Immortali

Chapter 10: Sight

 When she woke up on Sunday morning, Raina felt... different, as though someone had wrapped her in a shell of lava, and, overtime, she'd hardened into stone. She still wasn't quite sure how she felt about the situation with Claire. The memory of it had played over and over in her head while she'd slept, and the more she saw it, the more she cursed herself for pitying Claire. She'd wasted time and brain cells worrying about her twisted cousin, while Claire hadn't exactly hesitated to inflict pain upon her.

But then, Raina would also think that it wasn't as though Claire didn't deserve to be pitied. After all, it wasn't as though life had dealt her a good hand of cards. She'd had the worst of luck, and even grimmer opportunities. So much so, that she'd become accustomed to it.

Sighing, Raina shook her head. Thinking about Claire had given her a headache. Brushing it off, she decided to get a glass of water. As the cool, refreshing liquid ran down her throat and nourished her stomach, Raina noticed the amethyst amulet for the first time in days.

It had somewhat become a part of her for the little time that she'd worn it. She'd never even thought about taking it off, especially when she remembered the pain she'd experienced when she'd seen the memories of her classmates. Admittedly, it hadn't been too bad at first, but as the memories refused to disappear, it had begun to feel like there was a hive of bees buzzing around in her head. It was never silent, never resting. The noise was constant, and it had refused to go away.

But now...

Now Raina wondered if she could harness her ability. Arriana had said it would be too much, but after the pain she'd suffered at Claire's hands, she wasn't sure it could get much worse than that. Quietly, she went back to her room and shut the door. The gentle click of the handle could barely be heard of the typical background sounds that formed the music of the Mads' house.

Sitting on her bed and taking deep breaths, Raina slipped the amulet over her head and placed it in her hands. She knew that as long as she still touched it, it's power would block her Gift and form a protective layer over her. But as soon as she stopped, its protection would vanish.

Am I sure I want to do this? She wondered to herself. Surely it can't be that dangerous... right? I can just as easily touch the amethyst whenever things get bad, she thought, trying to reassure herself.

With much hesitation and doubt burning like hot pokers in the back of her mind, she released her hold on the amulet. It landed on her bed covers with a soft thud. Breathing heavily, Raina waited. She wasn't sure how she was going to control her Gift, but she had to try. What harm could it do?

She decided to test it on something of hers. Something that she'd owned for a long time. She selected her teddy bear; Mr Snuggles. It had been with her since birth, and many a time she'd held it when she'd been upset or scared. If anything she owned was going was going to contain traces of memories, that would be it.

She held Mr Snuggles out, letting her fingers brush his old, and, in some place, bald, fur. Minutes passed. Sighing with frustration, Raina closed her eyes. She tried to find her power, seeing if this would encourage her gift to come out of hiding. The usual spurt of energy flowed through her veins, and for a moment, Raina thought she'd heard a whisper.

"Mr Snuggles! That's no way to behave at a tea party!"

And she was there. She saw Mr Snuggles and a group of Barbie dolls surrounding a plastic table set with a toy tea set.

"You must act like gentleman," the little voice said again. Raina wasn't surprised to hear it come from her. Whenever she'd seen memories, she'd always seen them from the point of view of the person who'd seen them. In this case, it was five-year-old Raina.