. He was all about the little things. She felt bad that the others had wrecked one of Grey’s little things this morning. Grey often spoke about embracing the blissful moments in life. He had been one of her emotional life rafts during her first days without Kevin by her side. He told her if she tried to find one moment of beauty in each day she would always have something to look forward to and he’d been right. Some days it was difficult to find but not today. This was one of those moments. She felt the blissful sensation of her hair moving in the salty ocean breeze that flowed through the open window and it occurred to her that there were so many small things that you disregard as an adult. Adults rarely took pleasure in the rainbows found in bubbles or in allowing their imagination to run amuck. She could still remember her mother asking her to try to keep her feet firmly planted on the ground and she grinned because if she’d listened to those particular words of wisdom, she’d sure be having a difficult time with all of this madness.
They pulled over and she stepped out of the vehicle to an absolutely gorgeous deserted beach. Kayn stretched and smiled. They appeared to have the entire beach to themselves. She heard a kafuffle and noticed the four surf boards in the back of the truck. Grey, Zach and Lexy each grabbed one and sprinted away from the truck towards the water. They began stripping off their clothes, tossing them aside without even losing momentum until they were only in their bathing suits. She wanted to go with them but there was only one surf board left. Frost probably wanted to go.
She glanced at Frost and he said, “What are you waiting for? Grab a board.”
Kayn smiled at him as she grabbed the last board and dashed after the others, while awkwardly struggling out of her clothes. She put the board down for a second, so she could rid herself of them without making even more of an uncoordinated spectacle of herself. They had made that look much easier than it actually was. Kayn glanced back to see if anyone had witnessed her geeky moment but they’d all found a spot on a towel with their books on the beach. Kayn sprinted into the water and caught up with the others. How difficult could learning to surf be? An hour and a dozen lungs full of salty water later she decided that it was impossible.
Grey found Kayn’s comical exploits into the realm of the coordinated people absolutely hilarious. He chuckled, “Small children learn how to surf.”
Kayn choked on the salt water in her airway for the eight millionth time and spared, “Small children that are secretly ninjas.”
He patiently said, “You have to be willing to fall off the board and get back on a hundred times if that’s what it takes.” It was a surprisingly deep comment. He added, “Just relax and have fun. You will figure it out.”
By the end of the day Kayn was able to admit that surfing was clearly not going to be one of her gifts. Surfing was one of Grey’s and Lexy’s favorite pastimes. Zach learned how to surf rather quickly and he appeared to be having the time of his life. Kayn walked back towards the shore alone. There was nobody left on the beach. They must have gone for a walk. Kayn grabbed one of the folded towels from on top of the cooler and spread it out on the sand. Then she grabbed a juice out of the cooler and drank the whole thing in about three seconds. Utterly exhausted, she laid down on the towel in the warmth of the afternoon sun’s rays and took a nap.
When she awoke, the sun was hovering low in the sky. Kayn sat up on her towel and shimmied her behind down so her feet would be in the sand. Kayn wiggled her toes back and forth. She’d always enjoyed the warm, calming feeling of sand as it slipped like a silken scarf of liquid sunshine across the surface of her skin. Kayn took one hand and ran it over the surface of the sand; it shifted as though it had been moved by a light breeze without her hand making contact. Her life now had no room for feet being firmly planted on the ground. She had to allow her mind to take off in flight and accept
the impossible. She had to embrace life as a toddler. In a child's world, every breath of life is a mystery; everything has the possibility of being magic. She smiled as she imagined that the sun’s last rays were flames from a distant dragon. Kayn understood that she was an immortal toddler of sorts. A tiny crab strolled across her hand and she grinned because it tickled. The shade of the sky changed ever so slightly in her peripheral vision. She raised her eyes from her toes to the horizon, to witness the sun’s last dance in the daylight as it began to descend slowly, magically into the distant sea. Exotic pastel hues of orange and fuchsia were now painted across the fading expression of the day. It was a calm yet isolating vision to take into her heart, for it made her feel exceedingly small in the grand scheme of things.
A shadow signaled a presence beside her. She raised her eyes and it was Grey. He held out his hand and she took it without question.
He pulled her to her feet and said, “I have something incredible to show you.”
They walked together into a tidal pool. The scenery was even more breathtaking than it had been only a moment before. The sun had now set the sky ablaze with glorious hues of orange. She squinted to focus in its brilliance as thoughts of distant fire breathing dragons lit up her imagination once again. Grey had become her makeshift replacement for the brother she had lost. He seemed to see her the same way. She was a younger sister to him. He began to tow her through the surf so fast that she could barely manage to keep her footing in the shifting grains. It felt as though the ocean floor was attempting to elude them as they abruptly stopped thigh deep in the surf.
Grey whispered, “Do you trust me?” He covered her eyes with damp hands.
“That depends on your state of mind. You do seem reasonably sane today.” Kayn laughed nervously as she attempted to pry his hands away.