Chapter Two
I stared at Even’s departing form, all the while thinking he was singularly the most mysterious person I had ever met. I turned and walked back in the direction of my shop, but on a whim, I whipped out my cellphone and dialed my best friend’s number.
“Hey, Jo, I was just thinking of you,” Abby answered. Her cheerful voice made me smile and immediately the world tipped back to normal.
“Yeah? Tell me all about it over lunch, my treat,” I offered.
“How can I resist that? Does Chez Chips sound good?”
Chez Chips was what Abby called her favorite fish and chips shop. “As usual, you read my mind. How soon can you be there? I can grab a table if that works.”
“See you in 20.” And she rang off.
Chez Chips was crowded with the usual mid-day crush, but I was lucky enough to snag a table for two in a relatively quiet spot on the back patio, with an up-close and personal view of the neighboring building. Not the most scenic table, clearly, but it was at least somewhat private.
I watched Abby douse her food liberally with malted vinegar. I asked her if she had any damage at her house from the storm.
Abby responded by shaking her head. “I heard about your freak storm.”
“Whatcha mean ‘my freak storm’?”
“Only that from my house on the leeward side, it was a clear sunny day.”
I frowned. “It was a huge storm. How’s it possible that it didn’t make it 15 miles to your place?” I said, incredulous.
“I dunno, but I saw it on the news while I made Ellie’s breakfast. That’s what they called it, a ‘sudden freak storm.’ I wondered about that hole in your roof,” she said this over a mouthful of fried fish.
I shook my head in personal chastisement. “I have to get that fixed sooner rather than later.”
“So, tell me about this bloke. What was his name?”
“Even,” I answered and Abby grimaced.
I looked around to be sure no one was listening but dropped my voice to a bare whisper all the same. “Honestly? He literally appeared out of nowhere, in the middle of the downpour, looking like he was being chased by something or someone. I got the strangest vibes from him.” I stared into the distance as I collected my thoughts. “It was like he walked in from another place in time. He had this air of mystery; he gave away virtually nothing about himself.”
“Did you see anyone else? On the street, I mean,” Abby asked. She was clearly unmoved by my almost romantic description of the ‘mysterious stranger.’
“Not a soul,” I said. “And I am fairly sure he gave me a false name.”
“Even is certainly an unusual name. Did he say his last name?” Abby asked.
“No, and I didn’t ask.”
Abby chewed a mouthful of chips, looking thoughtful. “Where did he say he was from?”
“He didn’t. But his accent is not from around here, that’s for sure.”
“And you didn’t ask,” she stated flatly. “You know this isn’t like you at all.” Then she smiled. “Is he cute?”
“Oh, stop. I mean, maybe, a little. I wasn’t really thinking like that, if I’m honest. My only thought was to rescue my books, you know, and to … I don’t know, be neighborly. And he kindly offered to help me with the books. It certainly wasn’t like me to be so trusting, though.”
“Indeed not. So, then what happened?”
I shrugged, thinking it best to not mention how we had shared tea and cake. “He said he needed a place to stay, so I directed him to the Grandfather Inn, and walked him to the train stop.”
“That was certainly very ‘neighborly’ of you,” Abby said with a laugh. She sat staring at me with a goofy grin on her face.
“Literally, stop,” I said, defensively. “If you had met him, you would have done the same thing. It was like he was lost. That’s it, he was lost and too proud to say so,” I gestured in finality.
“Alright, I get it,” Abby conceded, even while her expression said otherwise. “But I will say this, only because I love you and I don’t want to see anything happen to you: if he comes around again, don’t let him in, Jo. Call me. Okay? You have no evidence that this bloke is anything other than a criminal.”
“I promise, I will.”
As Even walked towards the train platform, he did so with a clear sense of foreboding. It was the only thing that was clear in his mind, while everything else – including his own name – was a jumble of disconnected thoughts and images that made very little sense. All the while, his nose was assaulted by a myriad of smells, some good, some awful, but most were entirely unrecognizable. He tried to not be distracted by them. The train, however, was something he recognized right away, in a sense. It wasn’t because he had seen it before, but because its basic design was somehow logical and familiar, but he could not say why.
Instead of boarding, as he observed many others doing, he stood stock still, watching everything and waiting for all of the images in his head to coalesce into a recognizable whole.
“Anything wrong?” Jo asked.
He glanced at her then. Having been so lost in the onslaught of his jumbled thoughts, he had almost forgotten she was next to him. In a split second he took in her appearance, her pale skin, the tumble of dark hair that seemed intent on escaping whatever it was that held it back off her face, and her clear eyes an incredible shade of blue.
He felt confused. He felt confused by every single thing, from the open canopy of blue sky above him, the feel of the sun on his face, the very air he breathed, rainwater pooling on the ground, squawking birds flying overhead and a myriad of sounds he could not identify. Ever since he’d found himself standing in the middle of the rainstorm, not remembering how he’d gotten there or even who he was, nothing made sense except one singular thing: this woman must be protected from his truth. That’s why he had made up his name, chosen the first word his eyes had landed on in the bookshop. He was glad she had taken it in her stride. He was grateful she had not pushed him for more. She was kindness personified, and he would not do anything to change that. He gave her the only thing he could: sincerity.
“No. Thank you, again,” he said, but it felt inadequate and cold. He wanted her to feel how deeply grateful he was, but words failed him. He bowed low to her, because for all the things he didn’t remember, this singular act felt deeply natural and right. She smiled at him then, and he felt as though everything would be okay. He turned to walk the final distance to the train.
The train emitted a loud sound, like a warning and again a sense of foreboding chilled his blood. A few people ran to it and climbed aboard. But, at the last moment, he turned away, unable to board. He watched it depart and marveled at the speed of it. He began walking parallel to the rails, noting that they themselves were parallel to a vast, glittering body of water. It seemed to go on forever, stretching towards the distant horizon. Even spotted a place to sit alongside a pale gray walkway. He went to it and sat down. It was located in perfect proximity for gazing out over that vast, glittering water. He found he was mesmerized by the rhythmic ebb and flow of it, the way it rushed in and lifted up, then crashed down again, darkening the ground, only to return from whence it came. Overhead, the vast blue canopy was mostly clear now – the same color as Jo’s eyes – except for growing blobs of white. He knew what these things were, he felt, but for the moment the words escaped him. No matter, he thought. All I need right now is to sit and enjoy this amazing and strange world. Darkness would soon come, Even knew. And then he would be forced to face his fate. He lifted a hand to his overcoat and touched the hard objects beneath it. He couldn’t bring himself to look at them just yet, but he knew they would change everything.
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Edited 6-Aug-2022 to change Hannah’s name to Abby and other very minor edits.