by Lizzy Ford
The house felt empty of inhabitants. Only the chirping of birds outside the open window broke the steady hum of the refrigerator. The large wooden table was clean, all six placemats perfectly spaced around a lovely centerpiece of wildflowers Keegan’s mom must have picked. Anna put a hand to the tabletop and closed her eyes, just allowing the peace of the home to overtake her. She needed it.
Keegan crept up behind Anna silently, trying not to laugh. Her best friend was off in space and had no idea she was there. She focused her mind again and, amid the tingling, she materialized before tapping her friend’s shoulder. “Gotcha!”
Anna turned and laughed, feigning surprise.
Oh Keegan, I always know when you are there. If you only knew that I have secrets of my own.
Anna never let on because she knew Keegan enjoyed winning. It was a small price to pay to keep her best friend happy.
As usual, Anna’s green eyes were outlined in heavy eyeliner-- blue today-- and her lashes were long and thick. She had shimmery pink lip gloss on her pencil-lined lips; she looked like a rock star.
Keegan glanced over her eccentric friend’s outfit to see what style she’d adopted for the day. Her bangs, which she habitually pushed to the side, were now purple beneath a black top hat that only Anna could have pulled off. The rest of the day’s ensemble of choice consisted of a grey tank top, a blue cardigan, and a pink skirt with bright yellow flowers that came just above her knees. To pull the look together she wore sparkly silver Converse shoes.
“You know I hate you,” Keegan said with a grin, bumping her best friend’s shoulder playfully with her own.
Anna stared at Keegan indignantly, her skinny arms crossing her chest. “Why would you hate me?”
“Who else could pull off that outfit and make it look natural?” Keegan said.
Anna gave a little curtsy and giggled. “Thank you.”
“You are not going to believe what happened today!” Anna continued, grinning from ear to ear and jumping up and down so that her skirt flounced and her shoes caught the sunlight shining through the window. Sparkles danced across the walls of the kitchen like a disco ball.
Playing along, Keegan bounced up and down and said, “Let me guess, Xavier finally asked you out?”
“I wish!” For a brief moment, the excited look vanished from Anna’s face and was replaced with sadness. Xavier had been her friend since childhood. Anna had recently realized her feelings for him were more than friendship, but sadly, he did not return her feelings.
“All right, just tell me what has you so excited,” Keegan said.
“Well, I was walking to the bus when I saw a sign for a New Age fair tomorrow!” Anna jumped up and down. “It’s a sign. We must go!”
Keegan grinned. “Anna, you seriously believe in all that nonsense?”
Looking shocked Anna replied, “Certainly! There has to be something more in this world than what the average eye sees.”
If you only knew Anna, there is so much more to this world than humans know, Keegan thought. However, she was not about to reveal that knowledge.
“Don’t forget to call Lauren and fill her in,” Keegan told her.
“But of course,” Anna said, pressing a hand to her chest innocently. “If there were only the two of us we couldn’t be called the three amigos.”
Keegan rolled her eyes, laughing.
The girls popped some popcorn and chatted in front of the television for a while, muting the commercials and blaring the reality show they both loved. When she had to leave, Anna gave Keegan a hug and headed out.
With a little time to kill before she would be tired, Keegan decided to look through her photos again. Her favorite was a photo of a leaf blowing by itself in the wind. It reminded her of herself. She often felt all alone, just floating along. As much as she loved hanging out with her human friends, like the time she had just spent hanging with Anna, she wished she could tell them what she truly was.
Staring at her photos she realized her favorite thing to photograph was the beauty of nature. There was something fascinating about the outdoors. It amazed her that she could document the seasons as they changed through photographs. Elves loved nature and that was something she hoped evolution never changed.
She put the camera and computer away; Keegan knew she should go to bed. Time always seemed to get away from her when she found herself caught up in the editing and uploading of her photos. It was hard enough for her to wake up on time, not to mention when she stayed up all hours of the night.
Keegan put on her favorite plaid pajamas and crawled into bed, pulling her purple blanket under her chin. A faint smile played on her lips as she thought of Anna’s eagerness for the fair tomorrow. It would probably be fun.
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Table of Contents
Damian’s Immortal
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
CHAPTER 1