Arcane | Enoch O'Connor

Seven - "I'm spoonless!"

"Wakey wakey, Gracie." I was greeted with the sweet aroma of coffee filling my nostrils, making me instantly feel calmer. Waking up, going to the loop and coming home felt like a routine, so it was bizarre when Dad "switched it up". Grabbing my phone, coat and picnic basket, the two of us sped down the beach. The coastlines curved as if drawn by an artist hand, the pearly ribbon of sand sinking into the distance whilst the brilliant sun coated us in shades of orange and yellow. I felt the sand in between my toes as I wiggled them in delight. I loved the beach, even since I was little. Especially this beach.

I was sunbathing on a towel, on the coast of a remote island in Wales, watching my Dad failing to get me to come in the water with him. Further into the morning we got, more people from the population of ninety two went on the beach. I recognized a few of the older woman, who often sat in the pub, lounged across sun beds reading books in the limited sun Cairnholm got.

Whilst Dad was swimming lengths, someone kept whispering my name from behind me. I turned around to see nothing there, yet the familiar voice whispered again. "Grace." He whispered. It was Enoch, slouched in some modern day clothes and hid behind a rock. I laughed, not used to him wearing jeans and a long sleeve shirt saying, "normal people scare me". Groaning, Enoch tugging the sleeves of the black top. "Miss Peregrine bought us clothes, from now on we can't leave the loop without wearing these. This is the most decent outfit I have, other than my daily 1940 one. I wanted to see you today so I have to put up with it."

"As much as I love you being here, you know my Dad doesn't particularly like you. So wait there." I jogged over to Dad in my bright blue shorts and yellow vest top. "Dad! I forgot to pack the spoons for our puddin', I'll be right back." Returning back to the boy behind the rock, I grabbed his hand and ran off the beach, trying to avoid being caught by Dad. Enoch kept my hand in his for the entire half an hour walk and again, I felt my heart flutter when I remembered this was real.

"I'm guessing you have to go?" He said as we entered the cairn. I frowned. I wondered if Dad had noticed I had been gone for nearly forty five minutes and my arms wrapped tightly around the dark haired teen. My head rested on his chest as his head rested on mine. His palms cupped my cheeks, bringing my face closer to his and closing the gap with a kiss. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye." I practically beamed, skipping out of the cave and smiling to myself for the entire way back to the coast. Ignoring the fact that my cheeks ached from smiling a lot, I grinned at Dad when I came out with my next comment.

"I'm spoonless!" Dad burst out laughing, his dripping hair stuck to his forehead. I brushed my fingers across my lips as my only parent headed towards our picnic blanket. I wondered how much Dad missed Mom, since she very rarely came up in conversations. He brought me up without any assistance since I was five and in the the eleven years I had lived without her, Mom was mentioned about three times. She was peculiar too - her peculiarity was cryokinesis, control over ice yet her peculiar isn't as rare as mine and her husband's. I was rare too. As Miss Peregrine explained, peculiarities are recessive carried throughout families and not many peculiar parents have peculiar children.

Spending the majority of the day at the beach, it was Dad's decision to visit the children's home and even stay for movie time. Considering we arrived about two hours prior to supper, we just went to our familiar places; Dad went into Emma's room and I went towards Enoch's. I knocked softly on the door as a grumpy voice yelled out.

"What do you want?" To be perfectly honest, he sounded tired and bored. But what could he be bored of? This loop is so magical. It's nearly a century ago so I can see the beauty of a time with minimal electricity, the completely different fashion sense and the clear change in people's movements and language. I'd never not want to live in this house as well, the different, magical environment engulfing me in every second of everyday. Yet I saw why he didn't want to be here. If I was Enoch, I wouldn't want to live in the past - I would want to explore, live in, the future and live with the freedom and the fact I wouldn't age so quickly. He would probably want to learn about the medical advancements. But he can't. He's stuck here, living his life in a secretive, peculiar way.

"It's me." Within a couple of seconds, I was ushered into the room. I closed the door and I heard Jake and Emma talking quite loudly, maybe even shouting, on the other side of the wall. Disregarding their argument, I picked a few items off the shelf to watch Enoch build new dolls. Enoch wore a inquisitive face, clearly wondering why I was here exactly. "Dad said we could come."

The shouting grew louder then stopped abruptly. My curiosity pulled me towards Emma's door, through the crack I saw Dad's head in his hands whilst Emma's arms were wrapped protectively around him. Luckily, they were sat facing the window with their backs towards me so I pressed my ear to the door.

"I'm sorry, Jake. I didn't know. You should've told me she had... passed." Emma apologized gently, her arms hidden with black gloves still securely around my father. He made an inaudible noise before I walked back into Enoch's room. With something that looked like cotton, Enoch was sowing the selected pieces together under a large magnifying glass.

"What was that about?"

"My Mom."

"I'm so sorry."

"It wasn't your fault, don't worry about it. It was my fault, I could've got my Dad to turn back and save her. But it was too late." He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close to his chest. Despite the guilt in my stomach, it fluttered at the feeling of my body pressed against his. I sunk into the warmth of his body, appreciative of the simple gesture. His touch made the room warmer somehow and I relaxed.

"Gracie, make me promise you will never, ever blame yourself for whatever happened to your mom." I stared up at his face, my chin still on his chest. Enoch was nearly a foot taller than me so he peered down, sympathy swirling around in the pools of his eyes.

"I promise." And with that, we went downstairs, hand in hand, to enjoy the rest of our evening.