Six hours and too much money later, I found myself ready to collapse as we made our way from store to store. I’d lost all feeling in my fingers from the heavy bags in my hands. I was tired and bored after the first store. I seriously hated shopping. "Tess, could we sit down or something?” I begged.
After one look at my exhausted face, she gave in. "Sure, I need a coffee break anyway.” We headed off toward the food court, where I got a gigantic chocolate chip muffin and a large coffee.
We sat quietly across from one another at a small table near the edge of the food court. I stared out over the balcony looking down onto the shoppers below. So many people and this wasn’t even a city mall. It made me a little more than nervous to remind myself of how I’ll be living in the huge unfamiliar city, far away from home, in just days. I’d debated a thousand times this past week whether or not I was making the right decision. Obviously getting an education should be high on my list of priorities, and it really was, but I couldn’t help but shake the feeling that something was wrong or perhaps I was rushing into it. I mean, it’s not uncommon to take a year off after high school. I let out a sigh and slouched down into my chair.
“Oh, come on, is it really that bad?” Tess asked. She clearly took my exasperated sigh as a sign of my feeling toward shopping with her.
I forced a smile. “No, sorry, I was just thinking…”
“About what?”
“School, the city, how soon it is.”
Tess gave me a reassuring smile and reached across the table to hold my hand. “Avery, you are so ready for this. Trust me, if there were any way that I could convince you to stay, without making myself feel terrible for holding you back, I totally would.” She let go of my hand and sat back with a sigh. “But, you’re a teenage girl, with a gift for art and a thirst for knowledge. I have to let you go. Please don’t feel like you have to stay for me.”
I just forced another smile and nodded as I took a big sip of my coffee. She drank her decaf and scowled at me for having the real thing.
"Stop looking at me like that. Let me enjoy my coffee," I told her. Tess had an ulcer and couldn’t stomach caffeine. "Besides, I don't think someone like you should have access to caffeine." I grinned and looked at her over the rim of my cup.
"What do you mean 'someone like me'?" she shrieked as a piece of her muffin flew toward my face.
"Oh, you know, crazy people? People who can shop this much and not even break a sweat! I'm ready for a nap!" I joked.
"Okay, fine. We'll stop," she surrendered. "I just like buying things for you. It makes me happy to give you everything that you deserve. You’re a good kid, Avery, you deserve it.” She was so good at the guilt tripping. It also doesn’t help that she looks like a little girl who’s had her heart broken.
"Fine, one more stop, that's all I’m giving you," I yielded and held my hands up in defeat.
She instantly changed her mood, jumped up and started grabbing our stuff. "Come on, if I only have one more stop then it's going to be shoes. I saw these awesome boots on sale a few stores back."
I sighed, grabbed my coffee while juggling the rest of the bags, and headed off in the direction of Hurricane Tess.
Soon, three new pairs of boots I really didn't need later, we were finally on our way out of the mall. As we were coming up to the used bookstore, I gave Tess a sideways glance. She was already looking at me. She knew what I was thinking.
"Fine,” she sighed, “Go on. I'll be waiting here," and planted herself down on a bench as our bags and boxes fanned out around her like a gown.
I ran inside, not for the books they sell, but for the person who worked there, my best friend Julie. I’ve known her ever since I was a baby. She has lived in the next house over from us my entire life, and now she is going to be my roommate in the city. It was Jules who actually found us a great apartment within walking distance to school. I haven’t seen it yet, and she keeps making trips back and forth to get the apartment ready. She claims that it’s a surprise, but really I know that she’s just trying to make my transition from my home to the city as easy as possible. Julie is the main reason I agreed to move in the first place. Growing up, she couldn’t wait to get out of here. She always had a strange pull toward the city, spending all of her free time there and dragging me along with her. But, I had to admit, if she were to leave I would be devastated, therefore giving me no choice but to go with her.
As I approached the store, I called out to my friend. She turned from her book cart to see who was calling her name and gave an enthusiastic smile when she saw me. Julie is by far the prettiest girl in town, except she has never noticed nor cared. Up until we were twelve she had acne, braces, and glasses. That summer she went away to camp, the longest time we have ever been separated, and when she returned home, she was no longer the pre-pubescent, awkward looking, scraggly girl who left. Shockingly, she had transformed into a gorgeous young woman. It took some getting used to, but Jules returned tall with a sun-kissed tan to her fair skin. Her light green eyes complimented her beautiful straight, platinum blonde hair which is now nearly as long as mine. These undeniable changes classify her as the town knockout. But even with the stereotypical looks, Julie is the humblest person I know.
"Hey, what's with the shopping? I thought you were done everything for school?" she asked, eyeing Tess and the numerous shopping bags surrounding her outside the store. Tess waved hello, and Julie waved back.
"Yeah, you know Tess though, I basically had no choice. On the bright side, you have dibs on everything. I got three pairs of 'Fall Boots'." Julie laughed in response.
"So, what time are you planning to head to the city on Sunday?" she asked as she added an old book to a growing pile on her cart. One of her last purchases with her employee discount no doubt. Julie had more books than a public library.
"I was thinking after supper. You know, enough time to get there, unpack a little, and settle in before Monday."
"Yeah, that sounds good. Just don't come to the apartment right away, I probably won't be finished. Call me when you get to the city and meet me in the park across the street," she instructed.
I gave her a suspicious look. "Jules, seriously, what the hell are you doing?" I asked. "You've been going back and forth all summer. Are you building the apartment? Oh no, we don’t even have an apartment, do we? I am not living in a tent in the park, you freaky flower child!" I teased as she punched me in the shoulder and attempted to put me in a headlock, without dropping her books. We chatted for another few minutes, and then we said our goodbyes and agreed to meet in the park on Sunday night.
The drive home was a relief. I was finally done with shopping and off my feet. I took my hair down and let it blow around my face in the soft summer wind. I never got car sick in Tess's Mustang, probably due to it being a convertible. I felt as though I could breathe properly and not feel confined. Vehicles tended to always give me motion sickness. As a child, I would ride thirty minutes to school on my bike because I couldn't handle sitting on the bus any longer than a few minutes. Now that I have my Vespa, I can get where I need to go without the nauseating effects.
I took in a deep breath of fresh air. The sun was nearly down and the sky was becoming a beautiful shade of blue-violet, with a fiery orange horizon.
"Hey, are you feeling okay?" Tess asked sympathetically, "You're not getting sick, are you?"
"Oh no, I’m good. Just enjoying one of the last summer nights," I assured her.
"Good, I just had the seats cleaned," she teased. I laughed and rolled my eyes as we pulled up to the cottage. It took us three trips, each, to unload our purchases and bring them to my room.
"Tess, how in the world am I going to get all this to the city?"
"Easy. You drive the Vespa and I'll load everything else into the Mustang," she stated simply.
I was touched. Tess did so much for me. Today alone she’d spent a large portion of her personal savings all because she thought the world of me and wanted to make sur
e I had everything I would need to live on my own. She has never said no to me, yet managed to raise me as a respectful and honest young woman. Tess is both a mother and a sister and has been for most of my life. My father brought me here when I was a baby after my mother left. Tess has always said that she fell in love with me instantly, and was happy that my father decided to leave me with her while he was away working. She is my best friend beside Jules, and I hers. Besides, I see my dad a few times a year. It’s a relationship we have both come to accept.
Up in my room, I started sorting through my new purchases and everything that was coming and what was staying. "Brown leather boots, taking. Red satin clutch purse, staying," I said to myself. When would I ever use a clutch purse, a red satin one at that? I’ve been using the same black shoulder bag for the past six years. It may be worn and faded on one side from rubbing against my hip, but you could fit anything in it. I loved it.
After the organizing was done and everything was packed, I stood up, looked at my wonderful accomplishment, and gave myself a mental pat on the back before heading out to spend the rest of the night with Tess. When I entered the living room she stood there waiting, holding out a glass of red wine to offer me.
"What's the occasion?" I asked, although I already knew the answer. She just ignored me.
"I made us a bunch of food, I rented a couple of chick-flicks and..." she sprinted toward the kitchen and grabbed the bottle of wine off the island. “I managed to get us a bottle of the finest wine you'll ever taste."
I stared at the bottle. It was huge and was at least four liters for sure. The bottle itself was magnificent. It had no label, but the glass was a deep ruby red and had weird carvings and little symbols on it. It was definitely one of those bottles that you clean afterward and keep as a vase or something.
Tess noticed my admiration. "A beauty isn't it?"
"Yeah, it's something else," I agreed. “Where did you get it?”
“I got it from a friend.” She handed me my glass and we both went to take a sip but she was looking at me funny like she was waiting to see something.
"Hey! I have had a drink before you know. Don't look at me like I’m the freak," I claimed, and took a sip. I wasn’t prepared for my reaction to the wine. Even after I swallowed it I could still feel the tingly warmth on my tongue. It was kind of citrus-like with a honeysuckle after taste. I swear it was as if there were small beads of sunshine that exploded as the wine hit my stomach. Within seconds, my skin was vibrating with warmth, like it would on a hot summer day.
"Kudos to your friend," I said. "This stuff’s amazing." I chugged the rest and headed over to the couch to start the movie.
About halfway through the movie, and three-quarters of the way through the bottle of wine, Tess got up and attempted to put on her jacket as she fumbled drunkenly to find the sleeves.
"Where are you going? The movie isn't over," I asked. She was acting kind of weird like she’d forgotten something or had to be somewhere all of a sudden.
"Let’s go out to the garden," Tess suggested as she grabbed my arm and ran out through the dining room doors. She loved her garden, and I didn’t blame her, it's beautiful. Calling it a garden was an understatement, though, it seemed more like a small forest. The enchanting landscape was just breathtaking. Large bushes, shrubs and other exotic plants that I have never seen anywhere else were everywhere. Flowers of every color and shape had nearly taken over the oasis and the subtle smell of lilac and Satsuma hung in the air.
She’d salvaged some large marble fountains of cherubs and other creatures from old houses that she’d helped restore and had placed them throughout the garden in a way that made them look like they had always been there. And, if I had to guess, there had to be about a million or so little white lights scattered randomly throughout the whole place that gave the same effect of what I would assume a million fireflies would give. Tess has even won a couple of awards for her garden.
When I was a little girl she would fill my pockets with bread crumbs ‘to keep away the pixies and ly ergs’ and take me out to the garden at night. We would lie under the stars and she would tell me fairy tales of far away lands and magical kings and queens while we ate candy, until I fell into a sugar coma. Sometimes I would even come out here by myself and just sleep under the sky. I hated camping, but I always felt comfortable in Tess's garden under the stars, safe almost.
We were two very drunk girls dancing about like silly kids as I followed Tess through the garden, wine bottle clutched in her hand until we reached one of the many fountains. It was the one carved from a white marble into the shape of a large bowl big enough for at least three or four people to get in. In the middle of the bowl stood a statue of a man, at least I think it was a man. It was a male for sure, but he had a face too beautiful for a human man and an aura surrounded him like maybe he was an important figure or something. Each one of the statues had stories and legends behind them, it was hard to keep track of them all, but this one I always remembered because of the look Tess had on her face each time she peered up at him.
"Kheelan," she sighed happily. “Legend says he was a ruler of the summer fairies once, maybe still is." She looked at the monument with a proud smile. Tess always talked about fairy folklore as if it were real as if the legends weren’t legends but facts. She would always insist on turning my socks inside out, claiming that it would protect me from evil fairies, or insisting that, if I looked hard enough, I would see sprites dancing in the light of the moon. I always admired that about her, she believed in a lot of crazy things but it made her personality unique and her imagination helped me see the great artist that I one day hoped to be. But that’s all it was for me, imagination and nothing more. After spending endless nights staring out my bedroom window hoping to catch a glance of little sprite twirling in the moonlight, I stopped believing.
When I was ten years old, Tess told me a story about a glorious immortal king who ruled a magical land of fairies and other creatures. She was so detailed in the way the king looked and the world he lived in that I painted the scene she developed in my mind. I won first place at the art fair that year and someone actually bought the painting! I had enough money that summer to buy my first bike. That's significant to a ten-year-old, especially one that was prone to car sickness.
"He's magnificent," was all I could say. I took another swig from the bottle of wine and passed it back to Tess. At some point, we stopped using the glasses, but I felt kind of weird, now that I thought about it. My skin felt soft and mushy, like Jell-O, and my vision was sort of blurry. I tried to focus but failed miserably. We both sat on the edge of the fountain and stared at the stars.
"It’s a beautiful night tonight," I said in half a mumble.
Tess sighed. "Yeah, it is." Then she looked at me sadly. "Avery, I'm gonna go crazy here without you. And I’ll be worried sick about you and Julie in the city."
"Don't be silly, you'll visit all the time and we’ll come home when we can. It's only an hour away, Tess," I reassured her. “What happened to the whole I’m-a-big-girl-and-should-be-feeding-my-thirst-for-knowledge theory?”
She grinned. “Being smart doesn’t mean you have to be a smart ass. If I do something strange will you promise not to make fun of me or think I’m crazy?" Tess asked randomly.
"I'll think you’re crazy no matter what you do."
She stood up from the fountain edge, a little wobbly, and turned to face me. She pulled a small box from her pocket. It looked like a jewelry box of some sort. She handed it to me and when I took it she pulled something else from her pocket, a tiny red bag that closed with a drawstring.
"Tess, you bought me something else? This is ridiculous!" I started to protest but she shushed me with a finger to her lips.
"Open the box," she ordered.
I did, and inside was a beautiful bracelet made from strands of woven white suede and leather. There was a green, flat, circular bead about the size of a quarter attached to it. "Tess this is beautifu
l, where did you get it?"
"I made it," she said proudly. "The bead is made of pressed Thyme. It's for protection."
I was so touched. I looked at her with watery eyes, I couldn't think of anything to say. Then I remembered she had pulled something else from her pocket.
"What's with the little bag?"
My aunt smiled, opened the tiny satchel and then dumped its contents into her hand. I scrunched my nose up. It was just some weird sparkly dust. Tess then stood directly in front of me and lightly blew the powdery sparkles in my face. I coughed and tried to bat most of it away but the coughing only made me inhale more.
"Tess!" I screamed, coughing some more. "You are a crazy drunk lady!' I grabbed her arm and pulled her down next to me on the slippery fountain edge. "What was that?"
She grinned nervously and looked into my eyes and for a moment she didn’t look like Tess. Well, she did, but it’s like she flickered or something and for a second she was...different. I blinked hard to make sure I wasn't just seeing things through the eyes of a drunken person, but she still looked strange, even the garden around me began to change. The flowers and trees appeared to sway and move as if alive, bending and twisting to get closer to us.
Then, suddenly, I fell backward into the fountain. I knew it was shallow, but my back never hit the bottom. Was I drowning? No, I could somehow breathe, but I was surrounded by water like I’d been dropped into the middle of the ocean and couldn't find the way out. I kicked and fumbled, trying to find the surface but darkness closed in on me and I started to panic. I felt like Alice in Wonderland falling down the rabbit hole only I was sinking rather than falling. Finally, and abruptly, I stopped, like gravity just gave up. But I was still in the water, floating as if in suspended animation. My arms and legs slowly drifted out from my body. How was this possible? Where was Tess? What the hell was going on?
Then, magically, I was surrounded by tiny lights, millions and millions of them. They made me think of fireflies, only I knew that was impossible. But then again, so was this. They seemed to grow in number and illuminated the space around me as they swarmed in circular motions, forming tornados and leaving bright trails of colored light behind them. The living lights hummed peacefully like an idling engine and almost immediately I felt calm, even though I knew I shouldn't be.
Maybe this was what it was like to drown.
They twirled in and out between my fingers and around my face leaving a tingling sensation crawling over my skin. Their luminous glow began to spread and grow to the point where I was blinded. I tried to squint through the blinding light but failed, the tornado of fireflies became too much for me and I could no longer see through the brightness of it all, so I closed my eyes and drifted, waiting for myself to either sink to my inevitable watery death or wake up from this seriously disturbing fit I was having.
CHAPTER THREE
HOME AWAY FROM HOME