Too Strange and Too Strong

6. The Second

As the water rains down from above, Khalil turns his face toward the shower head. Pressure mixes with pain pulsates behind his eyes though with the cool of the shower, his face no longer prickles. He switches the water to hot, finishes showering, and then gets ready for bed. After some stretches, meditation, and drinking water, he grabs his phone and taps the screen but nothing happens. With a deep breath, he pulls his charger from his bag and plugs it in. As soon as there's enough juice turn it on, and he does. As it blinks to life, it vibrates consistently for over a minute. He reaches for it and pulls the top menu down. Seven texts from Cousin Donald, twelve from Philk, and a little over ten calls from both combined. Khalil hits redial, props his phone up, and waits; the call answers almost immediately. "Khalil, what the hell man!" Philk's eyes are wide, his forehead is furrowed, lifted and stress marks crease his temples.

"What?"

"I couldn't reach you for like three hours," he blurts out. "What the hell happened? I was close to sending Don after you." A wave of pain rushes to Khalil's forehead; he begins messaging his temples. He groans.

"Yo, not too loud," he replies. "I've got a dome-splitting headache."

"You all right?" he questioned him. Khalil stammers a moment collecting his thoughts but then stops.

"I saw her."

"Her?" He asks but he quickly answers his own question. His eyes widen and his face flashes through a series of emotions, not all of which Khalil can identify. "The girl you keep drawing." Philk crosses his arms. "So what happened?"

"I followed her in the truck. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I mean, I hoped that she was real and felt like he was but seeing her in person was different. But, she saw me and started to run and I wanted to be sure it was her so I chased her." Philk's head shakes and runs a hand through his hair.

"You shouldn't have--" he says but Khalil quickly cuts him off.

"I know, not my finest moment but," he looks down at his closed sketchbook and runs his hand across the imitation leather fabric. "I had to see her up close."

"So?"

"She was quick like, really fast. I almost lost her but she got tired and stopped in a local park. I made her turn around and when I saw her, I knew for sure. Her hair was different but, it was definitely her. Then I was in pain. My head started killing me like I'd been O.K. or something and my skin felt like it had been scrubbed raw. Every time I looked at her for over a minute I was in pain. After a while, I couldn't take it." Philk locks his jaw and looks away. His sight lingers on something out of a frame and he seems to start to speak but Khalil can't hear anything at first. He's just about to ask when Philk clears his throat.

"Are you ok?" Khalil nods and takes a deep breath. "Yeah, I took a painkiller a few minutes before you called. It should kick in soon."

"What else happened?"

"The rest is fuzzy. I could feel myself slipping and I started missing things. I could hear but I didn't understand what she was saying and my vision was blurry. All I could really make out was my name."

"Your name?"

"Yeah, my name. My real name."

"Khalil." Philk states.

"Yeah. She was crying and calling my name. She definitely knows me."_____

The following evening...

"I'm leaving now," Khalil says as he sets his phone down. He buttons the sleeves of his dress shirt, adds the matching vest and jacket, and walks over to the length-wise mirror. He checks his angles and when he's satisfied he pockets his phone. With his backup weapons hidden he heads out. He shoots Philk a text and he replies immediately.