Chapter Four | Special
The reflections of the orbs in the mirror shone like bright lights. They wriggled about as if they had life of their own, and it made me wonder if they had thoughts like me. I started calling the light blue specs orbs instead, since they kind of looked that way. When they hit the light, they appeared to change into silver dancing leaves. It was fascinating to watch.
I went back into my first photo, I was just too eager to sit still. I hadn't felt this giddy in a long time, and I think the last time it was over new food.
I was sitting in the old dusty chair, waiting for Bec. He had to be here, he wouldn't let me down . . .
"Cecelia?" He emerged from the other room, looking surprised.
I grinned and ran up to him. "Bec!"
He chuckled when I stopped just before him, and he smiled just as wide. "Hello, I hope I didn't keep you waiting long?"
I shook my head, it had only been a few minutes. The strange orbs floating around kept me occupied. "I came the other day and you weren't here."
He looked surprised by this, his eyes flashing a startling light blue before swimming into neutral colors. His eyes were even more fascinating than the floating orbs! "Ah, you must have came here in person?"
"Well yeah," I spoke in a haughty tone that I'm sure would have earned me a smack from Ms. Betty's ruler.
"Then that is why I was not here."
"Huh?" I muttered brilliantly, trying to grasp what he was saying but it was like my brain wasn't working right.
He turned to look over his shoulder at me, and he was smiling. "Remember what I was talking about last time. Well, I only exist in this realm."
I blinked slowly as I remembered everything we talked about. "The spiritual realm?"
He nodded, leaning against the back of the chair. "We can only meet here, when you go through the picture. Or as I like to call it, the 'still frame,' since it has trapped time within it."
As I gazed at him, a strong feeling arose, one of wonder. I was intrigued by him. I sat on the edge of the table and went over what I wanted to ask him inside my head. Finally, it came out in a nervous jitter that I wasn't used to. "Why can I only meet you here?"
His eyes flashed to mine for a second, and the color was darker than normal. "I do not belong in this world, and that is why the Creator of this world made it to where I reside here instead."
"Creator?" Now I was even more intrigued.
He smiled. "He is the Almighty One, the one who created the universe, in fact. This world is like His jewel, with mankind the apple of His eye. Those who believe in Him refer to Him as 'God.'"
"God?" I sounded the foreign word on my tongue. "There's really someone like that? He created this world?"
With a nod, Bec continued. "From the ground you walk on to the people. He is the holy one, but it seems a great number of humans do not believe that."
"How come?" I pressed.
"Because there is a great evil in the world that misleads humans. It's a heavy deception, designed to take them further away from their true Father."
"But why? What for?"
"This evil has a name: Satan. And he spreads evil that causes those weak and without faith to sin. Sin is when you do wrong, and those that die in sin won't be able to go back to God. It's an eternal separation, and one you want to strive to avoid." Bec was so serious as he talked about this and seemed a lot older than he looked.
It made me so curious, as I'd never heard anything like it before. What was God like? Did I have sin? There were so many questions running through my mind at once that it was hard to keep up . . .
As if Bec knew this, he spoke up in a comforting tone. "Hey, I know it's a lot. You don't have to learn everything right now, but just know that God is with you always. He won't ever leave you, and it was because of Him that I'm able to see you right now."
"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.
He looked out across the heaps of cargo and at the dancing orbs. "I can't tell you everything right now, but I will someday." He promised, his smile making my chest oddly warm. "You're the only one able to enter the still frame, Cecelia. Out of everyone in the world, you're able to see me, and I thank God for that . . . That we're able to meet like this."
There was a strange . . . something else that I felt was behind his words. Like he seemed very happy that it was me God chose, or that there was something much more that he wasn't telling me . . . I wanted to ask about it, but something inside me wanted to put it off. I felt as if I wasn't ready for the whole truth yet.
I would find out about it someday from him.
"How can I find out more about God?" I asked him, still curious about the subject. I shivered just knowing there was someone like that watching me.
I watched as Bec walked around the area, seemingly tending to the orbs around us. "Do you know the necklace Ms. Betty wears?"
I thought back on it. Normally Ms. Betty kept it hid behind her clothes, so the younger kids wouldn't grab it. I've seen it once or twice, and each time I was curious about it. I was just too afraid to ask her about it. "Yes, I've seen it."
He smiled ruefully, "It is a cross she wears; something symbolic to God. Ask her about it, and she will show you God's Word."
"God's Word?"
"It is a book you can read." He answered.
I felt myself grow excited. "I can read about him?!" I was on the very edge of the table.
He chuckled when he saw me, and I tried to imagine what he saw, a scruffy looking girl whose eyes brightened at being given such knowledge. Why would God choose someone like me?
"So all I have to do is ask her about her necklace?" I asked, just to make sure. There were also the angels and demons I needed to ask her about . . . There was just never a good opening for me to bring it up to her privately.
"Yes, your curiosity will tempt her to tell you more about her faith," Bec said with certainty in his voice, before waving me over to where he was standing.
I slid off the table and walked over to the patch of light in which he was standing. I stood before him, and he had his hands open, almost cupped together. With wonder, I watched as something sparkling appeared in his pale hands. It started dancing in his palms, shimmering upwards in dark and light spots.
I gasped in awe as the spots expanded into a globe. It showed something I've never seen before. "What is that?"
"This is Earth, Cecelia. This is where we are," Bec explained to me, smiling patiently - the same smile I often saw on Mrs. Hamel's face. It was such a nice smile.
Although the image was fuzzy and in black and white, it still seemed beautiful to me. So this is what the world looked like . . .
"How are you able to do this, Bec?" I asked him, watching as the shimmers dissipated.
"You're able to do it too. It's our power that we share," he told me, and gently took my hands.
Suddenly, the shimmers came back and the orbs danced in silver streams around us. The black and white sparkling spots grew and expanded more. They took on a glow that highlighted the room like a bunch of burning candles. It even felt warm.
I watched as the silver orbs danced in our midst and couldn't help but smile at the fluttering feeling it caused in my chest. I didn't know doing something like this was possible; it gave me such an enormous feeling! It threatened to explode out of me, and I felt a laugh bubble up my throat and out my mouth.
Such a foreign thing to do, it honestly confused me.
Then Bec's laughter cut in, and I looked at him, noticing he had been watching me.
My face grew hot, and I looked away.
"Your laugh was cute, Cecelia. Please don't be embarrassed. I was simply joining you." His reassurance helped calm me, and the heat receded from my cheeks.
"Sorry . . . I'm not really used to that." I wasn't sure what else to say.
"Laughing?" he questioned, his head tilting, and his short white bangs swept across his forehead.
I nodded, "Or just feeling really good. I don't get that often."
"Hm, that is sad to hear." He hummed, and I studied his wistful expression. What was he thinking? He smiled at me, and my heart fluttered again in my chest. "Then I want to make you feel happiness every time you're with me. In a world of grey, I want to help you into the light."
My cheeks were burning again, and I didn't know why. I gazed at his smiling face, but my vision blurred suddenly; I saw Bec, but it wasn't the same Bec in front of me. He was somehow different, older, and it felt like the reality around us was breaking. We weren't in the cargo room within the still frame, instead we were on a white bridge. The sky was a light purple, and there seemed to be some sort of vegetation around us.
More than that, I felt like I knew this place, yet at the same time I didn't know it. What was going on?
Most importantly, why did I have this huge feeling that I knew Bec before? Was that even possible?
My hands slipped from his as it all became too much. We were back in the cargo room, and all the orbs and shimmers fell apart and went away between us.
It was as if the spell was broken. Bec looked confused too, and I felt my heartbeat return to normal.
"You said you'd explain everything to me someday, right?" I stressed. I had the urge to know this strange bond between us.
"Right." There was a promise in his tone, and it helped relieve me some.
"How come I can do what you just did?" I asked him, referring to the orbs and shimmer spots.
"You're special, Cecelia."
"Oh . . . yeah." It's what he kept telling me, but I wanted to know why I was so 'special.' I'd never felt special in my entire life, so it was strange to me to suddenly hear it all the time.
The world around us started blurring and contorting, and I looked at Bec's knowing face.
"Remember what I told you. I'll see you soon," he said, looking particularly sad, and it tugged at my chest. I didn't like that look on him.
"I'll come back soon!" I promised just as the world started to turn back to the real one.
Back to the one without Bec in it. Why did I have such a strong attachment to him? What else could he be hiding that concerns me and him? I had to know . . .
But first, maybe God could help me. I sure hoped that would be the case.
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I hope you're enjoying the story so far! More to come soon~!