Until The End Of Time

Chapter 7. Moment in time

Warning: PTSD and suicidal trigger contents in this chapter.

September and October were probably the best months of the year in Ayham. The air was warm with late summer breezes. It would lose the unbearable humidity for a short period before the cold, wet winter would creep in.

The lines of quaking aspens on Kings Row slowly changed their colors from lush green to a mixture of marigold and red-orange. The birds flew southward in a hurry but most humans slowed down and took more time to enjoy all the changes of the season. Everyone seemed to temporarily forget the poor condition of the city for a moment.

Marco's Deli was a hot spot for the working class in Eastwick Alley. It was a true hidden gem that mostly got overlooked by people from other neighborhoods. Granted that It was not the cleanest place and Ms. Alessia Marco, the 80-something-year-old owner, loved to spend her days either screaming at her son and daughter-in-law for not being smart or fast enough, or cursing at customers for occupying the seats too long. However, the best and also dirt cheap chicken parmesan sandwiches and meatball sliders in the whole East side of the city came from this deli.

Kye and Ruby used to come here every afternoon after school. They would use the little changes they had to buy one sandwich to share or simply hang out, watch, and giggle at people who came and went.

Ms. Marco, as grumpy as she was, had never yelled at the girls for doing their teenage shenanigans at her deli. She had never been really friendly to them either. She would constantly comment on how thin and sickly they looked, even when they were nothing different from other kids in the neighborhood, and fixate on feeding them with whatever they had at the deli. Mr. Marco, her son, had once said they reminded his mom of her two daughters, who both died of tuberculosis around the same age as Kye and Ruby.

Some days when they had been so busy that, for sure, there should be no leftovers, the Marcos would even set aside some food for the girls. They had stopped accepting payments from Kye and Ruby for as long as Ruby could remember, so it was fair to say that they partially raised the girls during this time.

Ruby walked down the street slowly with her hands in her jeans pockets. The winds got into her black military-style jacket, making her shiver. Her nose tip and cheeks turned red. Today was a beautiful but unseasonably cold day despite the sun being out. The street was almost empty and covered in dry leaves. The view had been unchanged since Ruby had been nineteen. She had not been back here very often and when she was, Ruby would prefer not to let a lot of people know about it.

She had only visited home once since she'd joined the Resistance. Ruby felt guilty but she knew it was all for her family's good. They should not be involved in whatever she was doing more than they had already been, and, if possible, she would do anything to keep it that way, but life always had a plan of its own.

Ruby stood by the entrance of Marco's Deli in a hidden corner so people inside wouldn't see her through the storefront window. She checked her watch again. It was still five minutes to their agreed meetup time. She needed to ask Kye something that she knew was almost impossible and might destroy the girl's life if it didn't go as planned. She just had no choice.

***

They had first met on a mission to deliver some materials to their people who were planted in the Council. Gadreel was a tall, quiet guy, with ash brown hair, dark hazel eyes, and the permanent facial expression of someone who had problems with the whole world. After some time together, however, Ruby realized the guy was just a man-child. She loved his goofiness, but something was off. Definitely.