Runaway:
Lost and Found
Sionnan stood staring down at the
ticket in her hand. It would all be so
simple. All she had to do was take the
fifteen steps forward, through the double glass doors, down the ramp and hand
the Greyhound Bus Driver her ticket and she would be free. Free to start a new life. A life without questions, pain, regret, hurt,
or anger. It would be a life of her own
choosing, and yet she could not escape the tiny voice inside her crying out in
demand of attention.
“What are you doing here? Will you
continue to run away?” The voice, Sion had always thought of as her conscious,
demanded as if Sion was on trial and she was in the process of being
cross-examined.
“Stop it! Just go away and leave me alone!” She whispered harshly into the bitter
December evening air. The northeast
hadn’t experienced a cold front of this magnitude in many years; it was enough
to leave frosted patterns upon peoples windows, giving truth to the fairy tale
of Jack Frost nipping at noses. It was
at least cold enough that she could see her own breath with each word spoken
and release of air back into the night sky, freezing her words upon the winter
air. Her hand lifted to trace one of the
frosted patterns upon the window of the bus terminal, fascinated and distracted
from her problems for the moment by the intricate and yet simple beauty found
by the crystalized artwork.
Turning to the left, she noticed a
family of four coming into the terminal.
Her eyes rested enviously upon the parents as they ushered their
children up to the ticket counter. She
noticed the mother seemed weary and the father aggrieved or stressed. The two children, both boys, were busy
pushing the other and laughing. Pulling
her knitted cap down further upon her head in order to hide her obvious ears,
Sion turned away. What good would it do
now to hope for something she can’t have?
She bent over to sweep up her
tattered backpack. Everything of value
to her was in that bag, including the worn picture of her parents. She knew she had to keep going… keep moving
from place to place. It wasn’t safe to
stay in one place for a lengthy period of time.
“You have the ticket in your hand,
child. Go home. You do not belong out here.” She could hear
the forceful nature of the voice pushing her to make the decision that would, in
the end, place her on the bus back to Blackbirds Hill. She worked hard to tune the voice out,
sometimes she succeeded, others not so much.
When she did succeed the voice simply became more forceful and
demanding, its incessant nature refusing to be ignored.
Walking over to the far corner, Sion
collapsed upon the cold slate floor. Her
head fell forward upon her knees in exhaustion.
She was lost. She knew she was
lost. The magic and the voice demanding
so much from her, and yet if she did as it asked, returned to Blackbirds Hill,
how can she guarantee no one would get hurt?
Lost as she was in the bleak web of depressive thoughts as they weighed
upon her, she failed to notice the small feet before her.
“Hey lady… you hungry?” The youthful voice asked as a small, innocent
hand held out a cookie before her. Her
stomach growled and rolled over in response to the scent of fresh baked
chocolate chip cookies. Had there ever been
such a heavenly delight? Sion lifted her
head and gingerly accepted the offering from one of the two boys she had
observed earlier.
“Paul! What are you doing? Get over here this
instant and leave that poor woman alone!”
A second figure encompassed her view, causing her to slowly lift her
tired head and peer upwards. “I am so
sorry…” the mother proceeded to apologize, without truly looking down upon
Sion. Getting a better look upon Sion’s
face, the mother’s eyes widened with shock as realization swept over her. “Oh…
you’re just a girl. David!” she called for her husband as she turned to move
swiftly back where she had left the family baggage.
“What is it? I purchased the tickets, and we are all set
for the 7pm bus to your parents.” The man spoke brusquely as he approached his
wife. His impatience was evident in the
stressful tension in his shoulders. Sion
could not help but notice how out of place this couple seemed. Their clothing spoke of money, and yet they
stood in this grubby bus depot with its slate floors and cigarette butts ground
pushed into the floor. One could not
help but notice the smell of stale alcohol as it permeated the entire
depot. The woman leaned in, placing a
hand upon “David’s” left arm and used her right to motion towards the corner
where Sion sat huddled. Quickly she bent
her head and began tugging at her cap, hoping to divert attention from
herself. Perhaps they would forget about
her and once more go on with their beautiful lives.
“What the hell!” The man’s eyes looked over in the direction
his wife pointed, his mouth forming a tight line of distress. His eyes were hazel and seemed to darken with
displeasure as he listened to whatever it was his wife spoke of in hushed
tones. Sion lifted the cookie in her
gloved hands and nibbled upon it. She
kept her gaze averted and downwards, hoping to simply fade from their
existence. Perhaps if she stayed silent
they would not take her cookie from her.
“Here… you look like you could use
some more than a simple cookie.” This time it was Sion whose gaze came up,
shocked and fearful. The man, David,
held a sandwich out to her as he spoke.
“What are you running from?” Sion
glanced with longing at that sandwich.
She could almost taste the smooth texture of the peanut butter and
jelly, with the grainy flavors of the whole wheat bread. Her tongue swelled up and she salivated to
take just one small bite… just a tiny one.
“Nothing; I am not running away from
anything.” She muttered, huddling deeper into the worn lining of her ski
coat. If they knew what she was, they
wouldn’t be so kind. She was grateful at
that moment that the voice chose to stay silent. Why was it staying quiet? It was never quiet. She looked down at the floor next to her, and
spied her shadow, moving and swaying as if lost in its own world. She breathed a sigh of relief. It was still there. Funny how on one hand she wished it gone, but
yet feared it’s leaving for then she would be truly alone.
“Well… do you at least have a
name?” The man continued to crouch down
before her; his curiosity over the young girl pushing him to ask
questions. It was his nature to be
inquisitive, especially in his line of work as a psychologist, helping those
who needed help.
Sion peered at him from beneath the
edge of her cap, her storm grey eyes filled with clouds of uncertainty. “Merry.” She mumbled, pulling the first name
that came to her. Her shadow seemed to
laugh at her as it listened to the conversation. “My name’s Merry.”
“Well Merry…” his voice was kind as
he continued. “You can call me David. My
wife’s name is Juliette, and you met my one son, Paul. Over there is Mathew. How would you like to join us for
dinner?”
“Why?” The word slipped from Sion’s lips a bit more
brusquely than she had intended. She
pulled back deeper into her corner as David reached out a hand to brush along
her shoulder. She knew his kind, all
nice and sweet, until he discovered the truth.
Then once the facts were presented, BAM!
Down comes the sledgehammer and Sion would have to hide again.
David laughed at her question, not in
the least offended by her manner. He had
dealt with far worse in his practice on a daily basis. This small woman-child with her defensive
attitude did not intimidated; instead it invited him to help her. Something about her… there was a
difference. It had been a long time since
he had tapped into aura readings, as he preferred to keep the mystical out of
science; and yet he could not help himself with noticing this girl’s aura was
swirling shades of green, purple and blue.
He felt an instinctive feeling that something was urging him to not only
help this girl, but that one day she would be important. His left hand came up, while her head was
turned away gazing out at the darkness of the early December winter night, and
with a swift motion he gripped her hat, pulling it from her head.
“NO! Give that back! You have no right!” Fear, fear and anxiety flowed through the
words as she shouted. Sion scrambled across the floor seeking to regain the
item that helped to shield her from prying eyes. Her pointed ears were bared for all to see,
along with exotic white hair.
David stumbled to his feet, keeping
his hold upon the hat as he stared with wonder down at what had been revealed…
“You’re an elf…” his words came out breathless, all the while Sion hunched
forward into a ball and began to rock herself protectively. “No… don’t.
Please don’t.” He bent once more
to place the hat upon her head, using tenderness so as not to frighten her any
more than she was.
“Juliette! A blanket… Quickly!” He waved his hand over to his wife, grateful
at that moment for the few people gathered in the large terminal. No one was paying him or his family any mind,
which was preferable given the circumstance.
“What is your real name…” he asks cautiously and with gentleness; the
pieces of the puzzle, concerning her strange behavior, falling into place.
“Sion” she whispers as she accepts
the blanket from the woman. “Why are you
not running? Are you not afraid?” Her voice cracks as she tries to breathe
slower, hoping the panic attack will soon ebb off.
“I should be afraid of a child?” The
man’s voice filled with questions and laughter as he knelt there.
“What are we going to do now?” His
wife asked, with her arm encasing Sion’s shoulders. She looked upwards into David’s eyes, waiting
for him to decide.
“Well we cannot go to your parents’
house at this rate. Nor can we leave her
here. Of that I am positive.” He spoke
over Sion’s head to his wife as he considered the options before them. Looking down at their new friend he asked
“Sion… where are you from?”
“Blackbirds Hill…” Came the hushed
reply. David and Juliette had to strain
in order to make out the words, and even then Juliette looked to her husband
with her own eyes showing surprise.
“Did she just say Blackbirds
Hill? David! That is where you came from.” Juliette’s
hasty whisper to her husband was not lost as he sat back before Sion and his wife. A sigh escaped his lips, while his hands
passed over his face. He had not set
foot back in that town, since the day he left for college. He swore he would never return, and yet it
takes this small scrap of a girl to appear in his life. Damn the Fates! Damn Blackbirds Hill!
“Aye… and it seems the past has
finally caught up to me.” He let his eyes wander over towards his sons, Paul
and Mathew. Both have begun showing
signs of their gifts. He understood why
now this “elf” had appeared in his life.
He had known for some time he could not bring the boys up in a normal
world. At least in Blackbirds Hill they
would be around others with similar gifts.
They would learn how to control their “magic,” and not let it control
them. Turning once more he looked at the
two females before him; a sense of helplessness washing over him, causing his
hands to bunch up into fists in his own coat pockets. God damn them all! He had a life! A good life!
A normal life!
Turning he walked over to the window,
resting his forehead against the cold pane of glass. The chill swept deep within him, soothing and
grounding him back into reality. He
closed his eyes and considered simply walking away. Leaving the girl sitting there on the floor,
where he found her. Who would know? He could walk back to his life, because it
was HIS life. With an aggravated and
defeated sigh he turns back to face his family.
“We go to Blackbirds Hill.” His voice
was firm as his eyes swept each member of his small family, before resting calmly
upon Sion. “After we get there we will
decide what to do next.” Sion could feel
Fate and the voice laughing at her; it seems she was not going to be given a
choice. The decision had been made for
her. Once more she returns to Blackbirds
Hill.
Note:
This story is a continuation of
Runaway, bringing in the family of David and Juliette to the mix. At the same time give the feeling of
helplessness, defeat, anxiety, fear and hope.
It’s a fantasy story and yet it has a realism in what the characters feel
and react to each other. I hope the
reader can feel the outpour of emotions and confusion from Sion, the
aggravation and stress from David, the worry for her family from Juliette, and
the rambunctious curiosity from Paul and Mathew.
