Venus in Real Life

11. Train station stories

Hugh was pissed, but more than that, he was hurting so much that he could not handle it anymore. He wanted desperately to punch or be punched until he couldn't stand up. He walked fast, hitting whatever he had in front. That was the reason he didn't want to care about anyone. The pain was too much for him to handle, that was why so many times he'd chose the girl to whom he would safely and definitely won't feel anything for, but now, who was Venus to him? Did the dreams had anything real? He didn't know their dreams were connected. Actually, the only person who knew about it had chosen not to say anything to the others until she had something definite to tell them.

Mei had run behind him, but still, when she came to the street, he was nowhere to be seen. There was a place where they could be if they needed time alone, but where the other could always find them if need be, it was the small park by the train station. They both loved train watching, getting lost in all the stories that happened to people that were boarding. They liked to imagine many stories, some happy, some sad, some very normal. In the end, there was always this fictional person that had a story just like them. Many times when Mei was not at her best, he found her, sat with her, and started talking about the people in his mind, and then it was her turn. It was their way to let go, without directly telling each other how broken they felt, or why they felt like that. It had been long since the last time they had to look for one another, but this time, Mei was pretty sure she'll find him there. It was dark already, and he was seated on their traditional bench. Waiting for the train to arrive, listening intently for the machine pushing the sound in small strokes of smoke and strength. The whistle echoed in the distance, originating the rumor of some feet that echoed in the closed space in front of the stop.

The train rails curved about a mile before this stop, and on that curve, the town's people had lowered the land level to build their town, so the rails and the station were about four feet over the park. Sitting on their bench, they couldn't see the people moving up there. They could hear, some rushing, some slowly walking, tired, or peacefully approaching the space behind the yellow security line, but they didn't have to see them, they didn't even need the real people for that, only the train, and there was one approaching right then. Hugh hadn't noticed Mei yet, but as the train got louder, she got closer. It was even fun to see him jump as the train came to a halt and she was standing beside him and started talking.

"There is a lady, she has red hair and a long, light brown coat. She's wearing a funny red hat and is probably around forty years old. She has a small chihuahua dog in her arms, and it is so scared of trains that he peed on her coat," Hugh's face finally broke a light smile, and she took it as an invitation to sit with him.

"There is a guy, about five feet tall, and wears a black suit with a white shirt. He's rushing to get to the train, but the ticket machine gets stuck right when it's giving him the ticket. While he fights the machine, the train whistle blows, announcing it's leaving. He decides to buy his ticket on the train and runs towards it. When he gets to the security line, the train started moving and caught moderate speed, that at the end, blew a black, small toupee that previously was in his head. The hairpiece fell on the rails as the last few sets of wheels ran over it. He sighs frustrated while hearing the machine behind him, making a sound that his ticket is ready as it says, "Thank you," in a mechanical voice." Hugh said, moving to the edge of the bench, elbows on his knees, and fidgeting his fingers. Mei knew this was not good. He only said those kinds of stories when he felt frustrated and useless, and she was sure that fitted the situation, though it was not true.

"There is a guy, tall, tanned, dark hair." She pauses as he turns to see her. He knows she's talking about him and is not sure if this will be a joke, or if he should stop her before she continues. "He wears glasses. He has his ticket already and is waiting for the train, but then a strong wind blows his ticket, and it stops on the floor a couple feet away. In his effort to catch it before it's blown again, his glasses fell, and he's looking for them with his blurry vision. Then he hears a voice that seems to be addressing him. "I think I have them. Your glasses?" He turns and says thank you, and when he puts the glasses on, he finds a girl with very green and deep eyes, slightly shorter than him, smiling widely, as he can't avoid smiling back at her."

Hugh was still looking at his friend. "I should have stopped her," he thought. An unconscious sigh stole his breath for a second. He laid back on the bench and looked up to the dark sky full of stars. It was absurd to believe what had happened just about three nights ago, and yet, there he was, telling train stories once again, like every time he, or his friend, were broken. He carefully thought for a second and then started.

"There's a guy, tall, handsome, successful," he laughed as his joked depiction of himself, "And this guy has never felt any deep emotion for a girl. He did for his family and for his very few friends, but never for a girl. He never thought he was ready. Hugh never wanted to suffer, so he buried his heart deep inside of him. One day he saw the most beautiful girl in the world and got very scared, but, as he was partly responsible for her, he couldn't stop seeing her or avoid falling for her. She was so fragile, so sweet, and shy that for the first time in his life, he was more afraid of hurting her than he was to be hurt himself. That's why he determined not to have any kind of romantic relationship with her, but one day that girl got sick." Tears started rolling the guy's cheeks, and in part, he didn't care much. He held his feelings for so long that he needed a release immediately. The other part of him, his pride, hoped it was dark enough for his best friend not to notice the tears. "He had been by her side for as long as he could, but Hugh wasn't able to do anything to help her, just see how their friends do their best and drain themselves while he can only watch." They both fell silent for a while. He breathed deeply in his pain as he finally accepted. He was deeper into Venus than he wanted to recognize. Mei patted his shoulder as he looked at the concrete under his feet.

"You know, you do good to her. I've been there when you're not. Her fever goes away easier when you're in the apartment," Mei told him, to what he wondered... was it better that he might be affecting Venus, or was it worst? He was happy to think he could do something, but he didn't want her to fall for him. He was not worthy, and was never going to be able to give her all that she deserved, he thought. Mei got up, taking him away from his thoughts.

"Let's go. I've got a feeling that Ciel and Daire are waiting for us."

He was feeling a little better, so he got up, and they walked back to the apartment.

Mei and Hugh were at the door of the apartment again. As soon as they opened, two pairs of eyes sat on them, more on him than her. Ciel and Daire had been talking about what she saw in Venus and Hugh's shared dreams.

"Hey guys," Mei ventured, "What's going on?"

"We need to talk," Ciel said. That phrase was never a good sign. She was not the most diplomatic person, so when she tried to soften a situation, she'd use that phrase. Mei rushed Hugh in, and both sat in front of the other two. Daire took it from there.

"Hugh, have you had weird dreams?" She started from where she thought could help.

"Yes, actually, since the day before we went to Paris. I thought it was related to the red bag you gave me, but I'm not sure because I still carry it and haven't had any more dreams. Why?"

"Because today you had a shared dream with Venus. Do you remember anything about it?"

"How do you mean shared dream?" He said, confused.

"I mean that you guys somehow connected and saw the same things happen in your minds."

He was confused for a few seconds, but he wasn't sure anything was so surprising anymore.

"I don't remember much of today's, just that I woke up worried, feeling like if I was about to lose her-" He sighed and bit his bottom lip, a little bothered at the way his words went out of his mouth.

"We know what you feel for her," Daire tried to soothe him. "It's ok, there's a reason, and I'll explain it in a minute, just concentrate on the dreams and tell us everything."

"The dream I had today was very similar to the first one, but this one was so blurry, I couldn't make much out of it, or remember much after. In both, there was an island that I'm almost sure it was the lost city of Atlantis, and I saw how it was destroyed. After that, on another island, I saw Venus. She and I were together and looked happy. She called me by a different name, though. There was a guy that was angry and came after her. When I got on the way, I ended up at the bottom of a cliff." He hesitated for a second and then talked. "The most I remember of today was that I felt like I could not see her again, and when I woke up, I rushed to the room. I stood there, but she was still unconscious."

"Do you remember the names?"

"I do. For some reason, it felt important to me. The guy was Thaulos, and my name was Onetor."

"And this happened in Atlantis?"

"No, there I was just a witness, there was a girl, very tall and actually pretty, she came in the wind and fell on the island to destroy everything. Her name was Apollymi."

"At any time did you hear the name for which Venus was called?" Daire continued checking on the details she saw with the ones she could get from him.

"I heard it, but couldn't understand it."

Daire looked back at Ciel, and they both nodded in unspoken agreement, considering there was enough information to check on the books. It was time to explain to Hugh what was happening to him and those dreams.

"Ok. First of all, today, when we were having tea, something happened to you, and you fell into a trance-like state. The girls took care of you while I went with Venus because you both started screaming on your trance at the same time, and that let us know you were somehow looking at the same thing, whatever it was. I decided to get into Venus's dream and saw what happened to the island. The myth said, and apparently is what happened, that Apollymi had a son that she had to hide because the Fates declared that he would bring about the death of all the Atlantean gods. The tall people in your dreams were gods, Apollo's descendants. They decided that Apollymi had to be imprisoned, and they sent her to the Kalosis, which was their version of hell. The only thing that could liberate her would be her son going for her, or him dying.

When Apollymi's son was killed by the god Apollo, and she was freed, she brought about death to all the gods and almost all of the Atlanteans. Our Venus was born and raised on the island of Atlantis. A mix of that particular superhuman race and a direct descendant of Apollo. She is very powerful and has no idea or memory of who she was or what she can do. She lived for about a thousand years before she found Onetor, and he was her first love," Daire finished.

"So, what you're telling me is that I saw her life before she became a statue? Why? Of anyone in the world, why me?"

"Because Onetor is a past life of you. Your soul traveled through time to free her. That's why you have those strong feelings for her."

If he hadn't seen enough already to believe them, he would have thought they all went crazy.

"How do you know the dream was real?"

"Because this bruise in my arm was made by the psycho that imprisoned her, Thaulos."

Daire now had an evident, big bruise in her arm, and her mind focused on her objective. They had to find Thaulos. He had to be somewhere, whether in a myth or a grimoire. He had too big of an ego and too little self-control not to figure somewhere.

Hugh stood there, seeing the mark in her arm, a greenish-purple formed under her skin. What was going on? What happened to his life, and how it came to this? It was a lot for him to take in, and yet, he had seen the weirdest events. Was he really destined to save Venus? Was that the reason why he was never able to feel connected to a girl in a romantic way? He got up and started walking around. Ciel had gone to check on Venus and made sure her fever had not raised again. They decided that, from time to time, it was good to put on cold compresses. Maybe in pure desperation, as Daire and Ciel had been looking everywhere for a solution without finding anything. Ciel changed the water to a fresh, colder bowl and, when she put the towel on her, she noticed a white spot in her chest, near her right shoulder. When Ciel touched it, she saw it was marble. Her eyes went wide open as she called Daire.

The curse was getting stronger than Venus's power to hold it back, and it was starting to show on her body.

If Thaulos was determined for Venus not to remember her power or her loved Onetor, then the memories that were awaking through her dreams were certainly making him mad. If she was having those visions, it meant that her memory was coming back. They had to find a solution, and soon. Because of the strong curse that was put on her, if she got close to liberate herself, the curse would kill her.

Now the four were surrounding Venus's bed. Hugh was barely able to control himself and started pacing in a failed attempt to ease his mind.

"Daire, did you see more? Do you know what happened? How did she end up as a statue?"

"I saw her shattered after you died. Thaulos and a group of others that came from the Old Island took her, as he yelled that she'd rather be dead than with a human and that their race should stay pure. I was pushed out of the vision after that, but I'm pretty sure they made the curse ritual together, and that's probably how it is so powerful."

"Is there anything we can do for her?" He said, exhausted and broken.

"We are looking for options. We're really trying Hugh," Daire answered, knowing how he felt.

They all fell silent for a second.

"Would you guys mind if I stay alone with her for a minute?"

The three girls looked at each other and nodded, leaving the room and closing after them.

Hugh sat as slowly as possible on her bed as if she was asleep, and he didn't want to disturb her. He gazed at her, feeling heartbroken for things that were in his past life, but in her current life. How much had she suffered already and how much she endured in her very long life. It was better that she didn't remember. How many atrocities could have been done to her after she was taken by that crazy monster? Thaulos had to be dead already, or he wouldn't have let her go, he thought, which was good. Now, if she was strong enough, and the girls found a cure, she could have the life she deserved. Maybe not with him, as he still felt unworthy, but she'd be happy, and he'd make sure of that. His hand raised to her cheek and stroke her softly, as tears started running again. He was never ready to suffer, but if there was anyone, ever, worthy of it, was the girl fighting for her life right in front of him.

"If it is for only once," he said to himself, and lied down beside her, feeling her fever-hot body beside him. He planted a sad and sweet kiss on her cheek and kept stroking her hair and face as if soothing her, but painfully knowing she didn't know what was happening around her. After a few minutes, he fell on a tired sleep right beside her.

Downstairs, the three girls checked every book, every grimoire, and every piece of loose paper they could find, even googled, looking for an idea, until Mei came to a sudden halt. She had an idea, a story she remembered, that was one of her favorites from the ones their father taught them, it was a long shot, but it might work.