Lindy looked up from her book. The sun was starting to set over the December night. Christmas Eve. Everyone was home for the holidays and wrapped warmly in what they had, family and friends gathered around them. Lindy scratched Pilot's ears, his head leaning back into her stomach as he laid across her lap. With her books and Pilot on her lap, she felt normal. She laughed inside, knowing how ridiculous it sounded. Feeling normal and happy in a place meant to be a prison. As much as she wanted to deny it, she enjoyed Adrian's company. She was here for a reason, but she never pressed on it. Adrian was sensitive, and she didn't want to upset him any more than he needed to be.
He was an amazing friend. But she didn't know if he saw her that way. He liked her, she knew. She knew from how he looked at her, how happy he was when she was in the room, how he'd say things about her that no one had ever said. He liked her, but something told her that he didn't quite know it yet. She had fought the urge to like him for so long, but now that she's seen him work his magic, how could she feel anything but like him back?
Her freedom.
She wasn't free. Keeping her here in a house for months, it wasn't moral. Perhaps she was wrong and he did only see her as a friend. Maybe that was the case. But, if it were, why would he go through so much trouble to make her feel comfortable, relaxed, happy? It made no sense to her. But, then again, nothing in this house made sense.
She set down A Midsummer's Night Dream and took to the door in intent on finding Adrian, Pilot padding behind her. She trekked down the stairs, catching Lucena.
"Do you know where Adrian is?" she asked. Lucena motioned with her hands. Was it possible her hearing had gotten worse? Was that possible? She signed the same sentence in manual alphabet. She handed Lindy a rose, and Lindy nodded in response.
Lucena signed, Be back at eight. Mama is making dinner.
Lindy journeyed down the stairs, Pilot still at her tail. She strolled down the hall to the garden, finding Adrian reading by a bed of pink roses.
"What're you reading?" she asked.
He jumped, fumbling with the book before he hid in behind him. "Nothing!"
Lindy smirked, noticing the title. "Notre-Dame de Paris."
"Actually," he corrected. "It's The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Gypsies, and swordfights, and executions..."
Lindy sat down beside him. "It's still a romance."
"Oh, fine!" he said. "You win."
Lindy smiled. Despite all the times they'd hung out, this one seemed different. Maybe it was the lighting, or the roses, or the admission of Adrian's change. She didn't know, but she had to say something she had been longing to say. "I never got to thank you for saving my life."
"Well, I never thanked you for not leaving me to be eaten by rats." He responded without hesitation, as if he'd been dying to say it as much as she was. She laughed at the comment. The air suddenly felt warmer. True, they were in a greenhouse. But with roses in the air, the two sitting closer than they'd ever gathered the courage to, and the lights slowly dimming, their eyes remained locked. Neither said a word for a long while.
The moment was interrupted when Pilot started licking Lindy's face. She pushed at him to go away.
"Does my face taste good to you? Do I smell like peanut butter?"
Adrian chuckled. "All the beasts seem to be drawn to you."
She stiffened at 'beast'. He was talking about himself. She knew how he felt about himself, but it wasn't what she felt.
"You know I don't see you as a beast, right?" Lindy said, peering over her shoulder to look at him. She ruffled Pilot's scruff to keep him occupied.
"Everyone sees me that way," he replied.
Lindy shook her head. "They don't. They know how to have a great time."
Adrian nodded. "Sometimes I hear them laughing and I pretend I'm eating dinner with them."
"You should! I'm sure they'd love that," Lindy beamed.
He shook his head. "Every time I enter a room, that laughing dies. Until you came, nobody really wanted to be around me."
Lindy began reflecting. "Yeah. I know how that feels." He glanced at her confusedly, knitting what seemed to be eyebrows. "I told you I was different. My classmates and neighbors called me weird and homely and stuff like that. I'm not really used to hearing compliments from other people my age." Tears pricked at the back of her eyes. She never admitted it to anyone. She'd tried to not let it bother her, but deep down she knew it hurt her.
"I'm sorry," he said, his tone genuine. "Your school sounds horrible."
"Almost as lonely as this house," she added.
He nodded again, taking no offense to her comments. He knew this place was lonely. He'd spent the past year and a half in his room with no one to talk to. He remembered when he had the confidence to think he wasn't. But, trapped in this body, the walls around him seemed closer to him. Every day, he'd find that Will could see less and less of his own body and Felix was a full two inches shorter. There were times when he just wanted to get away from it all.
"Hey, let's run away!" he suggested.
"Okay, what?"
Lindy was pleased with Adrian's progress in his room, but that didn't explain what he was doing or why he said what he did. He finally crawled out from under the bed with a large thin book in his hand. He took a key from his pocket and unlocked the cover, opening it for her to see.
"What is it?" Lindy asked.
"A book that can really let you escape," he explained. "I've tried it, but I couldn't be too careful after what happened last year."
Her eyebrows shot up. "You're saying that this book is like a teleporter? Like beaming or astral projection?"
He chuckled. "Sorta. It sounds impossible, but I swear. It's real. I've tried using it, but the outside world has no place for me. It won't work for any of us. But, it will work for you."
Lindy wasn't sure of this, but he took her hand and pressed it to the pages.
"Think of the one place you've always wanted to see," he instructed. "Now find it in your mind and feel it in your heart."
Lindy was just going along for imagination, trying to go along with it. The one place she's always wanted to see? She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and thought of home. A rush of cold wind hit Lindy in the face, her hair flying back. She wanted to rip her hand from the book, but Adrian was holding it so tightly. She held her eyes closed against the wind until it finally died down. It was now dark, a musty smell of dust and ink looming in the air. She opened her eyes and couldn't believe it.
Adrian was also looking around the room, very bewildered by her first choice. "Where'd you take us?"
"Greenwich Village. Lower Manhattan," she answered, gazing around the apartment. It hadn't changed at all. Dustier and worn down, but still looking as if her mother would walk in from work and her sisters would make her lunch.
Adrian was over by the window, surveying the cars and city skyline. He was actually ecstatic as if he'd forgotten.
"Oh man, I love Manhattan. What do you want to see first? Time Square? Battery Park? The Statue of Liberty? No? You're right. Way too touristy. Maybe we could find an art show. Does that sound good?" Lindy didn't answer. She was staring at the walls, fingering the furniture and scanning the rooms. "Lindy? You okay?"
"It's so much smaller than I remember," she whispered. She picked up a coated picture frame and wiped it with her shirt. Three little girls, two with black hair and one with red hair. She'd hoped that she'd see her childhood home as it was, not in its current state. She held the picture frame to her as she rushed to the opposite end of the apartment, opening the door to reveal a pink bedroom with bunk beds and a smaller bed with a rose pattern. Clearly, no one had bothered with the place since everyone had left. Adrian came in after her.
"This building is set to be demolished," he said. "Why'd you bring us here?"
"This is my home," she mumbled, holding the picture to her chest. Her chest felt heavy at the forgotten items on the walls and floor. The wood was old, but she could still make out the letters of her name on the bed, her sisters' names carved onto their own beds. She thought if she closed her eyes and thought hard enough, she'd hear her mother walk into the apartment with groceries, her father coming out to greet her. But Lindy was still met with a broken room.
"What happened to your mom?" he asked, knowing this was why she came here.
She shook her head. "I don't know. All I remember is waking up to my father yelling, my sisters crying, a bunch of sirens, and my sister Sara carrying me out of the house after 10 minutes. I tried asking what had happened, but everyone was freaking out. I knew better than to ask from then on."
Adrian gazed around the sad little room, stepping over dolls and clothes to make his way to the other side of the room. An old, dusted calendar was hanging on the closet door, which was wide open. Adrian scrubbed the dust off, his expression paining. He read the latest date.
"2001, September 11." Lindy slowly looked up at him as he grimly gave her the reality of it. "World Trade Center."
(Flashback 10 years)
People on the streets were screaming, running and getting in their cars. Angela had the TV on, frantically calling to her father. Daniel came rushing in, watching in horror as black smoke poured from the North Tower. Sara rushed into the room, still in her pajamas. Daniel was too late to cover their eyes as a second plane shot through the South Tower. Sirens from the streets rang into the kitchen door. The radio suddenly came on:
"...another plane has just hit the South Tower. Police are being called to the scene..."
Sara ran into her room, taking little Lindy out of her bed.
"...Authorities suggest this to be the work of terrorists. Civilians in the Lower Manhattan area are requested to evacuate the area as soon as possible!"
Lindy was crying, screaming. She didn't understand. "I want my mom! I want my mommy!"
(Present Day)
Lindy couldn't stop the tears now. She was sobbing hysterically on her old bed. Her mother had died so horribly. She'd always questioned herself whether or not to look for answers. She'd blamed her father for taking her away from her home when he was really protecting her and her sisters. Despite all the mistakes he'd made, he risked everything for his daughters. She hugged the picture to her chest, knowing this would be the last time she'd ever see her childhood home.
Adrian could only look at her helplessly. Seeing her go through such intense pain, even after all these years, it reminded him of his own. Her father had sacrificed so much for her, something his own father never did for him, all to protect her. He approached her slowly, not sure what to do exactly. He finally took a seat beside her on the bed, taking one of her shaking hands.
"I'm sorry for what I did to your father," he said. "Really, I am."
She looked up at him, her eyes shining and wet. He put his paw up to her face, wiping her cheek.
"Let's go home," she whimpered.
Lindy didn't come down to dinner that night. Adrian was left at the table alone late that night, contemplating over what she was possibly going through. He hadn't meant to cause her pain. It tore him to watch her cry. He stood up and took her plate with him, marching up the stairs after heating it back up. He shuffled to Lindy's door and knocked.
"Lindy?" He knocked again. "Can I come in?"
The door swung open ajar, giving him permission to enter. The lights were out save for the fire in the hearth. Lindy was curled up on the couch, hugging her shoulders.
"I brought you dinner," he said.
"Not hungry," she mumbled. He set the food on the coffee table.
"You holding up okay?" he asked. She shook her head. That was understandable. "Do you want me to leave you alone?" After a pause, she shook her head again, violently. Adrian rushed to her as she began breaking down into tears. "Hey, it's okay. It's okay." She threw herself into his chest, making him gasp. She'd never touched him this way, but she pulled him closer. He hesitantly settled his arms around her, holding her close.
This is nice, he thought. This is really nice.
His heart was pounding on the wall of his chest as she nestled into his lap, releasing every emotion she felt. He sat still for a moment before screwing the courage to run his fingers through her thick red hair. She was done crying, taking some deep breaths while Adrian stroked her hair. He couldn't take his eyes away from her. She was so gorgeous in the dim light, her red hair shining gold in the fire's light. Every golden freckle on her face was pronounced individually on her skin. Everything about her screamed something different. She was very different, a kind of different that he desperately wanted.
"Lindy," he started. "Lindy, I think I..." He trailed off. She had fallen asleep on his lap. He sighed, knowing it would never work. But going through such a remarkable experience with her, how could he feel anything else?
"Goodnight, Lindy," he whispered before carefully picking her up and setting her in bed. He wanted to say something he longed to say to her, but even while she slept he couldn't be sure. The phrase was stuck in his throat. He closed his eyes and whispered,
"Goodnight, 내 사랑."
