Episode Fourteen:
First Flight

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     Evelyn snuggled deeper into the linen covered pillow.  She felt annoyed at the feel of her long chestnut hair which she hadn’t had a chance to wash or brush in the last two days.  She wished for a moment she had one of the new short, trendy hairstyles, she would have a lot less hair to worry about then.  She closed her eyes, hoping that sleep would conquer her.  However her slumber did not last long as she heard two taps on her window.  Her eyes popped open and she rolled over.
     She gasped in shock when she saw Evan standing in the darkness on the other side of the glass.  “What are you--!?” she caught herself and lowered her voice, “what are you doing here?”
     Evan removed the bug screen, accidentally dropping it, causing both him and Evelyn to wince, then he slid the window open.
      “To see you of course!” he declared valiantly.
     “Most people come through the door, did you climb the building?  This is the fourth story!”
     Evan shook his head.  “Not quite, I used less conventional means.”
     “You flew!”
     Evan nodded.
     “Wow!”
     “Yes, I can fly now, and I think I’m finally stable enough to take you with me!”
     “Really?” Evelyn’s grin sparkled.
     Evan’s cheeks brightened a few shades of red.  “Uh huh, so as soon as you are better let’s go for a short flight, to anywhere you want.”
     She nodded eagerly.
     A calm silence enveloped the dim room.
     “Heh, I better be going, mom might notice I’m gone.”
     “Yes you should, my parents might walk in soon too.”
     “Ok,” Evan grinned.
     They both felt like rogue agents, working outside the law of the parental government.
     “Get well soon.” Evan muttered as he patted her head.
     “I will.” Evelyn promised.  She watched as Evan stepped out onto the narrow ledge.  His dark clothing made it seem like his body vanished, all except his face and hands.  He closed the window behind him and waved, flashing one of his smiles that she loved.  Then he seemed to just vanish, like a shadow when a light is turned on.
     Heavy regret filled her chest as her diaphragm shook weakly.
     'I should have asked for a ride now…'  she thought as her eyes watered.  'He doesn’t even know I’m not going to leave this place.  I hate lying.'  She looked out at the window, trying to catch a glimpse of her friend, hurrying on his way home through the night sky.  She looked back at the door to the room.  Her mother still had not returned.  Another meagre spasm shook her diaphragm.  She felt her body relax.  As she felt herself drown she smiled.  'Now is the best time.  I wanted to be alone when this happened.  I wouldn’t want to see mother’s or father’s scared faces.  They would just make me nervous.'  A hollow feeling gripped her heart, as fear poured in.  She did not want it to be this way.  She was afraid, her teeth began to chatter uncontrollably as she felt her senses numb.  
     'I’m glad that the last face I saw was smiling.'  When that merciful thought touched her soul, it gave some relief to her fear, now she was ready. Against her will her lungs painfully expanded, bringing in the harsh air and prolonging the agonising process.  
     'He has a princely smile, it makes me almost imagine he's from a book.  I wish I went with him…'  However reality hit her harshly as she thought of the consequences of being carried by him while she went through this.  'That would be bad for him.  A first kiss would have been nice though.  It would have looked like Sleeping Beauty or Snow White.  The perfect end to a fairy tale, a happy ever after.'
     She made one more shallow breath.  There were only a few spare moments before she suffocated.  'I guess I can fly with you after all, Evan…'
     A dull pain filled her chest as her heart pumped hard once followed by two gentle murmurs, and at last, a single shaky beat as her faithful pump tried one more time to defeat the Muses’ scissors, until at last the struggling ceased, the thread of fate cut.  She blinked once, and three tears fell from her eyes, one of farewell to her parents, one of regret for her dearest friend, and the last a tear of joy as she felt her wings take flight.
 ~~~~~~~~~~
     The wind blew pleasantly through Evan’s hair.  He could not wait until the day he would take a flight with her.  There was an odd lightness in his chest and burning feeling in his stomach.  
     He dived into a long straight alley to avoid the brighter lights of down-town, as he hurtled through the passage he felt a grip on his shoulder.  He twisted around swiftly and landed, skidding along the cement.  He looked around in the darkness, wondering what had touched him.
     He spied a clothesline and sighed in relief.  Something about the touch had been frightening to him, despite how tender it felt.  After one more deep breath he took off into the air and continued home.
~~~~~~~~~~
     The next day Evan walked down to see his mother on the phone, the skin of her face ashen, and when she looked up him, she grew paler still.  
     “Umm, it’s Evan,” she said into the phone.  “Yes, I’ll tell him,” a choke hit her throat as she uttered the last, overused phrase, “Sorry for your loss.”  The phone tumbled from her hand to the receiver.
     “E-ev-an,” his mother sobbed, tears welling up in her eyes, and one of them running a trail down her cheek.
     Looking at his mother’s face, the boy’s eyes widened slowly as realisation hit him.  He made a sharp intake of breath and in a deep and harsh moan cried, “N-no!”
     “I’m sorry, I should have gone with you last night…” Mrs. MacIntyre was now breaking down in heavy sobs of immense guilt and sorrow.
     “No!” Evan cried.  “No, no, no, no!”  He turned and ran towards the door.
     “Wait, Evan!” his mother screamed while chasing after him.  Before she could reach her son the door had slammed shut before her.  She did not even have the heart to open it and call out to her child.  She crumpled before the closed door, engulfed in her sobs and wails.  Her heart was breaking as she thought of the misery tearing up the heart of her son and how she wished she could go back in time to fix it.  Her own child’s pain had been more than evident in his defiant shouts that only barely covered the sound of his breaking heart.
     Down the street Evan ran, no tears had fallen down his face.  He just ran, focusing on the pain he felt as his bare feet slammed against the cold concrete, numbing the wretchedness that was gradually sneaking up on him.  Not paying attention to where he was going he found himself running into the secluded corner of the garden that he and Evelyn had called theirs.  
     With nowhere further to run he leaned against the brick wall.  He pounded it in frustration.  “Why!” he hissed.  “Why her?”
     He picked up a rock and threw it then turned around to do some other sort of destruction when he felt a strange pressure against his palm.  A high pitched wail emanated from his hand and red dust filled the air.  He looked the direction his hand had been facing and when the dust cleared there was a circular hole drilled through the garden wall. Another pressure touched his other hand.  Again a roar wailed in his ears and a transparent rod-shaped vortex shot out from his arm and the force spun him around, a string of explosions ran across the wall beside him as he spun, leaving behind what looked like marks from a large sledge hammer.
     Evan fell to the ground.  Sudden exhaustion overcoming his body.  The dirt before his face blurred as he lost consciousness.
~~~~~~~~~~
     Evan lowered his hand and stared at the former sheet of corrugated metal.  The ridges had been eliminated and the twisted remains resembled a funnel with a ragged hole in the middle.
     “So this was your reasoning.” He raised his eyebrow in wonderment as to how the Apparition knew about his past and the other side of his ability.  'So you want me to use this power?'
     He grabbed the twisted metal and returned it to the garbage pile.  He looked down the long alleyway.  A bitter smile crossed his lips as he walked towards the churchyard.
~~~~~~~~~~
     The sun shown brilliantly on Evelyn’s funeral, it was the only day of the entire week that was not filled with storm clouds. Evan grit his teeth in anger every time a bird sang, or a butterfly drifted by. He felt like God was mocking the day his best friend was lowered into a two metre hole. He could not even provide rain to conceal the boy’s tears which made red paths down his face.
     He glanced over at Mr. and Mrs. Douglas.  They were sad, but at the same time, a glimmer of relief hid in their eyes. Watching their only child slowly and painfully depart the world had been torment, a torment from which they were now released. Apparently they had long known of their daughter’s condition. Evan had overheard that it was some rare lung and heart malformations, but he did not care for the details, she was gone.
     Now Mr. and Mrs. Douglas could leave this painful chapter behind. As for Evan, he had ripped out his own soul and left it on the casket. After that funeral, he would continue on, but his heart would be locked away in that year he had spent with the small brunette girl with a delicate ski slope nose and tender, dark eyes.  Evan as he had been that year was dead, and a new Evan took his place, a shell of a shattered dream.
~~~~~~~~~~
     The cold stone soothed his calloused hand.  His fair gray eyes matched the tombstone’s surface.  His finger traced the name, Evelyn Douglas.
    Evan felt a strange happiness being here, before the grave of a girl whose life was snatched away too soon.  “Hello old friend. This is my first time visiting you after that day... I’m sorry.” his voice cracked a little when the apology escaped his lips.  Tears welled up in his eyes.  “I’m sorry for not taking you for that flight I promised. The clouds we gazed at would have looked much nicer from above.”
     He paused, enjoying the silence of the cemetery.
     A quick chuckle escaped Evan‘s lips, followed by a bitter smile.  “I lost my way.” a sob rattled his chest.  “I even forgot that year we spent, the happiest year of my life.  I’ve done a lot of things, Evelyn.  I tread the byways of humanity, and lost portions of what was left of my broken heart all over the place.  But now I came back, to make things right.”  He placed his palm flat on the stone.
     “This year, I found my way again.  I’m caring for someone, but my heart is too small to carry the weight. Those two are far too wonderful for me, and I just don’t have the room.  I can’t love them back the way I am, so please, hear my one selfish request. I may not be coming back here again, so please, return that piece of me I left with you.  I want them to have at least half of an old man’s heart.” His stomach tightened painfully as he sobbed before the stone capsule of his past.
     Despite his weeping, he felt the heavy burden he had carried since he began this lonesome trek, gently lighten from his shoulders.  He was not sure whether his wish was actually granted, but at least the words he had wanted to say were finally said, and that felt almost enough.
     Leaving the churchyard cemetery behind, he began on his way back.  His heart skipped a beat just before he turned down the street where he would see the small oak bench.  He calmed his breath and walked around the corner.  The bench was just as it had always been, but there was a woman sitting on it. Evan huffed slightly to recover from his weaping and wore a neutral expression as he made his way down the street.  He passed by the woman on the bench and paused.
     The brunette pulled out a small mirror and glanced at her face.  “Your friend would have turned into a beautiful woman.”
     “You're heartless,” he muttered.  Turning he made a weary smile at her.  “I went on the 'find my heart' trip you wanted, now what?”
    The Apparition flicked back the middle aged Evelyn’s hair, her face a perfect resemblance, and put away the mirror.  “You regained the power right?”
     Evan nodded.
     “Then I need you to find someone, the one who is in danger. His name is George Donnelly and he lives somewhere in Edinburg.”
     “Is he another Jinn?”
     “Of course! The children of Adam have their keepers, but no one guarding the children of ash.”
     “If you know his name, then shouldn’t you be able to find him and just tell us where he is? Use the internet.  You don‘t have to rely on just on mind-reading anymore.  It’s very last century of you.”
     The Apparition smiled, still hiding behind adult-Evelyn’s face.  “Good to see you have gained a sense of humour.  His name should have been George Donnelly, however I doubt he goes by that after what his father did.  I will keep you informed, I believe I know who is hiding him from me.”
     Evan cocked an eyebrow.
     She rolled her eyes.  “Yes, even I don’t know everything.
     “Anyway, those two are waiting for you.”  She stood up.  “Oh, but before you go, did I get the voice right?”
     Evan paused, a genuine smile crossed his face.  “You need to sound more like a crow.”
     “Huh?”
     “Oh, and one more thing,” Evan said glancing at the ground.  “Try to cast your shadow correctly, I could tell it was you immediately.” Smiling smugly, he departed.
     The Apparition watched him go and grinned, shaking her head as her body flaked apart and drifted away like smoke from a snuffed candle.

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    Evan and Evelyn joined at the hip for the next few weeks and on a lazy Sunday the two of them went to a small park in their neighbourhood where they lay on their backs and watched the clouds.
    Evelyn raised her small hand, reaching for the sky.  “I want to touch them.”
    “Well, if you had plane you could.  But even then, they’re just water.  Not at all like they show in the cartoons.”  Evan replied matter-of-factly.
    “I know,” she replied wistfully, “but I still want to.”  
    The call of a crow interrupted their silent reverie and seemed to remind Evelyn of something she wanted to say.  “Hey, Evan, do you want to grow up?”
    “Well, yes, then I can earn money and drive a car.”
    “I don’t want to.” Evelyn huffed.  “Adults don’t do stuff like read fairy tales, look at clouds, and play hopscotch.”
    Evan shrugged. “It’s not like there’s a law against them doing those things.”
    “Well, you don’t see any adults playing hopscotch.” Evelyn pointed out.
    “So what, you could just play anyway.”
    “But I would be alone…”
    Evan groaned in exasperation, “Listen, would you not mind growing up so much if I played hopscotch with you?”
    “Even when I’m an old hag who talks like a crow?”
    Evan nodded. “Even when you’re an old ha- wait, your mom let’s you talk like that?!”
    “No!” she giggled. “But I like the word anyway, hag! hag! hag!”
    “So,” Evan repeated, “would you mind growing up if we played hopscotch even then?”
    “Nuh-uh, though I don‘t look forward to sounding like a crow, when does that happen?”
    “Thirty-five I think, but that’s forever from now.” Evan assured her.
    Soon their view of the sky was cut off by three figures.  Three older boys whom Evan vaguely remembered seeing at some point.  Evelyn sat up cautiously
    “This is our spot, get out!” the middle one demanded, most likely the leader, a skinny, dark haired boy.
    Evan glanced around him and noticed a few cigarette butts.  He deduced that this must be the spot where the three would gather to sneak a few puffs.
    Evelyn spoke out indignantly, much to Evan’s dismay, “This isn’t you’re place!  My mom gardens here and she said it’s for anyone.”
    “You’ll shut your yap if you know what’s good for you nag!”  One of the other two sneered and stepped forward to grab her with a podgy hand.
    Evan slid in between them, spreading his arms wide.  “You leave her alone!” he yelled uncertainly, glaring in the boy’s beady hazel eyes.  In his peripheral vision he saw the other, somewhat less podgy, redhead start to circle around.
    “Oh, protecting your girlfriend four-eyes?” the leader pushed his crony out of his way then grabbed Evan and threw him aside.
    Evan landed hard and slid on the grass, a green streak staining the side of his shirt.
    Evelyn started crying, until the redhead smacked her hard with the back of his hand, knocking her to the ground.  She lay there stunned, never having been smacked before.  She looked at her fallen friend with terror in her eyes.
    Hot tears of pain and anger rolled down Evan’s face as he stood.  The grass nearby moved as a strange wind blew in all directions from him.  Ignoring him, the leader and beady eyed boy declared their approval to their buddy’s bold slap and each announced that they were going to get their turn.  Evan would have roared if he was not shaking in wrath and instead a sound between a hiss and a gasp escaped his throat as he leapt forward to deliver a punch to the redhead.  But before he could the podgy one grabbed his arm and was about to deliver a left hook in the gut.  But the fist never made contact.  A deafening wail of rushing wind filled the park as Evan’s feet left the ground and flew horizontally, pushing the boy in front of him.  The boy nasally squealed like the animal which he resembled as he looked down to see his feet dangling inches above the grass which sped by beneath him.  Sharing in the surprise, Evan decided that he really wanted to stop, and he did.  He fell to the ground and rolled once.  However the other boy kept flying for the remaining four meters before slamming hard into the brick wall that encircled the park.
    Evan stood up and turned around.  He was trying to figure out how he had gotten from one place to the other.  He did not have long to think since the lean boy charged at him.  The grass below Evan bent into a spiral and some invisible force dug down like a drill, causing the ground below him to turn into swirling dust and soil.  He wanted to avoid the boy’s onslaught but the redhead was coming from behind, swearing vengeance for his comrade.  
    The only route of escape was up, so he leapt up.  Followed his trajectory as he fell at least five metres, landing hard on all fours a few paces away.  Not particularly interested in how such things were possible, the two boys charged.  Evan was still on all fours, recovering from having his wind knocked out of him in the landing.  He flung his left arm up in a defensive move as he awaited the pain of fists and kicks.  But instead something seemed to pull the leader from behind and sent him hurtling backwards.  He knocked into the redhead and they tumbled head over heels together.
    The boys turned tail and ran, indiscernible words pouring from their mouths.
    Evan got to his knees, then held his head as a pain like a hundred nails pierced his forehead. The grass and soil near him was torn up and swirled around him into the sky like a large vacuum tube.  He felt himself losing conscience as the force became more and more intense.
    Evelyn stood uncertainly.  She had been terrified by what she had just witnessed and didn’t know what to think.  Her first instinct was to run and get as far away as possible.  But then from inside the column of dust she heard Evan cry out in agony.  Shakily she advanced and fought against the strange sensation of being pulled inwards and upwards, even though there was no wind.  She forced her hand down against the resistance and tugged on her friend’s sleeve.
    Finally she regained enough gumption and screamed, “Evan!”
    A few moments later the movement began to calm down and at last dispersed.
    Evan opened his eyes and looked at the park.  Branches had been ripped from trees and the boys he had pushed away had left two lines of exposed dirt, and the grass and plants were all twisted in multiple spiral patterns.  
    He removed his glasses and wiped them on his shirt.  He put them back on and stared in disbelief. “Did I do this?”
    “Yes, but they deserved it.”  She took hold of his hand, “Let’s go home.”
    “I’m going to need to apologise to your mom about what happened to the garden.” his hands and knees were shaking and tingling with fear.
    “The plants will grow back,” Evelyn replied frankly.
    The two children walked home in silence.  A bruise was beginning to appear on Evelyn’s cheek and Evan was covered in the dirt that had been flying around.  But their main concern was what to say to their mothers to explain their dirty clothes.
~~~~~~~~~~
    Evan smiled as he looked in the entrance to the garden, enjoying the wave of nostalgia.  He wondered how he could have forgotten such a defining moment.  However he knew that by the time he was fifteen he had brushed the whole thing off as a daydream.
    He let the humour of it all sink in.  Now every daydream could be reality after all he had seen in the last few months.  Absent-mindedly he rested his hand on the ivy covered wall.  He was surprised when his fingers found themselves in a hole.  He pushed the ivy aside.  His forehead creased in surprise.  He felt the weathered, spiral texture of the inside of the breach in the wall and looked through.  He winced at what he saw as more memories dug themselves to the surface.
~~~~~~~~~~
    “Come on Evelyn!”
    “I’m hurrying!” the girl’s forehead crinkled in exasperation.
    When they brushed by the witch hazel bush they entered a corner of the garden concealed from view.  Nothing was planted in this area because of the heavy shade of the horse chestnut tree.
    Evelyn was panting heavily.  Evan looked curiously at his friend.  She had only ran for a mere ten metres but she seemed suddenly exhausted.
    She regained her composure and spoke before Evan could inquire about her lassitude.  “What is it you wanted to show me?”
    Forgetting his previous thoughts Evan pointed his empty palms towards the ground.  Taking a few deep breaths he readied himself.  His muscles tensed.  The sound of a deep disembodied sigh filled the air, becoming louder as the leaves and dirt beneath his hands rippled away as if two stones had been tossed into a pond.  Slowly Evans feet were peeled off of their earthly prison until the toes of his shoes departed the ground.
    Evelyn’s face glowed in amazement.  “You’re floating!”
    Evan nodded as he drifted further from the ground, his body wavering back and forth as if he was balancing atop a circus ball.  Finally his hovering stabilised and the noise maintained that of a rushing wind through a tunnel.
    “I’ve been practising every day.  I wasn’t going to tell you about it until I could actually fly, but I couldn’t resist showing you.”  He relaxed and landed like a feather onto the bare ground.
    “You really think you’ll learn how to fly?”  Evelyn asked excitedly.
    “I think so.  And when I do, would you like a ride?”
    Evelyn giggled.
    Evan’s eyebrow shot up curiously.  “What’s so funny?”
    “Oh, nothing.  Just there was this fairy tale I once read.  It was about a peasant girl who met a fairy, back in days when fairies were the size of people, before they shrank.  His wings were broken and so he was trapped on the ground.  In the end, his wings healed and he took the girl for flight and brought her to the fairy kingdom where she discovered he was the prince of that country.  It’s almost as if I’m in that story now.”
    “I’m not a fairy.” Evan glowered.
    “I know,” she mumbled defensively.  “But every now and then, I think I see little wings behind your shoulders, but as soon as I blink my eyes they are gone.”
    Evan huffed and rolled his eyes.  “You read too many tall tales.”
    “I’m not the one flying.” she countered.
    All her friend could do was push up his glasses as he reluctantly agreed with her logic.
~~~~~~~~~~
   A few months later, after both of their birthdays, she turned eleven and he turned thirteen, Evan was preparing for school.
    “Bye mom, I’m going to pick up Evelyn.”
    “Oh honey, Evelyn’s not going to school today.”
    “Why?” Evan asked, a little more demandingly than he meant to.  The trials of puberty were making him more temperamental usual.
    “She fell ill last night so her parents took her to the hospital.”
    Evan’s eyes widened, his heart accelerated suddenly.  “I need to go see her.”
    “No you don’t.  She is in good hands, go to school.”
    “Then call me in sick!”
    “Absolutely not Evan!”  His mother’s face twisted in anger which Evan hadn’t seen in a long time.
    He was thoroughly cowed and reluctantly walked out the door.  On the way to the bus stop he considered just walking to the hospital, but with the closest one being ten miles away, he reconsidered.  Especially since he did not know which one of the hospitals to go to.
    “I could do that...”
    The idea he juggled in his mind caused him considerable pause.  “It wouldn’t be that difficult...”  He arrived at the bus stop and looked at all the other children and employees going about their own commutes.  He realised there was no way he could do it in broad daylight without people noticing.
    And so he went to school, sat in class, and talked to a few friends.  But all these daily actions were done mechanically, his mind was elsewhere.
    Fortunately the day passed quickly.  He ran all the way from the bus stop to his house.  Bursting in the front door, he hurried to the kitchen where his mother was reading a catalogue and cutting out coupons
    “Can we go now?”
    “Go where?”  Mrs. MacIntyre asked.
    “To see Evelyn.”
    “Listen son, your father has the car and it’s going to take far too long to get there by bus, we would not get back until well into the night, and that’s simply not safe.  Tomorrow is a Saturday, we can go first thing in the morning, agreed?”
    Evan’s face fell and he nodded.
    His mother smiled radiantly.  “It really is wonderful how close you two are.  I’m sure she’ll get much better the moment she sees you.”  She kissed her son’s dark hair and returned to her task.
    Evan walked to his room and sat by the window, watching as the sky darkened outside.  He knew what to do next.

Update 1: The Inhabited Galaxy
   Earth is the primary habitation of humanity, however there are roughly a hundred inhabited and terra-formed worlds besides Earth in a cluster roughly 500 light-years, clockwise along the spiral arm and slightly closer to the galactic centre.
   Of the hundred odd worlds over a quarter of them exist in several interstellar alliances which form the core of inhabited space which is about thirty light-years in radius from the Muaciai's first terra-formed world, classically called Pleora, today known as the Ini/Aida system. Due to political expediency and a wish to deter interstellar conflict the aforementioned alliances/unions/empires/federations etc. were formed, listed below, oldest to youngest:
    Sairen Empire, Formed 2,995 years ago.
Planets: 7 (Ini, Aida, Gor, Lita, Neulaeun, Korma, Aryana + 1 claimed, formerly inhabited world, Lemona)
Population: 2,518,000,000
Nation-States: 1,148
    Noha Princely Confederacy, Formed 1,400 years ago.
Planets: 5
Population: 200,000,000
Nation-States: 367
    Jionai Union, Formed 700 years ago.
Planets: 1
Population: 30,000,000
Nation-States: 28
     Kohor Federation, Formed 400 years ago.
Planets: 13 +  2 claimed formerly inhabited worlds, and also claims Korma (currently part of the Sairen Empire).
Population: 1,650,000,000
Nation-States: 427
     Besides these alliances the remaining 70+ terra-formed worlds (and their 7.6 billion people) which may or may not have multinational governing organisations. Most neutral worlds avoid interstellar politics and merely maintain communications for economic opportunities and to lay claim to colonies without conflict. Almost all wars are between nations on the same planet as interstellar campaigns are prohibitively expensive and terra-forming new worlds is the far cheaper but slower alternative for acquiring resources from the myriad of available planets.

Update 2: The Sairen Empire
     With the death of the Mari Republic 700 years ago, no other interstellar organisations survived from the era of the Sairen Empire's birth. This leaves the empire as the single remnant of the Late Settlement period. Their survival is often attributed to their lack of interest in outside affairs and permanent neutrality caused by a political system intentionally designed to make unnecessary declarations of war near impossible.
     The Sairen Empire originated on the Sairen home-world Lemona, a planet terra-formed by the progenitors, the Muaciai, who during their 420-year existence created over 20 such worlds. With the collapse of the Muaciai, the planet Lemona and her proto-Sairen inhabitants existed as an unaligned world for 52 years, at which point they were brought under the thumb of the Yarovo Empire who reigned over them for 429 years.
      It was in the last 21 years of Yarovo reign when a young woman named Nerin self-immolated before a court in protest of her brother's execution. The event echoed through the Sairen people and inflamed the long smouldering resentment of their status as Yarovo imperial subjects. As domestic terrorism and rebellion ensued for the next two decades, several women would take the name 'Nerin' for anonymity and commit sedition against the Empire, generally acting as rallying cry, nearly all of them would be executed for treason, further radicalising the populace who would put a religious significance to these martyrs, believing them to be reincarnations of a goddess or possessed by the spirits of ancient matriarchs depending on the religion of the observers.
     Eventually, the Yarovo Empire left, without apparent cause. The Sairen people took it as a victory, though most outside scholars believe the Yarovo had some unrelated problem that resulted in their abandonment of Lemona. Now, for a rare time in history the world was left alone and independent. The nations of Lemona knew they needed to form an empire if they were to avoid being colonised once again, but who would be the Emperor? How could all these people who spoke different languages, worshipped different gods, and had different political structures co-exist? The last two decades had provided the answer, Nerin. Religious elders sought out a war-orphaned youth and crowned her Nerin, Mother of Nations. She was a figurehead with little actual power, but she was a symbol with which all Sairens could identify with. She would be educated to speak the six most prominent languages, and taught the social graces and political apologia so she could act as the mouthpiece for the coming political order. Additional orphans were gathered into her palace, the girls to be maids and trained as future empresses, the boys to be menservants trained into guards, generals, and ambassadors. And so began the long reign of Nerin up to current day, a monarchy which survived centuries of political revolution, religious reformation, and expansion.
     Planets of the Sairen Empire by year of annexation:
     Lemona, 2,995 years ago. Abandoned 202 years ago due to the Kohor/Sairen war.
Nation States: N/A
Population: N/A
     Neulaeun, 2,688 years ago by invasion and then treaty.
Nation States: 90
Population: 260,000,000
Ethnic Groups: Sairen: 62%, Neulei 37%, Gorzha: 1%.
     Ini, 2,023 years ago by retaliatory invasion, destroying the rival Imika Empire.
Nation States: 341
Population: 426,000,000
Ethnic Groups: Imika: 60%, Sairen 38%, Neulei: 2%.
     Aida, 1,974 years ago by treaty after Ini's fall.
Nation States: 163
Population: 171,000,000
Ethnic Groups: Imika: 94%, Sairen: 5%, Kormi: 1%.
     Lita, 1,583 years ago by treaty, ending the Litan and Gorzha Federation
Nation States: 295
Population: 750,000,000
Ethnic Groups: Litan: 82%, Gorzha 14%, Sairen 4%.
     Gor, 1,540 years ago by treaty following their former partners, Lita.
Nation States: 54
Population: 133,000,000
Ethnic Groups: Gorzha: 92%, Litan: 5%, Sairen 3%.
     Aryana, 1,334 years ago by terra-formation.
Nation States: 146
Population: 737,000,000
Ethnic Groups: Sairen: 99%, Imika: 1%
     Korma, 510 years ago by treaty.
Nation States: 59
Population: 41,000,000
Ethnic Groups: Kormi: 98%, Sairen 2%.
    Sairen Empire Totals:
Nation States: 1,148
Population: 2,518,000,000
Ethnic Groups: Sairen: 43% (Easairen 32%, Nimvasairen 11%), Litan: 25%, Imika: 17%, Gorzha: 9%, Neulei: 4%, Kormi: 2%.

Update 3: The Three Sairen (Easairen, Nimvasairen, Srisairen)
Officially, all citizens of the Empire are Sairen regardless of ethnicity or appearance. The term Sairen is divided into three subcategories:
       -Easairen (Water Sairen) are what those living outside of the Empire would see as the typical Sairen, the race whose homeworld is Lemona.
     -Nimvasairen (Soul Sairen) are "half-blood" Sairen, generally having maternal Easairen ancestors and paternal ancestors who are Litan, Imika, Gorzha, Neulei, Kormi or others. Nimvasairen are generally counted among the "Sairen" ethnicity as they culturally align with the Easairen. If measured separately, Nimvasairen make up roughly a quarter of the "Sairen" populace and 11% of the empire as a whole.
       -Srisairen (Star Sairen) make up the rest of the Empire (Litan, Imika, Gorzha, Neulei, and Kormi). In addition, children of Easairen fathers and Srisairen mothers are considered to be Srisairen, not Nimvasairen as it is a general cultural expectation within the Empire for people to conform with their mother's ethnic customs, regardless of their father's heritage.
     Despite official terminology, in practical and demographic discussion, only Easairen and Nimvasairen are referred to as "Sairen."
     Below are factoids for each of the imperial peoples, all numbers and percentages are estimates as censuses are illegal within the Empire, instead a combination of birth, wedding, and burial records provides imperial governments a general idea of population dynamics.
Sairen:
     Population: 1,082,740,000 (including 276,980,000 Nimvasairen)
     Languages: 704
     Average Lifespan: 357 years
     Average Height: 132 cm.
     Religions: Ailar (Monotheism) 97%, Ancestor worship 2%, Irreligious 1%.
     Phenotype traits: Fair to olive skin; blond, white or brown hair; hooded and almond shaped eyelids; yellow, amber, orange, and red irises; gill flaps on cheeks and neck; small, pointed ears that keep close to the skull; males have abundant body and facial hair. Very diverse in appearance due to a history of being subjugated and a social aversion to endogamy.
Litan:
     Population: 629,500,000
     Languages: 292
     Average Lifespan: 190 years
     Average Height: 151 cm.
     Religions: Litan Animism 74%, Ailar 16%, Irreligious 10%.
     Phenotype traits: Orange to red skin; high hairline; red, black, and brown curly to wavy hair; faces resemble Southeast Asians; green, blue, and violet irises; dark melanin spots are common down middle and margins of face as well as down sides and middle of body, in usually symmetrical patterns.
Imika:
     Population: 428,060,000
     Languages: 296
     Average Lifespan: 112 years
     Average Height: 182 cm.
     Religions: Ailar 73%, Imika Pantheism 23%, Irreligious 4%.
     Phenotype traits: extremely white skin; straight white, platinum or straw-blond hair; hooded, almond and protruding eyelids; blue or silver irises; sharp canines and incisors; bodies both male and female are covered in fine, silky hairs including their faces and palms; pointed ears; angled features; slender framed.
Gorzha:
     Population: 226,620,000
     Languages: 780
     Average Lifespan: 149 years
     Average Height: 196 cm.
     Religions: Gorzha Polytheism 80%, Ailar 16%, Irreligious 2%, Litan Animism 2%.
     Phenotype traits: Very dark skinned ranging in temperature from coal black to reddish brown and blue-grey; skin is tough, not unlike a pachyderm hide; instead of hair Gorzha have protective keratin spines on their back, face, chest, spines are thicker and more prominent on males with females having flat, smaller spines; eyes may be deep set or prominent and iris have been found in every color but brown is typical; sturdy framed.
Neulei:
     Population: 100,720,000
     Languages: 66
     Average Lifespan: 273 years
     Average Height: 167 cm.
     Religions: Ailar 96%, Irreligious 4%.
     Phenotype traits: very fair to very dark skinned; hair may be any natural color; ears are pointed, almost crescent shaped and bat-like.
Kormi:
     Population: 50,360,000
     Languages: 37
     Average Lifespan: 124 years
     Average Height: 153 cm.
     Religions: Ailar 87%, Irreligious 8%, Shamanism 5%
     Phenotype traits: Resemble central Europeans, but only black and dark brown hair is common.

 …Behold, we are dead, we perish, we are all lost...
 
Somewhere in Arizona, Present Day
   The sun had long set and the summer heat had dispersed, turning the chilly desert air sharp and fresh. The desert was quiet, save the occasional howl of a coyote or hoot of an owl.  There was in this particular area, another sound.  The crunch of rocks and dirt under the boots of a hiker.  Though he tread with vigour he was not a young man, rather he was in his early sixties but he was not of the type to stay at home and sit around waiting for the morning paper.  He was the type of man to ever seek escape the life of cars and cell phones to journey into the wilderness and sleep under the stars.  His solitude was not absolute, there was a little beagle scampering around him, sniffing here and there but never straying far from his master.  After thoroughly examining a small clearing in the brush the man decided it would be a good place to set camp.  It was not long till a cheery fire was burning and a tent was pitched.
   “Ah Zak,” the man said addressing the dog, “this is the life!”  Almost in acknowledgement the dog came back from his examination of a very interesting rock, and lay beside him sighing contentedly and yawning, ready to sleep.  
   Far above them a bright little light appeared in the sky.
   “Zak, a falling star; make a wish,” he scratched his pup's ears then cautioned, “as long as it isn’t that Dalmatian in town, she's high maintenance.” he chuckled.  
   He turned his attention back to the night sky and as he watched the light get brighter, a crease of concern appeared on his brow.  Within moments the light became brighter than any star and still increased in intensity.  The man stood unsure of what to do.  This was not a normal falling star.  His dog bolted away.
   “Zak!  Get back here!”  He shouted.  He was going to pursue his dog when he noticed the landscape around him was quickly becoming brighter.  The light was near blinding and out of pure instinct he ran in the direction he thought was away from the light.  He was scrambling up a steep hill when a terrible noise filled the air.  He leapt and covered his head.  There was a sound like a thousand bombs detonating.  Dirt, pebbles, and twigs pelted him.  For awhile he lay there, unsure of what to do next.  When he finally did look up he found the landscape changed from what was once a peaceful wilderness.  The area was covered in freshly disturbed dirt, and dust swirled everywhere on the evening breezes.  His shock did not completely register until he noticed the gorge like a black, smoking wound it cut through the once beautiful land.  Only one thought entered his mind, get help.
~~~~~~~~~~
3,896 years ago, South Pacific
   A massive city filled with domed temples, cascading gardens, ornate pyramids, and slender towers was silent.  It was as if it had been frozen in time at the dead of night, and all the decent inhabitants were sleeping but it was not night.  The midday sun beat down and the city should be bustling.  There should be transport vehicles zooming overhead to and from the city and the sounds of the markets and factories should be in full force.  
   The people had gone.
 ~~~~~~~~~~
   A child, no older than six gazed out a window at the empty city below.  He held his stuffed cat a little tighter to his chest.  His world was changing, and apparently it would change even more.
   His father came up beside him and spoke comforting words about how they would go to a new home, and how life would be normal again.  The boy looked tearfully up to his father than back at his city.  He was too young to understand.  His father beckoned to him.  It was time for them to enter their long, dreamless sleep.
   They came into a long hall with glass cylinders, just like cocoons or the chrysalis of a butterfly.  People were saying tearful farewells as their friends and family climbed into their chambers.  The father and his son stopped at one of them.  He pressed a pad next to the cylinder and the glass door slid upwards.  He told the boy it would be as if nothing had happened, he would be safe, and he would have no nightmares.  He took the stuffed cat from the boy and told him he would see it again.  Then he had his son climb in.  He gently placed two small round discs on the boy’s temples and clipped a cap onto his index finger.  The boy crossed his hands over his chest as he had been instructed.  The boy's little eyes continued to stare at his father as the glass slid down between them.  A cool mist entered the cocoon and his father melted from view as if he was staring through milk, and then all was black.
   The father stared at his son’s cocoon, and silently prayed to the gods that all would be well.  Then he walked to his own resting place.
 ~~~~~~~~~~
The island began to shake, and a massive, golden craft rose from the peak of the mountain overlooking the city.  It was a life boat, an entire civilization resided within.  Those few who were awake peeked through the windows at their island.  For awhile the ship slowly rose.  Then an enormous boom sounded.  Near the peak, trees shattered as the shock ripped them apart and down in the city glass burst out of every frame breaking into tiny shards.  The ship vanished into the heavens.
~~~~~~~~~~
One week ago, Medao Governate, Ini
   The grey-blue sky was brightening as day arrived over the walled city of Medao.  A breeze swirled up from the south across the lake and up the river delta bringing with it the scent of a new day.
   A youth lay in bed sleeping.  The breeze slid through his cracked window and teased the blanket away from the face on the pillow, stirring him with the fragrance of the lush rooftop gardens.  He opened his eyes slightly and looked blankly at the ceiling for a moment.  He closed his eyes again; until he heard the birds which lived in the nest above the window start to cry for food.  His eyes popped open and he fell to the floor.  He hopped up with one dreadful thought in his mind, I’m late!  He rubbed his hands through his golden hair as he frantically rushed to prepare.  Throwing his clothes on, he dashed out of his room into the hall and then stopped and looked at his feet.  He had forgotten his boots!  He rushed back into his room and snatched his stockings and began lacing up the pale leather boots which rose to just below his knee.  ‘I should have just worn them to bed.’  He thought regretfully.  
   After this he went into the kitchen, Too little time to cook anything. he thought.  So, instead he grabbed a couple of paper-wrapped pastries from the counter he had purchased yesterday from a shop in one of the neighbouring roof top parks.  He left and tried to slip down the hall.  There were other homes in the building and he did not want to wake anyone.  As he descended down the stairs he was tempted to slide on the hand rail.  He stopped himself; twenty years was far too old for that.  At the bottom of the stairs he briskly tip-toed to the door.  He opened it hoping it would not creak.  All he needed today was to wake Lady Zhemeia.  She slept like a war veteran, the slightest sound would wake her.  He did not want a half hour lecture on the subjects respect for elders, clumsiness, and above all, punctuality.  He smiled when he imagined her pursed up lips as she sharply said ‘punctuality!’
   He stepped into the courtyard.  The redbrick building surrounded it, making it seem like a canyon, vines and ferns were planted on the wall to give it a more natural effect and there were even some small trees and flowers in clay urns.  He glanced over at the snow vine; it was his favourite with its icicle like flowers.
   He fell with a resounding crash as he did not see the rack of hanging laundry.   He lay silent for a moment, hoping against hope no one had heard.  He got up relieved.  He looked at the mess, ‘I will have to clean that up later, I do not have time now.’
   “Who made that racket?” a shrill voice cried.
   “Damnation,” He grumbled to himself, knowing he had been caught.
   He turned around to see a dignified woman arrive at a second story window.  Her formally blonde hair was now cream from the white of age.  When she saw him her face immediately became even sharper as she yell scornfully, “Kahlen Rhora!  You are a clumsy boy!  Clean up the mess!”
   “I am very sorry Lady Zhemeia,” Kahlen said in his most apologetic and respectful tone he could produce, “however I must leave; I am late for work, all I can do is promise that I’ll make up for it later.”
   He dashed away into the gateway and out onto the street, with the lady shouting a few things about young people nowadays.  He ran as fast as he could and hoped he would make it to the train.  He ground to a halt when he noticed the alley.  ‘It could save time.’  He ran through it.  He would have to climb over the brick wall and leap far so he would avoid the compost heap on the other side.
   He knelt down, took a few breaths and ran.  There were a few crates stacked up and he would have to be quick to not disturb them.  He leapt and climbed, touching each crate for a mere instant.  Then he grabbed the top of the wall and swung his body onto it.
   He let out a groan of dismay.  The compost heap had grown since he had last used the short-cut.  He was about to despair, there was no way he could leap that far.  Then he noticed a poll sticking horizontally out from the wall a ways away, what was even better was that he knew he could leap to it.  He jumped, grabbed the bar swung halfway up, let go, then did a cartwheel in the air and landed in a crouch.  ‘If only Sir Ramira could have seen that.’ referencing to his gymnastics teacher from his younger years.
   The depot was in sight sitting on the second level above the ground street and he could hear the final warning call for the passengers.  He put on an extra burst of speed as he climbed the stairs to the station.  He ran under the glass shelter of the depot and called to the doorman.  “Wait!” the shout paused the doorman just long enough for Kahlen to get through the door before he closed it.
   After thanking the doorman profusely Kahlen settled down in a seat by the window.  The train started to accelerate until it reached a fair clip.  It glided over it’s risen metal track supported by a magnetic field.   
   The train was going to take him through the other side of the city and would cross the heart of the old quarter.  On the way he watched the rooftop gardens and forests go by.  Nearly every building in Medao was topped with a garden and the brick and stone walls had vines of many sorts cascading down them.  It was said that, from a distance Medao looked like a plateau in the middle of the wide delta swamp topped with forests.
   The train reached the old quarter and stopped at the plaza so Kahlen got a chance to gaze at the many temples and shrine surrounding the Court of the Three Ladies.   He loved the old quarter, it was the very heart of Medao, and unlike the rest of the city where buildings never topped three stories, here the building were tall and ornate.  It was not just the buildings that were taller but the trees were too.  The trees planted on the rooftops surrounding the heart of the city were ancient monoliths, many of them older than three centuries, which was near the time of the founding of the grand city.  There was also more wildlife, and because of the abundance of it the uppermost floors of the buildings were often uninhabited and were filled with ruins of the third and fourth story structures, giving it a mystical appearance as deer grazed in the rooftop meadows.
   There was also the Osai Library and various other important buildings surrounding the plaza, but alas he could not go there today.  He said a prayer of thanks that he had caught the train so he could relax until he arrived.
  At the final station within the walls of Medao, Kahlen disembarked and waited at the international train depot.  His next train arrived promptly and Kahlen was on his way out of the city.  This train went outside of Medao and on to the much larger city of Thaniunamai van Ithnuna, capital of their neighbouring nation, Hathinudihawa.  It was also a much faster train, it could cover days of walking in less than an hour and the vast forests, swamps, and farms of the river delta became a blur.  As according to his normal commute, he would be getting off just before the border at the military base where he and his father worked.
   His stomach growled, so he pulled out one of the pastries he had from earlier.  They had a grainy, nutty crust and lots of sweet berries cooked into them.  After snacking on half of one he nodded off to sleep.
 ~~~~~~~~~~
   He was woken by the silent deceleration of the train.  “Here is my stop.” he muttered to himself.  He disembarked the station and walked down a dirt road with on his right being the rolling plains and on his left being the dense delta jungle.  The jungle gave way to a tall fence made of decorative but highly sharp steel rods which stuck up the height of three men.  After walking awhile he made it to a large gate. The guard held out a flat screen on which Kahlen placed his hand.  The screen flashed a bright blue under his palm and his picture with information appeared next to it.
   “Proceed on through Rhora.” The guard beckoned.
   The base was very large but he enjoyed walking the distance to where his father worked.  It was a pleasant path, the roads were lined with trees and there were little garden patches everywhere, seeming to hide the fact that it was a military base.  He came to a small shed which was placed off to a corner of the garden.  It looked like a gardener’s shed but Kahlen walked up and lifted some of the siding which revealed a key pad.  He typed in the code and the door unlocked.  He walked in and it latched closed behind him.  He stood on a section of the floor in the corner and said, “Revata ta basai na.” The floor lowered like an elevator.  It took him down a round cylinder shaped tube and then stopped.  The wall slid around and an exit appeared.  He walked into a reception area.
   “Hello Rhora,” a soldier greeted from behind a desk,
   “Good day Vela,” he replied.
   “Wish we could chat, but you father has something special for you.”
   Kahlen’s face lit up in excitement and leaned in close, whispering conspiringly, “Is it about the project?  What is it?”
   “You will have to find that out, I do not know anything.” Vela answered with a shrug.
Kahlen dashed down a hall on the left side of the room.  Lieu. Vela smiled casually and looked down at the desk expectantly.  Kahlen came running back.
   “Forgot something?” The Lieu. Vela asked cheekily.
   “Yeah,” Kahlen sighed with red starting to show on his cheeks.
   The soldier handed him a two pronged key.  Kahlen walked somewhat cowed after his initial foolish rush.  He reached the door in the hall that had stopped him the first time.  He stuck the key into a control board on the right.  He inserted it, turned right and typed in a combination.  He heard a click sound and the door slid open.
   Two men were bent over a piece of an engine on the table.  One of them had a small laser which he was using to weld a part of the framework together.
   “Is this the big surprise?” Kahlen asked doubtfully.
   The man welding stopped and took of his visor.  “Kahlen, excellent, you’re here, and no, this is not the surprise.  This is just a part of the generator for one of the cruisers the military needed repairing.  This…” he got up walked to a window and gestured for Kahlen to follow  “…is the surprise.”
   Kahlen walked to the window took in a sharp breath, “She’s gorgeous!  She is more beautiful than I imagined!”  He was looking down into a hangar below at a white vessel.  It had streamlined sides and smooth contours.  It had two small, down-turned wings which opened at the front and back showing the jet-like propulsion engines.  Kahlen continued, “They placed the engines right where I suggested they go, in the wings, 45 degrees descent.  I never imagined her to look so beautiful!”  He then frowned slightly, “But the wings should be longer, and it is two small, this is only the front part.”
   “It is a work in progress, Kahl,” The other man spoke for the first time; he was Kahlen’s uncle and was the only person who shortened his name.  “They wanted to make her operational as soon as possible.  She will be added onto later.”
   “I suppose that is reasonable.” Kahlen said thoughtful, then finally breaking his gaze from the vessel he turned to his father, “Has the Yasha element been installed?
   “That is why we called you,” his father turned to him and placed his hand on his shoulder, “I wanted you to help install it.”
   “But, security, I am not allowed in the hangar.”
   “Son, you have worked with us since we started in the workshop downtown, I have finally convinced the board that you are not a security problem.  You have gotten near to no credit and without the heat sink you designed, the Yasha would not have been possible.”  He beckoned his son to follow.
   After descending the stairs, they walked into the hangar.  Kahlen did not expect what came next; all of the technicians were there standing in line on one side and soldiers on the other.  A large box, about the size of a young child, was sitting on a table set between the two rows.  One technician took a handle at one end and gestured for Kahlen to do likewise.  Kahlen stepped forward, a jolt of excitement ran through him as he grasped the handle.
They carried it through the line and into the vessel and walked to the back of the engine room.  They set the box down gently next to an open panel in the floor.  Kahlen opened the box and took a large blue cylinder with various components inside it suspended in the crystalline material.  It took him two hands to hold it.  He slowly lowered it into the space under the floor panel where it was received by a slot.  He let go of the ‘crystal’ and it settled into its position snugly.  He pushed down a small metal latch and it lowered further, lighting up and became a shining gem filling the inside of the ship with a radiant blue light until a protective casing slid around it, concealing it.
   Kahlen and the technician, who he recognized as being a leader of another team stepped out of the vessel and the hangar exploded into applause.  He did not know how to react.  For years he had been just the lab assistant, the son of the eccentric engineer.
   His father stepped up to him and asked, “Any words?”
   "Today, Yasha shrank the galaxy." Kahlen stated as his father slapped his back affectionately.
   There was another round of applause as a table was rolled out with food and alcohol with an announcement that work was over for the day.  It was their day to celebrate.

Episode Twelve:
The Forgotten Face

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    A weary Aleksei stepped off the bus and stretched.  Barely three hours ago he had hopped out of a hospital bed, and then sat in a rather uncomfortable seat travelling halfway across Scotland.  He wanted to do nothing more than run about like a spring fevered jack rabbit, but he resisted the temptation.  He opened his flip-phone to check the time, grumbling to himself that the smart-phone was smashed during his kidnapping and he was stuck with a cellular relic.  But he could not grumble much, the events of that morning invigorated him.  Being imprisoned and now free, he could no longer hold himself back.
    He broke into a run, free of ropes, traffickers, boats, small spaces.  The world was open to him.  He reached out to the humid air, causing the invisible vapours to vibrate and swirl around vehicles, lampposts, pedestrians, letting him feel at one with everything around him with his renewed power. Despite his simple-minded elation, he had a grave feeling about the city.  Every face that he passed caused him to wonder if he had seen them before.  Was there a glint of malice hidden behind their melancholic expressions?  He knew the Apparition would not have summoned him or pulled his sister and Evan into this for no reason.  Perhaps the Association was attempting capture someone?  But if that was the case, why would the girl in white send those who she had helped escape back into the Association's reach?
    He abandoned his introspection as he entered the transit station and hopped on top of a bench.  He scanned the people hurrying to their destinations until he noticed his sister’s bleached hair covered with a plain white headscarf.
    He hopped down and walked over to her, waving.  She noticed him and rose from her bench offering a hug to which he gladly obliged.  “You're awake!" she choked out.
    He extricated himself from the hug.  “I am, has the girl--,” he paused when he noticed that his sister was wearing very dark, circular shades.  “Going for the Ozzie look?”
    “Huh?”
    “Ozzie, he’s a-,” he began, but decided other matters were more important. “…well he’s famous.  Ask Evan about him… speaking of Evan?”
    “He had to excuse-” Mashka replied meekly, “Oh never mind, there he is.”
    Evan approached, “So we’re all here, now we just have to wait for the blond woman to show.”  He patted Aleksei’s shoulder, “Glad you’re on your feet, are you feeling sore?”
    “More from the bus ride than from anything else.”
    “Who’s Ozzie?” Mashka asked Evan.
    Evan brief look of confusion passed into a cheeky grin as he spoke to Aleksei, “You thought so too?”
    “Yeah, it does look that way.” Aleksei agreed. “Why the shades?”
    Mashka lowered the round shades revealing two blue eyes with narrow, catlike pupils.
    “Your powers returned too!?” Aleksei whispered excitedly, his gaiety dying when her disturbed face reminded him that her powers were unwanted.  “Mine are too…” he answered meekly.
    “Not just that,” Mashka’s lips pulled back, revealing sharp eye-teeth.  “My teeth and nails are also getting longer.  And I can’t stop it.” she looked at her brother worriedly.  “That girl in white did this to me.  It seems no matter where we go, someone wants to use us.”
    “Mashka, she has to be doing this for a reason, she helped me back in Russia.  She just... doesn’t like to explain.”
      “Explanations forthcoming or not, I’m still turning into--, something else.”
    A child bumped into Mashka, gripping on to the hem of her skirt.  “Did you see my mommy?  She’s lost!” the little boy exclaimed.
    Mashka hurriedly replaced the shades and turned to the small boy, dark hair and eyes with a freckled face and buttoned nose, he could not have been no more than four years of age.
    “Hello,” she said, crouching to his level  “What does your mother look like.”
    A mature smile creased the babyish face.  “Always the kind one, Mashka.”
    Mashka’s face was stricken with surprise and both of her companions dropped their jaws in shock.
    “If you keep your mouth open like that, someone is going to see your fangs.” the boy said with a grin.  “Are you ready for my instructions?”
    Mashka raised a trembling gloved hand towards the boy.
    “I suggest you don’t do anything unusual, Mashka, because this boy is very much real, he is my temporary vessel by which I have graced you with my presence.”
    “Why not just show up like you normally do?” Evan asked angrily.
    “I have my reasons for approaching differently.” The boy answered dismissively.  “Now as for my instructions, they are mainly for you.” the child pointed at Evan, speaking with perverse maturity and power.  “It turns out that I have a little more time to spare before you must rescue the Jinn here.  So in the meantime, I need you to seek your past, you have not yet attained the power displayed in your youth, and you never will unless you confront your past.”
    Evan glowered.  “Before I do anything, weren’t you going to fix what you did to Mashka?”
    The boy raised an impudent eyebrow.  “I could stop the process, however, I see it as unnecessary.  That power is her own, she needs to either confront it or let it destroy her.  But, as a token of trust,” The boy turned to Mashka and touched her hand.
    The claws under her gloved hands receded into her fingers and her eyes returned to normal.
    “I’ve strengthened the bonds you hold over your monster, but I caution you, it is only going to strive against its prison.  You must deal with your shade on your own.  Now,” the boy looked back, towards the doors of the building where a frantic woman's voice could be heard crying out for 'Dan!', “I must return this boy to his mother, before she makes a scene.  Evan, go to where you left your heart.  I’ll visit you all again when the time is right, so for now, good luck.”
    The boy’s eyes cleared to those of an innocent child and hurried away, calling to his mother standing by the door who embraced him warmly.
    Aleksei shuddered, his previous encounters with The Apparition had brought him a feeling of warmth and comfort, but this was disturbing, perverse even, particularly in that she-- it?-- was holding them all captive.  He glanced at his sister who likewise wore a concerned and frightened expression.  Silently he touched her shoulder but he jumped in surprise when she spoke up determinedly.
    “Evan, let’s go,’” she ordered bitterly.  “The faster we play this game the sooner life returns to normal.”
    Evan nodded in agreement though somewhere deep in his chest he felt a pang of regret and sorrow as old memories scratched at his conscious.
    The siblings noticed the silence that had settled over their friend.  He remained silent the entire car ride through Edinburg and into the suburbs.  It was as if their small sedan had become a tomb.  Finally the vehicle came to a stop on a street lined by tightly-packed, identical Georgian era houses.  Evan hunched heavily over the wheel and sighed.
    “Are you alright?” Mashka asked.
    Aleksei climbed forward from the back seat in concern.  “Evan, you don’t look so good.”
    After another heavy sigh he sat up.  “It’s just-- it's been a long time since I’ve been here.  I never wanted to come back.  But this is where it all started, where I tried to forget, and where I began down the path that brought me to The Association.”
    “And to us.” Mashka reminded him warmly.  “What did you want to forget?”
    Evan silently opened the door and stepped out.
    The siblings followed him out of the car as he began walking down the side-walk.  He stopped at one point and looked at another house across the street.
    “You two,” he muttered softly.  “I thought it would be better if you came with me, but I think I should go on alone from here.  Just give me some time.”
    “Whatever you need Evan,” Mashka replied. “Take your time.”
    The siblings returned to the car, turning their heads to glance at their friend as he walked up the street and disappeared around the block.
    “I’m getting a bad feeling about his past.” Aleksei muttered.
    Mashka nodded and bit her lip, holding back the urge to dash out of the car and follow him.
    Despite the nice weather, where the clouds were shredded by open blue sky, the brother and sister felt as though the world had darkened into gloom.
~~~~~~~~~~
    Rays of afternoon sun streamed down onto the city through gaps in the clouds, like transparent golden sheets hung out to dry in the breeze as though heaven was hanging its golden sheets out to dry over the northern land.  Rush hour was underway, the streets were filled with cars, and pedestrians trod onward to their homes, only stopping to greet a friend or look up at the stunning sky.
    Evan was just one of the many persons passing the old buildings, but unlike most that were happy to arrive at their homes, he only felt invisible weights be tied to him as he approached the street where he grew up.  He arrived at the corner and looked down the twin rows of Georgian style houses.  The first thing that caught his eye was an old bench next to a bus stop sign.
    He walked up to it and brushed it carefully, noting the familiar iron frame and the old oak seat.
    “This is where it started…” he mumbled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Edinburg, 1984
    Evan walked down the quiet street on his way home from school humming an old Rat Pack tune that played on the radio in his family’s living room.  Despite it being the early eighties, his family tuned into the same music his grandparents did when they lived in that same old house which was inundated with many generations of MacIntyre history.
    A quiet sob disrupted his rhythm and he looked around the darkening road, not seeing anything.  He shrugged and kept walking, passing it off as city noise.  But then he heard it again.  It was from somewhere up ahead.  He ran forward and noticed a small girl lying on an old bench.
    “Hello?  Is something wrong?”  He asked between panting, his eyes worried behind the glare of the street lamp on his spectacles.
    The girl sat up and sniffed, brushing back her chestnut hair.  She nodded, “My ankle, I twisted it.  And I can’t walk the rest of the way home.”  More tears started to roll from her brown eyes as she cried like the world was tumbling down.
    Evan sighed irritably, he never did like crybabies.  On his second glance though, he realised who she was.  “Hey, I recognize you, we wait at the same bus stop, right?”
    “Uh huh,” she sniffed again, “I think so.”
    “So your house must be around here.” Evan surmised.  “Couldn’t you just hop there?”
    The girl shot a shocked and disapproving glare at him.  “You expect me to hop a full block!  What if I fell, Evan MacIntyre?”
    “Eh!” he stepped back in surprise when she used his name.
    Realising she had his full attention she introduced herself, “My name’s Evelyn.  I live in the house across the street.  Our mothers are friends.”
    Evan heard the undertone of her words, the classic if-you-don’t-help-me-somehow-my-mom-will-tell-your-mom threat.
    He scratched the back of his head in surrender. “Well, then I know where to go, I could get help but that wouldn’t work.  You’d be all alone.” He put on a tough, indifferent face. “So, would you be fine with a piggy back?”
    “Umm,” she pondered a moment, sizing him up, “yes.”
    The swarthy boy bent down and helped her climb on his back.  He rose, his legs shifting unstably a moment before finding his balance.  “Are you comfortable?”
    “Yes.” she hid her face in the back of his neck in embarrassment.  “I hope I’m not too heavy.”
    “Not a problem.” he grinned.  “You’re as light as a feather.”
    She blushed even more as the statement turned into a compliment in her head.  
    He carried her up the street in silence until the two arrived at her house.  Evan carefully walked up the porch stairs to the door.  “You’ll need to knock on the door for me.”
    “Oh! Ok.” she reached forward and knocked.
    “Coming!” The door opened revealing Mrs. Douglas, Evelyn’s mother.  “Oh my!  What happened?” She exclaimed as she let them in.
    “I sprained my ankle.  But Evan carried me home.” Evelyn explained as Evan let her climb off onto the couch.
    “Oh dearie, I was about to come looking for you!” she exclaimed showering affection on her daughter.  Then she turned to Evan and gave him a tight hug.  Thank you so much!”  After the tight embrace, she stood back and examined him.  He pushed up his spectacles nervously.
    Mrs. Douglas finally spoke, “You’re the MacIntyre boy, right?  You’re two grades above Evelyn if I remember.”
    “Yes ma’am.” he affirmed.
    “Well you’re a fine young man.  Thank you so very much for helping our Evelyn.”
    The embarrassed boy he excused himself, “I had best head home for dinner.” He looked over to Evelyn and waved, “See you tomorrow.”
    And that was how their friendship began.  Every morning, Evan would wait for Evelyn at the fence and they would walk to the bus stop together.  They began talking about all sorts of topics.  The two of them found they had a lot in common, books, TV shows, music, and pastimes.  And at the end of the day they would walk up to their houses again.  Had she not sprained her ankle that fateful evening they would have likely never even acknowledged each other outside of being children living on the same block.
    Some evenings they would stay in the living room of one of their homes and play chess, checkers, or Parcheesi depending on what caught their fancy.
    Evan was happy to have found a friend like her.  He had other friends, but not the same as Evelyn.  Something about her seemed like she found every day so precious and she remembered even the tiniest details of what he said, to both his surprise and chagrin.

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