Star struck

Roo

Her mother waved as a man emerged from the driver's seat. At first sight he was imposing, his muscular physique and height lending him an air of authority. Everything about his face was sharp, from his jawline, to his cheekbones, to his eyes, which were deep set and brown like her father's. Where her father's were dark however, his were light, with an unmistakable red tint. Celeste found herself pigeonholing him in with every story book villain she had ever known until suddenly he smiled...

It was like the whole world had slowed down. Everything seemed somehow brighter, every detail of the landscape stood in stronger contrast. Even his clothes, which were clean if unremarkable, seemed to take on a character of their own, rippling slightly in a non-existent wind.

As soon as it had begun it was over. The world returned to itself, drab by comparison. Celeste looked over at her mother who stood stock still, mouth open slightly. She had felt it too.

"Hello!" Her father came around the car, reaching for the man's hand. "Are we glad to see you!"

"What seems to be the trouble?" The man's voice was smooth, the faint hint of an indistinguishable accent dripping from its edges.

"We hit a roo." Her mother regained her voice, although Celeste noted it was slightly husky. "The rim of one of our tires is destroyed."

"I'm afraid we won't be able to move it without a tow truck." Her father shook his head sadly. "Which is a shame because..." He trailed off as the man approached the car, his boots crunching across the desert gravel. As he passed her, Celeste picked up the earthy scent of incense and unfamiliar spices.

"Nonsense." The man shook his head, looking down at the wheel and smiling again. Celeste noticed that this time it did not have the same effect. "This is nothing my sons can't fix." He clapped his hands twice. "Irah, Amaro, come."

The door to the car opened and two teenage boys, loped out gracefully, their slender, frames a younger mirror of their fathers. That is where the resemblance ended however, for one of the boys, though lightly tanned, had silvery white hair, whilst the other had raven balck hair and radiantly white skin. Both were dressed simply like their father and avoided eye contact with Celeste as they walked toward the tire.

"Thank you so much for your help Mr..." Her father waited for the man to fill in the blank. "Ali." The man smiled again. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Wait, you're not Eamon Ali are you?" The man tilted his head at her mother's question, his sons flitting back and forth between the cars behind him. "The very same. Do we know one another?"

"It's Caelum and Phoebe!" Her mother pointed to herself and Celeste's father. "Oh my goodness!" The man laughed, his booming chuckles reverberating through the arid air. "Well then we are practically family!"

"Yes, yes of course," Her father nodded, smiling in turn, "and besides this," he kicked the car, "we owe you a lot already."

"Your company was the only one that would agree to build so far away from civilization." Her mother jumped in, finishing the thought. "Without you, our hotel would have remained a dream."

"Well, glad I could help," the man tipped an imaginary hat, "although if I had known about the lack of competition I may have charged more."

They all laughed for a moment more, until the paler son, Amaro tugged at his father's shirt. He shot a furtive look toward Celeste, who unintentionally caught his eye. She felt herself physically recoil in shock, for his eyes were almost as milky white as his body. Surely he was blind? That question was answered immediately however as she watched his dark eyebrows knit together, obviously displeased by her reaction. Another thing to feel guilty about.

"Done? Well in that case we'll be off and see you at the encampment." Eamon raised a hand, heading back toward his car. as Amaro opened the back door, Celeste thought she glimpsed a pigtail and a curious brown eye before the interior of the car was lost to her.

"Thank you again." Her parents waved and smiled "We look forward to meeting your whole family."

"Oh yes," Eamon chuckled, "soon enough you will. For we will feast tonight!" With that he closed his door and took off at an unreasonable speed, leaving a fresh dust cloud behind.

"Well! That will make introductions a little easier." Her dad nodded with satisfaction, getting back into the car. He turned toward Celeste as she climbed in. "Maybe it won't be so bad after all, with kids your own age around?"

"We're hardly kids," Celeste frowned, reaching for her seat belt. Amaro's eyes flashed before her again and she shuddered. "They seem weird."

"Oh there's no pleasing you." Her mother titched, passing Heli and Stella back into the car.

"That man was scary." Heli grabbed Stella to her, sinking back down into her seat. Celeste realised for the first time how quiet they had both been throughout the whole interaction. "Don't be silly Heli, he's just tall." Her mother laughed. "Not that one." Heli looked at Celeste knowingly. Celeste nodded slightly.

"Once we know them, they won't be so scary, I promise." Her mother climbed into her own seat, reaching around to squeeze Heli's knee encouragingly. "We'll all be friends in no time, you'll see." As they pulled off toward the encampment, Celeste wondered what the world record was for most wrong things said in one day, for it seemed to her like her parents must be approaching the record, if they had not beaten it already.