WILDly (3 page)

Pain shot
through my ankles as my bare feet hit the pavement and I crumpled
to my hands and knees. Shocked, but too afraid to give the pain any
attention, I scanned the area around me.

One end of the
building was too dark for me to make anything out; at the other end
a brightly lit road was visible, about twenty metres away. The area
looked like a typical city centre with skyscrapers and flashing
lights and lots of traffic. Immediately across the road, I could
see a public park with palm trees and a central fountain. The sight
of the park kindled a memory of safety and protection.

My options were
limited. Fear motivated, I crawled in the direction of the park
while keeping a frantic look-out for anyone watching or following
me. I couldn’t make out any figures inside the cars parked higher
up the street, but didn’t wait for my eyes to adjust and headed
on.

As rushed as my
escape attempt was, I couldn’t quite get rid of the heavy feeling
pulling me back. I was moving slower than a snail, but my heart was
doing its best to keep up. The wet pavement smeared my poor coat
heavily as I dragged it along. It was an absolute mess, but it was
cold outside, and I put it on.

I had no idea
how to cross the road without drawing too much attention. With
shaking hands and a determined mind, I continued. This wasn’t the
time for self-pity and dejection.

After a few
more paces, I became aware of the pain again. My ankles were
throbbing and the skin was coming off my hands and knees, so I
stopped for a short rest.

By the time I
reached the corner, my hands were completely raw. I knew I had to
stand up. I collected my guts and stood up slowly. At first it was
okay, just standing, but as I took the first step, I almost fell
back to my knees. It took all my concentration to stay focused on
the target and ignore the pain and exhaustion.

As I moved out
of the shadows, the blood on my hands and knees was glaringly
obvious and I closed the buttons of my dirt- and blood-smeared
coat. Luckily it covered most of my knees. An elderly woman stared
at me from a taxi waiting at the traffic light. Her gaze urged me
into motion. A girl with bare feet in the rain, blood on her hands
and knees and a skimpy little hospital gown sticking out of a
dirtied coat was sure to draw attention. Fortunately, she was at
such a distance that I doubted she could have seen the glow around
my hands.

Each individual
step was pure agony and when I finally reached the edge of the
park, I couldn’t hold back the tears any longer. I collapsed in the
middle of some dense shrubbery and gave myself over to the
hopelessness of the situation.

A wave of
nausea hit me at the memory of home. Only a few days ago I was
safe, back at home, with my mother taking care of me and making me
a dish of mac-and-cheese whenever things got tough.

After a while,
the smell of the moist, muddy earth had a calming and soporific
effect. I turned on my side and looked up. A small piece of the
crescent moon was just visible in the cloudy sky.

To be honest, I
didn’t know if it was the relief of being safe or of being off my
feet that made me feel better so quickly, but for some strange
reason, the pain and the heaviness weren’t that bad any more. It
crept out of me and dissipated into the mud. Under normal
circumstances, a mud bath would have me grossed out, but it was
heaven lying there against the rock-hard pavement.

“
You are so
strong; you just need to realize it.”

Duncan’s words
were so clear that I thought at first he was standing next to me. I
pushed myself up and looked around, but there was nobody near. I
sat completely still and listened for movement, but I could hear
nothing but the raindrops, the rhythmic beating of my heart and the
city night traffic further away.

“
You are
from this earth, the earth that will heal and protect you.”

His face was as
clear in my mind as the moon shining out from the clouds in the
night sky was to my eyes. He was with me.

“
There is so
much more to this earth than everybody thinks. It’s
alive
…
Actually, SHE is alive.”

I waited until
the sun came up for an explanation, but Duncan was gone.

The rays of the
morning sun brought some clarity to my spinning mind. The walk back
to the dormitory also helped, at least to process things a
little.

My emotions had
jumped from surprise to awe to confusion when I discovered that my
ankles, knees and palms were completely healed. And from what I
could see, the glowing fumes now covered my whole body, not only my
hands. The glow was very faint and it had a deep blue shine to it.
I was afraid that others would see it, so I pulled my coat as far
down as possible over my legs but it didn’t help much. However, my
reflection in the mirror of a public restroom about two blocks from
the park gave me courage: my glow wasn’t visible.

Both hunger and
thirst tormented me so I pushed on. I chose the opposite direction,
away from the hospital and kept up a steady pace. I did get a few
frowns and funny stares on my way, but the reactions were mild and
I was sure nobody saw anything too far out of the ordinary.

Only once did I
start to worry - the Subway sandwich shop attendant who gave me
directions stared a little longer than anybody else. But it might
have been because of my growling stomach. I probably would have
frowned too, if a mud-bathed bare-footed mop-headed girl asked me
for directions to a dormitory somewhere on the other side of town.
To be honest, if it hadn’t been for my troubled mood I probably
would have laughed at myself.

I had plenty of
time to think about everything, but my thoughts were distracted
every time my eye caught a glimpse of a glowing limb. The glow
emphasized the connection I felt with him, and I simply couldn’t
believe Duncan had left me in the dark with a mystery so big. I
convinced myself he had left me a message somewhere in my room.

I reached the
dorm around noon. The parking lot in front of the dormitory was
packed. My station wagon was exactly where I had left it, but the
trunk was empty. I rushed as fast as possible into the building.
Expecting a message with answers, my hunger was completely
forgotten. A girl stopped me on the stairs on my way to my room but
I didn’t listen to her conversation and the poor girl must have
realized quickly that I was preoccupied, because she didn’t stand
there for long.

When I entered
my room, the hairs on my arms stood up. Everything was covered in a
bright white glow, with the densest concentration around my luggage
waiting neatly in the middle of the floor.

I should have
expected something strange, considering everything that had
happened over the past week!

When I
eventually picked up my biggest suitcase, a little electric shock
went through my hand and turned my own glow white around my
fingers. The white parts immediately felt hotter than the rest of
my hand.

Hope welled up
in my heart.

It took no more
than two minutes to unpack everything.

No message. My
phone didn’t have any messages either.

I even
considered disassembling the microwave but realized that was too
unlikely.

I sat down on
the floor, disappointed and frustrated. I wanted answers and Duncan
was the key to the mystery but I didn’t know how to contact him, or
even if I would see him again.

Trying to
compose myself, I argued that there probably hadn’t been time, or
perhaps it was too dangerous to leave a message. I wished I could
talk to my mother and tell her what had happened, but I didn’t have
the courage to put things into words yet. I decided to text her
instead, as I didn’t trust my emotional stability. Also, she had an
unrivalled ability to read between the lines and come to the
correct conclusions.

“Mom Im @ the dorm. Don’t worry. Felt betr & left hosp.
Luv u, c u soon.”

Her response
came five minutes later.

“Im so relieved dear. Take care of yourself. Come visit soon.
Miss you very much. Love.”

Comforted by
her message, I got up from the floor. My stomach growled again and
I grabbed one of my mom’s rusks. I had to clean up first before I
went out for lunch.

It was only in
the shower that the thought came up that Duncan had quite possibly
never touched my luggage. Only the guy from the parking lot who
warned me against the seniors’ parking spaces had.

I immediately
discarded the idea that he was also in on the strangeness.

***

Chapter 3 –
Counterglow

Definition of the word counterglow/gegenschein: a faint,
elliptical patch of light in the night sky that appears opposite
the sun, being a reflection of sunlight by meteoric material in
space.

I only got the
chance to thank Alex about a week later. The dining hall was
somewhat busy and I had chosen a table far away from the rest in an
attempt to avoid a possible incident with a senior.

Truth be told,
I was profoundly relieved to be around normal people. I felt safe
around the dorm and campus. To me, the only danger was far away in
a hospital on the other side of town, so I decided to be friends
with my neighbours, Jennifer and Lisa.

Jennifer had
burst through Lisa’s door the day that I had gone to apologize to
her. Dark-haired and pale-skinned, the loud extrovert Jennifer
didn’t bother with introductions.

“It’s our duty
to be friends seeing that we’re neighbours!” she announced loudly.
She dragged us along for dinner and we’ve been having dinner
together every evening since. It’s impossible not to like her as
she literally bounces all over the hallway from person to person,
laughing and bubbling and enjoying herself thoroughly.

Lisa was the
girl who had tried to talk to me on the stairs the day that I
walked back from hospital. I felt guilty afterwards and looked her
up. Lisa was a serious, nerdy, academic type – but familiar in a
sense. I couldn’t tell her what had really happened and I didn’t
want to lie, so I apologized without explaining. She accepted my
apology with a stiff nod and our conversation struggled
thereafter.

“Why are you
studying maths?” I asked in desperation. Her eyes came alight. I
understood from the animated narration that followed that Lisa had
a passion for this world, for the majestic nature on earth, for the
forcefulness of the heavens above, for the mysteriousness of life
and the secrets of being alive. She argued that mathematics and
photography was the best way on earth to describe it. We had a
connection suddenly, and I was now in favour with this girl.

Somehow I was
not surprised to find that gorgeous Alex was Lisa’s boyfriend – she
herself was beautiful, with long golden hair, green eyes and tanned
skin. And apparently Alex was studying engineering, so they were
probably a good match.

Jennifer was on
and on about some big party the following evening that I didn’t
care much about. She wanted me and Lisa to go with her, but Lisa
didn’t want to either as she had studying and heaps of laundry to
do. Lisa’s phone rang and she excused herself.

In typical
Jennifer spirit, she completely lost her drift when Lisa returned
hand in hand with Alex, and she didn’t even try to hide it.

Alex was
flawless. He looked like Matthew McConaughey’s sexy baby brother
even though he was only wearing a tracksuit and running shoes.

“Oh… my! Hi
theeeere,” Jennifer drooled. I stepped on her toe and her jaw
closed, but she didn’t stop staring. Remembering my first meeting
with him, I couldn’t blame her – at least this time the attention
was on her and my own stare was concealed.

Alex just
grinned but Lisa cleared her throat at Jennifer.

“This is Alex,”
she announced in formal fashion and turned to him, “and these are
my neighbours, Valerie and Jennifer. You’ve already met
Valerie.”

He nodded his
head at Jennifer and then frowned at me.

“You owe me big
time, girl. I saved your car from fish paste and graffiti paint and
then waited ages for you…” he looked apologetically at Lisa and
then continued, “at your car. Not to mention the trip to the
hospital.”

This time I was
prepared for him, as I had expected to bump into him at some time
or another. Lisa had told me earlier he had driven me to hospital
after she found me delirious and feverish on my bed. She had also
phoned ‘HOME’ on my mobile phone and told my mom what had
happened.

“Thank you
Alex, Lisa. I really appreciate that you guys helped me.” My answer
came out steady and calm; after all I was sincerely grateful.

I didn’t know
what he had expected to hear, but he didn’t answer with the
customary ‘Pleasure’ or even a ‘No Problem’. He smiled faintly and
then turned back to Lisa. I had the feeling something had been left
unsaid and decided that it was a personal matter between Lisa and
Alex, possibly insecurity or jealousy for Alex’s attention,
although I hadn’t summed her up as a jealous person. I made a
mental note to avoid Alex for Lisa’s sake.

She noticed my
awkwardness and directed the attention back to Jennifer.

“Jen, I wanted
to study for the algebra test tomorrow evening and do my laundry,
but since you’ve asked so nicely I guess I’ll do everything tonight
instead and go with you. Besides, Alex will be going as well.”

Jennifer’s
expression said it all.

“Great!! You,
Val?” she asked with a big smile. She was so excited that it was
contagious.

“Sure. Sounds
like fun.” I couldn’t help but smile back.

“Yiiiiihaaa!”
Jennifer gave her trademark heartfelt cowboy cry, not holding back
on the volume. A few heads popped up and stared in our direction,
but Jennifer didn’t notice. Not wanting to offend her, I swallowed
my nervous giggle and pretended immense interest in my almost empty
plate.