by C J Benjamin
I nodded my head. This explained the feeling I had with Nova. In the forest I felt like I bonded with him in the most powerful way. It was so strong I couldn’t even explain it. That must be what I was experiencing. That was s relief. I thought I was just madly in love with him. I gave a little snort of laughter and looked back at Sparrow.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
“Nothing, I think I know what you’re talking about. I’ve experienced it and I’m really glad you explained that to me because I was definitely mistaking those feelings for something else.”
“Glad to help clear it up then.”
“Could we really turn this rubble pile into a tornado?” I whispered.
“Wouldn’t that be a show for Greeley!” she said, sending us both into fits of laughter.
We worked silently for a while with the Grifts nearby. Sparrow was merrily polishing her stones and humming a little tune. Her basket was nearly full and mine was looking like a pretty poor example next to hers. Maybe the Grifts were right, talking really did slow down our productivity. I scurried around sifting through rubble until I found something worth polishing. I clambered back up to sit by Sparrow again and to my surprise my basket seemed to have taken on powers of its own. There were now about a dozen stones, gems and metals all glistening in a neat little pile. Only minutes ago there were about six poor specimens.
“Sparrow! How’d you do that?” I exclaimed trying to hide my astonishment in a whisper.
“Just gave them a little love is all.”
“That’s what you said this morning too with my uniform! How do you do it?”
“I’m a healer, 65. That’s my gift. I can restore things back to their original form.”
I was amazed. What an incredible power! I wondered if I could do that as well?
“Can you heal anything? Even people?” I asked
“I’ve never tried to heal anything more serious than the occasional scrape or burn,” she said suddenly sheepish now. “I’m not that great.”
“Are you kidding? I think you’re incredible!”
“Well, it does make this job a little easier.”
We both laughed at that and continued to work on the rubble pile together while she explained more about herself to me. She came to the Troian Center after the Flood like the rest of us orphans. Before that, she had lived in Lux, in one of the glimmering white houses by the sea. Their home was swept away in the horrible Flood and she and her family were washed out to sea. She awoke to find herself drifting on a piece of debris in the ocean. She clung to it until it took her ashore. That’s where she found Journey. He must have washed up on shore and was lying unconscious in a heap of sea kelp and weeds. She ran to him and stayed with him, comforting him and stroking his tangled brown hair until he woke. Even after he came to he still wouldn’t speak to her, but they were inseparable despite his lack of communication.
They lived in a secluded area of the beach for about a week, surviving on fruit and berries until the Grifts found them and brought them to the Center. She told me that when she first arrived they tried to separate them, thinking that Journey was older than Sparrow because of his size. He threw a fit and clung to her, saying that she was his twin sister and they couldn’t take her away. This astonished even Sparrow because up until that moment she had never heard him speak, but knowing no one else at the Center, she went along with it. This made me laugh out loud, because saying Journey and Sparrow were twins were like comparing a tarcat with a dortrib. Sure they were of the same species and had the same coloring, but dortribs were scrawny little felines that the locals kept as pets. No one would ever confuse one for a lethal tarcat. It was true that Journey and Sparrow both had similar features, like tan skin, amber-colored eyes, shiny bronze hair, but that’s where it ended. Sparrow was almost as thin as me, but a bit taller, giving her a lanky bird-like fragility. Journey, on the other hand, was as solid as a stone. His neck was as wide as his block head that sat atop his muscular shoulders, giving him a menacing appearance.
I worked quietly, soaking up everything Sparrow was saying. She was a wealth of knowledge and seemed trustworthy. I only spent a few hours with her working on the pile, yet I already knew she would be my friend for life. I wanted to spend more time with her and I thought the perfect opportunity would be for her to come with me to meet Nova tonight. I had a feeling he wouldn’t be happy about me bringing along an unannounced guest, but she was one of us. Maybe she could help me figure out my powers faster.
“Sparrow, I have something I want to tell you. But, it’s a secret.”
“You can trust me, 65, we’re sisters now.”
I smiled, loving the sound of the word sisters. I always dreamed of having a sister. I repeated the word, letting it roll off my tongue. That sold me right there. I was definitely going to tell her about Nova’s secret plans to meet in the forest.
“I want you to go somewhere with me tonight.”
“Where?”
“Well, that’s the secret part. Do you trust me?”
She nodded.
“Okay, then tonight we’re going to sneak out of the Center, so wear your clothes to bed so you’re ready to go.”
Surprisingly, she just nodded at me and her only question was if Journey could come.
“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. We don’t want to attract too much attention.”
“Yes, but I don’t think I can actually sneak away without him noticing. It might be better to just clue him in on it so he doesn’t give us away by mistake.”
I weighed it over for a moment. She was probably right; those two really were joined at the hip. Even now I could see him just one pile over from us, always keeping her in his line of sight. I watched him sorting through rubble effortlessly, discarding rocks for the locals to haul away like they weighed nothing at all. I just didn’t know him enough to completely trust him yet.
“You can trust him, 65. I promise,” she said. “He’s one of us.”
“Okay fine. You tell him to be ready and not to tell anyone else.”
Just then the Grifts blew their whistles, signaling the end of our work day. Wow, it really flew by. What’s that saying? Time flies when you’re having fun? It should be time flies when you’re discovering you have magic powers! All the Johns and Janes filed into the dining hall. We filled our trays and went to our respective tables. Dinner was always my favorite meal of the day. In addition to the fruits we ate at breakfast and lunch, we also were served fresh seafood. It was usually boiled into a thick stew with roots and grains, but every once in a while we would luck out and the seafood would be served breaded and fried until it was golden and crispy. I always said if I ever found the Grift that made that meal I’d marry him! However, he mustn’t have been in the kitchen today because I was slopped a healthy portion of fish stew.
I exited the line and headed to my usual spot. My quiet little table in the corner was already bustling with excitement. Nova, Journey and Sparrow were deep in conversation when I joined them. I scanned the room for Remi after I sat down, and spotted him in line. He was just starting to make his way over to us, looking glum as ever at the prospect of another meal at his newly popular table.
I tried to focus on the conversation going on at our table while Remi approached. Sparrow seemed peppier than ever. For a moment I panicked that maybe she was excited about our secret trip tonight and was filling Nova and Journey in on it. That would ruin everything.
“What are you talking about?” I asked nervously.
“The New Year Gala!” she squealed. “They just posted the songs!” she said handing me a sheet.
“Oh, great,” I replied faking a smile.
My relief that she wasn’t spilling my secret was short lived. I dreaded singing at the New Year Gala. It was an annual festival in Lux to celebrate the New Year and since we didn’t celebrate birthdays, it also marked the turning of our year. We would all be one year older when we returned to the Center. It was actually quite
a lovely event. We got to dress up in lavish white robes and be on the inside of the shimmering walls of Lux for a change, but for me, all of that was overshadowed by the fact that we had to sing. I hated singing. I was horrible at it. Remi never poked fun at me except for on this occasion. He couldn’t help it I suppose. Everyone laughed at me in rehearsals. Last year, our teacher Miss Sprigg actually asked me just to move my mouth around like I was singing, but not actually make any noise. She said it sounded better that way.
“26, over here!” waved Sparrow.
I looked up to see Remi staring at us, standing planted a few feet from our table. Probably trying to decide if there was anywhere else he could sit. But now that Sparrow had drawn attention to him, he seemed guilted into joining us. He sat at the end of the table, closest to Sparrow and me.
“Did you get your song sheets yet?” she asked him when he sat down.
“No, I didn’t know they were up yet,” he replied.
“Just went up! I got you a set.”
“Thanks,” he said glancing at me with a little hint of his usual smirk. I bet he was loving the fact that he knew I was squirming inside.
“What do you think, Tippy? There seems to be a good selection this year, huh?” Nova asked, flipping through the papers.
“Yeah, Tippy, I bet you’re very excited,” jeered Remi.
I glared at him.
“I bet we’ll get to sing the same part,” Sparrow said grabbing my hand. “Are you a Soprano? I am.”
“Um, I don’t know. I’m not really that great at singing,” I said. This made Remi choke on his food. “Okay, I’m plain awful alright!” I shouted at him. “Happy now?”
After he had his little laughing, coughing spell, he said, “Yes, actually thinking about you singing really did cheer me up.”
“Very funny.”
“See, you can’t be that bad if you cheer 26 up,” said Sparrow.
“He was being sarcastic,” I said.
“I remember you from last year! You’re the one Miss Sprigg made stand in the back and just mouth the words, aren’t you?” asked Journey.
Great, so the guy who never says much has a mind like a trap! Figures. “Yes, that was me. I told you I wasn’t good.”
That gave us all a laugh actually. It was kind of fun to be laughing with friends about my horrible singing skills rather than being laughed at. It helped take the pressure off. Unfortunately, our light heartedness didn’t last very long. It was interrupted by Jemma and her band of followers. I could feel her unpleasant presence even before she opened her mouth. I think I had sensed her. Was that part of my powers? Maybe I could sense evil?
“Well, look at this cheery little group. Having fun are we?” she sneered in her usual acid tone.
I’d managed to steer clear of her since our fight. I guess my luck had to run out at some point.
“You must be looking forward to singing again at the New Year Gala, 65! Should I advise Miss Sprigg to put you front and center this year? No one will want to miss your spectacular voice,” she laughed. “Maybe someone will do us all a favor and finally adopt you.”
This ignited a round of laughter from her little henchmaids. That was my word for the Janes that fawned over her.
“Give it a rest Jemma,” I warned.
“I thought you would have learned not to use my name again, but I guess you’re even dumber than I thought!” she whispered over my shoulder. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about your little stunt in the fields. You won’t always have your friends around to protect you.”
She took a quick step closer to me, intended to frighten me I guess. All it did was bring, Journey, Remi and Nova to their feet. Sparrow sat there wide-eyed, staring at me.
“Don’t get up on my account, Johns. I was just leaving,” she sneered. And with that she flipped her long black mane and marched away.
“Well, that was pleasant,” sighed Sparrow as the boys returned to their seats. “Are you alright?” she asked.
“Yes, I’m fine, and thanks for sticking up for me guys, but I can handle Jemma on my own.”
“I agree with Tippy,” said Sparrow. “I think she’s just trying to get a rise out of her and you guys reacting that way is exactly the attention she wants.”
“Hey, I just didn’t want a repeat of what happened in the fields,” said Nova.
“I don’t think any of us want that,” I muttered under my breath. All this Jemma talk was ruining my appetite. I stood abruptly, grabbing my tray. “I think I’m going to go get a jump start on studying. See you all later.”
11
Nova caught my eye as I was walking past him. “Don’t forget about tonight!” called his voice in my head. Like that was possible. I gave him a nod and kept walking. I got back to my room and sprawled out on my cot bed. I flipped over onto my back and stared at the ceiling. I had so many thoughts, most of which were questions, whirling around in my head. I wished it was 11:00 already so I could be on my way to getting answers to some of them. I felt like I had learned so many new things about myself in the past twenty-four hours that I couldn’t keep them all straight. I lay there with my mind spinning until someone came into the room. I popped up on my elbows to see it was only Sparrow, so I slumped back down onto the bed.
“You forgot your sheet music,” she said, cheerily waving the papers at me.
“Oh, thanks,” I mumbled sitting up to take the papers from her. I stared at them sulkily as she sat down next to me, curling her delicate legs under her.
“You know I could help you practice. I’m sure you’ll get better at it.”
“That’s not what’s bothering me actually,” I sighed.
“Is it Jemma?” she whispered.
“Not that either at the moment. I’ve just been trying to keep everything straight, you know? I feel like there’s so much for me to learn still, about what I can do. But I’ve already learned so much and I have all these questions. I just feel really confused. How did you deal with it when you first found out you had powers?”
Sparrow smiled at me and grabbed my hand. “First, it’s going to be okay. You have me and Nova and Journey to help you with all of this. Second, you need a journal. That always helps me make sense of my questions and keep track of things.”
“A journal?”
“Yes! I have a spare that you can use to start with,” she said as she bounded over to her shelf in our wardrobe. I started to argue that we weren’t allowed to keep personal things, but she was ignoring me with her head shoved deep inside the closet. She probably couldn’t even hear me.
“Here it is!” she said, dusting off a notebook and bringing it over to me.
“This is just one of our lesson notebooks,” I said flipping it over in my hands as I inspected it.
“Well what did you expect? Something spectacular? It has to blend in with our things, since you know we’re not allowed to keep personal things,” she said mimicking my whinny voice.
So she had heard me after all. This got a smile out of me.
“Okay, so what do I do? Just empty my brain right here on the pages? What if someone finds it?”
She smiled wide and grabbed a pencil. “Watch.”
She started scrawling her name on the first page, then she wrote the date, and underneath she neatly wrote: Today I give this journal to 65, so that she may begin her quest to greatness and learn the true gift that has been bestowed upon her. Sparrow.
She handed the book back to me so I could inspect what she’d written. Then she closed the cover and held onto one end of the notebook, thrusting the other end in my direction.
“Okay, now hold on, close your eyes and repeat after me.”
At first the room was completely silent. I sat quietly waiting for her to say something and then I heard it.
“Restore!”
My eyes flew open! She could speak to me telepathically too! I quickly shut my eyes again and concentrated on speaking to her with my mind.
“Restore, Restore, Resto
re.”
“Okay, open your eyes,” said Sparrow, with her amber eyes gleaming at me. “Now for the moment of truth. Open it.”
I slowly pulled the notebook back toward me and opened it to the first page. It was completely blank! I must have missed a page? I flipped, faster and faster. Every page was blank! I flipped it over and started from the back. Blank, all blank!
“You did it!” she squealed.
“Did what?”
“Okay, okay, I’ll show you the best part. Repeat after me,” she said, once again grabbing half of the notebook.
“Reveal!”
This time I heard her right away and repeated back to her with my mind, “Reveal!”
We opened our eyes and stared at each other. Her face was bright with her twitchy smile as she jutted her chin at me, motioning for me to open the book.
I hesitated for a moment, feeling silly, but when I folded the smooth cover back, the first page revealed what hadn’t been there a moment ago. There in front of me was Sparrow’s note!
“How?” I exclaimed almost jumping away from the words on the page with surprise.
“It’s part of my powers.” She smiled. “And it’s essential for keeping a journal. Like you said, we don’t want anyone else reading it.”
“But can I do it?”
“You just did.”
“Yeah, but you were helping me.”
“Try it again on your own this time.”
I repeated the process, “Restore, Reveal,” and to my surprise it worked exactly the same way. I was so excited I could barely contain myself. I felt like I was doing real magic! This was even better than the flaming light Nova showed me. That felt so detached from reality. Almost like it was a dream, not something that actually happened. But this, this was right out in the open, in my everyday life. I was sitting in my room, making words disappear and reappear! I grabbed the pencil and scribbled in the notebook under where Sparrow had written. Sparrow is amazing. She just showed me an incredible trick! I can’t wait to explore everything I learn in the safety of this journal. Sparrow, you are truly incredible!
