Читать книгу The Barkuu - Lauren Wright - Страница 13

Macie and Magni sat in their small lounge chairs sipping rum and fruit juice on the beach, patiently waiting for the show of a lifetime. At 65 and 66, Macie and Magni had met when they were young and had spent nearly their entire lives together.

Their hide was tan as any horse saddle, and they had the leathery skin that marked those who had spent nearly every day in the sun.

Magni had first seen Macie when he was only fifteen at Carnival, a week-long party, and a glorious celebration of freedom and color. He was in the heart of Rio de Janeiro's festival, playing a game of war, armed with handfuls of powdered paints.

Magni had just let loose a borage of fisted paints and was in full retreat. He ran around the corner and there she was, more beautiful than anything he had ever seen before.

His world immediately stopped. The melodic thump and drum of the music became muted and sounded as if he were swimming in water. Time refused to move forward; she seemed to float in suspended animation.

Magni stopped in his tracks and went slack, his jaw fell slightly open, and he just stood in awe, unable to move. When she turned and saw him, she smiled... and it was magnificent; it was scary; it changed his life.

Her smile was angelic; it had so much power and grace. He couldn't believe she was a mere woman, but a goddess sent to bless the celebration.

It's incredible how people can communicate so much by looking into one another's eyes, or with a slight contortion of the lips. He could see there was more to her smile; in the tiniest facial movements, she suggested there was hope.

He could see the reciprocation in her eyes; in the split second that they made contact, he had an eternity to bask in those boundless pools. She was wearing a bright red wrap and covered from head to toe with powdered paint so deep red that she appeared to be composed of satin rose petals.

Her unearthly glow rendered poor Magni hopelessly vulnerable to attack, and then it happened. Magni's face exploded outward with plumes of bright blue paint; in an instant, Macie was replaced with a fog of blue color and burning eyes.

Magni's friend had taken advantage of the distraction and blind-sided their poor love-stricken friend. Macie giggled with delight as Magni wiped his eyes and coughed, desperately trying to regain the vision that had so encapsulated him.

Alas when the blue fog faded, she was gone, and Magni's ear-to-ear grin dissipated and his big blue teeth slowly disappeared. Magni spent the rest of the day in a single-minded hunt for his mystery goddess. But, she was nowhere to be found, further testament to her godlike nature.

That night, Magni lay awake for hours thinking about Macie, though he had no idea what her name was at the time. Over and over again, he traced the lines of her face with his mind, the outfit she wore and that smile.

Oh God, that smile, he could think about it all day. He replayed the incident repeatedly in his head; she had stopped him in his tracks, a dead halt.

Where just a second before he was running from a colorful attack and laughing, the next he was standing there unable to move. He couldn't even remember stopping, only the girl, her eyes, her mouth.

A deep breath released a flood of butterflies; it was a new and exhilarating feeling. A moment that lasted only seconds had dominated his mind every second since. Magni had a new mission in life, and he was more sure of it than anything before it. He had to find this girl.