Life has become something else after Los Angeles had been closed off from the rest of the world. The rich stay in power, safe from all the danger in the city by building literal and metaphorical walls to keep the money in and the poor out. Once or t...
The soft and warm blanket envelops my body with its tender embrace. In my semi-conscious state, I felt the cold breeze flow in through my window, moving my windchimes along with the blue and white curtains that were half open. I sense the soft pillow on my bandages, I was so relaxed that I felt like I was floating. Still somewhat asleep I start to dream. I saw a large palace with a tower rivaling the stars' height made out of precious gemstones. Like branches of a tree, the palace branched out seven crystal-like structures in different shapes. The seven structures consisted of a giant rose, scale, hourglass, light ball, scull, crystal ball with a witch hat sitting on top of it, and in the center a planet with stars circling it. My attention turns to the bottom of the palace. The base keeping the palace afloat was covered in black sludge that was slowly creeping up the palace and the branches that connected it to the other crystal structures. With closer inspection, I notice glowing roots connected to the base. They branch out into the dark abyss below, also covered in black sludge. From the depth of this darkness, a glow fills my dream and I was met with who I know as the scribe of hearts. The bright glow filled my head as she spoke but my dream ended abruptly as I jolted up.
"ALEX!!! YOU BETTER NOT STILL BE ASLEEP! IT'S ALMOST NOON FOR GOD'S SAKE! ¡OJALA QUE YO NO TE ARANCO DE ESA CAMA!" (translation: you better hope I don't have to drag you out of that bed!)
I jump out of my bed still in the clothes I wore to dinner yesterday. For a second I wondered why I was in my room when I didn't remember coming home. Starring at the gray walls filled with drawings I try to jog my memories. I came back to the realization that my mom was coming up the stairs. The sound of heels on wood fills the hall. Down the hall, I saw my mom strutting to my room. She was wearing a white pantsuit with a black jacket and black high heel boots. The high-quality pantsuit elegantly complemented her freshly done wavy hair. She stepped into removing her Prada sunglasses revealing her determined glair.
"Alex hurry up I'm going to be late! I need your artistic eye for the party decor," she said with a rushed tone.
"What party?" I asked.
"The engagement party, now hurry I can't be late Mr. A is already blowing up my phone with text." the phone rang and she turned around to answer it. " ¡YA VOY, CALMATE EL CULO!"(translation: I'm going to calm down!) she screams into the phone while walking into the hall.
I walk over to my closet to get ready for this train wreck of a party. As I turned my head I noticed an unfinished drawing of evergreen next to a cup of cold brew I had left out. As I reached for the drawing, my hand hit the cup spilling the black coffee over half of the paper. I gasped because along with the drawing, I spilled coffee on my pants. With a scowl on my face, I pick up the drawing and the cup. I pin the drawing on my wall next to the other drawings of creatures I had encountered. But this particular one came out unusually. The evil grin I had drawn her with had turned into a face of concern after the coffee spilled on her. Half of her body is now covered with the coffee stain so I just chalked it up to the coffee smudging the charcoal. I turned to open my walk-in closet and picked out an outfit that I knew both Valentino and Ruby would love. The outfit consists of tan dress pants with a tannish t-shirt that read the words Spanglish. It was a bit chilly out so I grabbed my favorite light blue jean jacket and picked out some light blue vans to tie the outfit together.
On my way downstairs I overheard my mom's conversation with Mr. Alvarez. From what I overheard it was regarding their unusually low energy cost for his company and everything attached to Mr. Alvarez. Although Mr. Alvarez says he is retired from what I know he isn't. He just runs his company from his house so he can do less work and have someone else do all the tedious in-person things. Maybe that is a good thing because from what I know about him he isn't the best person to be around. Whenever I'm at Valentino's house and I see him, he always ends up giving me a small insult buried in his small talk.
I walked into the kitchen that had been decked out with black and white marble. I approached my mom who was still arguing with Mr. Alvarez and tapped her on the shoulder. She hangs up the phone and tells me there is a car outside waiting for us. I walked outside with my mom trailing behind me and was met with a brand-new white luxury car and a driver waiting for us.
"Is this for us?" I ask a bit skeptical.
"Yes, if I'm going to be fighting with Mr. A during this whole wedding thing might as well get something out of it," she answered with a tired expression.
We both enter the car with the driver right behind us. The driver started the car and we headed off to our destination. The car ride there was quiet and boring but then my mom broke the silence.
"So how is the adventure going?" she asked while chewing a piece of gum.
"It's going I guess, we hit a roadblock but I'll find a way around it," I replied.
"Okay, just be careful. Oh, and if you find anything about Conner can you let me know? He left without a word and I want to at least know why he didn't say goodbye. He was my best friend and he just left me. He even picked out your name Alejandro, along with telling us to call you Alex. I miss him so much. So please let me know if you find anything." she said while holding back tears.
"I will Mom don't worry," I replied
I am connected to this guy in so many ways but I don't know anything about him. I have his power, his spirit, his problems, and even the name he chose. I have so many questions and so few answers. I pondered these thoughts as we drove into the forest-filled mountainsides of the city. We drove up the mountain until we arrived at a large mansion built on the side of the mountain. The house was elegant. It was large and some of it was made out of redwood. Complementing the house which was a mix of modern and classic was a beautiful patio with a wooden canopy overlooking another part of the estate. The patio had a cobblestone path with lights that led to a part of the estate that was strung with lights overlooking the woods down below.
As I got out of the car I was so amazed by the house I didn't notice someone sneaking up behind me. I was lifted into the air being spun around relentlessly.
"VALENTINO PUT ME DOWN!" I screamed
I looked down at my waist and with a big smile Valentino was staring back up at me. He dropped me to the floor and continued to hug me.
"Thank god you came! I'm so bored, I was about to run away," Valentino whispered in my ear in a relieved voice.
"Valentino we are spending the night here. Can you share a room with Alex?" my mom asked.
"Sure no problem Ms. C!" he quickly replied
"VALENTINO HURRY YOUR ASS UP! IT'S GOING TO RAIN" a voice screamed from the distance
"ON IT RUBY!" he screamed back
"Go ahead boys I need to find someone who can bring in something that Mr. Alvarez specifically got for this occasion," my mom said
"Got it, Ms. C! Let's go shorty," Valentino said
Valentino picked me up and started carrying me to the house. Then the rain started followed by thunder in the distance. Valentino started to hurry on his way to the house. Suddenly a bolt of lightning struck behind the house and the property was filled with light. Once the initial shock faded I looked up to see a male figure holding a dagger in his right hand on the roof of the house...
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