AN: This lack of feedback is disconcerting...does nobody like Jesse?
They streaked across the world like comets, leaving trails of footprints that go nowhere.
Kyoto, Japan; July, 2009
Under the shelter of roadside stall, they sat shoulder to shoulder as Anna taught Jesse how to use chopsticks, their coattails catching in the breeze that carried the torrential rain. Neon blazing in shop windows reflected in the falling water, on the wet pavement at their feet.
Jesse waggled his chopsticks back and forward, practicing his pincer movement and eyeing up the miniature feast presented to them. "What's the green stuff?"
Anna smiled. "It's called wasabi. You only eat a little of it at a time."
"Why?"
"It's very strong…" She struggled to find a word to encompass the taste. "Its…electrifying."
Jesse's eyes sparked, and needing no further encouragement he smeared a load of wasabi over a sushi roll and popped the whole thing in his mouth. She saw the moment he tasted it. His eyes widened comically and he let out a yell of surprise around his mouthful.
The stallholders, who had been watching covertly, burst out laughing and handed over bottled ice tea with their shoulders still shaking. Jesse gulped it down then sat breathing hard for a few seconds.
"Are you alright?" Anna said, caught between concern and laughter.
Jesse blinked at her, and then smiled.
"That was awesome!"
---
Brazil, the Amazonian Basin; July, 2009
They crouched close together, two pairs of bright eyes peering out from the thick green foliage. The air smelt wet, moisture clinging to the huge wavering leaves of the ground shrubbery and pattering against the canopy overhead. In the damp predawn, their preternatural eyes could make out things that ordinary people could not.
A great cat moved with liquid grace down a narrow, near invisible trail through the trees. She paused as a light draft carried their scent to her. She put her ears back and let a warning growl trickle through her teeth.
Jesse looked at Anna. Anna looked at Jesse.
Both of them grinned.
Jesse crawled slowly through the bush where they crouched and crept up to the jaguar. She watched him approach, lambent gold eyes wide with apparent surprise and threat.
Jesse blinked, coughed once, then let out a soft mewl, exactly like that of a two month old jaguar cub.
The female jaguar stared at him for a second, get let out a low cough in her throat, a mother's call.
Jesse let out a bright laugh and reached out to her.
Anyone else would have had their hand taken off at the wrist.
The jaguar bussed her pretty under his hand and along his arm, rubbing a friendly feline hello against his shoulder and jaw. Anna stood, smiling and watched the two until the jaguar trotted over and invited her to play too.
As she scratched under the furiously purring jag's creamy jaw, Anna gave Jesse a wry smile and said, "I've always been a cat person, y'know?"
---
Northern Norway, above the Arctic Circle; August, 2009
Two figures stood upon a shoreline of rock and snow, listening to minute lapping of a half frozen lake and the whispers of the wind as it touched the snow banks behind them. Their breath fogged in front of their faces; they smiled and puffed like dragons, blowing steam and twirling it into whimsical shapes with their gloved hands.
Overhead, in the great breathless dark, the overcast sky began to clear. The stars showed like a welter of powder-find sparks, their blunt light reflected by the winking surface of the lake.
Anna drew Jesse close with one arm. Tucked against her side, her chin to his shoulder, she stretched out her other arm and pointed to the horizon.
"Look," she whispered, and Jesse looked.
Over the freezing water, the crescent moon began to rise, a tiny perfect canoe made of glowing silver.
They cuddled together, giggling like fools because they knew this was only the prelude to the main show.
And sure enough…
Above them veils of green fell from the open, spangled darkness like magic; curtains shielding the windows of heaven billowing in a great cosmic wind. Their edges undulated like serpents; turning and curling back on themselves. Silk ribbons of pink and gold joined the dance, weaving their way through the veils, making rainbows as they spilt as so much effervescent coloured paint.
Jesse gasped, young eyes wide as he clung to Anna's arms where they rested about his warmly bundled shoulders.
"Its amazing, Anna," he breathed. "It's so much cooler than on TV."
Anna chuckled softly. "Hey, you know, around here they say its bad luck to wave or whistle at the Lights. There are stories of them taking away people who do…" She turned her face to him, pressed a small kiss to his cheek. "What do you think?"
"It's just a story," he said, though he sounded a little uncertain.
"Lots of people think angels and demons are just stories," Anna countered.
"Well…maybe they didn't get taken away," he said thoughtfully. "Maybe they just found a new way to go, to a new place." He turned to look at Anna, their noses almost touching. "Like in the Narnia books; maybe whistling or waving opened a gate to another world!"
She smiled and he smiled back.
"Maybe," she said.
They turned back to the Lights, and as Anna waved, Jesse whistled.
AN2: (Sad puppy face) Please review...I'll be your friend.