Perhaps it was precisely because she seemed not to know who she really was that attracted him to her in the first place. Nothing that she had ever been given seemed to truly belong to her, not even her name. It was as if he recognised a fellow outsider, someone who shared his general disdain for the ordinary people, yet those people seemed to be far more aware of her than they were of him, at least, when she wanted them to be. Perhaps that came from her name also, though not truly her own, it still commanded respect. An old, important name shared by other, prominent members of their house, her older sisters, each one a formidable presence among them, though in contrasting ways.
Yet she was clearly something different, set apart from them somehow. She would sit there, in the corner of the room with a sullen look on her face, yet would often break into a kind of smirk as she beheld the various antics of her fellow housemates. She seemed to be very aware of everything. Even as she read her books – she seemed to be a keen reader, like him – she would still have one eye flickering around the room, carefully paying attention to what was going on around her, as if she had led a life of constant persecution and was perpetually waiting for the next attack.
She had become well known rather quickly, most likely due to her name, and her connections through her sisters, yet as she sat there, it was as if no one else noticed her, as if she could easily hide in plain sight until she chose otherwise. Yet he could see her now. Perhaps she was well aware of him and was allowing him to see her. He felt as if she somehow had that kind of power.
Briefly, she looked up, and her eyes connected with his. Then she smiled, and the world around them seemed to slow down. It was a real smile, unlike the usual smirks and grins he had seen on her before. In that moment, which became an eternity for the two of them, he knew he had been right about her. There was a great recognition between them. In that moment only the two of them were aware of each other. He smiled back, and that was all that it took.
Then the moment ended. She looked down again and resumed her reading, but the damage was done. He was now under her spell, although he knew he had become so entirely willingly in another of those moments of destiny.
As he watched, another girl came and sat beside her. No words passed between them, yet this was clearly a non-coincidental meeting, as they glanced at one another in recognition. For this was another lost girl, though for different reasons than the first. Not having a grand name as the first girl did, this girl was far more vulnerable and had toughened herself up as a result. Rather than being amused by the antics going on around her, this girl seemed genuinely disgusted by what she was seeing, her face set in a seemingly permanent scowl.
This was clearly a defence mechanism, for behind the scowl lay a delicate vulnerability. This girl was a ticking time bomb and anything might set her off at any moment. People seemed already to have developed a fear of her, despite her youth, and she seemed pleased with that situation, as it meant that people left her alone.
Then, she too looked up and caught him staring. While she didn’t smile as the first girl had, the scowl certainly lessened. Then she quickly looked away, and at the other girl, who had seen the exchange and was smiling again.
As he watched the two girls, he realised that they complimented each other perfectly, and had clearly gravitated together as a result. Both felt as if they didn’t truly belong, yet both had resigned themselves to belonging nonetheless, for their survival depended on it. What they needed, was a third friend, to complete the trinity, and, as he looked, he knew he was that person. They were the three outsiders here, and they needed each other. For this was a decidedly hostile environment, and the lone wolf stood no chance against the ravenous beasts that populated it. As a trio, however, they stood a chance, in fact, as a trio they would become far greater than they could ever hope to alone.
He realised then that he was looking at himself, but in other forms. They were somehow other aspects of himself manifested in opposing ways, just as he must have been for them. Together, they represented a holistic entity, the whole was greater than the sum of its parts. In them, he saw safety and security, yet also he saw a path light up before him, before all three of them, a path straight into the unknown, yet one that could only be traversed by the group together.
Now his solitude had ended. Now he had found something remarkable, another great secret was opening up before him…
Omega Synthesis 