The Pollen-Heart Fantasy Project : The Original Twenty Chapters

CHAPTER VII: Mortal Skin

The Following day. 

Emanuel walked over to class before the bell rang. His pace seemed normal, in fact everything about him seemed normal. Angel observed him from afar. His eyes were on him as he dissipated past the walls.

Nico and another boy with blond hair named Issac confronted Emanuel. Issac started off " Hey E-man. I didn't see you at practice yesterday how come." The blonde haired boy was fairly tall and he sported black shorts with long tube socks. Emmanuel said " I was at the hospital." his tone was bleak.  They looked at him with surprise and worry. Issac said " Really, are you alright?" Emanuel smiled and said " Yeah I mean it looks like it, No." Issac said " Well then what happened, did you hit your head on a pole again." Nico responded " No, his heads too big." Emanuel rolled his eyes and said " No, Nothing like that. It was..." It was silent for a moment. Nico said " What." Emanuel looked at the diluted sky then to the restroom as they passed by. He continued " I just woke up in the hospital." Nico said " What are you talking about?" Issac interrupted reluctantly " I think it means he doesn't remember... do you remember?" Emanuel looked straight ahead and responded " Yeah, I wish I could tell you guys what happened, but its all just fog in my head." Issac asked " Then who took you to the hospital? " Emmanuel looked straight ahead and said "My mother said that she found me unconscious near to a tree at the park, but I wasn't the only one." 

Spring. The callings of spring was made clear and radiant. Two projects due next week. One for English and one for Math. Angel had his hands full.  Today no letter had come in the mail. He had suspicions that his phone was bugged or someone else was spying on him. No matter what, he tried to act as normal as possible. As normal as he could be. He sat in class as he began to write his essay about the topic of Mass school shootings. Unexpectedly, his eyes were met by a group of staring girls and laughter. He smiled back. 

 At worst he felt guilty. He was going to make it. The honey made him confident and beautiful. He felt selfish yet powerful. The honey made him concentrate on his work and get better grades. His blackheads and dark circles were gone as well. He was going to die happy. "Would mother be proud?" he asked himself.  He kept on typing on his computer. What was he going to say to Emanuel. He will just have to listen he supposed. Was he still mad. Miguel would be angry. 

" How could I let this happen." The bell struck mid-day.  

Miguel wasn't at school that day. His mother allowed him to rest. It was recommended that he were to stay away from school for the next two days. He felt lucky that this incident hadn't happen during finals week. His back ached with fury whenever his mother rubbed ointment on it. He laid in bed with a bandage wrapped around his back. He gazed put his window as he began to wonder about yesterday. The taste of honey in his mouth. The sight of Angel and a raccoon in the distance. Emanuel running toward Angel in anger. Was this all a dream. The faint memories made him wonder. His mother told him that Emmanuel's mother had found them booth near a tree. The lady thought of they were dead because their skin were white and pale. The emergency call was made at around 10 P.M. He closed his eyes and the sound of his mothers music made him go to sleep. 

The lax sounds of a violin a raccoon played as he sat on the limb of a great tree. An expanse of white popcorn clouds in the horizon and blue skies. A naked man with long hair holding hands with a nude boy on another branch. Down at the very bottom, a woman held the tree with her embrace and a smile on her face. He looked around and saw the expansion of pure green land in the horizon with a plastic green color that was rich in brightness and a glassy texture. He walked around to the other side of the tree as the light began to fade and the clouds dissipated over the darkening horizon. The colors of autumn slowly progressed along the way. The sound of the violin began to play somber tunes. It had became dark enough that he couldn't see anything but the tree and three nooses hanging over a fall ridden branch. Thunder and rain surged from the sky. He looked up as the leaves on the tree began to fall all at once. The ground spread over with the dead foliage leaving only the skeletal remains of the tree behind. Once the fall of the leaves had been ceased he gazed at a body hanging around one of the nooses. He walked toward and turned the body around, It was Emanuel,  his skin was pale as snow and his face was expressionless . The 2nd and 3rd nose were still vacant. He stepped away in fear. He looked up at the tree to find the man with long hair glaring at him with a smug smile.  The boy holding his hand was Angel. Together they flew away in unison toward the dark sky. The raccoon playing the somber tuned plummeted onto the floor as if it was a decoy or a stuffed animal. Next to him, the woman lifted Miguel toward the sky. " You have wings" she said softly. 

He looked behind, nothing. 

When he awoke, the warm amber afternoon sun blinded him. 

The blurry figure of a man in a suit was seen as his mothers voice called out his name "Miguel, Miguel wake up." The bright red opaque colors of the window behind him made the mans face darker and unrecognizable. He was fully awake before he turned his head and saw his mother staring at him with eagerness. She said in perfect Spanish" Miguel, this man would like to talk with you, Is that okay" Miguel's was still groggy and sleepy as he lifted himself up. The man began. " Hello Miguel, I am Detective Orlando, I would like to talk to you about the event's that happened yesterday, is that okay?" Miguel's face lit up once he recognize the mans voice. His mother said " Detective is it okay if I go check on the food, I'll be right back."  Detective Orlando smiled and said " Yes, It would be preferred if Miguel and I could talk alone." She agreed and walked out the room as she pulled the door closed. 

Miguel coughed as Detective Orlando waited for the sounds of the mothers footsteps to fade away before he began. He brought out a card with the drawing of a pocket knife on it. He tenderly placed it in front of Miguel's sheets. " This is your incentive" he said with a soft wisp. Miguel picked up the card with a blank expression in his face and said " What is this for?" The detective said in a bemused tone" Do you not remember this also? It figures." Miguel looked straight ahead at the door with tired eyes. Orlando placed his hand on his chin and said reluctantly " And I suppose you don't remember who I am either?" Miguel shook his head as he said " I do." 

The detective kept his hand on his chin as he continued gazing at the tile floor. He looked back at Miguel and said " If you do then we are in luck." From his pockets he pulled out a black colored spiraled notepad. He continued " Do you have any recollection of how the target looked like." Miguel glanced at him with a confused look. " The target, you mean the raccoon?" The detective clarified " Yes I need a facial composite of our target." Miguel altered his stare at the other side of the room and said " What do you mean he looks like a raccoon." The detective insisted " Miguel anything helps, how about we start off with thinking back or recalling about anything that happened yesterday?" Miguel's mouth gaped open as he tried to come up with something  to say. He forced out his memories. " All I can remember was when Emanuel went running across the street to the park. I don't know what he was trying to do. He then called Angel a bastard or something, I forgot what happened next." he brushed his hands through his hair. Miguel continued " Look I don't know... it felt like it was all just a dream." The detective responded " A dream?" 

Miguel peered out the window as the shadows of the swaying tree poured inside his room. The resting sun glimmered through the foliage. " Well, I had a dream just before I woke up about a man and Angel, It was weird cause they were sitting on a giant tree butt naked before they flew away with wings on their backs, and then Emanuel was..." The detective gazed closely at Miguel with keen eyes " What happened?" At that moment, the shadow of a raccoon permeated against the walls. Miguel's eye's widened as his face went stone cold. The dark and glaring stare of the raccoon was outside in the corner of his window. " God have mercy" Miguel said. The detective turned his head. In an instant they were booth solidified. Their bodies began to grow cold. In a matter of minutes they could die of hypothermia. The pulsing sounds of their hearts filled their ears in their absence of movement. The sun moved slower as the dark shadows eased in. Soon they felt a heavy pressure from all around their bodies. " You will leave Angel and I alone, I will always be here." The raccoon said. " I will always be here, watching you at night, through the cracks of your doors and walls."  The sun moved quicker in it's descent toward the other side of the world. The pigments of night was created." Goodnight." The raccoon ended. " Miguel." 

Their pupils were extremely dilated.  Time was present again. It was night. The sobbing of Miguel's mother as two paramedics examined a faint Orlando. An IV was attached to his arm. " Miguel can you hear me." A paramedic said " He's cold to the touch, I read a 30 on him." But Miguel was alive. He could feel his body along with his muscles and bones. The pressure sensation that made him feel only but the blood flow around his body was ceased. He stretched his fingers open. 

" He's Alive!" 

That night, Angel was spread across his bed. The absence of light was fixated in his room. He was snoring as he took his usual nap. It was always good for him to take a nap so the deep feelings of guilt and emptiness were substituted with the sensation of innocence. His opened his eyes. The air was very cold. He left his window open. The dark feelings began to intrude again on his realization of being alive. He felt pain in his head. " Emanuel" he said as a tear smeared the view of his dark room. Guilt was contrived. He slipped his hands into his pocket and out came a blueberry honey sample. It's smooth rich flavor made him tired again. Gained was the euphoria of night. 

Again and Fear.