As he passed by students, he recognized some of them but he knew they probably do not recognize him, which was a good thing in this case. He always sat in the middle during classes, a neutral place where he would not easily get noticed.
He kept to himself most of the time and only talked to a few of his classmates when it was very important. Besides that, no one would associate themselves with a hungry looking shabby boy. He was not not an ugly guy. In fact, he knew he would have been called handsome if only he ate well, took care of himself more and wore nice clothes. He had this bulgy eyes that fitted perfectly with my thick lashes and full brows. He was dark skinned which he was sure would have shone beautifully if he took care of it more. His hair was black and twisted in knots due to lack of care. He knew how he should look like if he had the means. He just did not have enough money to be worrying about looks, when he was starving. He was six feet tall. His mama had always said that he inherited his father's height but took after her in beauty.
When he got to the library, it was almost empty except for few students. He was here at the right time since classes were ongoing.
He sat at the far end of the library and logged into the computer.
First things first, he typed into google, 'what is a creature that has a lion head, a goat head on it's back and a tail that ended in a snake's head?'
As he waited for the answer to pop out, he started to wonder if he was crazy. Of course such creature did not exist. It was definitely his imagination. He was so foolish to come all the way to this place in search of answers. He was about to log out of the computer, when he saw a word boldly written on the screen of the computer. It said, 'CHIMERA'. It provided more pictures of what the chimera looked like and it matched perfectly with what he saw.
This must be a joke. He read further and it said that it was a mystical creatures. He did not believe in myths so he had little to no knowledge about it.
He saw other questions people asked that the answers were provided. He clicked and read more.
'Chimera comes to represent anything contradictory or incongruent. It also signifies ambiguous energies or feelings, perversions, conflict, opposition, inconsistencies, and the irrational. In the Iliad, Homer describes Chimera is an immortal being, capable of snorting out flames of bright fire.
Another person asked, 'how powerful is the Chimera?' And the answer was, 'The chimera was said to be incredibly vicious and powerful, especially since as one single creature, it possessed the abilities of three separate animals.'
He majored in Accounting in college. He never thought he would find myths so interesting. Hr had lost track of time as he read on about myths in relation to Chimeras. It had been more than an hour already, students have started to troop into the library, but the good thing was that he was seated at the far end and no one paid attention to whatever it is he was doing. His mama must be starting to get worried, so he had to finish on time. He was quite satisfied about what the creature looked like, the name, myths about it and what it symbolizes. What he could not understand was what it had to do with him. Why did it show up in his life? It couldn't have been an imagination since he had never heard of it before until now. He could not have imagined what he did not know about.
The next question he was so curious about was why it called him Jael? Does the name Jael have any meaning? He had never heard the name before, so he typed into the computer, 'what is the meaning of Jael?' The answer was boldly written on the screen, 'MOUNTAIN GOAT.'
What the hell? Was it referring to him as a goat? Why would it call me a goat? That was so disrespectful and mean. He does not in anyway look like a goat. He touched his face and noticed that he was starting to attract the attention of few people that were sitting close to him and immediately dropped down his hands.
He continued to scroll down for more explanation of the name. 'Jael name meanings is To ascend. The name Jael is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "mountain goat". A unisex Hebrew name sometimes given in Israel to kids born under the goat sign of Capricorn.'
Today was the 6th of January which happened to be his birthday, so he was definitely born under the goat sign of Capricorn. But was that the reason she called him Jael? He could finally put a gender to the creature. It was stated in one of the articles that the CHIMERA was a female creature. So he was correct when he said its shrilly voice sounded like that of a woman.
He checked the time on the computer and he had spent another hour just reading about the name Jael. He had read about how a woman named Jael killed Sisera by hammering a tent pin into his head as he slept. This was said to be in the old testament.
What he failed to understand once again was what all this things had to do with him. He came here looking for answers but it seemed like he was getting confused more and more.
If he spent more hours here, he might actually go home to find his mother's corpse, he thought.
He stood up and left the library. He almost made it out of the library but bumped into someone. He quickly apologized without looking at whom he had bumped into until he heard the person call, "Hey."
The voice belonged to a female, so he turned to apologize even more just in case she had gotten angry. But to his utmost surprise, it was a girl from his class.
"Hi. Sorry I was not looking," he muttered, looking down. He had never spoken to her before but he recognized her. She was the smartest kid in class. The truth is, she was the first girl she actually had a crush on but knew better than to express his feelings. He was so sure she did not even know he existed. She was the combination of beauty and brains. She also came from a wealthy family. One could tell by the way she dresses, her expensive phone, expensive bags and shoes.
"You do not have to apologize. I was not looking at where I was going either," she said and he could hear a smile from her voice. He was not looking at her, so he could not be sure whether she was smiling or not since he had his head down.
"Okay," he said and turned to leave until he heard her voice call out again, "Wait."
He was hoping the ground opens up and just swallows him and get things over with. What could be worse than standing before a girl you liked in tattered clothes and messy hair? If he had known he was going to bump into her, he would have worn his favorite T-shirt and combed his hair. Not that it mattered since his favorite shirt still looked like a rag, but he would have felt a little more confident.
He turned back slowly, still with his head down. She walked closer and he was suddenly conscious of how he smelt when her fruity scent hit his nose. He had never been this physically close to her before. He only saw her from where he sat when she stood to ask questions. He usually allowed every other person to leave the class before he left, so there was no social interaction with his classmates.
"Are you not from accounting class?" She asked and he was tempted to glance up to see how her face looked when she said this but maintained his position.
"Yes," he muttered softly.
"Why did you stop coming to classes?" She inquired more.
He was honestly taken aback that she knew he was in the same class with her. And what was even more shocking was that she knows he had stopped coming to classes.
Just wow.
"I..I..," he started to stammer.
"Look up, please," she pleaded.
He looked up to find the most beautiful pair of brown eyes he had ever seen staring back at him. Her long lashes fluttered slowly as she blinked. At that point, he was hypnotized by her beauty.
The fruity scent seemed to have intensified, maybe because she walked a little more closer to where he was standing. He could now place the type of fruit she smelled like, it was a mixture of pineapples and citrus. It was such a unique scent. Her long, dark brown hair shone in the bright sun. Her face was bare of make up but she looked breathtaking. Her cupid bow lips was so pronounced that it gave her mouth a natural pouty look. Her perfect nose sat between her gorgeous eyes and appealing lips. All in all, she was beautiful.
The bell rang, which signifies the beginning of another class.
"I am Lara. What is your name?" She asked. Of course he knew her beautiful name.
"Ben," he whispered, not sure if she even got the name.
"Okay Ben. I need to get going. See you around," she said with a smile and left. He remained glued to the spot. He was able to see her beautiful smile this time, her teeth were not perfect like those described in books. They were very white but she had a slight overbite. Yet, she had the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.
Another ring of the bell brought him back to his senses. He walked back as fast as he could so that he could get to his sick mother on time. He had almost forgotten his problems because of a stunning beauty that spoke to him for the first time.
It was time to go back to reality. A poor home with a sick mother and the appearance of a strange creature. He does not have the luxury to play the part of a lovesick puppy.