Race to the end

RaceTTEnd 5

I awoke with a start. A low hooting drifted in through my open window; I sat up and looked out. A small bird winked at me and then flew away. An owl. That’s what Rafy would call it. It had huge eyes, a long body and large wings. Its call was deep and low.

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I sat at my table eating the food I had prepared. It wasn’t very extravagant, grapes and bread. The grapes were a red colour and the bread was tinted with green, probably from the sunlight filtering in. I sat contentedly, until the events from yesterday came to the front of my mind. I sighed, sucking on the grape in my mouth. Embri. What will I do with her? Ever since we were young there has always been this rivalry between us.

It was strange.

When we had first met, she was the leader or destined to be. Her parents had been the leader and deputy in the years past. She was in line to rule the 10th generation. But of course then I came along. I had always been there, but I was quiet. Soon people began to follow me instead of her and it enraged her.

I see that now. I took away her destiny, though I didn’t do it on purpose.

I had no family. Which meant being the leader was perfect for me. As a leader you had to live separate from anyone, meaning a different house. I dealt with it easily having no one to really miss. But Embri she had a whole family. I could tell that in the end it would have destroyed them.

Seeing her go.

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The sun peeked over the dusty hills in the distance. I was off to make peace with Embri. I saw her house ahead of me and made my way there. Her house was beautiful. Tall with at least 5 stories, a bright cream colour that only made a show in the shade of the green sun. Her front garden had been dug, redug and planted with flowers. Her front door shimmered in the sun a beautiful turquoise. To me this house was art. The windows slanted inwards slightly, magnifying the outside world.

When I was younger I had spent a lot of time here.

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“You put the red here…” Embri indicated “And the green here!” She clapped her hands excitedly. I looked from her to the crayons to the paper. My mind felt like a big mess of thoughts. I didn’t know what to do. I started to put down the crayons reaching for a new colour.

“No!” Embri shouted at me, grabbing the other colours away from me. “You use them or none” She said. My eyes glanced over her to the window. Outside Ribo stood staring at us through the glass. He looked bigger than normal because of the magnification.

Embri fancied him.

I knew that, and it made me giggle. It earned me a confused look from Embri who had been chattering on. Now she followed my gaze, smiling when she saw Ribo. He noticed us looking and turned away from the window. He walked back down the path and left our sight. Embri sighed and then continued with her rant.

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As I was putting my hand to the doorknob, it was yanked open. Inside stood Embri’s mother. Her eyes were red and she had strange water running down her cheeks. I looked upwards to check if there was a leak. She shook her head.

“It’s these feelings” she hissed at me, clutching a squashed tissue. I stared at her. She ushered me in and sat me down before telling me the news.

“It’s Embri” She said, more water running over her cheeks. I nodded waiting for her to explain. She cleared her throat, her voice raspy

“She’s… gone… Embri’s gone!”

She fell onto the floor then. I sat stunned on my chair and waited until she had recovered herself. When she didn’t I stood up, murmured to her and left.

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I searched for her. Everywhere I could think that she could possibly be. She was nowhere to be found. She must have walked further than we have ever dared go alone then. She must have, otherwise she would be found. I decided to call a hub meeting to discuss this. The maybe she would turn up. Or someone else knew something I didn’t.

Either way I had to find her.

That was when I felt a stone hit my back. I turned my claws retracting and scratching my palms. A defence mechanism. There was no one there. I looked down at the rock, my eyes burning into it. I picked it up and noticed it was not the normal grey colour. I examined it closely and found paper stuck to it. I tore it off and looked over the rock again, and then I examined the paper.

Scrawled in angry letters was a note. It was from Embri. I could recognise those unsure letters anywhere. She had gone then. It said so:

I have gone, but I’ll be back

And you will regret it

I shivered at her threat

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“I never forget, Tami” Embri said fiercely “I never forgive and I never forget” I looked at her as though she were trying to make me scared. She failed. “Never forget that” I shook my head at her. I wanted to tell her that surely she would sometime, but knew there would be no point.

 I would only anger her and I really didn’t want that.