A Heart That Flutters

He was gone. Nothing more. Nothing less. The police report was already filed and that was that. This would be the part in a movie where I would be by myself dramatically pouting with rain falling and some emo teen band would score a hit single on my misery. Thing was, I was at a bus stop in the middle of the night with two very pissed off looking secret agents on either side of me as if escorting me was inconvenient. They didn’t even let me call my mom, said that she was currently engaged in an “important assignment” and this incident would be a “considerable distraction”.

Inconvenient. Considerable Distraction. They treated me like a worthless burden…. And yet I was the one who figured the damn thing out, something there so called years of training and millions of dollars couldn’t do! My father was murdered, got beaten by ninjas, threatened to be killed if I stuck my nose in again, wanted to cry in the worst way, and couldn’t even call my mother! Oh man, I remembered the scene in the Disney Peter Pan where Wendy was telling the lost boys what it was like to have a mother…and…god…I would never hear him do the voices again. Grr…I…I…Just wanted to…

“Girl, cry already. You want to, so do. It’s never healthy to keep it all in. Can rip you apart in more ways then ya’ think.”

I looked up sharply to see that the two guards beside me were breathing deeply as if in a deep slumber, and that a dark skinned man with deep sunglasses was sitting right next to me. What I wanted to say was “So you can do what? Drag me in a dark ally and kill me? Go ahead, as if this day couldn’t get any worse.” But due to all the swelling from my injuries I managed babble “Sobe yab koon boob what? Dwag meeb in a dwook abby an kwill meeb?”

“You’re in pain, and I’ll let it slide. But believe it or not Clio, there are people in this world that genuinely look out for each other.” His voice was soft, mesmerizing, and rolled off his lips like a saxophone. If it wasn’t for the Ninjas, I would have been surprised by the fact he knew my name. Hell, every one seemed to know it these days. “Names Specs by the way.” He threw out his and we shook hands. “Cliebo.” I replied.

“Yeah I know.” He motioned with his blind-mans cane at the two agents besides me, “And if your worried about them, they’ll wake up when we’re good and done.”
“Wab? Yube hab pewers or something?” I managed to croak while sneezing out a blood clot (that why the last word came out clearly)

“Powers? You mean the things that the Institution lauds over the world? Na, more like a knack if you get down to it. Life’s a spectrum, a lot like the spectrum of color. You got your good, and your bad, but all together it makes life.”

“Wait! Institution-”

“Government troubleshootin’. Where people with a whole different kind of knack go to be enlisted. Sadly both of your parents were drafted because of their knacks. Knick-knacks that make men in suites more powerful and scary. The next big bag’s a knick knack. How’z about that?”

“Let me get this straight, our government have people who have…er…knacks, and there like the next weapon or program?”

“Bingo kid. They tested you for a knack, but you don’t have the kind there lookn’ for. Didn’t figure you had one.”

“Do I?” I asked exasperated.

He looked at me and his smile spread warmly. “Sorta, a knack wait’n to happen sota speak. In fact that’s why your hurtin’ so bad. Your knack comes from the spectrum of life, and your heart doesn’t drum on like everyone else. Nop, your heart flutters.”

“Flutters?” my head was officially beginning to hurt.

“Listen close ‘cause time is something we never get a lot of. ‘Course, you were always good at listening. Familiar with the Italian fairy tale of the Dolomites?”

“No.”

“Ah see, long story short prince meets girl. But girl lives on the moon. So the Price (so smitten by girl) wants to go to the moon. Helped by kind Dwarves passing by. Prince a girl hit it off, and price wants to bring his girl to be married on the earth. Works out for a while, but girl has a heart that flutters and can’t live on the earth. Makes her real slick, dying even. Prince is besides himself sad, ‘case his girl is going to die and he don’t know why. Dwarves figure it out, gal needs a bit of home. So Dwarves use there knack to bring a bit of the moon down to earth which makes the mountains. Girl gets better, price an’ her have lots of great children and live happily ever after. Believe in fairies?”

Considering what my favorite book is how could I say otherwise? “Yes!”
Hey, didn’t want a sprite on my conscience if I said the other response.
“Get this those children were the first if you know what I mean. Yet they can’t be with us ‘case people don’t believe.”

The bus pulled up just then and opened with as hiss. “Right on time,” Specs announced
“Flutter on Clio. Might be late for your daddy, but go on doing right an’ I think your fairy might find you someday. I think you know how to do just that.” With that he got up and walked away down the street. I leapt onto the bus, deposited my change, and took a window side seat. With that, I opened my dads phone and began to go through the code numbers until I saw a very familiar one. I dialed, and preyed that it was still connected. One thing you must love about the governments own equipment is that they would never bother to tap it. Within moments a feminine voice came over the other end. “Agent Emerson, codename: Misguise. Reporting.”

I bit my lip, and preyed that she wasn’t the cold hearted assassin type. I eyes scanned the remaining crowd for anyone who wanted to put a katana through me. “Uh…hi…sis how is it goin? It’s me Clio.”

There was along pause on the other side of the phone, quickly followed with bewilderment. “Clio?! This is a super-secure government line! How in the hell are you able to call me?”
It just came out, “Look I’ve had a really bad day, and I really need someone to talk to…” My eyes began to tear “Can you meet me at Los Angelis Airport?”

Konnichiwa fans! Wait, fans should not be reading blog with both Ryuichi's name and ninja info! Oh well, no one is being reading this anyway, hahah! I have and can be showing you exactly thing I am taking this time!

I am now in Indiana... Long time on tour bus and some stops between, but major heist story is now!

Here is sculpture! Look down five from top on left, icon is a head!

Next time: How heist went, and next song!