The Magician's Assistant

[6] A Strange Encounter

          It took all of my strength not to beg forgiveness from James. I literally had to slap my hand over my mouth. I didn’t even know what I was apologizing for. He had no reason to be upset with me. At least, he had no reason that I knew of to be upset with me.

          Instead of moping in self-pity (which I actually did a lot of), I decided to go for a walk. Distracting my mind and eyes with scenery perhaps would be a good diversion.

          It was about six o’clock at night, and so the sun was just beginning to set. A chilling breeze brushed my skin that was exposed to the nighttime air. It was summertime, yes, but it was nearing its end. I gathered my zip-up sweatshirt closer to my body.

My feet took me down my calm dead-end street and onto the busy street. I walked down the street filled with racing cars and took deep calming breaths. It was a little strange that being somewhere so hectic could calm me. Perhaps it was because I realized that my mind wasn’t the only crazy place at the moment. Where I was headed was still a mystery to me, but I needed to escape the confines of my bedroom.

          The empty space next to my body just reminded me of James’s absence. He was always the rock that stood next to me. As soon as that though crossed my mind, I banished it. There was no way that I could let my thoughts drift to him.

          Mosquitoes were beginning to snack on me like a large feast, and I found myself swatting them like no tomorrow. That should have been a big tip-off that I ought to be heading back home. But no, I decided to continue walking aimlessly.

          And that’s how I ended up lost on an empty dirt road.

My vision was swimming, and I couldn’t be sure if I was imagining my location or not. I wasn’t exactly sure how I wound up where I was, considering I had never seen anything like this place before. I’d gone walking plenty of times and never came across a path like this one.

          Before I could even sigh in frustration, a figure was in front of me. Well, a couple of steps away from me. At first, I thought it was James. A big smile spread onto my face and I yelled his name. “James. James!”

          Except he gave me not a single response. As the figure grew closer, the thin shoulders that I had seen from a distance enlarged, and the longish hair slowly decreased into a buzz cut. James’ perfect skin transformed into a paler shade and a scar ran across the man’s left cheek.

          It wasn’t James.

          I took a noticeable step backwards, my eyes widening noticeably. “Hello,” the man said. “Do not be frightened.”

          Well he was doing a pretty good job of scaring me!

          “Who are you?” was the first thing that I asked.

          “That is a secret, Rachel Cooper,” he smiled, revealing jagged white teeth. After a moment’s pause, he added, “Does my appearance…frighten you?”

          It was just the fact that he was sending off a dangerous vibe. That’s what was frightening me.

          I shook my head ‘no’.

          “I do believe that you are not being one-hundred percent truthful,” he said, shaking his head. In a matter of seconds, his body appearance shifted and I was looking at the equivalent of a Greek God. The man was gorgeous!

          It took me a few moments to process that he had actually formed into a different person. I began to pinch my arms, willing myself to wake up from the strange dream. I must have fallen asleep during my pathetic mourning over my fight with James.