Chapter 2 Single Moment

Before taking his leave for his stationed post, Ephram promised that he would stop by to visit later once his shift was over and he was officially off duty. Aside from that, Marik also made him promise to not say anything to their mother about what he had caught them doing for “work” which Ephram also agreed to. Even if the soldier’s motives were more rooted in gaining certain favor, Marik was still grateful.

He knew from prior experiences that his sister was probably going to be delayed with her numerous companions, but he was fine with that as well. It gave him time to go out with the money they had collected and-, wait.

Marik felt in his pockets. They were empty.

That’s right, Mackenzie had taken their collection with her before she had left. That was at least better than having it stolen. He knew she had been wanting to save up to buy something new of her own, and he wondered if that’s where she might have gone with her friends.

Whatever the case may be, Marik knew and trusted Mackenzie that she wouldn’t spend too long with her little group. They each knew the other to the point where the other could always guess where the other half was. For him, it would be no different than usual.

For as scenic as Crandon was with its many close-knitted shops and houses, well-kept cobblestone streets, and a variety of cozy inns, there was the scenery that Marik did value just a tad more.

One of the backroads that led into Crandon from the south was a dirt road that led out into sweeping green fields and numerous orchards. Most of this land was designated to farmers whose crops supplied the basic fruits, vegetables, grains, livestock, and corn to the town and subsequent capital city as well. But farms, just as with business, did face competition with each other, all having to keep their eyes and ears trained to what crop would be in high demand for the season.

Because of this, a good number of the smaller farms had to eventually close due to certain demands being too high, or not working with the right soil to properly grow what was needed. Many of their structures still remained standing despite some neighboring farms having bought the land to expand their own.

By taking this old road, Marik wouldn’t encounter any vehicles that were coming in down the newer main roads, and a simple nod of acknowledgment and flash of his citizenship ID to the guard stationed at the booth there would let him pass without any trouble. And there was a very low percentage of being accosted by one of the preachers from the local parish. Even if he and everyone else were technically part of the religion, it didn’t mean he wanted to listen to the same spiel. People had to listen to the same thing being preached for 724 years.

On foot, it was roughly close to three-quarters of an hour's walk to his destination - one of the now-abandoned farms with a semi-faded sigh that once read: Aldan.

The house with its fading white and chipped paint was still standing. Boards had replaced all of the windows on both floors, same with all of the doors along with the cellar so neither he nor Mackenzie knew what it looked like inside. The silo had long since been emptied, but the door there had been left open either by choice or by force. It was the barn, however, that held the most attention to it.

Even after years of exposure, the paint held as strong as could be expected with some semblance of bright red still shining through. The light grey roofing could have definitely used some improvement with the shingles starting to come loose from various storms, but overall remaining a fine testament to the hard work put into making it. And for that, it had become a sort of getaway for the pair of twins over the years. They had to have been no older than twelve when they first stumbled across this place.

It would have been right as their school dismissed them for the summer recess and their mother had decided to take them out to see the country for a little trip. They had passed by this settlement and imagined what it would be like to have their own little place just sort of isolated from everything else. This prompted a return visit with just the two of them to further investigate. After a few more visits that summer, Aldan Farm became their own exclusive hangout.

Sliding the door to the barn open, Marik ducked his head as he unknowingly disrupted a bee that had been perched up on top. He hoped that there wasn’t a hive being constructed somewhere inside. Perhaps he or his sister could use their little gift to burn it before it even began. That was another positive to this place; no one was around to watch them practice.

The inside was about the same as any, complete with empty stables, shelves, a metal floor door that led to an emergency shelter, and a ladder that led to a second landing as well as the roof. It was up there that the two of them had spent most of their time.

Up on the second was where they had often tinkered with a few remaining tools and parts that were left lying around on the ground beneath. Mackenzie had made a doll all her own with two buttons for eyes, a small pouch stuffed with hay for the head and body, fabric from one of her own skirts for the dress, straw for the hair, and she even sewed a wide mouth with some string. She had named her creation Jiselle of Pardia the III.

Marik had always found the thing to be off-putting with its dark eyes and forever wide smile. He didn’t even know if there had been a ruler named Jiselle in that northern island nation. It reminded him of what he had learned in school about the creatures called Chochiks since they were monsters around the same size as an average human despite their appearances and could apparently mimic behavior as well. Although he had never seen one in person, looking at that doll gave him a pretty good impression of the real thing.

Dolls aside, he had been more interested in crafting a makeshift spyglass of sorts from some scrapped metal casings and pieces of glass. Marik had nearly cut his whole finger open on the first attempt, but after several trials and errors managed to get as close to a real one as he could. With it, he would either go to the very top of the barn or the silo and watch for any passersby or even an airship up above.

He knew that there was a large airfield in one of the towns to the south so he would always be on the lookout for any en route to the capital. The sight had always fascinated him as a child, and even now to this day. To be able to go so high up and see all that there was must be one of the most liberating experiences in the world. Marik doubted that even with the money they had made so far in their current activities, or even before back at the butcher shop if they would have enough for even one ticket. Airships were made for luxury travel, but it would make for an exciting occupation.

Even if he couldn’t ride in one as a passenger, he would be able to ride in it as a working crewman, maybe even a pilot. Since Mackenzie expressed a desire to be someone who could travel, he could fly her in their own airship. He peered through the dusty lens to the clear clouds and sky above. The lens was fractured. So was that dream.

It was a grand misfortune that Marik had decided on that path too late. Anyone looking to become an airship pilot would have to first enroll into a university with prior schooling in an engineering trade, one that Marik had never found appealing as a younger youth.

He put his spyglass down next to Jiselle the doll. How stupid he had been.

Close to an hour passed before he heard the familiar sound of the barn door being opened once again. “Anybody home?” he heard her voice.

“Up here,” he yelled down.

Soon enough, the sight of her pale blond hair climbing up the ladder to where he was. His sister tossed up a bag before stepping off herself.

“A camera?” he guessed.

“Maybe if I had used your half, too,” she handed him her coin purse where she had moved the rest of today’s earnings. “But the next best thing isn’t a bad trade.” Curious, Marik peeked inside.

“Ah. Another pair of shoes.” His curiosity was swept aside with a deadpan monotone. “That’s, uh, wow.”

She playfully pouted as she snatched her purchase back. “They were a discounted pair of flats. Perfect for attending balls or parties.”

“How many fancy parties do you actually go to?”

“Well, I’ll be able to go now that I have these,” she easily countered his question.

“You know what, fair point,” he gave it to her. “Maybe with those you can get invited to a Matanian party and find out what’s actually going on over there.”

She gave a shrugging laugh. “Why not? Matania is rumored to be a beautiful country, despite who their leader is.” And that wasn’t untrue.

Matania was rumored to have unique weather patterns along with a captivating sunset. Dark purple clouds fused with a soft pink on a golden backdrop, allegedly. But Matania had a strict closed borders policy when it came to dealing with surrounding countries. They would only open their borders to countries that they had defeated in previous wars. Matania would never colonize or annex those lands, just kill that nation's leader, establish a new one and then leave.

There were plenty of rumors as to that course of action, but nothing had ever been confirmed. Ephram always believed that Matanians just got bored easily, the central government always kept quiet, and their mother just believed their king to be delusional.

“Speaking of which, what’s with this sudden interest in Matania?” Mackenzie intuitively asked. “You were pretty invested in what was being said this morning.” He was glad that she was the one to bring this up.

“I guess it all has to do with that dream I had before I woke up.” He looked over to her. If she wanted to make a comment, she was keeping it to herself. “I just thought that I had a dream about King Kal.”

Mackenzie was nodding her head in simplistic understanding. “And when you say King Kal, do you mean the current one or what?” Marik shook his head.

“I don’t really know, to be honest. I’m pretty sure that he said he would be the king.” What had been so vivid but a few hours ago now seemed a fleeting memory in a distant breeze through an open window. He could not even recall what the person in the dream looked like or if there had been anyone else in that bog of scenery. He really should have told her about this as soon as he was awake.

“Maybe Matania has a usurper on their hands,” she offered an insightful explanation. “Were you seeing this dream through the eyes of this person or just watching from somewhere?”

“I… I guess the latter.”

“You guess?”

“Yeah, I guess.” He rubbed the side of his left eye. “Maybe neither. I don’t really know. It just felt as if… as if I was looking back on something.”

“You mean like recalling a memory of sorts?” she guessed.

“Sort of.” She just nodded, processing what she had been told. He decided to ask, “Have you ever had something like that happen to you?”

“I can’t say that I have,” she answered. “If I did, you’d be the first to know.” It was his turn to nod. “Why’d you ask that?”

“I just figured that it might have had something to do with our little gift. Maybe something more that we just don’t know about.” The look in her eyes transitioned to a more understanding gaze.

“Ah, I see.” She leaned her back against the wall before sliding down to where she could sit. “That is a can of worms that will probably remain closed for the foreseeable future.” And Marik knew that she was right.

Even if they did inherit this gift from their father, they weren’t in a position to ask a ghost about anything.

They had been far too young to even remember him, being no older than two when he had passed. According to their mother, who had been informed by top men in the capital with whom their father had worked, that he had been involved in a fatal accident that ended his life along with the lives of two other co-workers. She hardly spoke of him after that, keeping his last name as a testament of faith and taking up her old job for income.

Their mother wasn’t completely closed off when it came to talking about her late husband, she had still answered basic questions about him when they were younger. For one, there was a seven-year age difference between them; second, his name was Hadrian Kaiser and he worked as a top researcher/biologist at a center within the capital. And third, Marik appeared to take after him in appearance with his snowy white hair, but his eyes were apparently a more realistic hue than what his father’s had been.

And honestly, that had been enough for the two of them to go off for most of their life. Even if they had never really known the man, they still had a decent idea of who he had been. His being absent was nothing more than a tragic accident involving his work, he hadn’t cheated on or walked out on their mother for some selfish desire. Just an accident.

“Any ideas on what it could mean, then?” Marik then asked.

“Maybe don’t drink warm milk before bed,” she suggested. He gave an unapologetic glare. “I’m kidding. But seriously, no, I can’t really say that I do.”

“No, I understand,” he sat down next to her. “Another great mystery in life. And also, warm milk?”

“I remember those fever dreams you used to have,” she reminded him. “You can’t blame me for suggesting that.”

“Oh, and you were much better. You always threw a fuss when you didn’t have your little monster doll by your bedside.”

“First of all, I kicked that habit years ago.”

“Four years isn’t that long.”

“Second,” she continued on, “Jiselle is a precious member of this family and she demands respect.”

“You make such compelling arguments, you know that?” Marik just shook his head.

“My true talent.” She offered up with a simplistic smile. He found himself offering a small smile in return. “Feel a little more at ease now?” she asked. “I know I probably wasn’t much help, but as I said, if I have anything of the sort, I know who I’ll tell.”

“Yeah, I guess a little,” Marik wanted to assure her. “And… thanks.”

“Of course.”

They enjoyed the basic silence for a little while listening to the chirping of birds, the creaking of the wood, waiting for the motorized hum of an airship passing by overhead, or even waiting to see if any howls rang out from the edge of the forest which resided past the overgrown crop field. Marik certainly wasn’t expecting to hear an elusive knock come from down below where the barn door was.

The noise had him perked up in nervous anticipation. Nobody besides them ever visited this place. He inhaled sharply believing for a second that it might even be their mother.

“Hello?” a soft voice called out. “Mackenzie?”

Marik looked over to his sister with incredulous disbelief. She noticed.

“Relax,” she assured him before shouting out to the person below. “We’re up here!”

The sound of feet ascending the ladder greeted his ears and before long, Marik saw a head of mousy-brown hair poking up over the ledge. It was Mackenzie’s friend, Tina Marz.

Tina’s greyish-brown eyes blinked in recognition of the two siblings as she pulled the rest of her shorter frame up to the second floor. She offered an awkwardly shy wave. “Hello.”

Mackenzie got up to greet her. “Hello yourself, Tina. Come on and sit down. You found this place alright?”

“Easily enough,” she gave a polite nod of her head. “I never thought a place like this would appeal to you, though.” Her doey eyes found Marik. “Oh, hello to you, too, Marik.”

He gave a half-wave. “Hey, Tina.” He waited until Mackenzie sat back down before he whispered over to her. “You told her about this?”

She nearly rolled her eyes. “We’re not kids anymore, no real need for the pretend secrecy.” What was pretend about it? He had never told anyone. “Besides, she said she needed help with something and I offered a quiet setting for her to concentrate.”

“Ah, by all means. Tina, welcome to our not-so-secret retreat.” His sister deadpanned boringly at him while Tina mustered a moderate smile.

“Regardless of the circumstance, thank you,” Tina said as she toyed with her side satchel. “I promise to not take too much of your time.” She meandered her way through her satchel to hand something to Mackenzie.

“As thanks. I made it myself… eventually,” Tina confessed. “That saying about the third time being right doesn’t exactly apply to everything.”

His sister accepted the gift in the form of a new bracelet. “Oh, wow. Thank you, Tina. This’ll go well with the shoes.”

“Yeah, for all the balls you’ll never go to,” Marik slyly remarked. She lightly shoved his shoulder.

“Quiet you.” Tina’s brown orbs watched in silent mirth. “Now, why don’t you show me what it is you needed help with.” Nodding, Tina pulled a few sheets of paper and handed them over.

“My father finally got around to purchasing a typer,” Tina said with concealed excitement. “My hand won’t be cramping up anytime soon.”

“Aiming to become an author?” Marik asked the other girl.

“Not exactly, more of a teaching position,” Tina replied while Mackenzie read over the papers. “I wrote this as a required project for an acceptance paper for a university - Huxton if you’ve heard of it.” Mackenzie glanced sideways at him while Marik slowly blinked.

“Yeah,” he sarcastically affirmed. “I might even see you there.” Tina’s eyes shone.

“Truly?” she asked. He stared at her. “Oh.”

“Nevermind,” Marik brushed his sardonic tone aside. “What’d you write about?” Mackenzie passed the first page to him.

“Have a look.”

Accepting the paper, Marik’s eyes found the title and beginning paragraph. “This is what you chose?”

Tina put a stray lock behind her ear. “Well, yes. I figured with the planned festivities in the capital right now, my acceptance rate would be a tad higher.”

“You and about everyone else,” Marik informed, he read a bit more. “Didn’t you get tired of writing about this in school anyway?” Of all the things a girl like Tina could have chosen to write about, she had to pick Wybriks.

They were creatures who first appeared in their world 724 years ago and were one of the causes of their measurement of time. There were four main types of Wybriks but regardless of class, they were all equally monstrous. Chochics, the ones Jiselle reminded him of, were members of the Wybrik family. Nasty beings that are roughly smaller than an average human and were said to skin their victims when they raided farms and homes in the early days of their arrival. It was the fear that barns like this included a bunker door below to hide should any Wybrik come passing by, as well as having an active military presence in towns such as their own.

Even on nearly every road, measurements were taken to ensure they stayed away from human settlements. Marik had passed several on the walk out this way. They were in the form of what looked like street lights, but much taller and lined with sporadic holes and what appeared to be a soundbox at the top. They supposedly released pheromones and sound frequencies that kept the monsters at bay. If they actually worked or not was up for debate, but Marik had never once seen any Wybrik on his trip out this way.

Researchers had been trying for decades to further study Wybriks but were always met with disaster. Their father was no exception.

Marik handed the paper back to Tina.

“It’s pretty accurate with description, but it doesn’t really feel like you wrote it.”

“Huh?” Tina cocked her head. “I used my previous papers for reference and based it off those.”

“Maybe that’s why,” Marik guessed. “Who you were back in school isn’t who you are now. There really isn’t any maturity or emotion in this; just facts.”

Seeing Tina’s dejected look, Mackenzie cut in. “How about tomorrow I stop by your house? I can help you hash out some of those finer details and maybe add a little more of Tina to Tina’s paper.” The switch had been flipped and the bright face was back again.

“That sounds terrific!” Tina nodded. “I’ll let my papa know you’ll be by. Maybe you can convince him to let us try some of that southern wine I know he has saved somewhere.” Mackenzie softly smiled wryly.

“He doesn’t like me that much.”

“I’d disagree.” And with the promise of a future visit, Tina bid the both of them a farewell before making her departure.

Alone again, the two of them enjoyed a comfortable silence before Mackenzie decided to speak. “We should leave too, before sunset. We’d be right on time to look to be getting out of our shift.”

Marik looked out the window at the still sun, the sky only just starting to turn to that bathing cradle of orange. Where had the time gone? He stood up to stretch.

“Yeah, I guess we should.”

Sparing one last look out the window, he saw a pair of birds fly from the treeline of the woods beyond this farm's property. He missed it when he turned his head, but that pair was not alone for long.