“Because we can?”
Melika nodded. “Exactly. And we always have been able to. It’s possible, once we started using language, we actually devolved away from telepathic communication like the rest of the animal kingdom. But not all of us. Just as there are still some white Bengal tigers left in the world, there are those of us who can do what the rest cannot.”
“We’re the supernaturals.”
Melika nodded. “Yes, we are. We are the living, breathing impossibilities of our time.” She patted my leg. “Since we are the impossibilities of this age, and if it was ever proven that we truly existed, we would all be forced back into hiding. Do you know why?”
I shook my head.
“Because we would be reduced to lab rats. Scientists would use us to see how to duplicate or replicate our gifts. We would become a giant human guinea pig.”
I was beginning to get it. “Because the government would want to exploit us.”
Melika grinned slightly. “Absolutely. Think what it would do for a president to be able to have an aide who could read the minds of everyone in the room.”
My stomach lurched at the thought. “We would never be free.”
“Never. If governments could tap into what we have, they would do it regardless of what it would mean to our personal freedom. Think about it. We would be poked and prodded like—”
“An alien?”
“Precisely. Our powers are as alien to the world as an extraterrestrial being, so, we must be careful in the real world. Of course, there are those of us who are flashy and out there, but that’s because they rely on the public not to actually believe that what they are seeing is actually happening.”
“Oh wow. That’s scary.”
“Indeed. There are those of us who use our powers for personal gain. Unethical use of any of our powers can result in a rather unpleasant visit from some in our community to whom we must all heed.”
My eyebrows rose. “We have people we are responsible to?”
Melika cocked her head. “Why to all of us, my dear. Each of us is responsible to the other and to our community as a whole. The protection of our existence is a necessary component of our lives. Those who put others at risk are…dealt with.”
“Dealt with? Sounds ominous.”
“It can be. We must protect ourselves from society at large as well as from each other. I will show you how to do both.” Melika brought her hair forward and began working on a thick braid. “You, my dear, are an incredibly powerful empath, and when we are done with your lessons, it will be up to you to locate those who haven’t yet lost their battle with insanity. You will, like my son, become a spotter in order to save those who need help. When you do, you will bring them here, to me, for the same help and guidance you’re getting. That is the only deal on the table for you. In exchange for the semblance of a normal life, you must agree to help others like you.”
“How will I find them?”
“You’ll know. Some will be beyond help. Others won’t want it. But for those who do, you must reach out to them in the same way Big George did for you.”
I nodded and said nothing.
“You will, at times, see those who choose to make money from their gifts. Case in point are two of those men on television who speak to the dead.”
“No way. You mean—”
“What I mean, dear girl, is that we are everywhere. Some of us do manage to make a living using our gifts because what we do cannot be scientifically proven, such as speaking to the dead or reading the future. They are, in some ways, safe from the prying eyes of our government, so they are allowed to do what they do.”
“Allowed by? You make it sound so mysterious.”
“No mystery, Echo, just protectiveness. One day, when you need to know, you will.”
Leaning back, I heaved a huge sigh. It was so much to take in.
“Yes, it is, which is why we are just chatting. Before we can even start helping you understand and utilize your powers, you must first understand the nature of the supernatural community to which you now belong.”
“Supernatural is such a…weird word.”
“I prefer supernatural over paranormal. I try to excise the word normal out of my vocabulary. There is nothing normal about us. When we wake up every morning, we must create shields, deal with excessive energies, protect ourselves against psychic vampires, and try not to let our powers ruin our lives.”
Psychic vampires?
“A crisis turned your powers on, so to speak. They were always there, laying dormant, waiting for the right chemicals to flip the switch. Your switch was flipped, my dear, and that’s why you felt what that boy wanted from you.”
I thought about poor Todd’s head. “But I think I could have killed him.”
“No, you wouldn’t have. You would have felt his life ebbing away and come to your senses. You’re no killer, Echo.”
I bowed my head and tried to keep the tears from coming. Melika reached over and touched my knee. “You’re not alone and you’re no freak. You have a gift. I’m going to show you just how special that gift is.”
“But how did I get it?”
“Clairempaths, which is what you are, come by their powers genetically. Somewhere in your family history there are others with similar powers.”
“I wouldn’t know. I’m an orphan. My birth name is—”
“Jane Doe. Yes, I know. I know a great deal more about you than you realize.” She smiled. “I have a few powers of my own.”
We stayed on the water talking about life, about other supers she had taught and how each of them managed to find their own way. I told her about Danica and how much I missed her. To my surprise, Melika promised I could talk to her tomorrow, when I went in to town. This perked me up immediately. It was one thing to escape from the psych ward, but I felt so cut-off from the rest of the world out here on the Bayou.
The best part was how calm I had suddenly become. Melika had called it stabilizing. She said it was important for me to clear out the energies from the psych ward and settle down from all the anxiety and fear I had been experiencing. I have to say that sleep really helped. I felt rested for the first time in forever. No night terrors had made their way into my sleep.
When the bugs started eating us, Melika showed me how to start the motor so we could head back up the Bayou more easily. If you’ve never been in the Louisiana Bayou, the best way I can describe it is a water labyrinth. There are main thoroughfares, side streets, inlets and assorted waterways, none of which were marked with any sort of sign. There was absolutely nothing to let you know where you were and it all looked the same. All of it.
But I quickly realized it only appeared that way. As Melika pointed out various trees and other landmarks, I started to see the Bayou through different eyes. There were too many greens to name, various trees of all sizes, and scenery more stunning than any I had ever seen. I was beginning to understand why some people never left here.
Actually, I was beginning to understand me.
I wasn’t a freak after all. I had a chromosome or something natural that gave me supernatural powers I need not be afraid of. I needed training. I needed understanding. I needed to be exactly where I was.
When we finally returned to the cute little cottage, Jacob was waiting on the dock. “What is it, Jacob?”
“Another incoming, ma’am,” Jacob said, holding up a cell phone. “TK.”
Melika nodded solemnly. “I’ve been expecting him. Where is he?”
“Atlanta.”
She nodded. “Tip packed and ready?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Thank you, Jacob.” Melika took his hand as he helped her from the boat. When she got out, she turned and helped me out. “Tomorrow, we will discuss how to protect yourself, how to reserve your energy, how to make everything work in your life. You need not ever be afraid here. You are safe. I know that you have never had a real family, but I’d like you to consider all of us here one.”
&
nbsp; I swallowed hard and nodded. “I’d like that. I’d like that a lot.”
And with that, for the first time in my life, I had a family.
No wonder I had slept so well.
After I was well-rested and well-fed, it was time to get down to the real lessons. Tip had gone off to Atlanta, leaving me and Jacob to tend to the many chores around the cottage. The weather was mild in the Bayou, but without electricity, Melika had to cook by a fire that was always burning. There was also a brick barbecue on the side that she used as well. Let me tell you, that woman could cook. I think I gained ten pounds the first ten minutes I was there. It was a good thing I had chores or it would have been twenty.
It’s weird to think that my Bayou experience was the closest thing to a normal family I had ever had, but that was the truth. Jacob was the most respectful young man I had ever met. Melika, though not motherly in the slightest, was like a parent in that she had expectations for us to fulfill. We had to rest, eat well, do our chores and be respectful of each other and our environment. Once we finished with our morning chores, our first lesson started, and it wasn’t at all what I thought it would be.
“The average stay with me is three or four years. I know it seems like a long time, but gaining complete control of your powers is a long and often complicated journey. It is not easy and there are no shortcuts, but it will mean the difference between having a real life and possibly having none at all.”
I gulped hard. I couldn’t imagine being in the Bayou a year, let alone four. What would happen to my real life? Were those days long gone and I hadn’t even grieved its death?
“There are two ways out of your power; suicide and insanity. Many choose the former after long battles with the latter. To successfully master yourselves, you must invest fully in the process. Everyone’s process is different just like everyone’s powers are different. What I teach Jacob I may not teach you. Do you understand?”
I nodded.
“Good. Now, since Jacob has been here so long, he is in charge of this week’s morning lessons. When you finish your work, he will take you out on the water and educate you about this new environment. It is important you understand your surroundings at all times.”
“Is that part of the process?”
Melika nodded and ran her hand up and down her walking stick. “Oh yes. You see, a super must always familiarize herself with her environment. It should be the first thing you do wherever you go. Knowing your environment keeps you safer. Always be aware of the hazards and pitfalls of every environment, that way you can be prepared.” Melika rose and walked out to the edge of the dock. “Were you prepared when Todd overtook you? Did you see anything in your surroundings you could have used as a weapon? Did you see any way out besides violence?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“You felt the threat and acted, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Had you been more aware of your environment, you might have had other choices. A life without options is not a life worth living. The more you understand the Bayou, the more you’ll know about life. The Bayou is life.”
At first, I wondered if maybe this was a mistake. I didn’t see how knowing about the Bayou was going to help me. I thought maybe this was a big, fat waste of time.
But Melika had been so right about the Bayou being life. That day, Jacob opened my mind and my world. I saw a texture and layers to the world around me I never knew existed. In Oakland, a tree was a tree. Here, every tree served a purpose, every plant important to the whole. If we don’t learn the interconnectedness of the universe, how can we ever truly be a part of it? How can you know yourself if you haven’t combed the depths of your being?
I felt full of life and energy only nature provides. I understood why Melika sent me out on a boat with Jacob, and I started looking forward to it every morning. He was a great teacher and I learned more about biology and life from him in one week than I learned from any teacher in any school.
That afternoon, Melika took me out into the backwoods behind the cottage and there was a firepit with several stumps for sitting. It would become one of my favorite places in the world.
“I come out here because we need to be away from any potential emotional energies. What we have to do needs to be done undisturbed. You already know shields help empaths keep out extra emotional energy from others so you aren’t overwhelmed. The edge of it works as a psychic alarm. The stronger you are, the better and longer the shield holds up. Now, there are many things that will quickly erode a shield: stress, negative emotions from others, and lack of sleep can deteriorate a shield as well, which is why I want you to eat and sleep well. Anytime your physical body is out of balance, you are vulnerable to attack.”
“Attack?”
“Yes. An attack can be from the wave of emotions coming in through your shield, or it can be an attack from another psionic being. Rest, time alone and meditation are wise, so before I teach you how to create a shield, I’ll need to show you how to meditate effectively. Meditation is a huge key, but it must be done effectively. Many people don’t know how to meditate the correct way, and there is definitely a right way for our purpose.”
Who would have thought it would take me two months; two long, grueling months just to learn how to meditate. For a while there, I thought I was just slow. Come to find out, energy cannot easily be called upon or contained without the proper mental approach. It just took me awhile to get to that point. It wouldn’t be long before I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t get it, either.
After my first week there, Tip returned to the Bayou from Atlanta with another student. His name was Zack and he had also just come into his powers.
Only his powers were not empathic in nature. Zack was a TK, or a telekinetic. Tip referred to him as a mover; someone who could move objects using the energy from his mind. Zack, a twelve-year-old boy from Savannah, Georgia, was a redheaded boy with freckles and a bad haircut. Tall and lanky, you just knew kids teased him all the time.
Soon I realized it was a mistake to tease someone with out-of-control telekinetic abilities. A TK is a very powerful being, indeed, and I saw how powerful he was the moment he arrived.
When Zack stepped off Bones’ boat, he was just like I had been: disoriented, exhausted and on the edge. I could feel his tender emotions and fear as he got off the boat and looked around. As he started up the steps, he lost his balance, and when Tip reached out to help him, Zack, out of fear, put his arm out straight toward Tip knocking her to the ground without ever touching her. It was the most amazing thing I had seen in my life. From then on, Tip gave him a wide berth, and sometimes when Zack would leave the room, Tip muttered under her breath, “Spoon bender.”
I would find out later what that meant.
Shielding was, by far, the hardest lesson I had ever learned. I don’t know why I thought it was something I could learn in a day or so, but boy, was I wrong. This was the single most important skill Melika had to teach me. Without it, without being really efficient at erecting it, maintaining it, stabilizing it and lowering it without incident, my chances to live out a semi-normal life were slim-to-none. I wanted a life. No, I wanted a normal life insomuch as I had never had one. I’d been in and out of so many foster homes.
Until I came to the Bayou.
Every day was different on the Bayou. The weather changed on an hourly basis, the creatures were unlike anything else I had ever seen, and the river itself seemed to change on a whim. I loved it. I never saw myself as a naturalist, never gave much thought to the world around me. I paid very close attention to the people around me. You did that when you lived in the ghetto. It was ghetto back then. We didn’t pretty up the ugly nature of the ghetto with euphemisms like inner city or ’hood. It was the ghetto.
You can spray gold flecks on a dog turd and it would still be a turd. So, when I lived in turdville, I paid really close attention to gangs of every color, drug dealers of every race, prostitutes of every shape, and pimpmobiles of every ma
ke. For your physical safety in the ghetto, you paid attention or you paid a price.
Out in the Bayou, you did the same for the same reasons. I learned to love the sound of the ’gators as they slid off the muddy banks. They made a distinctive sound in the water that no longer frightened me. There were hawks whose calls were music to my ears, and insects whose nightly serenade sent me to sleep.
And then there were the various characters who came and went. There was the French-speaking woodcutter, a grocery delivery woman with only one eye, and a gardener of sorts who had a boa wrapped around his neck.
And then there was Bishop.
Bishop was Melika’s very colorful mother, and it was her powers that had eventually brought the family from the West Indies to a plantation in Georgia. When she was finally able to free herself from the debts of her “boss,” Bishop went straight to New Orleans and opened up what was to become one of the most profitable tarot reading businesses in the state of Louisiana. Bigwigs, CEOs, restaurateurs and drag queens came to her for advice, solace and a glimpse into their future. But Bishop wasn’t a twenty dollar an hour shill pretending to read cards. Bishop had the sight: the pinnacle of all clairvoyant powers.
The first time I met her was my third week in the Bayou. Melika and I were working on building a shield I could keep up for more than a minute, when Bishop and her boatman pulled up to our dock.
Melika and I walked out to the porch. “Oh Lordy,” Melika said under her breath. “She’s earlier than usual.”
“Is that her?” I whispered. “Your mother?” Jacob had told me about Bishop on one of our morning Bayou trips. She was some big voodoo priestess who scared half the population of New Orleans. They lived and died by her readings, paying a small fortune to see what lay ahead.
What I saw in the boat was a thin woman draped in all black and wearing a hat. She must have stood less than four feet eight. Her boatman helped her out of the boat, but he remained there staring at her.
More Than an Echo (Echo Branson Series) Page 6