| David’s birthday arrives too fast for Julian. It seems like just yesterday that Bebe first took him to the cabin on the bluff. He recalls the night of his own birthday, when David was conceived. That night changed his life, and now David was entering into manhood. But he just cannot find the happiness through his concern over what he has seen unfold. |
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| The usual suspects are present for David’s birthday. There is his best friend, Reid, who is something of an social misfit, and his ever-present sister Kacey. Reid is scary smart. And Julian gets the sense that he is only half-aware during conversations, while the other half is busy running some calculation, or solving some mathematical equation. Julian makes a point to speak with the young man, if only to ease his own anxiety about him. Reid works for the science lab and has purchased a small house on the outskirts of town. He learns that Reid had basically raised Kacey on his own as their mother spends most of her time at work, attending meetings, and flying overseas on business. Not much had changed there, so Kacey now lives with Reid more than she does at home. |
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| Julian has been observing the interaction between David and Kacey for awhile now. At first he dismissed her late-night comings and goings as the work of hormones and teenage libido. After all, he had snuck through his share of girls’ windows as a teen. But having spent most of his adult life in the criminal world, he has mastered the art of spotting the tricks of the trade; eye movements, facial expressions, vocal inflections, and body langauge. They all work together to give Julian a reason to be weary of David’s girlfriend and her older brother. He tries to explain it away as paranoia and old age, but his instinct tells him differently. He dare not talk to David about it, especially today. David was prone to getting over-excited about small stuff, and Julian still wanted to observe thigs without anybody being on-guard. Finally, the time for David to blow out the candles arrives. David makes the leap to adulthood with a wish and grin toward Kacey. |
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| The party carries on into the night while David and Kacey spend much of it talking together in private. Julian cannot tell by their facial expressions what they are talking about, but there is something unsettling about the situation. Bebe nudges him in the side and tells him to lighten up. But she can see that look in Julian’s eye. She nods and whispers that she doesn’t like Kacey all that much either, but it is not their choice who David falls in love with. |
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| As the last guests leave, Julian pulls David aside and congratulates him on his birthday. He had grown into an almost cloned copy of himself. They sit down at the fire pit and Julian mentions how he and Bebe used to watch him and Ciara sit here for hours by the fire. He can tell by the way David looks away and nods, that he has struck a nerve. Julian figured that he had gotten over that heartache by now. This affirms his suspicion that there has been more going on with David than either he or Bebe had suspected. Julian apologizes and tells him that he did not realize that he still had feelings for her. |
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| David pokes at the fire and tells him that there is nothing to apologize for. He lies, telling Julian that he was more upset about the unknowns; like where she was, what her life was like now, …why she stopped writing. One of the details Julian remembers is that she and David both share the same birthday, and he asks him about it. David nods and tells him that he has been thinking about it for a couple years, and has a calendar with a million little “X”‘s on it marking down the days until today. Julian asks if he is planning on going to see her now that they are both adults. |
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| There is a long pause as he waits for David to answer, but he doesn’t. Julian decides to pry further, and asks about Kacey. He tells David that he knows about the late night visits and the morning Bebe saw her leave his bedroom. He purses his lips as if he wants to say something more, but is forcing himself to stay quiet. David tells him that while he is somewhat ashamed about it, he is glad it happened all the same. He explains that Kacey and he talked about their future during the party. She told him that she would like an engagement ring for her birthday. Alarms go off in the back of Julian’s mind, but he does not let his concern show. He reminds David that Kacey is still fairly young. David frowns and admits that it is exactly that problem that bothers him the most. |
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| Before leaving him to his thoughts, Julian tells him there is one more thing on his mind. When David was a child, the spirit of his Julian’s mother came to the house to tell Bebe about a legacy. This land had been passed down to her through the generations of her family. Hardship followed them the entire time until the point where his mother was killed in a house fire. He tells David about surviving the fire, only to be taken away by his depraved father to live a life of crime. |
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| The spirit instructed Bebe to restart the legacy by giving the land to David when he became an adult. The spirit promised that there would be some kind of “reward” in the future; but that David had to raise his own family on the land in order for it to be realized. He tells David that he and Bebe are getting older and have decided it was time to give Daivd the house and the land. The only provision was that he promised to respect the wishes of his grandmother. |
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| Having heard David talk about Kacey and marriage, Julian can no longer hold his tongue. Julian gets up, looks David square in the eye, and tells him to be very cautious around Reid and his sister. David nods absently as Julian walks back to the house. But David didn’t hear the warning his father just gave; as he is still attempting to digest Julian’s story about his grandmother. |
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| He stands in stunned awe. The settlers, the diary, the cabin. They are not just history any longer. They are family …his own ancestors. His Legacy. |
Stories by Zoxell 
Come on Ciara….save your first love from the evil duo Kacey and Reid. :*( Btw David really is a spitting image of his father.
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David is really handsome! Looks exactly like Julian! ^^
Im concerned now that I look at Kacey from Julians point of view. I wonder if Reid and his sister has found out something about the land…
Dear me…wheres Ciara!?
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