October 19th, 2015

“You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep rereading the last one.” -unknown

Rebekah sauntered into the coffee shop on a bright Wednesday morning and got in line for her daily donut and latte. She had awoken this morning feeling better than she had in awhile. Lately, she had become more and more numb to everything, spending far too much time moping over the past, but today was different. Today was going okay, so far. She had a few errands she had to run, but other than that, she was determined to enjoy this sunny day.

She picked up her coffee, after having to send it back for the barista to add the caramel she had specifically asked for. Rebekah pulled a five dollar bill out of her wallet and handed it to the barista. She thanked them for their insolence, turned away dramatically, and strode in the direction of the tables. Rebekah always sat next to the windows with the great view. However, today there was someone in her seat. She furrowed her brows and prepared to defend her territory. As she got closer she noticed it was a young, red-headed girl. The girl had her legs crossed under the table and was twirling her finger around her coffee cup as she read a book.

Making eye contact, Rebekah smiled cheekily and walked towards her. The mystery girl had bright red hair and the most compelling face with glowing, green eyes to match. There were layer after layer of adorable freckles sprinkled over her face. Not to mention her marvelous body that could be envisioned from under her tight, black t-shirt that read “Nobody Knows I’m a Lesbian” in large font. Rebekah held in her laughter and continued to admire the girl’s attire. She was wearing dark skinny-jeans that Rebekah could almost guarantee accentuated her butt nicely. She had a thin, silver band with a small ruby placed in the middle around her wrist. To top it all off, she was wearing a leather jacket that gave her a kind of edge. Rebekah approached the other female and stood at the opposite side of the table.

“Hey, how’s it going?” she asked. The redheaded girl jumped slightly and looked up from her book. Blushing softly, she smiled at Rebekah.

“H-hi,” she said shyly, closing her book and shifting in her seat.

“Mind if I sit with you? You see, I am all alone this morning and I feel the need for some company.” Rebekah grinned at the adorable girl sitting in front of her. The girl’s face reddened, hinting that she wasn’t much for social interactions.

“That seat is empty,” she said, nodding to the chair across from her. She had a soft voice, probably an alto range. Rebekah sat down gracefully, crossing her cheetah print clad legs, and sipping her coffee delicately. Taking in the young girl’s appearance, she cocked her head.

“What’s your name?” Rebekah asked as the girl continued to play with her coffee cup rim.

“Amira,” she replied plainly. “And yours?”

“Rebekah, but some call me Winnie.” She grinned lazily and continued to sip her coffee.

“Why do people call you Winnie if your name is Rebekah?” Amira said looking disgusted towards her coffee. Rebekah chuckled.

“My last name is Bronwyn, so people have just taken to calling me that as a nickname, I suppose.” She paused and raised her perfectly arched eyebrows mischievously. “Do you have any nicknames I should know about?”

“Nope, just Amira. It sounds like a-mirror, but, uh, I promise that’s not what it means.” She looked to the window out of embarrassment. She couldn’t believe that just came out of her mouth. It wasn’t often that someone actually spoke to her and here she was exposing her obvious social ineptness. Rebekah closed her eyes, shook her head, and giggled at the girl’s innocent response.

“Well, it’s a lovely name. Amira . I quite like it. I don’t know that I’ve heard a name like that before,” Rebekah said, surprised. She continued to drink her coffee and ignore the hustle and bustle of the coffee shop around them.

Amira glanced at the girl in front of her. She had long black hair that flowed gracefully and smooth olive skin that glowed in the sunlight. Her eyes were bright blue and her lashes were long and thick. There wasn’t anything about her that Amira didn’t find attractive, but she knew she couldn’t trust just anyone. It had been years since she was with someone serious. She had no intentions of changing that. At least not while she is being hunted.

Amira couldn’t endanger others especially an innocent person like Rebekah. She didn’t know much about the people who were hunting her, but she knew enough that she didn’t want anyone else to have their life on the line. Her thoughts were shook when Rebekah asked her another question.

“I am just positive that I would remember someone like you, did you just move here?” she asked intriguingly placing her perfectly manicured hand under her own chin. Amira shifted her weight in the chair and uncrossed her legs.

“I’ve been checking out all of the little shops around town one at a time. I finally made it to this one. I just moved here not too long ago.” Amira looked from Rebekah to her full cup of coffee.

She didn’t feel the need to share that she had just moved here because she was hunted down and out of her old town. Hunters have been after her family for as long as she could remember. She can still recall the old “bedtime” stories that her mother would tell her as a child. They always talked about the dangerous men who killed innocent fox for sport and pleasure. It wasn’t until she was 13 that she realized she was the metaphorical fox, and she was being hunted.

Amira looked up and left her entrancing thoughts. Rebekah nodded her head in acknowledgement. She had spent a lot of time recuperating here, sometimes with Marcus. She had needed him in her life more and more these days. She felt lonely without him. Thankfully, he was more than willing to help her through these difficult years, even if she wasn’t able to be completely honest with him about everything. Rebekah wrinkled her nose in thought.

“Where did you move from?” Amira looked around uncomfortably. She wasn’t sure if she should tell the truth or not. So instead, she lied.

“I’m from Iowa,” she said. Rebekah could sense the hesitation in Amira’s voice. She had always been good at reading people. It was something one picked up on the older they got. She wasn’t telling her everything and was clearly uncomfortable talking about the topic. Rebekah understood and decided not to push.

“I’ve been there before with a friend of mine. We had a fabulous time. So how are you liking it here in New York? Do you like the big city?” she said. Relieved that Rebekah apparently bought her lie, Amira pretended like she knew what she was talking about.

“Yeah. It was a great place. As for New York; it’s nice as long as you overlook the rude strangers on the street, people who are constantly stealing your taxis, and all of the exhaust fumes,” Amira chuckled to herself.

“Maybe you just haven’t met the right people or been to the right places yet,” Rebekah hummed. She couldn’t help but flirt with the girl. Her recent weakness was red headed women. They had such passion and fire both in life and in bed. She hadn’t thought about settling down since Daniel. She took that relationship as a sign of failure and the need to be alone. She knew that her attitude had changed over the years, but she didn’t care. She used to be shy and conservative, now she was blunt and flirted with whomever crossed her path. She didn’t look for relationships as much as she did distractions.

Amira’s pale face quickly turned scarlet when she, once again, took in how beautiful Rebekah was. She couldn’t be a hunter, right? The thought was mildly troubling. Amira couldn’t trust very easily considering her circumstances. She looked at Rebekah and decided she should wait to risk it.

“Yeah, you’re right. I probably haven’t. So what about you? Where are you from?” she said trying to keep the conversation going to learn more about the other.

“I was born in Norway, but I like to think I am from everywhere and nowhere all at once.” Rebekah went to sip her coffee, only to realize that both her coffee and donut were gone. She strutted over to the trash container closest to them and threw away her empty cup along with the dirty napkin.

“Do you not like coffee?” Rebekah asked as she sat back down on the white, wiry chair with grace. Amira looked down at her full cup, and then back at Rebekah.

“No, not really. They just threaten to kick me out if I don’t buy something.” Rebekah felt a sense of Mystic in this girl. She wasn’t completely sure, but something seemed special about her. What if Amira wasn’t a human? What if she was a warlock or something else completely?

“So how old are you? You look young enough to be in high school,” Rebekah said.

”Yeah. I kind of skipped today; didn’t feel like going. Oh, and uh, I turned 18 in July. And you?” Amira looked around.

“Oh, a summer baby, hm? Well, I’m twenty,” Rebekah said. “Why’d you skip? If you don’t mind my asking.” She gave a questioning look. Maybe Amira was a human. Or a really talented actress. It wasn’t as if Rebekah hadn’t been fooled before, but she was more aware of the deceit around her now. She’d not let herself be made a fool of again, but she couldn’t exactly come out and ask the girl if she was human or not.

“I just decided I wasn’t in the mood,” Amira replied simply. Her short answer implied there was much more that the girl wasn’t telling her.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to pry. I guess you’re just extremely interesting; you intrigue me,” Rebekah said. It was true, even though she started the encounter just looking for a hookup, this girl somehow fascinated her and Rebekah became interested in getting to know her.

Amira smiled softly and looked up at the other before her. This woman was making it hard not to flirt with her. At the same time, she was making it way too easy. Amira wasn’t that confident in her relationships or her judgement, but she felt that Rebekah had ulterior motives than just being friendly.

“It’s okay. ” She trailed off and paused. “Sorry that I don’t ask many questions myself. I’m not a very talkative person.”

“Oh, I’ve noticed.” Rebekah smiled, a little confused, at the endearing girl sitting with her. It had been a long time since anyone had made Rebekah feel like this. That wasn’t to say this was destiny, meeting Amira, or them to suddenly be in love, or anything irrational like that. She didn’t believe in destiny. Not anymore. That naivety had been stripped from her core along with her heart. For a long time, she refused to even think of being romantic, she merely thought about physical attractions and how someone performed in bed. She hadn’t wanted anything else. Rather she believed she truly didn’t deserve anything else, anything real. Maybe she believed it just didn’t exist.

Amira noticed something was different about this woman. She had this need to get to know her, yet she felt so cautious. Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a familiar burning sensation creeping up her arms. She felt dizzy as she looked down and closed her eyes. She tried to tame her abilities, but knew it was no use. Her powers were starting to flare up and she wasn’t experienced enough to control them.

“I’ll, uh, be right back. Too much coffee,” Amira rambled as she got up out of the chair, awkwardly kicking it in the process. Amira ran to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. Her face was flushed and she was starting to sweat. Flames were flickering from her fingertips. She took a deep breath and ran into an open stall. She slammed the door shut and locked it. Sitting on the toilet seat, she hoped that it would all just go away.

Amira took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. The burning sensations started to subside as she repeated to herself, “I am more than the flame that is within.” It was an old saying her mother used to help her calm down. Once her body came back to equilibrium she sighed and opened the stall door. Her forehead was covered in sweat and she felt nauseous. She walked to the white sink and began to wash her hands and face. She couldn’t go back out there looking like this. Splashing water on her face, she stood up and looked at her reflection in the mirror.

She jumped and the color in her face faded instantly. There was a group of four men standing behind her. They were dressed in an all black; black cloaks, black masks, black gloves, and a black suit underneath. The men were nothing if not terrifying. Every feature of their body was covered. They set off an unfriendly vibe that frightened Amira. The room had dropped 10 degrees and she felt the urge to scream. Her body froze in place as black smoke clouded around her. She had never been this close to the hunters, let alone did she think they would actually find her.

“Luciole..” one of the men spoke in a language she didn’t recognize as English. His voice was deep and rough. It sent shivers down her spine. Before she could question anything, her world went black and the air was filled with her screams.

Rebekah was sitting at the table awkwardly tapping her nails. She wasn’t sure what was taking Amira so long, she debated leaving. As soon as the thought crossed her mind, it was replaced with an ear-shattering scream coming from the bathroom. Her heart stopped and she shot her eyes towards the bathroom door. She jumped out of her seat and stormed into the restroom. There was nothing but a sulfuric scent and the faint cloud of black fog. Rebekah felt her stomach drop and her body fill with rage. She wasn’t sure if she was angry or terrified, possibly both. She pushed passed the crowd of nosy people and ran back to the table. She grabbed her things and raced out the door; a loud ‘ding’ signaling her departure.