The Ancient World

Chapter Two - Arcana

The day was, as expected, dreadful.

Over the past years, school had been an endurance test more than a space for learning. Every day, without exception, there was a moment when Ehrien would look around, see the people surrounding her, and feel absolutely and awfully alone, like she could start crying and no one would notice.

Over time, she'd detached herself from her classmates altogether. And no one seemed to really mind. They left her to her own devices, to sit alone during recess, to eat alone during lunch, and yes to work alone in group projects. The exchange with Scott that morning had been the longest conversation between them in a year and they lived on the same street. The thing was, Ehrien didn't mind it. She liked her own company. She liked not playing the part of dutiful classmate even more.

Once classes finished, Ehrien found herself on the sidewalk where she had been that same morning, looking at where the stranger had stood when she felt a little pinch in her chest.

"Who are you?" She moved her fingers along her chest, scratching that sting away.

Ehrien didn't want to go home, not yet—she was too anxious. So she was going to her haven, Arcana. Ehrien had found Arcana five years earlier, when she had just started out in that school and didn't know the surrounding area.

She was wandering, lost but not too bothered, when the skies crackled and thundered, drenching her in seconds. Ehrien ran for the closest bar in search of cover. Kai, owner of said bar, took pity on the fact that she was soaking wet and let her stay, even though she was too young for it. He had even given her a dry change of clothes. Ever since that day, she spent most of her free time there, thankful for the fortune that made her find the Arcana and Kai.

As she walked, Ehrien put her earphones on, turning the music to a volume that would very likely leave her deaf in a few years, but she didn't care. Hallucinations didn't come only in the form of visions—there were sounds too, conversations, screams. Ehrien could look away from the physical forms of her fears, look somewhere else, but she couldn't pretend not to hear them. So she listened to music instead.

After about five minutes of walking, Ehrien turned to the street where the Arcana was. Finding herself close to the Arcana made Ehrien calm down immediately, and two steps into the door was all it took for a feeling of familiarity to make her smile. It was home.

The bar itself was large, covered in dark wood, painted cement, and bricks. One part of the room's furniture consisted of simple tables and chairs—none of which belonged to the same set, making it look like someone had found them across town and carelessly bundled them into that mess of a group—while the other part had small couches and puffy armchairs. There were posters of 80's bands on the walls and an old turntable at the back.

The beams on the ceiling were covered with pins, flags, and photos that visitors had left behind, small marks of their passing and their existence. Kai had never tossed any of those small memories away; if space was necessary, he would put some into carefully labelled boxes with dates and notes marking each one and store them in the back room. Ehrien couldn't even count the number of afternoons she had spent with him revisiting those same boxes.

For someone so laid back, it was an attitude that would apparently not fit him from the viewpoint of a stranger. But one would have to know Kai to understand the importance he gave those small tokens. For him, they were the life of the space, and a proof of his work. If people liked the Arcana enough to leave them behind, he would keep them.

Kai was behind the bar, elbows on the wood, reading some worn out novel. He had his old cleaning cloth on his shoulder and his chin rested on his palm. His middle finger had a silver ring on it and Ehrien smiled at the memory of having given it to him. He never took it off after that day. It glowed now, against his dark skin.