Flame (Fireborn) (9 page)

Lilac perfume drifts
into my nostrils as she holds me in her arms before bed.

"I love you
more than anything," she tells me, kissing my head. She traces
the birthmark on my finger lovingly. "Finding you was the best
thing that ever happened."

"How did you
find me, Momma?" She smiles, and it reaches her eyes, filling me
with love.

"Your angel
dropped you off, and made sure we would find you. You had nothing on
but a blanket!" she exclaims, tickling me. I giggle.

"Eeewww!"
I squeal. She laughs.

"You were so
chubby and round. Your eyes were wide and open. It's as if you were
waiting for us," she continues softly. Her eyes grow distant. I
reach up, tickling her neck. She smiles and I return it with my own
toothy grin.

"Tell me about
the ashes!" I demand. That's my favorite part.

"Well,"
she begins, used to telling me the story. She's a storyteller, and
she knows how to make me wait. "Your dad and I had just finished
dinner with some friends at a farm. It was a cold winter night, and
the roads were so icy your dad slipped when he was trying to open the
door for me!" She pauses, looking at me. I giggle at the
appropriate moment because that's what she's waiting for.

"He was trying
to be robantic."

"Yes, he was
trying to be romantic," she corrects. "Well, we were on
this road, driving through snow and ice when we see this big flash of
light. The stars were so bright in the sky we thought it was a meteor
shower. Without warning, Dad swerves off the road and heads straight
for it! We drive for a few minutes, following the light. We see a
figure-"

"My angel!"
I exclaim. She looks down, amused.

"We see a
figure that was your angel." She bends close to my face. "…
And when he saw us, he disappeared! Whoosh!" Her arms flare out
dramatically. "One moment he was there, and the next gone!"
She stops, waiting for me to gasp. I don't disappoint. My exclamation
is breathy and loud. "There was fire and light and colors and
when it was all done, you were on the ground, and the ice had melted
all around you." She smiles tenderly, her fingers patting my
head.

"You might not
have been born in my tummy, Kenna, but you were born in my heart."
She squeezes me gently, and I giggle.

"The ashes,"
I remind her.

"There were
ashes on and around you. Some black and some white, like an angel's
feathers." She kisses my forehead. "Like fire. And I knew
then what your name should be."

"Kenna," I
say with a big smile.

"Fire born."

The memory stays long
enough for my heart to become heavy. "Oh, ok," I say,
answering Dad's expectant stare. "Thanks."

I look away, feeling my
eyes blur. The stinging is a familiar feeling. So is the feeling of
trapping it in.

"I'm glad I have
it," I finish. I want to ask how he found it after eighteen
years, but I don't because I don't think he'll tell me anyway. My
hands close around the locket.
Now I have two things that I value
more than anything else,
I think.

"I'm going to put
this upstairs." I don't wait for him to answer. I take the
stairs two at a time. Walking into my room, I stop when I'm in front
of my favorite picture, the one Dad had pushed down earlier. In it,
I'm in Mom's arms, and she's squeezing me tenderly. I remember the
exact moment when it was taken. It had been her birthday, but she
made it feel like it had been mine.

Gently, I hang the
locket around the frame, tucking the ends in a pocket behind the
frame. The pendant lies right in the middle of the photograph,
encircling both of us the way Mom's arms are enveloping mine in the
picture. It feels right to have the locket hold us together like
this. A smile touches my lips. Feeling lighter, I return to the
kitchen.

"Let's get going
before it gets dark," I say as I walk in. Dad's waiting for me
and it isn't long before we finish eating. Dinner is a simple
occasion for us. Every meal is. The night air is chilly so I grab a
hooded sweater, and pull it on. Dad still has his light jacket from
the night before, and he patiently waits for me, staring out the
door. I don't know what he thinks about when he does things like
that. Those moments are secrets that he keeps to himself. I want to
help him, but I don't know how to if he isn't ready to help himself.

Within moments we're
out the door. The Camry puffs to life after we get in. "I hope
it lasts 'til winter," my Dad comments, eying the wheel in my
hands.

"I hope so, too,"
I reply.

It's quiet as I drive.
Muted music plays in the background, but it doesn't matter. We listen
to the silence. We're good at that.

The second day of the
aliens' arrival is as hectic as the first, but this time I'm
prepared. I wake up thirty minutes earlier than usual. I remember to
hide anything embarrassing in concealed compartments. Noticing the
cooler weather, I grab a hat I've owned since the eighth grade. I
rush out the door and into the car. When I'm near the school, I
bypass the parking lot and go straight to resident parking. Nothing
is in my backpack except a few notebooks, and the bounce in my step
is made lighter by the smaller weight. See? Prepared.

Out of nowhere I hear
screeching tires as a vehicle comes to a sudden and dangerous stop by
the curb in front of me. Instinctively, I jump back, hitting the back
of my head on the tall white fence. It appears the driver is trying
to parallel park, but is having a difficult time. I move further
away, knowing it's dangerous to stay close to someone who obviously
has no idea what they're doing. After a few steps, I hesitate. I turn
back to knock on the window. They're tinted so I can't see inside.
One window slowly slides down.

"Do you need some
he-" My jaw drops open. I can't believe who's in the car. Lenora
turns her lips into a helpless smile, but that's not why my jaw is
hanging open wide as a potato sack. She's pushed herself so far back
from the pedals that she's almost at a 180- degree angle. I instantly
note the right leg is on the accelerator, and the left leg is leaning
on the brake. One hand is on the gearshift, and the other is tightly
squeezing the wheel. My eyes travel back to hers, and she shoots me a
confused look.

"It looked easier
in the training video," she confesses.

I smile faintly. "I
bet." I'm close enough to see her glowing eyes in detail. They
seem to be filled with light, but they aren't hard to look at. Deeper
colors of violet and gray swirl in the golden mists like fireflies.
They remind me of an aurora borealis.

"Do you want me to
help you park?" I ask.

"Would you?"
Her smile is sugary, but it doesn't seem artificial. On the contrary,
she's making me feel like I've known her a lifetime when I've
literally just met her! She puts the car in park. Her little heels
click on the sidewalk when she gets out. Dark blue skinny jeans
encase long legs, and an adorable buttoned striped shirt is roughly
tucked in, giving her a carefree, angelic look.
She's only been on
this planet for a couple of days, and she already knows to dress
better than I do!
I shake my head, amazed. She hands me her keys,
and I slide into the driver's seat- literally. The leather is new and
luxurious, and my tights slide right over it. Within minutes I have
the car parked.

"Thanks." She
takes her keys back. "I'm Lenora. Doe," she adds, almost as
an afterthought.

"I'm Kenna Parker.
And it's no problem." I smile. "You guys don't have last
names where you come from?" I guess.

"No." She
giggles. "Am I that obvious? It's just hard to get used to
having two names. We practiced it in class, but it still doesn't feel
normal," she explains as she walks beside me. Large sunglasses
cover her eyes. They're the kind I've seen movie stars wear on front
pages of magazines. Based on the number of photographers waiting at
our school, she's a star of sorts, too.

She shows me something
on her wrist. "
This
is our last name," she declares
with a small smile. Before I can get a good look at the mark, she
pulls her sleeve over it. I wonder if it's a tattoo. I'm wondering
many things as I glance at her expensive clothes and then at the
luxurious Lexus I just parked. Where were they getting the money for
this?
There's probably some complicated secret agreement between
our government and theirs,
I reason. Maybe they traded in their
space ships for our cars. Maybe they gave us some secret weapon in
exchange for money. Who knows? I doubt I'd ever find out.

Lenora turns her head,
searching for someone.

"Where is your
brother?" Instantly, I bite my lips to stop them from saying
more and wince. Why did I just ask that? Why do I even care?

"Rhys? He's not my
brother. We're just here together." She shrugs. "We were in
the same program back on Sangine, our home planet. We studied human
language and culture. We were the best in our class," she admits
proudly. It's a little odd to hear her say that, but it reminds me
yet again of how vast our universe is.

Remembering yesterday,
I ask, "Did you guys ever have a class called 'Late night talk
shows'?"

She looks confused.
"No. Why?"

I shrug.

"There are so many
cultures on Earth. It was hard to choose which to study first. Our
data showed us English is the fastest rising language on this planet
so I decided to study it. I love all your words!" she gushes.
She looks expectantly at me.

I'm supposed to say
something. "Er, thanks. I do, too."

Her smile broadens. "I
was so happy when we decided to contact your government. I even got
to say hello to your president."

I remembered that. CNN
had aired a few seconds of it. That little clip played all over the
world. It went viral within the hour. Lenora's effortless charm
gained her instant fame. People were infatuated with Saguinox beauty.
Lenora's face had been on countless print and commercial ads and I
doubt she even knew about it.

"People were
shocked because that was the first footage of the Saguinox we had
ever seen. It was exciting and kind of scary." I decide to be
honest.

Her gaze is empathetic.
"I understand. I hope I didn't scare too many people then."

"No," I
assure her. "Well… kind of."

She scared
me
.
Aliens? I'd only seen clips of E.T. and had only heard the Katy Perry
song of the same name. Some people thought they were our saviors.
Others thought the beginning of the end was near. The controversy
still hasn't gone away despite the numerous Senate bills purposed and
Ambassador Damien's whirlwind world tour prior to Lenora and Rhys's
arrival. I'm still not sure what to think.

Rhys's face appears in
my mind. I can't help the smile that tugs at my lips.

"We're happy
you're in Minnesota," I tell her.

Lenora beams. "Me,
too. I chose this place," she reveals.

I'm surprised. I'd
assumed it'd been some sort of long secret negotiation, and they'd
chosen Minnesota because we could offer privacy that places like
California and New York couldn't.

I'm curious. "Why'd
do you choose Minnesota?"

"I want to see
snow."

It figures. "The
novelty wears off fast."

She shrugs. "They
let me choose because it doesn't really matter where we go. It'll
still end the same way."

I frown, chewing over
her words in my head. "What do you mean?"

She shrugs again,
looking away. "It just doesn't matter."

"Do you mean the
experience won't be any different?" I ask slowly.

"Something like
that."

I wonder how long the
Saguinox have known about Earth. When I ask her she answers, "For
as long as earth has been around. You're just a baby planet."

"Huh. How many
planets do you know about?"

"Many," is
her mysterious answer.

"Are those planets
inhabited by living things too?" I can't help asking.

She hesitates. "Your
government considers that classified information."

"Oh." Right.
"Sorry."

"No, it's ok. I'd
be curious, too," she admits. "They're still working on an
intergalactic agreement between our kind and yours, and then maybe we
can talk about things you've missed out on, sitting all alone in your
milky day," she beams.

"Do you mean milky
way
?" I ask.

"Yes," she
nods. "I'm not sure why you call it that. It looks nothing like
milk." She pauses. "Milk
is
that white liquid stuff
in the lunch room, right?" she asks worriedly.

I laugh. "Yes.
Don't worry. Everything you're drinking and eating in our lunchroom
is edible, even though sometimes it might not taste like it."

"Good." She
sounds relieved. "We can eat anything humans can. Our bodies are
very similar." I want to ask her how that can be, but something
tells me that's classified information as well.

My stomach makes an
embarrassingly loud grumbling sound. Remembering I didn't eat
breakfast yet, I take out a small Ziploc bag from the side of my
backpack. Baby carrots were the only snacks in our refrigerator so
it's what I pull out.

"Would you like
some?" I ask.

"Carrots!"
She brightens. "We have something similar where we come from."
She takes one. "Why are carrots more orange than an orange?"
She stares at it, looking puzzled.

I pause, a carrot half
in my mouth. "Um, I'm not sure," I say.

"Ok." Not
missing a beat, she continues. "If glue can stick to everything,
how come it doesn't stick to the glue bottle?"

I gape at her. "What?"

"Yesterday we were
using glue, and it sticks to everything! Why doesn't it stick to the
bottle? Is the bottle made of some special plastic?" She sounds
serious, and an image of her studying and analyzing a glue bottle
like it's going to save the world, pops into my brain. I bite my lip
to keep from laughing. As best as I can I answer, I say, "We
could Google it."