Reunion

Chapter 27

Edited by Higashi

WHEN JULIÁN TURNED TWELVE YEARS old and the nightmare of his middle school years was raging at its fullest, the boy had found a battered copy of The Adventures of Nils Holgersson. He began then to dream of running away from his home and seeing all the north of Europe on the back of a goose—to see everything from the skies, like the birds did.

The years passed—ran over him—and he forgot his dream, but never his desire of being free and becoming somebody else. Looking back, he had never aspired to be anything more than a clerk at a bank, perhaps an assistant at a law firm or a salesman in a department store. He had wanted to earn a nice salary, have a clean flat of his own and a boyfriend who didn't hit him or cheat on him.

Nothing else.

“I never wanted any of this,” he said quietly to his reflection on the window. He didn’t expect an answer.

The north of Europe didn't look at all like the patchwork of fields he had imagined it to be. Everything was covered in snow. Endless barren fields could be guessed at the sides of the road.

The Land Rover had devoured the kilometres for hours as Orion didn't need to rest. The blanket of darkness covering them didn't let Julián see any road signs. The bright lights on the distance could be towns, cities or villages, but everything was the same for the young man.

“I know,” Orion replied quietly and fixed his stare on a point away from the blinding lights of the trucks coming in the opposite direction.

Martin, the goose, must have frozen his ass or become pâté.

The car continued its journey, and Julián was glad that Esperanza and Lýkos had decided to sleep, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

“Would you like to rest?” was Orion's only question when dawn was breaking in. He had not said another word the whole night, while Julián had dozed on and off and dreamt of humans flying on white geese.

“Yes, I would like to change Esperanza and give her dinner and breakfast,” Julián answered a bit angrily.

Orion nodded, and Julián wondered how he could drive for fifteen hours with only one stop to purchase fuel. They drove for some more time till Orion left the main road and parked in front of a hut-like series of cabins. The early morning light didn't improve their appearance.

“Here?” the youth asked in disbelief at the sight of the old, cheap-looking motel. The Orion he knew dined in the best places and slept in castles.

“It's outside the town. We will spend the day here and drive again during the night.”

Orion got off the car, and Julián knew that they were indeed staying there for the day.

The snow outside was knee-high. Julián watched how happily Lýkos jumped out of the car to land in the middle of the white, cold mass. The wolf seemed to be glad to run next to his master, pushing the snow with his chest or even playing at burying himself under it only to jump upwards enjoying the snow flying around him.

“Not your usual kind of puppy,” Julián turned around in his seat to comment to the half-awake girl.

“He's quite a show-off,” he mumbled as Lýkos dived head on into the snow to emerge some twenty metres later, jumping triumphantly as if he were hunting imaginary rabbits.

“I wonder what country is this,” he asked to nobody in particular.

Hating the idea, but knowing he had no other choice but to leave the warm interior of the car to look for something for Esperanza to eat, Julián clenched his teeth when the freezing wind hit his face. There was nothing around them that could indicate him where he was. As the first lights of the morning began to dance in the sky, the landscaped revealed itself flat, with no trees around.

He circled the car and opened the rear door to get something for Esperanza to nibble.

The tall form of Orion emerged from one of the cabins, and Julián shuddered as he came near the car.

“Where the hell are we?” Julián shouted over the loud wind as he cowered under the car’s rear door.

“Fehmarn Island. We will take the ferry at sunset,” Orion answered. “We can sleep for some hours.”

“And where exactly is Fehmarn Island?” Julián asked on the edge of his patience.

“Germany. From Puttgarden we can sail to Malmö, or drive if you prefer to go by land. It would be around nine hours more.”

“Are you… nuts? I'm travelling with a child! She can't endure that! She's already half dead from your driving marathon!”

“Do you oppose to my idea?”

“Of course I do! Where do you intend to take us?”

“To Kirkenes.”

“Where is that?” Julián felt his blood boil once more at the nonchalant tone.

“Away from everything. Perfect for us.”

Julián sighed and forced his mind to stop racing in indignation. Arguing with Orion was useless; he always was several steps ahead of him.

“We need to rest,” the youth said calmly. “You can't drive anymore, and I have a monstrous headache.”

“That is not true. You haven't suffered one for the past four years,” Orion replied.

“It's not a headache in the strict sense of the term, but in the sense that I'm short of breath, my throat feels on fire, and I only want to smash something, preferably your big head.” Julián was becoming incensed.

“That's an anxiety episode.”

Cavemen were Aspergers, no doubt about it.

Julián held Orion's gaze for a long minute.

“Very well. We'll continue tomorrow at dawn.” Orion turned around and went back to the cabin from where he had come from.

Julián took his half-awake niece in his arms and followed Orion inside the motel.

Orion could speak German quite well, if Julián were to judge by the broad smile the man behind the counter had while Orion spoke softly.

“His wife will lend us a kettle to boil water for the child,” Orion said as he wrote something on the papers spread over the battered formica reception desk.

Esperanza wiggled in Julián's arms, and the man smiled again touching the point of her frozen nose as he complimented her looks. An old woman came from behind a door and gave Orion a kettle as he took the keys from the man's hand and walked through the motel’s corridor.

“Danke,” Julián mumbled as he hurried after Orion, hating that he had the keys and didn't even think of giving one to him.

Both men walked through the small and poorly lit corridor until Orion stopped in front of door number “4” and opened it easily, moving aside to let Julián enter first.

The room was of standard quality, and nothing else could be said about it.

“Looks like it was designed with truck drivers in mind,” Julián commented as he circled it and wondered where Esperanza would sleep or what Orion had said about them.

“I assume they must be this couple's most frequent visitors.” Orion sat on the bed and played with the tassels of the orange striped bedspread.

“The child can sleep here,” Orion said as he gathered all the pillows onto the centre of the bed to form a nest-like structure for her to rest.

“So we get the bathtub?” Julián asked as he placed the baby inside the mound of pillows, frowning as Lýkos—uninvited—hurried to occupy the bottom of the bed.

It seems the wolf had decided to play protector and matchmaker for a bit longer; there was no space left for Julián in that bed, therefore he would be forced to share—best case scenario—the sofa with Orion.

“No, the other room,” shrugged Orion. “Lýkos can look after her.”

The other room had the same decorator's signature: a large Malm double bed from Ikea with a brightly coloured bedspread and two Henriksdal chairs.

Julián sat on one of them and began to fight with his snow boots, firmly stuck to his feet.

“Allow me,” said Orion and knelt in front of Julián. He easily pulled them out and threw them to a corner of the room, near the radiator, so the boots would dry quickly.

“Thank you,” whispered Julián and looked the other way. He didn't want his eyes to meet Orion’s grey searching ones.

“I truly missed you, my love,” Orion said softly, sounding very embarrassed to say the words.

“Easy to say for someone who disappeared for almost three years. Not even a letter through your lawyers.”

“Time felt horrible without you,” Orion said, and Julián snorted.

“Three years must be like a weekend for you.” Bitterness clung to the youth's voice.

“Time is measured by with whom you spend it. For as long as I didn't know you, days were like seconds, and centuries like months. Sometimes, something would catch my attention, but it wouldn't slow down time. It ran over me, like an avalanche you survived over and over.”

“Why did you go away then?”

“Because you needed time to part with your world,” Orion replied softly. “It will be easier for you to live on from now onwards.”

Julián was moved by the look of total desolation that quickly went through Orion's eyes. It was nearly imperceptible, but he was able to seize it.

“Let's see how it goes from here on.” Julián placed his hands on the sides of Orion's face and smiled sadly. “I want to try, but this time without lies or half-truths.”

“There is nothing else to be known, only to experience and learn from it.”

“Remember, I can always curse you,” he said as he stroked Orion's cheeks. “Or make Lýkos bite you,” he whispered as he leaned his face towards Orion's.

“And how he would love it,” replied Orion softly before he kissed Julián tenderly, glad to have found his anchor again. His lips tested the turbulent waters that lay in front of him, but found them calm and warm. The two small arms that laced around his neck, inviting him to come closer, were like a balm for his soul.

Julián stood up and gently pulled Orion up with him. He smiled at his lover's inhuman height and rose to his tiptoes to kiss him again. For once, Orion was not pressing him into action, and the feeling of freedom was intoxicating. He was free to do as he pleased, as Orion merely responded to his kisses or light touches, letting him take the lead.

Smiling, the youth began to slowly remove his clothes in front of Orion, who could only gape before he mechanically started to undo his own clothes.

Julián stopped and took a deep breath in. Something in the air had changed, yet he couldn't pinpoint what it was.

Morning had broken, but the sun rays filtering through the shutters held no appeal for him. It was something else, like the feeling of being home.

“Sh, let me do it,” Julián said softly as he feared any noise would break the magical haze around them. The dust motes flew around his eyes, and his head felt light, detached from the rest of his body. His fingers quickly unbuttoned the corduroy shirt in front of him, and the torso he knew so well was released from its prison of clothes.

The butterfly-soft fingers Orion loved so much moved to undo his trousers, and at last, his naked body touched Julián’s. Once more he was able to reverently touch that ethereal-looking, silky, marble-like skin. Julián was allowing him close again.

A laugh of delight nearly escaped Orion’s lips when Julián playfully pushed him onto the bed and sensually straddled him.

Julián kissed Orion hungrily as he let the man penetrate him with that barely contained haste he loved so much from his lover. Orion made him feel needed and wanted to the point of lunacy. When they were together, Julián knew deep inside of him that the man would do anything for him. He could growl, be cold or ignore him, but Orion's attentiveness could be found dangling from his smallest gestures.

This time, Julián chose a slow motion for them, nothing hurried or rushed. He wanted to savour his lover, feel every little sensation that passed between them. He closed his eyes and let himself be carried away by the thrusts of the man possessing him.

It felt heavenly.

He opened his eyes to find himself in the middle of an unknown city bathed by the sun. The buildings were made of crystal and had rounded shapes that showed the many plants on their balconies and terraces, or reflected the tall trees on the streets. He looked down and found that the street was made of octagonal ceramic tiles, too delicate to endure any kind of traffic on them.

He saw in the distance a group of women chatting happily as they carried their babies wrapped to their bodies, but they entered a building when Julián wished to reach them.

He began to walk getting lost in the collection of strangely built—no higher than seven storeys—structures. He marvelled at how well they blend in with the jungle surrounding the city, but was disappointed to find it so small and without any kind of stores or entertainment venues.

“They are located in the underground,” Orion’s resounded in his head. “We don't need so much any longer.”

“What is this place?” Julián spun around in his feet, trying to take in as much as he could of the wonderful place he was in.

“A future.”

Julián's body felt Orion reach his climax and his seed filled his insides. The youth opened his eyes and found himself back in the dingy hotel room.

Dizzy, gasping for air, with his hands shaking, but anchoring to reality by touching Orion's chest, Julián asked, “Is it true? They looked very human to me.”

“They are human,” replied Orion. He looked very tired.

“But the city was so small!”

“They don't need anything more. They are happy as they are.”

“Is there hope for mankind, then? Will we not become extinct?”

“Mankind has lived on the border of extinction for thousands of years, long before I was born. And yet, here they are. I didn't lie when I said this is another chance. My brothers and I have decided to go away for now, but we will return to teach men when the time is right.”

Full of joy and relief, Julián closed his eyes and collapsed over Orion's body, tired as he had never been before.



They lay spent as Julián snuggled against Orion. He playfully rubbed his cold nose against the other man's chest and rested his head against the crook of the arm that was there. What little sunlight they had had for a few hours had begun to fade, but neither man felt in a hurry. Time had stopped for them.

“How could you think I would be gone forever? I always loved beautiful things,” Orion smiled shyly, embarrassed by his own confession.

“You said that once,” Julián remembered the first time Orion had shown his affections for him.

“It is true,” Orion affirmed, and Julián believed him with all his heart.

“Why… are you never like this?” Julián asked, dissolving their embrace to study Orion with a frown.

“Like how?”

“Like now.”

Orion looked at him dumbfounded.

“Caring, loving,” explained Julián. “You act like you care nothing about anything. I see more concern for the human population in Lýkos than in you, but that's probably because he thinks his food supply chain might be hindered.”

“I care about you.”

“I mean about the rest of the world.”

“Would they care about me?”

“No. Probably not,” sighed Julián, and his gaze got lost through the window. The daylight had almost gone, and he could only guess the forms of the far away trees.

“You're right,” the young man said after a long time. “But sometimes you behave like the Mad-Hatter from that Alice book. Nothing you say makes sense till it does, and then it's too late. Or you make sense in your very own logical way, but not in ours.”

“I never made hats, Julián,” Orion replied softly, and Julián stared at him. “I believe it is called ‘poetic licence’ when an author takes some elements from reality and transforms them into a character. My tea service was complete too, and I would have never let a hare fumble with the china set I had at the time. Lýkos would have probably had it for lunch.”

“You met… the guy who wrote Alice in Wonderland?”

“Carroll was the kind of friend better suited for Sartanos than for me, but I believe he was impressed by me and came for tea many times.”

Julián took a deep breath. Once more he had fallen down the rabbit hole and woken up in a strange land. His recent mystic vision felt more real than the turn their conversation had taken.

“Why didn't you show me all this before? The place I was in looked and felt so real and beautiful. If I had known it can be like that, maybe everything would have turned differently between us. You shielded your mind, and I don't know why.”

“Perhaps I did, but it was with your best intentions in mind. At the time, you did not half-believe that what was coming was real. I thought that the best for you would be to part with this world on your own terms. I give you my word that I will do my utmost to provide the best kind of life that I can for your blood.”

“I'm sure you will,” Julián agreed and felt his earlier anger begin to dissolve within the memories of their shared vision.

“Let's go now to wherever you want to go.”

All the youth’s doubts had been washed away.