Starlight guided
the way. Her path was straight ahead on
the train tracks, and the night sky was open and clear, as many nights were
around that area. She was hugging her
body to keep warm, and seemed to walk with a trip in her step, with the laces
of her tattered sneakers whipping from side to side. The thick, dark braid
waved against her plaid checkered shirt all the way just past her waist. No
emotion seemed to show on her face as the moonlight glowed on her pale
skin.
Nothing could get
through to her – she no longer listened to the world. The 18 year old girl was done with “normal
life” – and was on her way to something different. Not necessarily “better,”
but at least “different.” Most people would consider this to be the rebellious
teen runaway. In her mind, she knew that
it was so much more than that. Leaving
this town was something that had consumed her thoughts for years before her eighteenth
birthday.
It’s not that she
had a horrible life back home: she had a loving family; she had a good circle
of friends. She’d just recently graduated the local high school, and her
parents had been asking her if she would be going to college, but she always
told them she’d rather take the year off. It was just that her mind was in a different
place than most people. And trapped in her own mind, she sought to find what
that vision portrayed every night in her dreams, even if it meant “running
away” for a while. Besides, she would think, aren’t these crazy impulses what
made us human anyway?
Standing in the
light of the last streetlight of the town, she thought for a split second about
turning back. Her striking hazel-green eyes glittered in the illumination. Nope.
Not a chance. And she continued along the train tracks that stretched into
the tundra ahead.
The event she
sought to find was terribly intriguing to her.
The dream always started with her in her normal life. And then it would suddenly fast-forward into
a fast pace travel all over the world.
She saw herself in canyons, rivers, cracked-ground deserts with dry
lightning strikes engulfing her, exploring through jungle-like forests, and meeting
strange people she had never met in her life.
And every time at
the end of the vision, it would come to a climax near a beach lighthouse sitting
on a cliff. She wasn't sure why, but she would jump from the top of the
lighthouse into the storming waters below….. And then abruptly the vision would
end.
The same vision
would come to her again and again, for years. As a child, she used to wonder if
it were her destiny. And by the time of her eighteenth birthday, she had
completely accepted this vision as something that needed to be fulfilled, no
matter what happened. It had become too enticing in the back her mind, too
annoying to not know why she was forced to see it every time she closed her
eyes. The possibility of being insane had frequently crossed her mind, but
since she was the only person she could be, she had decided to accept that if
it were. So the night after her birthday, she left a detailed note for her
family, and quietly exited the house. Some might call it brave and most would
call it stupid, but she had left with nothing but the clothes on her back and a
small bag, only because in her vision she would see herself acquiring supplies
along the way. She did have a few
advantages that most girls might envy: her complexion was bright and crystal
clear, and her daily hair routine was usually effortless, due to her hair’s
silkiness, which came from her Kazak mother’s side.
Unfortunately for
her, and as anyone may have already guessed, this was not going to be the light
and airy version of the story that played her vision dreams. The vision had gaps – which she was not
aware- that would be the making of a very difficult road.
~***~
After a night of
briskly walking, the sun was starting to rise, and her eyelids were beginning
to droop. Exhausted, she slumped along
the pole in the train station. Finally, she thought, now I can just
take the train away from here.
At
the next post near the post she was leaning against, stood a person who
strangely stood out to her. He was medium build, slender, and looked completely
out of place for this desert climate town. He had on an oversized black winter
jacket, a maroon beanie, and he was wearing jeans. As if it was cold here. She glanced down at her own outfit: plain
white tank-top underneath a loosely-buttoned plaid checkered overshirt,
jeanshorts, dusty Ked sneakers that were white at one time, and a black cloth
duffle backpack with a small glittery silver crown sewn to the front, draped over her right shoulder. That sort of outfit was not
exactly travel-friendly, but compared to the boy on the other post, she blended
much easier with the crowds in this station.
She
noticed he looked as lost as she did. It was early morning, and many of the
other travelers seemed to know exactly where they were going, excitedly talking
about their wanderlust adventures, and yet he stood alone, staring aimlessly up
to the station’s ceiling. She could see the same sort of curious “lost-ness” in
his eyes. She wondered what he was
thinking about. The boy looked about her
age, maybe a bit older. He had short hair so blond it looked almost translucent
peaking from under the beanie, and his skin seemed just as ghastly light as her
skin. He had a heavy-looking travel bag on the ground at his feet, which made
her notice he was wearing some high-top Converse. In her daze, he snapped his
eyes down at her direction. She abruptly looked away, just as the train pulled
in the station.
Trying
not to stare at him, she briskly walked to the train doors. But he seemed to
sense her “lost-ness” as well, because as soon as she’d sat down in the train
car, he swished into the empty seat next to her. “I saw you staring at me,” he
said, looking at her with a smirk.
“Ah….
I was just spacing out, sorry. Been a
long night,” she mumbled, not even looking up at him. Her long wispy fringe covered her eyes and
she flushed in embarrassment.
“Long
night, huh? I bet you don’t even know what that means,” he said with a small
laugh. “My name’s Fin. Nice to be your
train partner for today.”
She
grasped the courage lift her face. “Hmph. Train partner. Okay, well I guess we
may as well be acquainted. Nice to meet you, Fin.”
“And
does this scowling young lady have a name?” He kept his gaze on her as he
spoke. And it made her feel really uncomfortable.
“I
suppose she does.” Why do I have to tell this guy my name? All I want to do
is fulfill my vision, she thought. After an awkward silence of about 0.5 seconds,
she decided it didn’t matter whether this random guy Fin knew her name or not.
“My name is Ahri.”
“Ahri.
Nice name. Is it short for something?
Arianna? Ariette? Ari-“
“Katarzyahri. But I like Ahri for short. It’s my mom’s Kazakh-ness,” she interrupted. “What
about you? Fin? What is that short for?”
For
once he looked a bit embarrassed. His green eyes narrowed. “Yeah… it’s short
for Finley, but just don’t ever call me that.”
“Heh…okay.
So, where is your destination?” As she was speaking, she could feel her hair
falling out of the braid, so she began to undo the braid. Waves of dark brown
covered her shoulders and chest, falling past her waist. He took notice of her
hair – she could feel his eyes following the strands of hair that traveled down
her slender body. Ugh, I asked a question, and now this silent staring
again?
“That
doesn’t really matter,” he said. He lightly picked at the ends of her wavy
hair. “How is your hair so long? You don’t see many people who keep it this
long nowadays.”
She
jerked her body to the side, her hair tugging out of his light grip. “That
doesn’t matter either. If you’re going to touch me without permission, I’m
going to excuse myself.”
“Ah!
Sorry,” he said, eyes widening. “I didn’t mean anything by it, it was just a compliment.
Sorry.”
She
relaxed a bit. “Oh…. Okay. Well, just don’t do that again.”
Both of them
stared straight ahead in silence for a few seconds. Her lips pursed, her mind racing to find
words to break the mood. “Ah… so um… where are you headed again, anyway?”
“I don’t really know.”
He stared at the car in front of them. She could see that he was telling the
truth: the blankness in his eyes was real.
“Spoken like a
true traveler,” she said leaning back in her seat. “In that case…can I come
with you?” What now?!, she thought, frantically.
He turned to her
in surprise. “Why’s that?”
“I, too…. Don’t
have an exact destination.” She looked into his deep green eyes. She could feel
herself beginning to blush. “And I need a guide.” She was shocked at her own
words coming out of her mouth. Inviting a stranger to come along now?! This was
not part of the vision! But for some reason she didn’t want the boy to leave at
the end of this train ride.
He chuckled.
“Ahri, huh? Sure, I can be your guide. I’ll guide you to the ends of the Earth,
young miss.” He took a small bow.
Her cheeks were on
fire now. “Ah well I don’t mean anything by it, I just need someone to help me
start my journey.”
He smirked. Ah those eyes!, she thought. “I
understand, “ he replied. But his facial expression said otherwise. “But you
need to tell me your story first or I can’t really help you get to where you
need to go. You said you didn’t know exactly, but you seem to have something in
mind.”
She opened her
mouth to protest and then quickly realized he was right – how could he help her
if he had no idea? “Well… I don’t exactly have a path that I’m following. I just have a destination. But I don’t know where exactly the
destination is. It’s a long story.”
“We have all day,”
he said smiling at her.
Just as she was
about to start, her cell phone rang. It was her mother. She answered in Kazak, “Hello
Mom…”
“I knew this
would happen someday, Kasia. I just
wanted to let you know that while your father and I do not agree with it, we
love you and we wish you a safe trip.
Please come home by next year and for goodness’ sake be careful. I know we can’t do anything because you’re 18
now…” her mother’s voice trailed off in a twinge of sadness.
“Mom… it’s
nothing you and Dad did or didn’t do. You know I’ve been having those
visions. I promise I will come home when
I find it…. And I’ll go to college and find a proper job when I come home, ok?
I promise. I love you ah. Both of you…. Please tell dad for me,” her heart
hurt for her family, but at the same time, she knew it was the right decision
to leave.
“Ok, sweetie….
Remember how we taught you well, ah? I love you always. Call me every few days so I will get some
sleep ok?” She could feel her mother smiling on the other side.
“Yes… I
will. I promise.” Tears formed in
her eyes. “Goodbye for now Mom.”
As she hung up the
phone, she blinked the tears out of her eyes and turned back to Fin. “Excuse me
for that.”
“Was that your
mother? What language was that?” He seemed like he was going to start asking a
million questions again.
“Yeah. My mom is
from Kazakhstan, but my dad is Caucasian. So basically I’m half-Asian.” She
tried to explain it as simply as possible.
“Ah. That explains
your exotic beauty.” He smirked. The staring contest began again.
“Thanks I guess?”
Ahri began to feel the heat in the cheeks again. “Anyway, about the thing I was going to tell
you before.” She jumped right into her story. She went into the details of the
visions, the frequency of them and the impact on her life that they had created.
She was almost sure he would leave and think she was just a crazy girl after
this. Too bad he had gotten so much
information out of her. So much for a trip alone!
He sat in silence
after she finished her story. He cupped his chin in his hands and leaned
forward. “Ok, so we should head South, which is good because we’re already
going South.”
“So… you …. Don’t
think I’m a nutjob?”
“Why would I think
that about someone I just met?”
“Because I just
asked you to come with me on a journey of no actual path or destination and
it’s based off of a vision?”
“Well isn’t that
how life is anyway? Based off a vision?”
She blinked in
surprise. It was like that, wasn’t it?
Life was always by design, not a set path. “You have a point there, Fin.”
“Good. Now I
suggest we try and cross the border first. You have your passport, right?”
“Yes…. I do. You
mean into Mexico?”
“Duh… where do you
think we are, Canada?”
“Okay, okay.” She
scowled. “Speaking of thinking that it’s Canada, aren’t you hot in that
outfit?”
He began stripping
off the jacket and beanie. “Come to think of it, yes I am hot in this. And the
reason I’m wearing this is because I did, in fact, come from a more Northern
and colder place.” His hair was actually medium long, not too straight, and not
too wavy, but right in between. It was white as snow, and really made his eyes
stand out even more.
“Well as long as
I’ve told you my story, what’s yours?” She tried to keep the conversation going
so there wouldn’t be any awkward staring.
He sighed and
stuffed his jacked and beanie into his enormous bag. “I don’t have a home, so I
just left the town I was in. Needed a change.”
She blinked.
“Wait…. How old are you anyway?”
He looked up at
her with suddenly serious eyes. “How old are YOU?”
“I’m 18 as of two
days ago,” she replied with defiance.
“Well I’m almost
18,” he said quickly.
She smiled at him.
“We’re like a pair of runaway children. I just turned 18, but I still feel like
a child when I have to defiantly say that I AM over 18. If I were getting old,
I wouldn’t want to be older, right?”
“That’s true.” He
stared off ahead. Something must have been bothering him at home. She wanted to
think more about it, but she was starting to experience the drowsy effects of
no sleep.
“I think I will
take a short nap,” she said, lying her head back against the seat. “I’m so
tired…. Wake me up soon, ok?”
She didn’t even
wait for the answer before closing her eyes and falling into a spell of deep
sleep.
~***~
She slowly opened
her eyes. Tilted. She was seeing the other seats in the train…. Tilted? And why
did she suddenly have a warm pillow beneath her head?
“Ah!” She sprung
up from Fin’s lap. “What is going on?” She looked up at him. He was slowly
waking up at her frantic outburst. “Why am I in your lap?!”
He yawned. “You
fell asleep and slumped into my lap.”
“Why didn’t you wake me up?” Her cheeks
flushed red and she tried to fix her messy hair.
“You were really
asleep. You looked comfortable so I just let you sleep there. You’re welcome.”
He closed his eyes again. “I’m still so tired though. I fell asleep after you
because at first I was uncomfortable with you in my lap, but I got used to it.”
She
opened her mouth to respond, but no words came. She ran her fingers through her
hair and looked out the window to distract herself. The landscape was becoming more barren. The
train seemed to be running straight through the desert. The sun shone bright
and strong, warming her legs through the window. Thoughts began flooding
through her mind. Why did she just entrust herself to a complete stranger, and
now was already becoming touchy-feeling with this boy as well? Something about
him drew her to him and made her feel safe, but at the same time, bothered her
so much.
“Let’s
get off at the next stop, ok?” He tapped her on the shoulder lightly. She
turned quickly and nodded silently.
The
announcement for the next stop began right after he mentioned it would. It was
the last stop before the train would head north, since the stop was right near
the border to Mexico.
The
wind whipped around her legs, sweeping dust into her eyes as they walked into
the station. It was a partially outdoor station, just as the one they had
gotten aboard had been. Warm and dry toasted air was the main difference here.
Fin had an excessive amount of baggage compared to Ahri, who only carried her
small backpack of possessions. “Come to think of it, why aren’t you bringing
anything with you?” he asked.
She
paused and looked directly into his eyes. “Because I had a feeling you would
bring the other things I might need.”
“Well…
that’s not creepy at all. What are you, a fortune-teller? Besides, who says I’m
going to share anything anyway?” He smirked. They began walking out of the
station and into the small town.
“Because
you’ll feel sorry for me and you will lend me things.” Her long strands of wavy
hair blew over her shoulder in the breeze. She laughed a bit. “I just know it,
and that’s weird because I barely know you.”
"Yeah my point exactly," he replied. but he seemed to be mesmerized by the long strands of hair that whipped around her face. "But you know you're right, I think I might have to take care of you."
She blinked at him. Normally she would feel unnaturally warm from embarrassment, but she was still only slightly warmed by the sunlight that bathed her skin because the train had been almost too cold inside. "We should get something to eat."
They ended up at a small cafe, over-looking the ocean that was so close to the town. Normally someone would be relaxing at this cafe, but the thoughts of her vision creeping into her mind made Ahri restless in her seat, fidgeting with her iced caramel machiatto. She wanted to find out as soon as possible what was on this path of her vision. It overtook her thoughts so much that she was ignoring the current problem at hand: where were they going to sleep for the night?
"Erm.... Ahri."
She snapped her head up. "What?" She had to catch her breath as she returned to reality.
"Where are we going to stay for the night?" Fin looked legitimately concerned.
There was a long pause. Her big hazel eyes blinked in confusion. "But aren't we going to travel anymore?"
"Ahri, it's almost five pm. We should find a place to stay or before you know it, we'll be stuck walking in the desert at night again." He sighed. "I don't actually know how far you walked yesterday, but I walked a long way. I don't actually have much money, so hopefully you do."
She contemplated this for a minute. "How much is not a lot?"
"Only about two thousand. And I'm far away from my home."
"Well that I still do not know about... but you're right, I have more than that. It was the money I saved for college. This vision is really everything I have." She crossed her legs and wove her fingers into her lap. She was so sure this was the correct path that she did not even question the boy who sat across from her. The soft breeze from the ocean gently kissed her skin.
"Ok... I understand. Is there anyway that for now we can get a hotel or something? Just for tonight until we can catch the right train," he said. His cheeks flushed a bit. "We don't have to stay in the same rooms, but I think it would save money."
"Alright." She could feel her cheeks redden as well. Gotta save money, right? This could be a very long journey and she decided right then and there that she may as well become comfortable with him. The path of her vision had given him to her. And she was going to use him to full advantage. "Let's go find a place."
She scooped her little duffle bag into her arms and walked down the steps of the cafe. The streets seemed to be full of passing tourists. The women all dress nicely in their designer dresses, always white dresses, and sun hats, and the men always in printed colorful Hawaiian-inspired shirts. Occasionally a family with children would pass as well, and the children were always younger children. How out of place they were! She began to wonder if she would find a hotel in their price range at all.
"What about that one?" Fin was pointing to a hotel that seemed to be squeezed in between a convenience store and a pizza shop. It looked as if it used to be sparkly white but was worn down by the dust storms. The metal sign hanging above read "Hote" instead of "Hotel" due to the "l" being ripped off of the sign.
"Great. So you want to stay in a dump?" She replied, although she was seriously considering it. How expensive could a place like THAT be?
"So you want to spend boat loads of money? Look at the rest of this town!" He threw up his hands. All of his bags dropped to the ground. "Argh!"
She glared at him. Then, without helping him with his bags, she stomped off into the "hotel."
He sighed and gathered everything, quickly following behind. The hotel's inside was not anymore impressive than the outside. The floor was dusty, the manila-colored chairs were worn in the lobby, and behind the desk was a grumpy looking Mexican woman who smoked a cigar.
"Urm, can we have a room for tonight?" Ahri opened her back to retrieve her money. Mostly she was just trying not to look at the woman's many wrinkles on her neck.
"Price is $30.00," The woman coughed.
Ahri shoved the money onto the counter, and the woman slapped down a key with a room number. "Thank you...come on, Fin."
They scurried away back into the dim hallway to find their room. "It's 118, Fin."
"Found it," he replied.
Thrusting the key into the keyhole and turning slowly, Ahri opened the room. It was not as bad as she had expected, considering the outside of the hotel and the lobby were not well kept. There was a small bathroom right as they walked in, a small mirror hanging crooked on the wall across, and one chair in the corner near the wardrobe closet. And in the middle, one queen bed.
Fin set down his bags. "It's ok... I can sleep in the chair."
Ahri instantly felt bad that she hadn't specified the room type. "No... you don't have to. We can both sleep in the bed.... unless that's a problem." Her cheeks flushed. What was she thinking?! No no no!
He raised an eyebrow. "You're quite open to a stranger."
"Well, you know, I'm just feeling bad because I didn't ask about room type and you know I... um." She stopped. Obviously nothing she would use to justify it now wouldn't make up for the boldness. "You don't have to if you don't want to."
He smiled at her in away that slightly annoyed her. "I think I'll take you up on the offer."
"Ok, well don't try anything." She turned her attention to the bathroom. "I'm going to wash up."
He laughed, plopping down on the maroon-colored bed sheets. "Alright, whatever, Miss Ahri."
~***~
Although she could feel all the springs through the bed as they lay in the darkness, she felt much more uncomfortable by his warmth that circled back her way through the sheets. Her body felt completely stiff, trying not to move too close to him. She breathed slowly, trying to calm her nerves. She turned to see how he was handling the situation.
Fin was laying next to her, completely calm, eyes closed, relaxed facial expression. No discomfort whatsoever. She narrowed her eyes. Why was this boy so annoying? How could he be so calm laying under the same covers as a person who he met only hours before in a train? Somehow, even though it was crazy, she still liked the feeling of him next to her. And she felt guilty for thinking such a thing.
"You seem restless...you ok?" He asked without even opening his eyes.
"I'm... I'm fine." She dodged the subject of their sleeping together. "I'm afraid when I close my eyes I'll see my vision again. And I will want to go from here."
"It bothers you more than drives you, doesn't it?"
"Well, it drives me because it bothers me that I don't know why. I don't know if it's a good reason, but I'm either crazy or psychic and I sort of want to know which it is." She sighed and closed her eyes.
"Aren't you scared of what might happens if you never find it?"
"Of course... I think about that a lot. But if I never try, I will never know," She began feeling more relaxed as her thoughts drifted off into her vision.
"That's how life is, isn't it? A great experiment..." Fin's voice drifted into sleep.
She opened her eyes and smiled. Finally someone who understood her. She relaxed her body more, and after a few moments of nothingness, she found herself standing in the middle of a cracked desert ground.
Turning her head upward, neon purple lightning struck from dark clouds that were engulfing the sky. Her long messy hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she was wearing a stained white t-shirt. She glanced down for a second to find that instead of her jean shorts, she was wearing blue gym shorts. This was the most clear her vision had ever been.
Suddenly, she felt someone leaning to her back. She tilted her head to the side: It was Fin. Both of them stood in defense mode, legs apart, knees bent, back to back, arms out. He turned to see her startled face, and he smirked at her. She moved away from him and blushed. As she did, lightning struck near them, within a few hundred feet, and they were thrust back on to the hard dusty ground. She coughed and wiped her eyes. Feeling someone grasping her wrist, she was pulled up and lead running out of the dust storm eveloping around. She stopped and tugged at his grip. He stopped to look back at her, and as he did, she pulled her wrist from his hand and fell backwards, spiriling down... down into darkness... dust covering her eyes...
Ahri's eyes snapped open. She was sprawled over the bed, head rested on Fin's chest.
Again?!, she thought painfully. Why did her subconcious insist on being a social nightmare with this boy? She lifted her head and straighted herself out on the bed. Fin was still sound asleep, oblivious to the whole scene. She took a deep breath, relieved he had not been awake for her awkward antics.
Sunlight was pouring through the edges of the blackout curtains, and she began to wonder what time it was. She opened her phone.
"NINE THIRTY-FOUR?!" Ahri sprang from the bed. "Fin.... get up... we're wasting valuable time!"
Fin rolled over, away from the sunlight that came in as she was opeing the curtins. "Hm...?"
"Get up," She poked him in the stomach.
"Agh! But I wanna sleep..." He curled up in the fetal position.
She sighed and took her things to the bathroom. "You need to get up before I'm done getting changed or I'll leave you here."
His muffled voice trailed from the bedroom. "Yeah right... you can't sleep without being close to me."
She almost choked on her toothbrush. "No!"
All she could hear from the other room was surpressed laughter.
Okay, she thought,
Since he was part of the vision, he is right.
"Hey, Fin, do you have anything I could wear? Like a shirt or something?" Ahri called from the bathroom.
The laughter stopped. "You're kidding me, right?"
"Noooope, I didn't bring any clothes....just the ones I wore yesterday."
"Well, I can help you with the shirt and possibly the socks, but what about underwear?" Fin answered.
"Don't worry about that - I'll find some later. For now I won't wear any," she said casually.
She giggled at the silence that followed. "It's ok, I'll get some at the next stop!"
And so that morning they left the dusty hotel, both dressed in black button-down shirts with short sleeves. Ahri wore her shorts and Keds with black droopy socks and tucked the over-sized shirt in the front of her shorts. Fin finally was wearing shorts and sandals, much more appropriate for the weather.
Fin lightly patted her on the head. "Time to get to that train station, Miss No-underwear."
~***~
"So... we're in Isla Blanca?" Fin asked as they stared at the map in the train station. "That's Texas, right?"
"Yeah....where did you think we were?" Ahri raised her eyebrow.
"Well I'm not familiar with this area, you know," he grunted, still staring at the map.
"Do you want to leave to Mexico?" She asked, sort of hoping he would say no.
"That depends on you," he replied squinting at the border of the US and Mexico. "Where does your vision take you?"
She gulped in nervousness. "Actually I get the feeling we should head West. I'm sorry I haven't said until now."
He smiled lightly. "Well I'm glad I asked... I'm not too sure about going to Mexico because I'm not too familiar with it. But maybe if we head West we will find clues to your vision. There's a train heading West departing in...... 20 minutes." He pointed to the far off sign flashing red.
As they went to the counter to buy their tickets, she looked curiously at him. From what she could tell, he seemed like he had been a party boy in high school, but for the moment, he was so mature. His facial expression was relaxed, calm, and cool. He seemed to be in control of the situation, but still okay with what she wished to do. It puzzled her because at the moment she felt like the child and he was the adult.
It intrigued her - not even past boyfriends had the effect of security that he had on her. Feeling like a dream, she followed him back onto another train, and the wind grabbed one last wisp of hair before the train doors closed.
It hadn't been even ten minutes after the train left the station that her phone began ringing. Fin raised an eyebrow. "Parents again? You're more like a child than I am."
"No..." Ahri stared down at her flip phone screen. "Just a sec- he-hello?"
It was one of her best friends who she had actually eventually dated a few months ago. "Kasia? I'm so glad you answered!"
"Junya... What's up?" She said softly. Junya, a japanese boy who was 3 years older than her, had known her since Ahri was ten years old, and she knew he would call her eventually.
"What's up?" He repeated incredulously. "What's up with YOU running away?!"
She sighed. "I did not run away.... You know that."
"I thought maybe you would, you know, tell me or, hell, maybe even say goodbye. You're crazy!" She could hear exasperation and hurt in his voice. "I was surprised you even brought your phone."
"It would have been worse if I would have told you," she replied defiantly. "You can't stop me now that I'm already gone."
"I'm not going to... I just..." Junya's voice trailed off. "I wanted to say goodbye properly. And wish you a safe trip.... And I.... Um..."
"What is it, Junya?" She instantly felt bad, the same feeling that she had when her mother called.
"I wanted to let you know that I'll be waiting here for you... when you come back," he mumbled.
She sat in silence for a few seconds.
"You WILL be back, right?" he asked.
"Yes... don't worry. I will. Thank you, Junya," she said, not sure whether she was feeling sad or guilty. "I have to go."
"Ok. Let me know what's up occasionally, ok Kasia?" Junya still sounded concerned.
"Ok... good bye..." Ahri shut her phone. It was at that point that she realized Fin was staring at her with a smirk. "What?"
"Was that your boyfriend?" he chirped.
"No! Just a friend." She turned towards the window.
"A friend who is so concerned." Fin chuckled and leaned back in the seat. "I'm about to start calling you 'Kasia'."
A couple of minutes in silence passed before they began to talk about a different subject. They planned out what stop they would get off, which would most likely take until early morning the next day. Just as they were about to plan out their dinner on the train, a young teen girl, maybe about 15, came charging up into their car. They both looked up in surprise.
"OH my GOD, I finally found you, you stupid- stupid- ah" The girl began to cry into the sleeves of her dress. She had silky, short, jet-black hair that came to her shoulders. Her skin was olive and her eyes resembled almonds. She was wearing a white, long-sleeved, chiffon dress, lined with pink lace. Her shoes were white Keds, but unlike Ahri's, they looked brand new and had pink jewels on the tips. She had been pulling a rather large baby-pink suitcase behind her. Ahri felt completely underdressed compared to this girl. But for that moment all she could think about was how this whole scene was related to Fin.
"How did you find me?" Fin asked nervously.
The girl threw down her arms in exasperation. "You SAW me at the last station, and you deliberately ran away! What game are you playing?"
"I'm not playing anything!" Fin snapped. "I didn't even see you..."
"Yeah and who the hell is she?" The girl had stopped crying by now and was full-fledged angry. Her eyes flashed fire at Ahri, who was still confused at the whole thing.
"I met her on the train," Fin answered defensively.
"Who ARE you?" The girl was looking straight at Ahri. "What the hell are you also? Part Chinese?"
Ahri was beginning to feel personally insulted. "Well, you know, unlike you, I'm not some crazy bitch who comes strolling on to a train screaming and crying. And I'm half Kazakh."
"WHAT-!" Fin stood up and grabbed the girl's wrist before she could attack Ahri's comment.
"It's your own fault, Victoria," Fin said, calmly pulling her down to a nearby seat. "You started it. Don't be mean to Ahri, ok?"
"Ahri...." Victoria was staring at Ahri with hurt eyes. She turned to Fin, who was still holding her by the wrist. "Fin, why...? Why did you leave...?"
"A 'friend who is SO concerned'...."Ahri mumbled. She turned away towards the window.
What the hell was going on?
"I came all this way for you, Fin." Victoria cried into Fin's shoulder. "Because I care about you!"
Fin comforted her, patting her on the back. "You really didn't need to... I just needed to leave for a while."
"You know I had to get a passport to even travel here! It was hard work," Victoria said, muffled by his sleeve.
Ahri turned back to them. "Passport? Where.... where are you guys from?"
The girl stifled a small laugh and sniffled. "She doesn't even hardly know you!"
Fin sighed. "We haven't discussed that yet."
"Really?" Victoria said incredulously. "You spent an entire day on a train together and never bothered to tell her that you're from Montreal?"
Ahri smiled. "So you've run a looong way from home?"
He smiled sheepishly at her. "Yeah. I guess you could say that."
Ahri actually was impressed, thinking about the distance he had traveled to get to this point. Compared to him, she had only barely begun her journey.
"Well, I'm coming with you, where ever you are going," Victoria declared, breaking the silence.
Ahri frowned. "No... no you're not."
"Who asked YOU?" Victoria snorted.
Fin laughed nervously. "Wellllll... actually, Vikki, I'm uh-well I'm actually, erm -"
"Just say it already!" Ahri rolled her eyes.
Victoria glared at Fin, crossing her arms. Her mascara had dried in a black mess all over her cheeks at this point. "What is it, Fin?"
"I'm actually traveling with Ahri," he said quickly and quietly, without looking her in the eye.
"WHAT!" Victoria sprang out of the train seat again. "What is wrong with you?! You leave town right after they all die and now you're fancying a girl you just met on a train?!"
"Shut up," Fin looked angry now. "Just stop talking about things you don't understand!"
Ahri silently watched as the tension built within the silence of the two childhood friends. She stood in front of his seat, arms at the sides, tears of anger and desperation. He sat, leaning forward, arms rested on his knees and chin up, looking straight into her eyes. Ahri could tell there had been a long history between the two, and that something terrible had recently happened to them. Though both appeared to hold anger, she could see the same lost and hurt eyes in both of them.
Victoria lightly touched Fin's arm. "Don't throw it all away."
Fin reached up to touch her shoulder. "I just need some time to forgive myself. Please let me go for now. I promise I will come back to Montreal...to you."
Victoria stepped back. The tears began to flow again. "I wanted you to come h-home. I-I always wanted you to st-stay with me." Her voice trembled at each word.
He looked truly pained. "I'm sorry, Vic.... I can't stay in such a place for now. I'll buy you a plane ticket home."
She sat down quietly, not listening to his words any longer. The three sat for the rest of the ride in complete silence. At least the other passengers in the other cars seemed to be happy with it. Ahri just felt relieved to listen to her music in peace after all of the tension.
~***~
The snow fell like crystals on the newly grown grass. Although it was March, the cold weather seemed to stay no matter how many times the flowers tried to bud. Trudging through the yard came a young man, black beanie covering his snow-white hair. His skin glistened in the dim sunlight that was trying to prod through the cloudy sky. Winter coat, long jeans, and what seemed to be all of his belonging. He had the most solemn face, and as he walked away from the empty house, he did not even look back. His destination was unknown, but all he knew was that there was no coming back to this house for a long time.
Ahri awoke with a start. Pitch-black out the window, and a pile of bags in the seat next to her. Across from her lay Fin, who was leaning on Victoria's shoulder, eyes closed. Victoria lay against the window, sleeping soundly. Ahri smiled at the sight. Too bad they were asleep and unaware of their temporary truce.
She gazed out the window of the train. Blackness seemed to cover the entire land. She wondered how much longer they could rely on trains to get them where she needed to go. For a few minutes, she even pondered leaving both of them asleep on the train and continuing on her own. Remembering her visions with him as her partner, she quickly shook the thoughts out of her head. Although, she was not sure how she would be able to get rid of this Victoria.
Ahri pulled out her wallet. Her passport was still freshly unused and un-stamped. 'Katarzyahri Broenner.' She sighed. Perhaps the best way to pull herself closer to her visions was to leave the country by plane or boat. "Ahri?"
Fin had awoken, but Victoria had not. "Can we leave somehow?" He whispered.
"I don't know, the train is moving," she breathed back. Thankfully, it seemed that Victoria was sound asleep; mouth open and arms hanging down out of her lap.
Fin slowly got up from the seat and pulled his bags. "Let's move to a different car at least."
"Urhm... don't leave me..." Victoria mumbled, stirring in her sleep.
They both turned to see Victoria's pained look as she slept. Fin seemed to instantly feel bad about leaving her because he tiptoed back to the seat across from her and sat down, sighing. Ahri sat next to him, wondering how much of a soft spot he had for Victoria. They looked at each other and shrugged. At least until the train stopped, they could stay.
Ahri found herself facing an ocean. It was wide and blue as the cloudless sky. She was sitting down. In a swing...holding hands with a white-haired boy. The boy looked up and smiled at her. Startled, she withdrew her hand, and for some reason ran down the dirt path in front of the ocean cliff. Nobody was on the Earth except for Fin and herself. But she kept running towards the dark clouds that had began to gather at the other side of the horizon. Away from the sunny day and into the downpour of rain. She slowed to turn and see if he would follow her, but he just sat on the swing by himself, staring straight ahead. Confused, she stopped. In her side, she was standing in rain, but he was still sitting in the sunlight. She began to wonder why she always ran away from situations that were content and happy. She realized she was only looking for trouble. Slowly, she stepped over to return to the sunlight, but there seemed to be an invisible force field not enabling her to go back. She
