Wrong Arrow

15

Wrong arrow 15

It was getting late. They could hear cars driving by in a distance.

The sky was black tranquility married to a poetry of stars. It was the softness that called body and brain to rest and let the heart go to its steady rhythm. Night came as a reward of sorts, a restfulness above to calm the soul. In the serenade of the black, the stars are a choir; they are lights that sing in infinite patterns. Sometimes eyes need music, and the darker the night the sweeter the song. The black night holds me close until the dawn, always my cloak until I am ready for the dawn. It is that friendly blackness that allows my eyes to rest and let my dreams take centre stage. The pure black of the night is my comfort, the blanket of generous velvet that keeps me safe. It is the pure black that makes the moon so beautiful, that makes a stage for her to stand upon. It is the pure black of the night that gives the stars their beauty, and in it my heart is safe, my soul serene. The night rides in on a horse of pure midnight velvet, beckoned by the stars under a the glow of a full moon. As the colours of the day rest, perhaps dream of the morrow, the hillside becomes its monochrome beauty, shapes that make an ever-changing, ever-present puzzle, question and answer united. In this night we all become one, from rock to plant to animal, one promise of life awaiting the return of the sun.

Signs of rain scatter across the sky. But then again, it could be falls alarm. It’s done that way too many times. Yet at the same time, it could be real. They could be having a storm any time soon.

But that’s fine. Vaeri’s spending the night over anyway.

“I’m gonna need your help.” The character of the show utters as they pull out a certain accessory from a small box. It looks like a ring box but it was a shape of an octagon. And the patterns on top of it looks Chinese.

Vaeri seems to be so invested on the show. It was Pearl’s favorite show too. Including that Big Bang conspiracy. He still doesn’t get the jokes made in that show. They made zero sense.

“Will you accept.” The character asks with a gentle smile on their face.

“As if they can say no.” Voices Vaeri.

She’s sitting comfortably on the couch, the container of popcorn tucked between her arm. She’s protecting it like a dragon protecting a princess stuck inside a wretched tower . In other words, she’s holding it tightly than what’s absolutely necessary.

“I’ll be right back.” Pearl extends her feet and plants her fisted hands on the couch, pulling herself up.

Silent footsteps follows her when she walks away. Now all that left are the sound of the character coming from the screen filling the room. Vaeri’s makes herself comfortable, placing a cushion underneath her elbow so that she can rest her arm there. Right before Vaeri can give her undivided attention to the screen, she looks into the direction of Zach. The catches the Cupid off guard. And then just like that, she diverts her gaze back to the screen. Mumbles pour out her lips right away. He can’t quite pick it up.

“Pearl!” Vaeri shouts and gets a “yes?” From pearl. “I’ll change the show!”

“Yeah sure!”

She swipes the remote from the coffee table and begins flickering through the lists Of movies available. They all look interesting and entertaining but they’re not exactly her taste. In the end of the day, she picks what was previously on. And Vaeri seems to be enjoying it too.

Zach kisses his lips and walks over to where Vaeri sat. This girl- her energy felt strange. You know how animals have this instinct to run away whenever the feel like they’re in danger? It’s the same way for him. But Vaeri’s anything but dangerous. Maybe its because of her eccentric attitude that makes him feel this way. That could explain why.

The girl has her eyes strained in the screen, popping popcorns inside her mouth. At some point, she opens her mouth just to say. “Now that’s just stupid.” She utters with her eyes not leaving the the show.

He decides to sit down too and enjoy the show. He’ll leave in about an hour prop. A hand seizes him and gets another message from Harper, asking where he was now. He sends a message saying that he was still in Pearl’s house. Harper reminded Zach of a girlfriend who keeps wanting to know where her boyfriend it. The thought alone brings a disgusted shiver down his spine. As if that was the case. Vaeri flickers her hair away from her face as irritation buildings up inside her veins. She points at the screen and begins talking to herself.

“Who does she think she is uh? Just because you’re a guardian doesn’t mean you have the right to make the decisions yourself.” She’s referring to the character in a ladybug outfit. So Vaeri’s the type of person to shout at a character from a movie. Interesting.

“She’s carrying so much responsibility though.” He voices out his thoughts even though he knows she can’t hear him. Her fingers coated with the flavor of the kernel. When she starts licking them, he curls his face in utter disgust. That act had to be one of the pet peeve in his list. It was just disgusting. He forces himself to look away. Because the longer he stares at what she’s doing causes his stomach to flip. As hard as it is to believe, cupids are capable of throwing up. And it happens more often than one thinks. The portal they have back into HQ, first timers tend to obtain dizzy spells and basically throw up on their first try. They eventually get used to it in the tenth time.

The show playing was rather addicting to say the least. Even though it looks like a children show. The characters were dynamics n’s it wasn’t your normal superhero trope. This time it was a girl taking the name of a hero. Like the main character alongside her partner. The directors did a good job plotting it this way. Sounds can be heard coming from the kitchen. Vaeri’s pops another handful of popcorn inside her mouth and chews them. Shake makes sure not to drop and of the powder on the couch since it’s not easy to brush them off after all.

It doesn’t take long before Pearl appears. And she’s brought a tray with her. The amount of food these girls consume is ridiculous. Zach found it hard to believe that they could actually eat what they’re eating. Are their stomachs made of a well? A black hole? Since there seems to be no ending of it.

“Who wants snacks?” She says with a smile on her face.

“Me of course.” Vaeris face light up at the sight of the food. She throws her legs off the couch and allows them to swing down the couch, goes fiddling with the carpet’s fur.

Pearl takes the couch and vaeri can’t help but stretch a smile across her lips.

It doesn’t take long before they hear the gentle sound of heavens tears. Vaeri stands up to check the weather from the window, taking the silk curtain and bringing it to the side.

“It’s raining cats and dogs out there. If I came a little bit late then I would have been in trouble.” A crazy idea pops up in her head. “Should we go play in the rain?”

“We’re not ten years old Vaeri.”

“Who said you have to be ten years old in order to play in the rain uh?“

“I already took a shower though. I’m lazy to take another one.”

“Then just don’t.”

“You do know well both get sick if we step out of this house and do as you say right?”

Vaeri nods her head an casually shrugs her shoulders. “I guess your right. I’m not ready to listen to my mom nagging me for catching a flu. He’ll never let me see the end of it. And the worse one of all? Are those blasted needles she used on me. Apparently they were supposed to be therapeutic and help me relax. That crap didn’t work. I laid there crying on the inside because I was literally pricked with needles.”

“ I don’t even want to imagine that.”

“If course you don’t.” Vaeri walks back to the couch and plops there. “I like this place. Maybe I should come here every time my parents are away. What do you say?”

“I mean, you go straight to the fridge in search for snacks the second you step inside. I think the place’s already yours.”

Vaeri chuckles at her statement, placing a snack inside her mouth.