Beloved - Emrys
I kick at a stone on the ground while Craig tells Melina to call a girl names Kerry, who apparently will be taking care of me. Melina taps on the black box, Craig said it was a cellphone, and presses it to her ear as it starts making a noise.
We’re standing at a bus stop outside of the airport of Heathrow, London, waiting for a bus that will take us to this place called Stonehenge. It's cold outside and I pull the jacket Craig gave me closed to keep the cold out, and to hide. I feel… very awkward out in the open, like there's too much space, or too many people. I just want to get to wherever it is they’re taking me so I can get to my own room and hide.
Merigold floats down from the top of the bus stop sign and lands on my hat, which tap when I feel her land. “It’s just me,” she calls with a giggle.
“I’m glad. Merigold. There are, so many things to see, and so many people. This feeling, like there's so much I didn't know, and don’t know. What is it?” I ask her, hoping to relieve the tension in my chest. Most of my life I didn’t have such worries, at least, up until the doctors started testing me. Now I can’t stay calm and I don’t know why.
“Well, that's called overwhelmed. There are so many new things for you, and because you’ve never seen them before, you’re like a baby who can talk, walking around and seeing everything brand new! It’s fun to watch,” she smiles brightly. Her smile warms me up a little, I know she understands.
“Well, I’m glad you’re enjoying it. I wish it would stop!” I say to her as a bus pulls up.
“Alright, Emrys, time to board. This is our bus. Here’s your ticket,” he passes me a blue sheet of paper with a bunch of printed letters and numbers on it that don’t make any sense, “and we’re in seats 7AB and C.” Craig explains, gesturing for me to climb the steps up and into the bus.
Bus; a strange, long car with rows of seats and a carpeted floor. The driver sits at the top of the stairs wearing white gloves and a name tag. It reads FRED. I smile and hand him my ticket.
“Thanks, row 7. No gum.” He says, taking the ticket and punching a hole in it before handing it back to me.
“Gum?” I ask. “What’s gum?” Craig leans over my shoulder and hands the bus driver his ticket.
“It’s something you chew. It gets sticky and can be a mess to clean up,” he says as we walk down the aisle to our seats.
“Oh,” I say, not sure I understand. Merigold hops off my shoulder as I take the window seat and starts bouncing down the tops of the chairs, laughing as she goes. “Hey! Come back!” I call. A man sitting behind me looks up from a paper with black writing all over it and frowns.
“Opps, sorry,” I cringe as I shrink back and turn around in my seat. I forgot others don’t see her, again. Man, my cheeks flush and I feel all warm. I want to hide.
The bus soon fills up with a lot of other people, families and kids. It’s pretty full and loud and Merigold is fooling around somewhere. I can’t say anything, since someone might hear me. Craig looks at me and smiles. “Hey kid, you ok?” he asks.
“Sort of. There’s so many people,” I admit.
“Ahh, don’t worry. No one’s paying attention. They just want to see the henge. Travelling can be pretty exhausting, especially on your first time. Why don’t you have this? Maybe it will keep your mind off the people,” he smiles, handing me a green box thing that looks similar to the cellphone. Attached to it is a long black cord with two round ends. I take it, but I am more confused than ever.
“What’s this?” I ask him, taking the round ends in my hand and holding them up.
“It’s a music player, an IPod. It plays music. These are headphones. You put them in your ears, like this,” he takes one of the round ends and fits it into my ear. It feels strange and big. I try putting in the other one. “Good. Now, you turn it on like this.”
He presses a round button in the centre, below a box that lights up with words I don’t know. You moves his finger around the circle and the light up box moves a dark box over the words.
“When you find something you like, press the centre button and you’ll hear the music in your ears. Got it?” he asks.
I nod my head. “I think so.” I press the centre button, not sure what it says and my ears are suddenly blasted with sound. I jump and yelp, trying to pull the things from my ears.
“Ahh, sorry! Maybe it’s up too loud. Here,” he takes the box and presses a different button, handing the round things for my ears back. I shake my head. I didn't like the sound. “It was too loud. It’s ok now. I fixed it,” he assures me.
I take the headphones and replace them in my ear. I hear a faint song through the headphones and my widen my eyes in shock. “Woah…” is all I mutter. A man's voice sings from the box in my hands and the music is really nice.
Craig smiles and turns back to Melina as I turn toward the window. Maybe the trip won’t be too bad.
~*~
We file off the bus and out onto a black parking lot surrounded by fields of low cut grass. As soon as my feet touch the ground, I feel a surge of energy surrounding me. I look around, but see nothing. People wait around for their bags while Craig pulls me aside, followed by Melina.
“Emrys, we’re here. In just a bit, we’ll meet with your new caretaker, Kerry, but we have some time first. Would you like to see the henge before she shows up?” he asks. I round up the headphones as he speaks, slipping the IPod into my pocket. Craig said I could keep it on the bus.
“Umm, sure. What is the henge?” Merigold bounces up to me then and crawls up my leg, sitting on my shoulder. Her movements tickle a bit, but I try not to show it.
“The henge,” she says, holding her finger up, “is a great portal from ancient times!” she says. I raise my eyebrow at her.
“We’ll see, but according to research, it's one of the oldest man made structures on earth, from 2000 year before Christ,” Craig interjects.
Merigold folds her arms with a huff. “Humans don’t know anything! Your research is feeble and all lies.”
“I know there is more to the henge than what the research here says. Kerry does too, that’s why she’s here, studying the mysteries of the henge and the library our branch houses,” he winks, making Merigold giggle.
“I just can’t be mad at him. He’s good,” she giggles in my ear.
He leads us over to the crowd of people lining up to cross the street. We follow a path that leads up to a large stone structure that looks like it has ropes in front of it. People crowd the ropes, clicking cameras and talking loudly about the stones.
As I look at them I notice their rough surface, the pale plant stuff that’s growing on it and the scratches from visitors that got too close. I watch it, mouth hanging open as it seems to glow with energy. I look around at the people around me, not sure if they see the same thing or not.
“They can’t see it, like you. You’re special, Emrys. The henge is a special place for all magical beings, including you. It’s welcoming you,” Merigold says through my hair.
“Really? How can a stone welcome someone?” I ask her
“Silly, it’s more than a stone! It’s a portal, like a said. You should understand this, Emrys, Magic is in most things. Everything has a spirit, like a living being. Once it’s created, it’s a living thing! Just because it doesn’t move or talk like you, doesn’t mean it’s not alive. Remember this, Emrys.
Your magic is like this too. You can change things, like people can change the things around them, but you use magic. So you have a different connection to the world around you. You can change the very state of the world and the things in it around you. It's a big power, so you have a big responsibility,” she hums.
I gulp. Wow, I suddenly feel very small and heavy.
“Hey!” A girl shouts from behind. Craig turns around and I copy. A girl, wearing a green turtleneck sweater and a funny looking hat on her head is waving at us. Craig smiles and steps towards her.
“Kerry Woodrow! It’s good to see you. This is my assistant, Melina, and this,” he taps me on the shoulder, “is Emrys Barnes.” I suddenly feel the centre of attention again, and I don’t like it. I hunch my shoulders.
“Wow! So he finally shows, right on time,” she winks.
“What?” I start to ask.
“Well, Melina and I have to be somewhere else tomorrow, so unfortunately, we won’t be staying,” he tells her.
“Wait! You’re leaving?” I ask. I don’t want Craig to leave. He’s really nice and… the first person I’ve ever met from outside the hospital. “Why?”
“I’m sorry, Emrys, but I can’t stay. I have other work to take care of. Kerry here will take care of you. I promise,” he says, placing his hand on my shoulder.
“But… I…” I suddenly feel awkward saying it aloud and can’t bring the words to pass my lips. I feel my cheeks blush again and feel stupid.
“Don’t worry, Emrys. Here, I’ll give you my personal phone number. Have Kerry show you how to text and we can talk if you have any questions. I’ll see you sometime in the future, ok?” He pats me on the head and thanks Kerry before heading back to the busses.
The girl, Kerry, is about the same height as me, which feels even more awkward considering my age and all my silly questions. I look at her feet, trying to avoid her gaze. That’s when I see the black cat sitting by her boot.
The cat looks at me with an intelligent glint in his eye and it makes me shiver.
“Well, you can stand here and stare at the Henge all day, or I can take you below and show you what's under it if you want. Once you’re settled, you’ll start to feel like you’re at home. Trust me. Come along,” she calls, waving for me to follow.
The cat promptly stands and trots after her, keeping pace.
“You’ve noticed already. That’s a good sign. That cat is her companion,” Merigold whispers. “He’s not a normal cat. Companions are bonded to their other half. They often complete them in some way,” she explains as Kerry leads us across the road and to a picnic blanket resting on the ground beside the parking lot.
The blanket has a strange shimmer to it and I’m curious why it’s there. As I step on it, following Kerry, a door suddenly shows up and she glances over her shoulder with a chuckle.
“Happens to everyone. Come in!” she descends the stairs that are on the other side.
I look behind to see the others, but no one’s watching. Strange.
“Welcome home,” her voice echoes up the stairwell. This is the strangest place I’ve ever seen. Home? I wonder where I will find ‘home’. I follow, curious and timid. I’, content to follow.
