The List 31-35

Flowers, NIght, Expectations, Stars, Hold My Hand

#31 Flowers

            Another slow day. Louie made her way to her tent, muttering to herself. She just could not understand why they had to sit at the camp for another week before they were shipped home. Pulling back the flap, she walked into her tent.

            On her bed, Louie found a small bouquet of flowers. She picked them up and realized they were not real. Someone had made them out paper.

            "Like them?"

            Louie turned to find Troy in the opening of her tent.

            "Sorry I couldn't get you real ones." he said, walking into the tent. "We are in the middle of the desert though."

            Louie laughed.

            "They're beautiful." she said. "Where'd you find the time to make these?"

            "I haven't slept in a week."

            Louie gave a small laugh again.

            "So, why?" she asked.

            "Why what?"

            "Why did you make them?"

            "I told you, 'cause I couldn't find real ones."

            Louie's smile disappeared. She bent her head down, keeping her eyes from Troy.

            "That's not what I meant." she said softly.

            Troy stood still for a moment, wrestling with the idea to continue. He stepped closer, but still she did not look at him. Placing his hand under Louie's chin, he raised her head so that their eyes met. Louie felt her breathing quicken.

            "Permission to speak freely, Lieutenant?" he whispered.

            Louie took a few silent deep breaths.

            "Permission granted."

            Troy leaned in. Closing her eyes, Louie felt him place his lips on hers. On contact, thousands of goose bumps erupted on every inch of her skin.

            Stepping back from the kiss, Louie bit her bottom lip and opened her eyes. Troy did not know what to say.

            "Thank you for the flowers." she whispered.

            Smiling, Troy saluted her and left the tent. Louie stood there for a moment before she realized she too was smiling. Turning around, she tucked a paper flower behind her ear and went to her desk.

 

 

#32 Night

            Stupid kids. Every spring it's the same damn thing. These kids are brought here to "learn about nature", and they wind up doing is pissing us off. They come here and most of them don't even want to be here. Why the schools still offer this field trip is beyond us. They should just get rid of it all together. It's ridiculous!

            These noisy a*s school kids only come on this trip because they get to spend the night away from home with their friends and plenty of opportunities to cause trouble. Don't get me wrong, there are always those kids who are a pleasure to have. It's just there seems to be a smaller number of those kids each year.

            Worst part of the whole damn experience: the night walk. We have to stand there and watch these kids walk down our path in the dark for no reason what-do-freckin'-ever. One by one they walk along by themselves with the intent to have them learn something about courage.

            It used to be that the kids would merely have to look at us and they'd scare. Every creak and moan we would make would spook them. Not anymore though; nope.

            Nothing scares these kids anymore. We can creak and moan and sway all we want, but it won't do anything. The night used to hold some mystery. Now it seems like nothing gets to them nowadays. And what really ticks us off is when these kids have the balls to whip out their cell phones and start texting or whatever it is they do. They're supposed to be learning about nature and they bring those pieces of technology to our home.       

            Our shadows on the dirt used to mystify these kids. But it's all gone now. We used to be creatures of the night, but now we've been reduced to mere barks and leaves. We once held stories in our high branches, but now it gone.

            Oh boy, look. Here comes another bus. We can't wait.

 

 

#33 Expectations

            Sean watched Bowen's eyes follow Declan into the tavern. It was hard not to notice. He motioned Quinlan to go find Declan. After tying off his horse to one of the posts, Sean walked over to Bowen.

            "I'm going to offer you a bit of advice."

            Bowen glanced sideways to see Sean standing next to him.

            "You are, huh?" Bowen smiled, returning his attention to his horse.

            "Aye." Sean said. "Whatever expectations you may have, abandon them now."

            Bowen's smile disappeared. He did not bother to look at Sean.

            "I don't know what you're talking about, Sean."

            "Don't do that Bowen. You know exactly what I'm talking about."

            Bowen finish tying off his horse. Keeping his eyes from Sean, he began to storm off toward the tavern entrance.

            "I see the way you look at her." Sean called out.

            Bowen stopped. He took a moment before turning back to face Sean.

            "It's hard not to notice. You don't pretend to be inconspicuous about it."

            "What's your point?" Bowen snapped.

            Sean stepped away from the horses and walked over to Bowen.

            "My point," he said, "is take my advice."

            "Are you saying this because you don't want me to be with her, or because you're engaged to her?"

            Sean did not respond. All he felt like doing was rudely introducing his fist to Bowen's face. That was not what any of them needed at the moment though. Bowen turned away again.

            "She can't give you what you want, Bowen."

            Bowen stopped.

            "Just because she won't give you her heart, doesn't mean-"

            "This has nothing to do with her and me, Bowen."

            "Then what?" Bowen shouted, turning back around. "Why couldn't it work?"

            Sean stepped closer to Bowen.

            "She doesn't have anything left to give." he said in a hushed tone. "Anything she had was taken from her a long time ago. And with the way things are going, she's not going to get any of it back."

            Bowen said nothing.

            "So let me offer this to you again. Any expectations you may have, do yourself a favor and abandon them now."

 

 

#34 Stars

            About half a mile from the camp, Louie and Red lay on a large hill of sand. From where they were, the camp was visible. Both lay on their backs, staring up at the night sky.

            "You think they're watching the same sky as us? Em and Kat?" Red asked.

            "Not at the moment considering there's close to a twelve hour time difference." Louie laughed.

            Red joined her laughter.

            "You know what I mean."

            "Well," Louie rolled over on her side, "when they do stare up at the same sky, Em probably goes through those silly stories we made up when we were little." Her voice softened. "And Kat's probably wondering how many more starry skies she has to watch before she's with you again."

            Blissful silence fell for a moment before Louie rolled back onto her back.

            "You think she'll give you some time to get settled back in or just jump right into it?"

            "Knowing Kat," Red sighed, "she probably made the priest move into the house so she can pounce on me the second we walk in the door."

            Louie thought about it for a moment.

            "You know, it's sad but that is something she would do."

            They laughed again.

            "I can't believe we're actually going home tomorrow." Louie said.

            Red stopped laughing, taking a deep breath. His tone became soft and solemn.

            "You know, I don't think I ever told you this," Red rolled on his side, leaning up on his forearm, "but you're the reason I survived this war."

            Louie have a small, embarrassed smile and looked away from Red.

            "Stop it."

            "I'm serious."

            "I know," Louie turned back, her eyes filling with fresh tears, "that's what scares me." she whispered.

            Red looked down at her, a little confused. Hovering over her, he leaned in a bit and stopped, expecting her to yell or hit him. Louie did not move. He leaned in closer and she did not move. Red softly placed his lips on hers. To his surprise, Louie closed her eyes and kissed him back. After a moment or two, she pushed him back.

            The two say up, staring off at the camp. Breathing a little heavier than usual, Louie got up.

            "No one can know." she whispered, and began walking back to the camp.

            Embarrassed and ashamed, Red laid back down and banged the back of his head against the hard sand.

 

 

#35 Hold My Hand

            "Hey Jynx, want to have dinner at my house?" Akyra asked, practically running to keep up with Jynx.

            "No." the young woman answered in a dull tone.

            "Why not?" Akyra asked, still sounding as giddy as ever.

            "Because your father hates me."

            "Why?"

            "Because I'm a Norothein."

            "But my mommy like you."

            "Your mommy wasn't a Blood Hunter." Jynx said sarcastically.

            "What's that?"

            Jynx groaned loudly, stopped, and turned to face the young girl. She skipped up to Jynx, with a huge smile. Jynx did not get it. She had been nothing by nasty and neglectful toward the young girl before her. Pointing at Akyra, Jynx went to yell but couldn't. Allowing herself to calm down, she spoke softer.

            "No more questions, okay Akyra?"

            Akyra nodded, giggling slightly. Turning back slowly, Jynx bit her tongue and started walking again. Akyra followed. It took her a few minutes to catch up to Jynx. Jynx eased up a bit so Akyra would not have to run any longer.

            Without any warning, Jynx felt Akyra's hand grab hers. She quickly snatched it back, staring at the young girl in utter confusion.

            "What was that?"

            Akyra held her hand out. "Hold my hand."

            Jynx blinked.

            "What?"

            Sounding more innocent and childish, Akyra repeated herself.

            "Hold my hand."

            Jynx blinked twice. She stared at the girl's hand. She did not what to do. Reluctantly, she extended her hand toward Akyra. The young girl quickly grabbed it, laughing playfully. Jynx began walking again, this time dramatically slower to accommodate Akyra's small legs.

            It took them another twenty minutes to reach Akyra's home. Upon seeing her mother, the girl let go of Jynx's hand and ran to her. As Jynx felt Akyra's hand leave hers, for a split second she wanted to squeeze her hand she not lose Akyra's. The feeling dissolved quickly as soon as she smelled Nexis.

            Looking to her side, there Nexis stood staring at her. Growling softly, Jynx stuffed her hands in her pockets. If that was how Nexis was going to respond to her holding Akyra's hand, Jynx decided she was going to do it a lot more often.