Forbidden ~ after unlocked

Chapter 37 - Keefe

At first, everything was a blur—sounds and shapes warping together in a whirlpool of chaos. When it settled down, the part of the memory Keefe had already recovered played in his mind. The distorted scene of him arguing with his mom; except this time when he stepped into the light, the memory didn't disappear. If anything, the images sharped even more. Keefe sunk to the floor in shock, clutching the photo in his hand as the flashback replayed in his mind.

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Keefe reforms in an alley, old brick walls towering up on their side of him. He wrinkles his nose; instantly, he's hit with the smell of urine and garbage, and after looking around he sees piles of black bags, plastic and old food spilling out the bottom.

He has the letter clutched tightly in his hand, and even though he's aching to see what was written inside, he knows there's no point. It is written in human, after all.

Keefe squints towards the sky, but it's filled with clouds, and a cool, brisk wind makes him shiver. It's probably best he just gets this whole thing over with.

He passes a puddle of what he's really hoping is water and catches his reflection. Keefe's not more than 11, his facial features not as defined, but his eyes are still a bright ice blue. His reflection frowns back at him. Keefe hates his eyes. They're the same colour as his mom's.

The alley finally comes to an end, revealing a neighbourhood. Stone apartments are lined up side by side and reaching skywards. He finds it strange how close houses are to each other in the Forbidden Cities, and how boring they look. The only thing that makes the street more lively is the abundance of plants, whether it's flowers hanging from a balcony, ivy twirling around a metal railing, or trees lined against the cobblestone road.

Keefe tries to remember the directions, repeating the steps in his head, all the while muttering to himself how stupid this is. The only reason he's cooperating is that he doesn't want to be sent to Exillium like his mom threatened. Even though he's fascinated by the way humans live, he wishes he could come not because he's being forced to, but because he wants to. Maybe a vacation one day to this place called London would be nice? As long as he's not back with Lord Snobbypants and Mommy Dearest.

It hasn't even been that long, maybe a minute, when Keefe sees the house he's supposed to drop the letter off. It's the only one with a green door he's seen so far. He walks up the steps and stares at the door in front of him for a few long seconds. His mom told him to slip it through a mail slot, but instead, Keefe raps his knuckles against the door.

Nobody answers for a solid 30 seconds, but then the door opens. It's a girl, maybe Keefe's age, who answers. Long auburn hair falls just past her shoulders, and she's saying something to him, but Keefe can't understand what. Probably because she's speaking human, but he's also distracted by the fact that her eyes aren't blue.

They're green.

Everyone in the Lost Cities has blue eyes, and it throws him off to see another colour. He didn't even know another colour of eyes existed.

The girl is still speaking to him, a confused look clear on her face.

He doesn't understand why his mom would want to send a letter to a little girl and is about to give the envelope to her when a man appears behind her.

His hair is red like his daughter, except there are a few strands of grey peppered throughout. Glasses frame his face, and he's speaking to the girl. Keefe still has no idea what they're saying, it sounds like complete gibberish to him.

Then the man looks up at Keefe, and he's even more thrown off. This dude has brown eyes. Keefe's shock seems to be reflected on the redheaded man's face. His eyes widen underneath his glasses after staring at Keefe for a few moments, eyebrows shooting skywards.