The White Aura

by Felicia Tatum

  “So…how does this happen?” I asked him, my eyes desperately searching his.

  “Well, my love, it’s a very long and difficult story, but you will find out soon. I just wanted you to know they are actually happening. I am in love with you, Olivia Whitehead.”

  His face lit in excitement, his eyes shining and radiating happiness. And I believed him. This handsome man was really in love with me. What was I supposed to do now? I studied him some more, taking him all in. His dark hair was messy, and he wore jeans and a black buttoned shirt. He looked damned sexy standing there, looking at me like I was the only person in the world. I stood and walked toward him, my hormones controlling my moves. I reached for his face when he grabbed my hand and stopped me.

  “Livvie, not tonight. I can’t tonight. I won’t be able to stop…and…I don’t want our first time to be in a dream.”

  He said it with such disappointment that my heart ached for him. I reached for him again, but he was gone.

  Sitting straight up in my bed, sweaty and confused, I fumbled to turn on the light. I massaged my temples with my fingers, trying to figure out what was wrong with me. He had said it was real, but wouldn’t my dreams try to convince me of that? I mean, it was my subconscious. How could I know what was really going on? This was starting to freak me out. Rubbing my eyes, I glanced around the room and that’s when I noticed it—a yellow rose on my dresser. It was beautiful, and it hadn’t been there before I went to bed.

  Slipping from the bed, I slowly walked to it, fingers extended to feel the velvety softness on my fingertips. Either it was really here or I had reached a new state of insanity. Lifting it, I pressed it to my nose, inhaling the fresh scent. It felt and smelled real. The alarm clock showed the early morning hour, signifying my lack of sleep for the night, and I sighed as I continued staring at the delicate, yellow rose in my hand.

  Maybe…just maybe…he was real. And if he was, I didn’t know what that meant for me. He said he loved me, but he didn’t know me. Was it ridiculous a large part of me hoped he was a real person? Though the rational part of me continued to scream there was no way this was possible, the rose in my palm said otherwise.

  What now?

  SCOTT

  The moment she looked at me with her big green eyes and asked my name, I knew I must leave something for her so she would know I was more than a figment of her imagination. To think she didn’t know how real our interactions were, that we truly were together those nights, killed me inside. I longed for the day we could be together. So, I decided to help her along in believing. I noticed when espying that her room had a lot of yellow. I figured it was her favorite color. After I left the dream, but before she woke, I created a Sunshine Daydream rose in her room.

  I was lying on my bed, thinking of the events of the night. When espying, our spirits were together. It was enough to calm the hurt in my body from being away from my heart mate, but it wasn’t enough for my actual heart. I longed to feel her silky hair under my fingers, to know how soft her lips truly were. I wanted to hear her voice, to be able to hold her in my arms. Why did Livvie have to be so beautiful? And why did that guy have to ask her out? Which reminded me…I got up and trudged to my computer. I sat so hard in the chair it gave a little squeak like it might break under my weight. It was time to do some research.

  Remembering the guy’s name was Aiden, I went to Livvie’s social networking sites. Maybe they were friends. I was scrolling, getting distracted by pictures of my love, when I saw two guys with the name Aiden. Aiden Cavalier and Aiden Periwinkle. I snickered at the names. One of these guys asked my Livvie to go to the dance and might possibly try to steal her heart. I would just have to listen in while she was at school, so perhaps I could catch a glimpse of my competition. Which reminded me…I needed to ask her about this whole dance thing and if she was definitely going with this jerkwad.

  I looked at Cavalier’s page. He played sports, ran track, the athletic sort of guy, which probably meant he was a complete idiot. Not that I thought all athletes were idiots; he just looked the type who would have the cocksure, I-am-a-god attitude. He had gray eyes and light brown hair. I knew I was much better looking. Periwinkle, he seemed like one of the brainy kids. He was a year younger than Livvie, so maybe the other guy was the maybe-date…it was driving me crazy not knowing my competition.

  How had my family gone through this all these years? Loving someone from afar, knowing at any moments time everything could change. Or worse yet, loving them in daily life only to lose them in a few years. Who was this sorcerer who cast the curse? Why hadn’t anyone gone after him and broke it?

  Could it be broken?

  I turned off the computer and paced around my room. A knock sounded at the door connecting the garage to my parent’s house.

  “Yeah?” I called out.

  The door opened and my younger brother, Santos, stuck his head in.

  “Yo, can I come in?”

  I nodded and he slid in, his hand still on the doorknob. My nose caught a waft of something baking.

  “I found out some info on the descendant. The actual sorcerer who set the curse was Devlin Hart. I have a lead now. Just wanted you to know.”

  “Awesome, San. Thank you so much for helping me, bro. Is everything going ok with you? What are you doing up so early?”

  “Yeah, not much going on lately. There is this girl at school I’ve been competing with. It’s a little stressful, but I’m determined to be the head of the class. I’ve been up studying since 4:30a.m.”

  Our parents had made it very clear we were to learn everything we could and not use our magical abilities to help us out in any way, but Santos was taking it a bit far. Since kindergarten, he studied three times as much as the average student, surpassing his peers and skipping ahead not once, but twice before he reached sixth grade. It was a lot for Sebastian, his twin, to take in and deal with. The two were often compared, which wasn’t entirely fair in my opinion, and Sebastian got the short end of the smart stick.

  Nonetheless, Santos didn’t treat him any differently and neither did our immediate family, so I supposed that was what truly mattered.

  I laughed. “Ok man. Good luck.”

  He nodded and left, shutting the door with a bang behind him. Santos was short and to the point with most things, never sticking around for small talk. Sometimes I wondered if he could even wrap his brain around it. There was no point to it, no reason behind talking for the heck of it, and Santos always needed a reason for something. He was as rational as rational could be.

  Standing, I stretched my arms above my head, feeling the muscles pull. It felt so good after dreamwalking all night. Walking to the window, I saw the first glimpses of the rising sun and sighed. I never felt like I slept well anymore, and while I didn’t care, my body seemed to. Closing the curtains, I trudged my way back to my bed. After I undressed, I slid in between the covers and attempted to shut my mind off from this terrible day. This damned curse could cost me my love. If only…my grandmother wouldn’t be happy, but I knew I had to find the descendant of Devlin Hart. It couldn’t be anyone nice…but…no, I couldn’t think about that. I would just have to find the descendant so I could be with Livvie before someone stole her away. I turned off the light and got into bed, knowing I would dream of my Livvie.

  OLIVIA

  The yellow rose I spun around in my hand smelled like a delicate piece of heaven. Once I saw the flower, I knew he was real. I still didn’t know his name, but he said I would soon. Sleep eluded me since I woke from the dream in the early hours of the morning. So I was sitting and staring out at the moon that was going to bed and a sun that was waking. The colors were swirling together and creating a magnificent view. The dark met the light and there was a heavenly orange-yellow glow across the sky.

  My front row seat for the sunrise was a window seat in my room with yellow pillows thrown around it. I begged my parents to put it in when I was fourteen, and they finally agreed on my sixteenth birthday. It took qu
ite a bit of remodeling to accomplish, so I was grateful that they finally said yes to it. It was my favorite place to sit and think. The rest of my room reflected my tastes, though not overly decorated. My full-sized bed held lots of fluffy pillows and a cozy yellow comforter. Flopping down on it made me feel like I was on a cloud that magically erased my worries. My dresser was large, but not nearly enough to hold all of my clothing. The closet was full of shoes, clothes, and boxes of stuff that I couldn’t bear to throw out from my childhood. I had a small TV on the dresser, with a furry clock beside it. Mornings need something like a furry clock to make them bearable. Glancing over, I saw it said 5:13 in the morning. School would be fun today, though leaving my little sanctuary was difficult on most days. At least it was Wednesday. We had a half day today and the rest of the week off for teacher work days. It was like a mini school vacation before our summer break.

  Tonight was my sleepover with Juniper. I always looked forward to them, because we had so much fun together. Our parents had known each other for so long that they let us have sleepovers on school nights sometimes, though this was technically our weekend.

  Arrow Rock High, in Arrow Rock, Tennessee, was as small as small could get. We barely had enough people to have a sports team, but we made it work. Everyone knew your business, though. It was quite unfortunate. It seemed like no one could go for a drive without the whole town knowing. My school had roughly 800 students, including those in junior high. My class had 60, tops.

  I’d been crazy to think he was from here. I would have known who he was, and remembered him. He was totally gorgeous, so there was no way I could ever forget him. He said he lived in the next town…but that could be three different places: Loudon Heights, Kaysville, or Stone. His house might be in any of them. I sat up a little straighter, thinking back to when I was staring out of his window, trying to remember if I recognized anything. It was definitely in a familiar town, but I didn’t know which one. There had been a lot of trees, but also houses near his. If only I had thought to look at an address on one of the mailboxes.

  Was it crazy to think about a man I dream about like this? A man claiming to have powers, at that. I hadn’t even met him, yet there was this pull to him. I longed for his hand in mine, to be able to really look in his eyes. A small part of me couldn’t help but think I was crazy to fall for someone I was dreaming about. That just screamed insanity. Maybe someone should call the white coats to come and get me, because there was definitely something wrong with me. Sighing, I looked at the clock again, 6:45 a.m. Time had flown and I needed to get ready for school.

  I stood and headed for the closet, thinking of what I might wear today. It seemed like it would be rainy, so I should find something cute but water resistant. I decided on dark skinny jeans with a dark pink off-the-shoulder top, with my hair in a low pony tail. Rain always made my hair look awful, so I had learned to put it up on those days.

  I rarely applied a ton of makeup, but I felt the urge to today. After some consideration, I put neutral shade on my lids with dark liner all around and finished with a cat eye look. I gently brushed my face with powder and put a touch of light pink gloss on. I gazed in the mirror and thought that I looked really good in dark pink. It really complemented my skin. I wasn’t the overly confident type, but I knew when I looked good, and I felt good that day.

  I went back to the closet and shuffled through the boxes of shoes, looking for my black rain boots with polka dots. I found them, but not before a few boxes knocked me on the head. I pulled on the boots and grabbed my book bag, ready to eat breakfast. My phone chimed with a text from Aiden. I stopped in my tracks as I read what it.

  “I’m coming to take you to school. I have breakfast in the car. 5 minutes.”

  I couldn’t believe he was actually trying to prove himself to me. And just assuming I would be ok with him taking me to school? Who did he think he was? Before I could get the reply typed, I heard honking outside. Apparently Aiden was here, and he couldn’t be bothered to come to the door or wait for a reply.

  I walked to his vehicle with purpose, and maybe a bit of sassiness. I cocked my head to the side and stood at the door. If this was his idea of wooing me, it wasn’t working. He stared at me, his eyes moving appreciatively up and down my body. I still didn’t reach for the door. I was waiting for him to get out and open it. He just showed up like this and couldn’t even be a gentleman? Nope. Was not going to happen with me.

  After five minutes of staring at each other, he hopped out of his side, saying, “What are you doing, Whitehead? Get in the car.”

  “No.”

  His eyes widened. “Why not?”

  “Because. You can’t just come here without asking and then expect me to just hop in your jalopy.”

  “Oh.”

  Coming over, he reached around me and his arm brushed against mine. His closeness made me nervous, and I wanted to move away from him, but there wasn’t anywhere to go. He opened the door and bowed with an extravagant flourish.

  I couldn’t help but laugh when he said, “My lady.”

  “Thank you, Cavalier,” I said with a giggle.

  We got settled, and he pointed to a breakfast platter from the only restaurant in town. He gave me a mischievous grin and told me that we were eating at school. I couldn’t figure him out. This Aiden wasn’t really like the one I knew at school. He was different. I wasn’t sure if I liked it or not.

  SCOTT

  I always had an out of body feeling when I espied others who were far away. I tingled all over and felt as if I were floating beside the person I was espying. I lived about twenty-five miles away, so it was like that when I espied Livvie. I glanced at the clock and realized she should be on the way to school. I supposed it wouldn’t hurt to see what she was doing.

  I sat back in my chair, closed my eyes, and relaxed. I counted to thirty, breathing deeply with each number. Tingling started at my feet and slowly moved up. Before I got to thirty, my whole body was numb and I felt my spirit drifting.

  I concentrated on Livvie’s face. If I didn’t, I could end up anywhere. I heard her voice…and some guy’s. It couldn’t be her dad; this guy was too young. I drifted closer and closer until my spirit was beside her. She was in a car. I glanced at the driver and was shocked to see the Aiden Cavalier character sitting behind the wheel. I guessed he was her date. But it wasn’t his face that shocked me—it was the red glow surrounding his body. He was a sorcerer, too.

  The jolt sent my spirit back to my resting form in a flash. I jerked out of the chair and stumbled as I tried to stand. Rising soon after espying was not the best idea, because it took a few minutes for my physical being and spirit to reconnect. I was there, but the full connection hadn’t occurred yet. For a few moments, my body was just moving on its own.

  I couldn’t believe this Aiden guy was a sorcerer. And one with a red aura! All sorcerers had a specific color about them, mainly related to their families, that consumed most of their aura. Most had two dominant shades, with the outer color being a golden yellow and the inner being their family color. The Tabors were green. Bad sorcerers had a red ring where the golden yellow would normally be. But Aiden…his whole aura was red. This could only mean he was a truly evil spirit. And he was with my Livvie.

  Shaking, I knew I needed to relax again in order to watch her and make sure she was safe. I stood and paced a few times back and forth, then sat back down on the bed, knees quivering, and tried to calm my mind. I laid my head against the pillow and closed my eyes. Breathing deeply through my nose, I willed myself to stop thinking. I had to put all thoughts out. I went through the process again, this time counting to fifty.

  My spirit rested beside her in the school courtyard. She and this evil sorcerer were eating breakfast together. Jealousy spiked, making me shake and breathe heavily. Continuing to watch them, I couldn’t figure what he was up to. He was saying stuff not that funny, yet she was laughing. They were talking about a track meet coming up and how he was ready for it. It apparen
tly was the last one of the year, before summer break. He didn’t mention the dance.

  I saw in his eyes that he enjoyed looking at Livvie, but I also saw something more. His actions made me believe he knew I was present. Perhaps he sensed the magical surge when I joined. There was an element in the way he stared making me feel uneasy. He kept looking toward where my spirit rested, but didn’t seem to know where exactly I was. Possibly because Livvie was sitting with him and he was distracted with not wanting her to know. He was a red sorcerer and would not do something stupid to let his secret out. I was worried about her safety, but the bell rang for class, to my relief. He wouldn’t do anything with witnesses around. I started to drift back to my corporeal self, knowing I must speak with my family immediately.

  My eyes slowly opened as my spirit returned. I sat while the numbness went away. I learned the hard way to not walk much when I was in such a state. It made for some bruises and broken bones. The first time I espied, I hadn’t realized I needed to take things slowly. I had stood too quickly and tripped over a chair, breaking my arm in two places. That had been enough of a lesson for me to take my time ever since.

  I stood cautiously and walked toward the bookcase to search for the family history book I’d looked at the day before. I located it and flipped to the index, searching for red sorcerers. I recalled seeing the pages when I was younger, I just couldn’t remember where.

  Maybe it was my nerves, or maybe it was lack of concentration, but now I couldn’t find anything. I grabbed the book, plus a few others, and called Grandma. I told her I was in desperate need of her knowledge, and I would be there in a flash. If anyone would know how to help me, it would be her.