Chapter Two: Kelanar

In the town of Sung it is silent. Kelanar sits by the windowsill of her living room and shares a tiny house with her mother and twin sister, Eve.

“Kelanar?” She hears a voice call from the kitchen.

She gets up from the windowsill and heads into a little kitchen where her mother is standing in front of a boiling pot, stirring supper.

“Yes, mother?” she asks.

“Is he here yet?” her mother asks.

“No, not yet, but he likes to hunt until dark. He will be here soon, I am sure,” says Kelanar.

Her mother wipes her hands on her blue apron and goes to her daughter.

“Don’t worry, love, he never missed my famous dinners before. He will be here,” Kelanar's mother says with a smile.

Kelanar nods and smiles, too. Her mother places a lock of black hair behind Kelanar's ear like she has done a thousand times before.

“You're right, mother. He'll be here.”

Kelanar returns to the windowsill to wait for Hector, her love.

After the sun goes down, there is still no Hector. Kelanar paces the floors for a while when her mother comes to her.

“Honey, maybe he just got held up. Why don’t we eat? Then you can go see him to see what the matter is.” 

“No, something isn’t right. I think I will go to his house and check on him. I won’t be long.”

Kelanar grabs her blue hooded coat and puts it on. She knows it is a chilly night and doesn’t want to get cold. She pulls her hood over her head, covering her hair and part of her face and heads out into the night.

She heads down the street. The candle lighters are just beginning to light the way through town. As she passes by one, her blue eyes glow in the dim light. She heads to the third house on the right of the street, where Hector lives with his mom. Kelanar knows the house will be empty, because his mom works the late shift at the bar. She lets herself into the small house with a yellow curtain hanging in the kitchen. She turns the doorknob and finds it unlocked.

Having a bad feeling that something is wrong, she takes a deep breath and goes into the house while calling out Hector's name.

“Hector, are you here?”

Her answer is the silence of the house. It looks untouched. Nothing is out of place. She goes to his room and finds the opposite of the rest of the house. The bed is unmade and the dresser drawers are open and empty. Her stomach clenches with fear and dread. Finding the room a mess and still no Hector, she returns to the kitchen. On the table, she notices a piece of paper. She picks it up and reads it.

“Dear Mom

I am sorry, but I can’t live in this town anymore. The pain is too much seeing you hurt every day.

I think as a sixteen-year-old man, it’s time I left this town to go explore the world and make something of myself. Please don’t come looking for me. I will come back one day when I have found what I am looking for. Please tell Kelanar I am sorry and that I hope she finds a better man than me.

Love

 Your son, Hector.”

Kelanar drops the paper as tears fall down her cheeks.

“How can this be? We planned a life together. This can’t be.” She keeps saying the same thing out loud to herself.

All of sudden it starts to rain outside, and the wind picks up. Like heaven's angels feel Kelanar’s pain.

She dashes from the house and runs home. By the time she gets home, her hair is soaked and her blue dress is covered in mud and rainwater.

Her mother hears her come in and goes to her. She sees her daughter in a wet and muddy state, but what catches her eye the most is her daughter’s face. Her eyes are sunken in and red from her tears, her eyes have turned to an icy blue. Her birthmark, a crescent moon under her right eye, is stained with tears.

“What is the matter, Kelanar?” she asks.

Kelanar runs into her mother’s arms and cries on her shoulder.

“What is it, my daughter? What is the matter?” she asks again.

Kelanar just cries on her mother’s shoulder for half an hour before she calms down enough to speak.

“It is Hector. He is gone,” Kelanar whispers.

“What do you mean gone?” her mother asks.

“As in, he left town. He left a note for his mom saying he is leaving, and that I should find someone else. We had so many plans. This can’t be happening. This can’t be real. Something is wrong. Hector wouldn’t do this to me.”

“I am sure there is a good reason, but you won’t be able to find out what it is tonight. The storm is getting worse.”

At her words, the rain picks up speed, and hail falls.

“It is not safe to find out more tonight. Come, let’s get you some dry clothes and a hot meal . It will make you feel better. Tomorrow, we will find out what is going on with Hector.”

Kelanar obeys her mother and changes into her nightgown and then drinks some hot tea, not feeling hungry. Her sister Eve sits by her, trying to comfort her.

“I know you’re sad, Kelanar, but there has to be a reason, and I am sure he will show up tomorrow and explain it and be very sorry for all this.”

“I hope you’re right, Eve. I think I am just ready to go to bed and hope with the morning light I can figure out what is going on.” 

Eve just nods, not sure what else she can say to her sister to make her feel better.

Kelanar heads to her room and lies down and cries herself to sleep, praying it was all just a bad dream.

The next morning, an exhausted Kelanar gets up. Her eyes are puffy from all the crying from the night before. She sees Eve sitting at the table, waiting for her with their mother, and their faces look very grim.

“What is it?” asks Kelanar.

“You should come sit down, Kelanar,” said her mother.

Kelanar sits, feeling like her stomach is going to climb into her chest.

“I spoke with Hector’s Mom a little while ago. She found the note and she can’t find Hector anywhere. She sent a few of her male friends to search the woods and no Hector. His mom fears this is a real thing, but she herself can’t understand it and fears he might not come back home. She has requested we all respect his wishes and not go looking for him and to wait and see if he comes back or not,” says Sarah..

Kelanar feels more tears fall. She thinks, how can I cry anymore? I have used up all my tears.

“I can’t accept this, and I won’t. I will keep looking for him. He wouldn’t have left me. We had plans to get married and start a life together. If he was to leave, he would have taken me with him,” Kelanar says.

“I am sorry, Kelanar. Sometimes people change their minds. Maybe he just got cold feet and will be back in a few days,” Sarah says.

“No, this isn’t like him.  Something is wrong. I know it in my heart.  He wouldn’t do this.” Kelanar storms away, not able to continue talking about it anymore.

She quickly changes into a pair of jeans and a blouse and heads to the river where they always meet when they need a place to talk. Hector is nowhere to be seen. . She sits down on the rocks by the river and cries.

“This isn’t right. He wouldn’t do this. I can’t accept this. I must find him, but where could he have gone?”