Entry 1: Original Story; Looking West
Title: Looking West
Entry 1: In these silences, something may rise
Author: lovefujitez
Series: Original story
Char/Pair: Aidan/Julian
Rating: None / Words: 1092
Summary: Aidan learns about his true identity.
All changes are more or less tinged with melancholy, for what we are leaving behind is part of ourselves.
~Amelia Barr!~
The thin aluminum suit he and his brother were asked to change into kept his body temperature cooler to his own surprise, he knew would do. He looked at the other soldiers who had to change into the same outfit after confirming their exposure to a dangerous chemical. They settled camp in Bardarash for the first time, the caravan usually head to Akra but for some reason the elders decided to head west towards Tehran.
What used to be a lively, thriving place was now like some ghost town with nothing but arid, dirt roads lined with abandoned ruins of stone houses. Everywhere Aidan turned, he saw nothing but a photograph of destruction from the war. A couple of elders had families die in Bardarash when bio-chemical bombs gassed the city about seven years back.
Three days encamped. Aidan once again came across the American soldiers they met in Mosul. This time they came to take him away with them. There were resistant members in another group camping with them and threatened to fire on the soldiers. The elders asked their armed brothers to settle their weapons. Hakim came to his side, wide-eyed with fear.
“Why are they asking for you?” Aidan clearly heard the trepidation in his brother’s voice. The elders approached the soldiers, forming a perimeter around them with hawk-like vigilance tempered in their eyes.
The elders invited the soldiers to discuss their business within the safety of their tent. The tattered and faded floor pillows show signs of age but still managed to bring comfort to the weary soldiers who sat down with the elders. Aidan and Hakim offered the empty spots to the soldiers and sat on the mat covering the hard ground, as Aidan helped in translating the conversation between the soldiers and the elders.
The soldier’s message bewildered Aidan, momentarily halting him from translating their words into the language of the elders. He eyed the soldiers and turned to Hakim with confused eyes before he finally relate to the elders the purpose of their ordered encounter.
“They came for me. They have orders to return me back to America where my family awaits. They say I am Julian Santiago-Chen an American soldier,” his voice hitched, suddenly choking on his words. Julian’s head began to pound when images pushed front in his mind of the same people constantly visiting him in his sleep. The mysterious man, as well whom he can’t seem to remember.
He turned to the soldiers, trying to carefully query about the unknown man. “My ring has Aidan inscribed in it. I want to know why I am wearing another man’s ring.” Julian’s voice faded into a nervous whisper when they showed him a photo of a man wearing the same ring he had.
“Aidan Fischler is the man in the picture. He is someone important to you as you are important to him.” The soldier told him. “He is the one who gathered all the information that led us to you Julian and he waits with the rest of your family. We were warned that you may not have any recollection of your past but our orders are to bring you home soldier,” Samuel explained. “Besides my baby-sister Deena, your best-friend will kill me if I don’t deliver you to her alive.”
“Di-vi-na?” Julian blurted suddenly from nowhere but not knowing why. He looked at Aidan’s picture once more and the ring on his finger. An image of Aidan kneeling before him appeared in his mind.
“This ring is the symbol of my promise to love you forever Julian…I have a similar ring, our names engraved inside. This ring will stay inside the medallion until you return to me.”
Another image came to his mind, Aidan kissing him. “I love you. I’ll be waiting for your return.” The unexpected memory invading his mind made Julian’s face warm up, and swallowing the lump constricting his throat.
“Your journey with us ends here Julian,” the elder warmly stated, smiling at him. “We’ve known you as Aidan but that it is not the name gifted to you by your family. Allah gave us the time to nurse you from your injury until you are ready to continue your journey back to your home.”
“I am forever in your debt for taking care of me. Hakim my brother, I wish to ask that he comes with me,” Julian pleaded the elders, bowing his head respectfully.
“He saved my life and it is my turn to take care of him.” Julian turned to Hakim who hid his face from everyone but Julian saw the tears dropping from his eyes. He reached to touch his arm. “You will come with me my dear brother. I will not leave without you.”
The elders gave their blessings to the two brothers and Julian turned to address Samuel.
“I will only go with you if my brother, Hakim comes with me,” Julian stated. “I am responsible for him now. He saved my life and I promised to take care of him as my own.”
“We will be leaving as soon as the airlift arrives, Julian. Hakim will come along as well if he wants. We can’t force him, if he refuses. We want to avoid confrontation with the armed locals.”
“He will not cause such problem, I assure you.”
As the helicopter rose high up from the ground, he watched the slowly disappearing figures of the elders and the caravan that was his life for the past year. Hakim sat close to Julian, nervous of being too high up the sky and seeing how far they are now from the familiar ground. A tinge of sadness hit him as the magnificent panoramic view of the land momentarily paused before him. He lived a nomadic life for a long time, something he thought he’d done all his life, but questioned for some time due to the recurring dreams not nightmares he had. He didn’t question it as the elders and the other families took him in as one of their own. Hakim saved his life and nursed him back. He may be able to handle leaving his life as nomad, something a part of his life now, but he would never abandon Hakim.
Julian wanted this, to learn about the faces in his dreams, to learn about Aidan.
“I want to know him again.”
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