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Out from among the clouds you came to me. Truly a dream I thought it must be. For how could one of such beauty and grace be real. Yet as I floated in the glow of the moon, above the mountains and below the stars, you were there. As real as the air you took from my lungs and the beats you took from my heart. You were there. Will you ever be real to me again? - Leif’s letter in the wind.
Leif never considered himself a stalker - to find and follow someone he had seen. A complete stranger. This was different. It was only a few weeks ago since he had seen the blond haired girl, floating in the clouds. The memory of her haunted him in his sleep and when he was awake. He hardly ate, he barely slept, and he couldn’t focus on his daily work. His once shining reviews by his bosses had become looks of unspoken questions. He knew it was only a matter of time before someone pulled him into their office for a reprimand about his performance.
He continued to return to the same spot night after night, but she was nowhere to be found. His gut ached with the thought he had lost her forever - she would never return to give him the chance he had thrown away when he first saw her. Each night was no different from the next as he hopped from cloud to cloud, searching for any sign she had been there. He looked for the slightest wisp of cloud and fog streaking in a direction contrary to the wind. He looked into every gap with the hope she had just passed through, leaving a trail for him to follow. As with each night before, when the horizon started to glow, he would return home feeling devastated and exhausted.
Regardless of the lack of sleep and the stress from work, Leif had a hard time waiting for the darkness to settle over Seattle. He thought about trying other locations, thinking maybe she would fly to other remote spots to enjoy the peace and serenity of the night. There were too many places to look. The forests and mountains outside of Seattle were too vast to cover. He considered enlisting the help of his parents, but felt too embarrassed by his lack of initiative on that first night. His excuse of their advancing age made it easy to not include them; at least, not yet.
I’m panicking, Leif thought while driving to a secluded spot at the base of Mt. Rainier, close to where he had seen the blond hair girl. I have my favorite spots, remote and away from prying eyes. She has to have her favorite spots as well. He reasoned this would be the only location where he would be able to find her - the same location where he saw her. She had to eventually return, even if it was weeks, months, or years later. He was determined to not let her slip by again.
Leif waited for the darkness to settle. At this time of the month, he knew he would have an hour of complete darkness before the moon showed itself over the horizon. When the time was right he launched into the cool night air. Distant city lights painted a faint glow against the clouds around Mt. Rainier. Fog was starting to form and drift through the thick forest below. Stars were peeking through openings in the clouds. There was a slight wind bringing more cloud cover in from the Puget Sound. Leif flew to same place he had been searching every night for the past few weeks - his best approximation of where he had seen the long, flowing, blonde hair in the clouds. He slowly rotated while rising above the clouds, scanning every possible nook, wisp, crevice, and gap in the clouds. He closed his eyes, extended his arms, and reached out with his senses - seeking anything that felt different from the normal flow of energy through the plants, animals, and distant power-lines below. He felt nothing unusual.
He opened his eyes and continued to scan the cloud tops and the horizon while rising slowly above the clouds. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves and the ache of emptiness in his gut. I have to see her again. Patience. I can do this. He stopped gaining altitude and continued to turn while scanning. The crispness of the air was helping him to relax. He always enjoyed the serenity of the mountains and the forests. Even when he was grounded - walking through the many trails and along the rivers, he found he was most at peace and happiest when he was here. He stopped turning and gazed at the distant glow of light on the peaks of the Cascades. The moon was rising and would soon provide more light.
Leif heard a sudden rush of air above him. He looked up, expecting to see a flock of birds, a stray seagull, or a graceful eagle. There was nothing. He slowly turned around, looking up, hoping to catch a glimpse of flapping wings against the backdrop of the mountains or the distant city lights. Another rush of air passed under him, startling him to a verbal, “Whoa.” He quickly flipped upside down, trying to see what had flown under him. He thought he made out the movement of something rapidly flying away, but it was too dark to tell and he couldn’t sense anything. He quickly followed in the same direction, but stopped when he couldn’t detect any further movement. I’m chasing ghosts.
His heart was beating rapidly. He wasn’t sure if it was the excitement or the fear of not knowing what was happening. Something or someone was out here with him. Could it be her? He slowly turned around looking for any possible movement while listening for any change in the light wind. His senses didn’t seem to be picking up anything. Maybe his anxiety combined with his exhaustion, and frustration was dulling his senses. Or maybe the movement was too fast for him to sense. He stopped to try and calm down enough to determine who or what was up here with him. He felt the moon rising and he turned to watch it’s cresting above the ridge of the Cascade mountain range to the east. The clouds continued to move below him, rolling in from the northwest, providing a base to reflect the moonlight and provide protection from prying eyes below.
“I’ve been watching you.” The soft voice came from above and to the south.
Leif quickly turned to look in the direction of the voice. There she was - hovering in the distance and being softly caressed by the clouds encircling Mt. Rainier. Leif could hardly contain the beating of his heart. He could hear it pounding in his ears and was afraid his heart would just fall out of his chest and kill him before he could utter a single word. He could tell she was smiling as she hovered among the clouds. The glow from the rising moon washed over her. She was wearing jeans and a flowing loose jacket over a t-shirt. Her hair moved with the wisps of the clouds and would occasionally fall to her elbows as she hovered with her hands on her hips. Her posture seemed to imply it was Leif’s turn to respond.
Leif took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. He smiled with a bit of a chuckle, realizing while he was hoping to be the one to find her, she had in fact, found him instead. He paused and took another breath before responding. “You’ve been watching me?”
She drifted closer as she responded, “Yeah. For like the past month.” She paused and looked off toward the lights of Seattle and continued. “I had to strike a pose for you before you saw me.”
“Wow. I’ve been blind for a whole month, eh?” Leif responded with embarrassment. “And here I didn’t want to be perceived as a stalker if I found you again.”
She let out a small laugh. “Well, I guess I’ve been stalking you, Leif.” She replied.
“What? You even know my name? I admit, you really have me at a great disadvantage.” Leif responded as he slowly drifted closer to her.
“Sorry,” she replied while looking down and letting her hair drift down over her face.
Leif’s heart almost stopped when he got close enough to get a clearer look at her.
She looked back up and her hair parted to each side of her face. “I’m ...”
“Carina.” Leif interrupted her. “The girl from school.”
“Yeah. I was wondering when you would come up and say hello.” She drifted close enough reach out and touch him. She stopped a few feet away.
“Wow.” Leif responded. He searched for what he always wanted to say to her if he ever got the chance to see her again. But he couldn’t remember the words. All he added was, “I’ve missed you.”
Carina drifted closer and took his hand. “Nice to see you again too, Leif.”
The touch of her hand was calming to him, as if it was always meant to be. He smiled after a long pause and finally asked, “Would you like to talk and catch up over a cup of coffee?”
“I would love to.”
***
“...and when Mr. Krazinski found my missing page he decided to change my D to a B plus. I was so stressed out over that.” Carina paused a few seconds to catch her breath and continued. “I knew I turned it in, but he insisted it was incomplete. It was such a relief when he found it and he actually apologized for misplacing it in his briefcase.”
Leif hung onto every word. He was listening, but he was also watching. Trying not to be too obvious he would sneak a glance into her eyes at every opportunity. They were a cross between blue and hazel with a refreshing glow of excitement and radiance. Fortunately, she was so wrapped up with reminiscing about their days in school, she hardly noticed his intense gaze. Though once she made direct eye contact when she asked Leif about an incident in home room. Her pause and glance caught him off guard. He responded, “Um, yeah. That was pretty funny.” He quickly recovered and watched as she continued.
“Look at me.” Carina chuckled. “I think I’ve been babbling about school for a solid hour and you’ve hardly said anything.”
Leif smiled. “It’s okay. I’m enjoying it. It sure brings back a lot of memories.” He paused and looked down at his empty coffee cup, then he gave the nearby tables a quick scan to make sure no one was listening to their conversation. The droning noise of grinding coffee, background music, and other conversations were loud enough to drown out any conversations farther than a few feet away. He leaned closer to Carina and spoke in a lower volume. “I wanted to talk to you there,” he paused, “back in school. In home room.”
Carina smiled slightly. “So, why didn’t you?”
“Shy, nervous, afraid of making a fool of myself. I didn’t want to get the cold shoulder.” Leif sheepishly replied.
“I figured.”
Leif laughed. “You figured?”
“Yeah. I wanted you to come and talk, and I got the sense you wanted to. But,” she stopped and gazed around with her eyes, trying not to show she was scanning the room. She continued in a lower volume, “I didn’t know you were one of us. Uncle Georgeo never told me.”
“Georgeo?” Leif sat back surprised. “You know Georgeo?”
“Don’t we all?”
Leif shook his head and laughed. “Yes, we do!”
“He helped me when I started. I just didn’t think you might be one of us.”
“When did you start?”
Carina held up all ten fingers.
“What?” Leif responded a little louder than he intended. He gazed around and was glad to see he didn’t draw anyone’s attention. Getting quieter, he added, “Ten years old. That’s just not fair.”
“Why?” Carina asked. “How old were you?”
“Um, it was almost two months ago.” He held his head down in embarrassment.
Carina placed her hand on Leif’s, on the table. “Don’t feel bad. Georgeo told me I was special. He had never seen anyone start as early as I did. In fact, it scared me. I thought I was some kind of freak or something.”
“What about your parents? Didn’t they help you?”
Carina paused. The glow and excitement previously in her eyes faded as she reflected on her experience with her parents. She gazed down at her coffee cup before replying. Carina tried to choose her words carefully, in case someone was listening. “I woke up screaming the night it happened. They came in and told me it was normal, but they were concerned it had happened so soon. That was when I found out they were, um, capable, but they had decided not to - participate. They discouraged me from trying to make it happen.” Small tears started to appear in the corner of her eyes.
Leif reached up with a napkin and dabbed at one that rolled to her cheek. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you remember such a sad time.”
She continued, “I ignored them. It felt natural - like I was supposed to be, um, participating. I tried to be careful, but my mom caught me a couple years later. She didn’t scold me like I thought she would. She just slumped to the floor and cried. Uncle Georgeo showed up the next day and gave me the full 411.” She looked up at Leif, patted his hand a couple times. “It’s okay.” She wiped at the other tear. “He taught me well.”
Leif didn’t know what to say. He placed his other hand on top of Carina’s and rubbed it. He just gazed into her eyes and she gazed into his. He smiled and gave her a wink. She smiled back, comforted by Leif’s concern. It seemed like forever and neither one wanted to break the moment. They both already knew and felt it - the Avitorian bonding was starting.
***
Matt and Suzanne stood in the center of a room surrounded by racks filled with computer equipment, cables, and electronics. Matt looked around to see if anyone else was in the room. He watched as a university student technician left the room and he listened for the door to click to a close. He gently grabbed Suzanne by the waist and pulled her toward him. Gazing into her eyes he spoke slightly above a whisper. “Well, doctor. It looks like everything is going according to plan.”
“Feeling frisky today, are we?” she responded.
He chuckled. “Just glad we’re able to get into this facility and move on to the next step. I’m feeling pretty good about this candidate and I think I can bring in a good specimen as soon as you’re ready.”
“Really? Well, that IS good news. The facility is ready. We moved Angela in last week. And I start teaching astrophysics for the university next week.” She gave him a quick kiss then pulled away, not wanting to have someone walk in on them. “Do you need the team and equipment?”
“Nope. I want to keep it small, quiet, and simple. I’ll let you know when I’m ready to deliver.”
She nodded in agreement and pointed at the equipment and spread her arms. “This is ATHENA!” she stated proudly. “One of the most highly advanced computer clusters in the world for working on advanced astrophysical research and below ground is the Van de Graff particle accelerator. Between these two, we have the ability to finally determine, once and for all, the source for the ability of Avitorian flight.” She turned to face Matt and gave him another kiss. “We - you and I - will gain full control of the Eighteenth and will learn the secrets of Avitorian flight. The royal lineage of Ahmose will rise again, with abilities that rightfully belong to us.
***
Leif was writing programming code like a mad man. He was on a euphoric high since meeting Carina and nothing could get in his way. It didn’t matter he was only getting between four and six hours of sleep per night. Thankfully, with the fall season coming, the nights were getting longer. They were able to start their nightly flights earlier each evening. She had taught him a lot during the past few weeks. How they could fly faster in the colder weather and how being under stress or a sickness could affect their ability to sense the flow of electricity. A big no-no was the use of electronics such as cell phones or music players which could block being able to sense anything. When Carina discussed this with him he remembered what his parents had told him about the disappearance of his aunt Angela and the tape player left behind.
His project manager had noticed the increase in productivity as well. Every now and then he would pop his head into Leif’s cubicle and give him a “Atta-boy” and a pat on the back. The kudos were nice, but Leif was more concerned about getting his work done and then heading out for some quality time with Carina. He had been in the “zone” most of the day and was looking forward to leaving soon when Jewels stopped by and startled him out of his mental web of algorithms.
“Hey Leif!” She had managed to sneak up right behind him.
“Uh, hi Jewels,” he responded while finishing up a couple code statements on the computer. “What can I do for you?”
“Actually, you can help me get my source checked in. I’m stuck on the compile with the new libraries and you seem to be a pro at getting the new routines to integrate.”
“I would love to help out, but I have plans for this evening. Can’t you get McCreaddy to help out?”
“His wife went into labor this afternoon and this is the build we have to deliver tomorrow.”
Leif felt his heart sink with the realization he wouldn’t get to meet up with Carina this evening. “Okay. Give me a few minutes to get my code checked in. I’ll come over to your desk.”
“Thanks Leif.” Jewels squeezed his shoulder and added, ”You’re a pal.”
Leif started his code compile then pulled out his phone. He texted Carina:
Bad news, have to work. Miss you. Maybe later?
He tapped the ‘Send’ icon and stared at the phone, hoping to get an immediate response. I hope she doesn’t think I’m blowing her off. Of course she doesn’t! He argued with himself. His computer beeped in acknowledgement of completion of his code compile. He stood up and put his phone back into his pocket with a sigh. On his second step toward her cubicle his pocket vibrated. He looked at the phone and smiled.
:( Sorry. I’ll wait
Leif spent the next four hours glued to the computer keyboard and monitors on Jewels desk. Though Jewels sat next to him, she hardly interrupted his intense concentration. She watched the monitors in amazement while he installed code modules, wrote configuration code, and tested each process as he continued. She tried to understand the processes he was performing, but she gave up trying to keep track a few hours ago. That’s when she went for coffee and microwave pizza from the break-room vending machines.
Leif kept checking the time on his phone every chance he got. The four hours felt like eight. He so desperately wanted to be flying around with Carina. Every now and then, during a brief code compile, he would text Carina to let her know his progress.
“There!” Leif stated with a press of the ‘Enter’ key. “That should do it. We just have to wait and see if the code compiles this time.”
“Wow. You’re amazing.” Jewels responded with a hand on his shoulder. “I don’t think I even helped past the first ten minutes.”
Leif watched as the progress meter on the monitor moved to ten percent. “It’s just a knack I have. The math and logic comes easy to me,” he replied humbly.
“Obviously. Or,” she paused, “did you get help from your friend?” She chuckled while nodding at Leif’s phone on the desk.
“Ah.” Leif picked up the phone and stuck it in his pocket. “That was just a good friend of mine. We had plans and I was just letting her know my progress.”
“Her?” Jewels was surprised. “A girlfriend? I thought you seemed to be glowing more the past month or so.” She smiled.
“Well, I, um.” Leif wasn’t sure why he was getting so embarrassed over it.
“Is it serious?”
Leif peeked at the progress bar on the monitor as it moved to fifty percent. “Not yet, but there’s promise.”
“I’m so disappointed,” Jewels responded with a frown.
“Disappointed?” Once again, Jewels caught him off guard. “How so?”
Jewels scooted her chair a few feet away and gathered up her notes from the desktop and arranged them into a neat stack. “You were supposed to be this lonely computer geek who always ate alone, played video games, and would eventually come around to my whims and advances. I would wrap you around my little finger and we would wink at each other while working at the office.” She looked up and gave him her best mischievous smile.
Leif wasn’t sure if she was joking or serious while trying to make it look like a joke. “You’re messing with me, right?”
She laughed and stuffed the papers into her laptop computer bag. “Yeah, for now.” She stood, pointed at the monitor, and continued, “Because it looks like we’re done for tonight.”
He glanced at the monitor as it showed the progress bar at one hundred percent. “Alright!” he responded with a fist pump and turned back to Jewels.
“Tell the girlfriend I said hello, and be sure to get the lights on your way out.” Jewels gave him a wink, grabbed her bag, and walked out of the cubicle.