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.
“I’ve heard them singing before. I can’t remember precisely when but it was a while back. Usually the singing is followed by violent screaming...” she went silent for a second as though contemplating if she should tell me the next part or not ,”I believe they do this singing ritual before they eat,” her voice had become barely audible by the end of it. It took me a second to fully comprehend the extent of what she was saying. Trying furiously to calm the supersonic beating of my heart, again the irony of it is not lost on me, I looked at Irene but all she did was nod at me.
“What are we going to do, Jason?” her voice was soft, almost childlike and laced with fear.
It made me want to hold her, hug her in my arms till she felt better. I wanted to pick up where I had left off earlier, before the centaurs had so rudely interrupted me. On an elemental level I marveled at how much I had grown in the past couple of days. Trying to…wanting to protect someone else. Feeling the things that I was feeling? I couldn’t believe if I was the same person from few days ago. What was going on with me? Was I evolving? Nah, that can’t be it. It had to be Irene. She had this odd maturing effect on me. She made me want to forget what a wuss I used to be and step up to the plate and take action, if not for me…then for her. I was growing and turning into a man. MAN …wow. Never thought I would be so aware of such a change.
“I’m not perfectly sure, Irene, but we’ll be okay,” I tried to sound confident but I don’t think I fooled her.
“How do you know we’ll be okay? Where are we going to go now? How will I find my family? I’m so tired of running all the time, Jason….I miss my family… You know I have a little sister?” she looked at me with bright hopeful eyes. I saw happiness in them for the first time in 2 days.
“No, I didn’t know that. What’s her name?” I asked her as we continued walking deeper into the woods. We couldn’t stay stagnant for too long lest we left a trail; we had to keep moving.
“Her name is Rosalyn but I’ve always ever called her Rose. She really is very pretty, I can’t wait for you to meet her. She’s so sweet and kind and oh she tells the funniest stories! My goodness, papa loves having Rose around him, she keeps him laughing and mama enjoys her company too. They spend quite a while in the kitchen together. You should just see them all together. It really is beautiful!” Irene was talking so animatedly, only love in her voice for Rosalyn. I could see it in her face, she really did love her sister. She was still talking at length about Rose but all I could seem to focus on was her tense. She spoke about them in present tense, as though she could see them…right there. I noticed how she was looking into the distance, deeper into the woods as she exclaimed out loudly, telling me about the time Rose let a couple of frogs loose in the house. Her eyes were animated at the thought, full of happiness and laughter but her mouth… the expression around her mouth gave a different story.
Every incidence she talked about was between Rose and her parents. She seemed to be lost out of the equation. Mama and papa enjoyed time with Rose. Mama and papa loved Rose. The three of them went out of town together this one time but, where was Irene in all this?
“She sound lovely Irene although I can’t imagine her being prettier than you,” I was pretty sure I saw a faint blush cross her face, “but what about you and Rose? Tell me of a time you and her had together? Are you two close?”
Irene went quite then, as though anticipating the consequence of what she might tell me. “Things between me and Rose…they were…are different,” she went quite again, looking into the distance, chewing on her bottom lip.
“What do you mean?” but I got no response from her. She seemed to have zoned out, yet still walking and staring into the distance. A lone tear escaped her left eye and gently travelled down her left cheeks. It left a wet trail behind and freaked me out. Why was she crying?! What was worse was that it reminded me of the time we had in my house where she had transported me into one of her visions, a time when she had similarly zoned out.
“Irene,” I called out to her but got no response, “Irene…are you okay?” nothing. I tried my best to not have to shake her out of her reverie but no matter how much I called out to her, I got no response.
“Darn it, Irene!” frustrated, I knew what I had to do as I took my last step closing the distance between Irene and I. I gently placed my hand on her shoulder, unable to feel if I had placed it there at all, but before I could call out to her, I was zooming out of the woods and twirling away into a faraway abyss.
©Hafsa T.M (aka HTMwrites)