Eternity (Circle of Light)

by April Margeson

  Eric was in digging a hole in his yard. I watched him as he lowered a sapling into the hole and covered it up. His shirtless back glistened in the afternoon sun. Just looking at him takes my breath away. Tearing myself from the window, I went downstairs. The thought of him hiding in the shadows watching me filled my mind. Had he been the one that the voice had been warning me about the day in the park? It couldn’t have been. There is a sense of good that comes from him. But my mother has always said, “Be careful who you trust. Even the Devil was once an angel.” The memory of her words rattled in my head.

  CHAPTER 3

  Mom was already in the kitchen. I must have stood in the window staring at Eric for longer than I had realized.

  “What do you want for dinner Bailey?” She called as I came down the stairs.

  “Hey Mom!” I said. “How about we get some takeout and some movies?” I asked hardly able to control my excitement. I feel like a child when she comes home and the urgency of wanting to be near her immediately takes over.

  With a sneaky grin on her face she said, “What do you think about some pizza?”

  “Perfect!” I replied.

  “Let's go.” she said as she grabbed the car keys.

  We picked up a few scary movies at the video store in town. Mom decided to go ahead and pick up the pizza instead of waiting for it to be delivered and that was a great idea because we were both starving. I couldn’t remember ever being so hungry.

  She talked about her day. She had interviewed over ten people today. Everyone in her firm was hopeful about several of the applicants. They had decided to hire three more attorneys instead of just one. I could hear the relief in her voice. The tired, stressed tone of her voice was replaced with a new bright, hopeful sound that warmed the air around her. It seemed like the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders.

  As we turned the corner at our house, I looked over to Eric’s house curiously. He was sitting on his front steps with his head in his hands. He looked so miserable to me. All I wanted to do was jump out of this car and run as fast as I could over to him and hug him. But remembering his odd reaction earlier, I wasn’t so sure I would be welcome. Seeing him like that made me very sad.

  Mom had noticed my sudden change in attitude. “Bailey, sweetie, is everything ok?” She asked.

  “Yeah, everything is fine Mom. Why wouldn’t it be?” I replied with the best fake smile I could manage. Lying to her wasn’t something I was comfortable doing, but how was I going to explain what was going on? Surely, it wasn’t going to be a good thing for her to know all the freaky things that were going on with me right now.

  “Well, I seen the boy over there looking pretty sad, and I saw how you reacted when you saw him.” Mom explained.

  “You like him?” She asked very to the point.

  “Yeah, I like him a lot.” I said without thinking. “But weird stuff has happened.” Instantly, I wished I had just kept my mouth shut.

  “Weird stuff?” Her tone changed. “What do you mean?”

  I had to cover for myself fast. I couldn’t let her know about the dreams and the voices. She would have me to a psychiatrist before I could say crazy. “He’s just not from here. He’s kind of weird is all.” I didn’t know what else to say, but my response seemed to turn her attention away from what I had said. I was proud of that.

  “I assume that he likes you as well?”

  “I’m not sure, really. He seems like he does.”

  Mom seemed to enjoy hearing me talk about being interested in a boy. Truthfully, I enjoyed telling her. I told her about everything that happened with me and Eric today as I grabbed the pizza and headed into the house. She buzzed with excitement, but I’m sure it was only due to the fact that I was. I had to leave out several parts of my day with Eric. She didn’t need to know everything. There are some things that shouldn’t be told. What had happened today was one of them. I knew that if I had told my mother she would cart me off to the hospital again. I didn’t want that.

  We had always had a special kind of relationship. I don’t think there is anything that I couldn’t talk to her about. Anything except for this.

  She doesn’t judge me, even though she may not always agree with me. She is my mother and my best friend all wrapped up in one and I love her so much. I don’t know what I would do without her. But this was something that I was going to have to keep to myself. At least for now.

  When I was little she would always find a way to curb any fears I had. I had an unnatural fear of the dark. It was to the point that I actually slept with my bedroom light on. That all came to an abrupt end when I started getting sick all the time. Come to find out, the immune system needs complete darkness to heal. Who would have known?

  I was always dressed extremely well and I guess you could call me spoiled, but I had been no stranger to discipline. My parents weren’t strict, but they were very clear on what was expected of me. And I dared not to disappoint them if at all possible. I, occasionally, slipped up from time to time, but nothing too bad.

  We went into the kitchen and we each grabbed a few slices of pizza, throwing them onto a paper plate and headed to the living room to start watching a movie. I sat my pizza down on the coffee table and told Mom that I would be right back. She gave me a quick smile and I took it that she knew what I was going to do.

  I ran upstairs to change into my pajamas real fast. As I was leaving my room, I checked my phone. There were no calls or texts from Eric. I was worried about him and I hope that he was alright. After seeing him on his porch like that I felt like I had a hole in my heart the size of Texas. I wanted to talk to him. Maybe just to ask him if he is alright, but I wouldn’t dare miss the chance to spend time with my mom. The time we have together are few and very far between.

  Mom was waiting on me when I got back down to the living room. She had already started eating. I plopped down on the couch and grabbed a slice of pizza from my plate, hungrily taking a bigger bite than I should have. As I chewed, I opened my phone to check my messages one last time.

  She caught me sending Eric a text even though I tried to hide it. She smiled and let out a silly giggle. I couldn’t help but to laugh with her. I was desperately wishing he would hurry and text back. I couldn’t stand not knowing what was wrong with him and why he had reacted the way that he did earlier today.

  Hours passed by with no reply from him. I had a gut feeling that he didn’t want to talk to me. I just didn’t know why. Had I done something wrong? I didn’t think I did.

  Mom and I watched the movies and talked for hours. After a while Mom was fighting going to sleep. We had just started the second movie when I faked a yawn and told her that I was so sleepy I could hardly stand it anymore. She agreed and turned off the TV. I kissed her on the cheek and said goodnight.

  I hated our night had come to an end. We didn’t get many together lately. It gave me a slight homesick feeling. I missed hanging out with her. I walked slowly up the stairs and into my room. I closed my bedroom door behind me, not even bothering to turn the light on.

  I went straight to my window and looked over at Eric’s house. I could only see one light on. The rest of the house was dark. It was obviously his bedroom.

  I knew he couldn’t see me since my light wasn’t on, but I could sure see him and he was beautiful. All I wanted to do was be with him. Just talk to him. To be near him. Something. The longing feeling was almost unbearable.

  He was sitting on his bed. He was probably watching TV or something like that. I watched him for a while as he sat there unmoving. Finally, he stood up and took his shirt off. My heart stopped for a second, then began racing out of control. I don’t think I even took a breath when he did it.

  He went to his dresser and took out something. I couldn’t tell exactly what it was. It was just a minute until I realized it was shorts. The heat of embarrassment washed over my face as I found myself watching him changing out of his jeans and into shorts.

  I couldn’t believe th
at I was doing that. He would have a fit if he knew I watched him change. At least he still had boxers on. I would have fallen over dead if he hadn't. I was still creepy of me to be doing something like this. I was being a peeping tom. How disturbing.

  Honestly, I couldn’t help myself. It was like watching an angel spread its wings. The fact that he changed facing an open window seemed like an open invitation. Anyone would have been tempted to look. What can I say? I’m human.

  Soon after he changed his clothes he turned out the light. I sat there a few more minutes and realized how sleepy I was. There was no use in trying to fight it. I had to get in bed or I was going to end up going to sleep right here.

  I got into bed and pulled the comforter up over my shoulder. I checked my phone one last time. Nothing. I laid my phone on my bedside table and turned over. As soon as I did, my phone started vibrating. It was a text from Eric.

  I took a deep breath and opened my phone. I didn’t expect to see this kind of message from him. The message read. Goodnight Princess.

  Before I realized what I had wrote in reply I hit the send button. I looked back at my message and read words that I couldn’t believe I had typed.

  “Goodnight my angel.”

  “Great.” I said aloud. Here’s to feeling like a total idiot. I had spied on him and sent a really dumb message. After I closed my phone, I closed my eyes. My every thought was about him. Sweet dreams of Eric flooded my sleep. His beauty seemed to be intensified in my dream. He was beyond words. Almost unearthly. I reveled in the wonderful dream. That is, until the Queens appeared and interrupted me.

  Each of their beauty was still beyond belief. If I was going to have to see them on a regular basis, I’m definitely going to have to get used to the way they look. It’s just so hard. They are breathtaking in every way imaginable.

  I decided that it was now or never, so I asked, “Why did u choose me?”

  Even though, I had asked the same question to the Earth Queen before. Air Queen replied, “Because you are worthy of our gifts. You are believed a pure soul that will use our powers with purpose.” Every one of the Queens nodded in agreement.

  “There is one more thing that we need to discuss.” Earth Queen said. Somehow, I got a feeling that I wasn’t going to like this.

  “In order for your powers to grow to full potential you must unite with your mate.” she said firmly.

  “My mate?” I asked.

  Why in the world would I have a mate? I’m just a week away from graduating high school and more than that, I’m only seventeen. I wasn’t planning on mating with anyone any time soon.

  Suddenly thoughts of Eric came to my mind. I laughed out loud.

  “Your mate can create the balance in your power as well as you can his. Neither of your powers will work properly without the other. You can still use them, but the true magic lies within the bond between both of you. The stronger the bond, the stronger the magic.” I couldn’t tell which one of them had said that. All of their voices were similar.

  I watched as they all disappeared just as quickly as they had appeared. I hated that too. Would it kill them to warn me in advance? Is that asking too much?

  I woke with a renewed energy. It was almost like I had been sleeping for a very long time. I guess since I am supposedly blessed with all this power I should get on with figuring out how to use it. I just didn’t know how to go about it.

  Several possibilities came to mind. I remembered how Piper from Charmed could freeze things in midair. So, I picked up a pencil and tossed it in the air. I held out my hands the same way she did in the show, but the pencil fell to the floor. I should have known that wouldn’t work, but it was sure worth a try.

  I continued tossing the pencil, trying a different approach every time. Nothing worked. I gave up and threw my hands in the air. As soon as I did, the pencil went flying up and stuck in the ceiling.

  The force that it flew through the air shocked me. Standing there, looking at the pencil sticking into the ceiling, I couldn’t believe it. I finally did it. Now I just have to figure out how I did it. But first, I have to get the pencil down.

  I grabbed my desk chair and positioned it under the pencil. I seriously doubted I could reach it even from the chair, but it was worth a shot. I reached for the pencil, but it was no use. The ceilings are way too high. I think I’m going to have to find a ladder to get it down. Giving it one last shot, I reached for it again.

  “Man, I really need that pencil.” I said aloud. I was starting to become frustrated.

  It seemed to be getting closer to me for some reason. I looked down at my feet, and I was in the air, not touching the chair at all. But before I could look back at the ceiling for the pencil, my head hit it hard. I started falling fast down to the floor and I was forced to take in a deep breath and hold it. I stopped just short of slamming into the floor.

  I let out the breath I was holding, while expecting to hit the floor so hard that it would break one of my bones, but I didn’t. My body was suspended in midair and I wasn’t very sure how I was going to get back on the floor again. I cautiously looked around trying not to even disturb the air around me. I was floating about an inch above the floor.

  The only way I am going to find out how this is going to turn out is to make a movement. With my eyes tightly shut, a gritted teeth grin, and my breath held in my chest, I moved my hand to the floor. Next, I placed both feet flat on the carpet and stood up. I didn’t fall so I was relieved.

  My window was still open, so I figured that would be as good as an example as any. Hopefully, I won’t break it. Dad would definitely kill me if I did. I took a deep breath and thought of the window gently closing. As I watched it, it began to close slowly. That was so cool, I thought to myself. The room immediately turned about ten degrees cooler. Ok, so I’m going to have to watch my thought process a little better. Back to normal, I thought to myself.

  The remote to my stereo was lying on top of the dresser. I held my hand out and I guess you could say, commanded the remote with my mind. Within seconds it was in my hand. I giggled out loud. This is absolutely amazing. To be able to have such power could seriously make my life a whole lot easier. All those weird television shows will sure come in handy now.

  After an hour or so of moving things around my room, I decided to take a break.

  A thought came to my mind about changing my appearance. If I can do that I can do just about anything. I went into the bathroom and looked at my reflection. I wondered what I could change. Maybe my hair would look good blonde.

  My hair color changed from deep brown to blonde right before my eyes and soon everything about me had changed in one way or another. My eyes were bright blue with a slight gray tint. My skin was darker than normal.

  This was completely unbelievable. Just imagine the possibilities. I could go anywhere I want to go and nobody would ever be the wiser. No one would know me. Now, knowing how to use that power could really come in handy. I stood there looking in the mirror for a while experimenting with different facial attributes. I soon got bored with the whole glamour power and changed myself back.

  I was feeling somewhat restless, so I decided to get dressed and go outside for a while. I looked around for my cell phone, but I couldn’t find it. There is no telling where it is. I was so sure that I had laid it on my bed, but it was nowhere to be found. I looked over my room one last time before deciding to try and use my power to locate it.

  I closed my eyes and thought of my phone. As soon as I finished the thought I could see my phone lying under the bottom corner of my bed. I opened my eyes thinking to myself that there was absolutely no way that my phone could be there. I bent down and reached under the bed and there it was. I felt a sense of pride in myself. I could definitely do some good with the gifts I have been given. There were several text messages on my phone. All of them where from Eric. The first one caught me off guard. I wasn’t expecting a reply from him after I had sent him the message calling him my angel. I had no ide
a why I had called him that. Something just came over me and I did it without thinking.

  Unfortunately, I couldn’t change it now. I’m not sure I even would, to tell the truth. The first message read, Am I really your angel?

  Yeah you are, I thought to myself. I was seriously infatuated with him.

  I opened the next one. It read. Goodnight, beautiful. That one almost took my breath away. The last one simply said, Dream of me.

  I was shocked. My heart felt like it was swollen and burning with a fire of a thousand suns. Prickling feelings shot all over my skin, leaving behind goose bumps. He really did like me. Catching my breath, I headed to the back door and outside.

  The sun was bright and warm on my skin. It was certainly warm for this time of the morning. I had picked my outfit perfectly, hoping that Eric might be outside. As I noticed what time it was, the hope dwindled a bit. It was way too early for a teenage guy to be out of bed. At least he wasn’t going to be able to catch me experimenting around with the new powers I have.

  I had denim shorts, and a spaghetti strap top on. I had brought a light sweater with me expecting the breeze to be cool. I was totally wrong. I left the sweater on the swing since I wasn’t going to need it. I strolled around the yard trying to come up with ideas for practice. After a while of looking, I started to think there wasn’t going to be anything to do back here. Nothing that wouldn’t draw attention from the neighbors anyway.

  I circled the small rose garden that Mom had planted when we first moved in and I remember the day she planted the one in the middle. She was so happy she had found the white rose she was looking for. I felt terrible when it bloomed because instead of being white, it was a weird cream color. She was so disappointed that she actually came to tears over it.

  I softly stroked the petals as I imagined them being as white as snow. I prayed that this task wouldn’t be the one that I couldn't accomplish. Thankfully, it worked. The petals turned bright white. The reflection of the morning sun bouncing off the roses almost hurt my eyes just to look at them. Mom would freak out when she saw those for sure. That bothered her so much that she hated to even sit in the garden.