Circumstellar by J.W. Lolite Read Free Book Online Page A

her.” Why did lying have to take so much effort and brain power?
    “I see,” he said, giving me a skeptical look. While I was on the issue, why did my friends have to be so good at detecting my lies. “How about you, Lesia? Any other plans?”
    “I think I’m going to head home, too. I have some things I need to catch up on.”
    “Another time then. I’ll see you both tomorrow, but don’t expect me to have any more change,” he replied, giving us a half-hearted wink. “See you later!” I watched him turn and leave with a knot in my stomach. I really did want to go to the arcade with him. Hell, I wanted to go anywhere with him. I sighed and looked at the ground. Soon . Soon I’d have my answers and be done with this. I saw a slight movement out of the corner of my eye and almost jumped out of my skin when I saw Lesia still standing beside me. Her doe eyes stared into mine, and I feared she heard my thoughts. That or I had done something stupid like say them out loud. It wouldn’t be the first time. In times like this, I found it’s often useful to use one’s best defense. Play dumb.
    “Aren’t you going home, Lesia?”
    “Don’t play dumb with me, Ingrid.” Damn. “I know something’s up. I just wish,” she began, looking sadly at the ground, “I just wish that you would trust us enough to tell us what it is.”
    Wow, I felt horrible. Seeing her so sad and concerned only made the guilt burn deeper into my chest. The thought that she felt I didn’t trust them filled me to the point I could feel the truth rising in my throat. Resolve.
    “That couldn’t be further from the truth!” I blurted out, instead. “I trust you guys more than anyone else in the whole world. I trust you guys with my life! But it’s just . . .” I faltered, not sure what to say at first. “You just have to trust me on this. I have to figure this out on my own for now, and then I promise,” I declared, grabbing her hand, “I will tell you everything.” She didn’t say anything as she continued to look at the ground, but I could feel her fingers tighten around mine.
    “Just tell me,” she pleaded, “does it have anything to do with your injuries?”
    I bit the inside of my cheek, debating if I should answer that question with honesty or not. She chose that moment to look up at me, and I knew in an instant what I was going to say.
    “Yes.”
    “And that note?”
    So, she did see the letter. I didn’t even contemplate lying to her this time. It was senseless at this point. She already knew what I was going to say.
    “Yes.” Simple, but effective.
    “Can I see it?” I opened my mouth to protest. “Just the envelope, I mean. I won’t read that note if you don’t want me to. It’s just I noticed it had some design on the front.”
    I didn’t see any harm in that. I dug in my bag reaching for the little envelope. Besides, maybe she could make some sense of the weird thing. I sure couldn’t. Handing her the envelope, I looked at her face then took a step back. Her brows furrowed as she turned it around in her hands, looking at the sketch from different angles. Her eyes darted to the sky for a moment, and she held out the envelope for me to take back.
    “Okay, Ingrid. I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said, turning to leave. I looked after her, grasping the note in my hands.
    “It’s Orion!” she called, glancing over her shoulder and pointing up. “The constellation.”
     
    So, here I was – making my up an enormous hill. The temple, like all other temples in the world, was built on the summit. The walk across town hadn’t been as bad as I thought it was going to be. I had the nerve to think that would be the hardest part. Proven wrong for the umpteenth time. I took in a few deep breaths and continued to hike up, the Orion envelope in my inescapable hold. I didn’t know what awaited me at the top, but I knew one thing for sure; if what awaited me was a bunch of jokesters with telescopes, there was going to