Out Of This World (2 page)
The strange woman nearly floated into the library and my mouth hung open just waiting for all the flies to gather inside and claim squatter’s rights. Sydney was nearly my twin as she gaped at the woman.
She wasn’t very tall, maybe five-seven, give or take an inch. Her hair was an unusual white blond and shimmered like silver, but it wasn’t exactly the color of silver. Her eyes were what really captured my attention. They were a bright lavender color. People talk about Elizabeth Taylor’s unusual eye color, but it wasn’t like that at all. They were so bright, yet almost translucent. It’s hard to describe the color. If Easter collided with Christmas, maybe you’d get that color, a sparkling light-purple in a shimmering Christmas ornament.
I was startled from my trance when her melodic voice reached my ears.
“I am looking for information on this planet, Earth. I am told the library contains the data I require.”
Sydney blinked her eyes. I remember thinking she must have been in the same trance as me. I wondered at the time why she didn’t take charge and introduce herself. It’s what she usually did whenever someone new came into town. Sydney was always outgoing and, even though she never passed up an opportunity to meet a beautiful woman, she was fiercely loyal to her relationship with Hollie.
“I think I can help you if you can be a little more specific with what you are looking for. Do you want information on geology of the planet, geography, cultures, history?”
She cocked her head to the side. “Yes, all of it. I wish to study you as well. There is something special about you.”
Even though her voice was appealing, her words were unusual and kind of alarming to me.
“What do you mean, ‘study her’? She’s not some lab rat. Who the hell are you anyway?” Sydney got in her face and glared at the strange woman.
I saw her lavender eyes capture Sydney’s and then she did the strangest thing. She touched her on the wrist and a soft purple light spread from her hand all the way up Sydney’s arm. I watched as Sydney’s head turned into a kind of neon backlight and shimmered for a few seconds before I heard a pop.
Sydney smiled at her. “I’m sorry. I’m being rude. Of course you need Mabel’s help. Mabs is the best. She can find information on just about anything you want to know, except for maybe herself, on that she’s like a vault.”
The strange purple light was a major clue and looking back, I wonder why I didn’t figure things out from the very start, but I didn’t. Even when she revealed all and I had a brief acceptance of the surreal, I quickly reverted to my safe and stubborn view of the world and its limited possibilities.
She tilted her head again and looked directly at me. I could swear that I heard her ask me if I was frightened of her, but her lips never moved and the words felt like they were just floating inside my mind. I shook my head as an answer to her mind question. That’s what I called it because I didn’t really have any other kind of way to describe it. I felt a lyrical laugh inside my head and then the words
mind question
reverberated inside my skull. I experienced an immediate sense of peace and then I laughed.
“I do apologize. I am not used to the primary Earth language. I am in need of a sponsor—an earthling to show me around.” Her lavender eyes focused on me. “You are my choice.”
I didn’t realize I was answering her when the words just tumbled from my mouth. “I would love to help you find what you need.” I looked into her beautiful eyes and I wanted to be her host. I felt flattered that she picked me. “I can show you around town since you’re not from around here.”
I convinced myself that she was just an eccentric out of towner who needed my assistance.
For the first time since I fell in love with Sydney, someone new drew me into her sphere. In that moment, I would have done anything this strange woman asked of me without question. Well almost anything. I don’t think I would have murdered anyone for her, but for some strange reason I knew she would never ask me to do anything harmful to another human being. My initial assessment was that her beauty did not stop at her physical appearance. I suspected that she was truly beautiful—inside and out.
“Thank you. Is Mabel the name you wish to be called?” she asked.
No one had ever asked me that. I’d never been called anything else, except by Sydney. She called me Mabs and I liked how she would shorten my old fashioned name, but I didn’t want this exquisite, exotic person to call me Mabs. I wanted a special name that only she would use and in my mind, I saw the name Bella. I was a huge fan of the
Twilight
series and I wanted a name that meant beautiful, something I definitely was not.
You are beautiful
. I heard her say inside my head. Again, I ignored my inner voice telling me something was not matching up.
“I will call you Bella. It is an appropriate name. You may call me Celeste,” she added in her lyrical voice.
Sydney seemed to be in a trance during the whole interchange between Celeste and me, but appeared to snap out of it when she heard Celeste call me Bella. She raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything. I just stood there frozen with my mouth hanging open.
Celeste turned to Sydney. “Your Hollie is
throwing a hissy fit
. What is this hissy fit?”
Sydney blinked twice. “Um. What makes you think that? Do you know Hollie?”
Celeste brushed Sydney’s arm and I saw a slightly muted version of the light I’d witnessed earlier.
“Oh, you want to know the meaning of the slang phrase
hissy fit.
It means she’s not happy with me right now and probably expected me ten minutes ago. Gotta fly, Mabs. Can you recommend another book that I can appease her with or else I’m in deep shit?” Sydney asked.
I absently pulled the book I’d hidden from Sydney earlier from under the counter and handed it to her.
She looked at the book, scrunching up her face. “I thought you said someone had already checked it out.”
I shook my head. “Sorry, they must have returned it and I just noticed it was queued up to be reshelved.”
“Okay, thanks. Can you take care of the paperwork? Gotta run.” Sydney waved as she ran out the door.
I turned to look at Celeste and she was smiling at me. I noticed her perfect white teeth lined up like miniature soldiers all in a very neat, straight, row. I felt my face flush and offered her a tentative smile back.
“Um, shall we start with geology?” I asked. For some reason, this thought popped into my mind. Geology was always a fascinating topic to me. I wasn’t just a nerd, I was
the
definition of a nerd. I’m sure next to the word nerd in a dictionary, you can find a picture of me.
Her head inclined slightly. I took that as my cue to lead her to the section in the library where the books all about Earth’s geology were located.
I took pride in my library, making sure that I aligned every book perfectly according to the old-fashioned Dewey Decimal system. First published in 1876 by Melvil Dewey, the system withstood the test of time after twenty-three major editions with the most recent in 2011. Nerd alert. I knew the most inane facts. No one gave a bleep about the history of the Dewey Decimal system.
I knew that paper books were becoming passé quickly with the explosion of e-books, but I still loved smelling the old leather and touching the pages. I would always want to handle the books. I just hoped that others would remain loyal to the printed page as the years and the technology grew.
I pulled
Earth: An Introduction to Physical Geology
from the shelf. It wasn’t the most riveting book in the library, but it certainly had all the information about Earth’s geology that Celeste might want. Just for grins I also pulled
Fingerprints Of the Gods
, a fascinating book I’d read suggesting that the history of mankind was far older than anyone previously thought. The author used tools like archaeoastronomy, geology, and computer analysis of ancient myths to support his theories. It was fascinating material to a nerd like myself.
“Interesting choices, Bella,” she remarked.
“What other kinds of books would you like to check out?”
“How many am I allowed at one time?” she asked.
“You can check out up to five. I’ll need to help you get a library card. Do you have a driver’s license or some other kind of identification?”
Celeste did her cute little head tilt and I sensed that she didn’t have any such thing. This was going to be a problem, but I was a master problem solver and decided it would be my personal challenge to help Celeste out.
“I don’t suppose a computer chip containing my biological, physical location, and other necessary information will work?” Celeste touched my arm and I felt a warm, peaceful feeling travel up my arm and seep into my whole body.
Maybe she was teasing me, but deep down I knew her response was odd. Everything about Celeste was out of this world, but I didn’t care. At first, I convinced myself that Celeste just had an unusual sense of humor. Later, I kept flip-flopping over what I believed.
“A computer chip isn’t exactly a common form of identification recognized in this little hole-in-the-wall town.” I was compelled to help, so I quickly added, “No problem, I can check them out under my card and I’ll help you get a new license or some form of identification. I assume you just moved here from somewhere?”
“I am temporarily in this location,” she offered.
“Okay, no worries. We can still use your temporary address to obtain ID. Do you have a piece of mail with you? Maybe a bill or something?”
“Address? Bill?” She quirked her head.
Okay, now I was getting a little concerned.
What am I getting myself into?
I frowned. “Celeste, where do you live? Temporarily, that is?”
“I live in my ship, of course, but you are not allowed to visit. We have strict guidelines.” She touched my arm again and the peace flooded me.
She grinned.
Now I was sure she was teasing me. I liked it. No one, except maybe Sydney, had ever been playful with me before, because they always assumed I was too serious to enjoy joking around. I laughed at her, but then I got serious again because I thought that maybe she was homeless, although her appearance wasn’t ragged like most of the homeless people I met on the street. Maybe she was just a traveler who had recently come into town and hadn’t arranged for a hotel yet. She seemed kind of lost to me. It’s amazing the things you tell yourself when you just can’t embrace the truth. It’s easy to fit nice little explanations into our narrow worldview and believe something even when it doesn’t quite match. I absolutely did not want to think of any less desirable explanations. Either I was crazy or she was, and neither explanation was very appealing.
My Aunt Marie was a hoot, but she had several screws loose and I’d heard that mental illness was genetic. I sure didn’t want to go there. It was a lot safer to believe that Celeste was an odd duck needing my help than that I was following in my Aunt’s looney footsteps.
I didn’t care if Celeste was some kind of escaped mental health patient. She didn’t seem dangerous to me so I just convinced myself she was harmless. Besides, Aunt Marie was my favorite Aunt. She was the only person who could consistently get me to climb out of my cave and do crazy shit with her—like make sandcastles in the pouring rain.
“How long do you plan on staying in Roslyn?” I asked.
“As long as it takes,” she answered cryptically.
Okay, I really wanted to help this woman, but she wasn’t making it easy for me. It was a surprise to me when I blurted out, “Come on, if I can’t go to your ship, then you’ll just have to establish temporary residence with me. My place is not big or anything, but I have a guest bedroom and there’s plenty of room for one more. Besides, having someone to talk to at night could be an adventure.”
“I do have a place to rest, but I would enjoy spending more time with you. Are you sure this is not an inconvenience or against some rule?”
I really wanted this woman to stay with me. I didn’t care if I might be enabling her delusions. It never hurt Aunt Marie. I blushed. “No, Celeste, I would really like you to come stay with me for as long as you want.”
“Will you be able to let me read the two books you’ve chosen?” she asked.
“Sure. You can select two more. I already have one checked out, so with the additional two books, that will add up to the five I can check out. What else would you like to explore about Earth?”
“I would very much like to know more about ancient civilizations.”
I grinned. This was another favorite subject of mine. “Oh, I love learning about ancient civilizations.”
I walked over to another aisle and plucked two of my favorite books from the shelf. I showed her the books and she smiled and nodded. I headed to my desk to check out the four books I’d selected for Celeste. I typed my selections into the computer. I didn’t need to record Sydney’s book because it was the fifth book I’d checked out. No one needed to know I was secretly reading the book. I glanced at my watch and was pleased that I could legitimately leave without feeling like I was shirking my duties.
My little cottage was walking distance from work. I grabbed my jacket from the back of the chair and walked to the front door of the library. Celeste followed without saying another word. After I locked the door, we walked side by side for two blocks until we approached my house.