Reconciliation

III. An Incident

"You're in a good mood this morning," Zara commented as I sat down to eat breakfast.

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

"You practically danced into the kitchen this morning and hummed while you made breakfast, which I've never seen you do."

"Oh, well, yesterday I found a creek in the forest and meditated for a while. I took some time to process our parents' deaths, and I started grieving. I feel terrible but free," I pondered aloud.

"Maybe we should try that," Jack suggested, joining us at the table.

"I'm sorry you weren't there to say goodbye," I lamented.

"Max, that isn't your fault. Our parents made a  sacrifice to save us all," Jack dismissed.

"What do you both feel?" I asked.

"Quite frankly, I'm angry. I'm angry that they didn't say goodbye before the raid. I refuse to believe that they didn't anticipate their deaths, and I wish they would have at least warned us," Zara sighed.

"I feel numbness, sadness..." Jack trailed off. "I'm sure I'll carry that sadness with me forever. I know I'll carry on and learn to live with this, but the sadness will linger in one form or another," Jack smiled sadly.

I grabbed each of their hands. "We'll survive this. Together." I felt tears well up in my eyes.

My two best friends beamed at me. I stood up, tossing my mug and plate into the air. They floated to the dishwasher, which opened as they approached, and settled into the appropriate slots.

"I suppose we should get ready for day two!" I declared.

I brushed my teeth slowly as Diana Ross' I'm Coming Out played in my head. I danced around while I brushed, careful not to jab my cheeks.

Jack's head popped through the door. "Come to the living room when you're done."

I rinsed, quickly combed my hair, and waltzed into the living room, curious.

"I propose a race to school," Jack declared, holding up a finger for emphasis.

"You're on. Rules?" Zara challenged. Jack's eyes narrowed.

"You cannot travel in a vehicle or apparate. Also, you may not sabotage any of your competitors," his eyes flashed at Zara as he finished.

"I don't cheat!" Zara exclaimed. I chuckled.

"AND," Jack interrupted, "you cannot fly up into the air. You must stay within forty feet of the ground at any given time."

"You don't cheat, but you do try to slow us down," I laughed. Zara stuck her tongue out at me.

"We can leave on my mark," I said, standing up to get my backpack. We collected our belongings and walked into the front yard.

"Alright - one more rule," I warned. "You cannot be spotted by anybody."

"We know, we know," Jack groaned.

"Ready? One...two..." - I eyed my two friends carefully - "three."

Immediately, Jack flew up in an orb of black smoke toward the tips of the pine trees across the street, likely hoping to fly over the town to the school. Zara disappeared directly into the forest across from the house, trying to take a direct path to the school. I sprinted forward, light enveloping me as my feet lifted from the ground, and my body condensed into an orb of light. I flew along the road next to our house toward the highway. I curved left, lifting higher into the air. The scenery blurred by. The trees melted around me, turning into waves of green, like paint spilling down a canvas. The cold morning air whipped around me while water droplets pelted me; it felt refreshing. I bolted past cars and through the support beams that suspended the bridge over the Calawah River.