The Talisman

In the other end my aunts and mother sat in the old chairs, chatting about marriage and kids and things to come. Then in the middle the cousins and other kids had congregated around the large fire place, and were much quieter since most of them were still small and shy. I was just making my way over to my mom when someone ran up to me, giving me a fierce hug. I laughed as I saw Haley's gleaming face looking up at me.

“Hey, what are you doing here,” I asked, still lightly laughing.

“I guess your mom was inviting some family friends and we made the cut.”

“I'm glad! Now I won’t be close to as bored as I normally would be,” I exclaimed. She giggled, her red brown hair gleaming in the light of the fire. Even though she was my age, fifteen, she was a good two or three inches shorter than I was. She was fit to, but not exactly skinny, like most of the stick like girls I knew.

“You got to see the basement of this place! It’s filled with all this awesome stuff!”

“Of course, but maybe later Cam, I think we're gonna eat soon,” she said, releasing me from her grip. As if on cue, my uncle Eric came out, announcing that he had finished making dinner.

I ended up sitting between my mom and my Uncle Ray, he was the oldest of my uncles, and ever since he had been widowed he had been surprisingly quite. He now had a wild mop of black hair as well as a leather jacket that smelled profusely like smoke. Although now he seemed quiet and slightly depressed, he was still a great person, and one of the few I went to for advice. My mom was totally opposite though, despite them being siblings, she was exciting and loud, and would often occupy herself with adrenaline pumping activities. She laughed and talked loudly with her sisters, almost ignoring the amazing meal Eric had cooked. It was fortunate Eric had the guts and energy to go into the entrepreneur business, starting a high end catering company. Now a days it seemed his goal was to make his whole family fat on his cooking.

Across the table from me sat Jason, Ray's son. He was also on the quiet side but was still an active eighteen year old teen. He talked under his breath to the girl sitting next to him, his girlfriend, Riley. I silently watched their conversation, he would say something in between bites and she would usually respond by laughing to herself or blushing, or occasionally make a remark back to him. She was pretty nice from what I knew of her, which wasn't much really, considering she usually kept to herself.

I got tired of their little back and forth talk and threw a glance farther down the table. Haley was sitting on the end of the table, next to her mom who sat at the head of the table. It was strange how their one family seemed to just blend into ours, despite not being blood related. Between our mom’s great friendship and me and Haley's... relationship, they were magically fused into our family. Suddenly Haley caught my eye, smiling shyly. I looked down, blushing, as I realized I had zoned out staring at her. I tried looking around the rest of the table, taking a silent role call to occupy myself. First were the group of sisters and sisters in law, my mom, Aunt Jean, Aunt May, and Aunt Amelia. Then myself, Ray, James, and Riley. Next was Uncle Charles and Uncle Will, sitting next to Haley's older brother, who was practically my brother, Brandith, followed by Haley and her mom. A few feet away was a smaller table, occupied by all the smaller cousins, all of which were between five and nine.

So here we all sat, in the cozy dining hall of the big cabin, enjoying each other and socializing under the light of the huge chandelier above. Well, wait, we were missing someone, who? I did a double take, looking around the table. It was Eric who was still missing. I dismissed it though, he was probably still in the kitchen, cleaning or whatever. Suddenly it felt cold, a searing cold on my chest, right where the pedant hung. I clutched it, pulling it off my sternum as quickly as possible. I looked around, seeing if anyone had noticed. James gave me a quick glance, but then continued talking to Riley, but I found Haley giving me a quizzical look. I ignored it, trying to look like nothing had happened. As I let the talisman fall back against my chest it only felt cool, not the burning cold it had been a moment ago. How strange...

As the evening continued, it wasn't until six or so that the others noticed Eric's absence. We knew that Eric would be punctual in serving desert as soon as everyone was done, but we had sat for ten minutes waiting for him to come out with no results. A strange silence finally settled over the group when May, Eric's wife, stood, announcing that she was going to go look for Eric. I stood to, ready to get up and do something and escape the boredom of silence. The kitchen was just in the next room over, through a set of swinging doors.