Five: A Maor Novel (Maor series) by Caroline Greyling Page A

day before the wedding then?’
    ‘Shaylee, stop it! Just listen -’
    Something inside me snaps at the word ‘listen’. It feels
like that’s all I’ve been doing my entire life; ‘listening’ to what others have
to say and ‘obeying’ what others tell me I should and shouldn’t be doing.
    ‘No,’ I say, ‘you had your chance to talk and I’m done listening . I won’t be getting married to a stranger, and I won’t be taking orders from that glorified bodyguard-’  
    ‘Shaylee Greene!’ mom interrupts, voice rising. ‘This
isn’t a game. You have to listen to Kael!’
    ‘Why should I? He’s only a year or so older than me. I’m
tired of listening to everyone else. It’s my life and I’m going to start doing what I want
for a change.’
    ‘Shaylee Greene! You do what he says, do you hear me?’
she shouts frantically into the receiver. ‘He’s your protector!’
    ‘I don’t need protection. I can take care of myself,’ I
say and hang up.

 
    My cell phone rings and I flip the side switch to mute.
A few missed calls later, another phone begins to ring somewhere in the bowels
of the house, but nobody answers and eventually, it stops. The sudden silence
is deafening. I can hear the electricity humming in the appliances and the soft
whisper of the water fountain below my bedroom window.
    Apparently Nan is not home. I wonder where she has gone
and then I wonder why she’s left me alone, after all that talk of ‘things’ and
‘protection.’  
    I shrug, grab a pair of jeans, one of my more colorful
crochet tops that hangs lose over one shoulder in hippie style and a strap top
for underneath, and then I head into the shower. When I’m done shampooing my
hair, I give it a quick towel dry, twist it into a loose knot at the nape of my
neck and dress quickly before heading downstairs in search of food.
    There isn’t much in Nan’s refrigerator that appeals to
me, but I manage to find a small packet of mini tennis biscuits in one of the
cupboards to munch on as I stroll through the house.    
    When I come to the front room, I stop in front of the
large windows and stare out at the green lawn. A vision looms in my mind. Me, five years old, stomach aching from
laughter, tumbling down the sloping lawn. At the bottom of the slope, where the
lawn meets forest, I stumble to my feet. The world shifts beneath me but I turn
and shout, ‘Come on!’ and disappear in a drunken zigzag into the trees.
    It feels like more than just a vision. It feels like a
memory.
    ‘We’re all next door.’
    I jump at the voice and spin to find Kael leaning
against the door frame. The memory is
still so vivid in my mind that I sway against a wave of dizziness. I reach
instinctively for the nearest chair to steady myself, but instead of plush velvet
upholstery, my hand connects with warm flesh. My eyes shoot up to Kael’s as a
crackle of energy passes from my fingertips into his arm.
    ‘Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you,’ he says, frowning
at the place where my hand touches him. I steady myself and quickly snatch my hand
away.
    ‘Where’s Nan?’ I ask, inching a step backwards. I can’t
help myself; I don’t understand this connection between us and it scares me.
    ‘At our house for lunch. It’s kind of a weekly thing.’
    ‘Oh… have you been waiting for me?’
    ‘Of course,’ he says, ‘you didn’t think we’d leave you
all alone did you?’
    I shake my head, although that is exactly what I was
thinking.
    ‘Your mom called, by the way,’ Kael says.
    I groan and close my eyes.
    ‘I figured you didn’t want to talk to her, so I promised
you’d call back tomorrow.’
    ‘Um, thanks.’ I glance at him and wonder just how much
of our telephone conversation my mother has shared with him.
    Kael straightens and sweeps a hand toward the door.
    ‘The food’s just about ready,’ he says.
    ‘Right.’ I follow his gesture and lead the way out the
front door. Kael falls into step beside me and together,