The Soulkeepers (25 page)

"You changed your puny, arrogant, mind, huh?
Well, you left the gate open!"

"I didn't. I locked it!"

"I found it open and guess what Jacob? The
key is enchanted; only you or I can turn it. Unless you did
something stupid and invited someone else into the garden, it was
you."

"I must have forgotten."

"You will want to forget if something came
through. You will be begging to forget your pitiful life."

The dark expression on her face was not at
all human. It was the face of a killer, and so close he could feel
her breath. He tried his best not to pee in his pants and hugged
himself to stop from shaking.

"You know, never mind, this is a stupid
waste of time. You're not ready. You're not ready for the
responsibility of who you are and I'm done trying to help you. Go
back to your stupid, meaningless, shallow life and forget who you
are."

With that she picked him up by the scruff of
his neck and dragged him around the front of the house. When they
were within eyesight of the Laudners, she put him on his feet and
gave him a shove forward. She followed as he walked across the
street to the front door of the cheery yellow house but, when he
reached for the doorknob to let himself in, she slapped his hand
away. Instead, she rang the doorbell.

After a moment's pause the door swung open.
"Oh...Hello." Uncle John's voice sounded surprised. His eyes darted
to Dr. Silva and then to Jacob.

"Hello John," Dr. Silva began, her voice
honey sweet. The striking, crooked smile had replaced the
terrifying scowl. "I just wanted to let you know that Jacob has
completely worked off his debt for my window. I will not be in need
of his services anymore."

John nodded. There was a look of confusion
on his face but he said nothing. Dr. Silva turned to Jacob, her
eyes conveying a warning although her face stayed soft.

"Jacob, thank you for your help these last
few months. You are free to go about your business. I won't be
seeing you near my house again, will I?"

It wasn't really a question; it was a
threat.

"No," he replied.

"Good." And with that she gave a little wave
to John and crossed the street.

Apology

Days and then weeks went by without any word
from Malini. Jacob tried to call but she refused to talk with him.
He decided to send her an email, apologizing for the way he'd
treated her. He sat down at the glass desk, which she'd picked out,
and booted up the computer, that she'd also picked out. Everything
in this room reminded him of her.

Malini,

I know there's nothing I can say that can
make up for what I did. I tried to force you to do something you
didn't want to do. I have no excuses. But I am sorry.

I'm not sure how to live in Paris without
you. I decided to stay because of you but here I am without you
anyway. It feels like I've lost everything. When I think about
starting school again, everything hurts. Please forgive me. Hit me,
scream at me, anything, but please talk to me.

If you ever talk to me again, I swear I'll
tell you everything; everything I know about the water, the tree,
and me. I am still Jacob. You do know the real me. But I'll tell
you the rest, if you just talk to me again.

Love,

Jake

As hopeful as he was when he hit the send
button, the last days of August faded away and school rolled in
with no response. The first day of his junior year at Paris High
School was spent in silence, moving from classroom to classroom in
zombie-like indifference. He didn't have to see Malini in
trigonometry or foreign language because she'd passed into college
level Spanish, French and calculus. For once, he was happy that she
surpassed him academically.

But English was the great equalizer. He saw
her take a seat at the front of the room. Thinking he didn't want
to feel her stare in the back of his head all period, he sat in the
back. Unfortunately, the strategy backfired. He spent the entire
period watching her and didn't hear a word Mr. Brown said.

Lunch was an endurance exercise. He sat on
the opposite end of the only empty table in the cafeteria. She
seemed completely engrossed in her pulled pork sandwich, never even
looking in his direction. Jacob on the other hand, didn't touch his
lunch. He spent the period feeling like his heart was being dragged
out of his body through his throat.

Chemistry was even more of a problem. There
was no getting around being lab partners. Everyone else in the
class paired up immediately, leaving the last table empty. Jacob
sat down first. She eventually followed, taking the stool
diagonally from him with a huff and never making eye contact.
Luckily, they didn't have to talk with each other. Mrs. Casey
covered the requirements of the class and then ran a movie on
taking accurate measurements. Jacob couldn't stop looking at Malini
but she never turned her head. When the lights came back on and the
bell rang, he leaned across the table and put his hand on her
arm.

"Meet me at McNaulty's?" he pleaded.

She didn't look up but yanked her arm away.
Grabbing her books, she was out the door before he could close his
mouth.

After school, Jacob walked alone to
McNaulty's anyway and waited. He left alone.

By early September, Jacob was ready to chew
his own arm off. With no place for him to go and nothing to do, he
spent entire days staring at walls. He hated to admit it but he
missed working for Dr. Silva. Even a fight with Katrina would've
been a welcome distraction, but she'd moved out at the end of
August to attend college. So, when he saw the cross-country team
gathering after school on the football field with Coach Schroeder,
he found himself joining them for no other reason than an absence
of nothing better to do.

"Coach Schroeder?" Jacob said.

"Yeah. What's up Jacob?"

"I know I missed the informational session
but I was wondering if I could run on the team."

Coach Schroeder stared at him blankly for a
second, as if he was trying to tell if Jacob was joking. Then he
looked at the group of four girls and two boys stretching in the
grass. Most of them were freshman and all of them looked like this
was their first year running. "Sometimes I forget you're not from
here, Jake," he said. "This is Paris. If you want to run on the
cross country team, you just show up."

Jacob showed up. Not only was he the fastest
on the team but the rhythmic fall of his feet allowed him welcome
respite from the guilt and regret that controlled most of his
thoughts. When he was running he felt nothing. He'd always lived by
two very important rules: don't feel anything and don't expect
anything from anybody. Oh how he wished he could close himself off
again and go back to the person he was before. But he'd changed. He
felt something now and while he still didn't expect anything from
anyone, it hurt worse then ever when people lived up to his
expectations.

Every day after practice,
he waited outside of McNaulty's but Malini never even passed by. He
remembered her birthday. He found a stainless steal bracelet with a
heart that looked similar to the one he'd made her on the beach at
Lake Stelton. He wrapped it in a section of a map he found of New
Zealand from an old National Geographic that the Laudners had
around the house. On September 21
^st
, the night before she
turned sixteen, he left it on the balcony outside her window with a
note.

Malini,

Even if you never forgive
me, I want you to be happy. Here is the heart I promised you. I'm
so sorry I ruined us. It was the worst mistake I ever made. But
someone once told me, a person isn't the worst thing they've ever
done.
I can't take away what I did but I
can promise you that I've learned my lesson. The offer still
stands. I'll tell you everything. The absolute truth, if you just
give me a second chance. Happy Birthday.

Love,

Jake

Two days later he noticed she drove a new
red Miata to school. Uncle John told Jacob it was a gift from her
father. He never saw the bracelet on her wrist.

The weather in Paris turned disagreeable in
October. It rained almost constantly. Jacob ran for the
cross-country team anyway. Coach Schroeder was ecstatic to have a
runner who ran faster in the rain. In fact, Jacob could hear the
hum of each drop as it fell around him. When his muscles began to
fatigue, he would simply ask the water to lift his legs for him.
The only reason he ever slowed was because he finished the
race.

Near the end of the season, however, the
storm was so severe that Coach Schroeder had to cancel. It was just
too dangerous for the team to run in the lightning. Jacob walked to
McNaulty's in the sheeting rain without an umbrella. He could've
asked the water to part. It was possible for him to walk through
the rain and remain completely dry. But the cold sting of it felt
good. It was an echo of what he was feeling inside, and for some
reason it gave him peace.

Jacob entered the little restaurant
dripping-wet and took a seat at a booth by the window. Mrs.
McNaulty handed him a dry towel and a Coke before he even ordered.
He reached for his wallet but she shook her head. A sad smile crept
across her face. Without a word Jacob understood she knew more
about lost loves than she was willing to talk about. She returned
to the kitchen and left Jacob staring absently out the window.

"Excuse me, may I join you?" a girl's voice
said but he assumed she was talking to someone else. A hand on his
shoulder caused him to turn. "Is anyone sitting here? May I join
you?"

"Yes, um sure," he replied clumsily. The
girl was breathtaking; tall and thin like a runway model. She was
wearing a St. Mary's uniform: a plaid skirt and white button down
blouse. St. Mary's was a small Catholic High School, the only other
school in town and connected to the church the Laudners attended.
The red plaid hit high on her thigh and he caught himself watching
its hem move dangerously higher as she sat down. Her wavy blonde
hair was swept up behind her head with pieces falling loosely on
her shoulders. The effect was that his eye was drawn to her neck
and then down the vee of her blouse, open a button lower than it
should have been for a town like Paris. As she smiled, he tried to
remember his name to introduce himself. No one on earth could be
this beautiful.

"My name is Aurial," she said, holding out
perfectly manicured fingers.

"I'm Jacob," he replied, taking her hand.
Zaps of electricity coursed up his arm and his skin suddenly felt
warm. He held her hand for a moment too long before nervously
letting it go. "Do you go to St. Mary's?"

"Yes, I'm a junior…and you?"

"PHS. I'm a junior also. I haven't seen you
around here before."

"I'm new. Just moved here. Does it always
rain like this?"

"No. But the weather is constantly changing.
They get every kind here." He noticed for the first time that she
was completely dry. She must have hung a raincoat by the door.

"They? You sound like you're not from
here."

"Actually, I'm not." Jacob described how
he'd come to Paris. She was easy to talk to and he went on and on
about himself.

"It sounds like you've been through a lot,"
she purred. She was leaning across the table toward him. A whiff of
her perfume reached him and he closed his eyes.

"You smell nice," he said.

"Thanks." She tilted her heart shaped face
toward him and his stomach went topsy-turvy. He swallowed hard and
forced himself to blink.

Jacob checked his phone. "Crap, Auriel, I've
got to go. I can't believe how late it is."

"Time flies when you're having fun"

As he got up to leave, his cheeks warmed
when he realized he'd spent the entire time talking about himself
and knew almost nothing about her. "I'm sorry Auriel, I'm so
embarrassed. I've been talking the whole time. I'm usually not this
rude."

"That's fine, Jacob. I know better than
anyone how hard it is to make friends here. It's only natural. You
needed to talk. Anyway, I enjoyed hearing your stories."

"Can I see you again?"

"Sure."

"Tomorrow? Same time and place?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," she
whispered and his heart raced as she stood up from the booth and
the hem of her skirt fluttered against her thigh. A half-smile
crossed her lips. "I'm glad we met, Jacob. You're a rare
breed."

"You too, um, I mean, well, see you later."
He watched her walk past him, out of McNaulty's and then slapped
his forehead. He replayed the conversation in his head. She was so
sophisticated and beautiful. He would seriously have to get better
at this if he were going to keep her around.

With Malini gone, she was his only chance at
a friend in Paris.

The Gift

Malini climbed through her bedroom window
with a flat of mums in her hands. The balcony outside her room was
small but it was also her most prized space. It was hers, just
hers. No one else ever came out here, which was good because it was
just big enough for one.

The flower boxes served as her garden. The
petunias she had planted in the spring were dying off. Today, she
would replace them with burgundy mums that would withstand the cold
October nights. Her mother purchased them for her from the
Launders' shop. Malini wouldn't go in there anymore. Just walking
by the window broke her heart all over again.

She set the tray of flowers down and picked
up her spade. As she turned toward the first box, ready to dig out
the petunias, she noticed some garbage in the corner of her
balcony. It looked like a wad of wet newspaper. How rude of someone
to toss the junk up here, into her space. She bent over to pick it
up with every intention of throwing it away.