6 Tyler’s Visitors

Tyler collapses into his bed. Finally, he is home. Curling up into a ball, he decides to take a nap and pretend the morning was a dream. Alas, his phone buzzes before he can drift to sleep.

"Hey man," Peter's message reads. "Did you stay up all night drinking or something? Your text made no sense..."

Tyler frowns at the message and responds, "Yeah, I was drunk. Ignore the message, I'm going to sleep it off now."

"Dude! It's past noon... are you okay?"

"Fine."

"Good... so, did you actually download the app?"

A groan forces its way out of Tyler's mouth. Peter is too nosey, and he is too tired to get into it. Adding to Tyler's woes, a notification from the Destiny Dating app pops up.

Setting the phone to airplane mode, Tyler rolls over and ignores all of it. He usually has trouble falling asleep but exhaustion kicks in today. In a matter of moments, he is fast asleep.

When Tyler wakes up it's dark. Checking his phone, he reads the time as 8:00 P.M. There are also a few missed texts and a dozen notifications on his cursed dating app.

"Great, I'm nocturnal now," Tyler mutters to himself.

"Well, it was your first time using magic," a female voice responds.

Tyler jumps out of his bed and scans the room. No one is there. He checks the door: it's still closed. Lastly, he opens the closet. One can never be too careful, but the sliding doors aren't hiding anyone.

"Are you coming back to bed dear?" Dani yawns. "It's much too cold without you."

"What are you doing?" Tyler stands over his bed and glares at the red head curled up next to his usual spot.

"Sleeping. Usually I don't sleep so late, but you are extremely good cuddle-buddy."

"Why are you here? How did you even get in? How long have you been in my room?" Tyler shakes with rage as he screams each question in quick succession.

"I just woke up... can we have breakfast first?" Dani rolls over and rubs her eyes.

Anger wells up inside of Tyler, but his stomach growls before he can scold Dani further. He realizes that his last meal was the day before; hunger quells his rage.

"Moko can bring some food, I didn't see any food when I came in."

"I have food, and I'm not eating electric-pink slime."

Although it is dinner time, Dani's suggestion to have breakfast sounds too good to pass up. Taking two instant oatmeal packets and a water bottle, he is able to make a small meal. He passes Dani a bowl and sits on a futon nearby.

"This is what you eat?" Dani scoffs, sniffing the bowl.

"I'll take it if you don't want it, but really, how did you get into my room, magic?"

"No, I told the palace guard that you were my fiancé. He escorted me to your chambers and let me in."

"What? Dani this isn't a palace, and we are not engaged!"

"It isn't? What is this place?"

"College... did you hear the second part?"

"Co-lodge?" Dani struggles to repeat. "I don't think that word has a translation.."

"Umm... it's a place of learning."

"Oh, like an academy!"

"Yes, sure. You realize we aren't engaged though, right?"

"Well, I guess I haven't technically proposed, yet. More importantly, are you going to show me around?"

"Show you around? You just showed up here... what do you want to see?"

"Anything! This is my first time in the forbidden realm! No one from my world has been here in like 4,000 years, so I want to learn as much as I can."

"Okay... I guess I could show you around downtown."

"Yes!" Dani squeals. "But before we go, where is your bathroom?"

Tyler paces the hallway outside of his door while he waits for Dani. Several questions bounce around in his mind: is she going to follow me around forever? Why does she want to marry me so badly? What am I going to show her?

Being lost in thought, he is alarmed when another female voice says, "Tyler, is that you? Are you okay?"

Recognizing the voice, Tyler whips around to face Carla. Her short brown hair frames her concerned face and green eyes stare at Tyler with compassion. She looks like an angel that flew to heaven and just got back to him.

"You... you're here," Tyler stammers. He starts to reach for her hand but stops half way; his body and mind are both unsure of what to do.

"Yeah... sorry it has been awhile. I wasn't really ready to talk, but Peter told me you were in trouble this morning. When you didn't answer my text, I figured I would stop by just to make sure you were okay..." Carla blushes and adverts her eyes from Tyler's stunned expression. "Maybe this wasn't a good idea..."

"No! I mean... it's perfect, but I..." Tyler glances nervously at the door to his room. Why now? He thinks. "It's just that this is a weird time... could we maybe go out to lunch tomorrow?"

Carla smiles, her eyes light up like Christmas lights—made even more beautiful because he hasn't seen them since the pervious year. However, before she can respond, Tyler's door is thrust open.

"I'm ready to go, dear!" Dani shouts, narrowing her eyes when she sees Carla. "Is this girl bothering you, my love?"

"Your love?" Carla mutters, staring at the red head emerging from her ex boyfriend's bedroom. "Who are—never mind—bye."

"Wait, Carla, please!" Tyler begs. "We just met today, and I promised I would show her around Boston because she isn't from here."

"But you love her?" Carla asks, turning back and glaring at Tyler. Her eyes are red and wet, on the verge of tears.

"No!" Dani's bore into Tyler as he speaks, like two golden drill-bits. "I... it... pa-please, let's just talk tomorrow?"

"Bye, Tyler," Carla whimpers as she walks away.

Slumping to the ground, Tyler hangs his head and sobs softly. His heart crumbles into dust. Death, he thinks, would feel better than love.

"What a hussy..." Dani mutters under her breath before turning to Tyler. "Did I miss something? Who was the bimbo?"

Normally, Tyler would be angry, but he simply hangs his head in defeat. "I don't want to talk about it." Standing up, he heads toward his room with his eyes on the floor.

"Dear, aren't you going to show me around?"

"Please leave," Tyler grumbles without looking up.

"You promised to show me your home!" Dani insists.

"I'm not in the mood..."

"Okay, we can get back to cuddling!"

"Fine, let's just go," Tyler sighs, realizing that Dani isn't going to leave him alone. At least in public she won't be too close, Tyler reasons. He shuffles down the hall and outside with Dani skipping beside him.

Boston, despite being a large city, is easy to traverse on foot. Tyler is able to half heartedly show Dani Cambridge, or the academy-district, which is the name that translates to something she understands.

Crossing the bridge into the down-town area, they walk through beacon hill. Dani enjoys the scenery, while Tyler explains its history. Moving down the narrow cobble-stone streets, they come upon the historic downtown. Tyler walks Dani along the freedom trail, taking her through the nation's history.

She giggles when he starts talking about the Boston tea party. "So, your whole country was started with a group of men sipping tea?"

"Not exactly..." Tyler sighs. He loves American history, but his heartbreak is still affecting him. "They didn't drink any tea; rather, they threw a whole shipment into the harbor. It was an act of protest that eventually led to a war."

"A war over tea?"

"The incident was in response to the government raising taxes without consent of the people, but the war was over who would rule the country."

"I see, so the two most powerful countries in the world fought over the right to govern the land."

"No, a small colony, comprised mostly of farmers, attacked the most powerful military in the world for the right to rule their own land."

"And they won?"

"Yeah, after eight years and over 100,000 deaths..."

"How did they overcome the difference in military strength?" Dani has been excited about everything, but her interest grows intense enough to distract Tyler from his misery.

"They played to their advantages. Britain was fighting a war across the ocean from their home base. It took a long time for supplies and reinforcements to arrive, while American troops all lived and farmed in the land they were fighting on. Still, the biggest factor was motivation."

"Motivation?"

"I mean, the British were trying to hold on to a new business venture by hiring mercenaries and sending what troops they could afford. My people were on their homeland, willing to die if it meant winning the war. Losing would have costed them their life, their families lives, and the hope of being free."

"My people are also at war..." Dani's face contorts to a pained expression. "Nearly fifty years of bloodshed on and off..."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Tyler offers, unsure of what to say next. "I guess war is inevitable and terrible across all of the realms."

"I guess..."

"So... uhh... do you want to talk about it?"

"That will have to wait." Dani glares up the street, eyes narrowing.

Following her stare, Tyler sees a man in a gray hoodie. "I'm not sure that he is a threat." Then Tyler sees it, a dagger with two snakes wrapped around it on the shoulder of the sweater. "Okay, maybe he is..."