Chapter 11: Aunt Kellie's House
As I travel back to the Earth Realm with my friends, their boyfriends, and my beloved Adam, I start to feel a chill. “Adam?” I ask, shivering all the while. He stops walking and looks me straight in the eye, a stare mimicking concern dancing in his ochre eyes. “What’s wrong, sweetheart? Please tell me, Marie; I’m sorry I was so... malicious towards you back at Violet’s uncle’s house, but I just want to make up with you.”
“It’s nothing” I reply. “Just that I get chills every time I walk by this overhang, or picture it in my mind. It makes me wonder if she’s still down there, waiting for her little girl to join her... She’s coming to get me, Adam; I can just feel it.”
Adam sighs and looks at me again, this time with a gaze of love and understanding. He nuzzles my face and neck and murmurs in my ear “Oh, my Marie... The strange feelings will go away, my dear. As for your mother, she’s in a better place now. I’m sure that, wherever she is, she’s happier that she would ever be here.” My Auntie Kellie told us that we would meet in the square, a normally busy place around this time of year. When we get there, she rushes up to Adam and I and grips us in a hug similar to those used by rattlesnakes on the pea-sized planet of Earth. “I have missed you both so much, I- Adam?” She must have seen the red outline that resulted from Adam’s erratic behaviour the other day.
“Yes?” he asks.
“What is this imperfection I see on my beautiful niece’s face?”
“I... uh...” He pauses for a moment, mumbles something about war-paint, and then speaks out loud again, this time with a hiss to his tone. “Look, Kellie; what happens between Marie and I while we are away does not, or should not, concern you! I have been good to her for the five years we’ve been together, and yet still you strive to find some flaw, some defect, some blemish in our relationship! Yeah, I’ll admit that I did get frustrated with Marie, but I never, ever meant to hurt her; I swear it on Denna’s soul.” When he swears things on my mother’s soul, it brings a lot of comfort, especially to me.
I speak now, if only for a short time. “Auntie Kellie I-” Adam stops me by putting a hand on my shoulder. “Marie, please... let me handle this, sweetheart.”
“It’s not that I don’t think I can trust you, Adam, but I’d like to explain to my aunt what happened. Auntie Kellie, do you remember when Adam first started acting strange? About three years ago, I think; he started to have night sweats and go into shock. He’d also have these weird episodes of pure rage; that’s what this is, nothing more.” I touch my scar to indicate that it is the topic of discussion, and then double over and wince in pain. Adam rushes to catch me; I fall right into his fantastically muscular arms. He helps me to stand and strokes my face tenderly, so as not to hurt me again, yet still I can’t help but force out a plaintive whine. “I’m sorry Marie; I didn’t know it still hurt. Now, I have a question for you... we promised each other that we would, um, give the other our virginity... a-are we still...”
I surprise him with a kiss again and wrap my arms lovingly around his neck. “Yes, but can it wait until the journey is over, Adam? I just don’t want... I don’t want everyone getting freaked out by the sounds of love-making coming from our bedroom.”
“I understand; after the journey, then.” He kisses my forehead and we continue walking with my aunt toward her little two-storey shack. When we get there, Adam instinctively disperses his entire six-foot-three body across my aunt’s single large sofa in the living room, and reaches for the remote control and a bag of chips that, by now, has probably gone stale. “She left everything exactly where they were when we left, Marie; dare I say it, you have the best aunt ever!”
Auntie Kellie then walks in the room. “Did I hear Adam say I was the best? Admit it Adam; you think of me as your own relative.”
Adam sees this as a chance to defend himself. “Hell no; you are one crazy lady! Look, Kellie, I love Marie with all my heart, and if she were to die, I’d mourn her for days, weeks, years after the fact! So the next time you want to tell my girlfriend that you think I’m doing something wrong, wait till I’m in the room, too, alright?!”
It’s the first time he’s lashed out at her in a long time. He never used to get this angry, not even when Auntie Kellie bought the wrong kind of ice cream for him (Adam can only eat soy products; he’s allergic to any form of dairy). However, he doesn’t let that get in the way of his love for me; he never has.
Dinner was quiet, so unlike the usual shouting, banging of fists and pointing of fingers that accompanied the evening meal; for once, Adam knew what manners were. The only audible noise, although just barely, was that of Ciro and Ayla making out across from where Adam and I are seated. I can see Adam tense up; after about ten or so minutes, he decides he’s had enough and yells “Will ya make them stop, Kellie?” After that, he storms to our room and lies on his back on the bed, the way he does when he’s frustrated or angry. I walk into the room, my earth-toned skirt swishing round my olive ankles. “It’s alright, Adam, love; they’ve stopped.”
“Well... good! I mean, you don’t just go to someone’s house and make out.”
In the next room, we can hear my aunt talking to the offending couple.
“You two do realize that the way you acted is not the way we act at my dinner table, don’t you?”
Ciro’s voice echoes through the walls. “Yes, Kellie. We’re sorry... We just... we love one another so much, and we couldn’t help but show it. Once again, we’re sorry.”
Ayla talks now, her soft-spoken voice emanating through the east wall. “It’s just that sometimes, when Ciro is scared, all he needs is my love, and that’s how I choose to show it. He has a disease, Kellie, so it’s hard for him to just go about daily life without looking back.”
“What is his disease? Might it be Stelman’s Syndrome?”
Ciro speaks once more. “Yes, ma’am; I do have the Syndrome. I have had it for ten years.”
Aunt Kellie replies in her calm voice. “I have studied the depths of the Syndrome for many years; there is but one prominent cure for the disease... death. In other words, my dear Ayla, your Ciro must die to be cured.”
“No! I won’t allow it! He nearly died in Middle Maurasia, and that was as close as I’d ever let him get.”
“I’m out” Ciro groans from the other room. Adam and I can hear Ayla follow him as he leaves the immense chamber.
“What’s wrong, Ciro?”
“I want to leave; I don’t want to be here... I need...” All of a sudden, without a hint of warning, he stops mid-sentence.
Ayla’s voice comes next, with a hint of a worried tone. “Ciro; are you alright, my love?” Next we hear a loud thud, like a body hitting the hardwood floor of the house. Ayla speaks again, but this time it is broken up by sobs and whimpers. “Ciro... please respond, my love... we’ll be home soon, I promise...” Adam and I leave our room and head out into the hall. As soon as we reach the spot where Ciro dropped, Ayla looks up at us with a look that tells us that he’s not waking up. She continues her sobbing and whimpering, all the while talking to Ciro’s lifeless form, hoping he’ll stir. After quite some time without Ciro moving an inch, Ayla breaks out in a moaning, quavering fit of sorrow. “Oh, God, Ciro... please wake up... please, please wake up...”
At that exact moment, Ciro wakes, his beautiful blue eyes shining brighter than ever before. Ayla notices this and wraps her arms around him in a sort of protective hold. “Oh, Ciro... I missed you, my love...”
“I missed you, too, Ayla.”
“Never leave me like that again, okay?”
“I can make no promises, Ayla; you know that.”
After a moment, Ciro stands up and all is right with the world once more. Ayla nuzzles his face and murmurs in his ear; it isn’t very hard for me to understand the exchange of words.
“Oh, Ciro... you scared me...”
“I know. I’m sorry, Ayla.”
“It’s alright, Ciro; it’s alright, my love.”
I decide that that’s my cue to leave. Adam follows me out, most likely wondering where I’m going. I look behind me and tell him “I’m just going to the kitchen, Adam; stop being such a sheep.” The footsteps continue; now I’m annoyed.
“Please, stop following me, Adam. I will be fine by myself if you just give me a chance-”
“Marie, you know I care about you and I want you to be happy, so please... just trust me, sweetheart.”
“I know you care, Adam, and I do love you, but I’m not a baby; I can take care of myself.”
“I know, sweetheart.” He then leans over and kisses me so tenderly I think I might faint. “Look, Marie... if my actions displease you... let me know.”
“Don’t you worry, Adam; I will.”
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