The Strange Tale Of Ayla Jae

Chapter Thirteen - Our 'Sort Of' Midnight Snack At The Night Hawk Cafe

Daren and I are seated across from each other at an all hours cafe, The Night Hawk, with two fried appetizers barely eaten. I've got my bag sitting beside me, and our pendants laid carefully out on the table. The cafe has maybe two other patrons, but it feels like we're the only two people in the entire city.

Surprisingly, we didn't run into any officers on our trek over here, but it's still possible. We're not exactly of adult age, and we're out in the middle of the night. I know it's not illegal, but it is odd enough for the wrong person to the get involved. Honestly, that's the least of my concerns right now, but I'd be lying to say it isn't on my list of concerns.

Dave grabs a small piece and takes a slow bite. Neither of us are really eating that much, but I guarantee I would be if I weren't sitting down with a perfect stranger. I take my hand at trying to eat another bite. I am hungry. The pendants catch my eye as I pick up a bite.

"They are beautiful, aren't they?" Daren says after swallowing his bite.

I casually chomp on spoonful of fried rice and awkwardly nod. I wait until I'm done before asking the one question that's been nagging me the last fifteen minutes.

"Where did you get it?"

"I got this," he says as he wipes his hands and clicks them apart, "from a very, very cool person years ago. It's basically my most prized thing."

Daren clicks them back together, takes a long look, and sets them back down.

"That's pretty vague, though, wouldn't you say? Who's the cool person?"

"Well, that's a bit complicated." He replies, as he sighs deeply. "

"Look," I interject, "the reason, the only reason, I didn't knock you out and run when you practically stalked and snuck up on me is because you knew exactly who I was with."

"Well, what about these?" He points down.

"These are the reason I'm sitting here eating some of the dankest fried rice I've ever had with you."

Daren chuckles, albeit a little forcefully.

"Daren. Sam and Dave have their own real problems, and somehow those problems connect with my problems. Now, you show up literally in the middle of night, with this." I grab the pendants and grip them tight.

"Yeah?"

"Point is, you better have something helpful to contribute here, dude. I don't know how much more of this mystery I can handle."

I can see Daren getting visibly uncomfortable.

"Plus, there's still a little matter of just exactly who the frick you are. So, who are you, Daren?"

I do my best to not show my nervousness and frustration, but I feel like my leg is about to jitter itself off of my body. I reach out to scoop up another chunk of rice to try and distract my nerves. I get it down, with the help of some cool tea.

"We were best friends, Ayla." Daren says solemnly. I freeze for a second.

"A long, long time ago." He continues. "We were little, like five years old, but I remember it so clearly. We were staying at St. Helen's house, our foster parent's house that year, my biological sister and I. It was a nightmare for those first few weeks. We couldn't do anything without some slap on the wrist for just getting some water or talking a little too loud. Plus, my sister and I always fought. I mean, we needed each other, but our personalities clashed hard, even back then. Then, you showed up."

Daren looks up at me. My eyes haven't left his face. There's so much sorrow in his eyes.

"For some reason, things instantly got easier. I mean, like that." He snap his fingers. "My sister and I practically stopped fighting. Helena actually eased up. She even started making things for us, watching our dumb shows with us. She was there for us. It was like a switch."