Starlight in the Heavens - 17. Chapter 17

Part 17 - Brian

So much had changed since that day in the cafe.

Through the time that Mandy spent crying on Miss Sherry's shoulder; Anthony had climbed down from his seat and come over to me. I settled him in on my lap and we waited as Mandy sobbed. There was a lot pent up in that little girl, but Miss Sherry just held her and rocked her back and forth until she sat back with a sigh.

Miss Sherry looked my way in that unnerving way she had, and said the oddest thing.

"I believe you have reached your destination, young man. I have rooms set up for you, the lady, and the little one."

"You—"

"Yes, dear. I've been waiting for you a couple days now. The cafe is in need of a short order cook. I believe you have experience, yes?"

I could only nod. Confused was an understatement for the way I was feeling at the time. Anthony turned his little body around and put his hands on the sides of my face, turning it toward his. He wore a little grin as he stared into my eyes.

"It's okay, Uncle Brian. We can trust Miss Sherry."

Any fear that might have seeped into my mind melted, and I hugged him. It was the wisdom within his eyes that answered any doubts I might have had— wisdom that radiated out from an innocent cherubic face.

I looked around at the cafe, and the town outside the windows, feeling for once in my life that I was truly home. It was such a foreign concept that a twinge of anxiety fluttered in my belly. But I pushed it aside as I stood with Anthony and cradled him to my chest.

I didn't have a clue what was going on, and at that moment, I didn't care. I was home.

Since that day, I'd learned that Miss Sherry was much more than what outward appearances showed. She'd been born blind, and up until puberty been a normal kid. Then she started to see things in dreams. It had been a startling journey for her since she had no real example of the things her mind told her she was seeing. How does a blind person cope with suddenly being given sight? She'd gone through a spell of disorientation, and feeling lost when she was awake. Sleeping, she saw the world, awake, it was dark. So, she slept a lot.

Her parents did what they could to help her in her waking hours. They described things she had before only known by feel. She'd said that it helped her to 'see' things in the darkness. She could touch them and go back to her dreams to understand what she was feeling.

It was in her twenties that the knowing came. The things she saw in her dreams became things that she knew would happen in the near future. It was also when time began to slow. Not for life surrounding her, but for her alone. She didn't age as those around her. I was shocked when I found out Miss Sherry was over 100 years of age. When I first saw her in the cafe, I'd thought 60's with her white hair. Then, when she was close, I remembered thinking maybe premature greying because her skin was so flawless. Miss Sherry, it seemed, was stuck in some spot between ages.

In my travels, I'd met some unique individuals. But since coming across Anthony and his mother, my world turned upside down, diagonal, and every other way imaginable. My eyes had been opened to possibilities beyond the scope of human understanding. I learned each day to take the things I saw and heard around me in a different light than I was raised to understand.

There was so much more out there than the human race had chosen to believe.

I say chosen because, being faced with the unknown, I saw people either accepting or rejecting things put right in front of their faces. Even in this little town, some walked around not aware of those things while there were a few that saw, and accepted.

The three of us settled into a routine. I took the morning shift at the cafe, working from five in the morning until after lunch, usually about two in the afternoon. Breakfast was always fast-paced, making the time pass quickly. Things slowed down after ten and I got to know the regulars fairly well. Mandy would bring Anthony in for lunch around eleven, and I always went on high alert.

There'd only been one incident at the cafe since we'd arrived the week prior, and unfortunately, I'd had to resort to violence.

The breakfast rush had ended and we were in the process of preparing for the early lunch crew. The door chimes rang out and a single man entered the cafe. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise as I watched him look around the empty diner. His arrogant stance put more than me off as I heard Judy mutter, "Well, isn't he just God's gift."

I snickered and she gave me a slight push before going off to seat the stranger. I decided I'd better keep an eye on this one and went back into the kitchen. Mandy would be there shortly with Anthony, and I wanted to surprise him with his favorite lunch. It was close to the grilled cheese and tomato. I just had to add peanut butter. I know, I thought it was weird too. But after he shared a bite with me, I had to admit—it really wasn't that bad, although, I could do without the tomato.

I was flipping the sandwich onto a plate when the door chimes sounded, letting me know that my favorite kid had just arrived. And then, all hell broke loose.

I looked up when a chair screeched in that way they do when being pushed hard. At first, it looked like the stranger was angry with something Judy had said. Then I caught the glimmer in his eyes as he stared at my charge. Not anger—unadulterated lust.

Before he could make a move, I was out of the kitchen and into the dining room. Placing myself between Anthony and the obviously aroused man, I sent him a warning glare. It didn't slow him down in the least. With a smirk spreading across his face, he began to advance.

I started backing toward the door, pushing Anthony behind me.

"Get him out of here," I hissed to Mandy.

She started to move, but froze when the stranger's eyes darted to her and he snarled his own warning.

"I don't think so, missy. I've been looking too long to let you take him away."

I felt Anthony's small arms wrap around my leg as the air within the cafe started to spark. From the corner of my eye, I saw Miss Sherry move to my side and gently pull Anthony away and toward the kitchen. If I could keep myself between them, they could make it out the back door. But this guy wasn't going to make it easy.

He moved fast, and before I could react, he was between us and the kitchen. Worse, he was only a couple feet from his main target. I'd slipped up letting Miss Sherry move Anthony from behind me, and now he was open.

Instinct, and hours upon hours of training in front of a mirror, took over when the man made his move. He was quick as lightning, but I was quicker. The look on his face registered pure shock as he found his hand against my hip instead of a little boy's shoulder.

He backed off, but only inches, and I felt hot breath and spittle as he growled at me.

"You can't stop us, boy."

His fist came up, and I'm sure that if it had made contact, things would have turned out different. But when my mind registered the movement, my hand rose and slammed into the stranger's throat—quick... deadly.

I didn't stop to see if I'd killed him. Scooping Anthony up, and cradling his trembling body to my chest, I fled through the door to the kitchen and out to the back. I knew I'd been lucky. The guy hadn't expected any real resistance from me. As I ran to the house, his words circled through my thoughts. I've been looking too long... you can't stop us. They... whoever they were... were looking for Anthony. And they had found him.

I finally stopped when I reached our room, and dropped onto the bed still holding Anthony tightly against my heaving chest. He'd stopped trembling on the run over, but I could tell he was still shaken. I rocked him, telling him it would be okay, making the promise to protect him again, until he completely relaxed in my arms.

"Uncle Brian?" he whispered. "Why do they want me? Did I do something wrong?"

It hadn't escaped his little ears that he had said us—or that he'd said he'd been looking.

I shook my head and tilted his head up to look at me.

"No way, buddy. It's not anything you did."

"Then why?"

"I don't have the answer, Anthony. But, what I do know is that you are a very special young man. There is something very good in you, and like it or not, there are people out there that try to squash good things."

Anthony sighed and snuggled closer.

"You know how you can tell when someone is good or bad?" He nodded. "Well, I think that's part of what makes you special. There's also the way you make people feel."

"What do you mean?" His voice was muffled and I looked down to see his face pushed into my shirt. I hugged him and combed my fingers through his baby fine hair.

"Well... it's almost like a rainbow. When you look at it, at all the colors shining out so bright, it makes you happy."

"I make people happy?"

"Yeah. Most people anyway. But some people, when they look at the rainbow, all they think about are the stories of gold at the end. And they want to possess it. They want to keep it for themselves and hide it away from everyone else."

"Those are the bad people?"

I hugged him again. "Yes, Anthony. Those are the bad people."

I stiffened at the sound of the front door, but immediately relaxed again when Miss Sherry's voice floated up the stairs.

"It's only us."

I hadn't killed him, but he wouldn't be back to try anything again for a while. Once released from the hospital—I'd crushed his wind pipe—he would be paying a visit to the county jail. There'd been enough witnesses to show proof that his intentions had been anything but honorable. And the word of Miss Sherry held quite a bit of sway with the local police.

The door chimed and I looked up to see Anthony enter with Miss Sherry. Anthony rushed over to the counter, climbed up onto one of the bar stools, and grinned at me. I couldn't help but laugh at his accomplishment. I looked back to the entry then to Miss Sherry who'd settled in next to Anthony.

"Where's Mandy?"

Anthony's face fell a little. "Mommy's not feeling good today."

I had hoped that in settling into Miss Sherry's home, Mandy would improve. But, if anything, she'd further dimmed. The light of life rarely showed in her eyes anymore.

"It will get better," Miss Sherry said. "There is one coming to help."

She patted Anthony's arm and smiled at him. But when her sightless eyes rose to meet mine, there was a glimmer of sadness. I took a deep breath and picked up Anthony's plate.

After setting his lunch in front of Anthony and ruffling his hair, I moved over to Miss Sherry and sat down.

"What are you not saying?" I whispered.

"It isn't a bad thing," she said as she found my hand. "Anthony's fathers travel with the one that will help to heal Mandy's soul."

I felt the tension begin at the base of my spine and push up into my chest. His fathers? My heart hurt. It burned as I thought about giving up the boy I'd come to love as my own. Could I give him up? Or would I try to keep him locked away from the world? He needed protection. My protection. I'd promised him... promised to keep him safe. Damn it! He was mine.

I felt her hand as it squeezed mine, and shook myself.

Anthony was staring at me. His eyes were the eyes of an innocent child, but also, so much more.

"Remember the rainbow?" he asked.

Damn. The kid was using my own words against me.