Eli looked at his watch. Guess it's time to wake Valen up; he thought to himself. Getting off the couch, Eli turned off the TV and headed toward Valen's room. Walking down the long hallway leading to the man's room, Eli paused to look at a picture hanging on the wall. Out of all the pictures, this was his favorite. It was a picture Valen had taken of him when Eli had broken his arm. Eli had been only seven at the time and he'd been trying to climb the tree that was once in their backyard. Valen had given him some medicine to take some of the pain away, but it also had put Eli to sleep. The next morning, Eli woke to find his arm was no longer broken.
That was nine years ago—and in between those years, Valen had always been by Eli's side, protecting him and working miracles.
Approaching the double doors leading into Valen's domain, Eli could hear muffled moans emanating from the room. Knocking; Eli shouted, "Hey Valen, it's 10:30!" A few seconds passed, but there wasn't an answer.
Hmm, he must be having one of his deep sleeps again because knowing Valen, he would've heard me coming down the hall.
Eli opened the door and peeked his head inside. To the left, he could see a dresser and to his right, a half empty bookshelf. Slipping only his left foot past the threshold, Eli looked to the right where he saw Valen thrashing about in his bed, clearly distressed. He ran to Valen's side and shook the man, trying to wake him up. Valen suddenly sprang up in a sitting position, eyes wide and fists clenched. Valen's eyes were shimmery and shining with unshed tears, but once the man realized where he was, he offered Eli a small smile.
"Thank you. I'll be out in a second," Valen murmured.
Eli positioned himself closer to Valen, unwilling to leave just yet. His expression softened before he asked, "Valen , are you ok?"
Valen softly chuckled before replying, "Yes. It was just a bad dream."
Eli smiled; satisfied. Shaking his head, he stood from Valen's bed and headed to the door. Without looking back, Eli exited the room and allowed the door to swing shut behind him, then took in a deep breath and headed back to his own room.
Back down the hall, past the living room and up the stairs, was his master bedroom. Eli used to think his granite door was a little dull, but that was before he added his own personal touch: a sign saying DO NOT ENTER tacked on the middle of it. Even though it was just him and Valen in the old two-story Victorian home, and neither of them never went into each other's room without permission, Eli still felt it was necessary.
Walking inside, Eli was greeted with the scent of vanilla and a hint of dirty laundry. "Ha. Well, it did smell good at first," he said aloud to himself, heading for his wooden laundry basket in the corner of his room next to his closet. However, when he passed his bed, he realized he hadn't made it after waking up and so, decided to do it right then while it was on his mind.
"Strange place to put a bed," Valen had commented when Eli had finally decided on a position. Eli always felt comfortable sleeping in the middle of the room. Being in the center, able to see all angles of the room without being cornered, seemed right.
After he made his bed, Eli went over to the sliding door leading to his patio, forgetting about his smelly laundry at the moment, and stepped outside. A cool breeze blew through Eli's short tussled hair and the sun burned in his piercing hazel eyes. The clear sky and bright green trees and the overlook of the valley had all been the deciding factors for Eli when he'd been trying to pick out a bedroom. Valen hadn't minded since he liked the darkest room downstairs anyway.
Coming out here seemed to bring Eli peace—almost as if the patio itself was enchanted. Taking in the scene as if for the first time, Eli deeply inhaled and closed his eyes before slowly exhaling. He then stepped back through the patio door, closed it, tucked his laundry basket under his arm, and headed downstairs.
Out in the hallway, Eli was welcomed by the scent of bacon and eggs and he followed his nose to the kitchen. "Is that for me?" he asked Valen, who was now dressed and looking more lively.
"Yes, it is." Eli sat his basket down outside in the backyard next to the well. "I'll wash those if you want. I have some I need to wash as well!" Valen called out from the kitchen.
"Sure. I planned on doing it when I got back, but if you get to it before then, thanks." Eli came back inside and closed the door, then sat at the eight-person table where his food was patiently waiting to be devoured.
Eli was about to dig in when Valen said, "My apologies for startling you earlier."
Eli eyed the man as he grabbed orange juice from the fridge, taking his first bite of eggs.
"Were you dreaming about Claire again?" Eli asked.
With a drop of his eyebrows and a slow blink, Valen responded with a simple and subdued "Yes."
Eli never understood why Valen's dreams were filled with such pain and anger when they were actually about the love of his life. He quickly gave up on deciphering it years ago however, and just decided that he had to accept the fact that Valen had some things locked up in his head; things that haunted him every now and then. Even if some of those things involved Eli himself.
No more than two minutes passed before Eli was up and washing his plate, heading to the door.
"Where are you in a rush to?"
"To the outside market to meet up with Liam, why?" Eli asked as he bent down to put on his favorite black and white Nikes.
"No reason. Have fun."
Eli put on his other shoe, looked back at Valen with one hand on the door knob, and smiled. "Ok then," he said—then he was out the door. Once outside, Eli put his hands in his pocket and started down the street. He avoided the constant stares from the neighbors by kicking rocks or by just looking away to the ground or opposite direction. Why are they always staring? Some of the townsfolk's gazes gave Eli chills. He had told Valen about this quite a few times and every time Valen would say the same thing: "I'll talk to them about it, but it's probably just because of the clothes you choose to wear."
Eli didn't really believe his choice in attire could be the only reason because he felt that after some point, people would have to accept it. And, since they weren't, something else was bothering them. He hadn't mustered up the courage to say something to them himself, so he figured until then, he'd just leave it alone.
With the market in sight, Eli could see that he was earlier than he expected or they were just late setting up shop. As usual, Eli crossed the bridge over Frog River, looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was behind him, and then detoured off to the right. Eli enjoyed coming to this spot whenever he had the chance. Red and white amaryllis flowers—his mothers' favorite—grew deep inside the garden hothouse.
Valen had told him that Susan used to grow them herself and then pot them inside Eli's room for protection when he was an infant. Unlike most people, coming here and touching the velvety amaryllis petals with his fingers and smelling the flowers' sweet aroma was more than an ordinary visit to Eli; it was a way to be close to the mother he couldn't remember and; in doing so, he hoped in some way it would spark memories of her. Looking at the sky, Eli blew a kiss and whispered to the heavens, "I love you." Then, he rose and listened for footsteps out front before stepping back out on the road.
As Eli approached the market, he began to wonder where the patrons had come from. Had much time passed or did everyone just run really fast to get there while he wasn't looking? Eli wondered mildly, chuckling at the thought. Eli continued inside and saw Tom the juice man to his left. He never understood why Tom's stand was so popular when most of the juice he sold tasted like blood. Liam dared Eli to try it once and that's when his questions started about the people who drank it. Maybe it's a drug or some type of diet drink, he thought while he passed by. Well, on second thought, it couldn't be a drug because Valen drank it occasionally.
Looking for Ms. Agnes' fruit stand, Eli noticed the usual circular formation of the market had changed to a "U" shape. Normally, her stand was toward the right top part and, hoping she stayed predictable, he turned his head in that direction. To his relief, she was there. She stood behind her booth, grey hair in disarray with wrinkles across her cheeks. A strong grin grew across her roundish face when she noticed Eli out of the crowd walking toward her. Knowing the reaction he would receive, Eli approached her with a cheerful smile and said "Good morning Ms. Agnes." He let his eyes wonder in search for what he came for and after not finding them, he asked "Do you have any today?"
Ms. Agnes scoffed and shook her head.
"Well, when will you have some?" Eli asked, disappointedly.
Slowly she replied, "Tomorrow." Her hollow eyes appraised him.
With a rushed "Thank you," Eli quickly turned and walked away.
A commotion had started behind him while he'd been talking with Ms. Agnes, diagonally to his right, and he decided to go and be nosey. A crowd was gathering around two individuals it seemed and some townspeople were trying to calm them both down. Pushing through the crowd, he heard two male voices and saw a red and black plaid shirt. Once Eli got to the front, the distinct voice and plaid shirt confirmed his guess that it was Liam.
Liam was arguing with Peter Sayegh, the wealthy prep kid in town. His parents had previously owned an insurance company, but supposedly, left it in the hands of his sister while they went away for retirement. Peter was sick when this happened; so naturally, he went with his parents. They were the only Indians in Drakan. For three years now, Peter and Liam had never gotten along and it was best if they weren't around each other for any longer than a second.
Eli came to Liam's side. "Liam! Hey, what's going on?"
"This loser thinks he can buy the last of the plasma fruit because his parents have all that money."
Standing straight, Peter sneered. "Look. Like I've already told you, I was already here. I just walked away for a second—no more than 5 steps—and then, you showed up."
"Come on Liam, let it go," urged Eli; tugging at Liam's arm, but unable to budge him.
"Yes Liam," Peter mocked, "Why don't you and THAT reject run off somewhere?"
Eli saw the darts shooting from Liam's eyes, saw his feet shuffle as if to attack, and knew he had to do something quick before Liam ripped Peter's face to pieces. "Liam. Dude, I found it," Eli said excitedly.
Slightly snapping out of it, Liam replied, "Found what?"
Eli smiled, bobbed his head up and down and, making sure to emphasize the word, said "It, dude."
New interest and understanding blossomed on Liam's face and Eli was finally able to pull him away. Once the scene was all left behind, Eli asked, "Seriously. What was that about?"
Liam laughed. "I got bored waiting on you and then he showed up. That's it."
"Whatever," Eli said with a roll of his eyes.
How did I become best friends with this guy again? Eli thought, laughing inwardly as the two of them walked along. He was taking Liam to the Valley of Bones.