Brighter than Before

The night sky in the bustling city of Fluford always lights up with floodlights from nearby sport stadiums. Large airplanes fly too close to the tall building making a soft roaring sound causing the crowd on the streets to look up for a brief moment and then go back to resume their jobs. Marco, a resident of the city since his birth, also looks up at the sky just like everyone, but with a bit more curiosity and restlessness. As his palms start to sweat, he decides to walk away to meet his manager, Renee.

“There’s a plethora of options to choose from. You just have to pick a sound and my team will handle the marketing” Renee explains to him. Her twenty years of experience in the music industry makes her a very important person for Marco, who had always dreamt of being a rapper. But more than his rap career, there was something else that felt so much more important to him.

“I think I had informed via text yesterday that I can’t decide yet. Um….” Marco trails off unable to decide if he wants to ask the question that had been bothering him for years. But he chickens out. “Maybe you can tell me of your idea of what would make a quintessential rap career.” He says.

Renee gives him a disappointed look while shaking her head and eating her Mac n cheese. Renee viewed Marco as her own kid. He was the little boy in her neighborhood who would run around playing Tag with his sister. He would sometimes run to her house to eat Blueberry muffins and drink some cola. His strict parents could never stop Marco from living carefree and play to his heart’s content.

“I’m sorry I just didn’t sleep well last night. Maybe I should head home early today.” Marco tells Renee.

“Nightmares again?” She asks concerned. “Maybe you can pen down your thoughts. Could make for a good hit.”

They both head out of the restaurant after she pays for their meal. Marco is lost in his thoughts while Renee feels bittersweet about Marco’s life. Renee remembers how she had to always step in whenever his parents were about to hurt him. Like a guardian angel she would knock their door and assess the situation. Or she would call the cops. His parents never suspected her since she was always friendly with them. Marco would sometimes ask how she knew he was in trouble.

“My tire is flat.” Marco whines, pulling Renee out of her thoughts.

“It’s okay. I’ll give you a ride.” Renee opens his car door for him as he sits inside, feeling guilty of all the generosity Renee has shown him, since his childhood. Marco sighs as Renee gets behind the wheel. She gives him a reassuring smile.

The drive is fairly silent as they pass through farmlands on both sides of road. It’s an empty and wide space. Renee had taken an apartment at the suburbs and Marco too shifted one floor above hers.

“Why don’t you want to publish your freestyle rap video online? People like authenticity and talent.” Renee tells him.

“People will be upset. There’s something for everyone to get offended by” He says.

“Well, that’s what sets you apart. Being able to speak your truth while everyone is looking for commercial success” She smiles at him. Every client she managed has been somewhat successful. She can spot talent with ease. Even Marco’s talent was serendipitous. Renee was on a call with her divorce lawyer when she heard the eight-year-old boy rap to Eminem’s song and add his own verses. She knew then that Marco was built for success. Keeping her divorce aside, she would have conversations with his apathetic parents about his talent.

“Renee” Marco grabs her attention. “We’re on the wrong path.”

Renee notices that they’re now driving through a road filled with dirt and gravel as she realizes she had accidentally missed the highway and taken the narrow lane that goes through a forest.

“Can you look at google maps and see how we can get back to main road.” She tells Marco.

The car starts shaking as they drive through the tiny rocks on the road that fell from the construction of the main road.

“I feel like this car would break.” Renee panics. This was new. Renee was always a level headed boss woman who had everything under control. It was rare for her to get anxious over small things. Something was different today. The car swerves on its own before stopping at the side of the road. Clearly it malfunctioned, which is not uncommon whenever she drives with Marco in the car.

They decide to stay in the car as Renee goes through her contact list looking to call someone that could pick them up.

Marco feels a sense of dread and his palms start shaking. There’s a clear view of the sky and there is no light pollution from the main city.

“Renee. Can I ask you something?” Marco shakily looks over at Renee with teary eyes and an uncertain look. Renee puts her phone down and immediately becomes attentive.

“Ask.” She says putting her hand on his shoulder with a worried expression plastered on her face.

“Did you ever see huge lights, in our street, on the summer of 2014?” He asks with a trembling voice.

Renee looks at him with shock but quickly recovers.

“There is always lights. The city never sleeps. Huge lights though? I don’t know” She answers back while looking through her phone again with shaky hands.

“Lights so bright they could blind you. So bright that your entire room is white. What would cause that?” He says.

Renee looks away from her phone “What do you think caused that?”

“I think it was a UFO. I….I think I got abducted when I was 10” He tells her.

Renee gets startled by the sudden revelation. She knew which day Marco was referring to. She had just gotten back with her ex-husband James as she felt lonely from her failed relationships. That day James left her alone after they had a fight about the possibility of remarriage with Renee being against it. She laid on her bed softly crying when suddenly her room lit up with bright light. She walked to her bedroom window and found a huge UFO hovering over Marco’s house. It all happened in few seconds and the bright light and the UFO was gone.

Renee knew Marco had witnessed it, and some days she felt like he didn’t just witness it, but something more had happened. She remembers going to Marco’s house the following morning on his birthday, and he looked at the floor the entire time claiming he looked at aliens. Renee laughed it off when his parents made a joke about how Marco is lying for attention. She quietly told Renee about how she’s worried that he’s secretly a narcissist.

“This isn’t what I signed up for when I became your manager. I believe you. Let’s just get home and talk about this.” She says calling her ex-husband James who is always prepared to talk to Renee at any given moment.

James arrives quickly driving his car at full speed. He looks at Marco with a warm smile, happy to see the young man after a long time.

Renee looks at James with gratitude as she stands next to him.

They sit in his car with Marco sitting in the back.

“He remembers.” Renee informs James softly. “You said this wouldn’t happen.” She scolds.

“What do you mean? You know about this? James knows?” Marco asks, surprised at the calmness in their tone after such a weird revelation.

Marco sits back in disbelief as Renee gives him an apologetic look. James clears his throat before he addresses Marco with painful details of his childhood.

“Marco, Renee and I suspected that your parents would abandon you when you were young. Just from the way they would speak about you. Everything that happened was to protect you.” James tells Marco.

It takes Marco a while before he speaks up again.

“Can you please tell me what you’re referring to? The lights in 2014? Are we still talking about that?” Marco asks getting frustrated.

“You were abducted because it was requested. We wanted you to be safe.” James says sympathetically, realizing that Marco remembering the events affected his psyche more than he would’ve liked.

“So, you made a deal with the aliens?” Marco retorts back with a scoff.

“No. I made a deal with you. My job is to protect you because you’re one of us” Marco and Renee look back at Marco with eyes glowing as bright as sun when suddenly he wakes up in the morning in his apartment. The sun falls in his eyes making him wonder if it was all a dream when he finds a note on his side table that says “Here if you want to talk – Renee and James.”

And then the ink disappears. Marco stands up in a daze to find his reflection in the mirror showing his bright sunny eyes and the view outside his window is a blue misty haze, as if he was on another planet.