by K.N. Lee
I sighed deeply and quieted my mind. None of these questions were going to answer the one question I needed to be answered and I decided that he would tell me in his own time. I went back and sat beside him.
He held my hand gently and I flinched, instantly regretting it as I caught the hurt look in his eyes.
“I’m not going to hurt you Faye-Minita, please believe that,” he said, looking deeply into my eyes.
I did believe it. I believed him. But then again, I’d been having a strange morning and his sudden appearance just made it all the more strange.
“What happened to you in that forest, Faye-Minita? What really happened in the forest?” he asked, still holding on to me and still looking at me with that same intense pair of eyes. I found myself unable to look away.
What happened in the forest? Why was he so darn curious about the forest? This was not the first time he was asking me about the forest. What exactly did he want to know? And why did he think there was more?
I opened my mouth to speak when suddenly, he raised a finger to his lips and I fell quiet. He pointed to the door and made the gesture again. I turned to the door, making sure to make as little noise as possible. What was he on about now? Someone was at the door, I could see the shadow underneath it, but then, so what? What did it matter really?
I looked at him and he was staring intently at the door. His grip around my wrist tightened considerably, but it was not uncomfortable.
As we waited, with bated breath, at long last, the person outside left after having convinced themselves that nobody was in the room. Who was Juan hiding from? I wondered.
He waited for a while; seemingly to make sure the person went as far from earshot as possible, then he turned to me,
“Alright. Continue…you were going to say something. What really happened in the forest?”
I’d forgotten what I was going to say. And with good reason too, the whole “waiting for the person at the door to leave without making a sound” thing had left me frazzled. So I went with a question instead,
“Why is this so important?”
Juan took a deep breath. He obviously hadn’t counted on me asking him any question and that was odd because he knew just how curious I could get sometimes.
He sighed before answering,
“It’s because something happened that day and it changed you. Whatever it was changed me as well. It changed us”.
I looked at him quizzically. What did he mean by that? Just how much did he know? I looked at him, trying to gauge the expression on his face. Suddenly, he grabbed my hand and my stomach fell out from under me.
I suddenly had an odd sensation in my stomach. I blinked and suddenly I was no longer in my room. He let go of me and I staggered back. My brain was working overtime trying to rationalize the change of scenery. I looked up at the mansion that was suddenly in front of me and I stared at Juan in undisguised fear mixed with slight fascination.
“What the hell? What just happened? How?” I asked and he shook his head, shrugging slightly.
“I’d be lying if I said I could explain it, Faye-Minita. All I know is that not too long after we ended our thing I suddenly had these powers. I’d be one place one second, and someplace else the next. I don’t know how it happened, but I have a theory. Something happened to you that night in the forest. I believe that whatever it was, it must have affected me too. It changed me, while we were still together,” he looked at me imploringly as he spoke as if he wanted me to confirm all he had just said.
I looked at him, and up at the mansion, and I sighed.
I stared at Faye-Minita and she stared back at me, seemingly as confused as I was. What did that mean? Was I wrong? Had I just shown her powers that I’d never shown anyone else for nothing?
She looked at me for a while, then her gaze went up to regard the mansion behind us and she sighed.
“Step back a bit,” she said and I felt my hope re-ignite as I obeyed her command.
She looked at me with uncertainty and then she closed her eyes. Her brows furrowed, as she looked to me in deep concentration. Then, as I watched, the air around her shimmered and then a strange tattoo appeared on her arm. It was a symbol I was not familiar with.
She looked at me uncertainly and then she closed her eyes. Her brows furrowed as she looked to be in deep concentration. Then, as I watched, the air around her shimmered a bit and then a strange tattoo appeared on her arm. It was a symbol I was not familiar with.
Then she looked at me and shrugged, “Well, there ya go. I also have constant nightmares and I can tell when someone is lying”.
As I looked at her, I could not remember the last time I’d felt so happy. Finally, I had the answer I’d sought, a part of it at least. Something did happen, and I wasn’t the only one affected. I walked towards her and grabbed her hand, poofing her back to her room.
She looked a bit shaken by the movement and I understood. The same thing happened to me for a while when I’d just began exhibiting my powers.
“Okay. Umm, I’m going to let you clean up and change now. You should also get some rest and maybe eat something”.
She nodded, watching me as I inched towards backwards.
“I’m just really glad you just showed me that Faye-Minita and I would really love to talk with you some more concerning it. I think there’s possibly a link between this mansion and the forest incident, but I can’t be sure, so I want to explore the mansion with you and find anything that may be of use to us, you know? We have to understand this”.
She looked at me with that same watchful gaze, then she spoke
“I’ve got to be honest with you Juan, I’m a bit shaken by all this. I mean… wow. Also, I’d never really thought of trying to establish a link between the mansion and the forest before, but now that you mention it, it makes sense. If there’s even the slightest chance that we could be on to something here, any chance at all of finding out what happened to us, then you can count me in. I’ll explore the mansion with you.”
I smiled and she nodded, then I poofed out of her room.
9
The hot water coursed down my body and I felt some of the tension that had built up within the past hour gradually fade away and I sighed with relief. I needed this, I thought as the water caressed my body, carrying along with it all the uncertainty and tension I’d been feeling for a long time.
My conversation with Juan came back to me and I whistled out loud, unable to stop myself. What had just happened was nothing short of fantastical. I remembered the way my heart had beat steadily in my chest when he’d first teleported me out of my room. That had to be a neat ability to have. I had no doubt it came in handy for a lot of things.
My pulse rose a bit as I recalled that day at the forest so many years ago. I kept from telling the police because they would have branded it ‘a result of the trauma’ or ‘a trauma induced hallucination’ or the one they commonly used, ‘a coping mechanism’. Also, I hadn’t wanted to believe that any of it was real. Not until I started exhibiting strange abilities. I hugged myself tightly in the shower as the water poured steadily, for some reason I felt slightly cold.
I remembered how alone I felt, not knowing who to talk to about what had happened to me. Nobody would understand, at least I didn’t think they would. How was I to know that the same thing that had caused me nightmares for years and hadn’t quite stopped yet still had affected Juan?
I couldn’t help but feel slightly in awe of him. What he’d done took courage. It had taken guts. Guts I hadn’t been able to summon up for years until he finally helped me and showed me the way. I felt elated that he had trusted me enough to show me this unique ability, I remembered how petrified I was when I imagined anyone finding out, but he showed me. It was because he suspected that I could explain or at least shed some light on what was happening, but it took guts still.
For so many years I wondered about the truth behind what happened, but I never been pushed to ever find out. I hadn’t seen
enough reason in myself alone to go out and search for the truth, but Juan had given me that reason. Something in me had changed and whatever had been withholding my curiosity as regards to that subject had been removed. Now, I wanted to find out what happened to me, and I was certain that with Juan by my side, I had a greater chance of doing that than I did alone.
With that thought in my head, I sighed and turned off the shower, instantly missing the water the moment it stopped running.
I stepped out and dried off, still thinking of the feeling I got when Juan and I teleported. It was indescribable. I wondered if it felt the same way for him.
I grabbed my butterfly sleeve T-shirt and pulled out a pair of leggings from my wardrobe. When I wore them, I grabbed a pair of my most comfortable sneakers. I packed them in case I got the need for an early morning jog when I got to Rosendale. They had come in handy anyway. I turned and laid the bed, keeping my towel on a rack in the bathroom, and then I inspected myself once more in the mirror. I was good to go.
I opened my room door and peered out into the corridor. For some reason, I didn’t want to be seen either. Juan’s need for secrecy had rubbed off on me presumably, but I was glad that no one else was walking along the corridor. Hurrying out before someone came, I locked my door and walked hastily towards Juan’s room.
The room was located about two corridors from mine and surprisingly, I didn’t run into anyone on my way there. Everyone seemed to either be in their room or otherwise engaged somewhere else. For a second, I wondered where Danielle was. I reckoned she was probably in her room dealing with a terrible hangover. It was to be expected, she drank like a sailor at the party, and I couldn’t be sure, but I doubted she was physically equipped for that amount of drinking.
I spotted Juan’s door and hurried towards it, looking behind me to make sure, no one was coming behind me. The need for secrecy was disturbing and I didn’t care much for it, but for some reason, it felt right.
I knocked softly,
“It’s Faye-Minita,” I announced keeping my mouth very close to the door. I got no response. I knocked harder, this time increasing my voice.
Still nothing.
I looked around and braced myself to knock one more time when I felt someone behind me. I turned and my heart skipped several beats.
“Juan! Don’t do that so suddenly, I’m not quite used to it yet. Are you trying kill me?” I asked, trying to steady my breathing.
He apologized, looking repentant and I smiled. I doubt I would ever get used to seeing him appear suddenly out of nowhere. I noticed he was fully dressed as well.
“I’m glad you came. I’ve been trying to listen in on the conversation, but I haven’t really been able to hear much through the air vents.” He said suddenly and I blinked. What?
“What conversation?”
“Oh sorry. The one coming from the room upstairs. It’s an argument of some sort and I tried to listen in, but the conversation isn’t very clear coming through the air vents. I was wondering if we could …you know, sneak in a little closer”.
I blinked twice again at his suggestion. Sneak in and listen? What were we movie spies now? Before I could respond, he was already tiptoeing up the stairs. I cursed slightly under my breath and crept up behind him making sure to stay behind him and make as little noise as was possible.
The voices were getting louder and more frantic as we got higher up the stairs and we could now make out some parts of the exchange. It was obviously an argument, but we were not yet able to make out the owners of the voices until we got to the stairs.
The voices were coming from Tabitha’s room and it seemed the other person with her was Danielle. I looked at him and mouthed “Tabitha and Danielle”. He nodded, putting a finger to his mouth. Then he came closer,
“Don’t scream, I’m going to take us closer”.
I had not fully grasped the implication of his statement when I suddenly felt that familiar, fleeting, weightless sensation and suddenly I found myself in darkness. A hand clamped over my mouth and I struggled slightly. As my eyes adjusted quickly, I could make out Juan’s face and he put a finger to his mouth as he saw I was about to ask why we were both lying in darkness. Suddenly I saw a pair of legs pace across in front of my face and my breath caught in my throat. I looked at Juan wide-eyed and he nodded.
We were under Tabitha’s bed.
Tabitha’s anger oozing out of her chest.
I felt the anger rising in me as I tried to dial the number again. Why was no one picking up? I struggled to keep my calm as I felt the tears threaten to come out, but my struggles were futile and soon a sob escaped my lips.
I tried one of the numbers again and the operator told me that the number was currently not reachable. I tried another and it rang, but no one answered, the third one was the same. I felt frustration grip me and I stared at the phone helplessly. What exactly was happening?
Danielle walked towards me and tried to put her arms around me, but I shrugged her off. What did she think she was trying to do? I didn’t know why, but I suddenly blamed her for everything.
I’d gone to tell the others about Blake, but then I’d changed my mind and told her first instead, and she was here going on about how Blake’s departure was ‘good riddance. How could she? She knew how much I cared about him. How dare she blow off his sudden departure from the mansion like it was nothing? He was my friend.
“Don’t touch me, Danielle,” I yelled, as she tried to comfort me once more. I looked at her and I could feel nothing but anger and sadness.
“You’re the cause of all this. If you hadn’t called us down here, perhaps I would know exactly where Blake was right now”, I heard myself say before I could control myself,
“’Perhaps meaning, you’re not even sure…” Danielle pointed out and I fumed some more. There she went again,
“Blake is not good for you Tabitha, don’t you see that? I only want what’s best for you, you know?” she went on, and for a second, I felt like slapping her,
“Moreover, what’s all that about me having something to do with his sudden disappearance? You know that’s not true. You’re the one who just told me about the text he sent you telling you he left because he ‘didn’t like the vibe he was getting’ isn’t that right?” she asked and I stared daggers at her. Of course, her argument held water, but that made it all the more annoying. I saw the look on her face and I immediately knew what her next statement would be,
“You remember what happened the last time he just up and left like this. He’d gone on a vacation with three girls. C’mon, we’re talking about Blake here, wake up”.
I acknowledged her point quietly, feeling my anger start to subside. It was true what she’d said. Blake did vanish once with the lame excuse that ‘something had come up’ but he’d actually gone on a vacation with three different girls he met at a bar. We had a row over that particular, stupid vacation.
My mind turned to the reason he’d given for his disappearance this time and I noted the difference. Granted, I only saw the difference because I had seen something as well. Something I’d brushed off as a prank at first, but was now starting to seem more real with each passing second.
“Um…” I started, unsure of how to phrase the question, “…Yesterday, I saw something. When Blake and I were down in the generator room. At the time I’d thought it was something silly, like a prank, you know how Blake is, but I don’t know…did you see anything yesterday?” I asked and Danielle arched an eyebrow.
“Creature?” she asked, and I nodded,
“Describe it”.
I turned to Juan abruptly and he nodded. I turned back to the arguing duo wondering, could they be talking about the creature that attacked me? I could not tell for sure, and I listened to Tabitha’s description.
Juan and I had gotten out from under the bed and now peered over the side. As we watched, Danielle’s face took on a look of pity as Tabitha described the creature. I couldn’t blame her, the description sounded o
utlandish, even given what I’d seen.
“Calm down, Tabitha. I know you’re stressed okay? But there is no monster or ‘creature’ in this house, okay hun? You just need to rest” Danielle said, rubbing her stepsister’s shoulder gently.
Tabitha turned away and as I looked at her face, I saw only a strong look of determination on it. She seemed convinced that she had indeed seen something. Then she spoke,
“Where did you have the books from the old library moved to?”
Danielle blinked,
“The books are in the attic. You know what sister? Why don’t you get some rest, you look tired. Just get some rest and tomorrow, you and I will both go and take a look and see if we can find anything, okay?” she asked smiling sweetly at her stepsister.
Tabitha looked doubtful and seemed to consider the offer for a second. Then she gave a resigned sigh and nodded, agreeing to her stepsister’s plan.
I watched the conflicting emotions on Tabitha’s face and felt pity for her. Danielle wandered towards the mirror as I watched. Suddenly, I felt Juan’s hand on my wrist and my stomach lurched and dropped.
I blinked, trying to clear my vision. Everywhere was dark again.
Danielle turned around and looked underneath the bed. Was I imagining what I just saw?
I gasped and turned sharply, scared and shocked by what I had just seen, but there was nothing there. Tabitha turned to me raising an inquisitive eyebrow, but I could not say anything. How could I? I was totally ludicrous.
I looked at the bed, but it was just a mess of clothes with shoes strewn all over the floor. Tabitha had always been a bit sloppy. I wondered what it was that could have made me think I saw what I thought I did. I shook my head and inspected the area once more. “It must have been a trick of the light,” I thought, turning back to face the mirror. I half expected to see them again, but thankfully, they were gone. I looked at the mirror and felt my doubt start to fade. How could I have even come up with something like that?