Benjamin stayed in the nurse’s office for the rest of the school day. She said there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with him, but even she couldn’t ignore the pale face and sweaty palms.
“Maybe I’ll feel better if I just lay here for a while,” suggested Benjamin.
“I think I’d better call your mom, Benjamin. Maybe she can take you to the doctor.”
“No! I mean, I have Mrs. O’Brian for last period and she’s giving a quiz. I don’t want to, uh, miss it.”
The nurse shook her head and smiled warmly. “I wish all of our students were as serious about their school work as you, Benjamin. Okay then, why don’t you take a little nap and I’ll come check on you every half hour or so.”
She winked and patted him on the head. There were perks to being a good kid in school. Teachers tended to believe you if you were smart and not getting in trouble.
Benjamin tried to close his eyes, but the note in his pocket seemed to be burning a hole in his brain.
I know. Meet me in your backyard after school.
Should he tell someone? Should he bring Nathan? Who could know? How could anyone else know about his powers?
Benjamin’s mind whirled with possibilities.
Chapter 11: The Visitor
After school, Benjamin told Nathan that he had a lot of homework to do and wouldn’t be able to hang out. Besides, he still wasn’t feeling well and looked the part with his sunken eyes and pale skin.
“Hope you feel better. See you tomorrow,” Nathan waved as he boarded the school bus.
Benjamin waved back and sighed. The walk home would give him some time to think. Maybe whoever had left him the note would be gone. Maybe the person was waiting for the school bus and would leave when Benjamin didn’t get off at his stop. Maybe, maybe, maybe…
The walk home felt like forever and all too quick at the same time. Benjamin clutched his hands nervously as he walked. He barely paid attention to his surroundings as he moved on autopilot. That was, until a very old man with a gnarled wooden cane stepped out in front of him.
+++
Benjamin went to move around the man, but stopped. He didn’t stop himself. He couldn’t move his legs or arms. They were paralyzed. His head could move and he lifted it to look at the old man. The ancient white-haired man had a neatly trimmed beard and long hair that ran in two braids that cascaded over his shoulders. He was wearing some kind of brown suit, with a t-shirt underneath that said ‘Live For Now.’ There seemed to be a million wrinkles on the man’s face and hands that were tanned and craggily. Benjamin inhaled sharply as he noticed the man’s eyes. They were a brilliant blue-green, the color of the Caribbean Sea in the shallows around little islands. They shone and even looked a bit mischievous.
“You weren’t thinking of avoiding me, were you, Benjamin?”
Chapter 12: Lessons
Benjamin’s mouth opened and closed with no words coming out. He looked like a bug-eyed fish that had just been surprised by a great white shark.
“I take it you got my note?” the old man said with a slightly European accent that you might hear from someone who’s lived all over the world. The man smiled from ear to ear. His teeth were a little crooked, but brilliantly clean, like the insides of a seashell.
Somehow Benjamin managed to move his head up and down.
“Good. Are you hungry?”
“N-no, s-sir,” Benjamin stuttered.
“Don’t worry, my boy. I’m not here to hurt you. I’m here to help you!”
The look on Benjamin’s face showed his reluctance to believe the stranger.
“It would be a lot easier if you did believe me and started talking,” said the man.
“O-okay.”
“Good!”
The bright-eyed visitor snapped his fingers and Benjamin’s arms flopped down to his sides. He looked down at them in wonder.
“Let’s go grab some ice cream,” suggested the man.
Without turning to look back at Benjamin, he stepped off the curb and headed toward the town center. His step was as graceful as a cat’s. It was interesting that the man carried a cane. He didn’t look like he needed it. Maybe it was just an old man thing, like for decoration.
Once he’d gathered his wits, Benjamin followed.
Soon they arrived at the small ice cream shop run by a large man with a black beard. He looked like he would’ve been more at home in a pizzeria.
“What can I get for you?” the owner of the shop asked.
“I’ll get a scoop of rainbow sherbet and a scoop of bubble gum,” the old man ordered.
“And you, young man?”
“I…I’m okay.”
“Benjamin will have chocolate fudge brownie please,” said the man in the brown suit.
Benjamin looked up in shock. How had the stranger known his favorite ice cream? All he got in response was a quick wink from a wrinkle wrapped eye.
They waited in silence as their ice cream was scooped and served in matching white paper bowls. The man with the cane paid and ushered Benjamin to a small table next to the front window. They were the only customers in the shop. The owner told them he’d be in the back office doing paperwork if they needed anything else.
“I’m sure you have some questions for me, eh?” the man asked between bites of ice cream.
Benjamin nodded. He was finally starting to relax and enjoy his dessert.
“First, my name is Kennedy.”
“Is that your first or your last name?” asked Benjamin.
The man shrugged. “It’s the only name I can remember.”
How could that be? Didn’t everyone know their own name?
“Why do you only have one name?”
“I decided to live by one name a very long time ago, but that doesn’t really matter. As I said earlier, I am here to help you.”
“How, Mr. Kennedy?”
“Not Mr. Kennedy, just Kennedy.”
“Oh.” Benjamin face reddened. Kennedy didn’t seem to notice.
“Where was I? Oh yes! Your gift.”
“My what?”
“Don’t give me that, Benjamin. I saw what you did with that car.”
A sneaky grin spread across Kennedy’s face.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“You used your gift and saved that pretty young girl.”
“No, I…I didn’t…”
“Pish posh, son. Let’s not lie to each other. You have a gift just as I do. I’ve admitted it to you. Can you do the same for me?”
“Yes, sir.”
“That’s better. Now, you must have some questions for me?”
Benjamin laid down his plastic spoon and wiped his mouth with a napkin. His stomach was in knots again. He was nervous, but curious. Benjamin wanted answers.
“Why do I…” Benjamin started.
Kennedy held up a gnarled hand.
“I forgot to tell you. One of my rules is that you only get three questions per visit. I’ll hold you to it.”
“Per visit?”
“Would you like to use one of your questions for me to answer that?”
Benjamin thought about it for a moment.
“Yes.”
“Very well. From time to time, until I die, I will visit you. You’ll never know when or where. You see, it’s in my nature to be a little mysterious. We’re all a little different. My good friend Annabelle prefers to live in trees and Unger wears… Woops. That’s just like me to go off on a tangent. Must be my old brain.” Kennedy tapped his head. “As I was saying, I’ll show up sometimes to check on you and to help you along your chosen path. During those visits I will allow three questions about your ongoing quests, your path or your gift. Don’t worry. You won’t waste one asking to use the restroom!”
Benjamin’s mouth hung open. Chosen path? Gifts? Quests? What was this old man talking about? There were too many questions to ask. Why did he only get three? Benjamin’s brain worked to come up with a better question.
�
�What are these gifts?” he asked quietly.
Kennedy tapped his nose with his spoon. “There are those in the human race that possess certain talents. Some people might call them powers. I prefer to use the term gift. Has a better ring to it, I think. Having these talents is very rare. There are only a handful of us in the entire world, although that number seems to have increased recently. Our gifts are divided into three general categories: healing, growing, and destruction. One who is imbued with the gift of healing is able to heal and affect the physical well-being of living creatures. Some world famous doctors and healers have had this gift. Quite a serious lot if you ask me.
“Those with the gift of growing possess the ability to manipulate the earth and our environment. For example, they can make a tiny acorn sprout into a ten-foot-tall tree or make a cloud expel rain. Extremely useful when you want to grow a garden in a pinch. Growers tend to be our gentlest souls.”
Kennedy paused to eat another bite of rainbow sherbet. He was more serious as he began again.
“The gift of destruction is more loosely defined. I call it destruction, others call it control and liken it to telekinesis, the power to move objects and manipulate the physical world. I, however, find that using the term ‘destruction’ properly warns us of the gift’s…side effects. You see, those who have gone astray have almost always had the gift of destruction. Very sad when that happens.”
Benjamin’s faced turned gray.
“I have the gift of destruction, although I use my gift for good.” He smiled. “One of the reasons I am here today is that we believed you had, as I have now seen, the same gift. I am to be your mentor of sorts. Final question?”
Healing. Growing. Destruction! It was almost too much for Benjamin to process. He didn’t want to be one of the bad guys. It was hard enough trying to be good!
“Why do we have these gifts? Who gave them to us?” asked Benjamin, all thoughts of chocolate fudge ice cream swept from his mind.
“Technically that was two questions, but I’ll treat it as one, I suppose. Although I’m not sure you’ll like the answer.”
Kennedy pursed his lips, thinking.
“We don’t know where our gifts come from. Each of us has our own theories. Some say it’s God, some say it may be something else. I, honestly, have never been too sure. Either way, most of us are in agreement as to WHY we have these gifts. It is generally thought that gifted individuals exist in order to bring balance to the world. That may seem a bit grandiose, but once you think about it, it makes sense. That brings me back to an earlier thought. I mentioned we’ve seen a slight uptick in the number of our newly gifted. I’m sure if you watch the news you’ll see the problems all over the world. It’s as if nature is correcting itself. The same thing happened during the Second World War. As far as we can determine, the World War Two era birthed the most gifted in our long history. There were upwards of one hundred of us. I was in Europe at the time. Nasty business. Saw some horrible things…” Kennedy’s voice trailed off and his eyes clouded for a moment.
“Ahem,” Kennedy cleared his throat in his hand. “Today there are close to twenty of us, and likely more to come.”
Benjamin’s mind swirled. It all sounded too farfetched. He wished he could pinch himself to make sure he was really still awake.
“That brings us back to you, Benjamin. You’re still a bit young for questing and whatnot. That does not mean you cannot start thinking about your chosen path. I can see I’ve confused you again.”
Benjamin nodded and Kennedy scratched his beard.
“Let’s see. How to describe it? A chosen path is exactly as it sounds. For example, some healers set their minds to becoming doctors because they can use their gifts in a more public way. More on that in a minute.
“Many Growers live in the wild and cultivate magnificent forests and habitats for animals. There is a particularly talented gentleman by the name of Esteban who is doing extraordinary work in the Amazon. He’s reviving the decimated rainforest. I’d love to see him at his craft if it weren’t so bloody hot down there.
“What about destructors?” Benjamin interrupted.
Kennedy glared at his pupil for a moment, reminding Benjamin of one of his second grade teachers, Mrs. Graverton. She had a talent for making kids cry.
“I’ll let the extra question pass because you’re new. We destructors are the most varied in our chosen path. I suppose I could be a very effective builder, or some such thing. I’m almost sure there was a destructor involved with the construction of the great pyramids in Egypt. Regardless, we destructors are what you might call the wild card of our kind. There are fewer of us. We fit in where needed. I’ve devoted my life to travelling and helping during times of war or natural emergencies. I’m quite skilled at removing debris after hurricanes. It also allows me to spend time on beautiful islands in the Caribbean.”
Benjamin liked the sound of that.
“Another destructor I know is sort of a vigilante, meaning he helps the police catch criminals. He’s quite good at it. I once helped him nab a gang of crooks in the middle of a bank theft. You should have seen the looks on their faces!”
Kennedy finished his ice cream and held up his spoon.
“Now, my warning for you as a fellow destructor. I already told you that destructors have the largest chance of going down the wrong path.”
Kennedy let go of the plastic spoon. Instead of landing on the table, it hung in the air. Benjamin gawked once again.
“I want you to remember that you have the power of destruction.” Kennedy stared keenly into Benjamin’s eyes. “Watch the spoon.”
Benjamin watched as the spoon started spinning slowly in the space between them. Its momentum picked up and it was soon only a whirl of white blowing a miniscule amount of air at Benjamin’s face.
There were no squints or hand motions from the older man. He merely stared at Benjamin.
Without warning, the spoon halted in midair and began folding on itself. It made a tiny crackling sound as if it were screaming. It crumpled into a ball. Kennedy reached out and snagged the balled spoon.
“This is the danger of our gift, Benjamin. There are no limits to our power. We must use it wisely.”
Benjamin’s face had gone from a gray to creamy white.
“It’s not as bad as all that!” exclaimed Kennedy. “I just wanted to make sure you understand the possible consequences.” He snapped his fingers and his white eyebrows rose. Benjamin jumped in his chair. “I almost forgot! The rules.”
Benjamin looked at his teacher quizzically.
“The rules?” he asked.
“Yes. I cannot believe I almost forgot about them. I get so caught up in the stories sometimes you know... Anywho, let me tell you about the rules. The most important rule is to not tell an un-gifted person about your talents. Could you imagine what could happen? The way the media is these days they would turn us into travelling circuses. Worse, someone could use you for their own gain. It is, therefore, imperative that you keep your gift a secret. Understood?”
Benjamin’s face had colored. He hoped Kennedy didn’t have the power to read his mind. Instead of commenting, Kennedy went on.
“Second, you must use your gift for good. You do not want to see what happens to one of us that go astray. I’ll just say that the rest of us don’t take kindly to it, and we will do anything we can to protect our world.
“Third, even though we may be gifted, we are still mortal. That means we can still die and get hurt. Our gifts don’t change that.”
Benjamin waited for more rules. None came.
Kennedy rose to leave just as the fat parlor owner emerged from the back office.
“Until we meet again, Benjamin. Practice your craft, be careful and think on your chosen path.”
Kennedy offered his hand and Benjamin stood to shake it.
“Thank you for coming Mr.…er…Kennedy.”
The old man’s smile was contagious.
“You are most welcom
e, my boy.”
He released Benjamin’s hand and headed to the exit, cane swinging jauntily at his side. Just as he opened the glass door and the chime sounded, Kennedy turned back.
“One last thing. I really must have Imelda scan me again. It wouldn’t do to have Alzheimer’s as a destructor…” he muttered to himself. “This has only happened once in the past three or so thousand years, but every once in a while a truly gifted individual comes along. That person possesses all three gifts. You may have heard of one that graced our world around two thousand years ago,” he said with a wink. “Not something you should worry about, but we feel it’s important to let all newly gifted know in the extremely off chance that you start developing healing or growing gifts as well. Could come as quite a fright!”
With that, he departed and disappeared around the corner. Benjamin stood still for a full minute.
“You okay, son?” asked the store owner.
“Uh…yes, sir. Just, uh, had too much ice cream I think,” lied Benjamin.
Chapter 13: What Now?
Benjamin sat in his tidy room staring out the window. He’d replayed the conversation with Kennedy over and over in his head. There had also been a lot of painful pinches to make sure he was still awake.
It was almost dark and his mom would be home soon. Mrs. Dragon had texted to tell him she’d be bringing home Chinese food for dinner. Benjamin wasn’t hungry.
Kennedy’s warnings and instructions echoed in his head. He knew he could have asked questions for weeks, if given the chance. Why did he only get three? There were so many things he wanted to learn. How should he practice? Where should he practice? How was he supposed to find his chosen path? What if he ran into another one of the gifted? What if he became one of the ‘bad’ gifted? Was there a better name to call them than ‘gifted’?
His head pounded from the strain. Benjamin wished he could talk to someone about it. Would it be better if they teamed him up with someone like when his dad had made him play soccer in third grade?
Benjamin was scared. He was scared of doing something wrong. He was scared of not knowing what to do. He was scared of someone finding out. He was scared of being weird, a freak.
Benjamin Dragon - Awakening (The Chronicles of Benjamin Dragon) Page 4
