Only The Young | ✔

Chapter Seven

Castor had heard the story of how their family restaurant, La' Suntuoso had grown from using the family house to run business and eventually growing to using a proper building for business, his grandmother had said to anyone who cared to listen. Still, nothing could have prepared him for the sight, the family house was nothing more than a shabby building with white paint that was chipping off, a poor sign reading the restaurant name was nailed to the front of the house and written with fading chalk.

"Where the hell do they sleep?" Pollux muttered under his breath as they stepped in, floorboards creaking under his steps. The living room was partly crowded and had been converted into an eating area with wooden tables and chairs. A single bead curtain separated the eating area from what Castor assumed was the kitchen judging by the scent of food wafting from it.

"Don't be silly, abuela has told us this story a million times." The twins shared a secret smile. "The family slept in the basement, when there is love, no space is too small." They recited together. Castor felt a pang of loneliness, he missed his nutty grandmother.

The girls besides them shook their head but smiled too.

The funeral reception was much livelier than the funeral, in fact people seemed to have forgotten that they were coming from a funeral and chattered in low tones, already spreading gossips. Some gazes still strayed to them but Castor guessed the rumour had circulated about him being a pen pal of the victim and they had lapped it up. Somehow, it made him sad, the people were too deep in the problems it suffered to care too much about kids that looked out of place.

If Castor could remember correctly, 1949 was the year Ewreburg suffered wildfires that ravaged the country, Eden was still recovering and every now and then a new group of refugees from different parts of the world would come to seek a haven. Ewreburg had been found and bought by a wealthy man for the purpose of being a safe haven for poor slaves on the runaway, or families of colour seeking escape, the Pérezs had been one of the first hundred immigrant families. Now things didn't look too rosy.

"Is that Pabellón criollo I smell?" Pollux sniffed obnoxiously, breaking Castor from his thoughts. "I'm going to grab a plate or two for us." He said.

"I'll come with you." Yurika said hurriedly, she latched onto his arm and together they walked into the kitchen.

It was just him and Tehani now.

"I just hope she isn't getting any ideas," She shook her head.

"Ideas about what?" Castor asked absentmindedly, his eyes were scanning the small stuffy room, he spotted Evan's sister, she was perhaps a year or two younger than he was and even though she was as tall as him in that moment, she looked like she wanted to be anywhere but there, eyes wide in grief.

"She's always had a little crush on your brother." Tehani was saying. He forced himself to pay attention.

"Funny," He scoffed. "Because Pollux has always had a thing for her, he can be stupid about things like that."

Tehani's eyes widened slightly. "I didn't know, she's always had this conception that he's some sort of playboy."

This time Castor laughed. Pollux a playboy? His twin still wore his purity ring (Castor had tossed his away when he was thirteen after he was teased for it.) and always talked about wanting to find the right girl.

"Pollux is anything but. Sure he's dated a few girls but that's because he's on this foolish quest to find the love of his life." Castor replied, he was still staring at Evan's sister.

Tehani laughed, Castor put a hand on her shoulder before he could think the action through, she looked mildly surprised, lifting her hat up for a moment.

"Find somewhere to sit, I want to speak to Evan's sister." He told her. Tehani nodded but looked like she wanted to shoot herself. "Preferably far from everyone, if anyone tries to speak to you, pretend you're mute, that'll chase them away."

He left her without another word, forcing a somber look on his face as he approached the standing girl.

"I'm sorry for your loss, I don't think we've met yet." He said. The girl nodded, forcing a thin smile on her lips, it was a tired attempt and she looked like she had been practicing all morning.

"My name is Maya, Bathsheba told me about you. . . and your friends."

Castor winced, this was the part where he had to say something about a person he didn't know.

"Evan was a good friend, always ambitious." He said, nodding like a teacher. "It must be some reassurance, that the police is working towards catching his murderer."

The girl winced, fresh tears shinning in her eyes. She wiped her eyes furiously before they fell. Castor felt pity for her, he did not want to imagine losing Pollux, he didn't think he could survive without him, not when they had learnt to live together.

"The police are not investigating. They say the deaths are not related, The first boy died in his home at night, my brother died playing a game of football and the mayor's daughter died last night outside." She was hiccuping, stupidly, Castor stood there not knowing what to do.

"The only thing similar is the age group, Evan and the others were twenty one years old and attended the same community college." She was ranting angrily now. "And the cause of death."

"What was the cause?" Castor asked, he had been wondering about it. As far as they had seen last night, Tehani's grandmother hadn't been stabbed or shot, there hadn't been any blood.

Maya wiped at her falling tears. "I shouldn't be telling you this, they said not to tell anyone."

"Who said not to tell, Maya?" He asked.

"It was a heart attack, they all died of a heart attack. They won't believe me but it's true, someone is killing people, someone killed . . . someone killed Evan." Maya sobbed, Castor was straining his ears to hear her now, while careful that no one was listening in.

"I know because it happened four years ago."

***

Tehani was carving marks on the wood with a sharp nail she had found on the floor and muttering unintelligible words under her breath. Minding her business was the most difficult thing, she felt like everyone were staring at her and wondering why she had a hat over her face.

Occasionally, she looked up slightly to stare at Castor. His expression grew grim at every passing second he listened to the girl speak, she shivered at the thought of more bad news. She missed her home, her annoying brother, Chris and even her father. She missed running, she missed school and would give anything to return home. A part of her felt petulant at her thoughts, the matter at hand wasn't getting home, it was getting out of this hellhole alive.

"You practice?" Startled, Tehani raised her head and came face to face with a middle aged woman with light brown skin and a secret smile dancing on her lips.

"What?" Tehani spluttered.

"I see you, casting spells." The woman muttered hurriedly. Tehani's eyes widened, what was this woman talking about?

"I still don't understand." Tehani said, she cast a hollow glance at Castor, wishing he'd hurry up before she blew her cover. But the woman wasn't looking at Tehani's face, but at what she had inscribed on the wood with the nail.

"You practice witchcraft?" The woman whispered.

Tehani's heart sank to her stomach as she realized her scribbles weren't just scribbles, she had been drawing a pentagram on the table.

"I didn't know," Tehani stuttered. The woman was looking at her in fascination.

"Ah, you are a witchling, you know nothing about your powers." She said with realization. The woman sat down briefly to press a piece of paper into Tehani's open palm. "If you wish to know more, visit sometime. I sense such dark power at your fingertips."

Before Tehani could get another word out, the woman was scurrying away. She looked back at the scribbled table to see that it was gone, replaced by a black scorch mark. It was only when she pulled her hands away from the table did she realized that they were burned too.

Horrified, Tehani looked from the table back to her burned palms and remembered that this wasn't the first time it had happened.