Pouring Shadows (Chapter 7)

‘That’s my eye… where am I anyway?’ It was pitch black wherever Iris looked. The only thing she saw was a giant eye floating a few paces in front of her, which was very slightly opened. Pink light radiated from the peeking eyeball underneath the lash. It was just one eye and somehow, Iris knew it belonged to her. She could feel similar vibes coming from it, same as the ones that surrounded her. Then how come that eye was detached from her.

Her hands instinctively went up to touch her own eyes. Both were where they were supposed to be. Now the thought flooded her mind, ‘Is this the third eye…?’

She could hear her thoughts echo out loud. Did that mean she was inside her own mind where the third eye rested? Iris had read about it in storybooks. She just never knew it existed for real. The third eye, the one that sees what normal eyes cannot. The eye is unseen itself, and yet it is able to see the unseen. It can see emotions, it can see auras, and it can see through people, it can even see vibes around objects. That eye was what stood before her.

‘But why is it closed…? Why is my third eye closed? I’m able to levitate objects by connecting my vibes with their vibes. That must have been the work of the eye… then why is it closed?’

The words came out in a rush. Iris took a step forward, hand outstretched, slightly trembling. She took another step, covering the distance between her and the eye. However, as she got close enough to touch it, her hand was driven back by an unseen force. She stared at it, baffled. She was unable to connect with her inner eye… Realization struck her.

Iris’s eyes flipped open and she jerked up into a sitting position. She knew what she had to do now. She finally remembered.

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What was going on with the crystal shard today? Just around noon it had started to glow again and if that was all then I wouldn’t have had any problem. The real trouble was where to keep it, as the glow kept getting stronger and stronger, the shard heated up as well. Keeping it locked inside my fist would have been my first option if it weren’t for the heat. I was able to hold it for a while but now it was literally out of my hands.

I put it on the side table of the room that Ricky let me sleep in. For a while it stayed there, causing no harm whatsoever. I came back from the dining room after having lunch and was taken aback by what I saw. The stupid thing had sunk itself into the wood. I could see it glowing from inside the burned hole that it had managed to create.

Just when I was about to toss it somewhere else, I heard a knock.

“Hey, I need to talk to you. It’s about that guy you were texting earlier.”

Ricky was at the door. It was locked but I knew he could unlock it any second and come in. I acted in haste and put the nearby table lamp over the hole. I turned it on so the golden light from underneath it wouldn’t be noticeable. I just hoped desperately that the worry wouldn’t show on my face.

When I opened the door and let Ricky in, he immediately took the cell phone out of my pocket. How on Earth did he know which pocket?

‘Hey!’ I protested but he held up a hand to shut me. I saw him press several buttons like he didn’t know how to use it. ‘If you want to call someone, I can guide you through, you don’t have to press all the–’

‘Look at this conversation.’

He held the phone in front of my eyes. At first I was confused by the words. I hadn’t sent those messages nor had I received any like that. Where was he getting this? Before I could ask my eyes caught sight of the words.

THE BOOKSTORE IN THE MAIN SQUARE. HE’S THERE WITH THAT GIRL. THE SHOP KEEPER IS GIVING THEM SHELTOR AND SUPPORT. YOU SHOULD GO CHECK THAT PLACE OUT.

‘Wait, I didn’t send that message, I swear. I don’t know where it came from.’

‘I do. It’s your friend Jon,’ Ricky said with distaste.

‘I don’t understand. Jon’s my friend.’

‘Didn’t I tell you about the curse? One can cause the other to doubt.’

‘Why would he send that to me? He must be playing a prank on me, seeing that I’m already so worked up.’

‘He didn’t send that message to you. He sent it to the authorities. When I first saw you texting him, I feared this might happen so I put an electronic tracker on Jon’s number. Whatever message he would send through his phone, to whomever, I would be instantly notified.’

‘But when did you–’

‘I told you. When you were texting him, that’s when I put the tracker.’ Ricky looked pretty serious right now. With that frown he was making, it made him look a lot older.

‘What, just by looking at it?’ I was joking but then I noticed his expression hadn’t changed.

‘You’re serious. You can do that… you have a power. How come you never told me?’

‘That isn’t important right now. What’s important is that we get you and Cheryl out of here.’

‘Sure, I’m sorry I wasn’t cautious. I’ll take her somewhere far, out of town or–’

‘No, no sorries and you can’t take her anywhere without being seen. It’s afternoon, those guys

will be here in a matter of minutes only. Follow me.’

I followed, although I didn’t understand why he was still helping us. If I were in his place, I would’ve thrown us out instantly, not helped us escape… or would I?

I was just about to leave the room when I remembered. The shard. Dang it, how am I supposed to get that out without being seen? I thought and picked up the lamp. The shard had dug deeper into the wood. I might need to put it into a container that doesn’t melt. A metal container.

The instant the thought occurred in my mind, I rummaged through the drawers but they were more or less empty. That’s when I remembered my phone cover. That was metal. I took a cloth from one of the drawers and picked up the shard. It tore through the cloth pretty quick and was burning the flesh at my fingers. I had the cover open and tossed it inside, shutting it with a slam. I put my phone in one pocket and the cover in another.

‘You coming? Hurry up, I’ve got Cheryl in the car. Come on!’ Ricky came marching into the room and caught me looking all worked up, holding my burned fingers.

I didn’t give him the chance to ask for an explanation and quickly exited the room, although the confused look on his face never left my mind. I got into the back seat of the car. Cheryl was sitting alert beside me. Ricky got into the driver’s seat and let the car roar to life. I noticed that his grandpa was sitting beside him in the front seat. He was putting everything on the line here that he even dragged his grandfather along with him.

He must be aware that the authorities would never hurt the old man. They were here for us, not him. Did that mean… he did not intend to return home at all? During that thought, something pinched me inside my stomach. I could feel the metal case heat up in my pocket. Very soon it would be too hot for me to keep it there. I felt bad about keeping it a secret from Ricky after all that he was doing for us. And that was the first time in a very long time that I felt guilt.

As we drove away, I noticed the awkward silence in the car. Was it me they were afraid to share things with after knowing that I was the cause of our unplanned leave? But Ricky himself had said that doubt towards me would turn to hate due to the curse mark. If he or Cheryl had started to doubt me then they wouldn’t be here with me right now.

Cheryl probably saw the worry lines that were forming on my forehead which is why she did what she did then. She took my hand, the one that had burned but she didn’t know that. She just held onto it as if it were something precious.

‘You don’t have to worry…’ I heard her mumble. I had a feeling she was talking to my hand rather than me. The burning sensation somehow seemed so faint compared to the feel of her soft fingers tracing mine gently. I thought for a second that I felt tiny sparks on my hand. Was she the one doing this… or was it me?

‘Where are we going?’ I asked, in an attempt to distract myself.

‘A faraway place… it might trigger some lost memories… and emotions.’

I had no idea what Ricky meant by that. What memories? I had no memories outside of town. Then my gaze turned to Cheryl who had her eyes closed, head resting at the back of the seat. She had never spoken about her past, even when I heard her talking to Ricky the other night. She had only been asking about his past life, not telling anything about herself. Was it that she didn’t trust him… or...?

I would have asked Ricky myself what he’d meant by that but it didn’t seem like the right time. I kept shut, listening to the rumble of the engine as we drove further away from the one place I had always known. The one place where I had experienced a multiple amount of emotions and memories myself. My being born different had always excited me but I never noticed what others thought of it.

I was the one born with the shadow. The same power that history told, a person tried to use to destroy his village. He had become a persistent threat to the nearby villages. He killed those born of the power. He didn’t feel anything when he did it. That was probably generations ago. Even if I belonged to the same generation, which I must since I inherited his power, that didn’t mean I would turn out like him.

Now that I finally got the time to think about it, nobody in the institute ever talked to me. They all ignored me and tried not to get involved in conversations with me. The ones that would get stuck working with me would never establish that one thing called ‘friendship’. I had noticed it, had the feeling that I was a constant target of doubt but, I never really gave any worried thought to it.

I didn’t even care what people thought, as long as I was doing my job right.

I remember, one day I’d bumped into this kid by accident. I had only passed a year of training. I was just a beginner at using my powers. Perhaps I’d bumped into him a little too hard that he fell backwards in a sitting position. I had noticed the look of fear on his face but with that ‘I don’t care’ attitude of mine, I didn’t let it bother me. I just grabbed his hand and pulled him up without even looking at him. Then without saying a word, I just left.

Maybe it was my silence that won him over to my side or the fact that I’d helped him, before I knew it he’d started hanging out with me more often. That kid, Jon, was the first person to talk to me and enjoy it. The first person to trust me, the first to actually establish that thing called ‘friendship’. Thinking back on how so many times he had had my back, it was getting harder to believe that Jon would doubt me.

I could feel my pocket burning up slightly. I took out my phone and checked for any messages. There were none, to my disappointment. I just closed it and tried to forget about everything for once. The feeling of betrayal was starting to seep into my brain. I shut my eyes tightly, hoping it would go away. I didn’t know how I managed to fall asleep after that. Maybe I was too tired, it’s not like I’d had the best of night’s sleep.

However, by the time I woke up, it was almost nightfall. I felt something warm snuggled to my side. We were still in the car. I yawned and moved my arms only to freeze mid-way. I hadn’t noticed until now. The burned hand of mine that had been in Cheryl’s hands was now around her shoulders, and she was sleeping silently with her head resting on my side. How this happened, I was unaware. I had clearly gone to sleep without any such movements.

I looked up worriedly at Ricky and realized that he was looking back at me. The car had stopped; maybe that’s what had awoken me.

‘What and how?’ I whispered.

I saw him trying to hold back his laugh in case of waking Cheryl up. I eyed him.

‘You did that in your sleep. Don’t look at me,’ he whispered back.

‘I was sleeping so doesn’t that explain enough? I had no intention of… ugh!’ I tried to keep my anger to myself. I heard Ricky chuckle under his breath but ignored him.

I didn’t want her to wake up seeing this. She would think I was a pervert. Since when did I start caring about what she thought of me anyway? I had to get my arm away from her somehow. I tried lifting it slightly. The hard part was getting it from behind her head. I used my other arm to slightly lift her head while I retrieved my burned hand. I let her head rest on my shoulder though. That wasn’t much of a big deal.

‘Where are we?’ I whispered, looking out the window. The car was on some dirt road, surrounded by the tall trees where the branches didn‘t start until about fifteen feet of distance from the ground. It wasn’t sun down yet but I had a feeling it would be in an hour or so.

‘It’s a small restaurant for tourists. They come here a lot in the spring season. The place is still open. I thought we should all freshen up and have dinner before we hit the road again.’

‘That’s very thoughtful,’ I said emotionlessly, staring ahead at the small house with the sign Food Point engraved on a wooden plate on top.

Ricky got out of the car and opened the passenger door for his grandfather. He helped him out while gesturing me to wake Cheryl up. I shook her shoulder slightly.

‘Hey, get up. We gotta eat up first. Come on.’

Her eyes only half opened and she seemed as clueless as a little child. I took her hand and pulled her out of the car. She tripped on something and let out a tiny yelp. I turned around and she accidentally landed into my arms.

‘Are you awake yet?’ I asked, with one hand wrapped around her to keep her from falling.

‘Sure,’ she mumbled tonelessly and went past me. I noticed her eyes were still half open which seriously made me doubt if she was fully awake. I followed her close behind in case she tripped again. I noticed that the ground was damp. Mud was smearing all over my shoes even though I tried to avoid the puddles. I assumed it had rained just a little while before we got here. The trees all looked fresh and renewed. Water was still dripping from the leaves.

A small breeze blew my jacket. The trees shivered as I did. I entered the restaurant quickly. We took turns to wash up while Ricky ordered for us. Then he left with his grandpa to the restroom while Cheryl and I waited for the food to arrive. It was warm inside. The furniture was all made of wood and it was in good shape too, considering the size of the restaurant. At first glance I’d thought it’d be a small stuffy little place where they would serve cold food. I was proved wrong the minute I entered.

The place was lighted dimly by lanterns. The tables, chairs, the counter, the floor, it was all polished wood. Cheryl, at that moment, had her head resting on her arms on that wood. For some reason she seemed to be too sleepy to be her normal joyful side. I wondered how late she’d stayed up last night. I remembered I was the one to go back to my room saying goodnight to her. She was just sitting there staring at her feet on the soft carpet when I left.

The food came in a matter of minutes. There weren’t many customers here so that would explain the fast delivery. I nudged Cheryl with my elbow. She groaned but didn’t move.

‘Hey, the food’s here. Come on, eat up.’ I tried but she didn’t respond to that.

Before all this running away, and my being charged, I would have started eating without a care in the world whether the other person eats or not. However, I just couldn’t get myself to eat while she slept starving. I had no other choice.

Ricky came back in a few minutes with his grandpa. Luckily his grandpa was able to eat by himself unlike Cheryl. Even Ricky looked part surprised, part amused at the sight of me stuffing spoonful of gravy into her mouth. Ricky offered to take it from here since only half of her food was left. She ate fast for someone who was half asleep.

I started at my own gravy and finished it in minutes. Next I took the soup in my bowl and started blowing at it so that it’d cool down enough for me to eat. I watched as Ricky ate while feeding Cheryl, it seemed very brotherly of him. And the strangest thing was that he seemed to enjoy it. I saw a slight glow on his face at that moment; a glow that might have probably last appeared years ago when he’d been with his family.

‘Come on, you haven’t even finished half the bowl of soup,’ Ricky said.

‘I don’t want to…’ Cheryl mumbled.

‘At least finish it till half.’

‘No, brother. I already told you I’m full.’

Ricky’s eyes weren’t the only one to be filled with shock. My jaw dropped open slightly when I heard Cheryl call him brother. I looked at Ricky who just looked away and put the spoon back in the bowl. His surprise didn’t last longer than a second. Why was that? Had I missed something? I tried telling myself that she only said that because she was sleepy but then Ricky’s words came back to me. It might trigger some lost memories… and emotions.

‘Hey, what’s wrong with her?’ I asked curiously.

Ricky looked at the red head resting on the table again. Then he replied with carefully chosen words.

‘What was wrong is now slowly going away. She hasn’t slept all night, you know. When I woke up I found her still sitting in the lounge, troubled by something. She didn’t sleep in the day either.’

‘How come I didn’t notice that?’ I asked. I was probably asking myself rather than Ricky.

‘You were caught up with more serious problems. Just before leaving the house, I gave her sleeping pills so that she would fall asleep during the drive. She’s still sleeping, you know. She never woke up even when you dragged her out of the car.’

‘And you can tell that… is it even possible for someone to eat while sleeping?’

Ricky shrugged, ‘it’s possible to talk while sleeping, walk while sleeping. Then heck yeah. Anything’s possible.’

I noticed that Ricky still hadn’t answered my first question correctly about why she called him her brother. I was going to ask again when he asked the waiter for the bill. I kept my mouth shut.