by Aaron Slade
I wondered if I was crazy. I was unbelievably happy, but confused why she was avoiding the subject. Did it embarrass her? People could be sensitive about physical manifestations of extra-human traits. Like the way Seth’s body aged slower. Seth hated it.
“There’s a cloud of light around your body that matches the color of your eyes perfectly,” I said. “It looks like it’s shining through your skin. You can see it, right? There’s no reason to be embarrassed of it.”
She raised her hands in front of her face, but stared blankly as if she couldn’t see it. “I don’t see anything.” I didn’t like the way she looked at me. Like I was some kind of freak.
I pointed at her, glowing a soft hue, but knocked over her glass of water, spilling it into her lap. I listened to the water splash on her and panicked. Mom would kill me if I ruined that dress, but worse than that, I’d screwed up the date in one move.
“I’m so sorry,” I said. I grabbed my napkin and started soaking up the water on the table. When I thought of how the evening could potentially be disastrous, this was one of the scenarios I had played in my head.
“It’s fine,” Evee said, smiling. “The water went right through me.” She laughed.
Her ability made me idiot-proof, and I tried to tell myself that there was no harm done, but I still felt like a klutz.
“Don’t worry about the water,” she reassured me. “But I’m very interested in what you’re seeing.”
I didn’t know how else to tell her, and I felt crazy the more I tried to explain. “You’re glowing. That’s the simplest way I can describe it.”
“Casper… I’m not,” she said with a tone of finality.
“Then what am I seeing?” I asked her.
She looked concerned.
Was I going crazy?
The sun was now completely gone and all I could hear was the sound of the water whooshing against the shore underneath us. The light penetrated the darkness around Evee. If I was the only one that could see it, then maybe...
I stood up, shaking and trying to catch my breath.
“What’s wrong?” Evee asked.
It had been years since I had an asthma attack. It couldn’t be my extra-human trait. I turned away from Evee.
I froze in awe of the scene behind me, and I felt the air pulled from my lungs by the wondrous beauty. There was an ocean of different colors surrounding the other glowing couples on the deck. It wasn’t just Evee, but everyone in the restaurant shined their own unique hues. All the people had the faint light surrounding their bodies. I could barely think of the words to describe what I saw. The brilliant auras from all the people on the deck illuminated the night air like a lantern’s glow. I focused on another couple on the deck. The girl gave off a red light, while the man sitting across from her gave off a pale blue. They leaned in for a kiss and the light changed to make a new orange hue where their lips met.
“Casper?” Evee called behind me. “What’s wrong?”
I turned back around at Evee still glowing a bright cyan hue. I looked at myself and noticed I was shining too. A faint color of amber seeped through my skin and filled the air around me. It was much easier to see in the dark.
“Tell me what you’re seeing,” Evee said.
I took my seat and closed my mouth, but it took me a few seconds to form words. “You can’t see this?” I asked. “You’re shining… and I’m shining.”
“Casper,” she said. “You look normal.” She looked worried.
Everything clicked in my head at once. There was only one explanation. “I’m not human,” I said. My eyes found Evee’s and I said it again. “I’m not human!”
“What?” she said. A look of confusion grew on her face.
I could feel my smile getting bigger.
All this time! Why now? The excitement of the idea rushed through my body, sending a tingling sensation through my spine. For as long as I could remember I hoped an extra-human trait would manifest someday. Something that would make me more than human, and no one would treat me like an outcast anymore.
“Evee!” I said. “I have an extra-human trait… or something. What I’m seeing is my ability– it has to be. I’m not human… I mean…I’m extra-human.” The words felt like a lie. Seventeen years of history and medical records of my birth and condition disproved them. But it was the truth, or I was dreaming?
Evee seemed skeptical. She looked down at her empty water glass next to the wet section of the table cloth. Her eyes locked with mine and she gasped.
“But how?” she asked. “I don’t understand.”
My mind was going a million miles a minute. “I don’t understand either.”
I called for the check. Evee and I left the restaurant after I hurried to pay for my food. We zigzagged between the tables of people all glowing different colors as if a prism broke the light into the different colors of a rainbow. People gave me funny glances, and I smiled at them.
“Where are we going?” Evee asked.
“To the beach,” I said. I turned around to grab her hand, but was reminded that I couldn’t when my fingers went through hers. I lead us to a trail that would take us to a shore near the water.
The trail was dark, but the light that our bodies gave off allowed me to see with no problems. The light wasn’t ordinary. It engulfed the area around me in light rather than shinning on objects. The light didn’t cause a shadow to be cast either, which made sense if I was the only one who could see it. What was the light? What did it mean?
Once we got to the beach, Evee walked to my side. “Tell me what’s going on, Casper.”
“I don’t really understand it myself yet,” I said. I breathed hard from sprinting.
“Try,” she said.
The first time I’d seen the glow was with Evee in the cafeteria. I thought it had been her ability, but it was mine. I’d made the mistake several times since because it only happened when Evee was around me.
“The first day you were at school when we were by ourselves at the lunch table, I saw this… light shining through your skin. I thought it was your extra-human trait, but now I think it has to be mine.”
“I was the first person you ever saw do this?” she asked.
I was just as confused as she was. I found it odd that my ability coincided with meeting Evee, but it made me wonder if my ability was more connected to her than I realized.
I stared at the light our bodies gave off. I could sense all of the luminosity around me, like the tingling sensation when my foot fell asleep. The tingling grew more intense when I was closer to Evee’s aura, spreading down my spine and giving me chills.
“What do you think it does?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” I answered. “Maybe I just see colors in people.”
“It sounds like a really rare ability– you’re a gem. The colors are different from person to person, right?”
I nodded. “Mine are yellow, and the ones you give off are… well they match your eyes,” I said.
She blushed. “Am I still glowing?”
“Yeah. We both are,” I said. “It’s this energy we are both giving off. I can feel it too.”
“I wish I could see it,” she said. “I don’t understand why your ability is manifesting now.”
I paused, wondering for a second. “I think it’s you,” I whispered. I knew it was her. I could feel it in my gut, and I trusted it.
We sat next to each other on the beach and I admired the beauty of the night. The sky was clear and every star was amazingly visible. I wanted to wrap my arms around her, but it wasn’t possible with her phantom body. If only she could see the beauty on the beach that I saw. Our auras pulled at each other as if wanting me to move closer. It felt like gravity pulling me towards her.
“I wish you could see it,” I said.
“I do too,” she responded. “It sounds stunning and… magnificent.”
“So has tonight gone well?” I asked. I couldn’t have hoped for a better first date, and I d
idn’t want it to end. I feared it would be like waking up from the best dream I’d ever had. Things would change for me after tonight.
“It’s been an adventure,” Evee said. “What do you think this means?”
I pondered the question for a moment. It had never made sense that I was human. Both of my parents were extra-human. I’d had an ability this whole time, but I couldn’t see it… until Evee.
“I think it means… that you belong with me,” I said. I was no longer trying to be charming, but honest. I had to take it as a sign that none of this was possible before Evee came to Fallon.
She smiled. “I’ve been yours for a while now,” she said. For a moment, her watery eyes glistened, and I thought I detected sadness when her aura extinguished briefly. “But this only works if you’re mine too.”
I leaned towards her and put my lips near her ear. “I’m yours.” I backed away so that I could look her in the eyes. We smiled at each other, and I realized that I could stay here all night staring into the rare gems she had for eyes.
“So if I was really here right now, I think I would break my rule and kiss you,” Evee said. She sat perfectly still. “It was a stupid rule anyway.” She craved the kiss as much as I did, but unfortunately she wasn’t really here.
Both of our auras flashed. Evee noticed my abrupt reaction as I winced my eyes.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Both of our auras grew brighter,” I said. “But they’re back to normal now. I’ve noticed they flash sometimes.”
“It happened when I said something about a kiss,” she said. “What if what you’re seeing is triggered by what you feel?”
“I don’t understand.” I listened to her intently. Her father was the expert, so Evee had to know a few things too about extra-human traits.
Evee looked deep in thought. She stood up, pacing about the water’s edge. The waves reached her feet, but she couldn’t get wet. “It makes so much sense.”
“What?”
“I know why your ability just now appeared. You have to be happy for it to work.”
I was still lost, but she explained further.
“You said all the people in the restaurant were glowing, right? People come here to go on dates, and people are usually happy on dates. Don’t you see? What you’re seeing is a light that people give off when they are happy.”
“But why haven’t I seen it before now?”
She quit pacing, and turned to me with a solemn expression. “Because you weren’t happy before now.” The pitiful look I knew so well lingered on Evee’s face, and I didn’t like it one bit.
Her idea seemed logical. I’d never had much reason to smile before Evee. I’d lived in such fear and loathing of never having an ability that I’d let those feelings rule my life. I’d let Randy Alcott and Allen Young and all the other bullies keep me down.
“You’re just like everybody else, Casper.”
It was true. It had always been true. My aura dimmed in my disappointment that I had never believed it until now. I was the same as everybody else.
Evee and I both jumped at the sound of footsteps behind us, and the light faded from both of us, leaving us in the dark.
“Who’s there?” I said.
“It’s Adam,” a voice came. He stepped out of the woods with a look of frustration. “Sorry, to sneak up on you. Hey, Evee.” He waved. “What are you two doing out here?” he asked with a big grin and a suggestive tone. “One of the waiters said he saw you two take this trail.”
“Adam!” I began. “You’re not going to believe it.” I didn’t know how to tell him.
My yellow aura returned and Evee’s did too. I was surprised to see that Adam didn’t have any trace of color. The night darkness appeared normal around him.
“Believe what?” he asked.
“Casper has an ability,” Evee said. “It-it-it ha-happened at dinner.”.
Adam eyes and mouth opened wide in a baffled expression. I couldn’t imagine what this must be like for him. All our lives, it was like I had a handicap, but now things were different and it would be different for him too. He wouldn’t have to defend me anymore. No more rescuing Casper. No more torturing the human.
I spent the next several minutes trying to explain my ability to Adam. Adam didn’t have a glow at all. I was curious why he was the one exception to my ability.
“So you see colors,” Adam said. The way he said it made my extra-human trait sound lame.
“Yes– We can’t all be teleporters,” I said. “All this time I couldn’t see it. It’s like I finally… belong.” I felt like a part of society for the first time. Everything would change.
“I think he’s seeing emotions,” Evee added.
He looked skeptical. “How can you see emotions?”
“How can you teleport?” she returned. “I think Casper needs to be positive for his ability to work. That’s why he never discovered his ability until tonight. He’s documented every bad memory, fight, and bully in his journal, always dwelling on the past. He’s always been so focused on his misfortune that it’s kept him from being happy.”
Adam kept his gaze on Evee. “So if the aura thing is all Casper, what’s your ability?” he asked Evee.
“Mental projection,” she responded, followed by a short explanation and a brief demonstration of sticking her arm through Adam’s chest.
Adam’s eyes opened wider, followed by a curt chuckle.
“So this is really Casper’s ability!” Adam exclaimed. His big blue eyes found mine before his knees went weak, stumbling as he stepped forward. He had the same reaction as me– dizziness and shortness of breath. “What color am I?” He stood up, wiping sand off his jeans.
The air around Adam was still normal. I frowned. “You don’t have one for some reason.”
Adam looked hurt, but I could see him trying to make sense of something. “We should tell your parents.”
I hadn’t even thought of telling them yet. What would they say? How would they react? Maybe now I could even go to a university. I could even tell people at school. My whole social life was about to change for the better. I wouldn’t be the town pariah any more.
But there was an empty feeling with finally being accepted. It meant that people would only accept me for my ability. I’d always been a good person, but people judged me harshly because I’d never had an extra-human trait.
“I want to wait,” I said. “I don’t even want to tell my parents yet.” I’d waited almost eighteen years; I could wait a little longer to spread the news.
“Why not?” Evee asked. She looked disappointed. Her cyan aura faded.
“All my ability does is allow me to see these colors. I want to understand more before I start telling people. Both of you have had your whole lives to understand your extra-human traits. I think it would be best if I took a little time before I just started telling everyone.”
“But these are your parents,” Adam said. “They can help you understand it. That’s part of a parent’s job– to help their children with their EHTs. Remember how your dad helped me with teleporting?”
I did remember. I’d been jealous of Adam’s connection with my dad. But Dad would be proud of me the same way he was for Adam. I just wanted time. “I really want to do this on my own,” I said.
The truth was I’d waited for a moment like this as long as I could remember. The satisfaction of having an EHT had already consumed me, but I wanted to observe it more. I wanted to develop my own understanding before I told my parents. Evee and Adam promised that they wouldn’t tell anyone.
“So we go to school Monday and act like everything is normal?” Adam asked.
“Everyone thinks I’m human,” I said. “That’s not changing.”
I thought about how strange it was that I had gone to dinner planning to discover Evee’s ability, and I’d discovered my own. But I couldn’t have done it without her. I thought of my journal, sitting on my desk at home, and the pages I would fill once I go
t there.
TRIALS
Casper:
“Wake up!”
Sleep dragged me too deep to recognize the voice at first, but I woke enough to feel that someone was in my room. Babies didn’t sleep as well as I did. Knowing I had an ability, I could sleep easier and even dream without the dread of school looming over my thoughts. I opened my eyes, letting them adjust to the light. At first I thought it was Dad coming to wake me up for Sunday breakfast, but it wasn’t him.
A blurry Uncle Jesse sat at my desk and stared hard at me. A dim greyish-silver hue shone through his skin. My eyes finished adjusting to the light as I forced myself to look at him.
“How long do you think you can hide something from me?” Uncle Jesse asked. He talked down to me, acting like the inner-adult he never embraced. “I’m a mind-reader, so I’m insulted that you thought you could hide something like THIS from me, even for a night.”
I wasn’t surprised. I leaned up in my bed. I’d managed to hide it from him for one night. It was only a matter of time before he dug it out of my head. It was my curse sharing a house with him. “How much do you know?”
“Everything!” he snapped. He looked confused, shocked, and ready for an explanation. “I’ve been up all night rummaging through your thoughts to get answers. At first I didn’t even believe it was happening. I thought you and Adam were trying to trick me, but you really do have an extra-human trait. How– after all this time?” He massaged his temples and ran his fingers through his greasy, untamed hair.
He wanted answers, but answers were something I still didn’t have.
“I don’t know much,” I confessed. My voice sounded low and raspy from waking up so early. “All I know is that I see this light in people. I thought it was Evee, but it’s me.” Saying the words gave me a certain pleasure, and Uncle Jesse’s aura and my own came into focus better.
He threw a book on me. I picked it up and looked at the cover: A Guide to Extra-human Traits. Underneath the title was a line that read by Dr. Alfonz Miller and for ages ten and up. Dr. Miller wrote many books, including several of my schoolbooks.