Daniel layed quitely on the bed
in his hotel room. He couldn't
stop thinking about that
mysterious girl at the
restuarant. But, why? What was
so special about her that it was
keeping him from thinking about
anything else? He needed to
know. But, actually, he didn't
like the fact that she was all he
could think about. He felt an
awful pain every time he thought
about her, because he knew, deep
down, that
no matter how much he wanted to
see her again, that he never
would. Fate has
never been that kind to him.
His thoughts were finally broken
by a
knock at the door.
"Hey, Daniel? You decent?" he heard Ben ask from the other side.
Daniel got up from the bed and went to open it. "What's up?"
Ben walked in, "I was wondering if you wanted to go for a walk through downtown? I hear it's pretty cool, and besides, I'm bored."
Daniel looked at his watch; 5:30. "Yeah, sure. Why not? I'm bored myself," he said. ...and it'll get my mind off that girl.
"Cool. Chris is waiting
downstairs."
The three walked through
the streets
of downtown Austin calmly. There
weren't to many fans popping up.
Sure they had already signed a
couple of
autographs, got the occasional
stare or hello here and there,
but other than that, it was
pretty peaceful. Watson had said
that
Austin was like another New York
or Los Angeles. There were a few
celebrities that lived around the
area so it wasn't too uncommon to
see a familiar face. Fortunatly,
downtown Austin was actually
pretty entertaining.
The boys found all kinds of
stores, record stores, cheap
accessory stores, candle stores,
joke
stores, comic book stores, and
even a bondage store, which Chris
and Daniel actually had a hard
time pulling Ben away from.
"Come on! I wanna find a gift for my girl," Ben whined.
Chris laughed, "I don't think she'd call a whip or chain romantic, Ben."
"Hey, you never know," Ben defended.
They continued on to the next street and found that it wasn't quite as lively as the others were. Daniel looked up at the street sign. E. 6th St.
"Hmm, wonder why there's hardly anyone here?" Chris pondered.
They walked down the street to see what was there and realized that it was a street full of mostly clubs and bars.
"Oh ya, baby," Ben practically drooled, "I know where I'm coming later tonight."
They looked at all the different kinds of clubs. Bob Popular, Club Inferno, Bates Motel, Spirits, Planet Austin, The Mercury, Empire, Black Cat Lounge, and dozens of others. They even came up to a bar called Lucy's Retired Surfers Bar.
"There you go, Ben," Daniel laughed, "It's your new home away from home."
Ben looked at it and smiled, "You know I think I could get used to this city. This street rocks."
Daniel looked around, "You know, I think I remember Watson saying something about this street," Daniel said. "I think that Bop Popular is one of the venues we're playing at. As well, as that Babe's Stageside and Steamboat."
"Oh, yeah," Chris said, "I remember. Didn't he say that Babe's was known for it's live bands or something?"
"Is it known for it's babe's too?" Ben asked.
Daniel shook his head and shoved Ben along, "Come on, dumbass."
As they headed around the corner, Daniel noticed a strange looking shop on the opposite street. The front of it was covered with vines and dead plants and there were weird images on the windows. "Hey, guys. Check that out."
Ben and Chris looked in the direction Daniel was pointing to.
"What the hell?" Chris asked, "Is that what I think it is?"
"Dude! That's a witchcraft store," exclaimed Ben, "How weird. Let's go check it out."
Before either Daniel or Chris could object, Ben started crossing the street. The other two just shrugged at each other and followed.
When they came up to the store
they all stopped
and looked through the window
first.
They saw all kinds of books,
candles, incense sticks, statues,
and dolls.
Ben looked at Daniel, "Hey,
Johnsy, maybe you should get into
this stuff, that way we can start
comparing you to Jimmy
Page."
"Shutup, Ben," Daniel sighed slightly annoyed.
Ben smiled, "So are we going in or what?"
Realizing that their curiosity was getting the best of them they slowly walked into the store.
The place smelled of herbs, candles, and incense. The walls were covered with old inscription stones and pictures of fairies and sorcerers.
"Whoa, this place is weird," Ben whispered.
"Yeah, but it's kinda cool," Chris added.
They all went into different directions and began looking around.
Daniel became fasinated by all the old statues. They looked ancient. Medieval times maybe. There were gargoles, small animals, and even a few human faces. He came upon a statue of a small unicorn. It was beautiful. Plain, but beautiful. He touched it carefully, admiring the detail and smoothness. He suddenly felt like he had seen it before. Some what familiar in a way. But that was impossible. As he continued to touch it he began to feel calm and peaceful. The image of the mysterious girl emerged in his mind. He remembered the saddness in that delicate face and how her beauty seemed to bring him happiness. He smiled at the thought of her.
"Can I help you?" asked a voice from behind.
Daniel jumped a little and turned to see a middle aged woman standing near him. She wore a long, white summer dress, covered by a laced coat that flowed down to the ground. She had a warm smile and sea green eyes that showed sharply with her faded, red hair. "Oh, hello," Daniel said regaining his composer, "Umm, no, thank you. I'm just looking."
"Of course," she smiled, "That's what most people do when they come in here. Just look," she laughed lightly.
Daniel felt a little guitly, "Oh, I'm sorry."
"No, that's all right. Actually, I enjoy seeing the faces on the people when they come in. Full of such wonder and curiousity. It's quite satisfing. Besides, I still get my profit. Most people think of it as a souvneir shop," she smiled.
Daniel giggled, "Get that a lot, huh?"
"Oh, yeah," she said and headed behind the counter.
Daniel smiled and remembered about the statue, "I do have a question for you, though."
The woman looked up with bright eyes, "Oh, really? Well, please. By all means."
Daniel motioned to the unicorn statue, "How old is this?"
"Ah, the unicorn. I thought I saw you admiring it," she walked towards him, "This statue is about, oh, 500 hundred years old or so. Umm, around 13th-14th century I think."
"Wow! and it's still intacted?"
"Yes, but the detailing has worn away a bit."
"How did you get it?"
"It's family heirloom." Daniel nodded still staring at the statue. "Why are you so curious about this statue?"
"Oh, well, I just thought it was really beautiful and it looked really old. I don't know. I just wondered I guess."
The woman looked into his eyes and smiled, "There is something else about it that interests you."
Daniel looked at her, "What do you mean?"
"I saw the way you were looking at it. Does it remind you of something or someone, perhaps?"
Daniel smiled, "Sort of, but...," he paused, staring at the unicorn.
"But, what?" she persisted.
"It seems, well, some what...familiar to me."
"Oh. Well, it should. It used to belong to you."
Daniel looked at the woman and straight into her eyes, "What?!" he gasped, but instead of seeing her and the store, he was in another room, an amazing, grand room, and there was a young girl standing in the place of the woman, but she had the same green eyes. Then the image vanished as quickly as it appeared and he was back in the store again with the woman. Daniel looked around in panic. "What was that?" He looked at the woman, "What's happening?"
The woman shook her head, "Nothing. Are you alright, child? You are suddenly very pale."
Daniel looked at the statue and felt sick, "Why did you say that?"
"Say what?"
"That the statue used to belonged to me."
"Oh...because...it did," she answered slowly and causiously.
Daniel shook his head, "I've never seen this thing before in my life."
"Well, no. Not in this life," she smiled.
Daniel looked at her like she was crazy, "What? What are you talking about?" he asked, with slight anger in his voice.
The woman sighed, "It seems familiar to you, because it was yours in a previous life."
"Previous life? What?" Daniel continued to shake his head confused about what was going on.
The woman took Daniel's hand in hers and looked straight into his eyes, "Your soul is so old now. I'm sorry that you haven't been allowed to cross over yet."
Another image appeared before
him.
He was in a workshop of
some kind. Standing near him was
the young girl with the woman's
green eyes.
She looked at
him and said, "She will surely
love it, brother." She smiled
and returned her attention to a
man sitting at a table.
Daniel looked at the man and saw
that he was sculpting a small
statue. A statue of a
unicorn.
The image
disappeared and he was back in
the shop again.
He pulled his hand away from the woman, "What are you doing to me? Who are you?"
"Nothing. I'm not the one doing it. I swear." Daniel walked away from her quickly. "Wait, you have to know...," she walked toward him.
"No. Stay away from me."
Ben and Chris finally noticed Daniel walking towards the door with a frightened look on his face. They ran towards him.
"Daniel? Are you okay? What's wrong? You're shaking," Ben asked deeply concerned.
Daniel looked at him, "I want to leave now."
Ben nodded, "Okay, let's get you back to the hotel." Him and Chris led Daniel out to the store and back across the street.
Daniel looked back over his
shoulder and saw the woman
standing outside, watching him
walk away. What did she do to
me? he
thought. What's going on?
He could still remember the
image
of the young green eyed girl.
Who was she? Why did she
call me brother? What did that
woman mean by my soul being old
and sorry that I hadn't crossed
over yet? Crossed over
where?
He didn't want to think about it
anymore. It was too
overwhelming. His mind felt
tired and numb.
Sleep.
All I want to do right now is
sleep.
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