The Yarian Chronicles: Second Life

Chapter 6

I could hardly believe my eyes. She looked exactly as she had in every dream, long white-blond hair, and big green eyes. The only difference was that she was wearing jeans and an orange t-shirt instead of the white dress. She ushered me into her house, and offered me a glass of tea. I nodded my head, but couldn't stop from staring. It was impossible. She was a figment of my imagination. She just couldn't be real, could she?

I glanced around her apartment as I entered. It was simply and sparsely furnished. When you walked in the door to the left was a modern looking couch facing a TV. To the right was a small kitchen with a rectangular glass table which sat on the far end with two chairs. There was one door directly in front of me and another open right beside the kitchen which looked like a bathroom. I suspected the closed door led to her bedroom.

We sat for a long time on the couch and just stared in disbelief and silence. The kettle whistled and she got up to fill our cups, and she sat back down. Xan broke the silence.

"Where's Nyes?" He asked curiously looking around her apartment.

"Oh, he went out. He wanted to check out the situation and get a better idea of what we're dealing with." I sat there quietly listening to their cryptic code.

"Yeah, we need to know what's going on. Stay ahead of this situation as much as we can." Xan continued.

"Yeah..." She seemed slightly distracted, and then stared back at me. " Oh, Zatti! I can't believe you're here! It's been so long since we've been together like a real family. You have to tell me everything that's happened to you here! Xan's been keeping me somewhat updated over the past few months since you've been spending time together. It's so weird to think that you didn't even know who you are, where you're from. That must have been so scary! " She rambled on.

"Uhm..." I had no idea what to say. Then I realized I didn't know her name. "What's your name?" I felt like an idiot for having to this woman her name, when she obviously knew quite a lot about me. But what did she expect? What did any of them expect? I figured it was as good a place to start as any.

"Oh honey, you really don't remember. My name's Verena. You used to just call me V. Most people do, you can if you want to."

"Thanks V" I said sheepishly. The name felt strange on my tongue. "I'm sorry if I seem kind of awkward but this is all new to me. I'm still not sure exactly what's going on."

"Well, let's start at the beginning. What do you remember?" She asked comfortingly.

"Of what?" I asked, confused.

"Of back home of course!"

"Home?" I stammered. This seemed too real, but it had to be a dream. There was no way this could be real.

"It's real," Xan answered my thoughts. I jumped. I forgot that he could read my mind. "Kend, this is real. We're real. Those dreams you've had all your life aren't just dreams. They're memories. That's home. Your real home."

I stared blankly at the TV in front of me. I couldn't wrap my head around everything that was happening to me.

"Why don't you tell V about your dreams?" Xan encouraged me.

"Of the other place? It is mostly Bits and pieces. I remember the two moons, and the red bands across the sky. I remember the crimson river, the red mesa, the green forest with the waterfall, this balcony and a white stone swimming pool with clear blue water. I remember the smell too... it smelt sweet, like vanilla and flowers."

V smiled at me. "Anything else?"

"That's more generally. I dreamt a couple of specific events too. You were running away from some men, and we hid behind a crevice in the waterfall, and then you put your arm out and were concentrating really hard, and they went away." V interrupted me.