In 18 years, Lyra Queen, has yet to:
- Kiss a boy;
- Meet her mother;
- Go through a near-death experience.
In a week, she is going to do all three.
cover by @sereneur
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Lucas
Her height stuck out above any of her other traits. She stood, at least, 5 cm taller than me but my slouching probably made it feel like a little more.
"Hi..." My mind wandered for a second, "Lyra, right?" Though her name came to mind from all the neighborly activities in Blume, her presence in our yard wasn't as clear.
She approached in long calculated steps and tried to embrace me with slender arms. I pushed her before she could.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Her transparent glasses tapped the side of my face and her unruly hair tickled the same spot as if to apologize. "I just hadn't seen you in a while and figured that was ok." Her words spilled in seconds, almost as long as it took for the guilt to fill me.
Did I know this girl that well?
"It's alright. Do you need anything? Are you looking for Dad?"
"I'm actually looking for you." The gap between her teeth almost took my attention from her actual sentence. But not quite. She was looking for me. I recall us being in the same spot together only a handful of times, and I don't remember ever holding a conversation for more than a few minutes at a time. But we were neighbors, so I knew a few things about her.
We went to elementary school together and, even though she was a few grades below me, I remember her dad picking her up with a blue van. I grew used to seeing them because, for a full year, in the front seat of his car, he always had a telescope. I remember it being the peak of my day when the van came into view.
I learned later, after nagging Dad for a full month, that he was an astronomer. That year, he was trying to build a telescope all on his own at the request of his company. When Eric, Lyra's dad, found out most kids in the neighborhood loved his telescope, he held an astronomy party. To the day, that was the best party I ever attended.
"I don't follow. Why are you looking for me?"
"It's because of your car, actually," The more she spoke, the more confused I grew. "I mean, not only because of your car. Also because of you." She took a deep breath. "I came here to ask you to drive me to Baldwin. I decided I'm going to meet my mother."
The fact that Lyra never got to meet her mom was known by everyone in the town. Mostly because of her outburst at the previously mentioned party, where every kid that resided in the neighborhood was gathered. She had started screaming at a girl about how there was no way her mother willingly left her and that if she could, she would come back. A day later everyone knew. We were little shits back then; not that I had participated in spreading the rumors but I still felt guilty to a certain extent.
Despite emotional, her request didn't appeal to me. "No."
Her softly arched eyebrows lowered considerably, showcasing her disappointment. "Oh, come on, Lucas. I only need a week," She brought her hands together, pleading. "I can't drive and my father isn't supposed to know. I just need you for a week."
