Chapter 12 When Darkness Falls


With the sun completely gone, the night falls in rapidly but here on Sogowa, with its twin moons similar to Solbrecht's and no clouds to block their light, it isn't quite dark. In fact it is a very clear night. Arzu's eyes shine in Sheloh and Dimra's light as he looks at me, his arms which had surrounded me moments ago, now resting on his thighs. He smiles, his white teeth glittering. His brown skin almost seems to have a somewhat ghost-like hue in the pale light of the moons. I finally notice how everything around us seems to have changed by the darkness. Colors have faded to tones of gray, sounds like the twittering of birds have been driven to the background while the chirping of various insects seem to have been amplified and as I said before, it was actually a bit chilly this evening.

"We should go home."

Then he just holds up his hand, his large ears twitching, picking up a distinctive sound. The singing of a particular bird. Thanks to his excellent hearing he can almost immediately pinpoint its location, in a tree down lower on the hillside. He points in its direction with a clawed finger, smiling at me.

"It's a Kahya'vi. He's in that tree over there. Do you hear it?"

"Yeah. It has a really nice ring to it."

I love the sound of that bird. It's a somewhat rare species but more common in this region. The very first time I heard its singing was on a beautiful morning and I remember it woke me up in such a pleasant way. I might tell you a bit more about that at a later time. Right now we go back to that same day, after class. We had to talk, so that's what we did.


I remember I walked out of the last class of the day with a feeling of dismay. We had to talk but even though I had the whole day, I still didn't know what to say to him when the moment was there. And that would be in less than an hour. I found it hard to talk to him, about anything. It was as if he tried to pretend that nothing happened. But I couldn't help but notice the visible strain on his face at certain moments when he used his tail. A Mantrin's tail was crucial for keeping balance when walking so it was hard for him to do without it. I could only imagine the pain he must have endured when he walked all the way to my house that evening. I did talk to Clara about what happened. She had heard all kinds of rumors by now and I figured it was better to tell her the truth, the way I experienced it. Not the twisted and turned and sensational version that everyone told each other. As I expected from her, she was much more understanding or at least she tried her best. She had pity on Arzu and I because she knew how much we cared about one another. So it was no surprise that even she agreed with me, that it might be better for both of us, if our ways parted, at least temporarily.

After the ringing of the bell I mingled into the outgoing stream formed by my classmates. Arzu looked over his shoulder trying to find me but the space between us was somewhat blocked by the muscular torso of, among others, Kairu. Due to their size, the shape of their legs and the balancing tail it was impossible to walk close behind a Mantrin. They needed space when walking but the outgoing motion automatically drove everyone caught into it outside so I assumed he would wait for me there. I walked next to Clara, keeping just enough distance from the tip of Kairu's tail not to get hit by its sweeping movements. Noticing the gloomy look on my face, she flung her arm around my shoulder, rubbing lightly. I appreciated the gesture so I forced myself to smile a little. Outside the classroom, the corridor filled up quickly, so much in fact that I seemed to have lost track of Arzu. Although the school had been built to perfectly match his species' profile and therefore practically every other, it was wide enough for two or three Mantrins to pass each other without contact. But still, standing still would make him a big obstacle for everyone trying to make their way to the locker area and out of the building. On our way down, Clara, being the good friend that she was, tried to lighten my mood a bit.

"Hey, at least you share the same classroom. Why don't you just... I dunno, take it easy for a little while? You don't have to break up with him right away."

I took a slight breath. Technically she was right. We didn't have to break up and I didn't want to. But I had to hear it from him too. And I wanted him to be honest.

"You may be right," I answered, watching the steps of the person walking in front of me.

"Then we can spend some time together again. I don't wanna sound jealous but when was the last time we did something together, just the two of us?"

I had to admit that Clara was right about that. Ever since things were on between Arzu and me, I think I never left him out of anything. I always insisted that we'd do something that Arzu liked too. I'm pretty sure it wasn't her intention to make me feel guilty but when she said that, I felt like I might have neglected the girl who had been my best friend since kindergarten more than just a little.

"I'm sorry."

She immediately shook her head, throwing her long hair back over her shoulder.

"No, it's okay. You were in love. And you still are." She sure was right about that. We had almost reached the locker area and as I aimed for mine, Clara followed me. "But what do you say? Shall we have one of those girls night outs again tonight, like we used to have more often?" That actually didn't sound bad at all to me and I figured it would help me take my mind off things. But I was also running way behind on studying as I hadn't been able to concentrate on schoolwork the past weekend. As much as I wanted to accept her offer, I had to decline. I also promised and more or less insisted to have that talk with Arzu this afternoon so I needed the evening if I wanted to get anything done today. "I understand," Clara said, a bit disappointedly. "How about tomorrow?"

I smiled.

"Tomorrow then. Promise."

"Pinky swear?"

That one made me laugh and she laughed with me. It's a long story but it was also a long time ago since either of us mentioned it.

"That's like so old!" We were just little kids back then. We used to do it all the time when making each other promises. And we also said that if either of us broke our promise, a big grumpy Mantrin would come and eat our pinkies. And so it came that neither of us ever broke a pinky promise. Of course we stopped doing that as we got older so it was kind of funny to be reminded of that habit so unexpectedly. "When was the last time we did that?"

"I dunno. Kinda stupid."

"It's a pinky swear nonetheless," I said firmly, holding up my hand with the pink extended.

And so she wrapped hers around mine and pulled lightly, solidifying our promise. Something happened between me and that girl. I think our friendship grew a tad stronger once again. Clara has always been there for me for support in difficult times. I trusted her. She was my friend and always would be. She had already spotted his approach from the corner of her eye but Arzu wasn't the one to bust in. He waited patiently at a small distance until we finished our conversation.

"He's waiting for you again." She smiled lightly. "Keep your head up, Rachel. You'll find a way. And if you wanna talk, you can always call me. Okay?"

"Sure," I said with a nod.

"Hey, see ya. I look forward to tomorrow."

She lightly touched my shoulder before going to grab her stuff. I watched her go, disappear into the sea of students from all kinds of different species and races, thinking our friendship would probably last forever. Turning around to grab my own stuff from my locker, I noticed Arzu had come closer, standing at a small distance from me. Instead of the usual glittering smile, the look on his face was serious but not sad in any way.

"So eh, you still wanna talk to me over the phone?"

As much as I wanted to say no and walk off again with him to that special spot of his, I couldn't ignore the promise I made my parents. Talking over the phone would feel like I had already taken my distance from him. I rather would've talked to him in person. But if they saw us together again on the streets, we could run into a lot more problems for both of us. It was still so fresh and the conservative Mantrins were still a threat.

"Don't think this changes anything between us, Arzu. But, I made my parents a promise to come home right after school. I really want to talk to you. But, it might be better if nobody sees us together on the street for a little while. Just until the danger has passed."

It took a moment for him to respond. He seemed disappointed and I understood that. But he had to think of his own safety too. We couldn't risk a repetition of what happened. I had no trouble imagining that next time they would kill him for sure.

"I understand."

Looking down he balanced on his toes and wriggled his right foot, his claws making a slight scratching sound on the floor.

"Don't worry, it's nothing bad. But I need to talk to you. Please?"

"Of course, Rachel."

He looked at me in that loving and hard to resist way. For a brief second I didn't care of someone saw it. I stepped up to him and briefly hugged him around his waist, resisting the urge to let go. He barely had time to wrap his arm around me. When letting go I gave his right upper arm a last rub.

"Sorry, I have to go. Call me when you get home."

Opening my locker I quickly shoved what I needed in my bag and slammed the door shut.

"I will."


So I walked home alone that day, right after school, without making any detours or meeting with someone. I had asked my parents if Arzu could come with me so we could have that talk at my house but they even considered that too dangerous. What if someone follows you? Then they also know where we live. They were right about that. Niryn and Reyzan could be in danger too if they found out about the location of their house. So even that wasn't an option. When I got home my mom was glad I had kept my promise. My dad was still at work but she even sent him a message that I had come home safely, just to make him feel at ease. I was glad my parents still did their best to understand what I felt for him. I wasn't disallowed to have contact with him after school. So when Arzu called, my mom granted me some privacy as I went to my room, sat down on the bed, holding Arzu in my hands. He didn't have a phone in his room so I noticed he just stood in the living room, at a slight distance from the camera, so I could see his torso to just below his chest. I was glad these modern technologies also allowed us to see each other. That at least made it feel a bit more personal.

"My dad's at work too and I asked my mom if we could talk alone so she's upstairs," he said, scratching the back of his neck with a claw.

"It's okay. I have nothing to hide from your mom." I took a breath, in my head still trying to come up with ways to say what I wanted to tell him. "Arzu? Before we begin, I already told you that nothing's changed. I love you. I care about you. But I don't want anything to happen to you."

I could read off his face that he was a little touched by my words. He looked everywhere but directly at me for a moment but when he did focus his attention back to me he still smiled.

"I know."

"I... I think it might be better for both of us if we take things easy for just a little while. I-It's not a breakup. On the contrary. It's to protect us. You and me. What happened before the weekend must never happen again."

"I eh, I guess I gave your parents quite a scare."

"Yes... yes you did."

I can still project those injuries on him right now. All that blood on his torn clothes. The way he held his broken arm. The sound of his crying. I wish I could erase that somehow. But it would remind me never to let that happen to him again.

"So, what do you propose?" I sighed. Effectively it was painfully similar to a breakup. It meant that we couldn't do anything together anymore. No more dating. No more doing things together after school. Not showing any sign of love toward each other. At least for a while, just to be sure. So that's what I told him, in a way that made it sound as less painful as possible. We would still see each other at school. We could still call each other like this. Only direct contact in public was too great a risk. "If you think that's best, it's okay. You may be right."

"Thanks, Arzu. I really don't want to but-"

"It's okay. Don't be sad. My mom would say: It's gonna be all right. It'll wear off." He snorted. "These demonstrations usually don't last long."

I nodded, hoping, praying that he was right. Then all the fear and anxiety would finally be driven away and the peace and quiet that characterized our town would return. The streets of Myr'uya had never felt so unsafe before.

"I just don't understand. Why do they hate humans so much? What did we ever do to them?"

Of course we had learned about the birth of the Solbrecht colony in history class. It was only logical that the arrival of the first human colonists was met by anxiety and perhaps even a hint of fear. Of course the native Solbrechtians had been developing their technology and gradually started interacting with other races, but humans were the first aliens to actually settle on the planet. That was roughly three-hundred years ago and the colony had been nothing but a research outpost for a long time. But Solbrecht proved to be more than just suitable for human life. It was like a second Earth. An early, nearly untouched version of Earth as its largest group of inhabitants had little interest in technology and the planet's original inhabitants sparsely populated the remaining areas. And so, after a negotiating for a long time, the first group of permanent settlers arrived from Earth, looking for a new home far away from their own dying world. It was only the beginning. With its abundance of natural resources which the Solbrechtians were slowly beginning to exploit in search for a stronger position in the galactic trade organization, Solbrecht became a much brighter dot on star maps. But that wasn't the only reason for the many cultures that followed after the human settlers which steadily grew in numbers. Solbrecht was simply a beautiful world to start a new life on and with the advanced technology that other cultures such as ours brought to their world, life became much easier as the members of its native cultures began to realize. Mantrins started leaving their simple lives, seeking a modern existence with everyone else on their planet. From that moment on, as the more conservatives members of their kind saw how everything changed, how their culture was 'contaminated' as they called it, opposition against us increased and abrasiveness on both sides grew to the level on which it currently hovered, a little too high for comfort perhaps. Arzu shook his head, ears lightly flapping.

"It's not what you did to them. They're angry because your technology will hurt the planet. Sometimes it does. That's why I consider my dad's work so important." He paused for a moment. I felt there was more. "The more conservative members of my kind don't like yours because they watch their own people enjoy the trappings of your lifestyle while abandoning their heritage, leaving their culture for what it is. And they resent your way of life. The way of life some of us lead too now, like me." He sighed. "Some people have no respect for life or for our world or even for us." I think the expression on my face changed. Those were harsh words. He didn't sound angry but his voice carried a firm undertone and his statements were clear. But I had to admit, he was right about some things. Even about some of us having no respect for life. His people always had such a harmonious relationship with the world around them. They just couldn't watch others do anything that might damage it. Arzu seemed to notice my averted gaze so he apologized. "Sorry for that outburst. I-I never meant you. You're even more like us than you might think."

"It's okay, Arzu. I knew you didn't mean me by that." He had stepped a little closer to the camera thereby adding even more strength to his apology. Right now part of his ears were missing from the picture and I could only see the top of his shoulders. He had a somewhat guilty look on his face. "I just wish... that there was a way so we could be together." He opened his mouth to speak, as if he suddenly remembered something but then he closed it in a dismissive gesture. I watched him think for a moment, his eyes directed at something beneath the phone that I couldn't see. "What's wrong?"

I had leaned a little closer to my phone in the meantime. I felt strange. It just hit me. Did he think if something that I never even thought off?

"Nothing. It's... I've been thinking, a lot. I wanted to tell you earlier today but I was not sure if you'd want that, especially after you told me you wanted to take it easy."

I could feel my heartbeat rising. My hands were shaking a little. This had to be that thing I was looking for.

"What is it?"

"It's not the best idea but... we could... I have family on Sogowa. We could... go there." I remember not being able to say something for a little while. In my mind I considered the radical change in direction my life would take. It would mean that I had to leave everything I ever knew behind. I would find myself in the exact same position as my parents when they left Earth, with one difference. I would be living among very few of my own kind. But before I could say anything, Arzu disagreed with his own proposal. "No. I can't do that. I can't take you away from your parents."

"I'll think about it."

He shook his head.

"That's not up to me. I-"

Pain suddenly drew lines on his face as he bit his teeth, his eyes squinting. Taking a few short breaths he looked over his shoulder.

"Arzu, what's wrong?"

He stepped back from the camera a little. I couldn't see what he was doing but I could make a pretty good guess. I noticed how it had bothered him a little during the course of the day but it didn't look that bad.

"It's my tail. The pain. It's getting worse. I think it's swollen again. I might have to get back to the hospital."

"Then go. We can talk again later."

"Have to wait for my dad to get back home. It won't be long. Just need to keep it still a little."

"Maybe you mom can make something for the pain."

"I'll ask her."

He could at least put some ice on it to keep the swelling under control. Solbrecht also had plenty of indigenous plants with natural healing abilities. It were the only forms of medication the tribes had for example.

"I'll think about what you said."

He shook his head again.

"Please Rachel, forget I said that. You belong here with your parents, not with me."

"But I wanna be with you."

Maybe I didn't realize I was making it more difficult for him too. I could tell that all he wanted was for me to be happy. But I knew that he was aware that my happiest moments were with him. Not sure what to say to me, he grabbed the right side of his head and carefully scratched behind the base of his ear. He gasped slightly, his upper lip curling, revealing clenched teeth.

"Arzu, is everything all right?" sounded Niryn's concerned voice in the background.

Arzu looked to his right at his mother who I assumed entered the living room. He mildly shook his head.

"It's my tail again. When dad gets home, we better go back."

"Oh dear."

He looked at me again, the pain now clearly showing on his face.

"Sorry Rachel. I better sit down. You'll see me again soon."

"You do that. Take care. Call me again tonight. Please?" He nodded, a bit hesitantly but it was an unspoken promise nonetheless. "Okay. Bye."

"Bye."

With those words I watched as he slowly turned around and lowered himself to the floor where the sitting area of their living room was. I could only briefly see the tips of his long ears and Niryn's back as she moved to help her son. He hadn't broken the connection though so after making sure he was at least a little more comfortable, she turned around and walked toward the phone. She smiled faintly and her copper-colored eyes still had that friendly twinkle.

"Hello dear. How are you? I'm sorry, he's still recovering a bit from what happened."

"It's fine. He needs a little rest. It's better for him."

She nodded.

"I already called his father. Reyzan will come home a little earlier to take him to the hospital." She looked over her shoulder, flicking an ear. "He'll be okay." She sighed, her ears which were fairly large hanging down a bit. "I'm so sorry about what happened. I can hardly believe it myself. Attacking a boy his age just for following his hearts."

"I still love him."

She smiled again, a little wider this time. Niryn and Reyzan had never given me any signs that they didn't want their son to be in love with a human girl, not even now. They were even more tolerant and understanding than my own parents. I even joked to myself that the reason for that was because Mantrins had two hearts instead of one. But I had experienced firsthand that those two hearts could be cold and ruthless just as much as they could be loving and caring. Arzu and his parents had nothing of the first two and all of the latter, I was more than convinced of that.

"Of course you do. Nothing will break that special bond that you have." She looked over her shoulder again. "I better hang up, Rachel. Gonna put some ice on that tail until his father gets here. It's really starting to look swollen again."

"Okay, bye."

"Please greet your parents for Reyzan and me."

"I will, thanks."

She briefly stuck up her hand as a goodbye before ending the call. My parents would appreciate the gesture. In my thoughts however I wasn't busy so much with Niryn's words. I was occupied by what he said to me last. I had practically sworn to myself I'd find a way for us to be together. And now he had offered it. It turned out it was actually better that we both went home with the bad condition his tail was in. However I wondered if had told me the same thing had we gone back to that wonderful spot in the forest of his. Then we would've been talking face-to-face. I was thinking very hard about what he said. What it would mean. What it required me to do. I had to leave my life on Solbrecht behind. Probably had to say goodbye to my parents, my friends, Clara. I could finish high school first but if I wanted to become a doctor I would have to find an institute on Sogowa or give up on it. We would have to find a way to make a living and that would be easier for him than for me. But the thing was that despite all that and the difficulties we would have to conquer, I seriously began to consider it. A choice had to be made and although I couldn't know at that moment, the moment of choosing would be upon me much sooner than I expected.

The rest of that afternoon I finally managed to catch up with all the schoolwork that had to be done and absorbed into my somewhat troubled mind. I knew that Arzu would be all right and that I might have found what I had been looking for all that time so that allowed me to concentrate. The holo-pad that had replaced paper books long before I was born was practically all we needed, for the devices had all the study materials loaded on them, connection to the internet and the school's library and they were capable of various display modes to project information in three-dimensional ways for an interactive learning experience. The subject of study however could still be boring and though I considered my interests fairly broad, nothing about the way the information was presented could change that. However I was still lying on my belly on my bed, focused on my English homework when my mom called that dinner was ready.

"Coming!" Turning the device off I jumped up from my bed to answer not only my mom's call but also of my growling stomach. My dad worked a little late that day but my mom and I agreed to wait for him. I had to study anyways. It didn't matter if I did that before or after dinner. I did expect them to start asking questions during the meal though but unexpectedly those failed to materialize. My mother hadn't asked anything when I came home from school. She was just glad I kept my promise. Instead, the questions came later that evening, when I came downstairs to get something to drink after a long day of studying hard. They were both glad to see me dive back into it after the events of the past few days. I think it was my mom who asked me if I had talked to Arzu that day. Of course I had told them that Niryn and Reyzan said hi and that Arzu was all right. It was only now that they asked if we had that talk. "Yeah," I said, sitting down on the couch, nipping from a cold drink before putting the glass on the table. "Yeah, we talked."

My dad looked at me. I could see in his eyes that he tried to understand what I was going through and that he didn't want this for me either. But he still had to ask.

"So what did you tell him?" For a split second I thought about making up a lie but quickly dismissed it. They would see right through it. And why would I lie? They had gone through all the trouble in trying to understand what I felt for him and they had even grown fond of him after finally meeting their possible son-in-law. They never wanted it to end this way either. So I just told them what I proposed. To create a bit of a safe distance between us until things had calmed down. With that my parents agreed. We were beginning to get old and wise enough to make our own decisions, determine a logical course of action. See for ourselves that even worse things could happen if we didn't. "I think that's the best you can do for now," my dad said, not really looking at me.

Instead he suddenly seemed to have more eye for what happened on TV just like my mom. I hadn't been paying much attention to it but when I turned to look, I think my heart skipped a beat. I had a flashback to that one evening at Arzu's house. That evening that turned everything upside down. And right now, the same fear caught me in its grip. They were back and this time it weren't just demonstrations anymore. A human and a Mantrin news anchor delivered the commentary and both were just as shocked by the live images filmed from the air by camera drone. No reporter would risk his or her live to capture images of the situation unfolding in our town at that moment. They had brought their weapons, stones and even burning torches to wreak havoc on the streets. It was terrifying. The camera zoomed in on particular group of five who were wrecking a parked car with just the strength of their bodies. Zooming back out again, a few others at the other side of the street were throwing in windows of residences and they had even tossed a torch into a front garden, starting a fire. Mostly humans lived in that particular street. As it turned out, the horrible events that took place in Oh'nurhi were about to repeat itself right here on our doorstep. For a second my parents froze as they watched the horror unfold. Then my dad jumped up, sprinting toward the hallway.

"Lock the doors! Keep away from the windows on the street side." Just then a terrible noise came from the kitchen area as an object crashed through the window, sending a shower of tinkling broken glass over the stone floor. I thought I even saw the pulsating yellow glow of a fire coming from somewhere across the street. I heard yelling in Saerinian and people screaming in fear. My mom screamed but my breath caught right in my throat. My heart was beating like crazy. I was that scared again. It was that close. "I think they set the house of our neighbors across the street on fire," my dad said, storming back in. My mom started crying. I didn't know what to do. But my dad was outraged. "That's the last straw. I don't wanna go through this anymore. We're leaving. We're gonna go back to Earth."

I was about to question myself if I had heard that right. But there was just no way I could have misheard it. Going back to Earth? I couldn't believe it. After all those years my parents had lived on Solbrecht, they were just going to leave everything behind again? For an uproar? To be honest this had to be the worst one I had ever experienced but still. Everything would be shattered. I would never see my friends again. Never see Arzu again. It would rip us apart for good.

"No! We can't do that!"

"Rachel, I'm sorry. But I don't think we'll have the luxury of choice anymore soon. At the rate things are going lately, I don't think humans will be living on Solbrecht for much longer. We'll find someplace else to live. Maybe on one of the other colonies. Get some stuff together. They might set fire to our house too. I'm gonna go get a couple of suitcases."

He walked out of the living room and dashed up the stairs. In the meantime I had stood up. Outside the riot had only just started. Subconsciously I had already made my decision. If my parents were leaving then they were not taking me with them. Within seconds I was ready to act on it. Nothing else mattered to me anymore.

"Where're you going?" my mom asked, her face wet from the tears.

"I'm sorry mom. I'm leaving with Arzu. We'll see each other again. Don't worry."

"Rachel, no!"

I heard her yelling for my dad upstairs as I ran into the hallway, almost threw myself against the front door and unlocked it. Yanking it open, I ran out, unprepared for our once so peaceful street that seemed to have turned into hell itself.