Out of the Darkness

68

"It's better at night, but still beautiful. Makes me remember that there's so much more to the world than just my little part of it." I didn't really know what I expected, bringing Anna outside to look at the sky. It was just something that I did, something that I enjoyed and I wanted to share it with her. She was right in what she had said earlier. We didn't know how much time she had in this form, so I wanted to remind her of the little things. I heard her suck in her breath, so I turned to look. She was staring up at the sky, her eyes glassy with tears. "You okay?" I asked, leaning up on my elbow and turning towards her. She met my gaze for a second then looked back up at the sky and nodded. "Yeah," she replied, her voice thick with tears. "No. I don't know. I try really hard not to think of the fact that my entire life, whenever it was, has been almost totally erased from my mind, and apparently from the world. I don't know what my role to play in the world was. I don't know if I ever got the chance to even start it. I don't know if I left any kind of imprint on anyone, or if anyone even mourned me. What happened to my family? I know that I had one, because I can remember a little, but where are they? How long has it been since I disappeared from their lives? Did they-" She broke off, and sucked in a painfully haggard breath. I was quiet for a moment, but I reached over and took her hand. Just to offer comfort, in some small way. "Anna," I replied, after a couple of minutes. "Yeah?" she whispered. "You've left an imprint on my life," I answered, keeping my eyes glued to the sky. I watched the cloud streak from an airplane grow longer and longer. My heart felt like it was trying to race that airplane, with the way it was pounding out of my chest. I wasn't sure why. It felt like those few words that I had just spoken to her were somehow monumental, some sort of milestone that would be passed between us. She sniffled a little, then scooted closer to me on the car. I glanced at her when she picked up my arm, but she wasn't looking at me. Her cheeks were tinted red, her green eyes still glassy, as she lay back, her head resting on my chest. I brought the arm that she had moved around her shoulders, and squeezed gently. "Thank you," she whispered, her finger tracing a something against my shirt. That was how we stayed for a while. I don't know how long. Maybe a few minutes, maybe a few hours. It felt like time stood still, allowing us all the time in the world, just for this moment. I almost shook my head at my own thoughts. This was why I never spoke my deepest thoughts aloud, if I could help it. I could hear the teasing that would come from my friends. They already loved to come at me about being in my feelings, or being what they considered "emo." I don't know if I agreed with everyone's definition of being 'emo,' as it was. I liked deep music, but I also liked some music that didn't mean shit. Some days were good, and some were bad. I enjoyed being alone, but I loved hanging out with my friends. My clothes were a little edgy, and I liked to wear the color black a lot. I was in touch with my feelings, even though I didn't always understand them. Maybe I wasn't as good as hiding it as some of my friends, but I knew that they were basically the same way. Maybe not as deep, but still. "Colby," Anna said, quietly. "Yeah," I asked, rubbing my hand gently against her arm. "As much as I love being here with you, I'm actually getting hot. The slight drop in temperature is not winning against the sun." I laughed a little, and moved my arm so that she could sit up. "I guess it is getting pretty warm. I didn't really notice." We both hopped down off of the car, and headed towards the house. I held my hand out to her, feeling relieved when she took it. Even though she seemed to have gotten over the whole 'not getting involved' thing with me, I wasn't sure that she would stay that way. I always seemed to wait for the other shoe to drop, to never get my hopes up too much, because it could always change in an instant. The others were still outside, leaving the house quiet when we entered. Without a word, she started up the stairs towards my room, keeping her hand connected to mine. When we entered my room, she dropped my hand, and stood in front of the bed for a couple of seconds, like she was unsure of what to do. Then she walked to the couch, her cheeks tinged pink again. Was she blushing or was it evidence that the sun had been baring down on us? Interesting. I followed her to the couch, sat down, and pulled my laptop to my lap. "Research?" I asked, raising my eyebrows as I looked at her. She smiled at me, almost sadly, which twisted my heart a little. "Sure, if you want," she answered, her soft voice thoughtful. "We can do something else. Whatever you want," I answered, confused that she wouldn't want to try and figure out more about that fucked up house, or maybe her family. "No, research is good. I need to find out more. Maybe, if I can figure out what is going on, then I can stay this way." I nodded, still confused at her tone of voice, but didn't want to push her. I started typing, then clicked on article after article about the house, going through the same process as before, checking to make sure that we hadn't missed anything. "Wait," she said, touching her finger to the screen as I scrolled it down. "Go back." I scrolled it back up, seeing an old, dingy photograph that seemed to be what caught her eye. "Those people...that woman. She looks so familiar to me..." her voice trailed off as she squinted her eyes at the picture. "The community comes forward to christen the home, usually called 'The Witches House," as a monumental landmark," I read. "Some of the towns old memorabilia will be put safely inside the home, marking it as a museum to remind us of days gone by. Community members and Town Hall museum curator, pictured left to right. Amanda Banks, George Bilborne, Christine H. Summers, Trev-" "Stop! Right there! Her! I know her!" She jabber her finger at my computer screen several times, so hard, that I thought I may need to look into getting a new one before she was finished.