Angels and Magic

by E. J. Bennett

  They entered the gym and met the principal there waiting with the teachers. They all wore looks of distress and sadness.

  Once again, Leila flashed back to the headline from that morning.

  What was wrong with her? Why did she keep thinking of that headline?

  Her train of thought was interrupted as her eyes caught that of a boy moving to take a seat.

  She felt a tingling sensation go through her body, and she realised she couldn't move. The boy stared at her for a second, and then took his seat. Only then did she regain her power of movement.

  She sat down quickly, tapping Emma and nodding towards the direction the boy sat in

  "Who's that?" she asked

  "Oooh, that's the new guy I was telling you about. So hot right?" Emma responded batting her eyes and fanning herself down.

  Leila nodded idly. She couldn't seem to stop looking at him. He on the other hand, hadn't spared her a second glance. She didn't know how she felt about that.

  "Hello. Earth to Leila? Why not just mail your eyes to him for safekeeping. Stop drooling"

  Leila tore her eyes off the boy and focused on the principal. Or she tried to at least.

  Principal James Michealson was a gaunt looking middle aged man. He always had an air of aloofness around him. He was known around school as 'The cyclops' because of his penchant for closing one eye when he was really angry. He was respected by the bulk of students and teachers.

  He watched the students settle down with trained patience occasionally looking back at the teachers seated behind him, then finally, he raised his hand calling for calm.

  "So. I don't intend to take much of your time, so I'll make this quick" he started and paused. Behind him, some teachers moved uneasily.

  Leila threw a glance at the boy. He was still staring stoically ahead. Then the Principal's booming voice came again,

  "It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of the daughter of one of our teachers" he said then. A gasp went through the crowd and then murmuring picked up as each person tried to guess who the deceased might be.

  "Calm down" The principal said after a while.

  "Mrs Johnson. Eighth grade history teacher. Her daughter, Agnes died yesterday due to some very unfortunate circumstances. We sympathise with her and there will be a candlelight procession tomorrow at her place. We are all encouraged to express our condolences personally. Thank you"

  Leila couldn't move.

  Her throat felt thick and swallowing was hard.

  Did the principal just say "Agnes"?

  Without meaning to, she turned to where the new guy sat and was surprised to see him staring at her. He held her gaze for what felt like an eternity before standing up to leave.

  He's leaving? In the middle of an address? She looked around, surprised to see that the hall was almost empty.

  "Well, are you coming or what?"

  She turned and saw Emma standing, looking at her with her head tilted to the side.

  "Are you okay?" She asked genuine concern written all over her face.

  "Yes. Yes" She managed, then, against her better judgement, she asked

  "Who was the girl the principal said died again? I mean, what was her name?"

  "I'm not sure. I think he said 'Agnes' or so" Emma replied, then added "Do you know her?"

  Leila shook her head.

  What a coincidence she thought. I mean, what are the odds?

  She shivered at the coincidence.

  "Let's go" Emma urged, "We'll be late for class"

  As they left the hall, she took one final look at the place where the new guy had sat. There was something about him she couldn't place a finger on.

  She had a feeling she would find out, sooner or later, what that was.

  ***

  Somewhere in the distance, an owl hooted lending extra credence to the already somber aura that surrounded the gathering.

  The candle light illuminated the faces of everyone present, making various shapes across their already downcast expressions. A slight wind had picked up, and the fire now wavered in the breeze as various people struggled to keep it from going out.

  The sound of traffic not too far off was mildly distracting, an evidence that no matter what happened, life would go on. It was a painful fact, but a valuable one to keep in mind.

  The sound of laughter suddenly erupted as a young couple passed by the gathering. The laughter died down slowly as they saw the gathering of people with lit candles. By now, the news of the freak accident surrounding young Agnes Johnson's death had spread considerably.

  She had been trying to reach a jar at the top of the shelf, and somehow, by some weird mixture of events, she had slipped and fallen, impaling herself on several knives just beneath the shelf where the jar was. Her mother had found her like that when she came home from work. A single mother, Julia Johnson had raise Agnes on her own after her father died in a factory accident.

  Now, she stood amongst the small crowd of people with lit candles staring into space with a distant look on her face. No one could imagine what she was going through, and thankfully, no one tried to. Some of them respected the resolve they saw her show. They knew she was heartbroken but she was doing her best to keep from breaking down.

  Leila shielded her flame from the fire as it threatened to go out. She hiked up the collar of her jacket against the sudden breeze. Turning to Emma, she saw the latter's flame flicker and die. Just as she reached to help her light it back up, another candle appeared and lit the slowly cooling wick, Emma smiled up at the good samaritan. Leila looked up then and was surprised to find herself looking into the enigmatic eyes of the new boy.

  Why is he here? Does he even know Mrs Johnson? She wondered, tearing her eyes away from his face.

  Why does he affect me so much? She wondered, trying to focus on the address being given by the preacher.

  ". . .So verily I say unto you, she has gone on high to be with the Lord. Yes, I say our sister Agnes has gon to be with the Sarah Louise"

  Leila didn't know what struck her more. The preacher's slip, or the fact that everyone had choruses an amen to it. She looked around, deciding to ignore it. Everyone else seemed to be.

  Just then, the hair at the back of her head stood erect as the wind picked up again, threatening the candle fire everyone held. As the wind passed by her, it seemed to whistle in her ear.

  Only, it wasn't an ordinary whistle. She wasn't sure what to think, but she could have sworn it sounded like ''Sarah Louise"

  CHAPTER FOUR

  "Get your head in the game Leila" the coach reprimanded scratching her head in confusion. This was the second time Leila had lost focus mid race and fallen behind everyone. She was always so good, she hoped the accident had not hampered her skills somewhat.

  "I just need to rest a little coach" Leila said, walking towards the bleachers. Her ginger hair was held up in a bun and secured with a head band. She didn't need to rest a little. In fact, rest, was the absolute last thing she needed to do.

  Since the candlelight procession, anytime she sat idle for even a little while, she couldn't stop hearing it. That wispy voice she'd mistaken for the wind.

  It kept repeating one name. Over and over again.

  Sarah Louise.

  She couldn't believe this was happening again.

  She'd come to practice hoping the exertion would somehow drown out the voice. It hadn't worked.

  Sarah Louise.

  She felt like screaming.

  Sarah Louise.

  She looked up at the tracks as three girls raced against each other, none managing to give the other much gap. She didn't know what was happening, and worse still, she didn't know who she could tell.

  Am I going crazy? Was the concussion worse than the doctor diagnosed? Did I knock something vital loose in the crash?

  Sarah Louise.

  Who in God's name is Sarah Louise? She asked herself unable to stop the question from coming.

  Had she really expe
cted an answer? A long winded explanation perhaps, giving a detailed description of Sarah Louise and why her name kept being repeated in her head, had she really expected that?

  It was scary to note that a tiny part of her did.

  Sarah Louise.

  She took another drink of water. She'd Google the name cross referencing it with so many things, just to get an idem of who the person was. If it even was a real person.

  Agnes was a little voice reminded her and she shushed it down. Agnes was a coincidence. Nothing more than that.

  And what if something bad happens to Sarah Louise? Will that be a coincidence as well?

  She was distracted by a scream as a girl fell down badly while running. The coach had run to attend to her already and some other girl were checking to see if she was okay.

  She looked at her watch, surprised to see how much time she'd spent, unsuccessfully, distracting herself. She needed to get home.

  As she got up, she noticed someone sitting alone in the bleachers. It was the new boy.

  What was his name again? She couldn't seem to recall ever getting it.

  She seemed to be seeing him an awful lot these days, she noted, sensing that tingle in her spine again.

  He turned to her then and she looked away quickly, not wanting to get caught staring again. By the time she looked up, he was gone.

  She took another drink of water suddenly feeling parched again. The tingly feeling was gone now and in its place was a hollow feeling of emptiness.

  She had no idea what to do with it.

  ***

  The bell rang and Leila looked up at the person entering through red rimmed eyes. She was exhausted. She hadn't slept well the night before, and at school she'd had no free period. On several occasions her teachers had caught her nodding off in class.

  Sarah Louise.

  She caught herself running her fingers through her hair and stopped. Her hair was a mess, and she didn't look too good either.

  The young boy who just entered walked up to her and requested to be shown the comic section. She pointed down the aisle, directing him to their less than impressive comic spread. Most of them were old issues, but the kids seemed to love them anyway.

  She lay her head on the counter, it was too much work keeping her eyes open.

  Sarah Louise.

  The name came to her again, this time a decibel louder than it had been before. She covered her ears as the persistent voice chorused the name over and over.

  "Miss?" a little voice broke through her anguish. She looked up to see the boy staring at her with wide eyes.

  "Oh. . .hey. Found the one you want?" She managed to ask and he nodded sheepishly. He stretched his hand forward to pay and she took the money. No sooner had she done that than he was skipping out of the door happy with his latest acquisition.

  "Are you okay?" a voice boomed from the corner.

  Her boss, who everyone just called Hezekiah, was an imposing man. But everyone who knew him came to find out that he was as gentle as a butterfly. Though he didn't show that to just anyone, occasionally he had to intimidate some rough young men every now and then as well as possible shoplifters.

  He was looking at her with genuine worry.

  "What? Why do you ask?" She asked forcing a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes

  "Well. . ." He started, walking forward, "for one. . .that kid was standing there for about ten minutes calling out to you and you didn't hear him" he finished as he reached her. She noted, with a little admiration that he'd covered the sizeable distance in just a few strides.

  "I'm fine Hez" She said. She was among the few people who he allowed shorten his name. He didn't have children of his own or family for that matter that anyone knew of. He always treated her like his own daughter, or at the very least, his younger sister. He was an older brother/father hybrid.

  He gave her a knowing look and motioned for her to sit down

  "Then, it's either you've started doing drugs, or you're simply just lying to me" he said, taking a seat beside her.

  "No!" She said sharply taken aback at the mere insinuation.

  Drugs? Pfft. She'd never really seen the lure. Her friend Emma had tried to convince her on several occasions to pop a few pills when they went partying. She called it 'chemical courage'. Leila didn't see the need for chemical courage, not when her confidence level was so high. So she never gave in, much to Emma's chagrin, and grumbled admiration.

  "You know how I feel about them" She added, giving him a dirty look.

  He laughed at her dramatic show of anger. "I know, I know. But you know what that means right?" he asked.

  She did, but he said it anyway.

  "You're lying to me"

  Sarah Louise.

  She winced as the voice returned.

  "See? See that?" he pointed at her eyes and dishevelled hair, "That's not the Leila I know"

  Her shoulders slumped in defeat. Her boss had always been able to read her like a book. She didn't even know why she bothered trying to hide things from him. One way or the other, he always found out. It was uncanny.

  She heaved a deep sigh before venturing an explanation.

  "I've just been having some headaches. And coupled with school stress, it's just been really hard. I guess I haven't fully recovered yet" she said conveniently leaving out the part about hearing voices screaming names of people in her head.

  "Hmm. So stress huh?" he asked and she nodded, fixing him with her most doe-eyed expression.

  "So why did you cover your ears then?" he asked sagely

  "Umm...everywhere just got loud all of a sudden that's all. I was starting to hear voices" She added, mumbling the last part quickly.

  He regarded her with a skeptical eye for a minute.

  "Voices huh?"

  She winced. She'd really hoped he would let it go after that explanation.

  "What do they say....These voices..?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.

  Say? She was taken aback by the line of questioning he'd adopted.

  What did it matter what they said? So it was okay to hear voices as long as they don't say some select things?

  She eyed him warily then said

  "Nothing definite, just some names and such" She tried to add an air of lightness to her reply. It was an attempt to tell the truth without hammering on how true it was. He was more than welcome to disbelieve her. In fact, she hoped he would.

  "That's very interesting. And what does your doctor say about this?"

  "Well, he said it's normal, and that it'll be over soon"

  He sighed and got up then, looking even more towering and imposing from where she sat. She instinctively drew back a fraction.

  "You know, if you need to take some time off, you can always tell me. You know that right?" he asked, and she nodded staring at her shoes.

  "Good. You don't need to cone in to work tomorrow okay? I knew it was too early for you to resume work"

  "But I need the money. . .I. . ." She started

  "You'll still get paid, don't worry" he said smiling softly

  She got up and wrapped her arms around him, barely reaching all the way around. She didn't know when, but somewhere along the line, she had begun to cry. She was just so exhausted. There was really no one she could talk to, not really. But sharing with Hezekiah, no matter how many things she left out, or trivialised, lifted a burden off her shoulders.

  He hugged her back, then patted her shoulder and gave her a wink as he returned to his office.

  She settled back down behind the counter, smiling now. The voice was quiet now. Her smile broadened as she noted this.

  What had she been so worried about before? Rest was all she needed. Rest, and an ear to hear all her problems. She'd be fine.

  What exactly had she been scared of?

  ***

  Daily inquisitor.

  Local woman dies in freak accident as she falls on rake while doing some gardening.

  A local woman known as Sarah Louise died
early this morning while. . .

  Leila stared at the headline with bloodshot eyes that could barely focus. Her boss looked at her with concern in his eyes

  "Are you okay?" he asked, picking up the paper and rolling it up.

  "Yes yes what did you say?" She said, shaking her head and trying to focus.

  "I was just saying how weird it was that we've had two freak accidents in the space of a few days. Are you sure you're okay?" he asked, taking a step forward

  "Yeah Hez. I'm fine, go to your office. School was just really stressful today"

  He looked at her like he didn't believe her. Then, he made to say something, then apparently thinking better of it, he walked to his office.

  'school was just really stressful today' her words taunted her. Wasn't that just the understatement of the millennium?

  The previous day had been uneventful. She'd gone to school, and after, since Hezekiah had given her the day off, she'd sat cuddled up in front of the T.V with a bowl of ice-cream watching reruns of some of her favourite shows.

  Everything had been borderline perfect until she'd gone to bed. The voice had returned then. With a vengeance.

  It had started as a whisper, and very quickly picked up tempo until she was virtually tearing at her own ears to keep out the sound.

  She'd lain in bed with her pillows over her ears trying to block out the sound. Eventually she'd fallen into a very restless sleep.

  In school, she'd been surprised because the voice had picked up for a while and then abruptly stopped.

  She guessed she knew why now.

  Sarah Louise was dead.

  A woman, with the same name that had been repeated to her, over and over again, over the past few days, was dead. Killed under very cartoonish circumstances no less.

  Just like Agnes a tiny voice reminded her and she shivered visibly.

  What was happening to her?

  Why was she hearing the names of people who then went on to die mysterious deaths.

  All this had started after her accident. Were the two occurrences somehow connected?

  Her mind flashed briefly on the 'angel' in blue who'd essentially brought her back to life. What if her so called 'angel' and savior was actually the one who was causing her to experience these. . .premonitions? Auditory visions? Did that even make any sense?