by Jaz Johnson
He was right. All this time, and all these therapy sessions were meant to help her remember her parents and what happened. And now that the opportunity was presented to her, she was so quick to dismiss it. She had to put her fear aside in order to obtain what she had been going after her entire life. Her jaw tightened at the frustration she felt for herself. Breathing through her nose, she looked away from Maverick, to the waiting eyes of Hydra. She couldn’t run away from this, which is what she was about to do. Maverick was right. She wanted nothing more than to see her parents again.
“Okay,” she breathed. Hydra’s brows rose as Maverick’s smile grew. Hydra giggled, capturing their attention.
“It seems he is of some use after all,” she commented. Saphora scowled at the mocking comment defensively, while Maverick seemed to be delighted.
“What is that book, anyway?” Saphora asked, getting away from her momentary spasm.
“A book on the language of the subconscious. I’m going to speak to yours,” answered Hydra. Saphora’s neck shifted instinctively with her suspicion.
“You’re going to … speak … to my subconscious?” Hydra nodded. “What, like, there’s a language, for my brain?” Hydra looked up from the book, staring blankly, not understanding why there was any confusion.
“Yes,” she answered, as if it were common knowledge.
“So cool,” commented Maverick. Saphora shook her head, not wanting to believe what was being said.
“How is that even possible? Brains don’t speak.” Hydra laughed.
“Then how are you speaking now?”
“Well – even if they did, why wouldn’t it be the same language as what I’m speaking?”
“Because it is your subconscious.”
“That doesn’t even make sense!” Saphora argued, her brows tightly knit together.
“Your subconscious is an entirely different aura.” Saphora was silent in her confusion. Hydra shook her head, sighing as she returned her attention to the book, flipping through page after page. “Your comprehension of the subject does not matter. We’ll start with something small so you’re not overwhelmed with the experience.”
“Experience?”
“By your terms, it’s going to feel a bit like a lucid dream.”
“I just better be able to walk after this.”
“Should I move?” Maverick asked. And for some reason, that sparked a bit of anxiety in Saphora, which Hydra noticed. With a hesitant response, she shook her head.
“No … It will work better with you sitting there.” Maverick nodded, leaning against the back of the sofa. Saphora’s nerves settled as Hydra stopped on the page she had been looking for. “Are you ready, Saphora?”
Saphora nodded with a held breath. Maverick kept his eyes on her as Hydra started reading in a language foreign to their ears. Almost instantly, Saphora’s head felt dense – heavy. Her eyes fluttered at the sudden impact of the feeling, her arm reaching out to grip the armrest of the sofa as if to keep from falling over. She groaned at the odd sensation, concerning Maverick. But he stayed quiet as Hydra continued to read, his glance shifting from her to Saphora. It wasn’t long before Saphora’s eyes began to glow, before her body went limp, laying back against the sofa. Her eyes remained slit open while her body laid motionless. Hydra stopped reading, looking up at her, while Maverick slowly started freaking out.
“What’s happening?” he asked, as Hydra set the book to her left.
“Her subconscious is revealing a memory to her.”
“”Can … Can she hear us? Why is she limp?” he asked, reaching out to touch her arm.
“Do not touch her!” she urged, making Maverick flinch. “You may alter something. She cannot hear us. But she can feel disturbances.”
“What is she remembering?”
“I don’t know. But the dialog wasn’t that strong. It shouldn’t be anything too traumatizing,” Hydra answered as she watched Saphora carefully.
“Traumatizing?” Hydra allowed her gaze to shift to Maverick. The tone in it falling into a stern fix.
“You should decide now how much you’re willing to put yourself through for her,” she said standing up and walking over to a jug of water. Maverick blinked, shaking his head some.
“What do you mean?”
“You are considering her for mating, yes?” she asked, picking up the jug of water and taking off the cap, turning to him. Heat rushed to Maverick’s face as he averted his eyes, stammering over his words.
“Oh my – is this normal on your planet? To assume all these things? First she thinks I’m trying to sleep with her, now you’re talking about mating?” Hydra raised a brow.
“Are you not?”
“Well – I mean sure, it’s maybe crossed my mind, but-“
“Then decide. Because a life beside her will not be easy.”
“Why?”
Hydra scoffed.
“Besides the fact that she differs from your human structure in all ways but appearance?” she laughed, shaking her head before taking a sip from the jug. “For one thing, her mother will not be pleased.” Maverick laughed.
“Well I think it’d be pretty cool to have an alien girlfriend. And I’ve dealt with moms that didn’t like me dating their daughter,” Maverick assured with a dismissive wave of his hand. Hydra lowered the jug, as her expression flattened, listening to his simple words. She shook her head, grinning.
“May Vida have mercy on you.”
Out of the darkness of her mind, slowly came the image of what looked to be a bedroom. White washed stone made up the four walls, incasing the sage green carpets that covered the floors, where a younger Saphora sat. In her gold dress, long sleeves and ruffled skirt. Her long hair braided and wrapped around the top of her head into an intricate bun. Her large eyes, in comparison to the rest of her face, stared up at her caretaker, while her lips smiled mischievously at her. The woman who was standing before her, smiled, giggling to herself with a shake of her head.
“Is that so?” she asked the child, who could not yet speak. The child squealed in response, crawling towards the woman. The woman chuckled, nodding as she bent down to lift the child into her arms.
“Yes, your father will be back shortly. He has just gone to talk to his brother,” the woman answered to the child. Her eyes lowered at the answer, then raised back to peer into the multicolored ones of Dizabethere. One blue, and one brown. And in her stare, she was able to distinguish her thoughts. One of her powers – the ability to read minds. Even the minds of infants. Her people had been sought after for generations for their talent, and they were found to be extraordinary caretakers for children, being able to understand them as none else could. Dizabethere smiled, shaking her head at the infant.
“No, you cannot go with him, I’m afraid.”
The child whined and hit at her chest in her pouting fit. Dizabethere tapped the child’s arm in a scolding manner.
“Hey, what did we say about that?” The child let out what sounded like a low growl and Dizabethere giggled. “Don’t growl at me! Did your father teach you that?” The child laughed as her sides were tickled, her inexperienced vocal cords coming more across as a mumble than a menacing growl.
“Yes, well, you shouldn’t growl at me,” she said in response to the child’s thoughts. “Oh he did, did he? Well, you’re a little too young for your growl to scare me,” she giggled. A motion in the corner of her eye made her turn around, catching sight of Hydra in the doorway. Hydra sighed, shaking her head and leaning on the doorframe.
“I always think you are talking to yourself, Diz,” Hydra grumbled. “I came in here to see-“
“To see if I had lost my mind, I know,” Diz laughed. “Have you forgotten that the kingdom has a new member?” she asked her, turning around to show Saphora to her. Hydra smirked, giving a playful wave to the child.
“Vida would never forgive me if I had.”
“And yet you accuse me of losing my sanity.”
“You are one
of the only ones that constantly speaks to the children they look after.” Diz shrugged, looking at Saphora, and nodding.
“She seems to like that I talk to her.” Hydra shook her head, watching Saphora with raised brows.
“Children her age can’t even comprehend basic dialog, and here you are having a conversation with her,” she said with a sigh. “Incredible.”
“Well you have to remember that we’re dealing with a very special little girl here,” Diz noted, poking at Saphora’s side to get her to giggle. “Why are you special?” Diz repeated, hearing the question. “Because your mother and father are a very special couple. So their love made you extra special,” she said in a child’s voice, nuzzling her nose against her cheek. “And extra cute!” Saphora squealed a giggle, trying to move away from her ticklish nuzzles. Setting Saphora down, she let her crawl to her pile of toys across the room.
“How is she doing?” Hydra asked, once she had crawled away. Diz sighed, walking over to her to speak more softly.
“She has the curiosity and tendencies of any child. But her power is developing with the rate of an adult. And she doesn’t know how to filter them.”
“Filter?”
“They’re showing in her emotions. Fire spreads when she’s upset. Lightning clouds appear when she cries. When she’s too excited, things float, including her. And she plays tricks.”
“Tricks?”
“Little force fields. I have a feeling she knows how to use those – ah!” Dizabethere scolded in Saphora’s direction, receiving the incoming thought of mischief. “Don’t you even think about it!” Saphora erupted into a fit of giggles, flailing her arms about.
“All of that as an infant? Most are only blessed with two, if not one. That’s … that’s four, isn’t?”
“And that’s not even all of it. What happens when she finds her guardian? She could gain another one or two. And there’s no doubt that Vida will teach her witchcraft.”
“A guardian. Do you think she’ll even have one? I mean, with her circumstances …”
“No one has any way of knowing. But if she does, that will be an entire new path of power, combined with her own,” Diz said, looking over at the playful child.
“If she lives to see-“
“Hydra,” Diz pleaded with a frown, making sure that Saphora was still distracted by her toys. “Please.” Hydra paused, taking back the last of her sentence.
“… What has Artemis seen?”
Dizabethere opened her mouth to answer, but her words were muted. The scene around Saphora’s subconscious started to blacken around the edges. Saphora’s chest began to heave as her body tensed on the sofa. With her memory coming to an end, her body was beginning to fight to receive more of the vision.
Back in Maverick’s apartment, Hydra was beginning to notice the signs of the memory ending. She and Maverick were sitting at the bar in his kitchen. About thirty minutes had passed, and Hydra had downed the jug of water, while explaining to Maverick why she needed it. She turned her head towards Saphora, who was beginning to shift in discomfort. Maverick turned with her, as she got up from the stool and walked over to sit in front of Saphora on the floor. Maverick turned in his stool, watching as Saphora’s body jerked, eventually leaning forward as her eyes opened completely. Taking in a sharp breath, her hands gripped the cushions as wind began to pick up around the room. Maverick flinched as she reached beside him to catch the empty jug that was scooting across the counter. The books that were scattered around the sofa flew open, their pages whipping about as Saphora gasped for air.
“Saphora,” Hydra called out to her, trying to get her to remember where she was. The wind picked up a notch at the calling of her name, and Hydra raised her hands to protect herself from any scattering debris. “Saphora,” she called again.
“Saphora!” Maverick called out. The winds started dying down as her eyes shifted back to their ruby gleam. She looked around in panic, her eyes watering from the shock of being brought back into reality. Furiously blinking, she made eye contact with Hydra, and her eyes narrowed.
“You,” Saphora breathed, sitting forward on the sofa. Hydra’s eyes widened at the sudden hostility in her voice. “You doubt me and now you come here and say you’re here for me? Acting like you believe in me?” Saphora questioned, standing up with wobbling legs. Hydra’s mouth opened to defend herself, but she hesitated. She hadn’t expected to appear in Saphora’s memories. “You thought I was going to die!”
“What?” Maverick asked looking at Hydra with a new perspective. Hydra sighed, putting her hands up submissively to Saphora to dim her rage. Saphora stood still, rocking from heel to heel as Hydra stood up to meet Saphora’s angry assumptions.
“Wait a minute. Just let me explain why-“
“Yeah, explain your lack of faith, and now sudden belief in me. What changed, huh? You – you come here and you act like you know so much, telling me that I can do all this, and … and save everyone,” Saphora shouted.
“No one knew if you were going to live,” Hydra clarified. Saphora let her saved breath go. She scoffed, her head shaking in denial as she took a step back. After what seemed like a lone pause, she spoke up.
“What?”
“We didn’t know if … Your birth … It was … We didn’t know if it was going to last. We didn’t know how long you had. We didn’t know if your body would withstand your power.”
“What …” Saphora mumbled in confusion, her eyes blinking back her anger. “What was so special about it that you doubted my life?” Hydra sighed, looking down momentarily. “Tell me,” Saphora said with a shaky voice.
“Not until you’ve calmed down.”
“No. No, I want to hear what gives you the right to have me trust anything you say.”
“Because you proved me wrong. You proved everyone wrong. You’re alive, and stronger than any of us could have predicted.”
“What caused the doubt?” Saphora asked again, trying to steady her voice. Hydra was hesitant, wondering how to say what she was being asked to reveal. She knew if she was not delicate, Saphora may end up destroying the apartment.
“You are an ekechi,” Hydra said warily. She didn’t expect Saphora to understand the term, seeing as though she did not know it as a child.
“A what?”
“Your father … He is a guardian.”
“And?” Saphora asked with a shake of her head.
“And your mother is not. Mating with a guardian is forbidden on our planet. Our genetics are too strong for our companions’ anatomy. All before your mother have died during pregnancy. Your mother was the first to survive not only pregnancy, but childbirth. You are the only surviving offspring of an Athenian and a guardian.” Saphora fell silent, thinking of her mother.
“As a child, your power was verging on surpassing your body’s capacity. It was exposed in your emotions, even unleashing itself at random. No one knew if you would survive the amount of raw energy you possessed.”
“What about my parents … What did they think?” Hydra gave a soft smile.
“Your mother was unwavering in her belief.”
“And my father?”
“… He carried guilt with him. He blamed himself for the labor Vida underwent, and was constantly worrying over you.”
“Vida?”
“Your mother.” Saphora’s chest heaved as she reached up to place a hand over it. Blinking back tears, she smiled.
“Oh,” she breathed. “Vida … And my father’s name?”
“Dolphus.”
Saphora laughed as tears welled in her eyes. Two names, so foreign to her, yet names she had longed to hear.
“Dolphus,” she laughed between her breathy sobs. “No wonder my name is so strange.” Hydra smiled, glad to see a smile in the mists of all the information.
“He did not doubt you. He devised a way to save you, in fact. He taught you to refrain from using your power at a young age. He had a theory that if your body had the chance to mature, and
grow into the capacity needed to wield your power … that you would live. In a way … losing your memory of your power when falling to Earth saved your life. It gave your body the chance to develop before your power overtook it.” Saphora took in a breath. All this time wondering why she had been left in that house. Never had she considered that it was to save her life.
“Send me back.”
Hydra blinked.
“Send you back where?”
“Do it again. I want to remember more. Where is Diz now? Dizabethere.”
“She is still at the castle.” Hydra smiled. “She survived the war.”
“But … others didn’t. Who fell? Did I know any of them?” Hydra fell silent. She did not want to reveal anything else before she deemed Saphora ready to hear it. But just then, saving Hydra from making that decision, Saphora’s phone rang. Reluctantly, Saphora pulled the phone from the pocket of her dark denim jeans and turned it over, seeing the picture of Fran that popped up. She sighed, wondering what she could want at three in the afternoon. She was still at work.
“Hey, Fran.”
“Hi, honey. What are you up to?”
“Nothing. Is something wrong?”
“No, I was just wondering where you were.”
“I’m in town …”
“Oh.”
“Why?”
“Well because the police called me asking where they could find you. And I sent them to the house but they said you weren’t there.”
“What do they want?”
“They just wanted to get your fingerprints so they could cross them off any suspect list they develop.”
