An Entity Within | Stephen Strange

9 - While She Sleeps...

"And what if I do it?"

"Let's find out, shall we?"

The Ancient One directed the child over to the centre of the room and both knelt, facing each other. The sorceress slid the thick, leather bound book over to the girl and motioned for her to open it.

"Take as long as you need to absorb the material before you."

"Won't it take me all day? And won't we miss dinner?"

A soft laugh left her lips, "Little one, I have a strange feeling that your natural ability will mean we finish just in time for a little tea with honey and in time for dinner too. Focus now, Tessa."

The young girl smiled before opening the book. To her, the words looked funny, like the hieroglyphs from Ancient Egypt but she knew it was similar to the writing in The Book of Cagliostro. Therefore, the girl's own conclusion was that the writing was also Sanskrit. She still couldn't work out how, but Tessa found it easy to read the words, so much so that she realised she could skip entire sections of the book that spoke about the theory behind it - she could learn about the theory later; right now, she just wanted to do it.

"What are you doing?" The Ancient One enquired.

"They go on a lot of...segments."

"You mean tangents?"

"Yeah, that word. I need them to get to the point."

The sorceress nodded, amused by the child's criticism of such a ancient book. She admired how young children had little filter - it made them more honest.

Tessa continued to skip sections until she got to the part that finally taught her how to do it. Skimming the pages, she took in the information, absorbed it like a sponge, until she was confident enough to try it. Then, she closed the book and lay down, shutting her eyes and meditated, readying herself for the transition from her physical form to her astral form - and she had reached this stage in a matter of less than thirty minutes.

The Ancient One had watched, absolutely mesmerised by the capabilities of one so young. She would have to talk to the Entity again this evening while Tessa slept to learn more about their idiosyncratic bond. As she thought, in the air before her appeared shattered glass and little Tessa's astral form popped her head through with a wide smile.

"This is so cool! I can be invisible, and I float! Almost like a ghost!"

"Stellar work, Tessa, well done." The Sorceress Supreme smiled, "You, little one, are most certainly one of the most powerful sorceresses I know."

Tessa giggled, sharing her joy with her mentor.

* * * * * * *

At night, New York lit up like the Milky Way galaxy surrounded by thousands of stars. So much light amongst the darkness made for a very beautiful contrast. Everything popped out at you: cars, moving adverts, streetlights, buildings - everything was special and unique and all at the same time. Little Tessa adored looking out of the Window of the Worlds. She found the sights captivating and couldn't wait until she was old enough to explore on her own.

"I thought I might find you here." The Ancient One spoke up, drawing Tessa's attention away from the window, "Come. Time for bed."

Without protest, the young girl fled from the window, hurrying after and racing past the Sorceress Supreme. Ah, she thought, how children had so much energy at hours as late as these. It made her smile.

Once they had reached her room, she promptly hopped into bed, but rather than lying down, kneeled, looking at the Ancient One curiously, sadly. As the sorceress sat at the end of her bed, she sensed the change in tone.