The Guardian Children

By Yara Gharios

"Deep down, I knew it wasn’t Leo I was afraid of. He was pretty amazing, and it made sense, in a weird way, that he would be special like that. So then what was I doing out here alone, in the middle of the night? Why did I freak out so much when I saw what he could do?"

Ever since she was abandoned by her parents when she was just a few weeks old, Cody has never known the meaning of family. Or friendship, for that matter.

This year, however, something's changed. This year, she met Leo. They have too much in common for their meeting to have been anything but the work of fate; their personalities, their past and even their birthdays are the same.

But Leo carries a heavy secret that may bring on dangers neither of them knew existed and which puts them in the center of a war that has been churning for years.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Yara Gharios
• Release date: Aug 21, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310408045

Yara Gharios

Lebanese writer Yara Gharios started making up stories well before she knew how to read or write. In her pre-laptop days, she would carry her writing notebooks everywhere because she was too attached to them.As an undergrad, she majored in Translation and English Literature, and then she got her MA in Writing for Performance and Publication from the University of Leeds. Her debut publication was released traditionally, but she has been self-publishing since Masked SheWolf became a hit on Wattpad.Someday, she wants to travel the world. She loves languages almost as much as she loves stories. Since 2021, she has been on a journey to unite her two passions, to grow as an author and reach a wider audience.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

It occurred to me when I heard the third knock on my bedroom door that maybe I wasn’t going to make it to the ending in time. But Petra was this close to discovering the Cave of Wonders; I couldn’t miss that.

Hey longhair, Katherine’s indulgent voice called from the other side of that door. You’ve been holed up in there since morning. Time to get out and at least make it in time to watch the sunset.

The nickname was responsible for almost breaking my concentration, because I hated it so much. I wasn’t an intellectual person by any means; my grades were average, and that was without much trying on my part. But for Katherine, whom I barely ever saw pick up a book, reading as frequently and for as long as I regularly did qualified me for the nickname. I didn’t like it; I only saw it as another word for hippie. Not that I had anything against hippies, I just didn’t have any desire to be one.

I was almost at the best part of the story anyway, so I decided to keep going just a bit longer. I huffed and sprawled my legs out beneath the leopard printed covers. I laid on my side and held the book down on the mattress, since my wrists were protesting from the weight.

My bed had been my favorite reading spot since we moved, although I could have sat down anywhere in my bedroom. It hadn’t taken me long to get used to it; the bed was actually bigger than any I’ve ever slept in, definitely bigger than the one at the orphanage at least, which is where I’ve slept most of my nights. The walls were a neutral cream color but I’d taken the liberty to stick as many posters of book covers up there as I could find, and there was barely any space of naked wall.

The room itself was kind of small, to be honest, but I preferred it that way. If felt safe with everything pushed together. The second most important furniture in my room was the overflowing bookshelves on my study desk. Storing books is about the only thing I ever used that for. I hadn’t exactly had the chance to use it to study yet, since it’s still summer. Not that I’m going to, at least not as much as I should; just enough to satisfy Katherine and not feel guilty that she bought it for me.

But the single most important thing for me in this room was my bed, the spot I used the most in the entire house, even more than the living room couch or the kitchen table. My favorite part about it was that it had a headrest parallel to the ground, which I used as yet another shelf, but this one for my music stuff. Underneath it was where I stored my skateboard with all its safety stuff that I hadn’t used since I got them.

Cody, Katherine called again for the fourth time. We have to get going now if we want to make it in time for the fireworks show.

I sighed grumpily. I don’t even like fireworks. I hated it when someone interrupted my reading time. It makes me defensive.

Well too bad, she replied. You promised you would make an effort to get out more, or else I’d have to take all your books away and not buy you new ones for a month.

Reluctantly, I left the warmth of my bed with a groan. But I really don’t want to go to some stupid carnival. Can’t we go see a movie or something?

Opening the door, I found my 22 year old foster mother standing there with her arms crossed and one hip cocked to the side, an amused grin on her face.

No, we can’t, because that doesn’t require any effort and is no different than watching television at home.

"But technically, it counts as going out."

She turned her back on me, expecting me to follow. We are going to that carnival, and you are going to like it.

Again, I groaned, but I followed her. I knew I was being a baby about this, but carnivals gave me the creeps. I don’t know why she insisted on going there, of all places. I tried to keep my dissatisfaction obvious by staying silent on the car ride and sighing every now and then, but she either didn’t notice or just didn’t care. Katherine wasn’t really strict, but when she was adamant about something, no matter how small, and she had the last word about it, there was no arguing with her.

The second we got there, I regretted not having fought harder. The place was a circus more than it was a carnival. Normally, Bobby’s Fun Land was an amusement park, but today, it was filled with people in costumes running around. The booth stands were overcrowded, and there was a stage added in the centre field where the performances would be taking place. People sure made a big fuss about summer ending in this town.

Where do you want to go first? Katherine asked, looking more excited than the kids running around giggling.

I shrugged. I don’t know.

Oh! Do you want to go on a ride?

I don’t know.

Are you hungry?

I don’t know.

Her cheerful mood died down a little, and she looked at me pleadingly. Cody, you promised. You can’t spend all your time holed up in the apartment reading. Just once, try to do something out of your comfort zone, and afterwards, if you still don’t like it, I swear we’ll leave. Please? For me?

If a 22 year old could pull a puppy face as good as that, how hard would it be to resist an actual puppy?

Fine, I caved. I guess I could go get some popcorn.

Her smile was so radiant that for a second there I actually thought it was worth coming here.

Great! she enthused. I’ll be over there. You can take your time if you want, I’m not going anywhere.

She walked backwards for a bit but abruptly stopped. Promise me you’ll try your best to stay out of trouble for once?

It’s not like I do it on purpose, you know?

Promise?

I rolled my eyes. I promise.

Then she smiled and went into one of the tents selling souvenirs. Or was it T-shirts? I don’t know, the place was too disorganized. It could have been some sort of gigantic garage sale for all I knew.

I was reminded of why I didn’t want to come here in the first place when I was left standing alone. I went to the closest popcorn cart and quickly bought a bag. I was sure the owner was giving me the stink eye on account of how rudely I ordered, but as long as he didn’t spit in my food –which he didn’t, I checked– I didn’t really care.

When I came back, I saw Katherine from a distance sorting through some items and talking animatedly with some blonde woman, and I stopped. Maybe I could slip away for a while, then come back and tell her I tried to have some fun but that it was all boring. She’d probably see right through it, but it was worth a shot. Quietly, I went back the way I came from and searched for a spot secluded enough for me to be left alone.

Once out of sight, I climbed on one the personnel cars near the parking lot to eat my popcorn in peace. I felt kind of badass doing that, which was something I didn’t usually feel. Though I did have my fair share of rule breaking, of which I was sure there will be plenty more in the future, it was usually by accident, so I never felt proud of it. I never intentionally set out to do something that would get me in trouble, but it somehow always seemed to find me. My life was just exhibit A of my non-existent luck.

It was on the roof of a dark mustang –did I mention I felt like a total badass on top of that thing? – that the fortune-teller caught me.

You there! she yelled.

I jumped. What the-? What the hell are you doing here?

She was dressed in red see-through robes with something that looked like a white onesie underneath it. There was a veil over her head which covered her brown hair, and a gold turban wrapped around her forehead.

Your aura has called to me, she spoke in a very monotonous and fake deep voice.

I gave her an unconvinced look, holding back a shudder from ripping down my spine. Seriously lady? Is the voice really necessary?

I am sure I do not know what you mean, she said in that same creepy voice.

Yeah, whatever, just get out of here.

She frowned, then quickly smoothed it. You have questions, I sense, many question.

She looked and sounded like she was overacting in a horror play. I didn’t care much about people pretending to be psychics, but it annoyed me how theatrical this woman was being about it.

I mean it lady, beat it, I snapped.

She scowled at me and crossed her arms. Are you aware that you’re not supposed to sit on these? she retorted in a somewhat normal voice. If I were to report you right now, you would–

Get thrown out? I cut her off. By all means, do.

No, she replied, sounding annoyed, and a hint of a New Jersey accent slipped through her act for a second. You would get arrested.

I scoffed. Arrested? For sitting on a car?

For destruction of property, she smugly replied.

What? I didn’t destroy anything.

Then what’s with the broken headlight?

Slightly scared, I looked down and saw that she was right; one of the headlights was indeed broken. However, my foot didn’t reach that far down, so it couldn’t have been my fault."

It was like that when I got here, I said.

She tsk-ed and smirked at me. That’s not how I saw it.

That bitch!

I glared at her and huffed. Fine, I’ll leave, I snapped and jumped off the mustang.

Oh, but I’ve seen your face, she mocked in a sing-song voice.

Frustrated, I threw my hands up. What the hell do you want from me lady?

I want you to buy a fortune from me, she declared.

How about I just give you the money, then I’ll walk away and we forget this ever happened?

She tsk-ed again in that infuriating way of hers. Then I will probably have to put you through a lineup.

But I’ll pay you the damn money, I tried reasoning with her. What does it matter if you do your stupid act?

Her lips thinned into almost a straight line. It’s not an act, she snarled. I’m not some tarot card reader; I’m the real deal. And you will not deny me the right to exercise my talent.

Geez, this lady is insane!

I glared at her before huffing in defeat. Fine.

~~~

One of the things I found creepy in carnivals was fortune-tellers. You’d think sparkly costumes were outdated in this century, but they apparently never got the memo and still insisted on dressing like belly-dancers. And don’t even get me started on what they have in the tiny little rooms.

For example, Madame Wella, the lady that blackmailed me and whose name was on the entrance to her tent, had an extensive collection of dirty cups, dozens of tiny little red lights which barely lit a square inch of space around them, and frilly scarves hanging off the shelves like they were put there on purpose.

Oh, your aura shines like a light bulb, she hissed as she stared at the cup. Let me tell you what it speaks to me.

Just get this over with, I snapped.

Madam Wella was not one to grab anything to read, like my hands or, God forbid, those awful tarot cards she despises so much. She actually made me a juice and asked me to take a sip. After I narrowed my eyes in suspicion, she demonstrated that it was harmless by drinking some herself. After I dared to take a sip, I noticed that it tasted like watermelon. Before I could swallow it, she told me to spit it back out for her in another cup. Come to think of it, that was more disgusting than if she’d taken my hand. Was she an expert on saliva?

When I asked her that a moment ago, she answered that she needed something liquid from me to be able to see my aura more clearly, and that the smell of blood made her nauseous. That was when the creepiness reached its peak. I thought about running then, but my promise to Katherine to stay out of trouble kept replaying in my mind. For that to happen, I needed this woman to be silent.

This is part of what I am supposed to do, she told me, as if I cared. I examined your aura, and then it tells me something about you. It could be past, present, future, or even something you didn’t know about yourself. Like maybe who you really are?

She made the last part sound like a question, and she stared sideways at me, making my suspicion flare again.

I know your name is Cody, now. But what were you called when you were born? Where did you come from? What are your origins?

Hearing all her questions confirmed my suspicions. Angry, I stood up to leave. If this is all you have to say, then save your time. Report me, I don’t care. And you can keep the money.

My life story was not a subject I liked. I never even wanted to think about it, let alone hear a prediction about what it was like. I was there; I knew what it was like.

To hell with not getting in trouble, I’m not listening to this.

Unfortunately, the fortune-teller had other plans. She grabbed the sleeve of my oversized jacket to stop me and forcibly sat me back down. For someone who looked frail, she sure was strong.

Oh don’t be so dramatic, she reproached. I was just throwing it out there as a possibility. I can’t actually see anything you don’t know of your past unless you let me, and it’s quite clear you’re not going to.

She can only tell me things I already knew; go figure.

The present is harder to read, she went on. Most of the time, people’s auras are not clear enough for me, but with you, it’s crystal clear. It even called to me. Would you like me to tell you about yourself?

It was a good thing she answered her own question before I could even think of a response that would surely not be nice.

I guess not, then, she sighed. You’re not prepared to hear the truth. But the future, you’re a little intrigued by that, aren’t you? She watched me with curious eyes. You’re wondering what you will do with your life. Yes, I can sense that.

Determined not to say anything that would encourage her, I remained still as a stone. Unfortunately, that seemed to be exactly the reaction she wanted, and she smiled cynically. With a content sigh, she grabbed the juice I’d just spat and closed her eyes in concentration. Uncomfortable, I averted my eyes and put my hand up as a wall between the two of us.

Hmm, I see a lot of unfamiliar faces, new people in your life, she began.

No kidding? I was starting at a new school in a couple of weeks. There was probably a face or two that would be unfamiliar to me there. Was that really the best she could come up with?

Ah, there’s friendship, she continued with a tone of approval. I can see a handful of loyal friends making their way towards you. Three– no, four, at the least, will last longer than the average high school friendship.

Although I highly doubted this prediction was any closer to the truth, part of me secretly hoped it was. Being alone, even by choice, was rarely any fun.

Highly curious now, I couldn’t help facing her again. The cup in her hands shimmered red with the dim light above our heads. So she had special effects, too. I felt strangely uneasy about that.

The fortune-teller then chuckled. Oh-ho, I can see love blossoming in the near future, she went on. The she frowned in confusion. That’s not possible; it’s deep and shallow at the same time. Her eyebrows furrowed together as she seemed to look deeper. I see pain, a lot of pain. Death of loved ones. She shook her head, her forehead wrinkling like she was in pain. You will blame yourself, and you will surround yourself with so much darkness, it will nearly cripple you.

Suddenly, she gasped and let go of the cup, her eyes flying open to stare at me. The moment she did that, the room seemed to be engulfed in darkness for a second before the dim lighting returned. Gulping, she stared at me with fear in her eyes and continued issuing her fortune.

From here, I can’t say much. But I will tell you one thing. One of two possible futures will happen; you will either gain what you have lost and go on to live a normal life, or you will find empty immortality, one that is meaningless.

Even with the remarkably accurate expression of fear on her face, I could not take her seriously. Immortality? Really? Whatever happened to the good old ‘you will meet a tall, dark and handsome stranger’ prediction? That might have been more believable.

Anything else? I asked as a pointless attempt at being polite, regardless of how much I thought she didn’t deserve it. Katherine wanted me to work on my people skill, so I had to make an effort not to be rude. It was even harder with Madam Wella.

The fortune-teller’s expression returned to normal like a light switch, and she examined the cup one last time, the special effects lighting again making the cup shimmer in a red color. My unease returned with it.

Without warning, her face split into a smile. Why yes! You will possibly come see me again next summer, and I will give you another prediction. Another frown crossed her eyebrows together. She was so moody! Whether or not you do come will decide which path you will continue on, that much I’m sure of.

Just as suddenly, she was staring back at me. Even in the darkness we once again fell into, I could see her eyes clearly, staring intently at me as if her words were the most important thing for me to hear.

It is essential that you come back to me. If you do not, many lives will be at stake, including yours, and the lives of your loved ones.

If this was her way to get me to buy another fortune from her at the next carnival, then this reading had officially crossed the border to insanity.

Look lady, I don’t have any loved ones. You might as well be saying the sun rotates around the Earth.

I headed for the exit faster than my last attempt so she wouldn’t stop me this time, but I could still hear her calling after me.

Not yet you don’t! But you will! Mark my words, Cody, if you do decide not to come back, do not choose immortality. It will be the death of you, I swear it!

Immortality will be the death of me? I repeated sarcastically in my mind. Yeah, that makes sense.

Picking up the pace, I started running until I reached a crowd. A few minutes later, I stopped to catch my breath. This had gone much worse than if I had stayed with Katherine. I should be looking for her, anyway. She must have been worried about me the whole time I was gone.

Katherine had been my foster mother for the past few months. She was a cool person, but we didn’t really have a parental relationship, especially since she was barely a few years older than me. I liked her enough for her to have earned my trust and respect, but she hadn’t quite earned my obedience yet. That’s why she didn’t order me around in the apartment to do chores and clean my room and stuff. I did them on my own anyway, and she very rarely had to ask for my help.

Surprisingly, I found her right where I’d left her. She was examining the shirts people were selling, which confirmed my previous guess of the tent’s purpose. All the shirts in that corner had the same patterned design in hundreds of different combinations of color. There wasn’t much of a variety on style, but Katherine was one of those people who could make something beautiful out of junk she found in her basement. Not that she had a basement, since we lived in an apartment on the tenth floor, but the concept remains metaphorically true.

She grinned at me once I caught up with her. Hey! So did you find anything interesting?

I shook my head. Nope. This place is boring. There’s nothing to see.

Now Cody, she playfully chastised. I know you’re more into books, but you could at least show a little appreciation for all the art pieces I’m finding in here.

Amused, I looked around. Yup, we were still inside a store. This doesn’t look like an art gallery to me.

She pointed a finger at the shirt she was holding. "This will become a masterpiece when I’m done with is. I’m thinking of sowing various parts of T-shirts to make decorations for the apartment."

This was typical behavior for Katherine. Her job, which she absolutely loved doing, required her to work with clothes, so naturally, she got excited whenever she was around them. She was an apprentice designer, and she was a mighty good one, though we both preferred to call her a tailoring artist, because she disliked how snobbish fashion designer sounded. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised she wanted to put her talents to use in decorating, too.

We had only recently moved here, since I got kicked out of my last school –another incident of me getting in trouble without it being my fault. She was determined to provide me with a good education, for some unfathomable reason, so she had searched for good schools in places that her boss would allow her to relocate to, and we came here. I didn’t protest about that; it didn’t matter where I was, trouble would always find me eventually.

It had been a couple of months since we moved to the current three-bedroom apartment we lived in. Katherine wanted to redecorate the whole thing, but she was trying not to spend too much money, hence why we were in a cheap store at a stupid carnival.

For someone as young as she was, she really knew how to fend for herself. She told me she had been living on her own for five whole years in the old place. I always wondered why she didn’t live with her parents, why she never even spoke of them. Sometimes, I even wondered why she wasn't living with a boyfriend. She was pretty attractive, with a heart-shaped face, kind smile, pretty blue eyes and long, straight, light brown hair, not to mention a tall and athletic figure.

Nevertheless, given my aversion to talking about my history, I never dared to ask her about her living arrangements, and she gave me the same courtesy. She knew enough from my files and the little tidbits I’d willingly told her to be satisfied enough to not pry, but there were still a lot of things she didn't know, like how close I had been to the Foresters, my previous home.

Katherine suddenly faced me, her free hand on her hip and a reproachful look in her eyes. Now tell me the truth, where have you been?

Even though her tone was playful a minute ago, she was now dead serious. Katherine sometimes tended to shift very quickly from an extreme emotion to another. That was how I always knew whether or not I was seriously in trouble with her. She would be cool one minute, and the next, she would sound like a strict mother hen. She was very laid back about most things, but she didn’t tolerate lying from anyone, least of all me. I knew her not noticing my absence was too good to be true.

I shrugged like it was no big deal, knowing exactly which buttons to push. Nowhere in particular, I lied. Just walking around, reminding myself why I hate places like this.

Her features softened, like I knew they would. I didn’t like playing the sympathy card on her, but I still had that uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach, and I wanted to get the hell out of here before coming clean. Katherine and I could argue about my whereabouts when we got back to the apartment.

Well, at least you tried, like I asked, I have to give you credit for that. Let’s go home, she declared. I only need to get this particular shirt; the pattern fascinates me.

I smirked in amusement, which caused her to frown. But don’t think for a second that you aren’t in trouble for skipping out on me.

See what I mean about mood swings?

I raised my hands in mock surrender. That was not my intention, I swear.

It was the truth; my intention was just to get her to leave, not to get out of trouble. That, I had other plans for.

After studying my face for a moment, judging my honesty, she finally nodded, satisfied. Okay, I believe you.

After that, we made our way to the counter where she paid, and then we headed back to the apartment. All thoughts of future love or immortality flew out of my mind for good. Worry about going to school in a couple of weeks started taking their place.

CHAPTER 2

Don’t make me do this, I repeated, looking out the window at the large, intimidating building that I now had to call ‘my school’.

This will be good for you Cody, she insisted. It’s important for you to build a future.

She sounded too much like a campaign ad, it hurt my ears. I had heard phrases like that so many times in the past six years that the motto had become engraved within my mind; go to school and you’ll have a good future.

To me personally, school felt like a means of torture; just another year that I would have to spend as the new kid when Katherine and I both knew that by the end of it, something out of my control was going to happen and I would get expelled again. That was just the cycle of my life. I was always getting blamed for things I didn’t do. Well, most of the time, anyway.

I already know what my future is going to be like, I muttered grumpily. It’s exactly what every foster parent, teacher and counselor I’ve seen so far have warned me about. No matter what I do, I’m going to end up in juvenile detention, or maybe even prison. That’s what everyone expects of me.

The remark didn‘t render her speechless as I was hoping it would, nor did my tone. Sometimes, my tricks to get my way worked on her, like that night at the carnival. Other times, like now, not so much.

Instead of sympathetically telling me they might have a point and that I should be careful, she smiled at me with a knowing look in her eyes, like I actually had no clue how lucky I was.

Right. Lucky. Lucky my parents abandoned me when I was born. Lucky I was put in an orphanage for ten years before they decided no one was going to adopt me and putting me in foster care. Lucky I went to five homes in six years, six homes if you count this one. Since I was eleven years old, my birthday had passed with me in a different location each year.

Every home was worse than the other. All except one. My last home was the only one I liked; I was genuinely happy with the Foresters. But the system snatched me away because of something I didn’t even do. Again, story of my life.

Yeah, I was that lucky.

Don’t get me wrong, it was the moving around constantly and not being able to stay in one place that I hated the most. Although, aside from the Foresters, I did hate all the families they had placed me with. Katherine was a different case. Like I already said, she wasn’t a parent, but I did consider her to be something close to a sister. With the Foresters, on the other hand, it was sort of a complete package; a father, a mother, and two younger brothers. Katherine’s package was missing all of those elements.

"That’s not what I expect of you, Cody, Katherine said softly. I see great things in your future. If only you saw that, too."

I liked her, I honestly did, but she didn’t really understand me so well –naturally so, since we’d only been living together for about five months. Still, she should know me enough to realize that I was used to having nothing, and just the idea of having a promising future was impossible for me to even imagine.

I won’t give up on you, she told me very seriously.

This revelation came as a slight shock. She and I never had heart to heart conversations, and I wasn’t expecting her to go soft on me. But I couldn’t deny that it did relieve me a little bit. Very few of my previous foster parents ever made the effort of showing that they cared. The Foresters did, and that was one of the reasons I loved being with them. She sensed the direction of my thoughts and kept going.

I will not abandon you, Cody, she assured me. As long as you need me, I won’t leave you.

Those words were all it took to make hope bubble within me, hope that maybe I would feel that she was my family, as small as it may be. So I found myself asking her something I never did to any of my other foster parents.

Do you promise? I whispered.

She smiled reassuringly. I promise.

I nodded in appreciation. Thanks Katherine.

Anytime. Now get going or you’ll be late. I’ll come pick you up as soon as it’s all over. And don’t worry, first days are always hard, –Don’t I know it, I mentally commented- but it gets better. In the meantime, try not to get in trouble. You know I’ll get you out of it, but I would really appreciate it if you at least tried to avoid it.

I didn’t bother telling her that I always tried to avoid trouble but that it found me anyway. There was a limit to her sympathy, and I was sure that, like every other adult before her, she wouldn’t believe me.

’Kay, sure, I mumbled instead as I got out of the car.

~~~~~~~~ 

The corridors were deserted, the only sound coming from my shoes crunching on the floor. I hoped I wasn’t too late. Lifting the small piece of paper where my schedule for the day was hand-written by the principal, I started looking for the appropriate room. There was no way I would ever admit this out loud to anyone, but I was a bit scared; first days were one of the few things I feared.

A few minutes later, I found the right room. Taking deep breaths to calm myself, I took my time before going in. Before I could completely lose the nerve to act, I pushed the door open and stepped inside, trying to look as confident as I could manage. It looked as if the session hadn’t even started yet.  The teacher was just putting his suitcase on his desk while the students