Emily and her brothers got off the bus across seven-eleven. She had been contemplating the hill, but she waited for the right moment to ask her brothers what they thought about her idea. Emily wanted to know what was up on that hill. She only remembered glimpses of it from their brief visit with her dad. She knew it was a beautiful place almost hidden from mankind, a place of character and mystery. She wanted to find out why her dreams lately kept returning to it. She knew there was a good reason for it, but she sensed that she had to go there again to find out exactly why. She hardly ever had dreams, never mind dreaming about the same place consecutively.
As soon as they crossed the main road, Emily seized the moment and said, 'Guys, I've been thinking lately about that hill we went to with dad. I think we ought to go check it out properly one day while the weather is still nice and warm. What do you guys say about that?'
Patrick who was leading by a few meters almost stopped in his tracks, 'fuck yeah, I'm with you, sis.'
Emily nodded, 'Andy, what about you? Care to join us?'
'Sure, sounds like fun.'
'Why don't we go this weekend?' Patrick asked.
'Why not?' Emily confirmed.
'It sounds good to me, maybe Saturday morning or something. It's quite a distance to walk so I recommend we go prepared,' Andrew said.
'Fuck, we can take the whole house if we have to, pack it in backpacks and go,' Patrick said. The excitement was back and the trouble at school was long forgotten.
'Now I can't wait anymore,' Emily shrieked. 'You guys are the greatest.'
Andrew walked behind Emily and Patrick. He could see them planning for the weekend. He was very concerned about Patrick earlier, but he did not want to let it show. He heard the excitement in both Emily and Patrick's fading voices and for a moment he felt deeply satisfied with the fact that his brother's mind was completely filled with joy instead of the bad apples and incidents. Andrew didn't mind falling behind a little. He had to clear his mind. Besides, he enjoyed the smaller miracles in life that one could never rush. He noticed how each owner wanted their gardens to be unique. Some only had pebbles for grass while others believed in the real thing. He noticed neat pots with different shapes and sizes. Then, of course, there were a few who were not interested in gardening at all. That was when he heard it for the first time.
Andrew. A voice whispered.
Andrew frowned. He thought maybe he was at exactly the right place for different sounds to intersect at the same time to produce his name. Although he heard it as clearly as lightning forking on a dark night, he disregarded the bizarre instance and continued walking.
Andrew. The voice whispered again.
This time it was clearer almost like someone was whispering right next to him. He could almost feel the air against his ear. Andrew stopped for a moment and looked around him, but there was no one in sight except for the cars passing by on the distant highway. It could not have been music because it was too clear and close. He knew that sound could travel quite far, but not on warm days like this. Andrew shook his head thinking he must be imagining things.
Andrew.
It was louder echoing through Andrew's head. It almost sounded evil, like a person suffering from corrupted lungs trying to force just enough air through a damaged throat to form a whisper. Andrew looked at Emily and Patrick, but they seemed miles away. They did not even know that he was so far behind. Andrew started scanning the area to make sure that someone was not playing tricks on him. There was almost no one in sight except for Emily and Patrick in the distance.
Andrew.
The voice was back. This time it was a raw scream that made his headache. It ached so much that Andrew went down to his knees almost instantly holding his head in his hands. He prayed that the voice would stop, whatever it was because he would not be able to handle one more of those screams. His head was throbbing to a point of exploding. As the pain subsided, the voice was back again as a clear hissing whisper.
Andrew.
Andrew got up once the pain subsided. He heard footsteps approaching. When he looked up, he saw Patrick and Emily with concern on their faces.
'What happened?' Patrick asked.
'Don't know, some voice in my head calling my name,' Andrew said confused. He touched his mouth and felt that it was wet. He looked at his hand and saw blood.
'Are you feeling okay?' Emily asked holding onto Andrew's arm.
'I'm fine. It was just a weird thing. I heard it as clearly as music through earphones, a few times softly and then a shout. That's when my head started to hurt.'
'Let's get you home and wash off your face,' Emily said. 'It looks like you've been in a fight with the giants.'
Andrew wiped most of the blood from his nose to prevent it from dripping on his clothes. He did not like the concern on Emily and Patrick's faces. He was feeling clear as a whistle. The sound he had heard was without a doubt a man's voice. Someone who had the ability to shout like that was probably mean as hell. He could not figure out why he had heard the voice and not Patrick or Emily for that matter. It would seem as if he was the one who was marked by those Satanists at school with all the black magic he had heard about in the past. Andrew was not sure if it had anything to do with Satan at all. There was a hint of sadness in the voice even though it was for a short while only. He prayed that he would never hear that scream again.