For years Kehlani had worked in the same little knick knack shop. Time passed at a slow crawl most days.
The shop used to be much busier. Hell the island used to be much busier. Ever since the economic crisis people had stopped traveling, and that meant little tourist towns suffered. Now the once lively little bay city was quiet.
Every once in a while a local would wonder into the shop to see if there was anything new, but there never was.
Kehlani suspected that one such local had a thing for her. He came in like clockwork every Thursday when his delivery route brought him to the area. He would park his worn out, rusted delivery tricycle out front and explore the front of the shop, near the register, pickup up odds and ends turning them over in his hands. He made small talk and would ask her about her day, ask her about the weather, really just anything that came to his mind.
His name was Marcus, but he insisted on being called Mark. He wasnt bad to look at, the years of pedaling had kept him slim and fit. He had the prettiest blue eyes Kehlani had ever seen, and he was so sweet. Throughout his visits and all of the small talk he had learned much about her. He always had a small gift for her birthday and always asked about important events in her life.
Today was just like any other Thursday afternoon. Mark was perusing the shop making ifle chatter. Kehlani manned her station at the desk.
Then all of a sudden out of no where. A birght purple flash. The electric buzz of lightning as it tore through the sky. Then the whoosh of air and the rustling of pages as a huge gust of wind rushed through the storefront.
A man appears, drapped in a dark cloak from head to toe. Across his chest the cloak was fastened together with three brown learher belts with bright silver buckles. The top buckle was engraved with what Kehlani thought was a large snake, but upon closer inspection was just an engraving of a rope with frayed ends. His face was cast in darkness and no features were discernable amongst the shadows. Snake skinned boots came up to his middle calf and were dyed black to match the cloak. They too had brown leather belts and bright silver buckles that held them tight to his lower leg. His boots came to a sharp almost sinister point.
He demanded!
“Where is it? Where is the tome?”
Kehlani stood there. What had just happened? Where had he come from? What was going on?
The mysterious man spoke again.
“I don’t like to repeat myself. Where is the tome girl”
Mark moved forward between the man and Kehlani.
“She obviously doesnt know what you are talking about!”
The mans eyes darted from Kehlani, and locked onto Mark with deadly intent.
His hand raised and a bright red orb of energy began pulsing in his palm. He appeared to be talking but no words came from his mouth. Or at least no words Kehlani had ever heard.
He closed his eyes and began chanting these alien syllables louder. The orb in his hand pulsed harder and faster and began to grow. It began to throw off electrical arcs even though it appeared to be hot and fiery.
Just then a second flash of light, this time green. Another buzz rippled through the air, and another man appeared out of nowhere.
This second man was adorned with similar garb to the first visitor with one very noticable difference. The top buckle on his cloak, instead of being engrave with a piece of rope, was inlaid with three stones in a v-shaped pattern. One blue, one red, and the final one green.
Upon his appearance, the first man stopped speaking and lowered his had, no longer did the orb pulse in his palm. His stature and demeanor changed. He looked almost afraid. And as suddenly as he had shown up in the store front, he vanished.
Mark held his ground, putting himself between their new visitor and Kehlani.
Mystery man number two raised his hand.
Mark raised his fists.
The visitor reached up to the hood of his cloak and pulled it back, revealing a wisened old face.
“Allow me to introduce myself,” said the man. “I am Nostrand, and I am at your service.”
He bowed low andas he did his long white hair nearly touched the floor. When he stood he towered over Kehlani and Mark. His eyes were the most intese green eyes that Kehlani had ever seen. They looked kind.
Mark didnt move. He stood between Kehlani and this new patron.
“Nothing to worry about my good man. I am here to help. “
“ I don’t even know what he was talking about!!”, the words fell out from Kehlani’s mouth.
“Don’t worry my dear, i know what he was after, and i know where it is.”
Nostrand walked over to a stack of old books on a shelf. He reached up a pushed them out of the way.
Beyond them was a curious little wooden doll. It had been one of Kehlani’s favorite and she had stowed it there in hopes of one day being able to afford it.
Nostrand wrapped his fingers around the doll and removed it from the shelf.
“He said he was looking for a tome!” Mark stated. ”That isnt a tomb.”
“Your powers of observation are second to none,” chuckled Nostrand. “Watch”
Nostrand place the doll on the counter beside the register and positioned both hands above it. He too began to chant.
A strange blue glow emanated from the doll and it began to grow. Before they knew it, it had doubled in size, then tripled, until it reached the size of your average adult.
Nostrand lowered his hands and stopped chanting. He reached under the doll pressing a hidden button, and the now large wooden man’s chest fell forward, revealing a set of small drawers. In the top drawer Nostrand removed three small vials of some mysterious liquid that seemed to have a life of its own. He pocketed these and moved on to the second drawer.
Inside were several small instruments that looked like surgical tools. He pocketed these as well then turned toward Kehlani and Mark. This is what he was after. And he pulled up a panel from the bottom of the second drawer revealing a hidden compartment.
Inside lay a small leatherbound book emblazoned with the same markings as the first visitors top buckle.
“It’s a good thing he didnt get his hands on this, it is extremely powerful, and if possessed by someone of his nature, could end life as we know it!”
“I think I just met the happiest person in the world!”
Jonathan reflects on the last few hours. They were strange. It has only been a couple of days but everything seems so bleek.
Up until meeting her, i was convinced that we were the only two that made it. After the crash, the world shattered. Between the volcanic eruptions, the tsunamis, and the massive weather events, it seemed as though the worlds population had been completly wiped off the map. Everything was desolate. Smoke from all the fires and explosions covered the sun and created an eerie grey lens that filtered out all the joy from the light that pushed its way to the surface. No birds sang. No bees buzzed. Just a big empty nothingness. Now that all the cataclysmic events had subsided the silence took over.
I think thats why jonathan and i spoke as often as we did. The lack of noise was scary. If we werent talking we were walking. The crunch of the dead earth beneath the our shoes broke the silence and helped quell the insanity that was creeping in.
After what seemed like months, but was really just days, of scavenging for basic necessities just to stay alive, we saw her.
She was a glimmer of hope amongst the deafening nothingness. A light amongst the overwhelming gloom.
Somehow she was clean, not a single mark on her lustrous, pale skin. Her hair was perfectly kept, and appeared to have been washed within the past couple of hours. For her, it appeared, none of the events that marred the history of the last week had occured.
We watched her from afar, not believing she was real. She couldnt be. How could this angel have risen,like a pheonix, from the ashes of a world lost. She moved with grace and precision from one small plant to the next. Tending what was sure to be the one and only garden on the entire planet. She worked tirelessly without even so much as breaking a sweat. It was a sight to behold. You could get lost just watching her do the most mundane of tasks.
And we did.
Before long night had fallen and in an instant she was gone. Never to be seen again. Was she a figment of our imagination. She couldnt be. Right. I mean we both saw her. How could that even be possible. Surely two people couldnt see the same mirage.
“You saw her too?” I asked Jonathan.
…
……
………..
Silence was the only response!
I pull in, park , and slowly exit my vehicle. From across the lot rushes this man. He moves briskly straight in my direction. His energy matches that of a snake ready to strike. I move from vehicle to vehicle trying to avoid his fangs. He moves with perect precision, slithering in and out between the cars, stalking his prey.
He is dressed to the nines, hair slicked straight back. Clearly this disguise is used to overompensate for the ugliness that is hidden within him. I know his type. The kind to not bat an eye when trapping the less fortunate into buying lemons. He is all about the sale. All about making a quick buck.
He is closing the distance now. A false smile, and a quick wave. I am now within distance for him to sink in his fangs.
He strikes.
“Good morning!!! Can i get you in a new car today!”
For years Blaine had viewed herself as plain. Nothing about her stood out. She had a simple style about herself that would blend in with any crowd. Short brown hair flowed down her head, partially concealing her common features. Thick glasses disguised her dark brown eyes. Nothing about her was special. Nothing about her was appealing.
Often times she would find herself in her favorite spot, hiding amongst the beach grass, contemplating her life. Wondering if anyone cared where she was, or if they even knew she was missing in the first place.
This was her favorite spot because she could peer down through the tall thick grass and get a glimpse of a life she had never had. She would watch eagerly as familys would come to play in the sand or splash in the waves. Young couples would come, set down a beach blanket, and have a romantic afternoon filled with food, drinks, and love.
She wondered if they ever felt her watching them, longing to be in their shoes, to have their lives. Could they feel her gaze as they built sandcastles, or when a first kiss was stolen.
She felt like a spectator in this life always yearning to be more.
Little did she know that today she would be more. That her wish would come true.
After the last family had left the beach and headed home, and after the last couple packed away their things to go find romantic experiences elsewhere, Blaine took a deep breath in, laying back in the grass, hands outstreched, staring up at the darkening sky and wished outloud.
“Please, just let me be seen. Let me be important.”
Wind whipped across her face, her hair danced in the breeze tickling her nose. She didnt know if this was God answering her plea, or just an incredible coincidence, but there was a change. Something felt different and she could feel it growing inside of her.
