Eternal Echoes: A Dance with Darkness

It has almost been a week since I had that dream and have seen Aiden. I did not tell Sara about the dream or memory that I had because I could not risk Easton finding out. What if it was all just a dream? I couldn’t belittle Easton’s character which may not have occurred. Plus I didn’t want to sully Sara and her boyfriend’s reconciliation. She was absolutely smitten with him.

Sara waited with me for a couple of days for Aiden to return but to no avail. After growing tired of the wait, she made plans with Easton and they have been going on many dates. I haven’t seen so little of my best friend since we were younger, back when we had to rely on our parents to bring us everywhere. It’s not her fault though. She has invited me to hang out with them a few times, but I cannot look at Easton the same way since that dream.

In all this time, I started to question Aiden's existence. Was he real, or just a figment of my imagination? Even with my doubts, I couldn't shake the worry I felt for him. The dreams of him and Lucien had stopped, the visions had faded. Was it possible that my telepathy had driven me mad?

A knock at the door startled me from my thoughts. I rushed to the door, heart pounding. My mom must be home early, I thought. But when I opened the door, I was met with an unexpected sight.

"Will!" I exclaimed, surprised to see my brother.

"Hey, little sis," he grinned, pulling me into a hug. "I was knocking at the front door. Didn't you hear it?"

"No, I guess I was too lost in thought," I admitted, still a bit dazed. "What are you doing here?"

"I have some news," he said mysteriously.

"What kind of news?" I asked, intrigued.

"You'll have to wait," he replied. "I'll tell you when Mom and Dad get home."

I gave him a pout.

He chuckled. “Do you want to get out of the house for a while?”

I didn’t respond. I grabbed my coat and boots and was out the door with my brother. We walked in silence for a couple of blocks as Will looked to be in deep thought about something until I decided to break the silence.

“So who is she and when is the wedding?”

Will stared at me completely dumbfounded. “How did you know?”

"Lucky guess," I said with a smile.

"Right... Well, you hit the nail on the head with that one," he replied, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Well, it was either that or you knocked someone up. That was my next guess," I teased.

"Oh, ha-ha," he retorted. "Anyway, her name is Cindy. We've been together for about nine months, and she's amazing!"

"I'm happy for you, Will," I said sincerely.

"So, would you like to meet her?" he asked hopefully. "I thought it would be better if you met her first, so Mom and Dad wouldn't scare her off."

I laughed nervously. "Sure, I guess. When?"

"A little later today," he replied hopeful.

“Alright.” I sighed inwardly. I wasn't exactly in the mood to meet new people, especially when I was feeling so overwhelmed.

Will gave me a look of confusion, but brushed it away before asking, “What have you been up to? Any boyfriend I should know about?”

“Not really… There’s this guy I met a week or so ago that I thought could work out, but he kind of just disappeared.”

“Do I need to kick his ass?” he asked defensively.

I laughed sheepishly. “No… It’s nothing to worry about.” I lied. This was a topic that I did not feel like touching. “Besides, if I wanted you to, I wouldn’t know where to find him; hence the term ‘disappeared.’”

"You know, I did miss your smart ass," he said sarcastically. "How's Sara doing?"

"She's fine... In love with some guy from high school," I replied.

"Who's that?" he asked, though I doubted he cared much.

"Easton," I answered.

"Never heard of him," he said.

"Yeah, he was kind of a loner," I explained.

"Do you like him?" he asked.

"I don't know," I admitted. "I hardly know him." I wasn't really in the mood to discuss my love life.

"Well, you should get to know him," he suggested. "He is dating your best friend, after all."

“Yeah, but I have my own stuff to deal with right now.”

We strolled through town, catching up on lost time. Will had landed a job in construction. After an accident at work, he had to pick up some medicine at a pharmacy, where he met his fiancée, Cindy. According to Will, he didn’t have to try very hard to get her to go out with him. I highly doubted this and as he told me the story, the real scene played out in my head as he recollected the moment.

Cindy was a beautiful girl, about my height with long straight black hair. She had brown eyes and tan skin. It was apparent that she had some type of Native American in her, especially with her high cheekbones.

Will had walked up to her and handed her his prescription. She looked at him sheepishly, gave him a cute smile as she went to fill it. When she came back he had asked her for her phone number, which she declined to give to him. Then he asked her out on a date, to which she replied no. He went up there every day until she said yes. It was kind of funny to think about, especially since he lied about how easy it was for him to go on a date with her. And quite shocking that she didn’t call the cops claiming he was a stalker.

At about four o’clock in the afternoon, Will took me to the park where Cindy was waiting to meet us. She was sitting at a bench by herself reading a magazine.

“Cindy,” Will began, “this is my sister, Ember.”

Her eyes met mine, a lazy smile playing on her lips. "Hello," she murmured.

"It's nice to meet you," I replied, returning her smile.

She seemed a bit distracted, lost in her own thoughts. Perhaps she was nervous, but her lack of effort in making a good first impression was puzzling.

"So, Will told me he swept you off your feet," I ventured.

She giggled, finally showing some life. "Hardly. He practically stalked me until I agreed to go out with him. I told him I'd only go if he stopped coming to the pharmacy. It wasn't exactly romantic… It wasn’t something I would have normally done but he seemed harmless."

Will flushed, caught in his own lie.

We chatted for another hour, but the conversation was stilted. Her mind seemed to wander constantly, making it hard to keep up. I couldn't help but feel a bit disconnected from her.

Once we finished talking, Will walked with me to get my opinion.

“So what did you think of her?” His voice was hopeful.