The Light of Oriah : Burning Jungle - Part One (2 page)

I, in
contrast, was her polar opposite. My hair, a fine tangle of
strawberry blonde, my eyes green on some days blue on others
depending on my mood. Much like the weather I thought ruefully,
glancing at the grey sky that matched my desolate state of mind
seamlessly. My skin had none of the mystique of my mother's pale
form. Neither light nor tanned, it lay in the in-between. She told
me I was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. A mother's
eyes see us so differently from the rest of the world and I knew
she was blinded by her love for me. It never failed to amaze me
that we two could belong together, that I could be the fruit of
such an angel.

My sobs
gradually subsided as I allowed myself to release the emotions I
had been holding onto so tightly, confident that I wasn't close to
losing control of myself. I stilled, breathing in and out slowly,
feeling suddenly drained from sobbing so hard. It felt good, some
of the tension had left me. I rolled onto my back, stretching out
as I looked up at the strange shape of the polished brass light
fitting. The flood was over for the moment, but I knew it wouldn't
be long until I was drowning in the pain once again. I stood up,
looking out of the window again, not surprised to see the heavy
black clouds rolling across the sky now, the first drops of rain
beginning to fall in quick succession. “So much for bringing the
sunshine with me,” I muttered, grabbing my backpack and heading to
the bathroom. I washed my face with cold water and changed my
clothes quickly. Once I could be sure that I wouldn’t fall apart
again, I headed downstairs for dinner to find Aunt Ivy waiting
anxiously for me in the kitchen.

“Oh there you
are dear, I hope you are feeling more refreshed now?”

“Yes thank
you, much better.”

“I must say,
your photographs didn’t do you nearly enough justice. You are quite
a beauty my dear.”

I shook my
head. “I don’t know about that Ivy... Sorry, Aunt Ivy...” I
corrected quickly as she threw me a chastising glare. “My mother
was the beauty in our family.”

She tutted,
shaking her head as she served me a plate of spaghetti bolognese,
gesturing for me to eat. “So,” she said as she took a seat across
from me, looking as if she had something she was desperate to ask.
“What are we going to do about your schooling Missy? We can't have
you getting behind. What year are you in now anyway?”

I sighed
inwardly. I had hoped that this wouldn't occur to her, I didn't
want us to fall out on my first day under her roof. Unable to see a
way out of the conversation, I reluctantly decided to just stick to
answering honestly. “Um, well actually, I've never been to
school.”

“Excuse me?
You're fifteen years old – how have you never been to school?”

“I was
home-schooled, well actually, home-schooled is a bit strong, I
suppose the correct term would be unschooled,” I said, watching her
face turning a strange shade of white. She looked appalled.

“Can you
read?” she sputtered.

I chuckled.
“Of course I can, I had plenty of books at home, I love to
read.”

“Oh...”

“And I really
don’t think a school would be the best place for me now. My parents
wouldn’t have liked it,” I said firmly, seizing my chance to be
assertive as she dealt with her shock. In fact my parents would
have been horrified at the thought. They’d had strong misgivings
about the whole institution, which they voiced loudly, some might
say obnoxiously, whenever the subject arose. But, on top of their
disdain for organised education, I knew their reason for keeping me
close was much bigger than something as simple as sticking it to
the man. I didn't belong in that world, they wanted to keep me
safe, or so they said. I always knew they were protecting others
from me, not as they would have had me believe, the opposite.

I shook my
head, clearing away the memory. Aunt Ivy was staring at me in
stunned silence. The kitchen was, like the rest of the house, far
too hot. I began to feel the stifling claustrophobia that had
surrounded me earlier, and quickly stood up, heading for the door.
“I think I'll head out for a walk, check out the area a little
bit,” I said, pulling open the door.

“But it's
nearly ten o’clock Oriah, it's pitch black out there. Go out
tomorrow,” Ivy insisted, her voice horrified at the very thought.
Feeling like I had fought enough battles for one day I decided to
back down this time, nodding my head in agreement.

“Okay Aunt
Ivy, maybe I'll just have a shower then,” I said, turning to head
for the stairs.

“That’s right
dear, just make yourself at home,” she replied absently. “I'll be
going out to lunch with some friends tomorrow so you will have to
entertain yourself I’m afraid.”

“That’s no
problem,” I replied quickly, relieved to have the day to myself.
“Goodnight then, and thanks again for letting me stay.” She nodded,
tight lipped and I wondered how long it would be before the issue
of school was raised again.

I stood in
the shower enjoying the sensation of the hot water rushing over me
as I tried to come up with some sort of plan. I had no idea what to
do next, but I knew that I didn’t want to stay here for long. I
refused to accept that this was my life now. Ivy seemed nice
enough, though she was clearly lost in her own world, but I just
didn’t belong here. I longed to get outside amongst the trees.
Through the stream of running water my sharp ears carried the sound
of her voice up from the kitchen as she chatted on the phone,
barely pausing to take a breath.

“Yes she's
here now, she's quite a strange girl, there is something about her.
I just can't put my finger on it...” she pondered.

“Thank
goodness for that,” I muttered, glad that she would never even get
close to figuring out my secret.

After
showering, I dressed quickly, before slipping quietly out of my
floral room. Listening carefully for just a second, I smiled to
myself making up my mind. I pulled the door closed behind me, and
stole silently down the stairs, slipping out through the front
door, and into the night. Tomorrow I would worry about my next
step. Tonight, I was going hunting.

I sat at the
back of the bus, wrapped up in the depths of my mind as I watched
the grey skies blend into a greyer sea. It was hard to tell where
one ended and the other began, a cloak of fog shielding the town
from any chance of a slice of blue sky. The weather this morning
reflected my mood perfectly as usual. I thought wistfully back to
the sunny days of happier times. They seemed so far behind me now,
the memories still as sharp as they had ever been, but somehow it
was as if they belonged to someone else. I felt as if I had no
business conjuring them up, like I was reading a private diary,
memories which should be locked away, but I just couldn’t stop
myself from peeking.

I'd woken at
the first sign of sunrise feeling tense and restless, and had paced
the house in agitation while I waited for the rest of the world to
awaken. I had decided to go into town to visit the library, in the
hopes of finding something that would help me figure out what my
next step should be. I looked out of the dirty fogged up window now
as far as I could see, hoping for something,
anything
, to
appear that would rip me out of this nightmare. I wanted my old
life back. I missed my parents so much. On the few occasions I had
allowed myself to open the door into those colourful memories and
think of how things had been, I had felt as if the earth was
opening up ready to suck me into its molten depths, never to
release me again. My life seemed like an infinite purgatory now, I
was sentenced to walk alone for the rest of my days.

A sudden
commotion tore me from my over dramatic and self indulgent
thoughts. Three teenage boys were jeering loudly, shouting
obscenities and insults, the other passengers sitting frozen faced,
unwilling to register their discomfort out loud. The rowdiest of
the boys was dark haired, wiry and had a face as hard as stone, his
mouth turned down in an unattractive sneer. The other two could
have been brothers. Both had thick coppery hair, they stood much
taller than the first boy, at around five foot nine and six foot
respectively, and both were brawny. Their features could almost
have been angelic, had they not been set into such cruel
expressions. Their golden skin was flushed with adrenaline at the
discomfort they were causing.

Across the
aisle sat a younger boy, the focus of their insults, who I guessed
to be around twelve years old. He was small and dressed scruffily
in clothes at least two sizes too small for his tiny frame, his
freckled ankles on display, shaking hands clamped firmly in his
lap. I watched with interest as his glasses began to steam up,
though he made no move to wipe them. Despite the obvious heat he
was feeling under the tension of the boys scrutiny, his delicate
face was pale and drawn. The boy's head drooped down so low that
his chin touched his chest. He looked as if he were trying to fold
himself away, to make himself so small he would become invisible,
safe in his own protective bubble. I could hear the flutter of his
heart, smell the bead of sweat that ran smoothly down his cheek,
past his glowing red ears and down the slope of his neck.

I noticed, in
the same quick glance that both the gang of lads and the younger
boy were all wearing the same school uniform. It obviously wasn't
the first encounter of this kind between the four of them. I
watched, waiting to see if the situation would die down and the
young boy would be left alone. They had turned away now and were
talking in low voices. I supposed, to a humans ear, their chatter
was inaudible, but not to me. I listened to them planning, my quick
eyes breaking through the small gaps between the barrier of their
bodies, shaking my head in disgust as I saw what they intended to
do.

The dark
haired boy had his back to the aisle, shielded by the others and
was filling a plastic juice bottle with his dark urine. The stench
of ammonia drifted through the air, hitting my nostrils and sending
repulsion through me.
How can people be so cruel?
I wondered
in disgust, as I watched them scheme, and realised their
intentions.

“We'll throw
it at him at he gets off,” the dark haired one sneered
spitefully.

“No, just do
it now, it will be funny mate, just do it!” goaded one of the
sidekicks.

“Just wait,”
instructed the dark haired boy firmly. It was clear that he was the
top dog in this little gang.

I sighed,
wishing I hadn’t heard, that I could go on in blissful ignorance
like the other passengers. Wishing these idiots didn’t get their
kicks causing embarrassment and suffering to others. Wishing for
the past, wishing for everything that was gone, wishing I could sit
in the sun, watching the waterfall, talk to my parents... just
wishing. But I knew as soon as I saw what they had planned that I
wouldn’t let it happen. The jeering had started back up again and
the passengers remained sitting, stony faced, unfocused eyes, not
willing to be dragged into something that took them out of their
comfort zone. I stood up and took a step forward, closing my eyes
as I took a deep breath.

Leave him
alone.
The words flew through my mind, but before they were
formed in my mouth I heard another voice echoing my thoughts. A
voice that left no room for argument, so calm and confident,
ringing with power.

“That's
enough.”

My eyes
snapped wide open to see who had spoken, and in the space of a
second, before I squeezed them shut again, I knew my life was
changed forever.

He was tall, at least 6'2 and his hair was as black as the
night. Emerald eyes glared out of his smooth bronzed face, a
million soft black lashes surrounding them, framing them like
miniature works of art. I thought I saw them flicker towards me,
but despite my own impeccable senses, I couldn’t be quite sure. One
thing I did know though, was that this was no human. His heart had
the same quick rhythm as my own and I could feel the heat radiating
from him. I watched in a daze as he dealt with the gang, how they
saw his authority, respected his order without question. No need
for him to stop them physically, they stood up as the bus pulled
over to the side of the road, and got off without a word. I watched
as the three of them walked quickly down the street, heads down,
silent and shocked.

Before the bus had chance to pull away,
he
was gone, striding off in the
opposite direction and out of my life. I stood for a nanosecond
before my legs carried me after him. I knew he could sense me
following, but I was too afraid to catch up to him.
What the hell was I doing?
Walking after a boy I had never seen before, into the
outskirts of town, heading into the unknown.
“I am strong, I am strong, I am strong,”
I repeated in my head, knowing deep within myself that this
stranger had a strength that may even match my own. My parents had
always led me to believe that I was the only one of my kind.
Unique, that's what they called me, special. When I was twelve I
had wanted to go in search of others like me, but they convinced me
I was wasting my time, told me that they had already searched the
world, asking everyone who might know, and that no one had ever
heard of someone like me. Even the human legends didn't mention me.
The stories revolving similar creations were all so different,
resulting in a being who was truly evil. I may not be human, may
not have a soul, but I tried, oh how I tried to be good.

But if what my parents told me was true, then what was this
boy? Something different, something dangerous perhaps? Who was he,
where did he come from, and why did I feel as if I already knew
him? Burning with a thousand unanswered questions, I continued to
walk behind him for an age. His black hair was damp with the misty
drizzle, his body tense, shoulders unmoving as he continued
forwards. I wished I could tell if he was angry, or if he was
feeling as nervous as I was in that moment. The town far behind us,
we reached the edge of the forest and he didn’t break his stride.
He glanced back, not quite meeting my eyes and I knew he meant for
me to follow. He broke into a run and I copied, keeping a twenty
foot gap between us. We ran in silence, my eyes never leaving his
back as we covered ground quickly, moving deeper and deeper into
the woodlands. We must have travelled about four miles and I was
beginning to feel panicky as I wondered where he was leading me,
when finally, we emerged through the densely populated foliage into
a glade, and he came to an abrupt halt.