SAVANTS

Chapture 32's

My skis, I keep them on my shoulders, we trudge to the elevator queue. Xav's eyes widened when he saw me already in front of him to buy a ticket. He looked at me and Tina in a panic.

"Sky, my gosh, don't you think it's too early to skate from above?'' She asked.

"No, I just want to hone my ski skills." I'm holding my grin.

''Tina, you have to persuade her not to skate up there. He could kill himself.''

''Don't worry, Xav. He thought he had a pent-up talent that had yet to be discovered.''

He covered the ticket with his hand. "I'm not going to sell you one, Sky."

I rolled my eyes. ''For God's sake, Xav, I'm not entirely stupid. I'm just gonna ride for a walk. Tina's going skiing.''

He laughed in relief. ''Haah... Free for you Sky. But to make sure that you don't skate, I'll guard your skis.''

Tina showed me her ticket and we got on the cable car. The view is so spectacular. We hung on the roof of Benedict's house for a little while and passed through it, past the tops of cypress trees and we swung across the canyon. 

Under us, the skiers like ants were pacing around, making the whole affair seem so easy. Ten minutes later we got off at the station above. Zed is busy loading the cable car to go up and down—there are only a few tourists like me so it doesn't take long.

"Take coffee." Tina nudged me towards the consumption stand. "I'll see you back at the bottom of the cable car in half an hour."

"OKAY. Have fun, I said.

Tina placed her feet on the ski, then pushed herself down.

''Please milk chocolate and donuts, '' I asked the shiny-faced man at the stall.

''Don't ski, miss?'' she asked, handing me my cake in a white bag.

''It's the first time I've been skiing. I'm like shit.''

She laughs. "me too. That's why I keep serving coffee."

''How much is it?"

"Because it's your first day I'm going to free her— to celebrate your first skiing experience."

''Thank you.''

Zed ran behind and grabbed my waist, lifting me into the air, forcing me to squeak. ''How's the ski game hmm?"

"I'm terrible at skiing."

''Yes, I guessed'' He turned me around. "I only have four minutes until the next train arrives, enough to steal whatever's in there."

"She's your girl, Zed?'' ask the shop owner.

"Yes, Jose."

''Why is all the best always taken? Ah well.'' He passed the styrofoam cup and winked at me and Zed.

Zed took me to his cabin at the end of the cable car. We could hear the squeaks and the sounds of the wheels running the elevator.

I observed Zed's face as he checked something on the control panel— his shoulders were wide and perfectly matched to his look, the muscles in his arms were bending.

In the past I never understood why my friends spent so much time admiring boys in my old school back then, and now I actually joined the party. Is this handsome guy really mine? It's hard to believe I'm so lucky.

"How do you know where the next train is coming?" I asked as Zed quickly bit the donut I was holding ''Hey!''

He laughed, took the doughnut pack out of my reach, and pointed at a display. There is a series of lights that count backwards as the train passes through a point. "That shows I have four minutes."

He jumped up, then grabbed the doughnut I was holding back and licked the other side.

"Sugary"

"You noticed?''

''Hot chocolate with all its toppings is a clue.''

I bit the donut and offered it. "You can spend it."

He devoured it and then sipped my chocolate. ''Ugh! Little Milk. I should have guessed. I need something to get rid of that feeling.'' He tapped his chin, one eye fixed on the monitor.

"I know!''He bent down and bit my lip. I felt my body shift, a strange burden that urged me to hold on tightly to her and collapse in her lap. He hummed the pleasure and deepened his kiss. Long time with our kiss but....

We were interrupted by the arrival of the next group of skiers. Unfortunately they are mostly made up of high school kids who bang on doors and whistle when they see what is happening in the cabin.

"Hey, Zed, stop making out and let us out!'' yelled a girl from my science class.

''OK, OK, '' answered Zed, sitting me back down. She looked happy rather than embarrassed when everyone saw her, my face was likely red in color.

As soon as the skiers went to the track of their choice, I stayed with Zed for another ten minutes, then chased the train down the hill.

Thank you for coming, said Zed, closing the door behind me. "You still have a little sugar on your lips." He rubbed a soft kiss on my mouth, then pulled my jacket collar straight.

''Hmm, I think I should visit you again. It seems that the cable car is more suitable for me than skiing.''

''Be careful.'' said he.

"Yes, I'll be careful. You should also be careful.''

°°°

I persevered with the lessons taught until I could go on the children's path without falling until I reached the bottom.

''Woo hoo!'' Tina did a little dance on the spot when I stopped. "you're Sky's great"

I walked towards him I guess, but I'm not very good yet"

''It's the beginning—do not fail.'' He took his own skis. This week is much cloudier than last week, the top of the elevator is not visible, the weather is in a sullen mood. We queued for the elevator to find Saul at the table.

"Hi, Tina, Sky." Zed's father let Tina through the turnstile but didn't let me in. Zed's father's holding me back. ''There's no point in you riding today, Sky. Xav is on duty. I gave Zed a day off.''

''Oh okay.''

The cable car was about to leave. Tina gave me a wave. ''Wait here. I won't be skiing for long. The weather's a little bad"

I moved out of the queue way and sat on a nearby bench.

''We can't separate you and Zed, can we?'' Zed's father said, come and sit beside me on the bench of the waiting room as the cable car began its journey up the hill.

"It looks so." I cleaned a little snow on my clothes. I have a strange feeling that Zed's father is suspicious of me.

"We don't want anything to happen to you both." He stretched out his long legs, the movement reminded me of his son.

''I-i know. It's quiet, right?''

''Yes, already. We don't know what to think. I wanted to believe that the threat had gone but my mind said something else.''

''They're hiding?''

''That's my guess. I'm sorry, you got in on this. Those people know that if they get one member of my family, they weaken us all.' he said while staring at the mountains, a stern expression.

"Victor thinks 'they don't mind who they hurt, whether it's the population or you''' he continued, ''we're all emotionally paralyzed so we can't function as a team. I purposely kept everyone locked up, not just Zed. But all the families, we can't continue like this. Our work is hard and our boy must be free to let go of his emotions, to forget them. They can't if they're not allowed to act alone because we're a team" he continued.

"I know about the shield, Zed told me and taught me a little. But didn't he open up a little here and go skating? And Xav climbed the mountain alone.''

Zed's father hit the seams on the legs of his jeans, wagging a speck of snow. ''Don't worry about them. We have security around here. Now that we know the enemy is a savant who is skilled at using his shield and destroying it, we don't know what they're looking for. It was in the woods, I guess you could say we were less alert then and it wouldn't happen again. And you're Sky, you have to be careful?''

"Ak.I didn't come out on my own. My father and mother told me to be on the lookout for people we don't know.''

''Good. Don't let your guard down.'' We sat quietly for a while, unspoken words hanging between us.

''Zed told you?" my word.

He reached out and squeezed my hand gently while looking at me with such a peaceful smile. ''Karla and I knew. And we're very happy. Inevitably we realized that something important had happened to our son. For the sake of you Sky and for Zed, for the others as well (his brother), we think he has the right to keep it a secret until this matter is resolved.''

''The other one?''

"Sky, I don't think you understand what you're dealing with here. You are now Zed's number one priority, just like Karla was my priority. Seeing him find his soul mate would be difficult for the others to accept. It seemed unfair, she was the youngest, and her soul mate had just fallen into her lap while the others still had to search for their own. They'd be happy for him, but they wouldn't be human if they weren't jealous because Zed already got his soul mate"

"I don't want to cause trouble for your family."

He patted the back of my hand. ''I-i know. Give us some time to get through this and they will look forward to welcoming you as one of us.''

"But I don't know about the savants yet, I don't even know that I'm a savant. I'm just getting used to Zed, too."

Zed's father smiled understandingly. "You don't have to worry, Sky, everyone will get used to it in their own time. You haven't reckoned that God and nature are the ones doing this, you will also feel what you need to feel when you're ready.''

I hope he's right. My feelings for Zed deepened, but I wasn't quite ready to think about the forever commitment they hoped for.

I know myself that one day I will definitely retreat a lot of time if there is anything to force about this.

So far, Zed seems to understand that, but how long his patience will last to make me a savant, I still have a deep trauma and it is very difficult to get rid of.