[Original Fiction] The Lost Legend: Totem, Chapter 12 — Albany

fanfictioner (50)in #fiction • 6 years ago

--Albany--

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Chapter 1
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Chapter 11

“You know, I’ve been to every country in Europe and almost every major city in the world, but this is the first time I'm seeing the countryside. It's quite nice… If you like cows. And horses. And grass.”

Steve smiled. Of course Chris felt that way – he was a McGregor, a prominent global citizen, raised in the most economically active cities of the world. Steve, on the other hand, had never felt at home in the city, not even after 13 years of living in one. He supposed now that it had something to do with his reincarnated spirit, making him more in tune with nature than others.

They were speeding through the country, past large fields covered entirely with luscious grass and trees covered in green leaves. Steve sat in the passenger seat, ready to offer directions to the driver who drove in professional silence. Chris and Jean took the back seat, watching out for any sign of danger. Or at least Jean watched. Chris felt safe in his belief that the Solution could not have found out about Grandma Lily yet. Steve, for his part, watched the fields roll past with a sense of satisfaction. He resisted the urge to roll down the windows of the air conditioned car just so he could feel and smell the air blowing past. This was home. He was home.

He turned to Chris, smiling. “I thought your family owned a castle in the Scottish country or something.”

Chris rolled his eyes and flipped his hair. “How many times will I tell you?” He replied. “The McGregors do, but we're too far separated to enjoy any of that royalty stuff. Besides, my old man prefers to build his own fortunes – he absolutely hates feeling indebted.”

Steve smiled and kept watching, noting in amusement how Chris always spoke of his father with a mixture of admiration and resentment. Then his smile widened. In the distance, the first few buildings of the town had appeared.

“That’s it,” he murmured, half to himself. “That’s Albany.”

Although Albany was officially registered as a village, it was not at all a sleepy place. The town had history, going way back to the civil war. It was, in fact, one of the first places in the north that blacks escaping from the south had run to, and one of the first places to have schools incorporating both blacks and whites. It was located in Athens county, near the university, which was part of the reason for its activity level. Of her own, Albany had a population of less than 1000, yet it had a well maintained medical centre, and several businesses. It had numerous streets and a lot of empty space. There were many farmers, of course, but not as many cows as Chris had made it seem. Albany was a very modern village.

Grandma Lily's home was located on Meadowbrook Street, at the other end of the town from the direction of the airport, almost on the outskirts of the village. The houses on Meadowbrook were even more apart than in the centre of the village, and had a large wood directly behind them. On the other side of the road, were only a couple of houses, and an extremely wide, uneven field.

Steve remembered it all very well. He had played in that field numerous times, ears ringing with warnings not to go too far from the house and not to go into the woods. The house too was just as he remembered. A wide lawn with a couple of trees standing right in front of the single storey building, a wide but simple porch, whitewashed walls, flowers and a single spruce beneath every window, and a short gravel driveway that was rarely used, with a rusty red pickup parked in front of the garage screen doors.

They used it now, tires crunching over the gravel as they rolled slowly to a halt beside the pickup. Steve felt a growing sense of nervous anticipation. He hadn’t been allowed to call ahead to inform his grandma of their coming, for fear that the information would fall on the wrong ears. Now, however, he felt a different kind of fear.

What if she wasn’t in the house? What if she had taken the totem away and it was no longer here? And what was he going to say, now that the truth was out, and he knew he was the Incarnate?

But the front door opened and there she was, looking curious and slightly puzzled at the strange car which had arrived unexpectedly in front of her house. Then she saw Steve sitting in the passenger seat and her expression transformed into an understanding smile. Immediately, all his fears vanished. Of course, therewould be no need to say anything. She had known he would come someday.

He came down from the car. Chris and Jean followed, and walked behind him up the front stairs to the door. The driver remained in the car.

Grandma Lily waited for them, still smiling. Her hair was streaked with gray but was still mostly black –Laurel had gotten her blonde hair from her father. Although she was slightly hunched, she stood unsupported. Her face was remarkably unlined.

“Stephen,” she said as they got to her. “I hope you don’t mind, but I can't curtsey right now –my back's acting up.
Steve broke into a wide grin. This was why he liked Grandma Lily –she had a wry sense of humor that was always present, no matter the situation.

“I don’t know, Gran,” he replied. “If people started bowing to me…! I think I might just finally lose it.”

“Oh, they surely will – the world has been waiting for you a long time. Especially the ladies, but I've always told you that part anyway.”

He reached forward and hugged her tight. “I’ve missed you, Gran.”

She pulled back and took both his hands in hers. “And I've waited for this day my entire life. The day you finally become who you were always supposed to be.” She looked piercingly into his eyes. “Your time has come, Stephen. The age of the Avatar has returned!”