Mystery

                                                                  2. M Y S T E R Y

I WOKE UP, GASPING FOR AIR. MY DREAM LAST NIGHT IS WAY MORE DIFFERENT THAN ANY OTHER DREAMS I had.

       I was like there, standing alone in the darkness. I walked and walked and walked, but my wandering did not seem to lead me anywhere. Like an unending unlit road. I was just there wandering around, numb as I was. 

      And then I saw a little amount of light. Its light were strange, so bright and can probably blind eyes. I hurried and walked faster and faster and then I ran as fast as I could. I know I'm going nearer into that light but I can't reach even the slightest point of the light. And then the light disappeared.

      I shook my head as if I can take away all the memories last night. "It was just a dream, it was just a dream" that's the only thing I can say to myself. What's happening to me? This is not the kind of dream I've been dreaming for the last seventeen years. Am I crazy? Or am I just imagining strange things about Leavenworth that would make me anxious, so that I'll have reasons to go back  to my mom again? I would not let that one happen. I don't wanna crowd Emma and Tim.

      I stared at the corner for a full minute and thought about what that dream~or nightmare the appropriate word~really meant. While I'm thinking of possible reasons, my alarm rang and I nearly jumped, but I was grateful because it helped me to distract my reverie.

      I lurched to my feet and headed for the bathroom. I washed my face and looked myself at the mirror. My lips were dry and my face were pale. I look terrible and horrible. I splashed water in my arms and in my neck and in my hair. I realized that I should give up and take a shower. 

      

It's Saturday today so I decided to take a stroll around here, though I prefer to stay at home, but it's better to be familiar at streets. And today's weather seems good, so it's a perfect timing for me to go into a tour.

      "Dad, can I take a stroll around here? I won't be far from home, I promise." he was sitting in the couch and watching a football game.

      "Oh. Sure. Do you want me to guide you? " he said, his face still on the TV.

      "No. I'm fine, thanks," I said. "I'll just go wherever my feet leads me."

      "Okay. Just call me whenever you need help or if you get lost, okay?" he handed me a little silver phone and smiled at me. "That's yours. Don't worry it's not that much expensive."

      "Thank you, dad. Don't worry, I'll take care of this very much." 

      "Call me." now he turned his face on me and curved his hand into a calling gesture.

      "Sure. Bye dad." I waved at him and unhang my jacket from the coat-hanging hall and tied it around my waist.

      I walked through the streets and memorized it as I passed through them. My feet brought me to the Leavenworth's main street. It was a Bavarian village. I walked around and saw interesting places there. Like Cafe Mozart, a restaurant; and inns and inns and inns. There is a fruit barn with it's beautiful color blocking that the fruits and the flowers made and it's simple but elegant sign hanging in the eaves of the roof.   

      I saw another cafe, the Cafe Christa, and felt very pleased with the flowers that hung from the flower box that is attached to the walls of the building. 

        I took out my phone, not to call Gil because I'm lost or needing his help, but because to take picture of all the beautiful places I saw here, so that I can send some pictures to Emma. I know her, she would e-mail me soon and ask me to send her some pictures of Leavenworth. 

      I remember that I would always demand to her that she already had seen Leavenworth when Gil and her were still together and yet, she's still asking for pictures as soon as I got here. But she always have an excuse. She would always say that she hasn't seen Leavenworth for a while and that maybe Leavenworth changed a lot, and I can't argue with that excuse. She has a point. Maybe Leavenworth really had changes this last ten years. It can be possible. Ten years is long enough for changes. It might be in economic way or structural way or anything that will change some things in Leavenworth. Where can you find a town which hasn't changed over years? Especially ten years. 

      I wandered through the Bavarian village without me noticing the time. The sun is already setting in the horizon. I've never seen such a beautiful setting of sun ever in my life, though I can't see the sun clearly because of the clouds in the way, but the color of the setting sun made my mouth fell open and my eyes pop wide. I stood there for like half an hour and realized that it was a sign that I should go home. I snapped a picture on the setting sun and it's still beautiful despite the lack of quality of the camera on my phone. I could stare at it for like a day and not move on the place where I'm currently standing but I need to go home to ready some dinner for Gil. 

      I raced back home and I didn't realized that I'd wandered much, much too much that my feet hurt and my stomach growled,  but thanks to my cooperative feet I didn't tripped off or fell on the way home, instead it helped me to run faster than my normal speed. I really wasn't going to upset Gil, especially it's my first day here. There's a lot more that I need to do: cook food for our dinner, send the images to Emma, message my friends there in Miami and a lot, lot more. Even though Gil is not going to let me cook, I'll prove to him that he should  let me cook.

      I'm on time. I'm already flipping the chickens off the pan to the plate when I heard Gil's cruiser pulling off the garage. I set the plates on the table and hummed tunelessly. Gil got me off guard.

      "Hmmm... smells like someone is a good chef in here," he said as soon as he opened the door and looked directly at me.

      "Thanks. I told you you should let me," I said.

      "Ummm... I brought pizza. Just in case, you know. I thought your mom's just kidding me about your cooking skills," he  looked at the chicken and then me.

      "Well, that's okay. People also don't believe in me. I learned from mom with her experimental recipes that went just okay," I said, smiling wide so that he won't feel bad. "But some of it are good and also some of it are real bad," mom is fond of making experiments when it comes to cooking, she said we will be more practical if we used the leftovers as our another "experimental recipe". Sometimes she's successful, sometimes she fails. 

      We sat in silence and ate our dinner. I can see it Gil's expression that he's so satisfied with the food I cooked because every bite he takes he looks up on me and smiles. It's a little bit awkward but I just returned a smile on him. Didn't he ate a chicken for a very long time? I didn't add something special spices to the chicken but he seemed so happy eating it. Is it because it's my first dinner with him so he decided to look pleased on my recipe? or should I really believe in mom that Gil ain't a cooker. A small part of my mind was bickering about the point while we ate our dinner.

      I cleared the table while Gil is washing the dishes. My mind is still fighting what really the point was. Suddenly the doorbell buzzed. I wonder who is that. Gil hurried for the door as soon as he finished the dishes. I insisted to open the door but he demanded that it is a surprise for me. He knows that I don't like surprises but he still keeps on doing it now and then. Though I was pleased with every surprise he presents, my outlook in life will never change.

      The doorbell buzzed impatiently as Gil wiped his hands on the towel. "Coming!" He hurried for the door and opened it. "Ahhh...Eli, my friend! It's been so long, don't you think?" his delivering of words were so articulate that I didn't recognized that he was the one speaking. 

      "Do you mind if we go in, my friend?" his delivering of words were as more articulate as Gil's. From this distance, I can't quite infer what the gentleman looks like. It was like Gil was speaking to the darkness wrapped around the surroundings. 

      "Oh, forgive me, my friend. Come in." Finally Gil opened the door so wide that I can already see the entire face of the man. Though his face was carved with wrinkles, he is still so handsome that my mouth suddenly fell open. 

      But there is someone beside him.

      He was tall and lean. His beautiful features against it's tan color were appropriate. His hair were cropped short and his eyes were a strange color between green and blue. He was wearing a v-neck shirt and shorts. He was standing behind the man and staring at the floor. 

      I examined his features and his face. Staring at them minute by minute. His eyes didn't strayed out of the floor, like he had seen an interesting stuff down there. I stared at him for a one whole good minute and thought if he were some kind of an actor or a model.

      Gil invited them to go in the living room to watch the football game that will air live now. Arsenal was Gil's favorite team. I always get a mouthful of him when this topic came up. But I was thankful because I don't need to tell him a lot of opinions about that team, instead he was contented with the answers "mmhms" and "yeahs." The room filled with "whoo!" and "shoot the hell up, man!" Despite their articulated conversation earlier, they were like a wild teenage boys betting on their team right now. I noticed that the boy with the short hair was sitting in the dark corner of the room. He was silent and still staring at the floor. It was obvious in his face that he was not interested on the game. I thought of the idea of offering him a juice or a sandwich. But I was gun-shy when it comes to things like that. Things like offering a juice to a person, asking them what they want. And especially it's not my hobby to introduce myself first, either! I'm just here, sitting at the chair, shy as I was.

       By nine o'clock, the game finally ended. Gil and Eli exchanged their goodbyes and disappeared in the night. Gil and Eli left a big mess at our living room but Gil seemed to be used to it. He is grinning while cleaning their mess. It was like the smile of the person who is very thankful of the day, like his burdens disappeared. Like the worry in his eyes faded. After he cleaned the living room he looked towards me whose eyelids were heavy (I didn't noticed that I stayed up this long. Usually I am already sleeping by eight.)

      "Oh, Elle, why don't you go to sleep now?" his smile were infectious so I got to smile, too. "I'm sorry. I think my surprise is not in his mood right now. Eli said that Douglas is already feeling a little bit sick on their way, but Eli told Douglas that it will be unfortunate if Douglas will not have the chance to meet you but apparently you two actually hadn't got the chance to know each other. But by the way, there's a lot of time left." so the boy's name was Douglas. What an old name. "He is really my surprise. I just think that it will be a good idea if you already got someone who you can hang out with when it's still vacation. He is a good boy. I assure you" so what is he talking about, that I can hang out with this boy who is oddly strange and looks like a super hot model? Well, I'm not sure if I can deal with that.

      "But I think I would be always here in the house. But what if he doesn't want to hang out with me? Of course that Douglas guy have other friends. He won't prefer going out with a girl who is completely in need of supervision and I would be a responsibility for him. And besides, I don't want to bug him," I thought of all the possible reasons that could prevent me from hanging out with that huge guy. It's not that I don't like him, it's just that I was completely surprised by him, actually. On the other side, I won't go out in this house if no one will ask me to. And if I'll agree to them. I will be difficult.

      "Okay, okay. But if Douglas asks you to go out, allow him. Okay?"

      "Okay. Goodnight, dad."

      "Goodnight, Helena. Sweet dreams."

      As I climbed up the stairs, I thought if the "sweet dreams" stuff that Gil said can help me to prevent the nightmare that is waiting for me right now. If I can just only stay up all night to not be able to dream that, I'd do it but I can't. So what can I do to stop it? 

      I opened my computer but the net doesn't seem to cooperate with me. Sometimes the bar that indicates the speed of the net goes up, sometimes it drops. So as a result, I can't find right timing to send my pictures to Emma. 

      I decided to do first the things that the net could handle, I checked my inbox and found nothing but the messages of my mother. I was expecting that my friends would've spent time on sending me some messages but unfortunately there wasn't anything that gives me even the  tiny bit of hope that maybe they still care for me. But I just forcefully stuck in my head that maybe they're doing something that they think is more important than me. Maybe they're focusing on their studies or they've been grounded and wasn't able to check the computer. Instead,I sent them a miss-you-letter and a thank-you-letter. I hope they'll see it as soon as possible so they can have a reply on my messages. 

      Luckily, the bar rose up and I decided to send the pictures already to mom. Successfully, I sent it! As I stare again at the sunset picture that I took earlier, it made me sleepy. My heavy eyelids told me that I should sleep. Though I don't like to sleep yet, I just played my mind with the sunset picture. That made me feel alright. I'm not sure if that can take away the bad dreams but I hope so.

      I know that the sunset picture did good to my dreams. I am sitting on top of a hill, staring at the sunset. It was more beautiful way up here. It took me a long time to watch the sunset when suddenly the darkness broke the beautiful surroundings. I started to panic and got up from where I'd sat. But someone grabbed my elbow, preventing me from going away. I turned and saw Douglas who is staring at me with blank eyes.

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[Hannah Lomtong]

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