The Family Circle

Chapter 9: The journey to Porirua

Chapter 9

The journey to Porirua

We arrived at a train station a few minutes later. We waited for about 10 minutes and got on a train. There was a small map on the train showing all the stops it makes. We both took a seat. "So where are we headed?" I asked her. "We're gonna get off at a place called Lower Hutt, then take a bus to Porirua" Sarah answered. "And how far is Porirua from Lower Hutt?" I asked again. "About 20-25 minutes away, not that far" she replied. Porirua huh. Wait, I know that name. I've been there before. It's a very vague memory, but I think I've been there when I was young, on vacation. "Hmm, now that I think about it, I might've been to Porirua before, my parents took me there as a child." I mentioned to Sarah. "Well maybe you have to see it for yourself then, for now, let's wait and rest. I don't know how long we've been in the train. The next thing I knew Sarah was shaking me telling me to wake up.

"Get up and get your bag, we're here" she whispered. I slowly opened my eyes and looked around, some people were going in the train, some going out. I put on the backpack and followed Sarah out the train. "Now let's get to the bus stop, it's nearby." She explained as we walked. I followed along behind her. We managed to reach the bus stop in time. We didn't wait too long before the bus arrived. There was digital text on the bus saying 'Porirua'. We got in the bus and sat near the middle. Time to relax again I guess. Not long before we reach Porirua. I placed my head on the window and looked out. I was still tired after everything that happened today. Should've took a shower too, I probably smell. I looked at my watch, 3:14 pm. The day's coming to an end. Might as well get some rest. Before I knew it, I dozed off and fell into a sumbler. In what felt like a second, Sarah woke me up. The bus wasn't moving, I guess this was our stop. "Stop sleeping" Sarah told me. "Well I can't help it, I'm tired." I replied. We got off the bus and started walking on the sidewalk of the street. Porirua was a nice place. We could already see people smiling as they walked by. It was a decent, beautiful place. I'm pretty sure I've been here before, Mom and Dad took me for sightseeing somewhere here. "Let's take a cab to my friend's place" Sarah began as we walked. I nodded in agreement.

We got on a cab and Sarah told the cab driver the adress we were going too. Too bad I barely heard it. The driver looked as if he was stunned once he heard the adress, but I wasn't even focusing, because something caught my eye. I looked out the window of the cab and saw an old man. He was wearing an expensive white tuxedo with a long white coat that reached his ankles. He was also wearing a black and white pork pie hat, as well as rectangular glasses and a knob handle walking cane. In all honesty I didn't know why he caught my eye. My eyes continued to follow him once the cab started moving. He looked like a normal rich old man that blended in the crowd. However something was different, I got this weird creepy vibe coming from him, and trust me, it's not because he's old. "Stop day dreaming" Sarah whispered to me. In mere seconds the cab was out of sight from the old man, and I couldn't see him anymore either. I turned to Sarah. "So your friend, what's his name?" I asked her. "Haygan Barin, if you're worried about anything, don't." She added.

I just listened to what Sarah told me, after all, it's not like I had the choice of going back home. After a few minutes the cab was driving into a forest. "Hey, is this where we're going?" I asked Sarah. "Yeah, it's just through here." Sarah replied. We were going through the forest. Just what kind of friends does Sarah have? I hoped we weren't meeting Tarzan or something. After a few minutes we came across a road, it was more like a pathway of dirt though. The cab turned around and looked at us. "Are you guys perhaps related to the Barin family?" The driver asked. "No, we're just good friends" Sarah answered him. The driver smiled and nodded. "Wow, now that's something. The Barin family has been helping this place out for so long" he smiled. "The whole town is grateful for them, many know of the Barin family" he added. "Yes, they have been the kindest people for the longest time" Sarah replied formally. The Barin family? Hmm, they must be pretty popular. "How exactly does everyone know the Barin family?" I asked the driver. "Oh, at times when the mayor has problems with the city the Barin family offers to help, the Mayor and the Barin's are best friends you could say. They are kind to all the citizens too, they found me stuck on the road one day because my tire flattened, and they helped me out." The driver explained.

Judging from that the Barin's seemed cool. I wonder how Sarah knew them. I wonder if the city people or even the mayor knew about alchemy, but I doubt the Barin's would expose it. After all, I think it was a rule to keep alchemy a secret in this world. We all continued talking for a minute, turns out the cab driver's name was Frank. He was about in his 30's and said he had a family of two daughters. After few minutes of having a casual conversation we arrived at a round about with a fountain that stood in the middle of it. "This is it." Sarah told me pointing to the right window. I got out of the car and took a look. IT WAS HUGE. It was a 3 storey building that was incredibly long and wide. I bet it was possible to get lost in there. "Nobody told me the Barin family was royalty!" I shouted. "Chill, their not exactly royalty" Sarah exclaimed. "How in the world did we end up coming to a mansion!?" I added. "Don't worry, you'll fit right in!" Frank shouted from inside the cab, letting out a laugh. "Just get your bag and let's go" Sarah added. We got out bags and walked toward the mansion. I heard the sound of Frank's cab as he drove off. We arrived at a tall steel gate. There were two men standing on each side, each with a shotgun. "Wow, they even have their own guards, who are your friends exactly?" I whispered to Sarah. "Just go with it" she replied.

As we walked closer the guards stopped us. They asked for our names and asked for our business. "My name is Sarah Wilber and this is Kai Arc, we're here to see Haygan Barin" Sarah explained to them. "Sorry Ma'am, no unauthorized personnel can see a member of the Barin family." The guard on the right affirmed. Unauthorized personnel? Just how high up is this family? Sarah raised an eyebrow and took off her back pack. She set it on the ground and started looking in one of the pockets. She quickly got her hand out of the pocket, she was holding something in her hands. It was a silver badge, I had no idea what it was. She lifted her hand and showed it straight to the guard's faces. When the guards saw it they looked at each other in surprise, as if they were given an electric shock. They immediately stood and straight and did a salute form at Sarah. "My apologies Ma'am! You may enter!" They shouted. Sarah gave them a smile. "Thank you gentlemen, I hope this won't happen again the next time I visit" Sarah cautioned. "No Ma'am! We assure you it won't!" The guard on the left replied nervously. Sarah nodded and picked up her backpack. She looked at me and told me to follow. As Sarah walked passed the gates the guards kept their salute form. Okay, forget about the Barin family, who exactly is Sarah? I wonder how many things she isn't telling me. So many ideas were popping inside my head.