The Three Perfections

Ch 6: Galvyn

“Perfect is a dream that you wake up from, and spend forever trying to remember.”       ~ Joseph Eastwood

Chapter Six:  Galvyn

The sound of his name is like a fond memory, and I think that my mind must be playing tricks on me.  I couldn’t have heard the name correctly. It wasn’t possible.  As much as my heart longs for the name the boy had spoken to be Keane, my mind is telling me that it couldn’t have been.  Keane didn’t have any friends that I didn’t know, at least not any that I hadn’t met before he had disappeared.  

“Who?” I ask, expecting the boy to speak a different name this time, verifying that I had been hearing things. 

But instead, he speaks Keane’s name again.

“To Keane… your cousin?” The boy narrows his eyes, and looks at me curiously. “You do remember him don’t you?”

“Yes… Of course, I just…” I say in a confused voice.  My shoulders sag under the weight of all the recent revelations I have experienced, and I don’t know how much more I can handle before collapsing from the heaviness that I feel. 

“Ok… now you know.  So can we go now?” The boy asks. The agitation that had been in his voice before, has returned.  He fidgets nervously in the darkness, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

“No.” I say, my jaw clenched with purpose.  He had a few more questions he needed to answer first.   

“What?  You can’t be serious.” He says, holding his hands up in the air in frustration.  “You do realize that they are still looking for you right now, and that the longer we stand here the greater your chances are of being found?”    

“Yes.” I am well aware of that.  But I also need to know who he is, and how he knows Keane before I can be sure that I can trust him. “I know that, but I need to know who you are first.”

“I already told you.” He says, his deep voice rising an octave. “I am Keane’s friend.”

“I know, but what is your name? And how do you know Keane?” I ask, as I cross my arms in front of my chest, and stand my ground.

He eyes me, and even in the darkness, anxiety and fear can be seen in his eyes.        

“Fine, if I tell you, then can we get moving?” He asks, running his fingers through his dark hair nervously.

“Yes”

“Ok… you win.” He says, pausing for a moment and then he sighs deeply. “My name is Galvyn.”

“Great, now was that so hard… Galvyn?”

I attempt to sound confident, so that I can appear to have the upper hand; just in case he can’t be trusted after all.  In reality, I don’t feel confident at all. I am terrified.  But not by the boy from the fire pit, whose name I now know.  He seems harmless enough, and he is Keane’s friend.  No, I’m not afraid of Galvyn. I am frightened by the knowledge that there are people out there, collectively known as “they”, who are chasing me with less than benign intentions. And then there is also the strange and terrifying sound and light we had witnessed.  I try hard not to think about any of it.

“That is a good start.” I say, my arms still crossed in front of my chest. “Now, how do you know Keane?”

Galvyn’s eyes meet mine, and a slight grin pulls at the corners of his lips. “Wow, you are really something else, aren’t you?” He says, and lets out a small laugh. “Keane was not exaggerating about you, was he?”