Wanderlust

“Lillian,” Constantine started, “my wife's name was, Lillian.”

“That's a pretty name,” I smiled lightly. I had asked Constantine to tell me why he was a revolutionary when Mila and I had gotten back to the house.

“She was a pretty woman, we were married..jeez, twenty-five years in secret? Interracial relationships are illegal in the country, we lived a very secluded and private life.”

“She's not here,” I pointed the obvious out. “You don't have to tell me what happen if you don't want to.”

“No, I can't deprive you of learning about my story. I know yours, you have the right to know mine.” He cleared his throat before continuing, “We were careful, no one knew I was married or had a daughter. We had just celebrated our anniversary, we had married a little younger by a priest who didn't ask questions. I worked long hours on a metal factory, melting down the different pieces of hardware to recycle and use again for other things. I'd been working there since I was eighteen and not once had there been an accident like there was that day. Some new kid left a prodding rod out and it caught fire on some flint. It spread fast and the town was a small town so this was huge and everyone flocked to the factory. There were a few deaths, the factory was closed for a few months to replace the machinery. Lillian though, she saw the smoke from the house in the woods and panicked. We didn't live in town, she couldn't have known I was okay. When I saw her pushing through the crowd to find me, I was happy to see her. I forgot just for a second that she was black and I was white, it didn't matter to me. We should have known better, there was patrol everywhere. They saw me kiss her, they saw the affection and tackled me. They took her from me and then they took our daughter, Cecilia. The town was outraged and the laws were strict. My daughter was executed, Lillian begged for them to take her and not me. They did and she was tried in my spot and put to death by firing squad. I was exiled from the town and tried killing myself dozens of times but then I found Jaden and Millie and I tagged along, hoping to gain a new life. It's hard not to count the days since it happened, I still dream of that life.”

I didn't know what to say, how to respond. “I'm sorry,” I apologized, knowing that the apology was as empty as my responses right now.

“It's hard to respond to, I know.” He knew, of course he did. It was tragic, it was horrible.

“Mila told me to ask around, to know the people I live with. I don't know if I want to move on and ask Millie or Jay if all the stories are this horrible.”

“Oh no, you'll need to know Millie and Jaden's story. It's uh—just don't ask, Jaden, he'll refuse to tell you. Millie, she'd be happy to share. I'll just warn you though, it's a page turner.” I could see the glint in his eye, telling me that it was something special.

“Page turner?” I asked, trying not to feel excited about hearing the story when it was at their expense.

“I don't want to say anything about it but I can tell you they have cause to be here more than anyone else,” he wagged a finger at me. “Jaden, especially because he feels like he bares the burden of what happened.”

My mouth gaped open to speak but I shut it and nodded slowly, rising to my feet to go find Millie. I wasn't expecting everyone of use to have these tragic stories but I guess it's what tied us together for a common cause. Kruger was the one who caused all the laws, all the riots and rebellion. He screwed the system, the system didn't screw us. I knew now that it was a people problem, not a government fallout. And to think it was caused by one person, who has so much power he expands it however he can.

I saw Millie sitting on the porch, cleaning her gun quietly. She bore a concentrated look but when she heard me approaching, she looked up and gave me a friendly smile, patting the step next to her.

“I haven't seen you all day,” she commented, twirling a bullet around her fingers.

“I've been learning about everyone, where they come from and such,” I started sheepishly, wondering how I would ask her to share her most personal story.

“And you want to know mine and Jaden's,” she finished knowingly.

“I can totally respect if you don't want to share it, Constantine said I should ask you though.” I turned to face her, bringing my lets up under me.

“Yeah, Jaden, would shut you down before you even would get the chance to ask,”she muttered, looking up at the overcast sky. “Prepare yourself, it's a hell of a story.”

“All ears,” I sighed, folding my hands in my lap.

“Well,” she started, pushing her spread out gun parts aside, “let me start by saying that Jaden and I aren't full blooded brother and sister. We're half brother and sister, we share the same mother.” I nodded and listened intently, waiting for her to continue. “We grew up down around the Arizona territory, in the slums. I mean, we might as well lived in Death Valley because people died all the time around us. There was disease and infection, no place to raise a family. My mother though, she'd lived there her whole life. She knew how to navigate the parts. Her name was Corina, she was gorgeous. Jaden has her eyes, that real green color, you know? Anyways, she met an up and rising government representative, whose name was Gregore. He was surveying the area for a few weeks and they fell in love, or so my mother said. Before he left, they consummated their relationship and nine months later, Jaden was born. In a few years, Kruger came into power and ravaged the area, forcing our mother to travel further west. She met my father during her travels and they fell in love and when I was born, he stuck around and became a father to Jaden. A lot of my childhood was spent traveling and eventually we settled into life. On the eve of my sixteenth birthday, we were stopped by a patrol. It was odd, considering that we were nowhere near a check point of a territory line that they had the patrol watching.”

“Millie!” I saw Jaden walking towards us, interrupting our talk. “Where are the keys to the Jeeps?”

“You had them last,” she told him, leaning against the step above her to look up at her brother.
“No, I gave them to you.” He crossed his arms, giving a quick glance to me as if he just notice me there.

“Check my bag, they're probably in there,” Millie jutted her thumb towards the door.

Jaden stepped up between us, going inside and when he didn't return for a few minutes, Millie continued. “We were in a pretty heavily wooden area and through the trees, a large vehicle pulled up behind the line of patrol. Out stepped this tall, reserved looking man. He wore this jacket and you could tell he was important, even before the patrol saluted him as he passed through them. He introduced himself as Gregore Kruger, the ruler of the newly totalitarian nation. Immediately, my father, Kent, stepped in front of us. None of us knew it but our mother knew him, she knew exactly why he was there. Gregore was younger when he had met my mother and was mistake prone.”

She paused when she heard the heavy footsteps came back to us, Jaden briskly walked down the step and over to the Jeeps, out of ear shot. I could speak, even if I wanted too. I stared at Jaden as she continued, piecing things together slowly as she explained.

“He had been tracking her ever since he had left. Kruger is smart and he needed to make sure he didn't leave a trail behind. After a few months of watching her, he stopped for years and years. It was just a chance, on a whim that he decided to check up on her and track her down. When he did, he discovered he had a son and he didn't even have to assume that Jaden wasn't his son because the resemblance was there. Same blonde hair, same height, same temperament; Jaden was his father's son, no doubt. Jaden knew it, he figured it out by our mother's reaction. Kruger order to the patrol and they raised their guns at us. Kruger started talking about how he's always wanted a son but not from a whore or one out of wedlock. I remember standing ten feet away from my mother when he order them to fire on her, my father tried to protect her but instead turned his attention to Jaden and I. Kruger had us pinned but he forgot that we were in Yosemite, littered with waterfalls. It was how we got our water and we were always near one. The last words my father said to us was run. I didn't want to leave him but Jaden was smart like his father, he grabbed me and dragged me along. The fired after us but we had the trees protection and my fathers. He acted as a shield, attacking Kruger and stalling the patrol for just enough time for Jaden to hurl us over a waterfall. We were lucky, very lucky that the water had been deep enough and that there wasn't any rocks. We hid behind the waterfall for hours, for the rest of the day and night. Grabbing on to the cliff and treading the water until they didn't come back. For months we only traveled at night in fear that they would be right there in the daylight. Jaden changed quickly, he use to be happy and relaxed. Now, he just protects me and is just blinded by revolution. Actually, his revenge is his revolution and for all we know, Kruger could be watching us right now. We don't have anyway to know but, God, that was a long story. I'm sorry.”

I was shell shocked, stunned into silence. I couldn't even process what I had just heard. Jaden, the person standing yards away from me, is Kruger's son. Like some screwed up miracle child, things you only hear about in stories. No wonder he was angry when he heard that I saw Kruger in my dream, no wonder he didn't like me. I came from his personal hell, I had lived in enemy territory.

“I know it's a lot to take in,” Millie rambled. “I'd imagine that it stirs the pot with your memory and all.”

“Yeah,” I choked out, “just a little bit.”

“With you tagging along with us, we're pretty much a walking target.” She smiled jokingly at me as she assembled her gun back together and left me in deep thought.

Jaden feels responsible, unrighteous so but nonetheless has to carry the guilt. I've misunderstood him, his moodiness is just a side effect of being under tremendous amounts of stress. I owned him an apology, not that he would know what for but only for my prejudice. I got what Millie meant when she said he didn't hate me, he just couldn't trust me. It left me with a million questions though, how far was Jaden willing to go to get his revenge?