Sentilia

“I reckon she can hear us.” I could hear faint voices I didn’t recognize.

“Maxine, come back to us now, wake up.”

I opened my eyes to see who had spoken. I was lying on a small bed in a well-lit room.

It was Maia whom I saw first.

“Hello again, Maxine, you’ve been out for a couple of hours now,” she said.

“What happened?” I didn’t have a grasp on what was going on. My head was spinning and I felt confused.

“Well...Um...Dr. Skythe didn’t really have time to check you. But we figure you just passed out from the heat.”

I heard someone else move somewhere close to me, so I turned my head to see who it was. My sight was still a bit blurry but I clearly heard: “Hey, I’m Kleio.” I was too dozy to respond.

He immediately saw what I was trying to do, and helped me lift myself in a sitting position. “Easy, there.” I held myself on the edge of the couch so I wouldn’t fall back. “Thanks,” I said, with a shy smile. He quickly returned a wide grin that showed a set of perfect white teeth.

Sitting up made me feel a little better. My eyes focused on Kleio as he took a seat next to me. He seemed to be my age, maybe a little older.

“So, did you come here all alone? Cause if there was someone with you, you need to tell us.” He had an intense expression on his face. “We couldn’t find your transporter anywhere, it’s so weird.”

“Calm down Kleio,” Maia said. I jumped a little; I had forgotten she was still in the room. His confused face turned towards her, but she didn’t seem to think much of it.

“Um...No...I think I was alone...” I really was confused. I was in my dream again, and I had no idea what to say. It seemed so real, but I knew I hadn’t come here with a transporter. This man wanted answers, answers I couldn’t give him; the truth was I had no idea where I was, how I had gotten here. I fell asleep, and when I opened my eyes, I was here. Apparently I had been unconscious “here” for a few hours?

“You think?” He chuckled, and rolled his eyes. His shoulders were square and his chest was puffed out. I could feel the confidence he exuded.

“Alright K, she’s clearly still lost.” Maia walked out of the room, raising her voice as she went. “When she’s ready, bring her over to Elis’, he wants to take a look at her.”

“Sure,” Kleio said slowly, his expression changing.

She walked out of the room. It was complete silence after that, so I assumed she had left the apartment.

We didn’t exchange anything else for about an hour, he just walked around, rummaging through the place.

The room was large, the ceilings high. The walls were light blue, and the furniture looked a lot like ours: glass and metal made. There were two sofas, including the one I now occupied, a couple of small coffee tables, and another larger one, in the centre of the room. There was a tall bookshelf on the far wall, which Kleio—or K, as Maia had called him—had been exploring for a very long few minutes. I wanted to get up so I could also have a look at the collection of books, but was unsuccessful.

“Need help, Max?” Were we doing nicknames now?

“No, I’m fine.” Forget the books.

He stared at me for a moment, his hands on his hips: “You think you’re ready for a car ride?” he asked, skeptically.

Was I? I wasn’t entirely sure. But a jolt of excitement went though my body as he finished his sentence; I had yearned to ride a car, though I knew it would never happen. Before I would wake again, I took the sudden opportunity. “Sure, let’s go!” I jumped up a little too fast, wobbled, and he caught my arm, smiling.

We stepped outside; I seemed to be in a bigger hurry than he was. We were so deep in the city that I could barely make out the hills in the distance. Just the fact that we exited the front door to the ground directly was enough to amaze me. I looked back at the place I had been kept in. I had never seen anything like it: it was a white house, made of wood, with flowers bordering the windows and a big porch surrounding it. It was a small house, compared to the others beside it, but it was very pretty. Since I was used to living in a small apartment, to me, it was huge. It made me realize how cramped we were at home.

“Kleio” made me stop in front of the car. He carefully put his arms around me, under my shoulders, to help me onto the passenger seat. I couldn’t look at his face; the proximity made my cheeks prickle. He knew I was still a bit rocky and that’s probably why he helped me get into the car: the car seat was just a few inches off the ground. As he went around the car and sat in the driver’s seat, I really noticed him for the first time.

He was tall and bulky; he had an olive skin tone, and dark shabby hair. He had a rectangular face, small lips and big bright eyes. He had high cheekbones and a tall forehead, centered by a lightly crooked nose. Through his confidence, he had a peaceful aura surrounding him, and each time I laid my eyes on him, he seemed to become more handsome. He also seemed like a kind, and caring person.

Before I could consider him fully, there was a roar of the engine, and we started forwards.

I took in the environment where I was now sitting. From the outside, it kind of looked like a transporter. The major difference was that cars were coloured. There were a couple of other differences, less important: cars had windows—something I had always wished transporters could have—wheels, and the body was curvier on our transporters. But on the inside, there were a hundred lights and buttons, and no computer to guide you: Kleio was steering it manually. My hands glided along the passenger side door, dragging the thin layer of dust covering the laminated interior.

At first, I liked the feeling of the road beneath us: the uneven surface of the pavement made the car tremble lightly, but shortly after we had left, I started feeling queasy. I tried to grab onto whatever my hands were laying on, my eyes focused on the road ahead, so I wouldn’t alarm Kleio. Luckily, we came to a halt a few minutes later. Apparently, windows didn’t keep me from getting nauseous. I had felt completely safe however, and if I seemed agitated, it was the thrill of watching Kleio control the car. I felt uneasy and exhilarated at the same time.

Not bad for my first car ride.

We stopped in front of a beautiful brick house that looked like a miniature castle; amazingly, every house here was different from one another. A painting of a French castle had mesmerized me as a little girl, the very first time I’d gone to the museum. I had completely forgotten about it, but it suddenly came back as a vivid picture in my mind.

“So, did you enjoy the ride?” The look on my face made Kleio roar with laughter. “Green suits you, Max,“—I imagined he was referring to the colour of my face—but he quickly caught himself, “Can I call you Max, by the way?” Now he asks?

“Sure, and...yeah, I do feel a little sick.” He let out another peal of laughter.

“C’mon, Max, let’s go inside.” He was smiling wryly, his eyes mocking, and I returned the smile half-heartedly, mostly to be polite, eying the house dubiously.

As if he could read my mind he said: “It’s Dr. Skythe’s house...office, I mean. We just need to stop by for him to check your...vitals...or something like that,” I raised my eyebrows, “people don’t just faint for no reason,” he said, winking, and got out of the car.

I liked Kleio’s presence; he seemed to be a pleasant person, easy to be around. I felt something in my stomach from the way he looked at me, but maybe it didn’t mean anything, maybe it was just because I wasn’t used to being around guys.

I turned towards the door to open it, but there were so many different buttons and handles. From the window, I saw Kleio coming towards my side of the car; he opened the door and I thanked him, embarrassed. He wore a proud smile as I stepped out of the car—firmly refusing any help this time—and made my way towards the house.

Kleio stepped in front of me and opened the door. He paused and said: “After you,” pointing towards the inside of the house. I looked at him, confused, and stepped inside hesitantly. He quickly took the lead and towed me by the hand through the small corridor. Before I had time to take in my surroundings, Kleio turned into a room, shouting as he went: “Hey Elis!”

The room passed in a blur; it led to a spacious office. Kleio’s hand felt strange on mine, I wasn’t used to this much contact with anyone, and it made me feel uncomfortable.

It was Elis’—or Dr. Skythe’s—voice I heard then. “K, how many times have I told you to call me Doctor...?” he turned around.

It hit me like a streak of light in the middle of complete darkness. I couldn’t move; I couldn’t speak. My heart started accelerating. My hand wanted to reach out to my chest to slow it down, but it couldn’t. He looked at me then, and as I met his eyes, I caught fire. He was the most striking man I’d ever seen in my life. I felt myself loosing my head, I started losing my sight: I was going to faint. He seemed to notice me falter; he flinched, but kept his ground. He was staring at me mouth opened, and eyes wide, seeming to be far away, lost in his thoughts, for what felt like an eternity. Kleio took a step towards me, and secured my waist before I fell. Everything went blank.