Our Great Veins Of Golden Blood

Walking In The Wind

I know we'll be alright, child,

Just close your eyes and see...

Time seemed to be moving in a blur of Greek mythology and sleep ever since Harry's grandmother's revelation the night before. Chunky books that had collected dust in the basement were strewn across the bed carelessly, all of them opened on random pages from when Harry had gotten too curious to focus on one specific book. Their duvet was wrinkled around their chest, but hanging over the end of the bed so it pooled on the floor. Golden rays of sunlight spilled through the blinds and illuminated the sleeping teenager's face in a heavenly light. 

Dark brown curls were splayed across the white pillows like some kind of halo on top of their head. The teen stirred in sleep, blankets shifting as they rolled over so that the sun wasn't in their eyes. A muffled groan escaped Harry's lips at the thought of getting out of bed, but they knew deep down that they had to get their own breakfast because their grandmother certainly wasn't going to. They leaned over the side of their bed and plucked their binder off the floor before slipping it on.

Their eyes slowly opened, and immediately regretted it because the sight of the books surrounding them forced last night's events back into their mind. They ran a hand down their face, rubbing the sleep out of their jade eyes before slowly sitting up and leaning back on their elbows. Thoughts were swirling around Harry's head like a restless hurricane, with waves of confusion crashing against the sharp rocks of disbelief, meanwhile, the hailstones of realisation pounded down relentlessly. It was giving them a headache.

After laying down for a few minutes more, the idea of waking up finally sounded appealing to them and they ripped the covers off their half-naked body and ungracefully swung their legs around to the edge of the bed. Surprisingly, today wasn't too cold - unlike the recent weeks, because it was still early February - and so when Harry stood up, they put on some shorts and a thin grey t-shirt. As they shuffled closer to the door, they brushed aside a few books that had fallen off their bed and stretched their arms high above their head.

Ever since Harry could remember, they had been more athletic and strong than most children their age, and that trait had followed him into their teen years. As a result of doing yoga every morning since they were around nine, their upper body strength was almost inhuman. Harry scoffed at the irony as they quietly trudged down the hallway, praying that their grandmother wasn't awake yet. No such luck.

"Harriet? Are you there?" her croaky voice came from her room on the far side of the hallway. The floorboards creaked under her feet as she hobbled closer to the kitchen. The air in the room was filled with tension when she saw her grandchild sitting by the kettle, waiting for it to boil so they could make some tea. "I don't know what you're doing there, Miss Edwards will be waiting for you by now."

A warm feeling fluttered in Harry's chest at the mention of the pretty woman down in the village, the mother to the child that they babysit. They had always been somehow drawn to the two girls, and they suspected that the reason they were drawn to Millie -  or Miss Edwards, as their grandmother calls her - was the result of childhood infatuation. Her daughter - Delta - had been born about four days ago, and her father had left the two of them as soon as Millie had gotten pregnant, despite the young mother only being eighteen and fresh out of college at the time. Harry usually babysat for parents in the village below, so it was only natural that they babysat Delta while Millie was out at work.

Millie had been hesitant to leave her young daughter with a babysitter, but she had no other option and it just so happened that Harry had known her for the last few months of the pregnancy. All they had to do was look after Delta for six hours on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, and Delta was fairly low-maintenance, so Harry had taken the job without a second thought. The fact that they got paid five pounds an hour was simply a bonus.