28 Irregularities (3)

The classroom for the students under the Aquarius class was quiet. There was no music, no lights, no sounds coming from inside the room. Michael Caelum slowly approached the door and found it slightly ajar. In the corner of the room, a small figure was standing with her shoulders hunched down.

"Aria," he whispered, "-if the other researchers do catch you I'd be powerless to do anything. We'll be leaving in a few days. Until then, stay put."

The small girl kept her back turned against him. Her head was hung and here eyes were staring at a desk that wasn't hers. There were traces of glitter, petals and confetti from the afternoon's celebration. But the brown-eyed girl with dark skin was no longer of their world and was never coming back.

"Why… Why do they do that to everyone?" The little girl's voice echoed in the desolate room. Her tone was cracking, unstable, as her shoulders shook with her words. "Why are they staring at the children like objects? Why are they doing this?"

"Aria-," the young male knelt and reached out to her small body, his hand hovering an inch above her shoulder. He wanted to hold her, to tell her things were going to be alright. But he couldn't find the right words that would make everything better.

The little female soundlessly raised her hands and wiped something off her face. Michael Caelum placed his hands on her shoulders and slowly turned her around. His heart clenched at the sight of her crying. Her eyebrows were knit, eyes watery and red. Her pale lips were pursed together tightly while her tears were forming unending rivulets on her face. Michael Caelum expected her to glare at him or push him away. But the little girl's face contorted in sadness as she leaned towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Michael Caelum wrapped his hands around her and carried Aria in his arms. He could feel the warmth of her breath on his skin as she buried her face in the crook of his neck. The more she sobbed, the tighter he held her. After a while, he locked the classroom door, held her tight and used Adicio. Within a moment, they were in his relatively empty room and he tried to set her down on his bed.

There was just one problem: He didn't know how to set her down on the bed, not when her grip on his neck hadn't loosened. He eyed the piece of furniture with a complicated look on his face. After a while, he wrestled the covers from his bed and propped it up against the wall along with the lone pillow he had. He sat down on the bed and leaned on the pillow while cradling the brown-haired girl in his arms.

He listened to her breathing and to each little quiet sob that escaped her lips until her breathing evened out. The young male could feel the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. He took a peek at her and found black eyes staring back at him. Her eyebrows were still knit together, her eyes were still red. But the heartbroken look was no longer on her face. Michael rejoiced. It seemed that a good cry was all she needed. However, he celebrated prematurely. Just as he was sure no other problems were going to prop up a high pitched noise left Aria's lips.

After a few seconds, the same sound echoed in his room.

Hiccup.

Hiccup.

...hiccup.

Michael struggled to get out of bed. Aria's arms were still wrapped around his neck and it didn't look like she had any plans of letting go. He hobbled over to his cupboard for a glass and an unopened bottle of water. He was in the middle brainstorming on how he was going to open the water bottle when the female's voice rang in his ears.

"Using agua is easier."

The male's amber-colored eyebrows rose a fraction as he attempted to figure out the meaning behind the child's words. Her black orbs stared at him, then at the water bottle. She kept her lips pursed as one arm unwound itself from his neck. The hand on his neck latched on to the collar of his shirt. Her other hand made a grabbing motion at the water bottle as she concentrated her energy on the container. "Agua."

Michael saw the water inside the water bottle form a vortex. Slowly, the cap started to untwist itself as the water continued to swirl while exerting pressure on the cap. The cap fell from the bottle and landed on the table top with a pop. Michael didn't need to pour the water – the little girl used her spell to maneuver a portion of the water out the container and into the empty glass. The youth could only stare at amazement at the girl who simply blinked at him innocently like a doe waiting patiently for her parent to do something.

Then, she hicupped.

Michael Caelum took the glass with his free hand. He gave it to the smaller female who finally let him go and held on to the glass with two small hands. With his neck finally free from Aria's grasp, Michael could finally set the little girl down on the bed. He sat beside her, with his hands propped behind him, and stared at the ceiling while the female took small sips from the glass of water.

The young male felt the mattress under him move. He stole a glance at the brown-haired female and saw the child walking over to his table to set the half-empty glass of water down. She scurried back to the bed and sat beside him. Her black orbs became glued to his eyes. Michael couldn't help but feel a bit self-conscious. He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. "They're weird, aren't they?"

The girl beside him blinked. "Huh?"

"My eyes…The color, I mean," Michael coughed before rambling. "It's called Heterochromia. There are different kinds of heterochromia. Mine is central heterochromia. It's when the color of the iris near the pupil is different from the outer half of the iris. It's somewhat genetic – mom said my father had it too."

"They're nice," she commented. Michael's reply was a muffled unintelligible syllable that accompanied a blush that spread through his cheeks.

"Ah?"

"It's like the sun and the sky are hiding in your eyes," was the girl's explanation.

Michael Caelum cleared his throat twice as his face reddened even more. "That's the first time someone's said that about my eyes."

She blinked at him a few times in silence. Then she asked, "Is it really what the books say, though?"

"Hmm?"

Black eyes gazed at him. "The sky. Is it bright and blue like the sky in the picture books and in your memories"

"Hmm, I wonder about that," the male remarked thoughtfully. "The sky isn't always blue. On rainy days it's gray and dark. Sunrises and sunsets usually paint the sky with reds and oranges. Even the night sky… can be colorful."

"Isn't it just black?" The little girl asked.

"The night sky is like your eyes-," He began.

"So, it's black," she interjected before he could finish.

Michael cleared his throat and undid the top button of his shirt. "It's… not exactly black."

The female's lips were pursed. Black eyes continued to stare at him in confusion. He wanted to tell her that her eyes were endless pools filled with stars – that her eyes hid galaxies and secrets, and that the night sky was a mystical and as captivating as her gaze. But the words made him feel warmer and steamier than they should. Just the thought was enough to send an unexplainable heat creeping up to his ears.

She stood up on his bed and shoved her hand in front of his face. "Show me."

"Huh?"

Her gaze was unrelenting as Aria stared at his eyes. "Memories. Show me."

"Ah…You don't need to-," Michael leaned backward to avoid the touch of her hand. "Once we're out of Elisium, you can look at the sky all you want."

The girl inflated her cheeks and glared at him. "Really?"

"Then…" Michael Caelum scooted closer to her and extended the pinkie finger on his right hand. "When we get out of her, let's watch the sky together, okay?"

Black orbs eyed the gesture warily before a smaller pinkie wrapped itself around his. "Promise?"

The young male gave him the warmest smile he could muster. "Promise."

They talked about spells, about Luminae Academy and Elisium. The talked about the sky – about auroras and sunsets. She told him about her everyday life in the class of Aquarius. He told him about his life as a student, about being the son of a renowned researcher. Soon after, the female child fell asleep on his bed and Michael put the covers around her and watched the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest as she breathed.

He remembered the conversation with Bob, especially the little bit about Jeorge Marcus Grin becoming a stalker. Michael Caelum's face became as brightly colored as his naturally red hair. He stood up, faced the wall and lightly slammed his forehead on the hard surface. If Bob was a stalker with his girlfriend, then did that mean he was turning into a stalker too? Or worse- was he turning into a pedophile? The blush on his cheeks instantly darkened as he shook his head and slammed his forehead on the wall for a second time.

"Stupidus," he muttered. "-now's not the time for that."

He stared at the girl who was sleeping on his bed as he recalled the face she had made when he had found her crying in her classroom. Michael could only guess at how the sight of someone dying had traumatized the child. From the start, he had planned on making her forget with his Talent. The things she saw this afternoon were things she didn't need to see. Erasing those scenes from her memories was the most logical thing to do.

He sat on the edge of his bed and touched her forehead with his finger. But before he could begin, he withdrew his hand like a shock had passed through his finger. A modified detection spell that was combined with a discrete barrier had been cast around her body. Michael Caelum had heard about detection spells and static barriers being cast by around objects – but around people? Never.

'She's still the same fearsome genius from before she lost her memory', he mused, his gaze soft. He combed through the child's brown hair with his fingers and brushed the stray strands away from the girl's small face. Aria hadn't changed much. She was still spirited, still impulsive. She was still getting into troublesome situations that were dangerous and beyond her capabilities.

Michael Caelum's gaze turned sharp and resolute. He was older, more capable than the boy he was years ago. And it was time for him to use his power to save her and get her out of the hell that was Elisium.

He had no idea that a bigger shadow was looming over him, that his attempt to mask Aria's presence had highlighted his own. As he thought about how to save the slumbering little girl, Michael Caelum was blissfully unaware of how a certain blue-haired researcher had decided to kill him right after she was done brutally murdering the young man's mother.