The Shape of You [Love Story]

I: First there were the eyes

First there were the eyes that gleamed of sun and summer. Then there was the boyish gummy smile that made you want to smile all of a sudden. And that innocent smugness he carried around wasn’t just smart, it had to be orchestrated.

Yes, perfectly orchestrated. I really don’t think this is first love. Way too much to be first love. Love it is, is it?

Where was I? I was on the train. It’s about 6.20pm. And lucky, he was there again, with two of his friends. I see him in the evenings on this train often, and I know this train is his usual ride to his destination. Is it more than pure coincidence? That I’ve seen him twice in school but six times on this train now. As usual, no amount of tiredness can refuse a gaze at him.

Funny, he seems to enjoy sitting opposite me (well there is space anyway so go ahead to lounge anywhere?). Oh gawd, my heart is racing. School was intense today but nothing is more intense than your crush sitting right across. Should I get up and move to the next cabin? Or should I exit this train and get on the next one? I have to stop staring at him (I do that all the time so this must not be habit) because I have to divert once he realises the staring, and of course I have to look tired which is why I stare listlessly in the first place. My eyes are rolling now, this is getting weird and I have to pretend it is normal but it is not.

As I fidget a little, the view of the beautiful lake Catrun from the windows came into view. I looked over and was just amazed that the sky had nicely turned into a serene orange against a still lake. Going home during this time was definitely worth it when the sun was setting. I lifted up my mobile phone from my bag and snapped a shot of it, something that I’ve done about a thousand times already and I have a massive collection of Catrun’s lake pictures now. As I put away my phone, something caught on and I trembled immediately. He was glancing at me. Our eyes met.

Help. My heart was sending butterflies to my head now. Why is my head fluttering?

As if the train knew it was my stop to alight, I had just arrived at my station. The minute the train doors opened, I grabbed my bag and burst out of the train. He was still looking on when I ran out, what the hell.

OK, breathe. No wait, don’t breathe. Lungs did not care.

The Zepia Rebirth, Chapter 1 Part 4

Excerpt from The Zepia Rebirth (Fiction Story) by Vander. (Please note all references and descriptions are purely fictional and are not in relation to real world entitles).

Chapter 1, Part 4:

As Captain, I had to brave the storms far more often than my people were led to think. Leader of 25 select soldiers in a special unit King Xarv had planned as contingency to his infirmities, if any. His highness named us the Valors. I strived to my utmost ability never to disappoint him, as he had brought me up like a son often than not and cherished me in paternal affection. As a kid without real parents, I never felt like I needed any form of attention from anyone. It was widely accepted that men and women could genetically clone or create their children from normative bioanalytics in Zepia, but I was born directly from the lab of the Xars hood based on the king’s imprint. This was the king’s order, where a decision was made to pass down his genetic information into a body scrutinized, picked and forged by his choice. All kings, predecessors and successors however, are always the result of Xarv marriages consummated and birthed from royal mothers.

So far, six other bodies were similarly made from Xars laboratories and they had lived to be great warriors, each of them leaving their mark in history. At 22, I was the 7th surviving King Xarv-engineered human. Strong and fit like a bull, although impatient and rebellious throughout. I had broken the ribs of soldiers, severed the heads of thousands and ready for wars no living could imagine. King Xarv had continuously encouraged me as he saw each time what I did. Any time before I head out for a battlewich, which in our language, a war of good, he would brief cautions only to use my strength for morality and in saving lives (supposedly what Xars preached), and that I will be rewarded if I did so. Wars were so common and rampant between the planets and only Earth was spared, as it was peace on Earth that the Colonies would never taint. Earth was the untouchable, a place where I thought I could dream of retiring in someday. 

Sometimes the blood of our enemies reminds me that I was not so much a human as them. My blood was colder than theirs. I shivered about my kills when I got back to Twera, our base, laying in my bed twitchy, shell-shocked each time but pretended to be fine. I never had a day where I could restfully sleep. King Xarv knew about this and had prescribed anti-insomniac drugs to keep me in check. My sleep could only complete once I was medicated, and so I had a regular automatic dispenser of anti-insomniacs at bedside. From the day I was Captain at 16, I had already taken potent dosages of those, way before I was discharged as functional from the lab. They were administered by a click from the dispenser onto the skin, where a laser would penetrate underneath the epidermis and the formula released directly into my bloodstream. The formula was known as the Ellesse. Also, on top of my bed, there is a shelf with an automatic saber and firearm with a supercharge magazine. I keep that close to remind myself that, I am the Captain of the Valors and if I do get attacked in my sleep, there is always the immediate opportunity for revenge. I have seen a fair share of people not on my side, and there can only be so much of a wise. Better to be safe than sorry.

Disclaimer: All poetry and fiction here are original material written by Vander. Please note that all text references, descriptions and indications are purely fictional (make-believe if you didn’t know what fiction is!) and is in no relation to any actual entities.