After the normal routine of waking up drenched in sweat to the sound of Oliver calling my name I was ready to leave for my second day of work. I had only worked there one day and I was already sick of it. The only reason that I was so pumped to leave was because I was searing with adrenaline to confront the man with the black cloak.
“Now Acacia, don’t do anything stupid today, okay?” Oliver said staring at me intently. It felt like he was trying to burn a hole through my skull while waiting for me to answer. I started walking without saying a word. “Acacia?” Oliver called after me.
“Yes! Fine!” I replied over my shoulder before I slammed the heavy front door behind me.
I stood at my station mindlessly scanning products while looking for the old man in the black cloak. The continuous sound of products being scanned started to fall into a pattern and my eyes began to search the same places in sync with the ‘beeping’. That was until I saw him. The pattern broke and I started to look around to see who it was only to quickly realise it was me. He casually walked over and sat on the same bench as he did before. I quickly finished serving the customer and put a sign next to the cash register that read ‘sorry, this register is closed’.
“Sorry, you’ll need to find another register”, I told the queuing customers. I walked away as I heard them all grown and swear at me behind my back. I tried to calmly walk toward him but in the end I was taking longer strides than necessary.
“Excuse me, but I can’t help but notice you staring at me from over there. Can I help you with something?” I asked pleasantly starting with the introductions first.
“I apologise Aveline; I didn’t mean to upset you. I was merely observing”, he smiled. Some people would call it a kind smile but after a comment like that it is classified as creepy.
“I think you have me confused with someone else. My name is Acacia”, I told him frowning and looking closely at his black cloak. It was exactly like the one in my dream but his was not ripped and torn. “Where did you get that cloak?” I asked with innocent curiosity.
He smiled again as if he knew why I was asking. “Acacia”, he corrected himself before continuing. “Have you seen this type of cloak before?” he asked avoiding my true question.
“Perhaps”, I said cryptically.
He nodded. “I received this from my parents as a symbol of our royalty. I am of a royal blood line and I am looking for the heir to our throne”, he said seriously. He continued to stare at me as if he was looking into my soul. I realised this was my queue to make my exit away from the old man’s creepy conspiracy.
“Okay, well I hope you find who you are looking for. Good day to you”, I nodded and I started to briskly walk away.
“Have the dreams started yet?” he softly called after me and I immediately stopped in my tracks. I was afraid to face him and so I slowly turned around. I frowned at him with fear. How could he know about my dreams?
“What do you know?” I asked nervously as I very slowly started walking toward him. The desperation to be rid of my nightmares kicked in.
“Have you ever heard of the mythical tale of two, very complex and advanced, civilisations from other worlds?” he asked yet again avoiding my true question. His cryptic exchanges were beginning to bug me.
“If you know something, just tell me”, I told him as my voice rattled. He smiled and stood up. He was a lot taller than he looked when sitting. His cloak draped around him and his grey hair never shifted.
“If you want answers, you need to find them yourself. I am merely here to give you a little push in the right direction”, he said and walked away.
“You can’t just leave!” I called after him. He didn’t turn around and all I could see, before he turned the corner, was his dark cloak that symbolised his ‘royalty’.
“What are you doing?” Oliver asked curious as to why I was home so early. I frowned at him.
“Shouldn’t I be asking you the same question? Why aren’t you at work?” I asked him. He grunted.
“Not if I got fired”, he muttered under his breath, loud enough for me to hear. I couldn’t believe it. He only lasted this long at his last job and even that was only one month. Once the excitement of a new job wears off he starts missing shifts and every time he does this, the outcome is always being fired.
“Are you kidding me? Again? You can’t expect mum to continue lending you money. You’re already twenty five years old”, I told him sternly.
“Okay, Acacia! I don’t need the ‘you’re so selfish’ speech again. I get it and I will try to clean up my act”, he yelled back. He stormed out of the room before I could tell him about my bizarre afternoon. So I decided to go to the local library and research everything the man mentioned and hopefully there will be something there that can answer at least a few of my questions.
