Transmute: Episode 3.1: Friends & Enemies

[Episode 1.1][Episode 1.2][Episode 1.3][Episode 1.4][Episode 2.1][Episode 2.2][Episode 2.3][Episode 2.4][Episode 3.1]

The darkest secrets of one’s mind, the trivial thoughts of the everyday grind, the whispers of lost love, the unspoken racism, the true measure of one’s character. All of it. Skylar heard enough and cups her hands over her ears as she stumbles down a crowded city street still wearing her work uniform. It’s no use, the maddening voices continue as random pedestrians pass her by with no knowledge she’s eavesdropping on their disgusting, filthy thoughts.

“Wow, a red-head,” muses a stranger staring her up and down, “I would totally give her what she needs. Yeah, girl—you know you want it.”

Skylar’s stomach turns as another voice in her head chimes in, “Nobody cares if I live or die. Why should I?”

She drops her hands to her cheeks and gazes into the brown eyes of a young girl in her teens. Skylar smiles and says, “Because you’re beautiful and every day you get on this planet is a blessing. That’s why you should care.”

The girl’s face turns as pale as milk. The frightened girl looks up at Skylar and replies, “Are you talking to me?”

“What do you think?” Skylar snaps and continues listening to other thoughts forcing their way into her confused mind.

She walks for miles through the concrete jungles of the city until she happens upon Central Park. She wonders on the paths minding her business, but to no avail. The business and thoughts of perfect strangers are too loud, and too frequent for her mind to rest. She wonders if she has reached the threshold of where disturbed mixes with crazed.

“There must be a point of no return,” she ponders, “a point where I won’t be able to maintain my sanity any longer. Why did they do this to me?”

An empty park bench in the corner of a deserted walkway invites her to sit and rest for a few moments. With all that’s happened, she wonders who she can turn to now, and will anyone believe her. Skylar plops herself down and buries her hand into her face enjoying the silence. As her mind quiets, she peeks through her hands at the beauty of the park at the onset of Fall.

Shades of reds, oranges, browns, and greens remind her of the coming of Winter. Although it’s a dazzling site, these trees will die off and become empty vessels and home to mounds of snow. She wonders if that will be her fate. Would she even make it through the frozen wilderness and find her way back underneath the warmth of the Sun?

A whisper startles her, “Young lady, are you all right?”

An elderly man hobbles towards her pushing a cane into the ground while he breathes out a sigh of subtle agony. Bright cheeks and a wide smile send a rush of warmth into her soul.

“Yeah. I’m all right. Just having a bad day,” Skylar answers.

“Oh dear, I hope it’s not too terrible,” he thinks.

Skylar hears his words and returns a smile.

The old man puts his notions into actual words, “Anything you want to talk about? I’m a superb listener. I promise.” His bones creek as he sits down beside her.

“No, thank you. I really appreciate your concern. But, I wonder if I could ask a favor of you?”

“I don’t know if I can deliver on a favor,” he grunts, “in my condition. But, I can certainly give it a try.”

“Do you happen to have a phone I could use?” Skylar hopes, “I need to get in touch with my boyfriend. He was supposed to be here hours ago, and I’m really worried.” Skylar knew it was bad form to lie, but she couldn’t explain her situation in a way which would make sense to anyone let alone a man of his advanced age.

“That, I can do. I’ve lent my phone before and the person ran off with it. Can I just request you remain seated as you use it? It will make me feel a lot better,” the man chuckles and reaches in his sweater pocket for a mobile device. He hands it to Skylar.

“That, I can do,” she replies, and takes the phone from the old man’s hands. She dials the only number she knows by heart and hopes the person on the other end can offer aid. That same person who has always been there for her since the beginning.

The phone rings a few times until a familiar voice answers, “Hey,” Skylar says and listens.

The old man stares into blank space as the incoherent electronic howls from the phone go on for some time. Skylar doesn’t say a word for a while and listens intently. A tear streams down her cheek and she finally speaks, “I know. I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to do. That strange man, the one you thought was hot… You didn’t have to, I know you too well. He said they compromised you. Jags, what’s going on?”

The man taps a foot and looks down at his watch while Skylar nods her head not uttering a single word. He nudges her arm and taps on his watch.

Skylar interrupts, “Jags. You know my motto. You know it too well. I have to go, I’m borrowing this phone and the person needs it back… No, I can’t tell you where I am right now… Well, I can but I just don’t know… The crazy guy injected me with some shit, he told me you were compromised. People are talking about the—well the kind of people you don’t want to talk about if you know what I mean… Yes, those people… Okay come alone I’m in Central-” The old man snatches the phone out of her hand and hits the end button before she could finish the sentence.

“Why did you do that?” Skylar barks.

“Because, I like you young lady. You have caring eyes. Green beautiful eyes like shiny emeralds, it reminds me of my first true love,” the man responds.

She throws her arms up in the air and blurts, “but what does that have to do with grabbing the phone before I could tell my friend where I was?”

“Everything. Can I tell you about my love? Would you just let an old man tell you a story? Then I’ll let you call your friend back, if you wish,” pleads the man.

“I guess,” Skylar beats her hands against the sides of her head, “what was her name?”

As the man begins his tale, she notices no whispers come from his mind. She hears words spoken from his mouth rather than his brain. Skylar hopes her mind reading episodes are over. “A long time ago, when the world was different. I met someone with the most beautiful green eyes I’d ever seen. You see, it was the nineteen eighties and there were a lot of us back then. But almost like now, we couldn’t really express our love in public.”

“Our?” Skylar quizzes.

“Yes, my dear. Our. Our love was to be hidden because they ridiculed it in public. They bullied us in high school. We snuck around the city, into underground clubs and places where we were accepted. Kissing in public was scoffed at, but my Christopher didn’t give a shit. No, he didn’t. He held my hand proudly everywhere we went. He wanted to see the world change, and he didn’t care how. Many years later, we were married.”

Skylar jumps from the bench and backs away, but the man continues, “You are afraid. Don’t be. Later on, the world calmed down. For many years, it was okay to be ourselves. To a point. There were always religious nuts out there but it was different. They didn’t kill us. They didn’t send us to faraway places telling us lies about living in peace. There were no Zealots. But my Chris, knew the world was changing and still wouldn’t hide our love. It was when I feared for my life, I lost him. After all those years of true love, I pretended to be a straight man so I could live to see another day or two or a thousand in my case. He went off and tried to fight the good fight and died for it.”

“I’m sorry,” Skylar whispers. She truly meant those words with every ounce of her soul.

“Don’t be. I was stupid, and lost love. I lost everything. And then I found them. There are people out there who are willing to fight. In Christopher’s name I allowed them to experiment with me. They gave me strength, and abilities beyond my wildest dreams. But, I’m too old to really make a difference. Not like you. You’re far more powerful than you can even imagine. I hear your thoughts just as you heard mine when I allowed it. That’s why I took the phone from you. That’s why I hung up. I want you to make the choice I didn’t make so long ago. The choice that lost me love.”

“What choice?”

“The choice to stand and fight. You must realize you are being hunted. You are confused. You don’t know the difference between friends and enemies. Sweet transgender girl, you now have the ability to hear everything. All you need to do is listen!”

“What are you saying?” Skylar scratches her head.

“Run. Find him. Find him before they find you.”

She glares at the old man for a moment, then runs towards the park exit.

To be continued. . . .

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Tags: featured, fiction, Transgender

Category: Fiction