This is a Gift

Liadan let those words sink in for a moment: you start fighting back. It seemed so simple, yet filled her with a sense of dread and exhaustion that she hadn’t felt before. Like a ton of bricks had been dumped on her shoulders and it was a steep, uphill climb to release them. She sipped the hot chocolate, letting the little bit of warmth it had left soothe her. She didn’t know details of what she needed to do, but a sense of strength started to seep through her. Self pity hadn’t ever been her thing (okay, it mostly had never been her thing), and she was going to take those four words and make them her battle cry.

“Okay,” she said, straightening up in her seat. “I get it. I accept it. I have…” She paused. She set her cocoa down and then raised her hands and gestured with the word. “Powers. Now how do I stop those dillholes?” Still standing in the entryway, David snickered at her word choice.

Professor Craven looked down a moment, and then at Liadan before saying, “Well, it’s not going to be easy. According to the prophecy, the stones will be necessary to help you finally wipe the Unnamed out.” “Do these stones do anything?” Liadan asked.

“Nobody knows,” Christopher said. “There’s never been an actual Lecta.”

Liadan pointed at him. “Lecta. That word. Julian called me that; what does it mean?”

“It’s Latin. It means ‘chosen.’” Professor Craven told her. He sipped his tea, eyes on her. Sometimes she felt he was examining her, but not in any physical sense. He could probably see all of her emotions and thoughts in a digital readout right above her head.

Liadan put her hands together and held them to her lips, thinking. The very least of what she was thinking was how on earth she was going to keep this a secret from her parents. It was full morning now, the sun shining through the windows and she had no idea how long she’d been gone. She was surprised they weren’t calling. Instinctively she checked her phone: dead. Great.

Liadan bit her lip, a small detail nagging at her. “How come nobody has ever seen or run into you guys before?”

Professor Craven smiled and tapped his temple. “We do have powers of the mind,” he reminded her gently.

“Is that why no one came outside tonight? When it was man versus plant?”

Her professor nodded. “Julian is a smart man. He would have made sure no one was aware of what was going on.”

“We’re kind of a silent realm. We do what we do, and you’re not supposed to know about us. It would cause more chaos,” Aaron explained.

Liadan pursed her lips, about to smile but then realizing she just didn’t feel like it. Sardonically, she said, “But, just to recap, I have two powers, meaning I’m the “chosen one.” You have two, which means you’re just a do-gooder?” Aaron nodded, “Yep.”

“I better go,” Liadan said, standing up. She felt weary and too emotionally drained to bother with more discussion. “Since I have no idea the last time I spoke to my parents, I’m sure I’m going to never hear the end of it when I get home.” Professor Craven and Christopher shared a look. “I can take you home,” Christopher said, standing up as well.

Liadan squinted at him. “Do you have a car?”

“No,” he replied, smiling at her. “But I can make sure your parents don’t find out.” His grin was goofy and he seemed genuinely proud of himself.

“He’s a time jumper.” Professor Craven said, responding to her confused look.

Liadan turned to Professor Craven. “Thank you, professor,” she said. “For being so kind, and helping me, and everything.” She finished awkwardly, words escaping her. He only smiled at her and replied, “Call me Max.” Liadan nodded and Christopher walked over to her. “This is going to feel really weird at first, but eventually you get used to it.”

Liadan scrunched her nose. “What?” Christopher took her hands in his. In the corner, David and Debi were beginning to have an argument, but then a gust of wind shot around her and suddenly she was standing in front of her parent’s house. It was now longer morning, but sunset.

“How do you know I won’t cross paths with myself? Should I avoid butterflies?”

Christopher shrugged. “We just know. It’s the night before. I think it’s about 6:30pm. So nobody will even have time to miss you.” He smiled that same proud-of-himself smile. “Goodnight, Lia!” And then he was gone.

Later, when she was finally home and laying in her bed, she picked up her phone to call Anna. The clock was striking 10am, the start of her second class of the day and she wasn’t present. Liadan still hadn’t slept a wink. Her family were all peacefully going about their lives, and Liadan hadn’t had the heart to tell them what she had just gone through. She didn’t want them to know what was out there and what she had seen, and to her, that was okay. She wanted her semblance of normalcy in the crazy world she’d just awakened to.