Secret Affinity

6

Traces of the NR evacuation were gone by next week, and the streets of Brilliant Cove were peaceful again. Although the news claimed it to be some sort of nightmare, I didn’t find it that immense. Well, except when the agent raided my house.

October started off as a warm month, painting the entire city with autumn colours. October meant that Thanksgiving was close by, and my idea was to prepare something for the McCoys as a true thank-you gift.

I was raking leaves on the lawn that late afternoon, watching a few fall occasionally. As I formed a neat pile near the tree, I heard scuttling coming from the side. In one quick motion, a small white dog jumped into my pile of leaves and ran in circles trying to grab its furry tail. Rather than being mad, I was quite surprised.

“You look familiar,” I said, crouching as he paused and looked at me. No one was there with the dog, but he had a red collar on. “Oh! Butterscotch?” The dog barked in turn and I smiled, rubbing its back. “You have to go back home to George.” I looked around again.

Butterscotch ran from my lawn towards the garage door. I watched him cross to the McCoys’ side-door.

“Hey! Come back here,” I called, following him. He was barking at the gate. “What’s wrong?”

He paused and looked at me. Again, he became quiet. He just stared with his round, glittering eyes.

“Let’s get you back to your home,” I said, clapping my hands. “Come on.” He ignored me and continued barking at the gate. It was the same gate I jumped over to climb the trellis, and that dazed me even more.

A car pulled onto the McCoys’ driveway, and Julianna was the first to step out. When she saw me, she smiled, and then she frowned.

“Why’s Butterscotch here?” she asked walking over. I told her I was trying to get him back home, but he wouldn’t stop barking. “Again? How many times have I…goodness gracious. Sorry for the trouble, Ari. I got this, okay?”

I nodded and went back to raking my leaves. Liara came running outside when she saw me on the lawn.

“Little Mermaid!” She ran straight into my pile, kicking it and throwing it in the air. “You have a big pile of leaves!” I winced. And I spent an hour on it. Even Butterscotch hadn't ruined the pile as much as Liara did.

Shortly after, Butterscotch trotted back over the lawn and onto the road. Without a single bark, he ran back the way he came from. Julianna came out and saw Liara in the leaves.

“Liara!” she called mortified. “Apologize to Ari now.” Liara seemed confused, and Julianna took her by the arm. “Sorry, for the leaves,” she told me. “Come on, you have to get ready.”

“No! I want to play some more,” Liara said stubbornly. Julianna put her hands on her hips.

“Jack misses you. Don’t you want to see him?” she said. Liara pouted, and Julianna gave me a helpless look. “We’re going off to my brother’s house. It’s a family reunion, but I’m so busy with my work, I can’t tell my children how important it is.”

“Your mom’s right, Liara,” I told Liara. “You wouldn’t want to miss visiting your cousins and uncles, and everyone in your family. Trust me and go.”

Liara finally agreed. I continued raking the leaves until all the McCoys came out. Evin was wearing a neatly ironed, plaid shirt when he went to his car. He said hello and I waved back. They were all dressed nicely and prepared to go to their relatives’ house.

I never had these kinds of reunions before. I’d always thought my entire family was just a group of three, five including my grandparents. And now, only two—my dad and me.

The car drove off and turned a left.

Well, back to work.

The sky turned cloudy, creating a dull, lifeless atmosphere. I began stuffing a brown bag with the leaves and tied it up. I was greedy for more. Asking for way more than what I had now. This was my life, with my busy dad, amazing neighbours, and regular schooling. As long as nothing unexpected and definitely bad happened, I wouldn’t mind continuing for another year until I was off to college or university.

My hands stilled. Even then, I would only be farther away from home. I wouldn’t have Dad there, wouldn’t have anyone. And judging myself, I probably wouldn’t make any friends.

The sunlight was completely blocked by dark clouds, but it didn’t feel like it was going to rain soon. It felt like someone just turned off a light bulb in the sky. The garage door to the McCoys’ house opened and the sudden grumble startled me. A motorcycle, completely black, was brought out by Arian who had a helmet in his hand.

When he saw me staring for a while, his eyes pierced slightly.

“What?” he said. I didn’t answer. He closed the garage door and mounted his bike. I stood up with the bag.

“Hey, why didn’t you go with your family to your cousins’ house?” With the helmet in his hands, he stilled and turned his attention to me. Although it was fast, it seemed slow by the unsettling way he looked at me.

“I have a better question,” he said. “How do you know that in the first place?” I opened my mouth. “You don’t need to answer.”

I was blank. He put on his helmet and adjusted its straps.

“I’m sure they would’ve liked it,” I said in the next few quiet seconds. “I mean, if you went with them.”

“I don’t need to hear that from a stranger,” he said. My eyes fell to the ground, knowing he was right. But then again, he was being ruder than the average person. Every time I talked to him, mostly unintentionally, it seemed like he was nitpicking ways to be a complete jerk.

“I was just asking,” I told him, hauling the bag over my shoulder. “If you don’t want to answer, just say so.”

Arian gave me a pointed look, the blaze of his eyes intimidating me. “Why do you care?” I stayed quiet, and he started up his bike. In a sense, I was the one who didn't want to pry into the McCoys' family business, but... “Why am I arguing with you anyway?” He added with a mummer, “Such a waste of time.” Goodness. What a bad attitude. Was this why Julianna didn't want him near me?

“I’m sorry,” I said, and started walking into my garage. “But I lived here for more than a month, right beside your house. So I’m not a stranger.”

Arian looked away. “That’s why you’ll always be a stranger.”

“Huh?” I said, completely confused. Arian said ‘nothing’ and drove off. The last bit he said, did really throw me off.

I was a stranger to him because I lived in this house? Or was it because it was the house next to his? Either way, I didn’t need to be bothered by such a trivial thing, especially since I had bigger things to worry about.

Dad told me earlier to find a job to keep myself company. It was an overwhelming idea when he told me the other day, but I had a lot of volunteer experience in Sunnywind. Other than that, I was excited about the full day with Dad tomorrow. He said he’d take a day off and spend every minute with me. There was so much I couldn’t wait to tell him.

Until midnight, I finished any homework I had and made sure nothing was left incomplete in the house. I didn’t want anything interfering, anything that would take time away from our father-daughter time. After dinner, I put the leftovers into the fridge. While I was putting away the fork and spoon, I found a photo facing down in the drawer. I took it and flipped it over, recognizing it quickly.

Hopefully tomorrow, I could finally tell Dad about the picture. I stared at it for a couple minutes, feeling attached to it someway.

The little boy on the left side had brown, curly hair. The boy on the right had dark, wavy hair, and he was standing with a baseball bat. In the middle, sitting beside the brown-haired boy, was a girl with dark bob-cut hair.

Perhaps one of these boys was the boy Julianna was talking about during dinner a couple weeks ago. Maybe he lived in this house before.

Several minutes past midnight, after I brushed my teeth and pulled my hair up into a messy bun, I grabbed Mom’s favourite shawl and went to my bedroom’s second window. It looked out to the front of the house over the roof. Climbing out of my window, I did something I’d always done in Sunnywind with Mom. We would climb over the roof at night and watch the stars. It was a little difficult for her with her physical condition, but we managed persistently. Just as I predicted, it didn’t rain at all today.

With my legs close to my chest and the shawl wrapped around me, I sat on the shingles of the roof, staring into the clear night sky. The slight breeze felt great; it was so peaceful and calm that I wanted to fall asleep and let all my worries and fears go. Tonight was one of those times I actually felt sad, actually missed Mom. I put the shawl over the slant of the roof and lied on my back. My eyes closed ,and no thoughts clouded my mind. In a way, it was what Mom called it: horizontal or half-asleep meditation.

The sound of distant cars was also quite soothing, but all the serenity was vanquished when I heard the disruptive screeching sound of a motor vehicle. Sitting up, I saw a motorcycle pull up on the McCoys’ driveway. It stopped, but the whirring from it continued.

Arian took off his helmet, in turn disheveling his hair until it fell over his eyes. He glanced up and saw me sitting on the roof, and both of us were inexplicably quiet. I expected him to hop off and leave, but surprisingly, he was the first to speak.

“Do you do this a lot?” he said, putting his foot on the ground. He must be mocking me; he had to be because that was his character. I’d just play it cool to avoid another argument.

“Started today,” I replied and looked up. “My mom and I used to do this a lot when I was little.” Despite how childish it seemed, I added, “Don’t say something mean, please.”

Arian turned off his bike and got off. “For the record, I’ve always been like that.” I laid on my belly, looking over the roof. “If I act a certain way, I suggest you don’t take it to heart.”

“I don’t,” I said. “But not everyone will.”

Arian snorted. “You don’t understand. Being mean is just one thing that concerns you. I’m talking about everything. Being nice, rude, helping—everything.”

“You. Nice?” I said, before I could take it back. Arian raised his eyebrow, and I propped myself up with my elbows. “Sorry, I didn’t…I wasn’t assuming you were never nice. Just not nice to me.”

“Even if I were to be, you shouldn’t care,” he told me, his cold voice warning me to stop talking any more. “In other words, stay away from me.”

Arian went into his house through the side entrance, and I heard the thud as he jumped over the gate.

He was such a peculiar person, someone I didn’t particularly like nor hated. At the same time, whenever we talked, things never ended well. Talking with him in general always felt like an accidental thing rather than intentional.

But one thing was for sure: even if I tried with all my might to stay away from him, it meant I had to stay away from the McCoys. And that was not, that was never, going to happen.

--

Early next morning, a hand was smoothing back my hair in a gentle motion while I kept my eyes closed. When I slowly opened them to the sunlight filtering through the windows, the first thing I saw was Dad’s face.

It was my day with him. I would talk about everything, talk until there was nothing left in my mind. I’d tell him about school, about the roof, about the McCoys, about that picture I found in the kitchen, about everything.

And yet, I couldn’t move with these racing plans in my head.

“Good morning, sweetheart,” he said, his smile and his deep dark eyes warm. Mom’s eyes were more silvery, so I ended up with lighter brown eyes with grey strokes in my irises. “What’re you looking at?”

“Your eyes,” I said, my voice gruff with sleep. Dad asked me why, and I sat up. “I don’t know. They remind me of Mom.”

“No. Your eyes remind me of Mom. You remind me of Mom,” he said and stood up. “Get ready, okay? I’m making breakfast for us today.”

I didn't delay a second. I hardly ever got to eat breakfast with him, and I was craving his delicious scrambled eggs.

“We’ll go to the town city-centre, eat at an Indian restaurant,” Dad was telling me at the dining table, “and I also found an old wishing well ten minutes away from the here.”

“A wishing well?” I said in wonder.

“I asked my colleagues if there is one around,” he said, taking our plates. “I know you and Mom used to love them.”

“Can we bring our lucky coins?” I asked, standing up. He grinned and nodded, and I ran upstairs.

I took out one of the cardboard boxes stored in my closet and opened it, rummaging through it until I found an orange satin pouch. Mom used to collect a lot of stuff, and coins were one of them. She could tell intuitively which ones bid good luck.

I was cheerful just like the weather today, bright and sunny. At the city-centre, I vaguely remembered the statue and fountain Evin took me around on the day of the tour.

“This area always gets festive on special occasions,” Dad told me as we ambled down the street. “It's the oldest part of Brilliant Cove.” We approached a large building with all glass-walls which dad told me was his workplace. It looked very professional and posh, something equivalent to Dad. “Weird coming here without my suit.”

“It is weird seeing you without a suit,” I told him, smiling. “But I like the casual jeans. And the pocket Mom knitted on your t-shirt 25 years ago.” Dad laughed, and it made my smile grow.

He loved that hideous, green polo shirt, but it was his favourite. They were only in high school when Mom knit that pocket for him. They had only known each other for a couple months.

My forehead creased as tears nearly filled my eyes at the nostalgic thought. Dad noticed and tried to divert the topic by asking me if I wanted to go to Bella’s Fashion Store or Dress Demons. I didn’t know either, so Dad took me to both.

The fashion shops in the city-centre were not only ranged from old-fashioned to glamorous, they were hand-made with good quality and care. Bella’s Fashion Store was more of a ballroom-grown shop while Dress Demons had all types from princess to pop-star.

“So…why are we here again?” I asked Dad. He told me to look for a dress first. “You pick for me.”

Dad was amazing at selecting clothes. Mom would always take him when he was available, and they’d select clothes for each other.

In the three Dad said would look best on me, my eyes glued to the dark blue dress with small cap sleeves. It was very simplistic with no sequins or glitter but had a soft layered material that gave it volume at the bottom.

When I tried it on, it fit me perfectly at all the right spots. It reached a couple inches above my knees, and although my neck-area was a bit wide, Dad loved it so we bought it. Until lunchtime, he didn’t tell me why he bought a dress for me. Outside a pizza shop under a table equipped with a large umbrella, we took our orders and sat across from each other.

“It’s been long since I talked to you about what’s going on,” he said, sipping from his coffee. “Tell me, is everything going good? Did you make any new friends?”

“Well, I did get much closer to the McCoys after babysitting Liara and Andy,” I said. “They’re my only friends, the only people I can really stay comfortable with.”

“I knew from the beginning they were good neighbours,” he said happily. “You’re one of them now, huh?” I shrugged. “And how’s school? Any nice classmates or teachers?”

“Everything’s fine in school. I did meet this girl, but she’s not exactly a friend,” I said with Crimson in mind. “A lot of weird things have been happening, too. Weird people, weird things.”

Dad sighed. “I know, with the news from the past week. But I’m glad it’s all over now, whatever it was.”

“Okay. Now tell me why we got the dress,” I said eagerly. Dad shifted in his seat and looked me right in the eyes. Right then, I knew where this was going.

“There's this really fun event. My colleague was talking about it the other day,” he told me carefully, “and it’s held by the mayor’s two twin sons. It happens every year, started three years ago, and is being celebrated next month for their birthdays…”

“Dad, come to the point,” I told him. “What is this about?”

“Sweetie, it’s time for you to enjoy and get out there,” he said and leaned in. “It’s a party solely dedicated for youth all around Brilliant Cove through ages eighteen and twenty-nine.”

“No way!” I shouted in a whisper. “Dad, you cannot trust these kinds of parties!”

He sat back in disappointment. “You’ll be safe because Evin said he’d take you with his friends. Possibly Arian if that boy wants to go. Evin said he’s a bizarre case.”

“What?” I was surprised. “First of all, when did you talk to Evin? And secondly, you actually know who Arian is?”

“I saw him on the open-house day,” Dad said, his reminiscent eyes blinking in confusion. “In fact, he was sitting on the hood of his car and watching the whole open-house for hours. On his car. Strange, huh?”

I furrowed my brows, new thoughts flooding my mind. “Wait, Arian as in…dark hair and creepy blue eyes?”

“And tall and mysterious?” Dad added, speaking my exact first impression of Arian. “Yes. When I decided to buy the house and was talking to Julianna, he finally left. He’s your age I’m sure, one of five children.”

Wait—wasn't it just four?

“The party’s in the city-centre park. It’s in a month so you don’t have to worry much about it,” Dad said, crossing his arms. “I hope you do go, though.” Just when I was about to refuse, he changed the topic. “You did well on that lawn.”

“It’s alright.” I smiled and leaned over the table. “What about you? How’s work?”

“Ah, so finally we’re talking about me,” he said playfully. I hit his arm and repeated the question. “Busy, and busier,” he answered. My face fell. “But I have good news for you. I’m coming home early on Friday.”

“Really?” I said.

It felt like I didn’t talk to my dad in ages, and this was a grand reunion. Time slipped away so quickly that I had to remember every moment. After all, he was the only person I had.

* * *

A rippling image of the full moon reflected on the surface of the lake. We were sitting on the edge of the small cliff, silence stretching between the peaceful air and calm water.

“Before the two cities split,” Dad said, “this place used to be very popular. Now, no one even goes near it.”

“It’s beautiful,” I marvelled.

“Let’s go to the well,” he said, standing up. I followed him, not too far away, into an abandoned area of the road.

The well reached no higher than my waist and was covered with debris and wilted stems of plants.

“It used to be a well.” Dad chuckled a little. “Let alone a wishing well.”

I used my hands to separate some of the plants and looked inside. It was dark, but I heard the soft rushing of water deep below. I took out the sac of coins and pulled out two.

I handed dad one. “Make a wish.”

I closed my eyes, removing any thoughts I had and leaving one single wish. As always, I wished to be happy with the people I loved close to me. I just wished to have someone by my side and not lose those who were already there.

And just as Mom and I ended our wishes in Sunnywind, as long as I had someone with me when I came back, I knew I wasn’t alone. After Mom, I never went back to that well in Sunnywind.

This time, I hoped I wouldn't face the same.