POV AKIRA
Between Alfred and Richard, it's not hard to see their differences.
Richard is so sweet and kind, living up to his honey brown eyes and his darker brown locks like a tree trunk where you rest in search of peace. And his kiss proves to be a calm breeze of this so called summer I never knew. He was my first love while my pure and naive heart did not realize the countless obstacles I would have to face because he was a big city boy. Now seeing him in front of me, smiling at me, awakens feelings that I believed were dormant.
"May I kiss your hand, Akira?" Someone asks.
" Huh?" I'm still dreaming.
" If I can kiss your hand. I asked twice."
Richard says embarrassed and I come to my senses of what is happening.
" My hand? Oh no need. I'm used to being forcibly pulled by Alfred when I throw tantrums."
I tell one of my everyday pranks, but everyone remains serious, which makes me blush.
Better keep your mouth shut, Akira.
" In the big city the men are gentlemen and kiss the hands of the ladies" Richard explains.
" Well, I have a lot to learn, don't I?" I smile and offer my hand to him.
He touches my fingers and his eyes search mine. What is supposed to be an electrifying moment, is just a warm tea drunk in the late afternoon. Richard is equally muscular, but that strength seems to evaporate and I feel like a delicate crystal between his fingers. There is no striking look, no wild Alfred gaze that made me shudder a few minutes ago outside.
Is that the feeling cultivated in the big city? Too many conveniences when our instinctive side is what drives our sentimental side?
Now Richard's gaze is full of doubt. Surely he expected from me the same reaction that the city ladies have when they are kissed by him.
"Let's go to dinner, young people. The food is getting cold" Mr. Jeremy announces, saving me from a moment I wouldn't know what to say next.
I take the opportunity to release my hand from Richard's fingers and keep both hands in my jacket pockets, saving my mind and heart from experiences that don't prove my fantasies about him at all.
" Come Akira, sit next to me" Lilian invites and I gladly accept.
✧✧
We all sit down at the table. The women on one side and the men on the other. Which is very strange to me. In my people, we don't make those kinds of distinctions. The body is just a cocoon where it houses a spirit. Both men and women blend together, each respecting the other's mission before mother nature. A guardian can be either a woman or a man, as long as he reveals the wild spirit within himself during his lifetime, swearing with his blood to fight for the protection of the people. Then one day he will become an immortal wolf and guide the next wild spirits on earth. A man or woman chosen, becomes magic and has many undiscovered powers. Whether it is true or not, is what my people believe.
" Akira, do you want to learn how to pray?" Asks Mr. Jeremy. It is a rule to keep before meals according to their religion.
" No, thank you. We pray before the hunt, asking mother nature's permission for the life we snatch from her and hunting only what is necessary." I answer, hoping he understands and respects what I am, a Skyfaller.
"Interesting..."
He says, not being very convinced.
" To this day I can't imagine a little lady hunting. It's something I'd like to see. In London they just take tea, do embroidery, take care of the house, play instruments, sing, dance..."
Richard comments.
"I don't see myself hunting even a rabbit."
Lilian joins in the conversation as well.
"We also drink tea, the women make household utensils, take care of the children, play instruments, and dance in our own way. You are invited to participate in the next party. It's the day after tomorrow."
I speak excitedly.
" I appreciate the invitation, Akira, but only Richard will be able to go. I can't go out at night. "
" We're not in London, a party won't hurt you."
Richard insists to his sister.
"Still, rules are rules" Lord Jeremy puts an end to the argument.
" Then only I will go" Richard promises.
" Now shall we pray?" Lord Jeremy proposes. The three close their eyes and intertwine their fingers to pray.
It lasts five minutes until they open their eyes again and get ready to eat. Around their plates are various pieces of cutlery and it makes me anxious just to look at them. What surprises me is that next to mine there is only a fork and a knife.
" It gets easier for you, Akira!"
Richard winks at me.
Did he really care about that? My heart melts at the possibility that he is making an effort to please me and I try to do the same:
"So Richard, what did you do during all that time you were away?"
"I devoted to my studies to work with my father's business. It's a lot of responsibilities" He admits, and it's not hard to see that he feels nervous about having to take on this task.
"If I could study, you wouldn't feel so overwhelmed, dear brother.”
Lilian expresses.
"Don't give me that modernity, Lilian. Our fortune is in good hands. Richard is the richest and most promising young man in London. He was born to deal with numbers"
Praises Mr. Jeremy and honestly those words have no meaning for me.
"Money is something important to your people even though there are other things you might marvel at. I just by imagining them, I am attracted to them but not the money. "
"Without money we are nobody, we have no voice in the big city."
Mr. Jeremy explains and I realize that it would not be so good for me to go there then.
" Then it's better I stay here, where I don't have to have anything to be someone. The big city is not as wonderful as I imagined..."
I am a little disappointed and it is noticeable to them.
" Men only talk about business. It's always boring, Akira. Better to hear the good things about the big city from me", Lilian rushes to eliminate the bad impression she got on me and both Mr. Jeremy and Richard, do the same. It's a huge effort to seduce me and not make another slip that will make me get one foot back about their world. However, I am a hunter and I also know how to seduce a prey in order to hunt it. And for the first time, I think my mother is not so wrong about their intentions....
✧✧
"Don't take my father's conversations too seriously. He is a man with somewhat outdated thoughts, times are different…"
Richard says now that we are alone.
Dinner has come to an end and along comes the time for the guests to leave. In this case, it is only me who is the guest and I have never felt so happy to have a rule of etiquette even to leave the house of our friends. Not in our people, the evening is the most opportune time to be together and nobody would expel even indirectly a person from their home. Maturity makes us see details that are practically invisible when we are children. And today I saw the reality without the blindfold of illusions I created about the Rockefellers and their big city.
"I thought he was a modern man and would make our city better. But I see he hasn't. We are fine as we are and so are you. The birds fly and the fish swim, that's fine. We don't all have to be the same."
" Akira, he is some things. But, I can do better and will be better. Especially if I have you on my side. Give me a chance to show you there are many interesting things you still need to see" He asks as we walk towards the gate.
"What things? Please don't be long, it is not proper for a lady to be alone in the company of a man at such hours" I joke about the social rules of his town and he laughs.
" It really isn't, but you are different and thank goodness. You are the most special little lady I know!"
He courts and my cheeks should redden, but they don't.
" Where's the surprise?"
Does that interest me more than his feelings? What is happening to me?
" Turn around and you will see!"
I do as he asks and wait for the men dressed in black to open the gate. Then I spot what is a ...
"Car!" He says.
" Car?" I repeat the sound to learn.
The new people in my small town learn English since childhood, but still some words remain unknown in our vocabulary.
"The new thing in the big city. You can go anywhere you want with it like a horse."
He teaches me.
I move closer to examine Richard's new toy more closely. It is splendid, I cannot deny.
However, the idea of going everywhere with the car is a bit ambitious.
" Pray also to the guardians that he doesn't have an intense winter, I believe he wouldn't be able to bear to move forward on the road. "
" Don't be so disbelieving. Let's try it, I'll drive you home."
He offers and I'm somewhat tempted to accept, until a strong hand holds my arm and I don't have to look to recognize its owner and the warmth that pings from his skin.
" Akira is not going anywhere with you!"
Alfred, my guard dog...
POV Alfred "I don't know Great mother. I think the chosen Alpha will feel a calling in his heart" I reply to the old woman still sitting in front of me. Both she and the old father, are still looking at me with a look of a teacher who expects his student to know the answer to the question. "And what do you feel in your heart?" The old father asks tenderly, so that I dispel my suspicions that it is my vanity that is this voice whispering inside me. " Is it me...?" I don't know if it is a question or an answer. " Of course it's you, hollow head!" Says the older mother, tapping my head lightly. I bet that this "hollow head", she learned from Akira. Only she calls me that. Alpha, Akira, calm down! "Am I Alpha? I mean, am I the chosen warrior? Akira and I, we were made for each other like the roar of a wolf and the moonlight?!" I am elated that I can barely process all this information. " If you don't believe it, how do you expect Akira to believe it?!" The big mother say
POV RICHARD " A wild rival? Comical!" Sacarmo takes over my mood. All that was left of company was my car, and if he could talk, he would be as upset as I am now. We have that in common: being irresistible to women, or at least I thought so. I'd rather bet that Akira Selena isn't smart enough to see what an advantage it is to have me on her side. Or just, she is so amazed at all that I can offer, that she can hardly choose what is best for her. How much effort will I need to make to please her? Isn't it enough that I have to return to this end of the world to woo a poor wretch who should be begging on her knees for my love? I hate Skyfall and everything about that primitive world of Selena. I hope my father is right about the riches that might be in store among those mountains, otherwise it will be a wasted time all the years I have come here and received absolutely nothing but this cold and closed faces of men who possess a foolish pride of who might measure strength with a Ro
POV AKIRA SELENAI admit how skeptical I can be about everything involving Skyfall, but on one thing, if not the last thing, not even the greatest among skeptics would remain indifferent. From living here so much, I know, that only something very magical would make everyone work hard before nine in the morning. Because the day does not go well with skyfallers, and even less so when the sky gives clear signs that today will not offer us its usual gray, but a splendid blue that has changed in such a short time.How did it happen? I wouldn't be able to explain, and frankly, no one is interested when there is so much to do for the party right at dusk. Men, women, old people and children all get together to make the preparations for the big day. In the decoration, many colors are mixed and apparently emotions too. This is how I feel when my gaze has just met Alfred's in the middle of the crowd. His strong arms are carrying tree trunks that will serve as firewood and seats around the bon
POV ALFRED Hours before meeting Akira at the festival preparations… My steps are calm. I don't want to frighten the beautiful bird that is preparing for its flight. I don't want to hit it with an arrow. I am afraid that its blood will stain my luck. So I risk a jump and my fingers pull a feather, in return, he pulls my finger with his big beak. Our encounter turns into a war until I get the perfect feather. The bird flies away and I return to near old dad who is amused by the whole situation. "Wouldn't a letter on a flowery paper be more effective?" I grumble. I am not at all confident in this plan. Because the fact that Akira has shown herself to be more open since she left the Rockefeller mansion doesn't mean that she prefers things like that over her imported jacket she got from Lilian or Christian's stupid letter. "Old father, this might be my last chance. I don't want to waste it..." I confess my longings, and honestly, there is no one better to listen to me than him. "T
POV RICHARDThe sun comes in fiercely through the window, beating down on my face while my eyes are closed and refusing to believe that this is the dawn of day.Oh my! If this is not a dream, what is happening in Skyfall?I have never witnessed such a sunny day, even though it is "summer". I get up in displeasure and go to the window to draw the curtains. My intention is to go back to sleep, but seeing those ridiculous little houses of the Skyfallers decorated with bright colors, I remember that today is the festival. It's been almost two days and not a single sign of Akira. My arrogance is enough to assume that she is waiting for me today with open arms and that this distance between us is just a ploy on her part to match the extremely coy matchmaking girls in the big city. I don't understand the reason for this, because I am not willing to give her any choices. She will be my wife and that will be our happy ending.I close the curtains, ending the depressing spectacle of these w
POV AKIRA SELENA I have left my little home, although my mother's words have not left me. However, the night is festive, and for many of us, the opportune moment to celebrate the best that unites us. The small streets are all lit up and nobody would get lost until the center of the small town, so there is no need for me to get lost in my worries about what may or may not happen tonight. I feel my hands cold and my heart racing. Because today, the festival is not only a celebration. It is also a meeting point and who knows, maybe the possibility of a romance being born in the hearts of the youngsters. Maybe this explains so many colors and the magical aura that involves everyone beyond the fumes escaping from the huge bonfire where some already dance around, others talk and the shy ones use it as a barrier to exchange glances from one end of our "ballroom" to the other where the open sky and the moonlight are our hosts. There is also an exchange of gifts as a show of affection bet
POV ALFRED There is no enemy that gives us more fear to face than the one that holds our heart as if it were an ant that could be crushed with a force that I never imagined words could have. To that enemy in question, it makes no difference that my strong arms are fighting against the tissue of my traditional suit, and it takes a little more effort on my part for me to fit inside it. There are also colored feathers between my straight hairs that go down to my shoulder, but even they don't guarantee me all the luck I need for this night. " My son is the most beautiful warrior of all. " My mother compliments me as I arrive. I almost didn't notice her presence, my thoughts tend to block my other senses when I'm thinking about Akira. That's what moonlight does to the wolf in us, it plays with our emotions just as it does to the tide and to the reflections of a river. And again I forget that my mother is still standing behind me, waiting for a response from her son. "Thank you, Mom!"
POV RICHARDThe simplest thing I can get for tonight, is a white shirt and black colored pants, even though it is made of the best cotton fabric in London. After all I have heard about Skyfall, there is no way I want to introduce myself to the savages, resembling the white men who stole the gold from their land. Because I don't want only the diamonds that may be in the lands of Skyfall, I want the biggest treasure of the whole region in the palm of my hand. And it has a beautiful name: Akira Selena! It intrigues me that they think she is special for some reason, and in fact, they believe that she, along with this warrior, could be Skyfall's salvation from ruin.It's funny how stupid it is, but I won't be the one to question it. If they don't doubt the prophecy, then that's all the more reason for me to take Selena out of here. Then they will feel vulnerable as the faithful who cannot turn to their God for protection in the face of our wrath when it is time to bring this little town