Seraphina's Awakening

Chapter Eighteen: Divulgence

Sera closes the gap between them, placing her hand over his. "Sera, a lot has happened since then." He starts playing with her fingers, "Something led me here. I came into some money from a happy customer, and I had this overwhelming urge to start a business. Next thing I knew, I saw a sign on a coffee shop window a few towns away that there was a business for sale in a small town called Angelica. Something in me told me that this was it." His other hand reaches for his heart, "So, I bought the shop, fixed it up, and on my very first day, you come wandering through those doors. I will never forget it because you were wearing that polka-dot dress of yours. Your hair was pulled back into a bun and your smile brightened up this whole place. I just knew I had made the right decision."

"Oh Jack."

"But, then strange things started happening."

"Strange?"

"Yeah, I've been getting a lot more spirits as the days go on and my sight—as they call it—has gotten stronger. They aren't just voices anymore, I can see things. I've also developed weird senses and other inexplicable 'things' that some can call intuition, but everything I see seems to come true. I think it's much more than that."

"Okay, but what happened to me last night?"

"Well," he gets flustered now, his hands grow sweaty inside mine, "The spirits, they like you, too."

"They like me?"

"Yeah, they flock to you for some reason." He confesses, "There are so many around here, it's getting hard to control them. They seem to know what I want, and I'm the only one that can get them what they want... so they do things for me. I didn't ask them to, but last night one of them..." he pauses.

"Jack! What is it?" Sera pulls her hand from his.

"They possessed you." His voice comes out softer than a whisper.

Sera's mouth drops.

"I'm so sorry, Sera. I never meant for that to happen. I would have tried to stop them but that guy, Nate, started with me and things got heated and... "

"You let them possess me?" She hisses, shivering at the memory.

"I didn't let them, they do it on their own. I can't control them anymore. Something is coming, or happening and they are all riled up." His hands reach for Sera again desperately. She slips from his grasp, up on her feet before he can grab hold of her.

"Jack. What about the kiss the other night? I wasn't in control then either."

"You weren't?" The hurt shows on his face.

"No," she admits softening her tone.

Shaking his head, those curly blond ringlets bounce. "Sera, I need to tell you, I've never seen anyone push a spirit out of themselves before. It was amazing."

"What do you mean?"

"When a person is possessed, they are under the control of the spirit, you have no choice in the matter. But, somehow you took control back and pushed them out of you."

"Hmm, how did I do that?" She wonders rhetorically.
"That's what I was hoping you could tell me." He takes a step forward closing the gap between them.

"I really don't know. I just kind of ... fought for my mind back."

"That's incredible. I have a feeling you're stronger than you think," he whispers. His hand reaching for Sera's cheek, she shies away taking a step backward.

"Sera, what's wrong?" She hadn't realized she was shaking her head until his words.

"I just don't know how I'm supposed to take all of this." She takes another step back. "Everything is happening too fast. First Nate's confession, and now you are... what? Some kind of medium?" he shrugs with a nod, "It's like I'm getting a crash course in a world I didn't know even existed."