Irene, My dead best friend [Wattys 2015]

Chapter 21: Family

Chapter 21: Family

“Family quarrels are bitter things. They don’t go according to any rules. They’re not like aches or wounds, they’re more like splits in the skin that won’t heal because there’s not enough material.”                                           - F. Scott Fitzgerald

You’d think men singing “melodiously” would be something creepy but it was on the contrary.  Despite the centaur’s voices being Opera equivalent, they still put the fear of God in me because hearing them meant they were heading this way. Grabbing Irene’s feeling less hand, I made a run for it. She must have heard them too because she didn’t object or fluster and ran with me.

At this point, I had no idea where I was running to but I did know this; I didn’t want to head back home nor did I want to run into the centaurs. That only left me one choice: to take Irene and me deeper into the woods. With low hanging branches and twigs whipping at our faces as we hurried further into the trees, everything became more dense and harder to get through. The trees were much older and bigger at this end, with thick green mold covering the huge trunks. I could hear Irene struggling to keep up with me as I yanked her space-less hands along with me but I was acutely aware that the only running footsteps were my own.

It was also very pleasing to know that I could no longer hear the centaurs sing but there was no way I was stopping now in case they had heard us run away. We ran for quite a while, my arms and face thoroughly scratched up with bits of my shirt torn along the edges.  I slowed down then, looking back to make sure Irene was alright. Apart from heavy breathing, the girl looked like she hadn’t moved an inch. No indication of a laborious run through dense woods nor any physical affirmation either. Her wild, raven hair was… well as wild as ever but her clothes were untouched and she had no scratches or tears on her body. Instead of being surprised and freaking out, I found myself accepting it, as though it was the most normal thing to have happened so far and didn’t pay much attention to it again.

“We can’t run forever, Jason,” Her face had turned solemn and I knew this was going to be a serious conversation. I nodded at her and looked away. Frustrated, I ran my hands through my hair, trying to think of something to say to her. Something that would tell her that I could take care of her and protect her and lead her to safety. But the worst part of it all was that I wasn’t sure of any of it either, how would I convince her of it? I looked up at the dense branches all intertwined in their lush greenery.  They were so thick that it was now getting harder to see the sky. If I estimated right, it was now about noon; it felt like I left home ages ago.

“I know we can’t run forever but what are we supposed to do? Do you know what I saw when I went for my pee break?” She made a face at my mention of pee but thought better than to say anything about it.

“No. What did you see?”

“Those centaurs have cultivated this large area of the woods, it’s all organized with flowers and woven paths that all lead up to this waterfall that ends at a lake”

“What?” her face was incredulous. “A waterfall? In the woods? Do you have any idea how absurd you sound right now?”

“You have some nerve talking about “absurd” when you’ve been the definition of weird for the past two days, miss-floats-in-space!” she had a brilliant way of pressing my buttons. I noticed as a shocked and then a slightly hurt expression crossed her face but she composed herself immediately, probably trying to not give away too much.

“And yes, I saw a waterfall. I was surprised too that I hadn’t heard it, what with us being so close to it and all but it was there. While there, I heard the singing we just heard and went closer to see where it was coming from. Turned out the centaurs were doing some kind of ritual with leaves and what not. I figured it would be best to get back to you before they saw me and went bat shit berserk on us. Only you weren’t anywhere to be found,” I ended my explanation by giving her an annoyed expression at the remembrance of her disappearance but Irene was as sassy as they come because she shot back with an annoyed expression at my annoyance.