Couples: M/L
Rating: MATURE (for now)
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Roswell. Also, this fic is loosely based on the book Summer Light by Luanne Rice. It's a really good read. Some scenes and subplots will be very similar to those from the first few parts of the book but the rest belongs to me as this will be my first alien related fic.
Dedication: I’m dedicating this fic to Jen and April who have helped me tie up loose ends for this story, and Kath who helped me make sure that this won’t be a plagiarism issue.
Summary: I can’t really come up with one that won’t tell you the entire story. But those who’ve voted for this on my poll, you already know what this will be about, that is if you can remember that far back.
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Prologue
As the plane hovered above the afternoon sky, Elizabeth Anne Parker worries over her daughter’s test results.
‘I don’t know what to do anymore. I just want her to have a normal life.’ Liz ponders as she looks over her 4-year-old little girl who was currently busy coloring.
Elizabeth and Alissandra Parker, mother and child, both with big doe eyes and chocolate tresses cascading down their backs like velvet waterfalls. Both were petite and had the same mannerisms which Alissandra obviously picked up from her mother.
Elizabeth, or Liz as her family and friends call her, owns a flower shop in Albuquerque that she inherited from her mother, Nancy. Both of her parents have died years ago, when Alissandra was only 2. Since then, she has managed to take care of the family business and her only child.
Alissandra Jill Parker, more fondly known as Zan, is quite smart for her age. She has always been observant and is a strong emphatic. Even though she was adopted when she was only one-month old, she has connected with Liz in ways that no ordinary baby can do. The only problem is, Liz doesn’t know the deeper meaning of all of this.
Every now and then, Zan looks up from her coloring book and keeps looking past the curtain that divides the economy and the first-class sections.
“What are you looking at sweetie?” Liz asks.
Zan only shakes her head in response.
“I have to go to the bathroom, Mommy.” Zan suddenly says to Liz.
“Ok, let’s go.” Liz stands up from her seat to accompany Zan but to her surprise, Zan refuses.
“I can do it by myself.” Zan grins.
“O-kay.” Liz calmly sits back down and busies herself with the doctor’s results once more.
Zan walks along the aisle then looks back at Liz once more before sneaking into the first class section. As she heads toward her destination, she looks left to right and back again over the other passengers who were mostly basketball players belonging to the newest team in the NBA, the Roswell Comets.
Most of the guys were either talking loudly about their upcoming game or relaxing in their seats listening to some music.
“Hi.”
Max Evans, star player and team captain, immediately looks at the little girl beside him. “Hi. Are you lost?”
Zan shakes her head again. “Nope, I wanted to ask you something.”
“Sure. What is it?” Max responds with a smile.
“Hey Maxwell, who’s the kid?” Michael Guerin, starting forward and Max’s lifelong best friend, interrupts from the seat behind Max.
“Dunno.” Max shrugged.
“Hey kiddo, are you here for our autographs?” Michael questions the young girl.
“No.” Zan answers softly.
Most of the guys laugh after hearing Michael getting rebuffed by the little child.
Zan tugged on Max’s arm. “Will you help my mommy when the time comes?”
“What?” Max narrows his eyes on the child.
“Please help my mommy when the time comes.” Zan repeats.
“Alissandra! Ohmygod, I’m so sorry if my daughter has disturbed you.” An embarrassed Liz suddenly goes up to her daughter and carries her away, without even looking at the man she was apologizing to.
As Zan looks back at Max, she just waves goodbye silently which Max returns with a wave of his own and a stunned smile.
As soon as they get back on their seats, Liz buckles up their seatbelts and starts lecturing Zan.
“I thought you were just going to the bathroom?” Liz asks.
“I was, but I changed my mind.”
“Zan, you know you’re not supposed to just go up to strangers.”
“But he’s no stranger Mommy.”
“Yes he is, you don’t know him.”
“But he’s a nice man. He’s going to help us.” Zan insists.
“Help us? With what?”
As those words left Liz’s lips, the plane began to shake. The pilot announced that they are coming up on some heavy turbulence and the seatbelt signs have been turned on. All the flight attendants immediately scanned the passengers’ seats checking that all seatbelts are securely fastened.
Minutes that seemed like hours passed and the plane’s rumbling continued. The last announcement of the pilot was for everyone to brace themselves as they are about to make an emergency crash landing.
Cries of distress, fear and panic filled the plane as Liz held on to Zan’s hand. She was immensely terrified and she started to pray silently.
The plane descends rapidly which begins to scare Max and Michael. When Michael looked out the window, he saw that they were flying quite low. As the scenery changed from the sky to the desert land, the trembling and shaking increased.
Everyone held their loved ones, and no matter what religion they believed in or didn’t, they all prayed for protection and safety.
One fierce jolt forced everyone to lunge forward and scream. When the plane finally stopped, everyone jumped up from their seats scampering towards the exits.
Flight attendants quickly opened the exit doors and emergency slides inflated as they assisted everyone on board. One by one, passengers jumped on and slid to the ground. More and more people who have already escaped started running as far away as they can from the plane which was already beginning to fill with smoke.
When the plane stopped abruptly, Liz quickly removed her seatbelt and turned to Zan’s. Unfortunately, her daughter’s seatbelt was stuck. With quivering hands, she furiously tried to unfasten Alissandra’s belt. As she looked towards the back, Liz saw the smoke starting to fill the plane.
‘Oh God.’ Liz was beginning to panic as she kept trying to take off Zan’s seatbelt. She tried to hold in her tears so Zan wouldn’t get scared, but she was quickly losing that battle.
As Max was about to jump on the slide, something compelled him to look to his left. There he saw the little girl biting her bottom lip as she stared at her mother. The woman was desperately trying to remove her daughter’s seatbelt.
Moving swiftly, he ran to them.
“Here, let me.”
Liz looked up to the young man and stood up from her seat.
Max swiftly ripped off the seatbelt and swooped the little girl in his arms. Taking Liz’s hand, he led her to the emergency exit and let her slide down first. Then he followed, still carrying the small child with him.
When Max and Zan reached the ground, Max took Liz’s hand once more and ran as far as they can from the plane. Fire engines soon came and Zan turned to smile at Max.
“Thank you.” Zan beamed.
Liz faced the man as well to thank him but as their eyes locked on each other, the two continued to stare despite Zan’s presence.
“Mommy?” Zan’s voice broke through the haze but Max has yet to let go of them both.
“How did you know?” Max then turned to the girl and asked.
“Know what?” Liz questioned.
“She told me to help you when the time came. How did she know that something was going to go wrong?” Max replied, looking straight at Liz.
“Uh…” Liz stammered. ‘What was she going to tell this man? That her daughter could predict the future sometimes? That she can do things normal kids can’t?’ But before Liz found the words, her daughter supplied the answer.
“Because we’re the same.” Then before Liz could stop her, Zan touched Max’s temple and his mind was instantly flooded with images of a galaxy far beyond, of stars and planets swirling in the dark universe. The last thing he saw shocked him.
It was a constellation in the form of a “V” consisting of the five planets of his kingdom and a life that he has long buried.
The images halted abruptly when Liz pulled Zan away. She thanked Max quickly, shaking his hand awkwardly then walking away as fast as her feet could carry her and her daughter.
When Max looked at his hand, he saw a white pouch. Opening it, he poured out the contents on his palm. There were dried flowers, leaves and a tiny crystal. As he put them all back in, he saw a small tag attached to the side of the pouch. It read ‘Dreams’.
to be continued....
