Parallel (Prophesied a spirit within,Book I)

by Cheryl Doucet-Surette

Chapter1/Wow is she for real?

  The old pendulum clock struck one, startling her, as Selah Jones looked onto the tiny room at her mother. She was wearing an anxious expression on her face, what was that women telling her?

  She bit her lip in worry this was so not what she bargained for, she was anxiously awaiting her faith. What if this woman could see what was really inside Selah’s head would she see how very different she really was? How she sometimes knew things before they happened, that was really hard for her to digest, or the deja-vu. But the strangest of all was when she dreamed something terrible happening to her and then it would come out in the news of having actually happened to someone in the near vicinity. Those were the ones that left her soul chilled to the bone. She never told anyone, just kept it all inside, and as things began to get stranger still for her, she seemed to retreat deeper and deeper inside herself, afraid it was somehow visible on the outside.

  Selah was dumbfounded how her mom, Diana, had talked her into coming here, at the old haunted mansion on the hill to see a fortune teller. Diana had been so excited to have a glimpse into the future, her future. Selah thought each day had enough problems, let alone worrying about tomorrow. She had only been inside the room now for a few minutes, Selah settled in, she might as well get comfy; her reading would take an hour or so. Lord knows what freaky thing she would put inside her mom’s head.

  The room she was in was filled with antique furniture and smelled a mixture of pledge and some air freshener trying to mask the oldness of the place. They had some pretty nice pieces, a rolled top desk with the stain worn in some places showing the telltale signs of being well used at one time. The bed was small for the size of the room, the headboard was carved all along the posts with what resembled vines, ivy upon closer inspection. There was a nice patterned rug on the floor of different hues of red and orange with some black and blues thrown in for good measure. The wall paper had seen better days that was for sure; who did wallpaper nowadays the walls must have been a mess underneath.

  What had Thomas told her yesterday? That there was a room in the mansion upstairs that had a bloodstain on the wall that never really went away, even though they kept trying to cover it up? She supposed it could be this room; there were so many different ones to choose from. The wall paper looked fairly new at one section, Selah rose to get a closer look. She noticed that the paper was coming unglued in one corner, and reached out to see what was behind the paper. There was an older woman across the hall waiting to see a different psychic. She smiled at Selah, as she smiled back, had she noticed me ripping the wall paper off?

  “Your very young” she said, “This must be your first time getting your fortune told.”

  “Yes, I’m 16 and it’s my first time,” Selah said.

  “You’re really gonna enjoy it, it’s really amazing how much they can tell you about yourself. I have come here every 5 years to get mine told and every time they tell me something new,” She bubbled out.

  There must have been someone else in the hall because Selah heard another female voice saying that this was her second time seeing one and the last time a few things had actually happened. Well duh! Why else would you come back? Some people just couldn’t make up their own decisions obviously, without someone telling them what to do. The old lady began talking with the other, Selah tuned out the voices.

  Selah looked at the older lady across from her, she had wrinkles around her eyes, probably a grandmother that loved to cook by her size, she nervously clutched and unclutched her purse in her hands, strange Selah thought, as the lady turned towards her feeling her staring. Selah pretended she was focused on the section of wallpaper she had taken off, as her phone began to vibrate.

  Yes! It was Thomas,

  “Did she tell you you’re mentally insane? Lol.” He texted.

  “That’s you, jerk; I’m trying to rip the wallpaper off the wall in the bedroom I’m in, trying to find something.” Selah texted back.

  “Shit really! You are mentally insane! You’re destroying someone else’s property Sel, not good what are you trying to find anyway?” Thomas wrote.

  “What do you mean? You’re the shithead that told me about the stain!” She texted back, she was getting slightly pissed at him.

  “Lol, Sometimes I wonder about you. It was on the floor! Next time I tell you something get your head out of your butt,” He texted back.

  Crap, she had ripped the wallpaper for nothing. Selah looked up at the clock, 15 minutes had passed; this was going to be a long hour. She peeked in to her mom, she didn’t look as happy as when she went in. The woman had some bowl, with what looked like water staring into it. “Great she’s a freak!” she texted Thomas.

  “You should get along great with her then.” Thomas texts back. He’s right Selah was a freak kinda, not popular not unpopular. Somewhere in the middle she guessed, she just didn’t choose sides, Switzerland that was her motto. She usually preferred her own company, Thomas was the occasional acceptance. She had mistakenly told him about her plans for the afternoon.

  In Selah’s mind she was not pretty or beautiful, just average and cute, it would have to do. Her hair wasn’t shiny or straight as some girls. And on a rainy day if she didn’t smooth it down with loads of conditioner. Well she could pass for a sheep, a black one in desperate need of a shearing. She was considered tall, 5’ 71/2 “. And thin, thanks to badminton that kept her that way. With hazel eyes and very full heart shaped lips, Angelina Jolie lips, she’d had heard them being called , and had smiled politely that day. At least when she got older, she knew she wouldn’t need Botox. She looked like her dad, according to her mom, but was like her mother in every other way, which suited her just fine.

  She had her own style, and loved to mix her clothes up and the weirder the better. It had helped weed out the many people she didn’t want to be associated with; she knew on more than a few occasions, she also had embarrassed her mom in public with her outfits. Who needed to match anyway? That was part of her uniqueness, and the fact that she was one of the only females in the sophomore class who had no female best friends. Who needed the drama?

  Oh she talked to them but when it came to anything personal she told the only one she could rely on, her dog Gummy Bear. His name was Gunner but he was more like a gummy bear, soft and squishy. A golden retriever and little river mix, he had the huge head, and body of a golden retriever, the yellow eyes and short legs of the little river duck dog. He’s was so cute, cuddly and he listened to everything she had to say and always loved her .She wondered what the fortune teller was gonna say about that?

  If she was totally honest with herself she definitely was curious to what she would tell her. “I’m a bit nervous you should talk me thru this Tom.” she texted him.

  Thomas, he was a sweet heart and probably the biggest nerd at school. Selah secretly knew he had a crush on her; it was so obvious when she caught him staring at her sometimes, the looks Gunner gave her were similar, pure adoration. He had become a staple in her life of late and she sort of liked it. He didn’t pry too much, and wasn’t overbearing.

  She had started hanging with him when he began tutoring her in physical science at the beginning of the term. Who understood that crap anyway, not her. Selah had offered up the info that she needed a tutor in the hopes that Colby Hansen would get the hint and volunteer. He was the school jock, with the brains to boot. No such luck though, he would defiantly not be my first kiss, oh well it was always nice to dream.

  Thomas texted back “I’m sure everything will be fine Selah, maybe you’ll actually find out your secretly adopted or something.”

  That Selah highly doubted the genes just didn’t lie. Besides information like that would crush her. The fortune teller would probably say she would meet the man of her dreams and have 2.2 kids blah, blah, blah…she would never move out of Glendale, Nova Scotia and she was destined to be a home maker, blah, blah… Definitely not! She was destined for great thing she could feel it deep
in her soul, no cookie cutter life for her, oh no. Although Selah didn’t feel the pull to leave the small town she had been raised in her whole life. But she felt like going places, ironic she knew.

  “Maybe I’m really your sister, Lol” Selah wrote back.

  Thomas answered “That is totally not funny! Message me back when you’re done.” The next fifteen minutes were a mental blur as Selah played a game on her iPod touch.

  Trying to distance herself as some new people entered the room, waiting to see the psychic. She offered a casual smile when they sat down. No, her parents hadn’t taught her to be anti-social; she just wanted some time to herself. Her Mom should be done and out any minute now.

  Diana walked out with an apprehensive smile on her face, clutching her purse with a white knuckle grip. This did not look promising; Selah’s fears were returning at a breathtaking pace, her heart began to drum in her chest looking to escape if at all possible. She felt the constriction as her breath quickened. “Are you alright mom?”

  Her mom turned her face towards Selah and as soon as their eyes met, Selah saw her mom relax. “Oh wow! Selah, that was life changing, you should go in honey, don’t keep her waiting.”

  As Selah walked in she could feel the coolness of the room. She glanced over and saw the window was wide open, strange it was pretty cold in January, and usually normal people kept their windows closed. Ok calm down Selah, she thought don’t jump to conclusions, keep an open mind. The lady in front of the table as Selah sat down was in her mid-fifties or so, she was dressed normally actually quite nice, no bandannas or long scarves or gaudy jewelry. She wore a nice leopard print blouse with black pants. Her hair was dirty blond, and shaped her oval face perfectly, you could tell she had the habit of tucking it back behind her ears. It wasn’t at all Selah’s mental image of a fortune teller. Her mom had said she would take care of the payment for Selah’s session so she never even questioned it.

  The fortune teller stood and offered up her hand, “Hi I’m Maria let me begin by explaining a little about myself. I grew up in mainland Nova Scotia in a small town called Wilbur, it’s just outside Yorkshire. I’m the youngest of 5 and my mother spoiled me rotten,” she said with a smile. ”At around the age of 7, I began having strange dreams about people that had died or were about to die. It rose up quite a ruckus with my mom, but my grandmother was surprisingly knowledgeable about the whole thing. She took me under her wing and helped me to understand what was happening to me.”

  Selah immediately began relaxing as Maria hadn’t bombarded her with questions as she had expected, maybe she was normal.

  “You see she had been having visions all her life but she had never really told anyone about them, back then the stigma of being different kept her from telling people the truth. She told me she had hoped my mother had the gift also, but I guess it had skipped a generation.” Maria paused for a second then continued

  “I have come to see my talent as a gift that shouldn’t be hidden like her’s. I have been using it since then to help people understand more about their journey here on earth and what their greater purpose truly is .She taught me how to recognize what I saw in the visions as auras. Do you know what an aura is?” she asked me. Selah remembered hearing something about energy and colors, so she stated as much.

  “Yes, your right everyone has energy flowing through them. Sometimes more than at other times it also depends on the type of person you are. Some people’s auras are brighter while others are dimmer. That’s what I’m going to begin with today, reading your aura. Sometimes it’s hard to get a clear picture if the person is closed minded or an introvert. I would really appreciate if you could keep you mind open. And I mean that for after your reading and throughout your life too. It will create many stumbling blocks for you if you don’t. Now I use something to help me get a clearer picture, so if you’re ready we will begin” Maria smiled at me.

  Selah waited for the crystal ball to show up; instead she reached under the table and took out a bowl. She then proceeded to fill it with water, Selah was sure the expression on her face must have been mystified because Maria smiled and said “I would use a crystal ball but this works just as well and is much cheaper.” Selah felt the color rising to her cheeks and was sure Maria saw the embarrassment there.

  “My grandmother was raised old school; she always said if something isn’t broken why fix it. Now your aura will help me to see what kind of person you are, your aura is made of different colors and each color signifies something different.” She looked deeply into the bowl and was perfectly still.

  Selah took a deep breath and prepared for the worst.

  Maria whispered, “Dear providence, Grant me the serenity and the wisdom to see truth on this day. And protect all those present here, god willing, your humble servant, faithful to the light, Maria.”

  Selah felt the goose bumps rise on the back of her neck. As she felt it get colder still in the room but the curtains had completely stopped moving.

  Maria slowly opened her eyes and met Selah’s from across the table. Selah realized somewhere in the back of her mind that things would never ever be the same.

  “You are ancient; I don’t think I have ever met anyone as ancient as you. You have been here on earth many times before. It feels as if all the other lives have been a preparation for this one though. I’m going to now describe how others see you, the way you come across, which best describe the kind of person you are at heart and where you’re true priorities lay.” Here we go Selah thought, she’s going to lay it in on thick.

  “Your emotions instincts, feelings, and intuition play a big part in the decisions you make and how you interact with the world, and generally your feelings are quite accurate and helpful to you. Also establishing emotional rapport with the people you meet on a day to day level is rather easy for you. You appear somewhat sympathetic and concerned, so that others feel drawn to you, especially when they need guidance or help,” she said. All the while she still stared in the bowl of water, as if it would swallow her whole. “You seem quirky, unusual, offbeat and different. Sometimes it seems you are trying to provoke people and upset the status quo just by being yourself. You tend to be restless, excitable, and somewhat ungrounded. You would do well to begin meditating to help harness you restless energies.” Selah was dumbfounded, how did she know this? She was looking in a bowl of water for pities sake!

  “You have a sweet appealing demeanor and seem to instinctively grasp the concept that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Your personal brand of charm is usually quite winning. You coax rather than coerce. However, if you don’t get what you want you’re likely to resort to insincere flattery, wheedling, whining or even pouting rather than stating directly what you need. That might surprise you because of past experiences; you have tended to isolate yourself in friendships recently. It wasn’t always so, you have had very satisfying relationships with the same sex before. You have a tendency to not trust anyone easily.”

  Maria looked up at her for an instant and smiled. Selah’s mind was racing trying to soak in all the information she was throwing her way. She should have thought to record this. Who knew she would actually say stuff she might want to hear.

  She began again; Selah tried her best to focus on Maria`s words. “You can get by in life by personality alone… There is a radiant, warm, attractive quality about you that others can’t help responding to favorably. Usually you appear confident and clear about who you are, and it’s very difficult not to notice or feel your influence when you’re around. You are just beginning to discover your higher self; it’s manifesting itself to you more and more as you mature. You must not fight it; instead you should work with the grain instead of opposing it the faster you can believe this the future it can take you on your journey”

  “Now I’m gonna describe how you are inside, kind of what makes you tick. You appear to be a softie so other might be surprised at your cool, intelligent criticisms and insight. You may swing from
extremes of kind heartedness to biting sarcasm.” And here Selah thought that was just her hormones from puberty, was she saying she would always be this way. Crap, her mom wasn`t going to like that!

  Maria continued,’ Conscientious and conservative, you can be relied upon to be careful, efficient, and thorough in your work and you like doing your tasks well. What you may lack in self-confidence you make up for in skills, developing expertise, technical knowledge, and competency in some specialized areas. Disorganization vexes you. You probably wish you weren’t a perfectionist. You are mercilessly self-critical as well.”

  “Restless and inquisitive, you enjoy being mobile at times and taking short trips and excursions. In order for you to see what is really going on in the world. Actually I think you should take some sort of insurance when you’re traveling because you tend to leave yourself open to danger.” What did that mean? Selah hadn`t been anywhere except occasional trips to the city to shop with her mom. Ok now the truth was coming out she’s whacked.

  “You love and are well loved by others, and have a strong need for kindness, friendships, and affection. Your creative powers are also extremely developed and you do everything in a harmonious and pleasing manner. Personal appearance and attractiveness is very important to you.” Oh Yeah! Selah wasn`t attracted to a dog that’s for sure! She liked the magnificence of God’s greatest work, and there were some guys that just seemed to have physical perfection, like Colby. Shit! Focus Selah and try to listen.

  “As a young child you had great tendencies to daydream, fantasize, and pretend, and probably lived in your own little world.”

  There was nothing wrong with that sometimes, it was so much safer there, Selah thought. “You perceive things which are not obvious to other people and you have an uncanny ability to read people, without being told anything about them. However, you must learn to discriminate a true psychic perception and your imagination.”

  Maria lifted her head once more and stopped and took a drink of the remaining water left from her bottle. “You’re probably quite overwhelmed right now,” she said.

  That was an understatement Selah`s head was swimming, all that from a bowl of water, she wasn`t going to go swimming for a while. Maybe people could truly see right through her. No, that was ridiculous! She laughed softly “Yeah, I guess so.”

  “Now I’m going to stop reading out of the bowl and see what is going on with you right now and in the future. So now I’m going to read your palms.” She stood at that moment and brought the bowl over by the table near the window and proceeded to dump the water in the straggly looking plant there. Probably all the cold air was gonna kill the poor thing, Selah thought.

  She was thinner than Selah had thought at first, bone thin; her pants just sort of hung off her, Jeeze and here she thought thin people were always cold.

  “I hope you’re not too cold, when I work I tend to get really hot.” Maria paused and looked at me for an answer.

  “No, that’s fine I’m wearing a hoody and I rarely wear a jacket. Sometimes my mom gets mad,” Selah chuckled

  “Ah yes teenagers, there never need mittens or boots anymore,” staring at Selah as if she was seeing her for the first time.

  Selah felt a little uncomfortable, like Maria saw something there that no-one else did. Then she shrugged slightly and returned to the table.

  “Do you have any questions for me?” Questions, my mind was completely blank, as if someone had taken an eraser and scratched away all my thoughts.

  Selah`s mom was continuously talking all the way home about her reading. Selah’s mind was swimming with all the information that Maria had told her, about herself. Then she caught her mom saying “She said I was going on a very long trip, my bags were packed and I couldn’t change the plans now, something about how I would sit on a rock thinking everything over”

  “What a trip?” Selah stammered out, “Where are you going? You hate traveling, you’re afraid of flying.”

  “I know isn’t that funny!” Her mom giggled like a school girl with a secret.

  “You know mom, the fortune teller was kinda just for fun, right? I mean you don’t believe everything she told you, do you?” Selah asked her.

  “Well no of course not silly,” Her mom chuckled.

  Selah turned and examined her mom at that moment and knew she believed a lot more than she was letting on. So she decided to tell her the crazy thing Maria had told her.

  “You know she said the reason I have such dark circles under my eyes, is because I leave my body while I’m sleeping and go visit people, a laugh riot eh! Can you believe that crap?”

  “Watch your language, Selah young ladies don’t talk like that,” she muttered anxiously. “It would explain why you sleep like the dead though, you really never move at all in the night, it’s rather creepy honey. I remember that night you were in the hospital with that terrible virus, I was so worried I sat there watching you all night. And I swear to god you never moved once.”

  “But mom, really!” Selah exclaimed laughing her butt off. “Visiting people in my sleep talk about wacko central! Oh and get this, if I want to stop doing this I have to drink neo-citron at supper time, then again at bedtime for a week. I can’t even stand that stuff when I need it! I’m definitely not gonna take it when I don’t.”

  “I suppose it does sound pretty crazy, when you stop and think about it. But remember to always keep an open mind. I’m sure she told you interesting stuff though, anything that was right about you?” she asked.

  ‘Well, now that you mention she also told me to stay open to any possibilities. She said I would meet someone that I had never met before in this life” I spit out.” We have been an item for centuries; he would help guide me through some difficult times.”

  Even as she said it Selah knew deep down her laughter was stemming from more of a nervous energy than mere comedy. She had the strangest feeling that Maria was much more talented than she had first lead her to believe.

  “Well, Selah’s mom started, that does sound interesting and a bit weird too. Did she say what he looked like?”

  “I wish! That would of been sweet, oh wait she did say his name started with a d. And he would know who I was before I met him. She said it was bad luck to find out someone’s name before you begin a relationship”

  “She tells you so many things; it’s hard to remember it all. I should of asked to have it all taped or something then we could of listened to each other’s readings. Sometimes another person listening catches something you might have missed,” Selah’s mom stated.

  “Yeah, I can totally see that mom, next time that’s what we’ll do ok.

  “Definitely, it was fun though right? You at least got a good laugh out of it.

  “Hell yeah,” her mom cut her eyes at her as she snapped her head off the road. “Sorry I didn’t mean to say that! It’s hard mom, those really aren’t swear words. You should hear how the kids at school talk. You could really cut me some slack, ya know.” Selah complained.

  Her mom inhaled deeply and took a firmer grip on the steering wheel, she turned to glance at Selah again and grinned “You’re probably right, but I’m still your mother and while you’re under my roof I have to have some control, got it!”

  “Yes mother!” Selah stressed out through clenched teeth. Why did she have to go getting all serious on her, weren’t we having a good day so far? Instead Selah changed the subject who needed the argument, and said “Where do you think you’re going on your trip? Are your taking me, with you?” She grinned devilishly.

  Selah lay on her bed, as a million thoughts ran through her head. Maria had told her so much. Could her dream guy be the one she had seen all those years ago? It couldn’t be, he was so much older than she was or at least she thought, he would be nineteen or twenty by now. She had probably just made him up in her moments of desperation. It was definitely possible; she had been in shock at the time.If only it was him she sighed, picturing a perfect romance, and how all t
he girls would be jealous of her, he had been drop dead gorgeous. She would never have to choose to be alone anymore that was for sure! She drifted in her thoughts conjuring up a windswept courting, courtesy of all the old romances she loved to read, with chivalry abound.

  Tired of her impossible fantasy, she let her eyes close as she thought of her ability to visit people. That’s how she had found him, that first time. She remembered, floating above her body, while those bullies had their way with her. She must have disconnected her spirit or something? She had seen her body on the ground. It was like there was two of her. Two different experiences at once, she had chosen to hold on to the favourable one. The other she had locked away until now. It wasn’t painful anymore she didn’t hold any grudges towards Edgar.

  True to his word he had faithfully walked her home every day, waiting even when she stayed late. It had been awkward at first but she relaxed more and more as time went on. She had thanked him for helping her through the process of getting her courage back to walk along the shortcut home. And every time they had reached the spot where it all ha happened he had become very quiet and solemn and gave her the respect she needed. He had told her about what B.J. and the others had done to the other girl. She considered herself extremely lucky for her period. “Thank You God,” she whispered to herself.She remembered by the end of grade seven she had gotten tired of his company. He had lost his friends that day in the field, when he had decided to help her, if you could call them friends. Selah had never felt guilty about ditching him, she owed him nothing, he knew that. Whether he had somehow absolved his guilt on his own, she had never asked.

  He had stopped quietly walking home with her and resigned himself to hanging with the nerds and math geeks. She saw him occasionally and said “hi” but that was the end of their friendship now. She was so mentally tired, she decided to just try and sleep. She didn’t think she would try taking neo-citron for a week. Not if there was a remote chance she would find her dream guy again.

  She got ready for bed, turned down the covers and relished the feel of the mattress against her back. She was bone weary; she stilled her thoughts and concentrated on her breathing. If she didn’t focus her thoughts would race all night and she wouldn’t rest at all. When she was a small child she had begun imagining a small mouse inside her head with a broom, sweeping her thoughts of the day and making room for tomorrow’s.

  As her imaginary mouse slowly emptied her head of everything, her body relaxed and she began to drift off. She felt her body floating as if she were in a boat. She suddenly could picture the earth as if she were on a different planet looking in. She noticed how she saw millions of lights which reminded her of a starry sky. Some were much brighter than others, the more she focused the clearer they became.

  Selah decided to see if she could get a closer look. She focused in on a bright star, brighter than the others. Before she could blink, she found she was in her house the dining room to be more precise. Things looked different, pale and worn. She looked down at herself and realized she didn’t look that way, her skin and clothing were vibrantly bright. Her clothing shifted from jeans and a t-shirt, to pyjamas as she stared at it, colors shifting, just as quickly in a second she was naked, she felt the blood rush to her cheeks. As she looked around to see if anybody was there. She quickly pictured herself in clothes again, they suddenly reappeared.

  Her mom sat on her rocking chair humming to herself and doing a cross stich, her favorite pastime. She was lost in thought, she also looked faded as everything else was, her surroundings were a pale grey and so was her clothing. She began to whisper to herself.

  Selah walked closer and realized her mom couldn’t see her, she heard her mom saying, “It will be alright now, don’t worry honey. You’re going to be so beautiful and strong, you’ll see things will work out just fine.”

  Who was she talking to Selah thought? It sounded like she was speaking to her.

  Something she had said to her when she worried over little things. And then all of a sudden her mom was gone, and the rocking chair was empty. Wow this place was strange, was she in a dream. Was she consciously visiting people for the first time in her sleep? Maybe Maria had helped her open up the possibilities.

  She decided to see if she could find someone else she knew. This time she pictured in her mind’s eye where she had been with the lights then went back to where she had begun. She again saw the millions of stars and decided to pick one that wasn’t as bright as the last one.

  This time she was in a small room with sparse furniture. It was cold; there must not have been any heat on in the house. The furniture was mostly old and outdated. The couch was ripped along the cushion and had an indentation as if someone constantly sat in the same spot. And a very pale greyish, orange tabby cat lay sleeping on the top of it. Selah walked over to rub its back, the second it woke up it disappeared.

  Did this place actually exist or was it something from her imagination. Was she picturing what she wanted to see? She truly never remembered being in this house and didn’t have a clue who lived here.

  Everything was still faded and gray everywhere she looked she continued to glance around each room everything was the same dull grey; whoever lived here had little means. The house was almost empty and what was there was in ill repair. She thought she would try to go outside; perhaps the streets were familiar to her. As Selah stepped outside she realized she was in the poorest part of town, she hadn’t been here more than once or twice but she thought it looked vaguely familiar. All of a sudden a dog growled, making her jump, rattling her.

  Her clothes were still continuously changing from different colors, to different pants and dresses. She had even had an old Victorian dress on, it was so weird. All frills and lace with a plunging neckline, though she had to admit she had always been attracted to all books and movies made in that time frame. She concentrated hard again and focused on what she was wearing.

  The dog was still growling. Could he see her? So far she hadn’t had any physical contact with anything here. She turned and faced the dog usually animals reacted well to her. She had a way with dogs especially; it was a mangy mutt, he was black and brown, dirty, and very thin, definitely underfed.

  Selah thought she would try and approach it, the closer she got to it and the stronger her instincts told her to run. The dog pulled his lips back snarling, showing all his teeth, the growl coming from deep in his throat. She could see the spittle begin to foam around his jaws in rage. In a split second she saw the dogs hind legs bend back, ready to lunge towards her.

  It was like a slow motion scene in a movie, Selah realized she didn’t have long to decide if she would take the chance that the dog was real or make believe. She held her ground and waited as the dog got closer and closer. His jaw was wide open ready to clamp on to her ankle.

  When he reached her she thought he would disappear and she wouldn’t feel anything, he wasn’t real. To her amazement his jaws clamped down on her leg. Selah screamed as the pain shot up her leg, paralyzing her. She forced herself not to panic, breathe… and pictured her room in her mind’s eye, and found herself there.

  No dog to be seen. She looked at her leg; her clothes still continuously changing and again pictured shorts. She had four small holes, two on each side of her ankle. The pain was excruciating, the blood was slowly dripping from the shallow wounds.

  She had been wrong, this place was dangerous and obviously not to be taken lightly, she realized. She felt an incredible weight fall on her all of a sudden. She was exhausted, she let go of her hold and felt herself slide back into her body, her strength had all but evaporated. Back in her bed Selah was confident she had reached a plateau that she had never been able to attain consciously before, somewhat content with her effort. She fell into a deep dreamless sleep, tossing and turning and making strange noises all the while. Selah woke feeling somewhat rested a bit more than usual. The first thing she did was to reach down and checked her ankle to see if the bite was rea
l. Sure enough she found the same small wounds as the night before; there was also blood on her sheets. She would have to change her bed.

  She got up and stripped the bed, thinking about the events of the night before. That place not what she thought, she could get hurt, feel pain there and it would also happened here. The two places were obviously connected in some way; she suddenly wished she had someone to talk to about it. She knew everyone would think she was crazy.

  Wait a minute she thought, the dog had color just like she did, was that her clue? Was that what had made it physically real? It did make sense; maybe she should try to go

  There again, and test that theory, and next time she would be much more cautious.

  “Are you awake, Selah?” her dad hollered up the stairs at her. “I’m heading to work, have a good day. Love you guys!”

  “Yeah dad,” she hollered back. “Ditto”

  “Hey sleeping beauty, oh right your more like the ugly step sister,” her little brother Jacob teased. It was part of their regular morning routine. He was usually quite harmless; but knew how to jump on her last nerve. Since Jacob began going to junior high he had a new found respect for his older, not too bad looking sister, his friends always asked about her. And that helped his popularity, and for that he was grateful. Not to mention Selah had just gotten her driver’s license and he now didn’t have to walk to school.

  Selah jumped in the shower, dressed quickly and put a bandage around her ankle, it hurt like hell. She tried not to limp, but each time she put weight on it she wanted to scream. Maybe she wouldn’t go back there for a while if she got hurt again…

  When she got downstairs Jacob was sitting at the kitchen table eating toast, Gunner next to him waiting for a piece. Gunner took a quick look at her then continued to concentrate on the toast, willing Jake to give him a morsel.

  Her mom was still asleep, she hadn’t felt well last night… She noticed Jacob was taking more time with his appearance lately, and the smell of axe cologne almost knocked her off her feet.

  “Maybe you should calm down on the cologne Jake, unless you’re trying to suffocate all the girls on the junior side? Do you expect them to fall into a deep coma from your stink? Or is it the only way you can get a girlfriend? Selah snickered at him.

  “Careful sis, you’re the one without a boyfriend. I don’t have no troubles in the ladies dept.…” Jacob smiled sweetly at her.

  He was right he was doing better in that dept.… she had never even gone on a date before, “I would save the axe for a dance or something though; Tracy will become immune to you after a while. Can you even smell how much you have on?” Selah asked him.

  Jacob thought about it then embarrassedly answered “No, I can’t seem to smell it anymore so I spray more on, just in case.”

  Selah rubbed Gunner behind the ears and gave him the end piece of the loaf of bread. She brought him to the back door; he stayed in the fenced yard most of the day, watching for squirrels that lived in the big old trees there. They drove him crazy.

  Then she grabbed her binder heading for the car. She was lucky her parents hadn’t sold their old car and kept it for her. If she took care of it, it would be passed down to Jake afterwards. She loved the independence that came from having her license; she had even picked up a small part time job at the local café in town. So she now also had a bit of money to buy here crazy clothes with.

  Thinking of clothes, she again remembered all the outfits she had dreamt up the night before when she was in that other place, dimension, whatever it was. She knew she had to stop thinking about it; it would do her no good today. She had a lot to do, a test in bio, and badminton practices would start up soon, she looked forward to that.

  Jake slid into the passenger seat next to her, and looked at her with a new appreciation. “Thanks Sel for agreeing to give me rides to school, he said. You know Derek won’t even drive Jared to school, he makes him walk.”

  Selah smiled at him “No prob Jake, Derek has always been a self centered jerk. Be glad I’m not a guy I might be the same.”

  “No, I don’t think even if you were a guy you would be like that,” he stated. Selah turned and looked at him, he was a sweet heart. He had spiked his dark brown hair, and his eyes were a nice dark blue. He had never gotten too much acne so far; no wonder the girls loved him. And he didn’t smell bad, it was just really strong. He had found a cute little girlfriend, Tracy Davis; she followed him around like a lost puppy.

  Jacob took out his phone and began texting someone. Selah concentrated on the road, and kept going to school. It was overcast out, but not too cold for January. She was glad she didn’t have to scrape the windshield; cause she had forgot to set the remote car starter.

  The Toyota tercel was a manual transmission, it had taken quite a bit of practice to learn, but she was glad now that she had.

  They arrived at school with plenty of time left before first bell rang. Selah was rarely late. She realized she had left her phone at home. She had shut it off the night before to sleep and completely forgotten it. Thomas would be pissed waiting to see what had happened at the psychic. How much would she tell him? She wondered as she rounded the corner of the senior’s corridor.

  “Hey Selah, did you hurt yourself your limping?” Joey Green asked.

  She had been so deep in thought she’d forgotten her limp.

  “Nothing serious Joey, I’m just clumsy” Selah muttered. She would probably tell no-one.

  She continued to her locker it was set far back in a corner near the science lab.

  When she got there Thomas was waiting with an anxious expression on his face.

  “What happened? You never called me and you’re limping. Did she tell you something you didn’t like and you attacked her,” Thomas questioned her.

  “Like I have anger issues or something,” Selah exclaimed. She realized in that moment, she would keep most of the information to herself. “She described me to a tee,” Selah informed him opening her locker. “She was pretty cool actually.” She then proceeded to describe the experience in detail to him, all the while leaving out the most interesting parts. She did tell him some about the guy she hadn’t met yet.

  “Wow! That’s not what I thought you would say,” Thomas said while reaching to help her with her heavy bio and chemistry books.

  Selah stayed quiet refusing to give out any more info, and then decided to change the subject. “Are you ready for the Bio test?” She asked him.

  The day was a fairly good one the Bio test had been a breeze, and they had found out they would be going on a field trip next month, Selah looked forward to the outing. They would go to the beach and each take a section and catalog how many living organisms they could find. Thomas had asked her if they could partner up and she automatically agreed. The report would be a snap with both of them working on it.

  When Selah got home that afternoon, her mom was sitting at the kitchen table rubbing her temples, “Hi honey how was your day?” she asked.

  Selah noticed her mom looked exhausted, as if she hadn’t slept in a week.

  “You still have your headache Mom?” Selah asked with worry etched in her tone.

  “Yeah, this one’s been really bad, worse than all the other ones. I’ve been popping

  Tylenols like there’re mm’s.” She murmured barely loud enough for Selah to hear.

  Selah hated seeing her mother like this, her headaches were getting more and more frequent. “Go lay back down mom, I’ll make supper and clean up, ok. Maybe you should call the doctor and try to get some stronger pain pills or something.”

  Diana got up from the table and felt her knees buckle underneath her, her vision going black.

  Selah saw her mom stumble as soon as she rose and grabbed her arm to stop her from falling. “I must have got up too fast, Diana whispered. My vision went all fuzzy and I was so dizzy.” Selah helped her to her room and put her in bed, she had never saw her mom so weak before. She closed the blind remembering how br
ight lights hurt her head more. She must be getting a migraine; the worried look on Selah’s face was magnified by the creases on her forehead. She hoped her mom would be alright.

  That evening Selah decided against visiting her secret place, afraid of running into any more rabid dogs…she instead picked up a book she had meaning to finish for months after having read for a few hours, her eyes getting heavier with each page, she turned off her light and feel in a sound sleep.