yuu xi –
1971, Georgia
"Perhaps I'll write a book about him," she realized, opening her eyes to the orange-red sky. "That would be the proper thing to do."
It was a brisk evening, and fall was impatient to let winter take its place. Her sister, lounging near the last apple tree to give up its leaves, peeked one eye open at her. "You've said that twenty times in your life, but have you ever actually written a whole book?"
Yuu Xi cringed and stood up, stretching her stiff shoulders. "Why, no. I never found the inspiration to continue… or I'd get so distracted by other topics, I'd start a new project entirely…"
A hawk screeched across the sunset and nosedived, catching something from the distant lake and careening away somewhere else to eat it. Xi shivered and buried her hands in her overcoat, turning to look at her sister. "But don't you think it's time I go through with this? I can't stop thinking about all of his memories… his mind, his experiences, his soul…"
"I know you can't." Mey sighed, her voice oddly tight. She sat up straighter, motioning for her sister to join her on the ground.
Xi did so, preparing for her sister's advice. It would be too dangerous to publish the kind of knowledge you have, she'd say. Or, He would find out, and he would be angry with you…
Mey only smiled. "No, none of that. You didn't need me to tell you that, you knew already…" She looked down and thought for a moment, her thoughts wandering to the Renegade, and all that he had gone through…
It was times like these that Xi remembered how old her sister was. Most of the time, Mey was so youthful. Her skin glowed and her pretty light-brown eyes were so full of joy, but when her thoughts came to such profound sorrow as the Renegade's, her mouth and her eyes seemed to fade into wrinkles…
Mey eventually exhaled and massaged her pale temples, closing her eyes. "Sometimes I wish I could write a book too, but you know, I would never have that kind of attention span." She looked at Xi and chuckled slightly. "You know?"
"Yes," said Xi, putting a hand on her sister's denim-clothed knee. "But I think you could. You've so many great ideas."
Mey brushed a strand of dyed-crimson hair out of her face. "Pfft. Well, thanks, I'm glad someone thinks so." She smirked. "Anyway. I wanted to say, essentially, that I know why you want to undertake this task, and that's because you have all these thoughts rolling around in your brain, and they've been there so long that you just need to dump them somewhere. Am I right?"
"You are," said Xi, tugging at a strand of grass. "And dumping them on you and Azi wouldn't help. Both of you are psychics too; you'd have to bear the burden with me…"
She remembered still, that day ten years ago – the day he approached her and gave her everything in his mind. The darkness in his demeanor, she had remembered so clearly. The hatred – for himself, for his surroundings, for his family, for everything he had experienced – such raw hatred, and all the fear and the loneliness underneath it, all the fragility behind it…
"Which is why," said Mey, grabbing Xi's wrist, "that you should do it. You'll feel better if you write it out. But keep it secret, Xi. Nobody should read this book, except maybe us and Azi… but don't let any humans read it. The world isn't ready to know all the truth yet…"
Xi narrowed her eyes. "I know that already, Mey."
"But don't forget it," said Mey, lowering her head. "You remember everything you're told, but please let this be at the forefront of your mind. As much as you love teaching humans, don't teach them anything about us. Nor about the Renegade. You've been wanting to do that for many years, and it frightens me."
But don't we all wish the humans could just KNOW who we are?
The thought came from Xi, but it touched Mey's heart and echoed back to her sister.
Mey stood up abruptly and kicked off her sandals, sending a haphazard wind of energy out towards the setting sky. Her frustration was tangible. "The time will come when it needs to come, and I certainly hope it's sooner rather than later, but I just know it will be a dangerous time! And I don't know what we'll do, if the humans try to pursue us more earnestly. What will happen to us? Will we die? Will we be forced into obeying the humans, just like every other creature is…?"
"Now is not the time to worry, Mey," sighed Xi, stroking the roots of the tree.
"Isn't it, however!" said Mey. "Turn around and look at me."
Surprised at Mey's sudden sternness, Xi stood up and faced her sister squarely. Calm down, love…
Mey breathed in exasperation and stepped forward, extending her palms to the russet sky. "I, Mey She of China, am a two-thousand, five-hundred-and-forty-two-year-old psychic. I was born as a small, elfish creature, but I have acquired human form, and so has a host of forty-odd magical immortals, not the least of which know how to mutate themselves and others at will, how to bend the laws of gravity, the laws of quantum physics, who could probably create continents – planets, even, if they truly put their minds to it!" Her eyes were wide and shone with longing. "And the humans know nothing – they are required to know nothing… about any of it. If they knew this, they would want it, all of it. They're too intelligent to even think about resisting the urge to work in tandem with us. And because we are frail, and humans are frail… we could cause much more destruction than good."
Xi was silent. You're right, was all she could think.
Mey lowered her hands. Her thoughts were thick, like soup. She voiced none of them, but Xi recognized them; they were very similar to her own.
"The Alpha knows how we all feel," sighed Mey, bringing her pale hands together and absentmindedly sparking bits of energy between her fingers. "But he's paid attention to the myths and the legends. The humans used to know some things about us, in ancient history… they wrote stories about us… but these days those legends are just bedtime stories. Nobody believes them anymore. It's for the best, of course…"
"…But it will happen someday," said Xi, taking a step forward.
Mey looked up. "When?"
"With the trajectory of the humans' course of study, with all the places trainers and professors are taking their research, it will happen. I don't think we'll have to wait any more centuries. I truly believe it's a matter of decades."
The sky became purple, and the wind picked up, making the long plain-grass sway with it. Mey closed her eyes, feeling the chill envelop her skin. "When you write your book, Xi…" She opened her eyes, feeling a bit calmer. "I want to read it." A brief pause, and then she stepped toward her sister, squeezing her upper arm. "Actually, I want to read your drafts. I'll help you edit it!"
Xi smiled, bemused. Look at you, all cheery again. "I thought you'd said you don't have that kind of attention span."
Mey pursed her lips. "But when it comes to evaluating somebody else's work, I have all the attention span in the world!" She pranced towards the tree and retrieved her satchel, adjusting it onto her shoulder. "I love giving all of my opinions and advice… and I know you certainly weren't aware of that before."
"Why, no," said Xi, gathering a bit of wind and lifting herself up a few feet. She plucked a voluminous red apple from the branches and landed firmly on the ground, continuing, "Shall we go home?"
"Indeed, we shall," proclaimed Mey, marching forward. "You're a bit old fashioned sometimes. All this shall and perhaps business."
"England did that to me," laughed Xi, quickening her pace to catch up. "Everyone's so stuffy there."
"But Kia doesn't talk all stuffy, and she's lived in Britain for seventy-odd years."
"Kia arrived there in the twentieth century," scoffed Xi. They came to a low wooden fence at the foot of the hill, and she levitated herself delicately over it. "I was there in Oxford University's youth. The world had hardly just invented plumbing…"
"Ugh, don't remind me…"
They continued towards Mey's townhouse by the highway, and the night slid in smoothly and silently.
