Ancient legacy

*Edited 12/27/2010*

Chapter 1: Home Coming

"I can't believe you, Keen! I just lost the love of my life and you are wondering what's for lunch? Sheesh, you sure have your priorities straight!" The shrill voice drilled into my eardrums, setting my teeth on edge. Really, these are the times when I'd love to sock her one! Instead, I turned to face her with a deep, put upon sigh.

"Come on, Aggie. I was just attempting to bring you out of your 'anguished mourning'. Lunch is always a good topic, neutral and, dunno, safe? It's lunchtime after all!" I replied with a goofy grin, shifting my pack awkwardly. Crystal green eyes narrowed with barely contained indignation, making her mouth take on a pinched expression. Lush lips pursed and I flinched, knowing what was coming.

"You'll never understand my feelings! Just because you bedded someone up north doesn't make you an expert! You're very intelligent and all but you have no idea when it comes to people! Keen! You should be grateful I'm your best friend. Left to your own devices you would be a disaster! Do I have to explain every thing to you? Use your common sense! When I tell you that I lost the love of my life you commiserate! Understood?" She hissed, staring belligerently with her fists on her hips, looking for the world like a rabid Chihuahua.

I nodded, keeping my mouth wisely shut and my expression neutral. Other than her constant nagging and flirting, she was my best friend. There was a time I fancied myself in love with her, but knew better now. At 5'2" she was what you would call cute. Small, pixie-like features, a smattering of freckles, deep red hair and a temper to match. I stood unmoving, asking myself why I was standing here, sweating crazily on the August heat, wearing 'Aggie approved' clothing that threatened to stifle me while she chewed me out.

"Well? I am waiting..." she reminded me imperiously. Her button-nose pointed up in a way that reminded me of Alexander, her particularly stubborn Pug. I coughed and dissembled, bringing my wayward facial expressions to heel immediately. It wouldn't do to make the princess angrier.

"Um, yeah... I am sorry. You are right. I mean, regardless of the fact that Josh was your third boyfriend this month, he shouldn't have believed Shani's bad-mouthing. I mean, his callin' you a slut must have doubtlessly hurt. You loved him after all." Just like she swore to love Albert, Mario, Ian, Jean, Tatsuya, Pedro and countless others before him. Well, she certainly was not like her namesake. I smiled remembering the expression on her face when we read the meaning of Agnes. There were many things that could be said about her but 'chaste' was not one of them. So I called her Aggie instead, calling her Agnes felt blasphemous somehow. She allowed it because she thought it was cuter than Agnes so we were at peace. Darn, it seems I got lost in transit and now she is walking away, fuming.

"Wait, Aggie!" I called out after her, knowing the best way to placate her ego was eating a healthy dose of humble pie. We entered the bustling cafeteria. Students came and went minding their own business.

"Keen, we agreed that today we would buy tuna salad and water... " she turned with a huge smile, talking loudly for every body's benefit while we waited. I sighed with resignation.

'There she goes again.' One thing you had to understand about Aggie. She cared what others thought of her. Badly. And eating a burger and fries made her un-cool somehow. She was not fat or anything like that. It was just the most recent diet fad she was following. I mouthed her words silently as she went through her routine. This week was fried foods and meats, last week had been cheese and fat, before that candy and chocolate... it was a pattern and I was pulled into it every time.

"Keen here wants the double-cheese burger meal with extra fries and soda. Man, that stuff is bad for you! Look, ma'am, I want the tuna salad with the breadstick... please some fat-free dressing and water. Thanks. Here Keen. I will pay today." She grinned brilliantly and I remained silent. She turned with said smile and added "Yes, Keen, you can certainly pay... If you want." Still I said nothing and she walked to the cashier. "Keen?"

Wordlessly, I reached inside my back pocket to pay as I usually did. Sudden anger lighted inside my chest.

'Enough!' I was darned tired of it all.

"You know what? Lets try something different today, ok? Let's split the bill and since I am actually eating the salad, you will carry the burger, Aggie." I replied the typical response and filched a couple of her fries. She knew I loved my meat but tuna salad held a special place in my heart. Typically, I had no problem with the trade-off nor with letting her run roughshod all over me. Today, seemed like my tolerance levels were particularly low.

Her normal blathering left me cold, annoyed and unable to stop my actions. There was nothing different to norm but today everything seemed off somehow. I scooped the salad and water before turning to leave. I knew she was stunned and red-faced, gaping like a fish.

'3, 2, 1...blast off!' I counted under my breath as I kept walking without turning back. Dimly I wondered if I had finally gone off my rocker. Pissing Aggie was never a good thing. Then again, I was a stubborn prick when rubbed the wrong way... and she had done just that by breathing. Tch.

"Keenan Fletcher, I'm gonna kill you!" she hollered, for once forgetting her TPO's. I had most certainly forgotten all about those. 'Whatever she gets, she deserves!' I stopped mid-stride, wondering when I had started to feel like this. She was my best and only friend, I knew her since childhood. I should be grateful for her guidance and friendship but something inside my soul rebelled against such a thought. I was riled by her pettiness and reluctant to eat anymore of that darned pie.

"Keenan Fletcher, you're dead you hear?" rang close by. 'Time to run!' I thought and sprinted towards the small park nearby. The closer I came to my grove, the lighter I felt inside. The tense knot inside my chest loosened and I grinned foolishly. My favorite tree was there, Aggie wasn't. From childhood, she'd hated the 'green stuff' with a passion. Stringing the words 'grass', 'leaves' and 'Aggie' was enough to make her break into hives. So whenever I needed time off her particular brand of 'friendship', I just hightailed it to the Park.

My special place was hidden amidst a secluded area loosely referred as the Park. Benches, woods, bushes, flowerbeds, fountains and sidewalks peppered the area, making it a favored spot for families and lovers alike.

"Keenan!" I hurried, jumping over a hedge off the sidewalk. I usually cut through these same woods to get home. I knew the place by heart by now. When we first moved in, I had trouble adjusting to the new environment or so I was told. Apparently, I had gone exploring on my own and found asleep near my grove. I had no recall of such a thing ever happening but I always suspected mom of exaggerating. Aggies cries rang in the distance.

'She's pissing mad... oh, well.' I clambered down a dirt path carved on the hill by a small animal... a rabbit or skunk probably. After what I did today, I was loath to return to class, so I chose to call it a day. I was not going home either. Aggie'd surely ensure they call my parents to let them know I had cut class. Which meant, I was getting the 'talk' as soon as I stepped inside the house.

"Damn it, I'd forgotten about that!" I groaned out loud, pushing branches off my face. My mother, Sharon, was a psychologist and my dad, David, an architect. What he built, she brought down. Meaning he called me up on my attitude problem or whatever it was and she would step in saying that he should not be so harsh because it was nothing more than a 'developmental stage'. I had gone through so many of those I was confused after a while. I was aware they loved me and I sure loved 'em back but I never tried to understand these so called 'talks'. I just nodded at appropriate intervals and went upstairs to my room to 'think' which meant I went up to read a book or play my latest video game. I stayed there until the next morning when I would be allowed downstairs to tell my parents what my conclusions were or rather the conclusions I knew they expected me to reach. In short, the whole thing was royal pain in the ass... 'Thank you Aggie... I swear I won't commiserate at all next time... if there is even one!'

Now coming back to my favorite spot. Dad, being a landscape architect, was a plant and tree buff. He knew the story of this area's vegetation better than he knew his own hand. He remembered species and leaf patterns with more accuracy and care than what it took him to remember his own child's birth date. This I knew by experience. He'd once explained that this area was originally a tree farm or something. Ages ago, someone decided to plant as many different types of trees as would fit within half an acre. Seems that same person wanted to see which variety grew better given our unstable climate. Apparently all sorts of trees grew well in this area, so they chose different trees and plants. My favorite is a cluster of trees near the center. When I reached the little grove, I smiled and veered to the Oak tree in the center.

A rustle to the side made me stumble a bit. I glanced around quickly in time to see a medium-sized fox wearing its light summer coat. Golden highlights threaded its reddish coat making me I smile. It was probably hunting for its kits. I hummed lightly moving slowly to make myself less threatening. The fox stared impudently as if gauging my potential as prey which made my hackles rise. Typically, animals around here were quite shy. Frowning deeply, I continued on my way, looking back to see if the little creature was still staring. It vanished. With a shrug I resumed my humming, taking in the trees around me. Here I felt alive, safe and utterly at peace... happy. Any negative thoughts disappeared whenever I stood before the timelessness of these venerable trees. Even Aggie's wrath and the impending 'talk' faded away and I was freed. I saluted the Ash, the Fir, the Rowan, the Hazel, the Hawthorn, the Elder, the Willow, the Fir and the Birch before climbing up the rough bark to reach the 4th branch to the right of the Oak tree. I was home.


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