The Girl Who Looked Beyond the Stars

by L B Anne

  Mr. Tobias sighed. “Alright then. Knowing everything isn’t always a good thing.”

  Teddy and I glanced at each other.

  “I’ve given this some thought—how we were both sent to the park that day. I get the feeling I’m supposed to help educate you on who you are, and what you can do.” He paused as if he were waiting for me to say something. “Let’s start with your questions.”

  Teddy shook his head, but I ignored him.

  “Where is your family? Your nurse says you never have visitors.”

  “Stop getting personal,” whispered Teddy.

  “I have two sons, total opposites. The older of the two is a physician in Ohio, and the younger…He…I don’t know where he is. He didn’t want anything to do with this life of mine. God help him.”

  Mr. Tobias was silent for a moment, deep in thought. I felt sorry for him and wished I hadn’t brought it up, seeing the sadness on his face. I sure wouldn’t want my Nana to be alone like that.

  I thought it best to change the subject and get back to what I was there for. “Can you tell me about being a gleamer?”

  Mr. Tobias cleared his throat. “We’re like seers, but we reflect light, and in that brief gleam, we can see what is to come, or what has passed. As I’ve told you, you’re something special. You’ve been given the ability to see things in the spirit realm.”

  “Can others see besides you and me?”

  “Yes, but not like long ago. There was a time when there were many of us. Man no longer believes, so they can’t see or hear the way they used to. That’s where you and I come in. We are Type-one gleamers.”

  “What’s that?”

  “What’s a Type-one?” Teddy asked at the same time.

  “What we have is stronger or superior. We sense things and can see things just as clear as you can see me sitting across from you.”

  “I can’t.”

  “You will.”

  Teddy placed his hand on my knee. My legs were shaking without me realizing it.

  “Is that why the Archangel showed himself? So I would begin seeing things?”

  “No, I believe you’ve come of age.”

  “What is it for—this gleam or sight?” asked Teddy.

  I looked at him as to say, Why are you asking questions?

  “For you to help. You have to mature—strengthen—”

  “Help what or who?” I asked.

  “You’ll know.”

  “That’s what you’ve done?”

  “Something like that. I have a feeling you will have far greater experiences than I’ve had and see greater things than I’ve seen.”

  It all sounded well and good, but I wasn’t convinced. “Well—”

  “I can see you need more proof. I want to show you something that will speed this process up a bit.”

  We looked around the room, expecting to see something. “What?”

  Mr. Tobias leaned forward in his seat and lowered his voice more than he already had. “Get to Hackley tonight.”

  “The hospital?” I whispered.

  “Yes.”

  “How am I supposed to do that?”

  “I don’t know. Be creative, figure it out.”

  I looked at Teddy. He shook his head. I expected Mr. Tobias to say something more, but he didn’t.

  “Let’s go,” whispered Teddy.

  We stood to leave. “Okay, I guess we’ll see you later?”

  “May your vision be true, Little Gleamer.”

  Whatever that means.

  Once we were outside, I turned to Teddy. “You said we’ll see you later. What do you mean, we?”

  “You already know, if you’re going, I’m going.”

  “But how am I supposed to get out of the house? My parents will kill me!”

  Ting! Ting!

  I jumped out of my bed, already dressed, and ran to my window, hearing the pebbles hit it. I looked down at Teddy and put my finger to my lips.

  “Hurry up,” he mouthed.

  My heart pounded hard in my chest as I tiptoed to the stairs. I could hear the television on in my parents' bedroom. That should keep them from hearing the door chime when I opened it. Our stupid original wooden stairs creaked with each step, causing me to almost have a heart attack. At the bottom, I waited. Hearing no movement from upstairs, I carefully walked to the back of the house, making sure my mom hadn’t fallen asleep on the sofa in the family room. If she had, there would be no way out.

  All the lights were off, but I knew the layout of my house, and ran my hand over the kitchen island and then the bar stools as I approached the family room.

  I held my breath. Someone was on the sofa.

  I walked around the sectional and leaned over the figure. It took everything in me to pull out my phone and shine it slightly toward the figure. Thank goodness it was only pillows and throw blankets.

  I went to the back door, punched in the code to turn the alarm off and opened the door. Ding! The door chimed. I closed the door behind me and waited. No one came. One more door, I thought as I walked through the mudroom. I looked back behind me through the glass top of the door, and thought I saw movement in the hall next to the kitchen. I froze and held my breath. My eyes were playing tricks on me. There was no way I could possibly see anything in the dark. I stepped out of the back door and began breathing again.

  Teddy stood with his bike, waiting. I held a finger to my lips, and we walked our bikes down to the corner. “You did that like a pro. That wasn’t your first time, was it?”

  “I plead the fifth.”

  “Why are we waiting?” Teddy asked when I stopped and leaned my bike against the street light pole.

  “Chana isn’t here yet.”

  “She’s not coming. She can’t get out.”

  “Really?” I sucked in air. It didn’t feel right having an adventure without her. “Alright. Let’s get going then. The sooner we get there and see what’s up with Mr. Tobias, the sooner we can get back.”

  The whole ride to the hospital, all I could think was the police were going to see us and pull us over, or the house would catch fire, or there would be some emergency that would make my parents go to my room to get me. I’d done my best to make my pillows and stuffed animals look like me under the blankets. We just needed to hurry.

  “We’re here,” said Teddy as we pulled up to the front of the hospital.

  “No, really? Am I blind or something?”

  “Dang, bite my head off already. I’m just saying.”

  “Aren’t you going to lock up your bike?”

  “At this time of night? Nah, just put it against the rack. No one’s out here.”

  “Boy, if my bike gets stolen and I have to walk home—”

  “Okay, chain it then.”

  I didn’t. I watched Teddy and leaned my bike against the rack like he did.

  Sliding glass doors parted, allowing us to enter the building.

  It must have been a slow night for injuries or illnesses, because there were only two people waiting in the emergency area.

  Teddy pointed without saying anything.

  Mr. Tobias sat before a woman at the counter. “There they are! They’re with me,” he announced, waving us over.

  “These are your grandchildren?”

  He nodded. “What? Is there a problem? Can I not have black grandchildren?”

  “No-no-no. That’s not what I’m saying. I was caught off guard.”

  “I’m black too you know. My complexion is very light. What, is this a brown paper bag hospital now?”

  She looked down, her face turning red. “Sir, I really don’t know what that means, but that’s not what I meant.” She looked up at me. “Your grandfather wouldn’t allow us to take him back until you arrived. Where are your parents? Did you come here alone at this time of night?”

  My eyes widened. I hadn’t thought about that part.

  “Parking the car,” Teddy answered for me.

  I squatted alongside Mr. Tobias. “Are
you alright? How long have you been waiting?”

  “Too long,” the woman responded under her breath as she placed an identification bracelet on Mr. Tobias’s arm. “We could’ve run tests, so we’d have a diagnosis by the time you arrived, but your grandfather refused.”

  “I’m fine, dear,” said Mr. Tobias, playing along.

  “This way, please,” she instructed as she walked around the desk and wheeled Mr. Tobias through double doors behind her to her left and into a room separated by curtains. “Stay here for a moment, please.”

  Mr. Tobias watched her and held a finger up. “Now!”

  “Now?”

  He looked up at Teddy. “Push!”

  I pulled the curtain back to make sure the corridor was empty.

  Teddy jumped behind Mr. Tobias’s wheelchair and we took off down the hall.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Back there. Those elevators,” Mr. Tobias pointed.

  I pushed the button for the elevator and kept pushing, trying to hurry it.

  “That doesn’t work, you know?” said Teddy, looking behind us to see if anyone was coming. “You only need to push it once.”

  The doors opened and we rushed in. “What floor?” I asked.

  “Tonight…Let’s try the sixth.”

  Did he just randomly pick a floor? Why the heck did I sneak out of my house? I shot Teddy a frustrated look, but he ignored me.

  “You really know your way around this place,” said Teddy. “What’s on the sixth floor?”

  “NICU.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Intensive care for infants.”

  The elevator door slid open. We stood in a small lounge area, no larger than a hall, that was blocked off by locked double doors with a rectangular glass pane in each.

  “They’re not going to let us back there. These areas have more security so someone can’t just walk off with a baby,” I said.

  “We don’t need to go beyond those doors. We just need to be on this floor.

  “Sheena, look through those windows,” Mr. Tobias instructed.

  I slowly stepped forward, not knowing what he expected me to see. Nurses walking or holding babies or something? Parents crying over sick babies?

  “Am I looking for something in particular?” I asked as I looked through the small glass panel in one of the doors.

  Mr. Tobias shook his head. “You’re not seeing because you don’t want to see.”

  I’m not seeing, because there’s nothing there, I thought. I tried my best to focus, but I really had to pee. I must’ve stood there ten minutes waiting for something miraculous to happen, but it didn’t.

  Finally, I figured if I called out what I saw, he would see that I was trying.

  “I see a nurses' station, and there’s a baby being pushed in an incubator or something. That’s it.”

  Mr. Tobias didn’t respond.

  “I think he dozed off,” said Teddy.

  “Because I’m old? I can close my eyes and not be asleep, you know?” Mr. Tobias hissed.

  “I still don’t see anything.”

  “You’re not at peace. You’re uptight, nervous, and I think a little fearful. As long as you stay in that place, you won’t see. Your only sight will come from dreams, when your mind has calmed.”

  “You know I’ve had dreams?”

  He didn’t say it, but his expression asked, “Really?”

  “Oh, yeah, I guess you would know what I’m going through.”

  “You’re blocking yourself—limiting your vision. There is a deeper reality than what is. Close your eyes and concentrate. Open your eyes with an awareness of what is really happening around you.”

  I looked back through the window, closed my eyes, inhaled deeply, and exhaled. I listened to the sounds in the lounge, just like I had in my dad’s hospital room, until I almost felt I could fall asleep standing up. I slowly opened my eyes and gasped.

  What I saw was nothing like in my dad’s room, but just as miraculous.

  “Oh my gosh!”

  “What? What do you see?” asked Teddy.

  “How many are there?” I asked.

  “One for every child,” Mr. Tobias responded.

  “They’re beautiful.”

  Teddy ran up to me and looked through the glass, expecting to see them also. And just like that, they were gone.

  I turned to Mr. Tobias, my eyes wide and eager for more.

  He spoke before I could ask anything, as I sat in a chair next to him. “We all have one that is with us always. But what you are not seeing yet are the others that are also around.”

  “The others?”

  “You need to be aware of them because…” He looked over at Teddy.

  “What?”

  “You’re in danger.”

  I sprung up. “Why would he be in danger? You didn’t say anything about this stuff causing danger to anyone before.”

  “This stuff, as you call it, comes with a price.”

  “What price? No, you know what? I don’t want to know anymore. This was a mistake. I should have kept my mouth shut about what I saw that night and buried it somewhere deep where I’d forget it ever happened. I should never have sought you out. I shouldn’t have snuck out and come here. And Teddy, you shouldn’t have come with me. I should be in my bed right now, asleep, just like Chana is.”

  “I want to know,” said Teddy, very serious now. “How am I in danger?”

  Mr. Tobias shifted his weight in the wheelchair. “You are in danger because of her. Once the Murk know she’s a gleamer, and that she knows what she is, they will want to stop her, but there is a hedge of protection around her for her calling.”

  “The Murk? What the heck is that, and how does that involve me?”

  “The Murk will stress, torment, and cause her any pain they possibly can so she cannot use her gift, or so she’ll renounce it.” Mr. Tobias’s voice became somber. “Since they can’t get to her, they’ll attack those she cares about.”

  “No! I don’t want this. I don’t want some Murk or whatever you’re talking about coming after people. How can I make it go away? You can be the last gleamer.”

  Mr. Tobias turned to me. He looked pained. “You still don’t understand that you have a great responsibility. But you’ve been talking. The Murk don’t know what’s in your mind, but what you let come out of your mouth tells them everything. I suppose now they are trying to decide what exactly you are.”

  “I don’t even know what exactly I am.” I pushed the button for the elevator. “We’re leaving.”

  “Sheena, you need to listen to everything he’s saying.”

  “I’ve heard enough. He said my friends and my family are in danger.” I turned to Mr. Tobias. “What about you? You’re my friend, aren’t you? Are you in danger also, or do you have this same protection that I have?”

  Teddy pushed Mr. Tobias into the elevator. I stared down at him, waiting for an answer that never came.

  “And you didn’t answer my question the other day.”

  “You’re not ready for any further answers. I misjudged you. I thought you were ready. I thought you were stronger.”

  Why was he saying that? I felt so confused. I needed to get out of there.

  “Leave me right here. They’ll find me,” Mr. Tobias instructed once we were on the ground floor again.

  “We can’t do that,” said Teddy. “Sheena, wait!”

  I walked away, heading for the exit.

  “Go with her,” I heard Mr. Tobias say. I looked back and saw him whisper something to Teddy.

  Teddy nodded and jogged after me. “Sheena, wait up!”

  The emergency room staff saw us as soon as we exited the double doors. “Are those the kids?” someone asked.

  We ran through the exit to our bikes—thank God they were still there—and took off.

  A couple blocks away, I stopped pedaling and looked around.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I feel like w
e’re being watched.”

  “By who? By them, the Murk?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t even want to know what the Murk is. Aren’t you scared?”

  “No.”

  “You’re not scared because this isn’t happening to you.” I began to tear up.

  Teddy placed his hand on my back. “It’s going to be okay. We’re all going to be okay. If anything is going to happen, you’ll somehow see it first and warn us just like you did with Chana.”

  “But what if I don’t see it?”

  “You will, but right now you have to calm down. We can’t stand out here at this time of night, waiting for the police to drive by. Then you’ll have much more to worry about than the Murk. Let’s get going.”

  I sniffed and wiped my eyes. “What did Mr. Tobias whisper to you?”

  Teddy looked away. “Something that may help.”

  16

  I t was a miracle I made it back in the house without my parents knowing I was gone. I lay in bed pulling long strands of curls apart, angry, thinking about Teddy. Why wouldn’t he tell me what Mr. Tobias whispered to him? I even begged, which I would normally never do.

  Did he forget I knew his weakness? Just one spider, that’s all I needed. A daddy long-legs even, and I could cause him major distress. He was so terrified of spiders. Maybe that’s what I should do. Chana and I could tie him to a chair, I could go out back to the shed and find some spiders—there were tons of them out there—I’d come back with a jar full. I bet I wouldn’t even need to let them crawl out of the jar onto his shoulder or lap. He would scream and tell me everything I wanted to know.

  “Ugh!” I exclaimed. “I’m no torturer.”

  For a second, I wondered if the angel could hear my thoughts. Then I felt ashamed. That wasn’t me. I was just angry. “I didn’t mean it,” I said aloud. And since I wasn’t sure of what the angel could hear, I thought it best to keep my thoughts in check.

  Although I thought I’d have trouble falling asleep, I drifted off quickly, and I dreamed. A dream so intense I awoke panting with my heart racing. I sat up catching my breath, then reached over the side of the bed and grabbed a notebook and a gel pen out of my backpack. I needed to write it all down before it all disappeared into the dream abyss.