I had to be prepared because I already knew what was coming. I’ve been doing this intensely for weeks. I anticipated each of his moves. I wasn’t going to be harmless. I was going to protect myself and if I had the guts, to put him down for good. In reality, if I had hesitated, I would’ve been dead. I am the one who simulates death. He has to die.
I was in a speed tunnel, with him running towards me at the same velocity. I had endless ways to start with, but how was he going to start?
We collided, I grabbed his neck and he fell smashing his head on the floor. I didn’t make it easier for him. I paid attention to his legs, on which I sat and blocked. I laughed at seeing him struggling to reach my throat, waving his arms in void. I then took out the dagger, played with it on his lips right before putting it above his chest and say:
“You’re out.”
“I’m sure you’re cheating. I just know it. It’s the 4th time we’re fighting and you just use the same move, but every single time, you win.”
I took his hand and put it in my back pocket, kissing him playfully.
“Don’t I know you the best?”
He picked me up and I embraced him with my legs, still kissing and laughing, while we were heading to the forest. Outside was warm, so we slowly started taking off each other’s jackets and shoes, laying down on the grass. I let my dark curls down on his face as he was trying to take his shirt off. He got up reaching for mine and when I opened my eyes, I froze dead, bursting out into a sunken scream. James covered my mouth and I closed my eyes, jumping up, but ready to fall back down.
“Calm down, it’s ok. There’s nothing here.”
I had never seen her again in those 2 months but she reappeared when I least expected and even worse than the last time. She was also unbelievably dark, like an aura of sadness and she was floating right into me and James. She made me really weak; she was draining me out of power.
James let go of my mouth and put his hands on my cheeks. I backed off frightened because he had burned me.
“What did you do?” I touched my face and felt it healing.
“I don’t really know, I’m sorry.” He looked back at his palms which were as normal as usual.
I studied James again to see if he was fine, took his hand and ran away from the forest to our cabin.
I searched for my keys desperately right before James stopped me and opened the door with his.
I rubbed my face, grasped James into the bathroom and turned on the water.
“2 months ago, one day, when I was passing by the field, on my way to Patrick’s, I saw a woman sitting on a log. She wasn’t real.”
I got out of the bathroom and searched my bag for my drawing notebook.
“That’s what she looked like. She, she is really sad and she makes me very weak, but every time I see her, I just know she wants to tell me something.”
“Did you ask anybody if they saw her?”
I ran my fingers through my hair.
“What if she isn’t real? They will think I went mad.”
“Maybe it has something to do with your particular power.”
I sat on the edge of the tub, feeling disappointed.
“What if that woman is dead? Do I see dead people?”
“Maybe.”
It was impossible and unorthodox. I was bothering the other world with my power. I was awakening the spirits from their sleep and they were coming back for revenge. What if that woman wanted me to resurrect her? What if she would never stop and haunt me until I agree to bring her back?
I needed Patrick the most in that moment, but I would’ve never counted on him. Everytime I saw him, I felt threatened. Noam seemed to have alienated of him as well, but he had no choice other than obey.
During those months, all I did was to practice with James, my teacher, Carmen and one of the students, Anna. Adam and I were still in bad business, but we weren’t avoiding anymore. He closed in himself and spent his most time in his cabin. He moved out 2 weeks after we fought. Rumour had it that he asked Patrick to leave the “school”, but he was rejected. Not even today I don’t understand why he didn’t simply escape. I knew he could.
“Back in the forest, you burned me, do you know that?”
“I figured…”
I tied my hair into a bun, and got the lighter out of James’ pocket. I turned the fire on.
“Make it bigger.”
“I can’t do that and even if I could, I would burn your hand.”
I looked around for a solution. I took a paper towel and wiped the water off the sink. I ripped 3 pieces of paper from my notebook, set them on fire and threw them in it.
“Now make it bigger… or put it out.”
James stretched his arm pointing to the fire, closed his eyes and pushed me behind him. He concentrated for about 30 seconds, while the fire was slowly putting itself out. James opened one eye, looked at it and gave up, keeping his hand in his pockets.
He turned around to leave the bathroom angry. I gripped him strongly by his shirt right before he yelled at me.
“It won’t work!”
From the little, shiny sparkles that were lost between the burned pieces of paper, there was now a huge, red flame which was rising around the room. James shifted instantly and pulled me out, throwing me on the floor. I got up and covered the window with the curtains so nobody could see what just happened. James was trying to put the fire out with a cloth in desperation. I laughed and went to him, took his hand and calmed him down.
“Relax, focus on its dimension and make it smaller.” I kissed his cheek and stepped back.
He kept his hands at his back and his eyes opened. He shook his head and he took his time to smoothly vanish each and every spark left.
I put my hand on my mouth and started laughing and crying of joy. It was a big event for both of us. I ran into him, jumping on his back. He kissed my hands and started laughing as well.
“Now it’s your turn.”
I immediately lost every touch of happiness inside me.
“You need to contact your mother.”
I fell down on knees, looking terrified at the floor. I wanted to talk to her, but what if she wasn’t the same anymore? What if her spirit was nothing like how she had been before she died? Besides, how weak did my power make me?
There was an only way to find out.
I opened the window, because the smell of the smoke was almost making me feel sick. I sat on the floor with James next to me and tried concentrating on everything that was about my mother. Her look, her personality, her power, her dark-side, but nothing brought her to me. I didn’t feel weak or threatened like I felt in the woods. I started questioning my power. I kept contacting other dead spirits for about 20 minutes. My grandmother, my uncle, the guardians James killed at the Centre, nothing worked. Right before giving up, I thought about my father. A sudden presence covered the room and I felt like somebody was watching me. I had my eyes closed, but I saw dad standing right in front of me. I opened them quickly and nothing was there. Was I, in fact, seeing holograms of living people? I sighed heavily and took one more turn. This time the sadness set in. I frowned and held my tears in. Other spirits felt my door opened and started assaulting me.
“Say my name…”
I heard dad’s voice between hundreds of spirits calling for me to release them. I grew very turbid, but I wasn’t going to open my eyes, not when I reached that far.
“Robert?”
The wind was going crazy already. I could hear the windows and the doors smashing on the wall. Was nobody going to question the sudden storm?
“Dad?”
I felt like one kind of aura combined with the storm outside just hit me. But everything was calm. I fell on my back, hitting my head on the floor. James brushed away the strands on my face and got me up. I saw my dad like a black cloud floating beside the window. He looked so angry, full of hate and so I boosted back into the bathroom’s door with my eyes out of my orbit. Then, he started talking.
“Don’t look at me if you don’t want to…”
I started crying and screaming, because I knew he was dead. I’ve never in my life heard of contacting living things, but only spirits. I never felt so sad and so desperate. I felt like killing somebody with my bare hands. I wanted to hurt because I was hurt.
“You control the way you see me, love. I need you to focus and to listen to me. I don’t want to drain you of your power.”
I listened, but I couldn’t focus. I didn’t believe that my dad was dead. It was just too easy to comprehend. What was my purpose in life if I was so lonely.
“I’m sorry about the circumstances of how we meet, but you have to stay strong. I will be quick. Your mother isn’t dead. She’s kidnapped.”
Did Patrick expect this? Was I really going insane? I saw my mother’s dead body. I stood next to her coffin as it was being buried and my father throwing dirt in.
I and sealed my eyes in fear, but I couldn’t help hearing my dad talking. I guess it was only I who could see and hear all that was happening.
“You have to find her, please. That’s what I’ve been doing this whole time and I am sorry I didn’t tell you.”
Everything about how vulnerable my power made me was true. I took heavy breaths before opening my eyes and this time, I was again numb. None of my emotion was affecting my father anymore. He was himself, neither hateful nor sad or dark. He floated closer to me and even if his voice was actually in my head, he leaned next to my ear and spoke low.
“Don’t conjure other spirits by mistake because they will hunt you and don’t let anybody discover your power because everybody will want it.”
I was losing my father due to my messed up feelings when I started sobbing.
“…hard to believe…your mom is alive…fight…”
“I love you, dad.” I said out loud.
“Love you…honey.”
My father disappeared like a smoke inhalation. When I went back to my normal state, my ears cleared and I felt how I was being shaken really hard by James. I pushed him back to stop him and still holding his arms, I started mourning rivers of tears.
“My mother is alive.”
“Everything is fine, my love. You will be alright. Let it go.”
“But he’s dead, James. He’s not here anymore.”
“Your mother is. And you both need help from each other. Let’s save her, let’s at least accomplish your father’s mission.”
I was crying uncontrollably, showing no sign of stopping or calming down. I started choking on my own breath because I couldn’t shift back. James couldn’t really figure out what he had to do and because I left him no choice, he put me to sleep with a short strike to the side of my neck.
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Keeeeeeep posting. ;D