Prophetic Lies – Chapter Two

Written by: Kain

The hail pours down on them as they study each other. Siegfried hasn’t seen Melissa in years. She doesn’t look anything like the naive, college girl he once knew. Her eyes, which were once so bright and full of awe, are now dull and tired. Her light-brown hair still hung over her right shoulder in a single, long braid. Her umbrella rests against her shoulder, barely shielding her from the hail. She can’t pull her eyes away from him, regardless of the shame his image makes her feel inside. She is always mesmerized by his azure eyes which now seem to be glowing against the darkness around them. Rationally, she knows that it is most likely that the street light behind her is causing the effect, but something inside her makes it seem far more magical.

“How’s the Englishman?” Melissa nearly shivered at the coldness of Siegfried’s voice.

“He’s fine. He’s graduating this year. He had some trouble with physics so he’s a year behind us but-” Siegfried cuts her off.

“Wonderful. Give Willy my greetings.”

“William.”

“Right...William. Sorry.”

“You know, just because he’s a Brit doesn’t mean-”

“I don’t care that he’s English, Mel. If you expect William and I to be buddies after what happened, you’re geisteskrank.” Siegfried has a habit of reverting back to German when he’s upset. Melissa had learned never to pick a pointless fight with Siegfried because she wouldn’t be able to understand him after a few minutes of yelling. Melissa steps back and tries to think of a way to make him understand her side.

“I didn’t mean to sleep with William, Siegfried. I never wanted to cheat on you.”

“And yet, here we are.” Siegfried’s tone is getting colder and colder as the conversation moves on.

“I told you how sorry-”

“I’m over it, and you, for that matter. So don’t worry about me.” Siegfried turns away from her.

“I know that you’re angry, Siegfried. You have every right to be.”

“Are you really over her?”

Siegfried spins around, eyes wide with surprise. “What did you say?”

“I said that I know you’re angry.”

“No, after that.” Melissa looks at him, confused.

“I didn’t say anything else.”

“If not her, then who do you care for?”

“What?”

“Siegfried, are you okay?” Melissa reaches her hand out to take his arm but Siegfried pulls back violently. He grabs his head as pain rushes through his mind. He lets out a hideous scream and falls to his knees.

“Siegfried!” Melissa runs to him, but Siegfried springs to his feet and pushes her away.

“Stay away from me!” In a blink of an eye, he is gone. Melissa slowly stands while looking for some trace, some clue as to where Siegfried went. Her search is in vain. Forgetting her umbrella in the debris, she dashes home through the hail.

She bursts through her front door and grabs the stairway railing to keep herself from collapsing from exhaustion. A blonde man comes running to the front hallway. “Meli? Meli, is that you?”

“William...I...he...he just...I don’t know where...”

“Meli, calm down. What happened?”

“It’s Siegfried. He’s back. Something’s wrong with him. Please, go find him. He needs help.” William runs his hand over his short, slicked hair. His green eyes dart around the room as he tries to figure out what to do.

“Please, William.”

William turns to Melissa. “I’ll get my coat.”

“Thank you so much.” William grabs his wool coat and runs out the door.

The hail stopped hours ago, but the alleyway was still covered in ice. Wooden palettes and cardboard litters the alley. An empty trash can sits on its side at the entrance, rocking back and forth in the wind. William slowly gets out of his Dodge Neon and walks cautiously towards the alley. He takes his pocket flashlight out of his jacket and shines it around the alley. He quietly whispers that he hopes he doesn’t get mugged or killed while looking for Siegfried. William looks around quickly but doesn’t see anything. “Siegfried?” He is so frightened of who he might find, William can barely muster up an audible voice. “Siegfried?”

William turns to leave but is nearly knocked down by a shadowy figure that seems to come out of the darkness itself.

“Oh, my Lord! Please don’t kill me! I have no money!” William throws his arms over his face and closes his eyes as tightly as he can.

“Willy?”

“I swear, I’m poor! Don’t hurt me! I have a fiancee!”

“William!” William takes his arms away from his face and slowly opens his eyes. Siegfried is standing in front of him, eyebrows raised with a look of wonder on his face.

“What are you doing?”

“Ahem...I’m here to...uh...find and rescue you.”

“Well...good job.” Siegfried turns to walk away, but William runs to catch up to him.

“Meli sent me to find you. She’s worried about you.” Siegfried stops and turns toward William, a look of amazement graces his face.

“Mel sent you...of all people...to find me. The man she cheated on me with. The man I dare say I will never stop hating for that. She sent you?”

“Well, yeah.” Siegfried stares at William in amazement for a few minutes. Then turns and walks away. William once again runs after him.

“Wait, Siegfried. Come back to the house with me. Meli will want to know you’re okay.”

“No.” Siegfried keeps walking.

“We have your car.” Siegfried stops and turns towards William.

“Fine...let’s go.” Siegfried and William get into his car and drive towards the house.