Eternity (Circle of Light) (6 page)

My window was still open, so I figured that would be as good as an example as any.  Hopefully, I won’t break it.  Dad would definitely kill me if I did.  I took a deep breath and thought of the window gently closing. As I watched it, it began to close slowly.  That was so cool, I thought to myself.  The room immediately turned about ten degrees cooler.  Ok, so I’m going to have to watch my thought process a little better.  Back to normal, I thought to myself.

The remote to my stereo was lying on top of the dresser.  I held my hand out and I guess you could say, commanded the remote with my mind.  Within seconds it was in my hand. I giggled out loud.  This is absolutely amazing.  To be able to have such power could seriously make my life a whole lot easier.  All those weird television shows will sure come in handy now. 

After an hour or so of moving things around my room, I decided to take a break. 

A thought came to my mind about changing my appearance.  If I can do that I can do just about anything.  I went into the bathroom and looked at my reflection.  I wondered what I could change.  Maybe my hair would look good blonde. 

My hair color changed from deep brown to blonde right before my eyes and soon everything about me had changed in one way or another.  My eyes were bright blue with a slight gray tint. My skin was darker than normal. 

This was completely unbelievable.  Just imagine the possibilities.  I could go anywhere I want to go and nobody would ever be the wiser.  No one would know me.               Now, knowing how to use that power could really come in handy.  I stood there looking in the mirror for a while experimenting with different facial attributes.  I soon got bored with the whole glamour power and changed myself back.

I was feeling somewhat restless, so I decided to get dressed and go outside for a while. I looked around for my cell phone, but I couldn’t find it.  There is no telling where it is.  I was so sure that I had laid it on my bed, but it was nowhere to be found.  I looked over my room one last time before deciding to try and use my power to locate it.

I closed my eyes and thought of my phone.  As soon as I finished the thought I could see my phone lying under the bottom corner of my bed.  I opened my eyes thinking to myself that there was absolutely no way that my phone could be there.  I bent down and reached under the bed and there it was. I felt a sense of pride in myself.  I could definitely do some good with the gifts I have been given.  There were several text messages on my phone. All of them where from Eric.  The first one caught me off guard.  I wasn’t expecting a reply from him after I had sent him the message calling him my angel.  I had no idea why I had called him that. Something just came over me and I did it without thinking. 

Unfortunately, I couldn’t change it now.  I’m not sure I even would, to tell the truth.  The first mes
sage read,
Am I really your angel?
  

Yeah you are, I thought to myself.  I was seriously infatuated with him.

I opened the next one.  It read.
Goodnight, beautiful.
  That one almost took my breath away.  The last one simply said,
Dream of me.
  

I was shocked.  My heart felt like it was swollen and burning with a fire of a thousand suns.  Prickling feelings shot all over my skin, leaving behind goose bumps.  He really did like me.  Catching my breath, I headed to the back door and outside. 

The sun was bright and warm on my skin.  It was certainly warm for this time of the morning.   I had picked my outfit perfectly, hoping that Eric might be outside.  As I noticed what time it was, the hope dwindled a bit.  It was way too early for a teenage guy to be out of bed.  At least he wasn’t going to be able to catch me experimenting around with the new powers I have.

I had denim shorts, and a spaghetti strap top on.  I had brought a light sweater with me expecting the breeze to be cool.  I was totally wrong.  I left the sweater on the swing since I wasn’t going to need it.  I strolled around the yard trying to come up with ideas for practice. After a while of looking, I started to think there wasn’t going to be anything to do back here.  Nothing that wouldn’t draw attention from the neighbors anyway.

I circled the small rose garden that Mom had planted when we first moved in and I remember the day she planted the one in the middle.  She was so happy she had found the white rose she was looking for.  I felt terrible when it bloomed because instead of being white, it was a weird cream color.  She was so disappointed that she actually came to tears over it.

I softly stroked the petals as I imagined them being as white as snow.  I prayed that this task wouldn’t be the one that I couldn't accomplish.  Thankfully, it worked.  The petals turned bright white. The reflection of the morning sun bouncing off the roses almost hurt my eyes just to look at them.  Mom would freak out when she saw those for sure.  That bothered her so much that she hated to even sit in the garden. 

I took care of that, I laughed to myself triumphantly.  It was exciting to have the power to change things.  If I could change flowers and the way I look then there was no telling what else I can change.

All of this could come with high consequences as well as rewards.  What if I messed up and done something I’m not supposed to do?  I was never told that there were any rules to my new life.  I was most certainly going to have to ask the Queens the next time I was with them.  I don’t want to risk doing anything that might upset them and make them think that I’m not good enough for their gifts to me. 

I was startled when I heard someone call my name. I turned in the direction from where I thought it came from.  No one was there. I heard it again, closer this time, so I walked around the side of the house expecting to see someone there.  Not a soul was to be seen.  Powerful and crazy, I thought to myself. 

“Bailey.”
the sheer power in the voice shook my deep into my soul.  It sounded like Eric in a way, but I wasn’t sure.  I looked over to his house.  He was standing in the window looking at me.  I waved at him and shyly turned away. 

If you only knew how beautiful you are,
the voice said softly. 

I looked around confused, but again saw no one. 

I love you already,
I heard the voice say.

This time I noticed the voice wasn’t coming from someone outside.  I wasn’t hearing the voice with my ears either.  It was in my mind, but I wasn’t imagining it. 

The whisper lingered with me.  It was his sweet voice.  His words were soft and careful as they entered my mind.  I could hardly stand to hear them.  The feeling that gave me was unexplainable.  If I were a normal person I would be in a dead run to the phone to call a shrink because I would be certain I was having some type of mental disturbance. 

But I’m not normal. I’m gifted and I know his words were meant for me. The truth from him was as if I had heard it with my heart.  It sent a jolt of electricity through my entire body.  I hope that someday soon he would be able to say those exact words to me with his mouth instead of not knowing I can hear them in his thoughts. 

But, for now, I'll settle with this.  I’m not sure it will make a difference.  As soon as he finds out the truth about me he will, without a doubt, change his mind.  The thought of him doing that made me sick to my stomach.

I don’t know why I felt that way.  I mean, hell, I don’t even really know this guy well enough to be thinking about him this way.  I can’t picture myself not being able to see or talk to him.  I’m drawn to him
so strongly.  No matter how hard I try not to, I’m always thinking about him.  I can’t control it.  He's in my dreams every night.  He's the first thought in my mind when I wake up and the last one when I go to bed.   I was turning into a hopeless freak.

As I made my way back inside I could feel his eyes lingering on me. I had to force myself not to turn around and look at his perfection as he stood in the window looking at me.

The stairs to my room seemed longer than usual. The door to my room creaked as I entered it. Boredom had set in. There is nothing left for me to do to keep myself entertained. Grumbling noises from my stomach let me know that I had waited too long between meals.

   The doorbell chimed as I was coming down the stairs.  Who in the world could this be?  Mom was at work and Dad was at some kind of conference in Florida.  I wasn’t expecting anyone to come by either. 

I opened the door, assuming that it was one of those church people that go door to door.  To my surprise, it was Eric.  He was standing there looking utterly delicious with some DVD’s and a single long stem white rose.  I wonder why he chose white.  You would think that he would have just picked a red one like every other guy would.

He nervously held out the rose to me.  I smiled at him.  Taking the rose, I made sure that my hand touched his lightly.  I stood there holding the door with my other hand.  The truth be told, I was using it for support.  Eric has a way of making me weak in the knees when he is around.  I seriously have to get that under control. 

“I thought that if you aren’t busy we could watch some movies.  That is if you like doing that.” He said trying to control his voice. 

“Sure.  As long as you don’
t mind that I’m in my pajamas.”

“I don’t mind at all.  Actually, I find them rather attractive.”
He couldn’t seem to hold his laughter any longer.  I wasn’t sure if I should be offended by his remark. With a face like that who would care?  I’d let him make fun of my pajamas anytime.

After he caught his breath, I invited him in.  “Will your parents mind that I’m here?  I don’t want to
get you in any trouble.”

I explained that Dad was out of town and Mom was working late again tonight.  “I’m sure she won’t mind.  But just to be on the safe side, I'll let her know anyway.”

Eric followed me into the kitchen.  I found one of Mom’s vases that she kept in the cabinet.  She uses them from time to time for fresh cut flowers.  I filled it water and put the rose in it.  It was so eye catching.  A single rose in a vase has a certain appeal to it.

I sat the vase in the middle of the kitchen island and showed Eric to the living room.  I walked behind him as we entered the hallway.  His movements were as graceful as anyone could imagine.  I couldn’t help but to stare at him as he walked. 

I pointed in the direction of the DVD player and he walked over to put the disk in.  I excused myself and ran up to my room to make sure I looked at least presentable.  After straightening my tangled ponytail I headed back downstairs. 

When I entered the living room, he was sitting on the couch.  I picked the other end of the couch, making sure that I did nothing to overstep my boundaries. I didn’t want to give him the impression that I was just another easy girl either.

“Are you ready?” He asked smiling. 

I nodded in reply, afraid my voice would crack when I answered him.  I was so
nervous that my palms had begun to sweat. 

As the previews played, I sent Mom a text.  I wasn’t sure how I should word it so I wrote,
Hey Mom, Eric came over and we are going to watch some movies.  I hope that’s ok.  Love you. 

It took no time at all for her to reply.
That's fine sweetie. Have fun.

I happily closed my phone and put i
t on the end table.  Eric asked, “So how was your day?”

“Good so far. Yours?”

“Great.” Eric cleared his throat. “Better than that now.”

I smiled.
When the movie started, I noticed that he had brought one of my all-time favorite horror movies, A Nightmare on Elm Street. 

As the movie played, we continued talking.  I didn’t mind not watching it.  I was more interested in what he had to say. 

He asked me a lot of questions.  He asked about what my parents did for a living. He seemed pleased that Mom was a lawyer and that Dad was a doctor.

His parents were very wealthy. They had worked for many years as business consultants to oil companies.  Their work kept them away from home the majority of the time.  More so than my parents, I realized. I felt sorry for him because I knew how hard it was when my parents weren’t home. I got the impression that he was very mature because of that.

He told me that his parents had hired a live-in nanny when he was younger. From his explanation, I drew the conclusion that she wasn’t the greatest person in the world. She hadn’t been mean to him or abused him or anything like that.  She had just been I guess you could say, very distant from him.  She did her job proficiently.  The cooking and cleaning was always done without fail.  She wasn’t the type of person who prized children, but she didn’t dislike them either.  He said she had been very professional.

His parents had let her go when Eric turned fourteen.  They didn’t see any reason that he would need a nanny anymore.  He was plenty old enough and was mature enough to stay by himself.  And from then until now he has basically taken care of himself. 

Out of the blue, my phone rang.  It was Mom.  I hadn't realized that the time was passing so quickly.  She was on her way home and asked if we would like to have something to eat from town.  I asked Eric if he would stay and eat with us and he agreed eagerly.  I was glad because I wasn’t quite ready for him to leave.

I asked her what she had in mind to get.