Colorblind (The Soul Light Chronicles)

by Aaron Slade

  “You want to have dinner?” I asked.

  “Tonight,” he said. “At my house– with my family.”

  My heart fluttered. This was the moment I’d been waiting for. “That would be… perfect.” I was lost for words. The only words that came to mind were the horribly cliché ones like perfect.

  “Meet me after school and I’ll drive you to my house,” he said.

  I walked by Sara at the study table and gave her a thumbs-up that I made sure Casper couldn’t see. Her face lit up with excitement. Once I was outside the door, I fell back and leaned on it to contain my anticipation.

  By the time the final bell rang, I’d already called Dad to let him know my plans and finished all my homework in study hall. Dad seemed hesitant about me going anywhere other than home, but when I explained it was at Principal Vance’s house, he gave me permission. Dad was all about having the right connections.

  I beamed next to Casper, walking to his car in what felt like a surreal dream– despite the unpleasant, arid heat outside. I was going to his house to meet his family. Shannon said they would adore me, but I still felt this heavy pressure to make a good impression. I hated knowing the future.

  “So I should probably warn you about a few things,” Casper said. “My mom is going to be overwhelming and you can expect my uncle to act like an annoying little brother. He can read minds, but don’t worry. If he hears anything he shouldn’t, he usually keeps it to himself. And don’t mind my dad. He has a morbid sense of humor outside of school. And if my uncle stares a lot…” His mouth was moving a million miles a minute. He looked over to make sure he wasn’t scaring me when he finished warning me about his family.

  “I’ll be fine,” I said. “I didn’t know you had an uncle.”

  Casper pointed at his red car. “Yeah… he lives with us. He’s kind of a recluse and he doesn’t leave the house– at all.”

  “What’s he afraid of?” I asked curiously.

  “He’s terrified of a social life, I think,” he answered, letting out a small laugh. “But in all seriousness, he might be a little… crazy. I’m not totally sure.”

  The graffiti on Casper’s car caught my eye, but he ignored it as if it was normal. How could our classmates be so ugly to him by vandalizing his car? The more time I spent with Casper, the more I understood that being human was such a miniscule part of him, but the people of Fallon felt differently. The worst thing was that Casper allowed them to treat him that way– it was as if he surrendered to the idea that he was somehow inferior. Walking through the crowd of students in the parking lot, he kept his head down, staring only at the ground. Most of our classmates ignored him, but a few looked at him as if making sure he kept his head low. We got in his car, and he pulled out of the parking lot unusually fast.

  His hand rested next to mine on the middle console as we drove through the unfamiliar network of city blocks in Fallon. I watched his eyes stare at my hand as if he was debating whether or not to hold it in his.

  “You can hold my hand if you like,” I said.

  He laughed. “Does it not take away from the romance that I’m too scared to ask?” He looked embarrassed. “First you had to convince me to ask you out, and now you have to tell me to hold your hand.”

  “What if I told you that I’m just as nervous as you?” I said.

  “I wouldn’t believe you,” he answered. “You’re way more confident than I am.”

  “Well trust me, I’m nervous.”

  He placed his hand in mine, feeling a bit braver, but we were already parking in the driveway outside his house.

  “We made it in five minutes,” he said. Excitement filled his voice. “Not my best time, but it’s close.” He laughed.

  “What’s your obsession with time?” I asked. “You always quote times to Adam in the mornings.”

  “Well,” he started, “my mom’s a speedster and my dad and Adam are both teleporters. Everyone in my life moves so much quicker than I do. I keep time so that I’m always moving at my fastest… I don’t want to get left behind.” He made it sound like he was handicapped.

  “I think you’re OCD or something,” I joked. “Besides, it’s nice to stop and smell the roses occasionally– you can’t do that if you’re always in a rush.” I was surprised at my words– I should follow my own advice.

  It wasn’t a big house, just a medium one-story simple structure, but astoundingly charming. Rosy azaleas blossomed along the front of the house, and the wind blew the tiny petals into the grass. Greenery and ivy flourished in the landscape and put every yard around it to shame. Someone unmistakably had a green thumb in the Vance family. The house was white with dark shutters on the numerous windows.

  But it was more than just a house in my eyes– it was a home. I knew the difference well. Over the years, the Military had placed Dad and me in several houses, but never a home. Somehow I could feel the love and care that dwelled in the home in front of me. Without me noticing, Casper opened my door.

  “So this is it,” he said. “Home sweet home.” He sang the words, sending chills down my arms. We walked up steps to an unfinished deck built around a side-entrance to his house. Lawn furniture and a fire pit decorated the deck, as well as a hammock that looked as if it was used often. Casper opened the front door and gestured for me to enter.

  I walked into a small coat room that connected to the kitchen. The Nevada sun shone through a large window, filling the kitchen with its yellow rays. I couldn’t stay in the kitchen long because the allure of the living room mesmerized me. The room connected to the kitchen, but had a completely different decor. Ancient maps hung on the walls in golden frames. The walls were beige and trimmed with ivory, complimented by the marble figures placed around the room. The old world decorum brilliantly captured his dad’s passion for history.

  “It’s lovely,” I said. “Who decorates?”

  “My mom. She likes to stay busy with lots of projects.”

  “I love the colors in here. Where did these statues come from?”

  “My mom came across them in her work,” he said. He walked over to a honey-colored statue of a man with the head of a bird, placing his hand on the figure’s beak. “This is Horace. He’s from ancient times. He’s not even of this land. We don’t know much about these sculptures, but they leave a lot to the imagination. Feel the smoothness of the stone.”

  I reached out to touch the beak, positioning my hand next to Casper’s. “Wow,” I said, admiring the statue. “What’s it made of?”

  “Alabaster,” Casper said. “This one is hand carved, which is why my mom likes it so much.”

  “Your mom must have a great job if she gets to study things like this,” I said.

  “She’s the curator at the museum here in Fallon,” he said.

  “The smallest survival city in the land has a museum?” I asked, laughing.

  He nodded. “And it was founded by my parents. My mom got the funding and resources from the Military. Occasionally, the Military sends her new artifacts to put on display.”

  I noticed he was smiling again. In history class, he never smiled. He was more comfortable here talking about the subject that so obviously captivated him. “I knew you were a history fanatic, but I had no idea just how big of one you were.”

  “My love of history is something I acquired from both parents,” he said.

  “I believe it,” I said. “What’s your dad’s story?”

  “Dad was a history teacher before he was made principal. When he studied at the University in Boston, he focused on Pre-Blight history. His fascination with history is stimulated by what he doesn’t know. The land lost so many records and documents during the Blight, so Dad chases the mysteries of the past. Most of his writings focus on this land’s history and governments before they collapsed during the Blight.”

  There was movement in the next room. “Who’s here?” said a man’s groggy voice.

  “It’s just me, Uncle Jesse,” Casper yelled.

  “W
ho’s with you?” he shouted back. “I hear two minds.” His tone changed abruptly. “OH! Is that Evee?”

  Though stunned that he knew who I was, I managed to answer for myself. “It is Evee.”

  Footsteps approached from the dark hallway as the gruff looking man entered the living room. Unshaven and in pajamas, the man looked at me with a smile and began to speak. “Oh my word, child!” His smile turned serious and frank, and his grim expression confused me.

  “What?” I asked.

  “It’s worse than I thought,” he said gravely.

  “What is it?” I asked. Even Casper looked nervous and confused.

  “Our Casper has charmed you just as bad as you’ve charmed him, I’m afraid,” he joked.

  I laughed in relief. “Is it that obvious?”

  Casper, standing next to me, grinned at my response.

  “You might be shocked to know, I didn’t have to read your minds to discover that bit of information,” he said. He did his best to sound intelligent and wise. “The connection between you two is visible to the naked eye.” The man gave a handsome smile. “Just call me Uncle Jesse… it’s what I respond to best.”

  I laughed again. “Just call me Evee,” I said. “But of course you knew that already.”

  We sat on the living room’s couch talking mostly about me and my life before Fallon– all the usual questions the new girl was typically asked.

  “So what’s your extra-human trait?” Uncle Jesse asked me.

  I turned to Casper, who looked curious as well. He was more patient than Sara and Seth in waiting for me to finally tell him, for which I was grateful.

  “I’m still not telling people,” I confessed.

  “Oh really? Do you care to explain your reasoning?” Uncle Jesse asked.

  “Evee wants to be liked for who she is,” Casper said. “Not what she can do.”

  I nodded to confirm his answer. “Since the social hierarchy at Fallon is determined by one’s ability, I’m keeping mine under wraps for the time being.”

  “Don’t worry,” Uncle Jesse said. “Your secret is safe with me.” He pointed to his head, letting me know that he had seen the answer in my mind. He laughed as I realized I had walked right into his trap.

  “What!” Casper exclaimed. “He found out before I did?”

  “It wasn’t my fault,” I said, laughing. “He tricked me.”

  “Being a mind-reader has its advantages,” Uncle Jesse said. He smiled mischievously, but still seemed harmless. “But in all honesty, I’m not sure I understand it completely.”

  “You’re not the first,” I said. My extra-human trait was so rare, there were times I didn’t even fully understand it.

  A rush of wind in the living room followed by the front door opening and closing ended our conversation. A beautiful woman with the same chestnut hair as Casper’s suddenly stood next to me. Her eyes were a greenish-blue, complimented by the warm smile she gave me. It was, without a doubt, Casper’s mother.

  “Hello,” she said. She looked as if she couldn’t contain herself, about to explode with joy. The way she looked at me was, like Casper said, a little overwhelming, but in a good way. I was undeniably the first girl Casper had ever brought home.

  “Hi,” I returned.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. She elbowed Casper. “My son seems to have forgotten his manners. My name’s Amanda. And you must be Evee.” The pitch of her voice grew higher as she said my name.

  “I am,” I said. My nerves got the best of me, and Uncle Jesse instantly knew it.

  “No reason to be scared,” Uncle Jesse said. “I promise you, kiddo, this woman has had her mind made up about you since last week.” He made himself laugh. “Amanda already loves you, so there is no reason to be nervous.”

  “Jesse isn’t exaggerating,” Amanda said. “I’m already your biggest fan.”

  Relief spread over me, and my body relaxed. Amanda took me by the hand and led me back to the couch. Though she bombarded me with all the questions I had just answered for Uncle Jesse, I was happy to answer them for her. She enjoyed hearing everything I had to say. She was unbelievably perky– always smiling, and always seconds away from a laugh.

  “Are you enjoying Fallon?” she asked me.

  I looked at Casper, who looked slightly embarrassed, but happy too. “I am.”

  “Of course, you must stay and have dinner with us,” she suggested.

  “That’s why she’s here, Mom,” Casper said. I could see Casper was ready to have his guest back.

  “You kids relax for a bit and I’ll start dinner,” Amanda said. She disappeared and a delayed gust of wind blew in our faces.

  “How long will it be?” Casper asked.

  Another gust of wind revealed Amanda standing next to me again. “If the food could cook as fast as I could prepare it, it would be done two seconds from now. But I imagine it will be about an hour.” She sped out of the living room, followed by a ruckus in the kitchen of pots and pans clinging together.

  Casper found my hand and gestured for me to follow him. He took me down the hallway that Uncle Jesse had emerged from earlier. I guessed he was taking me to his room. Pictures of Casper covered the walls of the hall. The same picture of him on a tricycle that hung in his dad’s office also hung in the hallway. It was one of the few pictures of him smiling. There were several family pictures and also pictures of Casper’s parents at a younger age. They looked happy and content with their beautiful family. However, I noticed there were no pictures of Uncle Jesse in the hallway.

  Casper stopped walking. “My room’s not anything special.”

  “I’m sure it’s fine.”

  He opened the door and had me walk in first.

  “This is nice,” I said. I noticed his TV first, hanging on the wall above his desk. “My dad won’t let me have a TV in my room.”

  “I saved up for that for a whole year,” he said. “The base only gets new TVs every few months, so as soon as I had the credit, I went to purchase it.”

  “My dad gets his TVs for free, since most televisions are developed by the Military.”

  Centered in the room was his bed in front of a single window. The walls were covered in posters and drawings, some I was sure Casper had drawn himself. Movie chips and stacks of papers covered his cluttered desk. One book on his desk caught my eye. It had velvet, black binding, and looked worn as if it was used frequently.

  “I didn’t know you kept a diary,” I said. I picked it up looking impressed.

  “It’s a journal, actually,” he corrected. “Boys keep journals and girls keep diaries,” he joked.

  “Oh is that right?” I giggled a bit. “I suppose your deepest, darkest secrets are in here. How long have you kept it?”

  He pointed to the shelves next to his desk. Half a dozen other journals rested on the top shelf. “My dad gave me my first journal the day we found out I was human. Dad said I had eyes that would see this land differently, and that it was important that I record what I see.”

  “Spoken like a true historian,” I said.

  Casper handed me a journal from off the top shelf above his desk. “This is my first journal,” he said. “Read the first page.”

  I opened the journal and laughed. “Your handwriting hasn’t really improved any since you wrote this.”

  “I was six,” he said defensively. He leaned into me to see the handwritten pages. “I’d like to think it’s improved a little.”

  I began reading the first page.

  “December 4th, 2210,” I read out loud. “After a few months of school I made my first friend today. His name is Adam Howard. I was trying to play on the seesaw by myself. Just as I was getting off the seesaw, Adam teleported on the opposite seat (He has the same EHT as Dad). The seat I had been on raised up and hit me in the chin. I lost one of my baby teeth. Adam got a teacher to help me really quickly. After school Adam’s mom talked to my mom. They decided that Adam was going to come home with me every day after school. His pare
nts work and just fired their baby sitter. I’m excited that I am going to have a friend.”

  When I finished, I could feel my smile, but there was something sad about the entry.

  “My dad had to help me write a lot of it,” Casper said.

  “So that’s how you and Adam met,” I said. Casper and Adam were so close, I had wondered several times about their history.

  “And we’ve been best friends ever since,” he answered. “Adam and I found out later that his babysitter actually quit. Babysitting a teleporter was too much for her.”

  We both laughed.

  “So Adam was your first friend?” I envied that he had lifelong friends. My friendships never lasted for more than a year because of Dad’s job.

  “For a long time he was my only friend,” Casper responded. “Adam’s parents are always busy. They’re never around, so when he was younger, he spent most of his time here. My parents are the closest things he has to parents.”

  “That’s so sad,” I said. “Sara told me that the two of you were like brothers, but I didn’t know how deep that went.”

  “Looking back,” Casper began, “I think Adam and I needed each other. I needed a friend and he needed a family.”

  I had more in common with Adam than I could have possibly realized. I only hoped Casper’s family would be as welcoming to me as they had been to Adam.

  We sat on his bed, reading the pages that his younger self had written so long ago. Normally I would never invade someone’s privacy like this, but Casper wanted me to read it. It was a fun way of getting to know him. The more I read, the less nervous he seemed. He moved closer to me on his bed, flipping to the pages he wanted me to read the most. I found happier memories written on the pages.

  “Can I read this one?” I asked. I picked up the journal I had first found on his desk– his current journal.

  “Sure,” he replied. “I think all the embarrassing stuff is in the first one anyway.”

  Thrilled to learn more, I open the clasp and turned to a random page. “September 12th, 2220.” I gave a comedic cough as I continued. “I had to rush home from school today so that neither of my parents would see my pants. Randy trapped me in the gymnasium, throwing fire at me every time I flinched. He didn’t burn me, but what happened was worse than any burn.” I stopped reading out loud, afraid of what was coming, but I couldn’t take my eyes away from the page. “Randy made me… have an… accident. It’s so humiliating, I can barely write down the words. I don’t want Dad to find out either. I’m afraid if he punished Randy, it would provoke him even more. I’ve already washed the pants, so Mom and Dad won’t find out. Adam wasn’t there, and for once I’m glad. I’m always more embarrassed when Randy attacks me in front of him. Adam has enough to do without having to be my protector. I’m ready for a day when things are different.”