Glistening Embers

Chapter 16: An Unlikely Friend

Glisteen sat on her bed, thinking of this new realization. She had gotten Yilasia to calm down and then she had had dinner alone. She had persuaded Yilasia and Raya to go without her.

Suddenly, the hole in her door was remade, by a jagged piece of ice. Glisteen jumped and swore. She had just gotten Yilasia to fix it. Sabecary's hand grabbed the doorknob, and he stepped into the room.

"You know, there's a thing called knocking." Glisteen said, tartly.

"You weren't at the celebration in the cafeteria." Sabecary pointed out, completely ignoring her comment.

"I didn't feel like going." Glisteen replied.

"Really? I didn't know that." Sabecary replied, sarcastically. Glisteen rolled her eyes. "Come on, we have off. You don't have to sit around all day." Sabecary urged.

"I don't feel like going to the party." Glisteen insisted.

"Who said we were going to the party?" Sabecary asked, as he led her towards the door.

He led her down the hallways.

"So, where are we going?" Glisteen asked, as they walked down the halls.

"It's a surprise." Sabecary replied, looking ahead, a devious smile on his face. Glisteen decided she didn't trust that smile.

"Will you give me a hint?" Glisteen asked.

Sabecary looked thoughtful a moment, before replying. "Well, it's like your Gift."

Glisteen thought, and thought. Like my Gift. What's like my Gift? "Does it have anything to do with fire?"

Sabecary smiled. "Not really."

"Then how is it like my Gift?" Glisteen asked.

"You'll see." Sabecary replied.

They walked for a while longer. It seemed like forever, for Glisteen, who wanted to find out what the 'surprise' was. They finally arrived at... a door? It was a smallish door, a deep brown in color, and had a gold doorknob.

"Close your eyes. The surprise is inside." Sabecary said. Glisteen raised an eyebrow. "Trust me." Sabecary urged, "Come on." Glisteen sighed and closed her eyes. She felt a cold hand clasp hers, sending chills up her spine. Sabecary led her inside, "Now open your eyes." Glisteen did so and gasped.

They were in a large greenhouse. It was filled with maple trees, and since it was fall, the trees were all a beautiful orange, red, or yellow. It looked like they were on fire.

"Now, do you see what I was talking about?" Sabecary asked, a small smile on his face. All Glisteen could do was nod. She was speechless.

"Well, are you going to stand there, gaping all day. Or are you going to check this place out with me?"

Still hand in hand, they walked through the greenhouse, talking.

"Do you like it?" Sabecary asked, as they walked.

"It's beautiful." Glisteen breathed, still amazed.

He smirked, but somehow not with bad intentions. "Good. Took a while to find this place."

Glisteen shoved him, playfully. "Oh, shut up."

Sabecary shoved her back. "It did. It took absolutely forever."

Glisteen rolled her eyes, yet again.

"Come on. I have a special place." he said.

Glisteen gulped and her cheeks flushed. They walked through the trees, and soon, they came upon a huge maple with a little nook, right before the dense branches, perfect for sitting in. It was bigger than any maple Glisteen had ever seen. But then again, she had not seen many maples at the orphanage. Or, now that she thought about it, any maples.

How did she know it was a maple, then? Glisteen didn't know. It could be that she still remembered a few things she had learned from her parents.

A memory sparked in the back of her mind. She was maybe 5, at the most, and standing in front of another similar maple. A man stood next to her, holding her tiny hand, a woman stood next to him, holding a baby.

The man had messy brown hair, as if he had just gotten out of bed. It was similar to Glisteen's, except with a reddish tint.

The woman had unusual eyes. One was half green, half blue. The other just had a smudge of green in the corner.

"That's a maple tree." the man had said, pointing at it. The baby cooed appreciatively.

"A-a maple twee?" 5 year old Glisteen asked.

"That's right!" the man said.

"Mommy! I said it!" 5 year old Glisteen squealed.

"Uh huh, that's great." the woman said, rocking the baby.

5 year old Glisteen's eyes filled with tears. "You don't cawe. You don't wuv me!" 5 year old Glisteen started sniffling.

"Oh, sweetie." The woman handed the baby off to the man. The baby shifted, so it was facing 5 year old Glisteen. It looked confused as to why the man was the first choice for it to be passed off to. "I will always love you. Remember that, always."

5 year old Glisteen stopped sniffling. "You will?"

The woman smiled. "By storm, by wire, by nature, by fire."

Her face seemed to freeze in that moment, then dissolved, along with everything else.

"Glisteen, are you all right?" Sabecary asked. "I've said your name three times."

Glisteen shook her head, clearing it of the flashback. She'd think about it later.

Glisteen looked to Sabecary and smiled. "Yes. Race you to the nook!" With, that Glisteen took off, racing to the tree to begin climbing.

"Hey! That's unfair!" Glisteen heard Sabecary yell after her.

Glisteen reached the tree and began climbing, loving the rush of adrenaline as she climbed into the tree. Glisteen reached the nook first, and sat in it, taking up all the space.

"Move over." Sabecary grunted, from below her.

"Sorry, can't." Glisteen shrugged, mock sadly.

"Yes, you can." Sabecary replied, shoving Glisteen's shoe so she'd move over. Glisteen grudgingly moved. Sabecary sat in the empty space, where her feet had been.

"Thought you'd never move." Sabecary sighed.

"What took you so long?" Glisteen asked, ignoring the statement.

"The tree made me take so long." Sabecary replied.

"The tree?" Glisteen said, disbelieving.

"Not everyone is good at climbing." Sabecary pointed out.

"And no one is as bad as you." Glisteen replied, smiling.

Sabecary scowled. "Shut up."

Glisteen smiled. It was good to have a new friend, especially one like Sabecary.