The Zemees(in progress)

The Zemees

The town, Scortac, was ruined and debris flew everywhere. In the center of it all was Ada and her younger sister Analynn. “What have you done? You destroyed everyone and everything!” Ada screamed. Analynn looked bewildered and shook with terror. “It was an accident; I didn’t mean for any of this.” Analynn dropped to her knees and cried in her hands. “You must forgive…..Ada…please, “ Analynn yelped. She reached for her sister, but Ada stepped back in disgust. Blood dripped from both of the sisters’ body and their hair was mangled and covered with dirt. Ada did not even look at her sister who was pleading on the floor. With tears pouring down her bloody face, Analynn cried, “ Ada…it wasn’t me, please. You must forgive me.” Ada finally looked down,” How could I? Tell me Analynn; tell me! How could I! Ada’s face was red and her heart was filled with hatred. “Our family and home is…..gone and all because of you. You will never be part of our family or Sortac again!” Analynn looks from her sisters’ face to her once loved town. “Is this what you want; is this your final words!” Annalynn doesn’t even wait for an answer because at that second, Analynn stands up and clenches her jaw. Analynn stares at her sisters’ grief stricken face and says in a pleading voice,” Please Ada.” Ada looks at the far off horizon and in a simple statement she says,” You will never belong.” With those final words, Analynn flies off into the clouds while tears drop from her face. Meanwhile, Ada knows that she won’t see her ever again.

Four years ago…

“Hey mom, what time is it? I think the “ground worlds’’ shops are closing.,” Ada asked. Ada’s mom, Sira, had noticed the time too and replied, “Yes Ada, almost ready. Did you hide your wings? You know how the mainlanders are with us, Zemees.” Ada had forgotten about the last time she forgot to hide her red, smooth wings. Ada recalls the night when she went grocery shopping with her mom and saw the look of terror upon all the mainlanders’ faces. “Oh, I almost forgot.” Ada quickly grabbed her large coat from the hanger and ran to the kitchen to meet her mom. By this time, both Ada and Sira were ready to go. They flew down from their house on the clouds and started discussing the type of cake they were to buy for Analynn. Ada’s sister was turning nine and the only cake good enough to her sisters’ liking was the ones from the mainlanders’ shops. The town of Scortac didn’t have good bakeries and didn’t specialize in cakes. Scortac had very few bakeries and those bakeries were usually bare, except for the selling of their most popular pastry, the cramber. The cramber was Ada’s favorite dessert by far because it was filled with gooey green paste that tasted of heaven. It was all Ada ever asked for on her birthday, but Analynn wanted something different every time for her birthday. The mainlanders’ shops were always filled with different sweets depending on season or holiday. It was always a treat for Analynn every time she could come to the bakeries, but this time Analynn was still at home, sleeping. The birthday was going to be a surprise and everyone, including the neighbors were invited to celebrate Analynn’s ninth birthday party. As Ada and Sira landed, they quickly put on their coat and headed for Analynn’s requested bakery, the Temp.Tation. As they walked inside, Ada could smell the freshly baked bread, cakes, cookies, and pastries. “Ada, go and find something for Analynn; try to find a chocolate cake,” Sira said to her daughter. With that, Ada left to find the cake isle, while Sira went to talk to Scott, the clerk, for birthday decorations. Ada had finally found the cakes, when her phone began to ring. Ada looked at the phone number and the contacts’ ID. The person calling was her good friend, Wenby. Ada quickly walked to the corner of the bakery and picked up. “What’s up Wenby,” Ada whispered. On the other side of the phone, Wenby was wearing his usual, confused look. “Hey Ada, when is the party?” Ada sighed,” Today at four, Wenby and don’t be late.” Ada hung up and later felt guilty for hanging up on Wenby. Ada strolled over to cake isle once more and found the perfect chocolate cake for Analynn. It was a two tier cake with dark chocolate ganache running down from all sides. The cake was a chocolate lovers dream and had sophisticated designs sticking out of the cake. “Oh, you like this cake. This cake is limited edition and very moist and decedent. However, the price is a bit much if I do say so myself.” Ada looked up. He was a tall man and around the age of thirty. “He must be a cashier,” Ada thought and looked to see if he had a name plate. On the left side of his chest was the name, Alexander. “Yes, this cake looks very appealing and hopefully my mom won’t mind the price. My name is Ada….Ada Fines.” Alexander looks at her and tilts his head,” That is a unusual last name, but no matter.” Alexander points to his name tag and says,” I’m Alexander, but people call me Xander. Oh, sorry, but I got to go; I’m supposed to be working in the kitchen. By the way, don’t tell anybody I was out here.” Xander leaves and Ada calls out,” Don’t worry, I won’t.” Ada turns around and runs into her mother. “Did you say something Ada?” Ada looks back at where Xander was standing,” Huh, oh… no. I didn’t say anything, but I did find something.” Ada points to the glorious cake and smiles. Sira looks at the price and then looks at the limited edition sign posted on the cake pedestal. “Okay, wait for me at the door. I’m going to buy it and hopefully Analynn will love this cake.” Sira goes to the counter to order the chocolate cake and rechecks the price. Sira tiredly sighs and thinks, “I hope Analynn doesn’t wake up yet because we still have a lot to do.” By the time, they both leave Temp.Tation, Analynn wakes up to find Ada and Sira are missing. “Dad, were did mommy and Ada go?” But, of course, Analynn already knows the answer. Mr. Fines is a medium sized man with messy brown hair and a slouch that can’t be fixed. Mr. Fines thinks about his answer and when he finally does, he says,” They went to the barber shop down where the hair-cutting mainlanders worked.” Mr. Fines wasn’t a fan of the mainlanders and only shopped at Scortac. He couldn’t quite understand how the mainlanders did things, therefore, he didn’t like going to the mainland. However, he could not convince the rest of his family to follow his same pursuit. Mr. Fines looks down at his new quartz watch. “They should come back soon. Don’t worry Analynn.” With that last statement, Mr. Fines leaves the room. Analynn gets out of bed opens her light pink desk drawer. Inside, Analynn has kept all her previous presents and decides to herself which one she would throw away to make room for her new presents. Analynn picks up an old picture of her dear friend, Zero. They have been friends for a long time, but just last year, Zero moved away to another town-a town far away from Scortac and its people. Analynn takes the picture out from the drawer and drops it into her trash can. “Sorry Zero,” Analynn whispers. As Analynn heads out the room, the picture of Zero and her starts to sizzle and just as fast as it had started, it stopped. The picture floats out of the trash can and disappears without a trace. Downstairs, Analynn can hear her sister and mom come home. She rushes to finish brushing her teeth and quickly runs down to greet them. “So you are finally awake now,” Ada remarks. Ada looks at her sister and laughs. Analynn’s hair is lion’s mane that has been car wash several times. Analynn laughs along and doesn’t notice her mom putting the cake in the fridge. “I can’t believe you are turning nine. You still look so little,’’ Ada says. Analynn retorts, “You still look little!” Analynn makes a face to her sister and runs off to restroom to tame her frizzy hair. “ Hey mom, that was a close one. She could’ve seen the cake. Oh, I almost forgot, are we going to get the decorations now or is dad going to get them.” Sira sighs tiredly,” Let’s make dad do it. Honey, would you mind going out and buy decorations for the…..festival?” Mr. Fines comes out of the office. Sira whispers,” Can you get decorations for Analynn’s party at the mainland?” Mr. Fines looks at his wife’s face and says,” Sure.” He picks up his coat from the hanger and before opening the door, he asks,” Party City or Candles?” “You should try both stores, so you can see what’s cheapest.” Mr. Fines agrees and heads out the house. As Mr. Fines flies down, he notices a flock of birds and smiles. The flock reminds him of the days he used to work at a bird nursery. Taking care of the birds from a hatchling from an adult; back then, it was the closest thing to friends for Mr. Fines. He guesses that the birds were to go to the nursery for food. Usually, around lunch, the birds would fly to the nursery for food and a resting/landing place. However, that job didn’t last long for Mr. Fines. He soon became a member of the Scortac council and a well-respected dad. Mr. Fines however lacked affection for the mainlanders and soon regretted the idea of going to Party City. He thought to himself,” I should have gone to Candles first. This place is crowded.” Concealing himself in his cloak, Mr. Fines lands beside a tree and without a single hesitation, he walks to the door. Meanwhile, Analynn and Ada are upstairs, playing with *Kitty-the talking stuffed cat. Kitty lays perched upon the bed, purring softly to herself. She listens to the sound of Sira’s footsteps. “Sira’s pacing,” Kitty mumbles. However, Analynn and Ada don’t seem to notice. They’re deep in conversation about Zero, yet both know that their friend will be gone forever. Ada is the first one to realize that Kitty has stopped purring and quickly reaches over to stroke her. Kitty fur is made of the same material as a toy cat would and her features resemble the TSUM TSUM Cheshire cat. However, Kitty lacks color and has yellow painted on eyes. For as long as Ada and Analynn lived in their house, Kitty has always been there. No one, not even the Fines family knows how Kitty got to their home. Analynn was always suggesting that Kitty tell them her story and every time Kitty refuses. “Kitty, you remember Zero, right? Remember when he would always poke you and forget you were a real-ish cat. Remember when he used to steal all the balloons after every birthday party. Remember when he moved away without saying a goodbye.” Analynn says the last sentence with sadness and decides to not talk for the sake that she might say something wrong again. Kitty rolls over to both Ada and Analynn, knowing that they both want a stuffed animal to hold. “Analynn..Ada, how about we play a game of Sorry.” Right away, Ada smiles and slyly remarks,” Hah, I always win that game. I hope none of you will be sad when I win.” Ada gets up and grabs the Sorry board game and quickly assembles the game pieces. Annylnn thinks about the picture of Zero she threw away. She wonders to herself,” Should I get it back?” Analynn shakes her head and sees that her sister had finished putting the pieces together. Kitty yells,”I go first!” “Second!”Analynn says, leaving Ada last. Ada pouts and grabbs the yellow(her favorite color) gamepiece. Back at PartyCity, Mr.Fines quickly walks through the store. If you were a passerby and happened to see Mr.Fines in the store, then you would think he late for a job. Mr.Fines finally sees the pink and light blue balloons and quickly grabbing them without thinking or looking at the prices. He regards his wife’s advice to compare the price at Candles, and heads to the candle isle. On the way, he spotts party hats and birthday banners. He finds them cute and Analynn approved, so of course, Mr.Fines buys them and however, doesn’t check the prices. When reaching the candle isle, Mr. Fines searches for a candle with the number nine. He notices that there is only one number nine candle, yet doen’t notice that someone else is also wants a number nine candle. It is a coinincidence that both men grab the candle at the same time and both have just now noticed one another. Mr.Fines reacts first and angrily pulls the candle away from the man using his free hand. It is a tug of war, but neither of them don’t want to stay in the store longer than the they have to. “Hey! What are you two doing? “ Mr. Fines and the man turn to see a young woman with thick blue glasses and a name tag. She is a small woman named Char and has been working at PartyCity for 3 months. She hurriedly walks over and grabbs the candle from both either of them. “You know you could just ask for more( she looks down at the candle)..number nine candles. Just wait and I will get them for you.” Char leaves without saying anothet word, leaving Mr. Fines and the man alone. The man is mad and slightly embarressed. “What is your problem! I was obviously there first,”the man says to Mr.Fines. Mr. Fines quietly whispers a sorry and knows that it was his fault. It had happened many time before when he was in a hurry and he just felt even more angry for being at the mainland. “The mainland always has problems to for me,” he tells himself. After a couple minutes, Char returns with more than one number nine candles. “Here. Next time, DON”T do that.” Mr. Fines walks way first and quietly walks to the cashier. “That will be $20 please.” Mr.Fines looks at the things he’s buying and after a full second of hesitation he hands the cashier a twenty. Mr.Fines walks out of PartyCity and takes a deep breath of fresh air. He doesn’t understand how mainlanders spend so much time inside buildings and other enclosed, tight spaces. ”Analynn better like this years’ party. “Whoooo!”Analyyn screams with joy. “I win…I win….I win!”

Glossary

(For those who seek a meaning)- Trinh

*The myth says that Kitty came from Egypt as a gift from the princess. Although, they say that Kitty is over 5000 years old, her personality resembles a young adult. Long ago, Kitty’s name was Bast, the great Egyptian goddess, and yet no one remembers the story of how Kitty came to live with the Fines family. However, the answer to that is not within this story, but within another story.

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