Sawyer's POV
Breakfast wasn't quiet, it never was, but this morning me and Enoch were invited into the conversation. It was first to be a part of the bigger picture, one full of other children with something more interesting to say, but it felt good.
When everyone stood up to continue on with their day, Miss P stopped me.
"I have decided your chores, now after breakfast, lunch and dinner you will be doing the dishes. Now you will have a partner that will change between meals. Understood?" Her arm was wrapped around my shoulders as she talked quickly. I nodded my head and began to collect plates along with an invisible Millard.
"Guess it's just you and me Millard," I say with a small smile.
"Guess so, Sawyer," he replied with joy in his voice and I could only guess he smiled back. (the snack that smiles back, GOLDFISH, anyone? Just me? okay)
We collected all the dishes and placed them into the sink and on the counter. There were many and it was slightly overwhelming, but manageable.
"Okay, are you washing and I'm drying or the other way around?" I asked, rolling my sleeves up and placing my hands on my hips. His head turned towards me, only noticeable by the hat moving. He rolled up his sleeves too before answering.
"Up to you, I usually do both." There was a slight chuckle after the words which placed another smile on my lips.
"Well, alright. I'll wash because I have no clue where anything goes and we can switch when I learn where things are." I replied, chucking too. We immediately got to work, both of us grabbing tools. I placed soap on the sponge as Millard grabbed several towels to dry the dishes before putting them away.
We worked to the sound of running water and dishes clanking, but we moved quickly. If only we had music to drown the boredom. However, right before we finished, something peculiar occurred.
I was washing the dishes when out of nowhere Hugh jumped out and scared me. I screamed and dropped the sponge into the sink. Both boys walked in front of me, heads pointed upward even though both were taller than me. Hugh held a look of curiosity and child-like wonder, I could only imagine Millard having the same one.
"What are you guys looking at?' I asked them and they pointed up and behind me. As I looked where they pointed I could tell why they were staring. My eyes widened in horror as I saw the stream of water running. Not down like it should be, but up. Up towards the ceiling where it formed a puddle, which was starting to turn into a pool of water. I looked back down at the boys horrified.
"Sawyer y-you need to stop the water from flowing up!" Millard said quickly, fear evident in his voice.
"I don't know how! I didn't even know I could do this!" I yelled back, facing my palms upward, which made the water rush faster.
"I'll go get Miss Peregrine," Hugh said before taking off. Millard took a step towards me, hand outstretched. I took a step back in reaction, afraid of hurting him.
"Millard please back up, I-I don't know what I'm capable of! I don't want to hurt you!" I yelled again, the water rushing even faster. My breathing started to become shorter and faster. It felt like the walls were closing in on me.
"What is all the-'' Instead of a femanine voice, the Scottish accent caught our attention as Enoch ran into the room, but stopped when he saw the water forming above us. Enoch paused for a moment before walking towards me with confidence. He grabbed my face and looked into my eyes before speaking again.
"Sawyer, listen to me. You are okay, you just need to calm down," his words were firm but comforting. The look held in his eyes wasn't afraid, but caring.
"I-I can't, I-I don't know how to control it," I said. I was afraid of myself and what I could do. The fear that plagued my mind seemed to control my actions more than I could control.
"Sawyer, it'll only get worse the more you panic. Take a deep breath, okay?" His thumbs moved back and forth in a comforting manner, trying to calm me. I nodded my head and took in a shaky breath. Enoch breathed with me as I calmed down, the sound of the water rushing slowed and finally stopped. When I was calm again he let go of my face, revealing Miss Peregrine, Millard, and Hugh all watching from the doorway. Hugh and I'm assuming Millard with care and Miss Peregrine with amazement and curiosity.
"Alright, Millard, Hugh, please excuse us," Miss Peregrine said towards the boys closest to her before turning to us. Both boys walked out of the room as The Bird walked towards us. Her face set with determination and wonder. I could only imagine the thoughts and questions running in her mind.
"Well, Sawyer, I believe we found your peculiarity," Her face held a smile, proud and strong. Her hands were clasped together in front of her as she stood close to us. Then her eyes moved to look at Enoch.
"Now I'm curious. How did you know to do that?" Miss Peregrine directed her question at the boy. His face held no emotion before he sighed and crossed his arms.
"Amelia had the same peculiarity and that's what I would do when she freaked out."
"Alright," she looked between the both of us now, "If this ever happens again then I want you to help her Enoch, and Sawyer, I want you to look in the library for books about your peculiarity. It may be helpful in mastering it. And remember, I will be right here if you need help," she said before walking away. I looked at Enoch before turning back towards the dishes. I turned the tap back on and pulled the sponge into my hand before picking up one of the few remaining dishes. Suddenly Enoch was next to me, dry towel in hand. As I rinsed the plate I looked at him curiously.
"What, I'm helping?" He shrugged his shoulders with a small smile. I chuckled at his antics and continued cleaning and passing him dishes.
Not long after we started were we done. I dried my hands off before thanking him. When he smiled and nodded in response, I walked out and towards the library. It was the one of the rooms I hadn't been in yet. I stood in front of the door, unexpecting what lay behind it. I took a deep breath before opening the french doors that held in the secrets of that room.
The room around me was larger than you'd expect, it seemed to stretch two stories, the first filled with tall bookshelves. The windows let in the most beautiful amount of light which made the room seem all the more magical. There were some shelves that held plants, and in the center there were two couches with a gorgeous coffee table in the center. To the left was a set of three tables each with four chairs. The rugs that laid across the ground looked soft and comfortable.
The second level of the library was more like a small walkway that surrounded the edge of the room, but higher in the air. It spanned maybe 6' wide and stretched completely around the room. I moved my gaze back down towards the shelves that stood in front of me, looking to see if I could find any books on peculiarity. Once I found the row, I went down looking for W to find a book on water peculiarity.
I was sat on the ground, running my fingers down the spines of books as I read the name. What Are Common Peculiarities, What Is A Peculiar, Wights And How They Were Created, Water Peculiarity. I grabbed the one on water peculiarities before sitting down on one of the couches. It was thick and heavy, covered in a layer of dust, and the silver writing on the cover of the navy blue book was almost completely worn off.
I pulled open the cover with care, the sound of the spine crackling from the years of sitting on a shelf sounded out. The paper in the book was old and soft with years of being flipped. The black ink on the pages was wearing down to a dull gray, but still prominent enough to read. I flipped through the pages, the smell of old books wafted out of it. I stopped on a random chapter, reading the title Underwater Breathing before I closed the book and walked out of the room.
-----------------------------------------------------
The sun outside was warm and bright, perfect for reading. I sat in a spot on the grass underneath the oak tree I had climbed the day before. The shade provided a nice cool spot in the grass while the warm summer air held a breeze. I placed the book down on the grass before opening it again, this time reading the table of contents before flipping to the first chapter labeled Basics.
"God I haven't seen that book in years," Enoch's voice spoke from beside me. I turned to look at him, taking in what he was holding. In one hand he held two blocks of clay and in the other he held a case of unknown contents. He sat down next to me, setting all the stuff on the ground.
"What's this stuff," I asked, forgetting the book the second he opened the case. It was filled with two jars filled with the formaldehyde and organ along with tools strapped to the inside of the small case. He smiled at me with an emotion that was unreadable before explaining.
"It's for my peculiarity," he said so quietly it was almost a whisper. He pulled out the tools and laid them together in the soft green grass. Then he lined the two jars up next to him before he pulled out a piece of clay. I watched his hands work as he molded the clay into a body. I watched him give the little man a face before cutting his chest open and placing a small heart in it. It began to beat as Enoch covered the chest with more clay before the little man began to move in his palm.
"What would you like to see it do?" He asked, his attention now directed at me instead of the clay man.
"Oh, uh, I don't know. Surprise me," I gave him a smile as he leaned into the clay man and whispered something inaudible to him. The little man then looked at me before hopping out of Enochs hand and walked over to me. Once in front of my legs he began to do a little dance in the grass. I couldn't help but laugh at the cute man dancing.
"He's so cute," I exclaimed, picking the clay man up. He went limp when his dance was over. Enoch chuckled.
"Yes, they can be. However they never live long, sadly." He responded as he picked the little clay man out of my hands. "You know you're one of the only people who like my peculiarity."
"Really? But, it's genuinely cool."
"Not really. I steal hearts from living beings and stick them in dolls," He spoke, his hands unmolding the little clay man before he removed the heart. His face held something I haven't seen with him yet, a certain sadness. Not like he was sad but more like ashamed or disgusted with himself. Strangely it hurt me.
I reached my hand out and placed it over his, making him look me in the eye. I gave him a comforting smile, and that sadness held behind his eyes melted away into a smile too.
"Don't let anyone judge your peculiarity. It's yours and it's what makes you special. I don't care what others think, being able to make non living things, well, live is fucking awesome," I complemented. The smile never left my face as his gaze was trained on me, a soft smile gracing his lips, but a sort of fire lit behind the dark pupils that filled his honey irises.
After a few minutes, I moved my hand and laid down in the grass under the tree with a giggle. "So, tell me. When was the last time you saw this book," I said, patting the cover of the now closed book. He looked at me with a mischievous smirk. The next few hours were spent under that tree, telling stories about my grandmother and our lives with her.
-----------------------------------------------------
When we parted ways, it was after lunch. Strangely enough, he's my partner for dish duty after lunch, but he got called off to do something else, so I walked. Without realizing it I managed to walk to the beach. I slipped my shoes off, letting the sand cover my feet, a familiar feeling. The smell of the salty ocean filled my nostrils, leaving behind a slight burn. The cool breeze was nice against the warm air. The sound of seagulls and waves filled my ears, and an unrecognizable wave of deja vu hit me. Not because of the incident, more like I had been here in a past life, one full of memories.
I took in a deep breath, closing my eyes and walking down the warm sand between my toes. I had the book in hand as I found a clean spot to sit. The deja vu was still heavy in my chest as I read a few chapters of the book. However I had found myself ridiculed with boredom.
My eyes fell over the water in front of me, the waves became more alluring the more I watched them. I was mesmerized by the way they moved, so fluidly and smoothly. Slowly rising from my spot I made my way towards them. I stopped in the sand right in front of them, letting my knees fall into the wet sand. I fully expected the waves to wash over my knees as they reached up the shore, but instead they parted completely around me. I watched as the waves edged with foam recedied back, releasing my knees from the circle of water.
Testing out the waters, literally, I stood back onto my feet and let them carry me closer towards the ocean that seemed to call me. Just like the day I moved here, on the boat. My feet hit the water only seconds later and I relished in the coolness of it. The foam tickled my ankles and I missed the feeling of the sand moving from beneath me as the water pulled back.
I inhaled a deep and calming breath, feeling oddly complete as I stood along the shoreline. The smell never faded as my nose became used to it, and the sun never felt too hot.
After what felt like a few minutes, I moved further in the water, the level no longer being at my ankles but instead at my mid-calf. Then I felt the strangest sensation around my legs, so I quickly looked down in panic. But what I saw emigrated the fear from my heart. Water had spun up my legs in beautiful patterns, and continued up my body. I felt the feeling of happiness wash over me, a feeling I had almost forgotten what it felt like.
"Sawyer!" A voice broke through the near silence of nature. An all too familiar voice.
I turned the upper half of my body to see Enoch slow down from a run, his eyes trained on the water spiraled around me. It took a few moments, eyes never leaving me with his mouth open to speak, before he did.
"What, how,-"
"I don't know. I just stood here and it happened," I cut him off as I turned fully, the water moving with me. I could feel it creep down my arms, letting it cool me. His eyes now lifted to mine, filled with an unfamiliar emotion. He began to walk towards me, confidence growing within every step. The water didn't stop him as he approached me and pulled me into a hug. After the initial shock I wrapped my water coated arms around his torso, soaking him and making me laugh.
He pulled away after a few seconds, and both of our faces held a smile. I opened my mouth to speak without any clue as to what I was going to say, but the words spilled out anyway.
"What was that for?"
His eyes fell down towards the waves at our feet and his smile grew. "Because I wanted to."
That caused another laugh to vibrate through me, deep into my bones, and he chuckled along with me. When realizing how close we still were, I let every place where he was touching me burn into my memory. A good one. Neither of us seemed to care we were standing in the ocean, both of us soaked where the water spiraled.
I looked at his chest and noticed the water had now attached to him. It covered his chest and upper arms. He looked down realizing too as we stepped away, causing all the water to fall off both of us. "Sorry," I muttered. He shook his head before sticking his hand out, "I don't mind."
I took his hand before he pulled me back towards shore. By now the sun began to set, compared to it being held high in the sky when I got here.
I plopped down onto the sand as Enoch stood next to me. "How long was I out here?"
"A couple hours, so I came to find you."
"Thank you."
I moved my knee's upward, letting my arms wrap around them. I looked to my left as Enoch moved to sit down next to me on the sand. That's when I realized this was Horace's dream. The same dream Miss Peregrine warned us to avoid. But neither of us moved, his focus placed onto the water. My eyes never left him, and I let them wander on his figure, in the way his face naturally formed, the way his curly dark hair sat, how parts of his clothes were wet, which stuck to him. Then, as if in slow motion, he turned to face me. Doing the same as I had, his dark eyes wandered my face. His look was unreadable as I felt trapped in a trance he created.
What broke my attention first was how close we were along with him moving his hand behind me as he continued to move closer. My eyes flicked down to his lips for a small second before they moved back up to his eyes.
I noticed he did the same, but his eyes lingered on my lips longer than mine did his. I felt drawn to him, as if an invisible piece of string was pulling us towards each other. In sync our eyes fell to each other's lips then back up, causing us to hold strong but enticing eye contact.
I fluttered my eyes shut before his lips landed on mine. They were as soft as they looked. The kiss wasn't like how most describe them, it was messy and out of sync, but it lit a small fire deep inside my soul. One of his hands moved up to cup my jaw as my own entangled into his hair. The feeling that spread through my belly was unfamiliar and scary, but addicting.
When we pulled away, we both held the same face. One full of confusion and longing. I never wanted this moment to end, but reality kicked us in the gut when rain drops began to fall.