Vega, Echoes of the Past

Chapter 1

August

- Okay, do you have everything you need? my mother asked me for at least the hundredth time that day. And remember, if you ever have a problem you call us, okay?

- Yeah mom, I sighed, exasperated. It's not like you're going to the middle of the Amazon. Let's not forget that you'll come back Sunday evening, right?

- Arthur is right, Isabelle, and we're going to be late if we don't leave right away, added my father, impatiently.

She replied with a few unintelligible words accompanied by a falsely acerbic look. My parents formed a simple but pretty picture, pretending to bicker like this. Each of them had their own unique style: my father was more of a biker type, whether in his expressions or in his appearance. He never went anywhere without his big leather jacket and his skull bag. My mother, for her part, was always dressed in the most sophisticated and refined outfits, while remaining natural and comfortable in them. Her stunning red hair cascaded over her shoulders, contrasting with her asymmetrical green top. Despite their differences, they had never left each other since they met, and now, here I was! I clearly was the perfect mix of my parents: my hair was brown, like my father's, and I had my mother's dark blue eyes. As for my body shape, I was neither very short nor very tall, and average in almost everything and anything. Well, my hair wasn't very extravagant either, it was wavy and slightly longer than that of boys my age. Quite banal, right? But far be it from me to complain about my physique, that would amount to insulting my parents about their genes and their love. And God knows this love was very resilient, since they were going on a romantic weekend to Paris to celebrate their fifteen years of marriage. I could've never loved someone for that long.

During this time, I had to stay at home with my uncle. Uncle Ernest was always very kind to me and we were almost of the same generation, because he was about fifteen years younger than my father. After giving in with our traditional three-headed hug, they finally closed the door behind them, simple and somber silhouettes moving silently in the dark night. I then headed towards the kitchen, to wave them goodbye through the window. Finally free for the weekend! Fortunately there was no class the next day and I would be able to stay up late without consequences, because otherwise I think I would have been able to fall asleep in the middle of a math test. And yet, between us, math couldn't be more captivating! On the other hand, literary subjects seemed to me much too vague and hollow. Seriously, sometimes it made me want to scream just seeing how people speak French. We, the Frenchies, the fancy oui-oui baguettes, happened to call a number four-twenty-ten-seven. Why keep it simple when you can make it complicated, am I right? Once again, it proved the superiority of the hard sciences. I studied for a little hour waiting for Ernest to come in.

- Arthur? It's me! Are you there? he shouted from outside the front door.

- Coming right up! I replied.

I went down the steps and took out the house keys from my pants pocket. After hearing the metallic click of the door and its slight creak, it opened wide to reveal my uncle, all smiles. Ernest was quite tall and thin. He had the same brown hair as my father and I, except he had it shoulder-length, tied at the back. We chatted here and there about trivialities before ordering pizzas. He treated us with a White Pizza and a Margarita. I could have bursted out because of how tasty they were. It was getting late, so I went up to bed, o, I won't hide it from you. I must have fallen asleep early because I have no memory of what I did once I got to my room.

The next morning, I went down just as sleepy as I had gone up the day before. I grabbed my favorite box of cereal, the one with chocolate and berries inside, and poured them into my mint-green bowl with milk. Cereals before milk of course.

- An apple a day keeps the doctor away, my father's voice echoed in my head.

So I got up, carried away by this invisible order, to go get a fruit. I was finally getting ready to eat when my uncle burst into the dining room.

- Did you sleep badly? I asked, quite worried at the sight of Ernest's strangely light complexion.

My uncle seemed almost see through, he was so pale. He didn't answer me right away and it wasn't until his pupils crossed mine that I understood something horrible had happened during the night. Before revealing anything to me, he had me sit down in the living room, and we sat face to face on the sofa, our legs folded into the fetal position.

- What's happening ?

- Arthur, he replied with a deep voice I didn't know of. I have something to tell you. I know this won't be easy to hear, and you'll be having a hard time over the next few months, most certainly even the next few years. Last night, on the highway, your parents had a car accident. A truck hit them... as it was driving in the opposite direction on the road. I... Arthur, your parents are... didn't make it. And I...

My ears were immediately blocked, I couldn't hear what happened next. No, I didn't want to hear the rest. I think the list of emotions I felt at that moment was long. Too long. It was first of all the shock that was crushing. I felt like someone was trying to make me swallow big mouthfuls of hot, dry sand. I remember coughing. A real feeling of suffocation, as if all the air in the room had been sucked out. Then came denial. There was no way my parents were gone, it was like being told the truth, but in another language. I knew it was accurate and sincere, and yet I didn't understand it. Knowing my uncle, this could only be an lame joke. After long seconds of searching in vain for the spark characterizing one of his jokes, drops of salty water came to sting the corners of my eyes. Sadness wasn't a sufficient word to define these cold fleeting shivers.

- I believe it's called despondency, whispered the little voice in my head without the slightest compassion.

Injustice and anger concluded this emotional fireworks display. I didn't yet know who to direct them against but I knew that once the time would come, I wouldn't be able to contain them any longer. He stopped as tears also welled up in his eyes. I didn't think I had ever seen him cry before that day. Right after, he took me in his arms and whispered sweet promises like: "Nothing will happen to you, I swear" or "I will always be there for you, don't worry." I was completely incapable of making a single sound, and I felt strangely light, as if my soul had left my body, or that I was floating on little hovercrafts six inches up from the couch. I tried in vain to sleep all day and luckily I didn't succeed. I was absolutely terrified to experience nightmares about this accident. The truth was that my mind wasn't ready to process the coming ages of harshness...