Eye on Orion

by Laura D. Bastian

  “Where did you get this stuff?” I asked.

  “It is extracted from a plant,” he answered, focusing on his hands.

  “My dad is a big plant man. He reads everything he can about them. He would know about a plant that can make people hear thoughts,” I pressed.

  He clasped his hands together and looked at me from the corner of his eye. “I know it is a lot to ask from you, but please do not ask me too much about this. I am not able to tell you more. It is important for us to keep quiet.” He looked back at his hands.

  “But,” I started then stopped. I'd be more likely to learn what I wanted to know about them if I pretended to be okay about it.

  “Please, Holly.” He sat up straighter and faced me. “I may be able to tell you more later. For now, I must insist you be patient. My mistake could hurt the people I love, and I am begging for your help.”

  How could I refuse him? Even though it made me angry to be drugged, and though I bristled at the injustice of being spied upon without my knowledge, I felt compelled to go easy on him. I didn't know if it was the look in his eyes or the beauty of his face as I stared at him, or a combination of both, but I felt myself caving.

  “I won't keep asking you, but it doesn't mean I won't be thinking about it.”

  “That is understandable. I must also ask you to not say anything about this to anyone.”

  “I don't think that’ll be a problem.” I shook my head. “Who would believe me? It’s still hard to believe it myself.”

  “Thank you. We will forever be indebted to you.” He scooted closer to me, took my hand without hesitation, and brought it to his lips. I felt a slight tingle again. Why was I so sensitive to his touch? And why did he keep taking my hand like this? No other guy ever made me feel like he did, but then again, I'd never been crushing on a guy like I was now, even though he irritated me. The softness of his lips and the warmth of his breath on my knuckles felt incredible. It would feel so nice against my own lips. I blushed when I realized what my thoughts were.

  “Please tell me you didn't just hear that thought,” I whispered.

  “What thought?” He didn't let go of my hand though. The tingles had disappeared, or maybe I had just gotten used to them. I liked the strength of his hands and the way mine fit perfectly in his, but tried not to think of it too much.

  “I'd better go in.” I needed to learn how to master my thoughts completely if he could hear them. How naïve I had been, hoping to be in control of the situation.

  “May I have permission to call on you tomorrow?” he asked. Before my heart could start pounding too much he continued. “I would like to see if you can still hear our thoughts in the morning.”

  “I have to go in to work at ten. You could come over after nine for a bit,” I said. I might be able to puzzle things out with them if I let him ask me more questions.

  I stood and offered to help him up. Instead he scooted backward, closer to the open window, keeping his butt close to the shingles. I tried to hide a smile that he was scared of heights. I waited for him to climb in first then stepped inside after him. He glanced around my room but didn’t say anything, heading straight for my door.

  He turned to me once he got into the hallway. “Thank you again.”

  “You're welcome.” We walked down the stairs, Jai in front. He nodded to my dad on his way out the front door.

  Dad sat on the couch with a magazine in his hands. I grinned since the magazine was one of Mom's, and upside down.

  “Did you have fun?” Dad tossed the magazine onto the coffee table.

  I shrugged. “He just wanted to see if I felt better. I'm heading to bed. I'll see you tomorrow, Dad.”

  Halfway up the stairs, I heard my dad's thoughts echoing, “What am I gonna do now that she's…” The thought cut off as I moved out of range.

  ****

  Jai came over the next morning at five minutes after nine and spoke to me from outside before I opened the door.

  “Can you hear me, Holly?”

  “Yes,” I said aloud. Then recognizing the faint echo, I realized it was a thought. “I am saying this in my mind. Do you hear me?” I felt like a kid playing with a walkie-talkie. I resisted the urge to think testing, testing, one, two, three.

  “I hear you fine,” he answered with a small chuckle. “Even through this barrier. Do you mind opening up? I would prefer to avoid having people wonder why I am staring at your door.”

  “Oh, sorry.” I opened the door and gave him a small smile. We stood in the doorway, looking at each other. Because he stood on the porch, and the step up into my house made me a half-inch higher, he looked up at me. I loved how he didn't seem bothered by my height.

  Not daring to invite him in, I leaned against the doorframe. “Well, at least we know it lasts for more than twelve hours.” After spending half the night thinking about it, I had to admit the telepathy thing was pretty cool.

  “I doubt it will last more than a day, judging from previous experience,” he said as if trying to comfort me.

  “What kind of information were you looking for?” I asked, purposely kindling my irritation that he'd drugged me to hear my private thoughts. I needed to remember that so my judgment wasn’t clouded by my feelings for him.

  “I cannot answer that.” He looked a little sad when he said it.

  I wanted to know more, but didn't dare push it. “I don't like you hearing every stupid thought I have.”

  “I am sorry,” he thought. The way he looked at me made me almost think he was serious. Did he feel sorry because I’d caught him, or because I was bothered by it?

  “Well, it has been quite the experience.” I shrugged. “I don't know why you don't sell this stuff. People would pay lots to have something like this.”

  “No one can know about it.” The panic in his eyes surprised me.

  “I know. Sorry. Just got carried away.” I held up my hands and waved away my earlier comments. “I promised I would keep it secret and I will.”

  He nodded and shifted on his feet like he was uncomfortable.

  To calm him a bit, I thought, “How about after I get off work today, we get together and try some of those experiments you wanted to do yesterday. We'll see how far away it works and stuff.”

  “I would love to meet you later,” he said with a small smile, almost flirtatious, making my heart flutter again. “Come over to my house when you are off, and we will see if you can still hear us.”

  “Okay,” I agreed. “See you later.”

  I closed the door and heard him say, “I am glad I met you, Holly. You are one of a kind.”

  “Thanks,” I thought as I leaned my back against the door. “I'm beginning to feel the same way about you.” I wasn’t sure if I wanted him to hear it or not.

  ****

  Work didn't drag on like I thought it would. Once my parents checked to see how I felt, they had me do odds and ends around the lot. I tried to listen to their thoughts but didn't hear anything from them.

  After work, I went to Jai's house and knocked on the door. A black spider crawling near the door caught my eye. I started singing “The Itsy-Bitsy Spider” in my mind. When the door opened, Amira smiled at me.

  “What are you singing about?” she asked, confusion on her face.

  “The itsy-bitsy spider,” I said. “Couldn’t you hear it very well? Isn't it working as well as before?” The disappointment I felt surprised me.

  “No, I can hear you perfectly. I am not familiar with that song though.” Amira tilted her head.

  Jai showed up at the door just then, wearing a tight T-shirt — different from the one he'd worn this morning — that molded itself to his perfect muscles. He smiled when he saw me standing in the doorway. I stared at him, completely forgetting Amira in front of me.

  “Thanks for coming over. Is it still working?” He looked to Amira for confirmation.

  “Yes, I heard her singing a song about a spider. Sing it to him,” she ordered as she took my hand and led
me to the couches in the front room.

  Jai looked at her and I heard him think “Please?” as if redirecting a child.

  “Please,” Amira finished.

  “I’m sure he doesn’t want to hear a silly song about a spider,” I said, fully embarrassed about it now.

  “I would love to hear it. Will you please sing it to me?” Jai thought, the kindness in his words obvious to me.

  “I guess I could do it,” I thought. “Just 'cause you asked nicely,” I teased. I started to sing the song in my mind, tempted to do the actions with my hands.

  Jai listened to it. “That is interesting. What exactly is a waterspout?”

  “You’ve never heard it before either? Where are you from?” I asked. Jai and Amira both stiffened a bit. They looked at each other but didn't speak.

  “We cannot say,” Amira whispered.

  “All these secrets are going to drive me crazy. One of these days I'll figure it out though, and you won't have to keep it secret,” I said.

  “I do wish you would not try. It would not be safe for you to know everything,” Amira said.

  I groaned. “That makes me want to know even more.”

  They looked at each other again like they were uncomfortable with the direction of our conversation. “Forget I asked.” I'd find out some other way. Changing the subject, I said, “I tried to hear my parents’ thoughts again today, but couldn’t.”

  Jai got a funny look on his face, and Amira looked guilty.

  “What?” I asked, keeping my eyes on Jai's face. So much for putting them at ease.

  “That is probably because I gave you a double dose,” Jai admitted.

  “What! Why?” I asked.

  “Well, your family was easy to hear right away, but not you,” Jai said. “So I gave you more.”

  I frowned. I'd kind of hoped I was special because I could hear them when other people couldn't, but maybe it was because of the extra dose.

  We did a few experiments, trying to think one thing while saying something different. After a while, I got pretty good at it, but started to have a hard time concentrating on what to think, and what to keep private.

  Before long, I excused myself to go home. It was my night to make dinner.

  Jai stood and offered me his hand. I didn't need his help, but I took it anyway, curious to see if it would tingle again. It didn't. I only felt the warm strength. “Can you come back later?”

  “Tonight?”

  “Yes. We need to see if this lasts longer than a full day.” Jai checked the clock on the wall. “In less than two hours it could be over.”

  “I’ll come back.” I nodded and headed to the door.

  “Thank you, Holly.” Amira gave me a hug then grabbed both of my hands in hers as she looked me in the eyes. “You truly are a good friend, and I am glad we ended up being your neighbors. You have made a difficult experience for me much easier to handle.”

  “It’s no problem.” I didn't know what to do with her still holding onto my hands, so I squeezed them and let go. “I’ll see you guys later.”

  “Thanks, Holly,” Jai thought to me.

  ****

  The clock above the oven showed it was past eight when I'd finished cleaning up after dinner. It had been more than a full day. Would the telepathy still work?

  I wanted to run to their house, but when I saw Jai and Amira waiting on their front porch, I forced myself to walk. No need to look too eager. With my focus on them, I completely missed Curtis washing his car.

  “Hey, Holly,” Curtis called. “You coming to help me?”

  “No. I wouldn’t dare.” I shook my head.

  “Don’t worry. I won’t let you hurt her.” Curtis caressed the hood of the car with a wet rag.

  I kept walking, and he dropped the rag in the bucket. He wiped his wet hands on his pants and met me on the sidewalk, cutting me off. “Maybe I’ll take you for a ride if you ask nice.”

  “No thanks.” I glanced back at his car.

  “You don’t want to take ride in Jessica?”

  “Nope.”

  “Come on, Holly.” Curtis leaned against his fence. “You know you won’t have many opportunities to ride in a classic car like her.”

  “Thanks for the offer, but I’m busy right now.” I tried to step around him, but he moved to cut me off again.

  “Doing what?” He looked around as if there was nothing that could be more important than talking to him.

  “Excuse me.” I stepped to my right, and he moved in sync with me. A step to my left resulted in the same thing. It felt like an awkward dance with the most annoying partner ever. I stepped off the sidewalk and walked toward Jai’s house. Curtis did a quick jog and caught up.

  “Where ya going?”

  “None of your business.”

  Curtis looked ahead as if trying to guess my destination. “Hey, when did the Jensen house sell?”

  I glanced at him. If he hadn’t noticed the neighbors in the week they’d been here, he was pretty unobservant. Or maybe he just wasn’t as obsessive as I was. Of course, when he got a look at Amira, he might change his mind.

  It didn’t take long to reach the sidewalk leading up to Jai’s porch. I looked up to see Amira and Jai watching us approach.

  “Who is this?” Jai’s voice echoed in my mind. I was relieved it hadn’t worn off yet.

  “Curtis. He’s a neighbor a couple houses down,” I thought.

  “Why did you bring him?”

  I bristled at the accusation. “I didn’t bring him. He followed.”

  “I do not have time to deal with another complication,” Jai said.

  I stared at him, shocked at the tone. I was a complication. He didn’t want anything to do with me. I turned to go.

  “Holly, wait,” Amira said. “Jai is being rude, and I apologize for his behavior.” She smiled gently and placed her hand on Jai’s arm. Jai looked at her then at me. When he met my eyes, I saw the moment he realized what he’d said.

  I broke eye contact with Jai and glanced at Curtis then cringed. I wouldn’t quite call it a leer, but Curtis wasn’t being subtle in his inspection of Amira. I shouldn’t have brought him with me. I should have done something to keep him from meeting them.

  Jai stood up. “Who is your friend, Holly?”

  I frowned then realized he was trying to keep up the charade. “This is Curtis.”

  Amira gave a slight nod, and Curtis stepped forward. “Hey, gorgeous. Welcome to the neighborhood.”

  Amira smiled as if humoring him. Jai stepped in front of Amira and crossed his arms over his broad chest. “No need to hang around here, Curtis. I’ll make sure Holly gets home safe.”

  Curtis glanced at me then back to Jai. He didn’t look like he had a clue about what just happened.

  “You should get back and finish rinsing Jenny.” I looked back down the street to his house. “You don’t want her to get soap spots.”

  Curtis blinked at me. “Jessica.”

  “Who?” Amira asked.

  “My car.”

  Amira scowled at him. “You named your car after a woman?”

  “Yeah. So?” Curtis asked.

  Jai took a step down from the porch. Curtis took a small step backward then stopped. He glanced at me. Jai shook his head. “Naming your car after a woman does not show the proper respect due to the fairer sex.”

  I blinked. “Fairer sex? Where’d that come from?”

  “That is correct terminology is it not?” Jai thought back to me but didn’t meet my eyes. He took another step toward Curtis.

  Curtis looked dumbfounded. “What?”

  Jai spoke softly, but there was undeniable authority in his voice. “You should be more careful in your actions toward women. Treating an inanimate object as if it were a person, or trying to own a woman like you would a car is completely inappropriate.”

  Curtis scowled. “Who made you God?”

  “I take my role as a man seriously. You will as well if you ever want to b
e blessed with the companionship of a woman.”

  “Whatever, dude.” Curtis turned to me. “Let me know when you want to take a ride in Jessica.” He hesitated for a second on the name but rushed off without looking back at Jai.

  “Don’t you think you went a little overboard?” I asked.

  “Overboard?” Jai crossed his arms over his chest again and looked down at me.

  “Yeah, he’s not that bad. Just a little cocky.”

  “No. He really is that bad. I have seen his kind before. He would never treat you with respect. I hope you know that. You could do much better than him.” Jai sounded serious as he spoke. I looked at him and was surprised at the expression in his eyes. Wasn’t he the same guy who’d just called me a complication?

  “I’m not with him,” I said.

  “Jai,” Amira thought quietly. “It is obvious that she is not dating him. He is like a lost puppy that follows her around.”

  I nodded, glad Amira was observant. Trying to change the subject, I thought, “The telepathy seems to still be working.”

  “Yes, although you do sound quieter than before,” Amira said.

  “What do you think that means?” I asked.

  “Well, obviously it is wearing off.” Jai raised one eyebrow.

  I tried not to cringe at how stupid I sounded. Of course it was. Within twenty minutes they could no longer hear my thoughts at all, and a half hour later I couldn’t hear them.

  It surprised me how disappointed I was the telepathy was gone. I hadn’t wanted anything to do with it at first, but without it, I felt like I’d lost something special. They seemed relieved when I could no longer hear them. If they hadn’t looked so happy about it, I might have asked to try the stuff again. And the whole complication thing still stung.

  With my reason for being there gone, I got up to excuse myself. Jai looked surprised.

  “I think I ought to head home,” I said in a quiet voice. “Have to make sure everything’s ready for tomorrow's trip up the mountain,” I added in a brighter tone, trying not to let them know my sadness.