Transitory

Chapter 10

Seconds after returning to his feet, Nate was again unbalanced and found himself stepping backward into one of the unmoving figures. He bashed into a woman's elbow, which stuck in his spine and caused him to flinch. The world around him may have frozen, but what he had just heard was far more shocking. Inevitably, his bruised back was pushed to the bottom of his list of concerns.

“What? I don't understand. Who were you talking to if not the Ring Beings?” He said.

The sudden realisation that the Beings were fake had shattered his preconceptions into billions of tiny pieces. He tried to keep his breaths as regular as possible while he dealt with this new piece of information. If they didn’t exist, then who was responsible for the re-creations?

“My people,” L'Armin began, “have been in contact since the attempt on your life. They agreed that I should help you. But we are able to do more.”

Nate rubbed his fingers against his temples in a circular motion. Creases of skin formed like bow waves at the tips of his fingers, before they were smoothed out again. The massage did little to dissipate the heat in his head, but he continued regardless.

“This is crazy. How is all of this possible, then?” Nate waved his left arm around the room. He continued to caress his temple with the other.

“It is my race. We, and not the Beings, are responsible for creating this from your memories, Nathan. You and I are connected. More deeply than we usually allow.”

“So, can you read my mind?” Nate said, with a worried tone to his voice.

“I cannot hear your inner voice, no. I can, however, see fragments of your past. And, as you have seen, we can experience them again.”

“But there’s things here I’m sure I’d forgotten. And what about the meeting we just saw? I didn’t witness that. I’m over by the stage, still giving my speech. Explain that.”

“We are able to see more. This can be considered a second viewing. Or a repeat of time, if you will,” L'Armin said. “As long as the event happened within this bubble of time, we can see it. Venture too far away from your other selves and the memory will collapse. This is what nearly happened a moment ago.”

“The noises,” Nate said, excitedly. Finally he could understand something.

“Indeed. The discussion to help you further had intensified, and I had become distracted. Our connection was nearly broken, leaving you alone with the burden. Your mind could not cope. I am truly sorry,” L'Armin said, while bowing.

“My head felt like it was about to explode. But I don’t understand why you hid all of this?”

“You must understand, we do so for our own safety.” L'Armin turned away as he spoke, leaving only the left side of his face still visible. “Many generations ago we came here to escape enslavement. My people were abused and threatened because of this ability. It cannot happen again.”

Nate watched as a small tear formed and trickled down L'Armin's face. It followed the path left by an earlier drop, hesitating at the peak of each wrinkle it surmounted. Eventually, it nestled just above his lip, precariously close to falling to the floor. A tear from the other side slowly followed and ran down to join it. There the engorged tear hung on for dear life.

“So what's with the festival and these Ring Beings? Why make all of that up?”

L'Armin turned back and smiled. “We can share our gift without revealing it.”

“A cover story? Clever, if not a bit over the top.”

“We do like a spectacle.” L'Armin let out a breath followed by the faintest whiff of a chuckle. “We have learnt to appreciate our gift through sharing in this way.” He wiped the tear away.