Driving through the streets of old El Camino, a quaint city near the edge of Texas and bordering New Mexico, Julian felt at ease. The sun setting overhead reminded him of peaceful times when he could walk around town without having to worry about money or having food on the table. Serenity was not unachievable, but it did seem to elude him, and many of the people who inhabited the small city; despite its silent nights and calm mornings. Few clouds in the distance approached with imperceptible swiftness, they suspended above and lingered in ominous leisure; waiting while the sun settled in its perch for slumber. They reminded Julian of similar instances back home where he'd bear witness to familiar clouds hovering atop like some supernatural occurrence, though much more in likes of a guardianship; at least that's what he felt when they were heavenward and suspended with inaction, despite the breezy atmosphere.
His thoughts dissipated once the destination crest over a hilly road, the cornerstone was lit up with an exaggerated "Open" white, red and blue neon sign hanging centered on the see-through window wall. Shoddy orange and yellow price tags clung to the glass assisted by irregular pieces of tape plastered every which way, without uniformity. The usual merchandise advertisements that read "buy one get one free", or the other topical latest trends of semi-frozen goods, slushed ice and flavored for cheap. Julian sat in his impala for a couple of minutes, his mind addled by the feelings in his chest from that evening with Millie. During his drive, it pin-pricked the back of his mind, but he'd shied those intimate thoughts further back to the recesses of his subconscious, deciding to lend to his cognitive functions in their stead.
After his mind was an unbearable mess of jumbled emotions, rueful in the varied demise of could-be scenarios, he pulled himself out of the car and took a deep breath of cooling air. The car was old, and its cooling system was no longer in commission; rolling the widows down would have done the job, had he not forgotten to do so in his wanderlust stupefaction. In contrast, the temperate cool on the outside felt like a godsend, and he'd no longer be cooking himself like a rotisserie chicken inside the car's steely carry. Cracked pavement, typical of corner store hubs, cradled the earth under him and he almost tripped on the indention, though he did curse through his breath. Scarcity of clients had driven the prices down so far that his favorite chips were on sale almost daily, Julian had a love of hot snacks; in particular, ones that were long and slender, powdered in spices that made his tongue tingle.
When he opened the door to the convenience store, the owner Mr. Ayáles greeted him with a weighty smile, he'd known Julian for only a couple of weeks but had completely learned to trust him. In retrospect, it was more than likely because Julian, unlike other prospective shoppers, had more than once bought days worth of earnings in snacks and cigarettes. The shop was small, without much elbow room and the recent economy forced Mr. Ayáles to sell his products at a much less profitable price, it drew in some people, but most chose the bigger chains of mega grocers that could afford to lower their prices to ridiculous amounts. Julian strolled about, in his usual cadence, picking up his favorite chips, his chocolate mini cakes, and a three-liter bottle of fizzy-pop drink. "What's up, Mr. Ayáles, got any new scratchcards?", Julian asked, making small talk while he pointed towards the shop's back rack lined up with packs of brand cigarettes. Mr. Ayáles knew the brand like he knew the back of his palm, it was a favorite among the younger generation and turned to take a pack from the selection while replying, "No, no, mijo, nothing new except the flies around this town, this damn heat attracts them to anything that's cool."
Julian knew exactly what he was talking about and huffed a chuckle, "Yeah, well, you do have the best slushes in town, cheapest too.", he said while Mr. Ayáles reached to grab the pack and scan it. He was an older gentleman, decorated in wrinkles from old age around his eyes and cheeks; sunbaked and skinny but not fragile like so often most seniors appeared to be. Stubborn brown eyes that reflected the experience of his youth looked over to Julian; he dictated "That'll be twelve dollars, mijo, you sure that's all you want? I've got a new flavor in for the slush machine, I'll give you the biggest cup for ninety-nine cents since you're such a good customer." He thought it over for a moment and acquiesced to the idea; while Mr. Ayáles clanked in the prices he walked to the back of the store and fixed himself a slush, admitting that the new flavor looked exciting. Pouring himself a hefty amount, Julian couldn't help but feel like someone was watching him from the corner of his eye; he stopped for a moment to gather his wits, even as the machine kept pouring out. "Ay! Julian! Careful!", the voice of Mr. Ayáles boomed in his ears and he came to, pulling the cup away from the icy repository.
Apologizing, Julian untethered a few of the brown paper napkins from the napkin dispenser nearby and cleaned as much of the slush away from where he'd made a mess. He looked around and took his cup to the front and was apologetic again, "I'm so sorry Mr. I must have zoned out or something, it was weird.", he paused, "For a moment I felt like...-Did you hire anyone new?" Mr. Ayáles looked concerned for a brief second but washed it away after Julian gazed around with paranoid distress. "Not that I know of. Hey, Julian, get some rest yeah? You seem out of it, got a lot of testing going on?", Once more Julian found himself being a fool, twice in a day, he chuckled again, "Yeah, I guess so, man I don't know what came over me."
Subsequent to buying what he was there for, Julian took his leave and left Mr. Ayáles wondering what had gotten into him; it wasn't like him to freak out like that, much less leave without even buying a scratch card. Outside, the dark-haired youth carried his bags of assorted goods, having to hold it in one arm while it wrestled him and rolled down to his wrist. That's when he felt the presence again, watching, it was strange and foreign to him; hanging eerie much like the clouds in the wide skies earlier, which were gone now. He'd asked himself how that was even possible when there was almost no breeze; sure it was possible that a gentle wind could carry them away, but not this fast. Julian opened the passenger seat to his impala and threw the bags in, well, except for the bag that was holding the fizzy-pop bottle. He hauled himself to the driver's side and opened it only to find a small female sitting there, looking up at him with big luminescent emerald green eyes. At first, Julian didn't know how to react, he stood there, dumbfounded and utterly at the mercy of whatever she was; for the third time, he'd feel like a fool and who could blame him.
"Hello Julian, you okay there pup?", she said in an unsurprised high pitch voice, it was like candy and chocolate all at the same time; she sounded very young. Julian jumped back with obtuse reflexes and glared at the intruder, he held his key out like some kind of makeshift shiv; it was not a very winsome look for him. "You! Were you spying on me?!", he uttered while holding the key up, but now with both hands, "Answer me!", he shouted and sounded like he could succumb to a panic attack. Her smile was petite, like her, and her lips curled with a resemblance of a waning moon; there was no ill-will in those wanton eyes either, instead, they sparkled like the skyward stars. "My, this is not the reciprocity I was expecting, but I'll let it slide considering that I did just appear seemingly out of nowhere.", she said reluctantly. "Now listen to me--", she ushered before Julian cut her off. "No! No! You listen. Get out of my car and leave me alone, I already told you lot, I am NOT looking for a date. Just leave me alone!"
That cute smile had unfurled at last, and she exited the car, slamming the car's door behind her aggressive enough to garner his attention. "I've traveled a good distance just to get down here and warn you, now will you let me talk or are you going to keep pointing your damn keys at me.", She almost yelled at him from irritation. Though vexed, Julian ceded and put away his keys in his pocket, though he kept his hand close to it, in case anything went south. "Okay, fine, tell me what you need to tell me.", he finally said as he gave in; listening to her beckon while he kept his questions to himself, for now. This was the first time he minded her looks; everything about her screamed one word: autumn. Her hair was well kept; auburn like gleaming wood with scarlet streaks dressing the braids that started at her fore and wrapped around her head to join as one large braid down her back. She wore a soft orange summer dress that reached down, above her knees; not to infringe on conservation nor prudish enough to dull her embellishing features. A complexity like roasted walnuts, she bore a beauty out of the books of mythology, almost like that of something he'd read about long ago.
"I've come to warn you not to get close to that woman, she will lead you down a dark path that you will never return from.", She spoke with a vague intention, so as to not disturb the balance, though she feared it was too late, considering that she had fallen from the heavens for heed that may or may not prove successful. She teetered over to him and found that he towered her by a significant amount, though she did not seem bothered by it. Though by the look of it, her words found themselves sinking in, and she took great pleasure in watching his features as the cogs began to move. "Wait, who?", Julian asked though he did so in the silence of the parking lot, alone; with his thoughts to eat at him while he wondered what he had experienced. He shook his head, shoving the thought aside, but it would not subside, how could it, after such a vivid hallucination how could he even focus on anything but what had transpired.
The trouble was not with if it was real, but with how it was real; he hadn't smoked, hadn't drunk, and was certainly not a user of other recreational drugs. For a while he stood in the parking lot, trying to collect his thoughts, but the impending urgency he felt clutch at his pitted guts forced him to react at last. He scurried into his car and turned the key to the ignition, he backed up and looked behind himself to station himself out of the parking spot; eventually taking off. "Who does that?", he thought to himself, while he drove back to his apartment which by then had become lifeless although not vacant. During what had seemed like minutes to him had actually been hours; the sun had cast itself from the mortal coils of earth and in its stead, the moon hovered over wards. It hit him then, everything, and his understanding flashed in his mind; this wasn't normal, at all, and he had just hallucinated for hours. "Damn, I forgot about Millie's movie night.", Julian realized and parked on the curbside, pulled out his bags of goodies, and hustled to his apartment's door. He opened the door wide open and kicked it closed, but it was one of those doors with the shocks that prevented slamming. Julian looked around and stumbled in the dark before he reached the light switch and turned it, the couch wasn't empty and the television was playing a movie quiet enough that it had not disturbed her sleep. Sighing, he hunched over and sulked, though he could blame no one but himself; even if his hallucination was the cause of it all. Without a second thought, he put the snacks away in the cupboard, the soda in the fridge, and left the pack of cigarettes on the table to try to make up for it. In a night like this, he could only repress his regrets and hope they might disintegrate given enough time. For his last gesture before going to bed, he took his blanket from the bed and tucked Millie in as careful as possible, so she would not get cold; it was the best he could do and he felt terrible about it. Still, as he laid blanketless in his bed, he couldn't help but think about the words that fiery gal had said, it made his skin crawl thinking about it and he'd fall asleep; lost in a labyrinth of his own distress.