Snowscape Trilogy (3 page)

I was just starting to feel tipsy and ready
to dance, when I noticed miss sorority blonde from the previous
night walk in. Complete with the tasty looking tall, scowling
stranger as arm candy. A saw the way their hands were held, finger
wrapped loving around finger and I tensed up inside, jealously
suddenly overtaking me with her claws.

I was not a stranger to jealousy. In fact I
would say jealousy and I were close personal friends. One does not
grow up poor, mousey, and as an orphan without knowing a thing or
two about jealousy. I believe jealousy was also close personal
friends of someone called inebriation as well. The three of us had
an unbreakable bound that had always helped me overcome any
obstacle that had entered my path. Until this moment… Something
about this new situation had changed inside of me and quelling
anger rose up in cohorts with my old friend jealously. I quickly
downed the rest of my martini and grabbed Ted, Alistair’s boyfriend
to take me out on the dance floor. Shake your way to a happier
Amy.

I was just entering that fuzzy, melancholy
place where self-consciousness doesn’t exist. Ted was an excellent
dancer and despite my complete lack of coordination, I found myself
enjoying the heart thumping rhythm that surrounded me. The colored
lights blurred around my body and I could taste the sweat on my top
lip. I was a perfect moment of sound and vibrancy when Alistair
approached with the pretty blond. They both started dance with us
as a group and I leaned over to Alistair’s ear, shouting above the
music. “What’s with the girl? You switching teams on me?”

Laughing, he grabbed me and swung me around
the dance floor before planting a chaste kiss on my forehead. He
leaned over and said, “She noticed us hanging out and asked about
you. I think she has a crush.” He kissed my cheek quickly and
winked at me. Before I could stop him, he passed me off to her and
grabbed his boyfriend, pressing against him passionately on the
dance floor. They kept swaying to the music, but I could tell they
were way more interested in things other than dancing at this point
as I saw Ted reach over and rub his hand up and down Alistair’s
back before settling on his ass.

I stood somewhat awkwardly looking at he
stranger in front of me. The swirling lights had stopped moving and
the haze of alcohol evaporated inside my blood. “Let’s dance,” she
said smiling sweetly and grabbing my hands to swing to the music. I
didn’t understand who this girl was, but much like the man, her
persona sung out a familiar tone inside of me. The emotions
coursing through my heart were confusing but not negative so saying
fuck it and throwing caution to the wind I wrapped my hands lightly
on her waist and let her lead. 

My curiosity was getting the better of me.
“Do I know you?” I asked.

“We’ve never met until I saw you at Blake’s
last night.” She really was very pretty and now that her boyfriend
wasn’t draped on her arm, I could appraise her more objectively.
She had a perfect dancer’s body, lithe and flexible and she was
totally at ease in the crowd of people swaying. Clearly this was
her element. Her blonde hair was so light and reflective that it
looked to be mixed in with pure white strands that hung beautifully
strait down her back without any sort of a wave She had done her
makeup to be more dramatic today with sparkly pink lip gloss and
dark pink eye shadow that made her light blue eyes look violet.
Violet. She really was beautiful, I though to myself and took
notice of several men and women eyeing her up as well.

Suddenly I felt my
contrasting nature stand out like a beam of light in the crowded
room. It hit me with such force, that I felt like someone punched
me in the stomach. I was not
her
. I was not beautiful or blond or
wore perfect pink lip-gloss. I was inadequate to even dance with
her. I sobered up immediately as if hit by a giant wave and started
to leave the dance area, but she saw my sudden departure, grabbed
my hand and pulled me back. The music was so loud she had to pull
me up against her body and I stiffened at the close
contact.

I tried to pull away a second time and leave
the thriving bodies of dancers, but she held my hand firmly. I felt
the blood begin to pulse through it, trying to make its way to my
fingertips. She continued to smile at me despite my attempts to
escape and I scanned the crowd for Alistair and Ted, but couldn’t
find them in the crowd. Suddenly she leaned in next to my ear and
whispered. “Please don’t run.” Immediately a familiar jolt of
electricity ran through my body just as when I had seen him peering
at me over the magazine rack yesterday. I immediately stopped my
struggle and looked at her carefully, assessing the motives that
were hiding under the perky pink lip-gloss. Her bright blue eyes
sparkled with mischief and the corners of her lips were turned up
in a pleasant smirk. The soft request from her had piqued my
curiosity more and suddenly brought an onslaught of unexpected
emotions with it. Violet was not a threat to me. I was very certain
of that.

“Your name is Violet. Like your eyes.” The
word rushed out of my mouth without context, but I could see her
eyes widen slightly at them. It was not a question and she knew
that.

She kept my hand I hers and wove her fingers
through mine and as I looked down at them I thought of how she
entered, hand in hand with her partner. My thoughts turned to him
briefly, hoping and fearful that I would see him standing guard
watching my silent abduction. We stopped pretending to dance and
she led me to a table on the side of the bar that was discreet and
quiet enough to have a conversation, but close enough that I could
see the exit door form my vantage. She wanted me to feel safe. I
sat down silently and started playing with the curly brown hair
that had escaped from the flirty bun I had started my night with.
When she seemed satisfied that I would wait for her, she left and
went grab some drinks. I was intrigued by the situation and
frightened at the same time. While she waited on our drinks I
replayed her voice through my head over and over again. ‘Please
don’t run’. It immediately made me think my dreams. Had he said
that to me? I couldn’t recall him ever saying anything to me like
that.

She came back and put down a glass in front
of me. “Martini?”

I nodded as she sat and noted that she had
ordered a glass of white wine, but didn’t’ make a move to touch it
after putting it down.

She smiled from across the table. “Yes, my
name is Violet. Although my eyes tend to be a bit blue
nowadays”

“I’m Amy,” I answered as nonchalantly as I
could despite my racing heart.

“Amy?” She paused a moment. “You looked like
more of a girl with an exotic name. Seraphina, Letha…
Ambrosia…”

My racing heart skipped a beat as I sat
looking at her. Dumbfounded, I swallowed, but my throat was dry and
I suddenly felt panicked. I took a quick drink before thinking
better of it. What if she had slipped something in? Too late now.
“How do you know my name if we’ve never met before”

“How do you know mine?” She smiled again and
there was a sparkle in her brilliant blue eyes as she very
delicately touched my arm. “I would say divine intervention, but I
don’t think you’d believe me.”

“I don’t believe in God,” I stated matter of
fact.

“I don’t believe you.”

“That I don’t believe in God?”

She shook her head. “I can see the truth
below the surface. You do believe in God. You believe in a lot of
things, don’t you?”

I frowned. “You mean like aliens?”

“Maybe.”

“Are you an alien, Violet?” I asked only half
jokingly.

Her laugh cut through the tension. “No. I am
100% human. No alien parts here. And I’ve never met you before… in
person. Ambrosia, don’t be afraid of me. I’m here only to help you
in your journey.”

“What exactly does that mean? What
journey?”

She moved to stretch across the table and
dropped her voice as much as she was able to in the vibrating
atmosphere. “I know what you dream of, Ambrosia. Or should I say
whom?”

I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The
words managed to slip past my lips in as much of a convincing
matter I could drum up despite the terror that lay beneath the
words.

“Relax, Ambrosia, we’re not here to hurt you.
Take a deep breathe. You look like you’re going to pass out.”

I shook my head. “No one calls me Ambrosia.
Did Alistair tell you that was my name?”

She moved her chair closer to me and took
both of my hands in hers. She smiled a sweet perfect smile that
held a twinge of sadness and shook her head. “He’s a good
friend.”

“Violet,” I played with her name across my
lips again. Her name floated across the table and the word held a
hint of familiarity in it. Despite the uncomfortable situation I
now found myself in with her, saying her name and holding her hands
as I did, I suddenly felt completely at ease. We sat there like
that for a moment, not wanting to disturb the sensation of clarity
and comfort I suddenly had felt. Who is this girl? In the back of
my head I could hear the music in the bar thumping in rhythm and
the sounds of the crowd talking, laughing, making out, but it was
all just background noise. Nothing was real except the sensation of
her hands in entwined between my own and suddenly, without
movement, I felt her mouth on mine.

She tasted like strawberries and lilacs and
in one beautiful moment of time I felt whole. It wasn’t the first
time I’d ever been kissed, or ever been kissed by a girl, but there
was something in this kiss that drew me into a sensation I had
never had. I felt like I as flying and dreaming all at once. The
ground had no meaning and the sky was made of effervesces. Nothing
in the world made sense anymore. Just as suddenly as it began the
sensation stopped and I felt the table jarringly appear under my
arms.

He was standing over her pushing his glasses
up with the back of one hand and, holding her shoulder with the
other as she drew back from my kiss. “Vi, we have to go. Now!” He
seemed very angry, but not that his girlfriend was kissing another
girl. In fact he didn’t even look at me during the entire exchange.
He kept his eye averted towards the front door of Marco’s and he
pulled her hand out of mine, carefully not touching me and
practically dragged her out of the chair. “You’re empathy is
drawing too much unwanted attention towards her. We are leaving.”
She pulled her arm back from him and put it on his chest whispering
something into his ear. He nodded and released his grip on her.
Violet clearly would not be rushed. He stepped back impatiently
looking towards the exit ignoring me altogether.

She took my hand again and leaned across the
table to whisper in my ear. “I’m sorry, Amy. We have to go. They
can sense us here and it is not the proper junction for a battle.”
She paused for a moment, considering her next words. “I’m sorry.
You’re going to have to choose.”

I sucked in my breath and blinked back the
tears as a force of sorrow came over pouring into my heart. I
looked down to keep from crying while I tried to process what she
said apart from the overflowing emotion convulsing through my
mortal frame. Choose? That word brought about darkness and light
through my soul and the feeling of being shattered into a million
pieces overtaking every once of my being. The words may no sense to
me, but the feeling behind the hopelessness of it was strong and
true. The information that I did not carry, did not dismiss was the
fact that I knew this was not good news.

When I looked up they had both gone. I
quickly felt nauseous and in need of escape as the words replayed
themselves in my head ‘you’re going to have to choose.’ I didn’t
understand what she meant, but the emotion hiding behind those six
words were deep and distasteful. I felt as someone had struck me
across the face. I could taste salt and realized I had bitten my
lip. Quickly texting Alistair that I didn’t feel well and that I
would meet him at home, I took a cab to the corner of my street,
but as I walked up the sidewalk to the former chateau that was now
converted into apartments I felt as though walking inside would
awaken me from the strange waking dream that I had been having all
evening and I just wasn’t quite ready to wake up yet. I wanted
answers. I sat on the porch swing and let myself just breathe in
the silence and think over the last two days. The street was
incredibly still and dark and reminded me of my dreams.

Last night my dark stranger
had fled from me when I thought of my previous encounter with
Violet’s boyfriend. The dark robed stranger that had always haunted
my dreams had never spoken out loud to me before this week and now
his whole demeanor had changed. What had shifted in the last few
days that would warrant him to alter our relationship? Nothing. My
life was boring from the outside and has always been. Same day over
and over again just like any other human I had chance encounters,
friendships, utility bills. Nothing unusual until I saw him
standing and starring at me with that beautiful scowl. It had been
brief and we hadn’t exchanged words, but could that be it? He had
told me to stay away from
him,
but that was prior to our meeting at my job. Had
he knows this was coming? Yes. The answer was clear and obvious,
but understanding the meaning beneath was not. I stood on a
precipitous without answers and entirely driven by emotions, but I
could feel that things were changing. I knew my role to play was a
part of a bigger picture. Hadn’t I always knows that? The lack of
details was frustrating, but the clarity of purpose was not. I
needed answers but I would not live in a state of denial. Was
it
he
causing these
changes? Which he was I even thinking about anymore? They were both
shrouded in nothing but mystery and then there was Violet. Why did
I fall into Violet’s kiss like that? He called her empathic. Was
that it? What was different that suddenly my life was a pot of
overflowing unexpected encounters? How does she know about
him?