Rebirth Page 7

  “Wait!” Jerking up from the table, he watched him disappear back into the darkness of the aisle way. A poster of TOOL took the place of the black aisle way as he sat there on his mattress. Sharp, paralyzing pain shot through his head. Eyes squinted, he clenched his teeth trying not to scream in agony. After a few minutes, it became shallow and barely noticeable. This absorption of another soul was a painful event, and it brought back memories of growing up where he had experienced agonizing headaches.

  All that time of assuming it was related to my colorblindness. Were the migraines caused by the Old Hotan? If it’s this painful for me to absorb him, then what has he been experiencing? My soul is slowly devouring his, one small piece at a time. Shivers rattled his shoulder as the last thought hit his nerves.

  Stiff and wobbly, he made his way into his living room. It was nighttime and the neighborhood lay in silence under its dark blanket. The clock read 11:44 PM. He moaned, wiping sweat from his face, his thoughts spiraled in dizzying circles that led nowhere.

  A laundry basket sat in the corner, reminding him he had chores to do. He quickly picked up piles of clothes, desperate for a distraction. Stuffing them all in the basket, he headed out and down the stairs. Passing Annie’s room, he found the laundry room. With all his clothes crammed into the washer, he freely poured an obscure amount of detergent. He slammed it shut, turned it on, and leaned his back against it. Disgruntled that he would be left alone to his thoughts again.

  A lighter flicked three times, breaking his concentration and thoughts. A tall man came just around the doorway lighting a cigarette, leaning his right shoulder against the doorway. The man’s button-up shirt laid open and staring at Hotan with purple eyes in the bland grey of the room around them. With slight curiosity and wonder, Hotan thought in silence.

  Purple eyes? Could this man be Jacob? I hate being colorblind and seeing colors at random. I hate that I know what the name of the color is, purple. What a schmuck coming in here all suave like.

  “You’re Hotan, right?” The man’s voice was low and soft as he ran his left hand through his short spikey hair, releasing a puff of smoke from his lips. “Hotan, right?”

  “Yea, why you ask?” Hotan narrowed his eyes at him. This has to be Jacob. “And you are?”

  “Oh, just heard about you. That’s all.” Pushing himself off the doorway, he opened the dryer, pulling out some sheets. “Nice to meet you, Hotan. Sorry, was doing late night laundry. Won’t bother you anymore, night.”

  “Night…” Hotan watched as he disappeared followed by a trail of smoke. He had ignored answering the question as to who he was.

  Heard about me? I can’t shake the feeling that he was Jacob. Maybe he’s pulling information about me from Annie.

  Sighing, he wondered why he happened to be a topic in any conversation. Sitting on top of the washer, he continued his random chain of thoughts. He went back and forth from simple school life back to the chaos. Finally, he recalled what the DJ had said right before he fell asleep.

  Last year I wanted to compete in the Big Band, but I didn’t meet the minimum age requirement.

  This year he was eighteen. He had a chance at making at least the top three with the added advantage of improving his guitar skills for one more year.

  One problem, I’m short a bass player since Shellie is only seventeen. He sighed again rethinking all the rules.

  It required each group to have a minimum of three people. Unfortunately, Hisota was only a lead vocalist and didn’t do anything else except be a nuisance. He would have to throw an audition at the club and find a bassist that way. Once they found someone, they would decide on the songs that they would perform. The washer buzzed and he chucked the wet clothes into the dryer. Back upstairs, he shuffled into his room, flopping on the mattress. Lying on his belly, he fell asleep peacefully.

  Knocking on his door brought him out of his sleep. Swaying pass his couch, he opened the door, leaning on its frame. Annie smiled sweetly and handed another letter to him. Closing the door, he walked into the kitchen, grabbing a glass from the cabinet. Lumbering over to the fridge, he pulled out a carton of orange juice to fill it. Gulping it down, he finally picked the letter back up. Inside he found a short message in a stockier, all capitals writing:

  JUST WANTED TO SAY HI LAST NIGHT. YOU LOOKED IRRITATED SO I LEFT.

  JACOB

  Crumpling the letter, he huffed as he threw it in the trash. The glass clanked into the sink as he grabbed his empty laundry basket, annoyed by the note.

  What a douchebag.

  Returning to the laundry room for his clothes, he debated over his thoughts on Jacob.

  He’s not like Talib at all. Suave, flirty, and worse, careless. What happens if trouble starts and that’s who I have to back me up in a pinch?

  Geliah’s grin crawled its way across his mind and he shuddered uncontrollably.

  I knew who he was just by the flood of emotions that washed over me. I had a similar reaction with Talib when I met him. What’s odd, I never had a reaction with Kyle like that. Is it because he hasn’t awakened? Desire is the key to unlocking the elements. There is too much in my life for me to waste my time focusing on things I want or desire. I guess I would have more luck finding this Book of Ancients. It can’t be too hard to find a book, but, then again, how often does someone find something from a dream?

  Flustered, he pulled out his cell phone and started flipping through the contacts. Pushing the talk button he waited for someone to answer:

  “Hello?” A groggy voice mumbled over the line. “Mmm, who is it?”

  “Kyle, what are you doing today, man?” Hotan leaned against his wall. “I’ll need your help.”

  “Nothing. Jessica is working this morning and planning on helping her dad move after that.” Yawning and groaning invaded the phone for a minute. “Why? What’s up?”

  “Well, I have some clues and a possible source for answers. I was wondering if you wanted to come and help me find it.” Looking across the room, he watched a dove land on the windowsill and stare at him.

  “Hell yea!” There were sounds of items falling followed by breaking glass. “Oops.”

  “Good. Be there in 20 minutes.” He smiled as he watched the dove fly away. I have a good feeling about this.

  Chapter Eight

  Hanging up the phone, he snatched up his helmet, heading out onto the street. Rottweilers in the nearby junkyard barked and lurched out as he took off onto the busy highway. Increasing the acceleration, he could feel the front tire rise and hit the ground again near the third gear. The wind pushed against him as he leaned into the turns of his route. It was a rare moment where he left his thoughts behind and enjoyed the ride. Smoothly swerving through traffic, he soon stopped in front of a beige house. Wasting no time to strap on Hotan’s spare helmet, Kyle climbed onto the back of the bike.

  After driving through the skyscrapers for a while, they made it to an old white building. This was the main library for the area, and their best chances of getting a good start of where to locate the Book of Ancients. They walked up the huge row of steps and entered into the dark dusty building of silence.

  The librarian cleared her throat, demanding their attention for a moment as she nodded to the Keep Quiet sign on her desk. She looked like she was well into her sixties, sitting in a little desk staring at them with a twisted face. Their very presence seems to be ruining the old woman’s day as they stopped at her desk.

  “Man! I don’t know why I insist riding on the back of that rice burner! My nuts get all crammed!” Kyle’s words bounced off the walls of the building as he grabbed at his crotch. “Why didn’t we take my car?”

  “Stop it.” Hotan’s face turned red as he stared back at the annoyed librarian. Please stop embarrassing me Kyle! It’s bad enough this woman makes me feel like I am on trial. “Excuse me. I was wondering if you might have a very old book called the ‘Book of Ancients’? It’s possibly older than the town itself. Do you have any books like that here?�
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  “The Book of Ancients?” Pushing her bulky glasses up on her nose, she contorted her lips to the right side of her face. “Never heard of it. We have books that old, but that’s not one of them.”

  “Umm,” His forehead creased as he looked at her. I think that is the most preposterous answer I’ve gotten this month. “I’d feel more confident about your answer if you’d at least attempt to search the card catalog or something. You can’t possibly know every book in this library. I’ll be more than happy to do it myself if you are too busy. Just let me know where to start looking.”

  “You don’t want to make him angry, lady.” Kyle leaned over her desk, a serious look on his face. “Start answering.”

  “Fine.” The old woman narrowed her eyes. Opening her desk drawer, she handed an old rusty key to Hotan. “If it’s as old as you say, then walk to the back of that middle aisle there. Follow the path until you hit a dead end that has a gate to the right containing a spiral stairway. It leads to the attic. That’s where the original library’s collection is kept from when the town was a small colony. When you’re done, lock the gate and return the key. Be careful, no one’s been up there in years.”

  “Thanks.” He walked down the dark aisle way passing a college girl, her hair in a tight bun filled with pencils.

  She is completely engrossed with that book she’s flipping through. I don’t think she even noticed we had to squeeze past her.

  Her glasses were falling off her nose as she closed the book and added it to her stack. She fumbled with her armful of books and started to lose them as the top one hit the floor. Kyle took a second to help her out, winking at her as she sighed in relief.

  I’ve heard of a bookworm, but she takes the cake. Too bad Kyle stopped to help; I was going to see how far she was going to make it before dropping another one.

  He smirked as he waited for Kyle to catch up to him.

  Making their way to the dead end, a rusty gated section awaited. Unlocking the gate, Hotan jerked it open. It groaned in protest, exposing the stairs it protected. It was an understatement to say it hadn’t been open for years. He took one soft step on the rust covered stairs. They creaked in response. Testing his weight, he cautiously made his way up to the top where a heavy oak door waited for their arrival.

  The attic was dark as he eased it open, against the will of its stiff hinges. Light barely entered the room due to the amount of dust that caked itself on the window. Kyle entered behind him. Not able to see anything beyond his feet, Hotan was perplexed as Kyle brushed past him.

  Where does he think he is going? I can’t see anything besides the faint glow of an old attic window.

  “Whoa! And I thought my room was a mess!” Kyle’s steps went deeper into the dark musky room. “It stinks in here. How old is this crap?”

  “What?” Hotan took a deep breath full of the dust-filled air. Coughing, trying to focus his eyes, he saw nothing. “How can you see? I can’t even make out my own hands.” Are my eyes getting that bad? I didn’t think being colorblind made me inept at night vision.

  “Huh? You can’t see?” Kyle’s steps moved to the right followed by a click. A bulb flickered on, hesitant to light the room. “Is that better?”

  “Yea.” Looking around, stacks of cobweb-covered books lined the narrow attic. “This is going to be hell to go through. No one’s been up here in a very long time.”

  “Hmm.” Kyle began to walk down the aisle way looking at all the stacks. “Well, the good news is that the stacks are all starting with the same letter. It might take us a few minutes to find the B’s. Here’s H.”

  “Good. At least its organized chaos. Maybe my luck is starting to change after all.” Hotan started with a stack on his right and began working his way to the window. “Here’s S, J, found them! Here’s the B’s! Come help me look through these. It looks like there are two stacks of them.”

  “Sweet!” Kyle knelt next to one stack. “Now what’s the name of this book we’re looking for?”

  “It’s called the ‘Book of Ancients’.” He took one book at a time reading the titles. “It’s not in this stack, nothing even close to that title. I was hoping I would get lucky, but all I see is a billion copies of Beowulf and the Bible in both of these piles. No wonder they sent these to the attic. I don’t think it’s practical to have more than ten copies of these on the shelf of a library.”

  “No way, there has to be like another stack of B’s around here. Here’s the T section, but it’s about the same with copies of Tale of Two Cities and Treasure Island.” Kyle started scouring through nearby stacks. “Man this sucks. It’s like we found the old English class books.”

  “There isn’t signs of a mixed pile, and it seems they are all in title order. I already looked through the rest on this side.” Huffing, Hotan mulled over his thoughts as he glared at the dusty towers of books. Why did I think it would be this easy to find? “Figures, wishful thinking I suppose on my part, sorry.”

  “Man.” Crossing his arms, Kyle scrunched his nose as he thought long and hard. “Maybe Jessica might have an idea of where we can look next. She reads stuff all the time. You should see the bookshelves of classic literature at her house, dude. In fact, she should still be at the restaurant, if we hurry.”

  “I’m hungry anyways. Let’s go.” I need to come up with a game plan. I can’t keep rushing into things like this. If I wasn’t acting crazy before, I am definitely looking the part now. Hotan rubbed the back of his neck, trying to relieve the tension.

  They headed back down the rusted spiral stairway, locking the gate behind them. Through the towering shelves of books, they passed the college girl once more. She waved as she lipped another ‘thank you’ to Kyle who nodded in acknowledgement. Hotan handed the key back to the librarian. Grinning in victory, she dropped the key back into the drawer. Hotan still thanked her for her time. At least he knew her word was indeed solid. Their next stop, the diner.

  I’m supposed to find a book that I don’t even know if it truly exist. It was just a dream. Does this book exist? Maybe the stress is starting to get to me and I’m losing my mind. I wish I could say I was crazy. I hate feeling obligated to solve this insane mystery, but I can’t shake this instinctual sensation that there is some truth to all of this. Every time I attempt to convince myself this is a hoax, it boils over and overrides every logical thought. At least I have my best friend to help me through this. We just have no way of getting through it any faster.

  They parked on the sidewalk in front of Benny’s Place. Sitting at their usual booth, Hotan stared out the window that looked out onto the street. Jessica greeted them warmly, taking their orders.

  “Coffee.” Hotan needed something to keep himself moving at this rate.

  “A Hamburger with a side of fries.” Kyle never ordered anything other than a hamburger and fries, no matter where they went.

  Handing the order over to the cook, she grabbed up a coffee up and carafe, returning to them.

  “Hey where’s mine?” exclaimed Kyle as he watched Jessica pour Hotan a cup of coffee.

  “You can wait your turn. What? Would you rather have coffee?” Jessica laughed as she sat down next to him. “So what are you two up to today?”

  “Looking for this really old book.” Rubbing the back of his head, Kyle gave her his best puppy dog eyes. “But we don’t know where we can find it at. We’ve had no luck.”

  “Did you try the big library?” She looked over at Hotan who took a sip of his coffee. “They have a rare books section. Most libraries do.”

  “Yea.” He looked up at her. “But they didn’t have it so now we don’t know where to look next. If you have any place in mind let us know.”

  “Really?” Jessica propped her elbow onto the table and rested her head in her hand. “Hmm, no not really.”

  “Oh well.” Kyle leaned back, watching her leave. “Another dead end.”

  “Sorry I can’t help you guys.” A bell rang from the kitchen and she came back swift
ly with Kyle’s drink and meal. “Enjoy, babe!”

  “It was worth a try.” Kyle grinned at his plate as it slid in front of him. “Thanks! I’m starving!”

  “Thank you, Jessica.” Taking another sip, Hotan froze as he stared out of the window. “Maybe my luck is about to change.” I didn’t have to go looking for it, it just had to find me.

  Hotan looked across the street at a sign with its paint bleeding down in bright red. It simply said ‘SALE’. The forgotten bookstore was a short building compared to its neighbors and much older. A clutter of cobweb-covered books filled the store’s windows and it seemed dark inside. He had noticed the little store before, but never thought about visiting it. Everyone had assumed it was a closed business, because no one ever witnessed customers going in or out of the place. After all the times they sat there staring at it, lost in thought, no signs of life were ever evident. Strange that a sign would be out on the sidewalk on the day he started to look for the ‘Book of Ancients’. Beckoning him to walk in, he could not break his stare from those red letters that shouted over the greys of the landscape around it.

  “I’ll be right back.” He sat his coffee down. “Something’s been brought to my attention.”

  Did you set this up for me, Hotan? How much of this failed reincarnation did you plan ahead of time? Why is this not in the hands of your brother, Talib? What kind of mistakes did you make that are still washing up this far into the present day? Did you really think deleting yourself from existence would make everything go away? I’m no immortal, but even I know drastic measures only create bigger problems. What did you do?