by N. I. Rojas
Everything was just a bad taste hidden in the back of her throat, everything covered in this sweet sensation, as rotten strawberry bathed in silky sweet chocolate. His lips parted and Kyra imagined herself standing on her toes to kiss those thin baby lips. They were perfect, not full or extremely flimsy, just the perfect size to be matched to her pretty pink lips.
“Your cheeks are red hot! Why is that? You feel sick?” -Mackenzie asked. That was the reason his mouth was opened, Kyra thought. After this, he must have already noticed that she just watched him bedazzled… as recording every detail of him in her prodigious mind.
“Oh, it’s nothing. I don’t feel at ease with all this… the dress… the crowd… you…” -She lied as for the previous moments she felt better than any other time in her life. Not even around her hardcover books she had felt so accompanied and alive. With Mackenzie she felt like home, and it was both terrible and good. Good because a home is a place you have to be. Bad because feeling that way, comfortable around him wasn’t a great idea. She had made a promise to herself. No love until High School… or better yet until University. She was happy having zero romantic choices. That made her promise easier to fulfill. Mackenzie was the only one who had said something sweet to her, but he seriously had issues.
“It’s just a crazy promise that nobody knows. You can change it anytime. Besides, High School is just a few months away.” - This silly thought came into her mind.
“Well, in that case, just enjoy my company, because it’s just that. I don’t intend anything else… so you can feel safe with me.” -Mackenzie said, bringing Kyra closer to him, forcing her to rest her face in the curve of his neck. What a skin so soft- Kyra thought. It was as baby skin, but with a smell as refreshing as the beach- fresh and clean and fun. He smelled like freedom and it was a punishment to Kyra because love wasn’t something she had considered part of her plan for the future. Love ruins it all. Love destroys the goals of girls like her, girls with promising futures. No. She must not allow this. She must put distance between them. Better do it now. Escape from him now that she had the chance. She needed fresh air, not the soft breeze coming from Mackenzie, but the one that comes with reality. The smell of the street full of carbon monoxide… yes, that was what she needed, the nasty smell of her reality. To be intoxicated with the dreadful aroma of her lonely future. Maybe the smell of the oldest book she had touch… or one of those that no one is allowed to take home because such a fragile thing cannot be placed in a backpack without breaking its pages and covers and turning it into merely stinky dust.
“Then why you came?” -Kyra asked him, knowing it was wrong, she didn’t need to hear it, but still wanting to know. She waited for a better answer. A real reason. Something to make her fall straight into his spell.
“I told you, your father made me come.” -Mackenzie half lied. He was making a gigantic effort resisting her. She smelled so sweet, like a forbidden garden ready to bloom. He wanted to give up everything, just to continue under the charm of such unearthly essence.
“I don’t know but… I think you lie. Why you didn’t refuse?” -If Kyra had known his truth she would have kicked Mackenzie out of the birthday party as soon as she saw him standing in the staircase waiting for her. But she will hate him anyway, as the real reason that kept him there was much worse than being forced by her father.
Chapter 11: A gift worth dying for...
Saturday Evening
Mackenzie followed Kyra as she tried to escape from him, frenzied. All this had been too much. The accusations. The proximity. The way her smell intoxicated Mackenzie in a delicious way. The things he must do soon. How he would be able to take Kyra to the Wizard? How he would make her accompany him? Under which ruse she’ll go with him? Telling the truth was out of consideration, as which was the truth anyway?
Kyra walked out of the ballroom full of guests and noises. Her shoes giving her away with every taken step. Grateful to be outside, sheltered with the silence of the night, she walked a little farther. Following the chippings path, several times she was about to fall thanks to the high heels that sank deep into the wet soil covered in small pebbles. Carefully she took off her shoes, daring to stretch her toes for the first time since she was dressed in this sophisticated attire. Walking barefoot in the darkness she feared nothing as usual; her toes slipping between the green grass and soil. The cold drops of dew slumbering on each little leaf dampened the hem of her beautiful long green dress. She had so many feelings she needed to understand, so many doubts she needed to clarify, but there was no way of fighting against them. This was more than what she could resist.
With Mackenzie there, looking at her; his eyes were a world on their own. She had never experienced this before, but his presence gave her an electric tide, something she felt since the first time they saw each other but she couldn’t recognize or identify the feeling.
Kyra didn’t saw the giant hand coming straight to her, nor heard the rummaging noises between the small pebbles under her feet. Those noises were nothing she had heard before; such a low rumble Kyra mistook by the boisterous vibes of music. The grip around her chest and waist was strong and she felt like fainting but reacted fast thanks to her dad’s lessons of survival and self-defense. He had taught her to live and survive, and to fight everything, even the unknown.
She didn’t remember yelling, but oh yes, she did it. She yelled a lot.
Mackenzie heard Kyra’s cry of help, appalling and heartrending. He guessed what could be happening, but then he knew it. Someone else was trying to take Kyra before he did. The Wizard may have sent someone to finish his job, and double-cross Mackenzie to prevent him from been freed to escape Alter Land and his spell. She screamed again and Mackenzie’s feet rose instantly from the floor, flying for the first time since this long week in Kyra’s world.
A giant elf was almost crushing Kyra, but suddenly loosened its grip to try to shoo away what was throwing pebbles at his huge muddy ears. Kyra fell to the floor but didn’t lose time rubbing her aching body, for once she started to run. Fast as a gazelle she tried to be, but the giant elf’s long steps were more than what Kyra could race against. She felt to her face as her feet were tied with fine tree roots, tightening like snakes from her ankles to her upper body. Pointy shoes were the only thing she saw while trying to spit the pieces of dirt she had in her mouth. Kyra was dragged from the floor and stabilized to her feet. Her hair was now a bird’s nest swirling in her face, covering her eyes and sticking to her mouth like the craziest glue. She couldn’t see anything… not even the trail she walked or who was holding her. The poorly illuminated patio was deserted. Not even the security guy was giving a round check, and Kyra was been attacked there while her father was paying such expensive place because it was supposed to be safe. She preferred not to think, just run, clutching tightly of that hand.
As they ran, the creature following them ran faster too. The floor trembled wildly forcing Kyra and Mackenzie to slow down. These creatures were using a very strange and powerful magic, unknown to Mackenzie, and he was sure they’ll be seized any minute. Mackenzie wanted to know who had sent this creature after them, but the harder he thought, the more enemies he could remember. The witch was one of his main options. She was evil impersonated. The crooked pirate? No. He was bad, but not smart. The dirty Wizard? The mere thought of this man triggered Mackenzie’s inner alarm. But Mackenzie also thought about the Bird Girl, the Fairy Queen, the Master Elf, and a few others to which he had played fool some other times.
“Kyra… Kyra… Where are you?” -Kyra’s father was calling. Just what Mackenzie needed, another human to rescue...
“Close your eyes.” -Mackenzie whispered the command in Kyra’s ear, making it sound more a plea than an order. She couldn’t fight a voice that sweet although she couldn’t see his face. His soft voice was now a spell on her, but he thought he was the one being bewitched all this time. As soon as her eye lids were together, he grabbed her in his arms, lifting her from the floor, their hand
s secured together as opposite poles. They were magnets playing the same game, with tricks and magic spells. Kyra felt a tingling sensation all over, but also felt clean and fresh, as if none of these things would have happened. - “Make your father go away.”
She did as he had said, whatever he commanded her to, but before going to her father she opened her eyes, wanting desperately to look at his face, but to her misfortune, he had disappeared.
******
“Where were you? I’ve been looking for you…” -Her father said. Visibly nervous, he extended his arms to give her a loving hug. Kyra was surprised when discovered her hair fixed again and her dress clean as she took it from her bed hours ago.
“I was just taking fresh air.” -Kyra lied. Although that was the main reason why she had left the party, a second after that everything turned into mayhem.
“It’s almost midnight. We must talk.” -Kyra would have preferred to hear a scold for been outside this late, but “we must talk” was worst that anything she could have imagined. - “We don’t have much time.”
“We can do this tomorrow, dad.”- She tried to persuade her father, but he shook his head no. - “I just turned fifteen; this isn’t a disease, just adolescence.”
“There are a lot of things I haven’t told you about... your origins, but many of them I don’t know. You’ll undertake a journey. There’s no coming back for you now, Ky.” -As soon as her father said those words, he dropped Kyra’s backpack between them. It wasn’t her school backpack, but the one they used to field trips.
She was confused. Was he seriously kicking her out of the house?
“But why, father? I’ll behave… I’ll do what you say…” -Kyra apologized for nothing in particular, but maybe a plea could fix it all. - “I’ll stay in the house… I won’t go to the library anymore…” -She tried to convince her father, to make him change his mind. She didn’t understand why he was doing this. Fat tears ran from her eyes to her cheeks and got lost in the soft silk of her dress. Seeing her like that, sobbing uncontrollably broke her father’s heart.
“No, baby… This is not what you think. You are a perfect daughter; you couldn’t be better even if you tried. Listen… I must give you this…It’s a birthday present. It was a gift your mother gave me long before your birth.” -Her father opened his hand, and there, between the lines marked by his previous job as carpenter, lay a tiny star shaped diamond. A hue of rainbow colors started unfolding. It needed no more light than its own to create reflections. Kyra’s father placed the diamond in the floor in front of them and a blurry area grew just there.
A magic portal!
Kyra jumped back, stumbling with some Ficus trees, and falling over her buttock. This magic portal was a vague shadow barely perceivable, but Mackenzie- hidden right behind them, covered with the trash bags- knew exactly what it was. Kyra, on the other hand, didn’t understand any of this. Her worst nightmares were coming true this night- one by one. Living a life based in fantasy and enjoying the epic journey of fiction wasn’t one of Kyra’s ordinary dreams. Love and its heartbeats were another of the most feared situations for Kyra.
“As soon as you enter the portal you must take the diamond of portals with you and hide it. You must never lose it because you’ll never be able to come back. I can’t answer any of your questions, but you’ll find better answers by yourself. The world is just not as you thought it was. You must rely now in your imagination. Give it a try and trust no one. You’ll discover a lot about yourself in this journey.” -Kyra tried to protest but her father silenced her. - “Take this with you. I don’t know why or with which purpose, but your mother left this for you to have this day. Maybe now you’ll discover the answers of your real history.”
“I won’t go anywhere, dad!” -She finally protested. - “This is just crazy. Not real. We’re hallucinating, dad! Someone put some drug in the punch… Don’t be silly.”
“Stop, Kyra. I’ve seen things… you need to see the world yourself. There is no reason keeping you hidden from it. If you don’t go it will come to get you and it will be worst.”
“You want to get rid of me? Am I a burden to you? You are doing this to be just you, your new wife and Zoe… this has to be.” -Kyra yelled at her father. She was tired… too tired. She felt ashamed, appalled, crushed by a hatred she didn’t even recognize.
Her father hugged her hard before pushing her and the backpack inside the portal. Kyra tried to return but it was impossible, the portal kept pulling her. She belonged there now. She was no longer part of the world she had known.
She yelled at her father to go with her, but he kept telling her to take the diamond and hide. She didn’t obey. This was wrong. A black shadow flew over Kyra’s head turning the already dark sky into pain and death. Kyra looked up in time to dodge black drops falling from that black hand. Ink. She recognized it immediately. Then she heard her father fighting and yelling. She tried to help him, but he was taken, grabbed as a small plastic toy, enslaved in the interior of a cage of ink. The improvised prison flew straight into the portal, passing fast over Kyra’s head. She tried to follow it, running as fast as she could, but it went up, mixing in between black clouds until just exploded between darkness.
Mackenzie came out of hiding when he saw what happened to Kyra’s father. He tried to help, but everything happened too fast. He didn’t have the chance to help any of them. Why was that portal opened? How Kyra’s father had that diamond in his possession? Why he pushed Kyra inside? Mackenzie felt something behind him, but when tried to look back something pushed him inside the portal as well. Painfully he landed on top of Kyra.
The noises of chasing elves and the long vines snaking from between the soil of Kyra’s real world trying to enter into the portal too, running after them as painful whips; soft bells chiming in the air, the sound of huge waves about to crush them to the bones… The earth shaking as trying to explode under their feet… Danger could be heard.
Mackenzie jumped to his feet, snatching the diamond from its place in the floor, hiding it inside his tight green pants. The rumbles stopped. Everything came back to normal, as normal as it could ever be, and they both fell to the floor again, not unconscious but tired and numb. Words didn’t find a way to float between them. Neither the tears found a way to escape Kyra’s eyes anymore. She was just shocked of all this.
Chapter 12: Where Fantasy and Reality finally meet
Sunday
A shadow was casted over their heads that night. A shadow as thick and suffocating as a cloud of dark smoke. Kyra couldn’t sleep, as usual, but this night was understandable. She tried not to remember her childhood, but it was hard to block it, to suppress the visions she had. Kyra had grown in her own world where, contrary to her wishes and purposes, her teddy bears and ragged dolls talked to her. That was not normal. She wasn’t a normal girl growing a normal life. Kyra knew it. No one else heard their toys talking to them. Because of this, everyone made fun of her, even her stepsister made jokes about the nutty-knocker-cuckoo-locker , as Zoe called her in front of other kids.
To comfort her, Kyra’s father used to tell her stories about a magical castle hidden in an enchanted mountain, protected in the midst of magical spells and powerful wizard warriors. This place was a secluded fortress containing magic within. If someone was fortunate enough to enter through its supernatural doors, this lucky person would be granted with the power of knowledge and magic. How the magic was contained inside was a mystery. Which form it would take depended only in the heart of the person crossing the gates and what resided in their mind. A person with bad heart and dirty mind would find only madness and evil. A person as Kyra would get… Her father never told her, but she suspected it could be crazy talking dolls and creepy bloody teddy bears.
The box her father gave her before pushing her into the portal was resting now against her ribcage, untouched, unopened, impatient to be free. When Kyra opened her eyes again, it was still dark. Pitch dark. She thought it was weird as her instinctive inner
clock told her it was beyond five in the morning. It should be dawn already. The sun light was supposed to be starting to glow in the horizon.
Something was licking Kyra’s face, and she was soaked wet and slobbered. Kyra stood up, scared of what was out there with her. Maybe it was a wolf, or a snake, or another creature as the one that grabbed her outside the party. She looked at what was in front of her. Trying to adjust her vision to that darkness, Kyra blinked a few times, but it was hard to see with watery eyes. Finally, Kyra distinguished a dark silhouette; it was something big, maybe dangerous.
Startled, she walked backwards, trying to protect herself from the unknown creature. Soon her eyes were fully adapted to the darkness and Kyra started recognizing shapes and sizes, and naming what she was seeing. If you can name it securely, it is sure to be real- she always said to herself. If you hesitate before naming the thing, it must not be safe.
Kyra heard a low whinny in front of her. The soft breeze of the animal's braying caressed her face making her feel somewhat safe. A giant horse was watching her, studying her reaction. Its mare was full of colors, like a crystal in the light. - “Just like the diamond dad gave me.” -Thought Kyra marveled. For a second, she asked herself the whereabouts of the diamond, but she was so amazed with the horse that she forgot the diamond soon. The hue of rainbow colors disappeared rapidly and Kyra distinguished that the big animal was black. Ink black.