We Faced a Goddess

Ambrus’ house was not what I expected. It was actually light and welcoming. The walls were soft hues green and blue. There was quite a bit of furniture for just the two of them. There were no pictures on the walls or anything on the walls for that matter. There was a staircase on the right that led into darkness and to the left seemed to be the kitchen.

As I walked through the living room it felt like a million emotions hit me at once. It was painful as if my entire body was being ripped apart. Suddenly, everything went dark.

I woke up in an absolute panic. Images of a masquerade pounded in my head. It was a dream I guess. I was panicked and was looking for someone. I had to keep them safe… I wish I could have remembered who it was.

I looked at my clock and it was only midnight. What happened to me? Why did I pass out? I tried to get up and it was as if every fiber of my being was on fire. This was the worst possible time to realize I had to pee.

“Don’t get up!” A voice called from the darkness. Of course, being startled, I flung myself out of bed. Realizing what I had done I felt my body in revolt. I fell to the floor simply because the pain was unbearable. My lights came on and I saw Keres standing by the light switch.

“What are you doing here?” I asked

“I wanted to keep an eye on you,” she explained while helping me up. “I didn’t mean to scare you. You’re probably in a lot of pain right now.” Keres set me on my bed. “I’ll explain everything later I promise. For now, you need to rest. Your aunt and my dad are downstairs. I’ll just let them know you’re okay.” She covered me up and turned off my light before leaving my room.

As I sat there in the dark I could feel myself slowly falling asleep, but I seemed to have one person on my mind that made sleep impossible. Ugh, I had a crush on Keres...

When I woke up in the morning I felt a lot better. I had a headache but that was about it. I walked downstairs to find Keres and Aunt Paige sitting on the couch. Keres stood when she saw me.

“How are you feeling, kiddo?” Aunt Paige asked.

“A lot better, actually.” I said, “I’m sorry about last night. I didn’t mean to ruin anything.

“You didn’t ruin anything,” said Aunt Paige and Keres in unison. They looked at each other before Aunt Paige continued. “We didn’t have dinner but I did talk to Ambrus after he helped take you up to your room. I was entirely wrong to believe the rumors about him. He’s a very nice guy.”

“Well not entirely wrong,” Keres mumbled. I don’t think Aunt Paige heard her.

“You woke up at a good time kiddo.” Aunt Paige said while getting her purse together. “I have to head out for a while. I figured you and Keres could get to know each other while I’m gone.”

“Yeah,” I agreed, “that sounds great.” Yeah nothing is better than being alone with your crush.

“Alright, I’ll see you later kiddo.” Aunt Paige said as she walked out the door. I took Keres to my room because I needed to figure out all this weird mystery stuff that’s been going on.

“Keres,” I started, “what the hell is going on? What did you mean back at the mall when you said I was ‘one too’ and why did I feel all of those awful emotions last night and why did you say I didn’t have to be afraid of you?”

“Well,” Keres sighed, “it’s a lot to explain. I’m not normal like the other kids out there, and you aren’t normal either. You’re one of us. I guess, since you’ve never had any actual spiritual connections before it’s remained dormant in your system. You’re a connector between worlds.”

“Like a medium?” I asked.

“Well, in your case a psychic,” Keres continued. “That’s why you felt all of those emotions when you came to my house. A spiritual connection was finally made and it was a very large one. You weren’t ready for that. My dad kind of did it on purpose. He wanted to be sure it was more than just a hunch that you were one of us. As for you being afraid of me, like I said I’m not normal.”

Keres stopped talking and made eye contact with me. Her eyes were green with little gold specks in them. She was so pretty, but everything she was telling me was insane. That is until…

“You think I’m pretty…” Keres said almost shocked. “And you think I’m crazy… I’m not. I promise I’m not. Please don’t be afraid of me or anything.”

“I still don’t see why I would even be afraid, Keres.” I said. Truth be told I didn’t have a reason yet. So, she could read minds and possibly see the future, but what else was there?

Ask and you shall receive. Keres faced toward my closet door and moved her hand as if opening it. The door actually opened… Keres was probably six feet away from the door and it opened.

“I can do more too…” She said regretfully. “Like I said, please don’t be afraid. I’m not a threat.”

“I’m not afraid. Shocked? Yes. Afraid? No.” I sat on my bed and patted for Keres to sit next to me. She did. “So, how do things like this happen?”

“Genetics. My mom was like this. She actually met my dad when he came to her for a reading. Sadly, my mother passed when I was five. We had just moved in but she and I had to stay in a hospital for a while because we were both sick. I look a lot like her apparently. I guess that’s why those rumors got started…”

It was quiet for a minute. It suddenly occurred to me how hard it must have been for Keres to fit in. Everyone saw her as a Frankenstein’s monster. She’s just a girl.

“My mother died too…” I said trying to make things less awkward. It didn’t work. “I got into a car accident and my parents got the worst of it. I lost both of them and that’s why I had to move here.”

“You know what this means right?” Keres asked. I just shook my head. “We can become superheroes now.” Keres cracked a smile and both of us laughed a bit. I felt a little bit of pain in my head and I thought I heard my doorbell ring so I went downstairs. Keres followed with a smile on her face. I reached the front door and opened it to see Ambrus about to ring the doorbell again.

“Ambrus?” I said.

“Oh, hello Miss Bonnibelle,” Ambrus started, “is my daughter here?” Keres came up behind me and rested her head on my shoulder. This made me realize how tall she was and how short I was.

“Hi dad,” Keres said. “Bonnibelle here is starting to see. She heard the doorbell before it happened.”

“Wait, what?” I was confused. I just thought he rang the doorbell. “You didn’t ring the bell?”

“No, I was about to when you opened the door.” Ambrus explained. That explained the weird pain I got before I heard the bell ring. “Anyways, Keres, I need to talk to you.”

“Oh okay. Bonnibelle, I will be leaving you now. Keep an eye on your bedroom window though. I think I may have some news for you.”

“You have no idea how little I actually get to surprise her with…” Ambrus said while taking his daughter’s arm. Watching the two walk away made me think of my own dad. I could feel the tears run down my face. I noticed Keres glance back at me and I slammed the door so she couldn’t see me cry.

I went to my room and the tears just kept flowing. I missed my parents. I was nowhere near done mourning their deaths. It just hurt so much to not see my parents or hear their voices or just hug them one more time. I could almost smell the light floral scent my mom’s perfume. I sat on my bed with my face in my hands for a long time. Then I heard the knock on my window.