A Falling Starr: The Complete Trilogy Read online

  Emmerich waved to her. “Hello.”

  She gave him a fishy look, then thankfully went back into her apartment.

  I let out a sigh. “Sorry about that, she likes checking up on me for some odd reason. It’s kind of creepy actually.”

  “That’s no problem,” he laughed. “Reminds me of my grandmother actually.”

  Heading out into the street, Emmerich turned to me. “So how has your morning been?”

  I shrugged. “All right, I suppose as mornings can go. Better now though.”

  He stuck his hands into his pocket. “Better now that you’re with me?”

  “Maybe, we will see how the day goes.”

  “So I’m being critiqued then?” he raised an eyebrow.

  I shoved him playfully. I already felt comfortable with him. It was strange, I had never felt this way with someone before. Was it because he was the first person to truly accept me? Or was there something more to it?

  The Saturday Market was down by the waterfront, sort of close to Voodoo Donuts. I thought about mentioning donuts to Emmerich but remembered he was going to introduce me to crêpes. I just hoped that they were as great as donuts.

  It was interesting that I could remember some foods but not others. Donuts, I remembered vaguely, but as to these crêpes, I had no idea what they were. I also had never remembered ham and bacon and, truthfully, I didn’t care for it.

  People were already out in droves. Good thing I didn’t mind crowds. In fact, sometimes I felt more comfortable around lots of people. Don’t get me wrong, I like my solitude from time to time, but everyone has a story and I like watching to see what that is.

  The market was full of homemade, unique goods, everything from food to tie-dyed shirts to Native American rugs. If you couldn’t find it here, then it wasn’t worth buying. Also, here, everything was homemade and very... unique. After passing a booth with steampunk gnomes, unique definitely applied.

  Emmerich led me to the little vendor that sold crêpes and, after a ten minute wait, they were wrapped up and given to us. I had ordered a strawberry cream and he had ordered a cinnamon honey banana.

  After one bite, I was in love. Light and fruity, they were definitely better for me than a donut. I had a new favorite snack—and the whipped cream inside was an added bonus. I wondered how easy they were to make. It didn’t seem too hard.

  “Where would you like to go first?” he took a bite of his crêpe, honey smeared the edges of his mouth.

  I laughed and wiped it away with my napkin. “Always such a messy eater.”

  “What?” he looked at me questioningly.

  I blinked. Why had I said that? I’ve never seen him eat before. “I... I don’t know where that came from, sorry,” I glanced around. “How about we start over there.”

  After staring at me a moment longer, he nodded. “Let’s go.”

  We wandered into the part where all the photographs were sold—pictures that made you want to travel the world, Italy, Japan, China, France. Hidden amongst the hundreds, I noticed one of Germany.

  I pointed at the photo. “Have you been here?”

  He squinted as he read the caption underneath. “Lindau, Germany. Ja, I’ve been there. I used to go every summer with Mutter. Been a while though.”

  I admired the photo a bit more. “It looks beautiful. How often do you fly back?”

  He frowned and scratched his head. “I haven’t been back in a few years. I came here and I guess I just never looked back.”

  I turned back to the painting. “I don’t know how you could leave such a place behind. And your family...”

  “It’s a lot easier than you’d think,” he mumbled. “Shall we move on? There’s a lot more to explore?”

  I nodded. “Sure.”

  We ventured to the other side of the market. People sold all different types of artwork, ranging from playing cards to art made of garbage to clown masks. I shuddered. I hated clowns, they freaked me out.

  We turned down towards a circle of tents. Trinkets from China filled many of the booths. Plush dolls of Pikachu and Sailor Moon—two pop culture icons recognizable even to me—hung up on the walls. Further down a woman sat alone. Her greying blonde hair was pulled back in a bun and her narrow fingers tapped a deck of cards on the table. Her blue eyes looked wise but still full of youthful energy, belying the wrinkles on her face.

  She pointed at me and motioned for me to come closer. “I will read your fortune for only five dollars. Please come sit, I am very good.”

  When someone says they’re good at something, it’s almost guaranteed to be a lie.

  I turned to Emmerich. He shrugged. “It’s fine by me if you want to try it.”

  Pulling out five dollars, I put it on the table and sat down.

  “Give me your hand,” I grasped her cold one and she closed her eyes. “I see... a dark shadow lingering over your past, as if you are hiding something. The deeper you go, the darker it is. It’s hard to see anything behind you,” she paused, searching for more.

  How did she know that everything seemed to be hidden from me? My heart raced, eager to hear more.

  “You and this young man go way back. You are connected, always meant to be together,” she said. “Destiny has brought you to each other against all odds. The universe can’t keep you apart.”

  Well, that got awkward fast, first date and a psychic says we are meant to be. I glanced over at Emmerich but he just stared at the lady, frowning.

  “There’s more. You are an important person. Very important. I don’t know how, but all the answers will be revealed to you soon,” she opened her eyes. “Now, I will read your fortune.”

  She shuffled the cards and laid them out on the table. “This card is your present, this is your past,” she flipped over another card. “This is your fears and this is your joys,” she flipped over the last card. “And this is your future.” She read the cards carefully, nodding to herself. “Very interesting indeed. The Magician. You are a smart woman, searching for answers in everything that you do. As for your past,” she touched the card. “The Eight of Swords tells us of a loss of control. You feel you can’t grasp your former life. Nine of Swords, you fear your lingering thoughts will leave you hopeless. You need to move away from them and enjoy life. Your joys,” she smiled and glanced at Emmerich. “Include a lover and you should be open to any proposals that come your way,” she looked at the last card and frowned. “Ten of Swords. Disaster is coming your way. You must prepare for the fight ahead of you.”

  “The fight?”

  Her eyes seemed to look through me. “There is a war that has been going on for a long time. You must prepare and draw your sword. Trust those near you that they have your back,” she blinked and turned to Emmerich. “Would you like your fortune told as well?”

  “No thank you, I think we better get going. Come on Angela,” he held out his hand and helped me up.

  “Thank you!” I waved at the fortune teller as we left her booth. I turned to Emmerich. “Well, that was odd, huh?”

  “Yeah, I don’t buy much into that sort of thing,” Emmerich seemed to keep looking back behind himself.

  I went on. “She got my past right though, that’s a bit strange.”

  “It’s the Forer effect, saying things that are broad enough that anyone can relate,” he tried to sound casual to diffuse the awkwardness, but my heart felt like it was going drop out of my chest.

  “Yeah I guess that’s true,” I looked up at the sky and took in the beautiful blue color. An adventure sounded wonderful, even if it was going to be a hard fight. “Too bad, I was looking forward to this war of hers. Sounds, sci-fi-ish, you know? Like Doctor Who,” I laughed.

  Emmerich didn’t say anything. I guess he was embarrassed about all that “meant to be” stuff, but he seemed more frustrated, his fists were clenched and his body tense. He looked back again, as if searching for something. Maybe he had seen someone he didn’t want to run into and that was why he was in such a rush.
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  I glanced back, a man in black was staring right at me. It was Scarface, who I admit, was the scariest of the five men I had run into this past week. He was grinning and it gave me the shivers. He didn’t move but just stood there as if simply trying to scare us. Looking up at Emmerich, I wondered if it had anything to do with him.

  “You don’t happen to know that man over there, do you? The one with the scar” I nodded over at him. I didn’t want to point in fear that he might actually move towards us.

  He looked at the man. “Oh, him?” he paused like he was trying to come up with an answer. “Yeah, that’s George, one of my brother’s friends.”

  That was obviously a lie, not to mention that man did not look like a George. Maybe a Steve. “Then why are we heading away from him? Shouldn’t you talk to him?”

  “It’s just a game we play, don’t worry about it. You’re perfectly safe with me.”

  Why would I worry that I wasn’t safe with him? He was leading me away from the scary man so I wasn’t going to complain. I wanted answers, but I hesitated to ruin a perfectly good date. I would ask him later.

  “So, where to next?” I asked with a smile, hoping he would forget about the fortune teller. and the man watching us. Although, maybe I didn’t want him to forget about the man, then he wouldn’t be ready if he did decide to follow us.

  He raised an eyebrow. “Hm? I don’t care, where do you want to go?”

  I thought for a second. Then it hit me, the perfect place to go on a date. “Have you been to the Lan Su Chinese Garden?”

  He shook his head. “No, where is that?”

  “You have to go. It’s this way! Come on,” I grabbed his arm and pulled him towards Portland’s Chinatown.

  The gardens were only a few minutes away. Emmerich didn’t protest as I kept my arm entwined with his. He didn’t say much but seemed to be in a better mood now that we were away from the marketplace.

  On the way, I checked to make sure the man no longer followed. I tried not to think about it, not wanting to spoil the fun of being on a date with such a cute guy, even though he was keeping something from me. Didn’t everyone have secrets though? Maybe not the same but there are always things people don’t want others to know.

  At Lan Su I paid the entrance fee. Emmerich tried to give me money but I insisted that I owed him for both the crêpes and the coffee, not to mention finding my necklace. After a minute of arguing, he gave in.

  Walking through the archway was like being transported into another world. Classic Chinese architecture blocked out the modern world, other than the tops of the few skyscrapers Portland possessed. If I wanted a day away, I would either come here or go up to the Portland Rose Gardens, or the Oregon Zoo. The zoo was just fun and I always tried to imagine what the animals were like in the wild.

  The maple trees were starting to turn, their red color contrasted against the greenery of the other plant life. All this surrounded a gorgeous pond where koi fish waited to be fed by visitors.

  “Well, what do you think?” I watched his face.

  He looked around, wide-eyed. “This place is wunderbar, I can’t believe I’ve never been.”

  I stood tall, satisfied with the response. “I’m glad you like it.”

  He grabbed my hand and we strolled along a path made of large rocks. His skin felt warm against mine and I wanted to hold his hand forever. The fortune teller was right, this was one of my joys.

  We bought some food to feed the koi and threw a couple of cheerios in at a time, I leaned against the support beam and looked down at our reflection.

  “Where do you see yourself in the future?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “I always saw myself getting a PhD in physics and moving back to Germany, but that all changed.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Emmerich looked at me with his bright blue eyes. “Someone made me change my mind. Showed me that a purpose is more important than individual goals. Physics was something I wanted to do, but I learned there were other things in life that were more important.”

  “Well that person sounds amazing. I wish I could meet them.”

  “She is and I would do anything for her,” he laughed as if it was a joke I wasn’t in on. I felt my heart race. He had said ‘her’. Were they once an item? “What about you, where do you see yourself?”

  I leaned back and looked up at the sky. “I guess it all depends on the present.” And whether or not the fortune teller was right about the war and finding love. “But finding purpose for others does sound like a good dream.”

  He watched me with a light smile on his face. I thought about asking why he was looking at me like that, but I didn’t want to ruin the moment. I dropped some more cheerios into the pond, watching the small waves appear before the koi dissolved it away with their own movements. One of the fish splashed us, hitting Emmerich right in the face. I laughed as he wiped it away with his sleeve.

  “That was disgusting,” he spat into the water.

  “Maybe you weren’t feeding him fast enough.”

  “I guess. That fish just needs to calm down.”

  We both chuckled at the comment and finished feeding the fish in companionable silence. I watched as the koi nibbled, pushing each other out of the way for more. I loved the different colors they had, not just orange but black and white speckles as well.

  I checked my watch. It was thirty minutes until two. I needed to get back. “I should probably head to my tutoring session.”

  Emmerich jumped down from the rock. “I’ll walk you there. Where do you need to go?”

  “Just over to Powell’s Books. You don’t need to walk me, it’s fine. Kind of out of the way.”

  He put his hand in mine, intertwining our fingers. “It’s alright, I want to.”

  I leaned my head against his shoulder as we left the garden. This was the perfect day. It felt comfortable. It felt safe. It felt...

  Familiar?

  It happened again, some images started to form in my mind. Emmerich and I strolled together, through a garden just like this. It was different though, none of the trees and plants were the same. They didn’t look like anything of this world Emmerich was wearing some type of suit, and I was wearing a yellow summer dress. We were laughing, having a good time. It was before the darkness. It was before that day...

  I knelt down and grabbed my head. The migraine had come back.

  “Are you okay?” Emmerich placed his hands on my arms, helping me back up.

  “Yeah, I just...” I looked up at him, debating if I should tell him what I saw. It was the second time I had a vision of him. “I just need some water. Can we stop here?” I pointed at a small cafe. People were staring at us as Emmerich helped me up.

  He nodded. “Yes, no problem. Let’s get you inside.”

  Emmerich got me a water and I drank it quickly. The pain went away slowly and we started again for the bookstore.

  I thought about the vision. It was definitely Emmerich standing with me. We were enjoying ourselves at some party. Was it a banquet? It didn’t look anything like Portland. Did Emmerich know where I was from? If so, he made no comment about it. If he knew, wouldn’t he have said something? And where could I find that yellow dress? It looked so cute on me.

  “How often do you get spells like that?”

  “Up until this week, never. I probably will go to a doctor next week.”

  “I hope everything is okay.”

  I shook my head, waving off the thought. “It’s fine, I should be fine. Probably just too much fun for one day. Don’t worry about it.”

  “Are you sure?” he asked one last time.

  I nodded. “But I was wondering about that guy back at the farmers market. He’s just your brother’s friend?”

  “Ja, just a friend.”

  “I’ve seen him around, more than once. In fact, that was the third time I’ve seen him this week,” I went on.

  “Did you run into me around the same time?”

  I th
ought back to it. I had seen Emmerich around when those men showed up. “So they have been looking for you?”

  “Ja, just some old friends in town. I hope they didn’t scare you, I’m sorry if they did.”

  I waved it off. “No, no. I just found it strange that I kept running into them. Now I know, they were just looking for you.”

  “Yup.”

  We reached Powell’s and Emmerich kissed my hand. “Feel better. Promise me you will go straight home after.”

  I smiled. “I will. Maybe see you tomorrow?”

  “I’ll stop by in the afternoon. I promise.”

  With that, he left me to meet with my student. The first one for the afternoon, Katelynn, was already waiting for me. I sat down next to her at the table.

  “Sorry I’m a little late,” I brushed a piece of my ginger hair out of my face. “How’s biology been going?”

  “It’s going, but let’s talk about chemistry,” she leaned in. “Who was that hunk? Is he your boyfriend?”

  I blushed. “He might be.”

  “Well, did he ask for your digits at least?”

  I was taken aback by the question. I never thought about exchanging cell numbers because I didn’t have a cell phone. But why didn’t he ask for mine? Isn’t that what everyone does nowadays?

  As promised I went straight back to my apartment. The headache had gone away but I could still feel the lingering numbness. I would take another dose of my headache tincture once I got back to my apartment. It worked wonders.

  When I got home, I collapsed. Three tutoring sessions back to back was exhausting. Especially after spending the whole morning with Emmerich.

  I let my thoughts drift back to him. He was perfect. I hoped I didn’t screw this one up. I had almost forgotten, I was going to check out Memphis May Fire. I quickly typed it into my iTunes and hit play for the first track, “Be Careful For What You Wish For”.

  RAISE YOUR GLASS TO EVERYTHING

  YOU’VE ACCOMPLISHED ON YOUR OWN

  I PROMISE IT WOULDN’T MEAN A THING TOMORROW

  WE’RE ALL JUST HEADED STRAIGHT FOR THE OCEAN FLOOR

  ON A SHIP WITHOUT ANY CAPTAIN ABOARD

  I shut it off quickly. I didn’t see Emmerich being a metal-core fan. That was definitely not my scene, I was more of a folk music kind of girl. I glanced at the microwave to see it count down its last four seconds. Grabbing a spoon, I took my soup out of the microwave and turned on my laptop to get on Netflix.