Radiant

by Christina Daley

  "Yes," he said. "They talk a lot."

  She narrowed her eyes. "I see."

  When they got to the bus stop, he asked, "Mary? Where are you going now?"

  "Home," she said. Thankfully, Mom had brought the leftovers for her night shift. If Mary went to get dinner for her, he might've wanted to tag along and meet her as well. Ba was one thing. Mom was another story. "You?"

  "Home, too," he said. The bus rolled up then, and the driver opened the door. "Have a good evening, Mary."

  "Aren't you getting on?" she asked.

  He shook his head. "I'll walk."

  Mary was sure he lived pretty far away in one of the nicer neighborhoods. But if he wanted to walk, that was his business. "Um, okay. Well, see ya."

  He smiled. "Good night."

  She climbed aboard and took a seat next to the window. Outside, Carter was still smiling. He waved when the bus pulled away.

  Mary watched him. Even when the bus was a block away, he remained in the same spot. She finally lost sight of him when the bus turned the corner.

  Mary sat back in her seat, thinking about everything from that afternoon. Carter's reaction to the painting. His talk with Ba. His behavior at dinner. He was polite, decent, and friendly.

  She was positive now. Carter Maxwell was possessed!

  Back to Table of Contents

  - 10 -

  Opt-Out

  When Mary got home, she got on the computer and did a web search for "possession." The first hits didn't help much. Mostly movie descriptions and a band's fan page. Farther down the list, she found websites for psychics, wiccans, and priests advertising their various services. One site gave step-by-step instructions and a list of ingredients to perform your own exorcism.

  She did come across some articles about spiritual vs. demonic possessions. Apparently, in parts of Africa, Asia, and other places in the world, witch doctors were not uncommon. They used the powers of various "spirits" do all sorts of things. If someone pissed you off and you wanted to curse them, they could do that for you.

  The next link Mary clicked took her to an online Christian Bible. She skimmed through a couple books before she started reading some of the Gospel of Matthew. It had several stories about demon-possessed people, and it listed demon possession with seizures, pain, and paralysis as similar ailments.

  One story that caught her attention was in the seventeenth chapter. It was about a boy with seizures that were supposedly caused by a demon. The boy's father brought him to Jesus' disciples and asked for help, but they couldn't do anything for him. But when he brought his son to Jesus, the miracle maker scolded his followers for their lack of faith and healed the boy himself. By the time Mary looked at the clock, it was close to midnight.

  She abandoned the search to finish her homework. Then she crawled into bed and she tried to force herself to sleep. That was, of course, impossible. Tons of thoughts resumed their circus in her head. All the information she had found online was about bad possessions. The things that had taken control of those people had made them suffer. Whatever possessed Carter—if that was the case—wasn't like that. It made him decent. Even likeable.

  That wasn't bad, was it?

  In a way, Mary had answered one of the questions plaguing her since this "new" Carter showed up. Whatever possessed those people she read about didn't leave on their own. They had to be exorcized or, in Jesus' story, cast out. If that was the case, then whatever Carter had wasn't going on its own. It was staying until someone else did something about it.

  ***

  "Good morning," Carter greeted Mary as she got off the bus. He looked at her eyes. "You didn't sleep well."

  "I was up late getting stuff done," she said.

  They crossed the street and went into the school. He followed her to her locker.

  "Um, Carter?" she asked as she got her books.

  "Yes?"

  "What do you normally do for lunch?"

  "Not much."

  "I usually spend it in the Art room," she said. "Would you like to meet me there today?"

  He smiled. "I would."

  The bell rang.

  "Okay. I'll see you then," she said.

  "See you later, Mary."

  Pre-Cal was a fog. Mary even had trouble concentrating in Art. As she brushed white gesso onto a canvas to prime it, the thought of meeting with Carter occupied the foremost parts of her brain like a whale in a kiddie pool. She had to get answers. But she couldn't just ask the obvious questions. "So Carter, been possessed lately? Spirit or demon? Is there a difference?"

  No, she would have to take a subtler approach. If anything, she didn't want to chase him away again. This was going to take some extra thought in her words. Something she was never good at.

  When the lunch bell rang, everyone else left for the cafeteria. Mary got out her sandwich and an orange from her bag as Carter walked into the room.

  "Hello," he greeted.

  "Hey," she said. "Have a seat."

  "Thank you." He sat across from her.

  "Aren't you eating?" she asked.

  He shook his head. "I'm not hungry."

  "You know, lunch is pretty important," she said. "My mom sometimes forgets to eat. I give her a hard time about it."

  He smiled. "That's good of you. But I'm fine. Thank you."

  She took a bite and chewed. He watched.

  "Can I ask you something?" she said.

  "Yes."

  She set her sandwich down and picked up the orange. "How come you don't hang out with your friends anymore?"

  He cocked his head to the side. "My friends?"

  "Yeah, your friends," she said. "The ones you hung out with all the time. The ones on the basketball team."

  "I am not on the basketball team anymore."

  "You said that before," she said. "But how come you don't still hang out with your friends? Even outside of school?"

  "Oh." He thought for a moment. "They don't like to be around me anymore."

  She looked at him. "They don't?"

  He shook his head. "They liked me when I played basketball. And because I could buy things for them."

  "Things?" she asked. "What things?"

  "Things," he said. "You are better off not knowing."

  She dug her fingernail into the orange and pulled off some peel. "Are you into these things, too?"

  "No," he said. "Not anymore."

  She peeled off more orange skin. Some of the oils squirted out, filling the air with a fresh scent. "How come you broke up with Laci?"

  Again, he didn't answer immediately. "I am not right for her."

  "Did you dump her or did she dump you?" she asked.

  He cocked his head to the side. "Dump?"

  "Yeah," she said. "Who's idea was it to break up first?"

  "Oh, I see," he said. "I believe it was hers. But it was necessary for us to part ways."

  "Necessary?" she repeated.

  "Yes," he said. "She is…in need. Of finding herself. To know what she can do. I rob her of that journey by staying with her."

  More orange peel came off. Mary could see how someone like Laci could take offense to hearing something like that. "So, you broke up with her for her sake?"

  "Yes," he said. "And no."

  "What's the 'no' part?"

  "I broke up with her for me, too," he said. "I want to find who I am, too."

  Mary split the orange in half and dug out the stringy stuff in the middle. "I see." She actually didn't.

  "Can I ask you something now?" he asked.

  "If I can opt-out," she said.

  He wrinkled his brow. "Opt-out?"

  She nodded. "I reserve the right not to answer something that I don't feel comfortable talking about." Sure, it was a wussy thing to do, but Mary didn't like taking chances. Especially now.

  "You always have that whenever you talk to me," he said.

  "Just wanted to make sure," she said. "What's your question?"

  "Why don't you have a boyfriend?
"

  Opt-out! Opt-out!

  Mary took a bite of the orange wedge and chewed slowly. It gave her time to think. "I just don't," she finally answered.

  "But why?"

  She tore off another wedge and ate it slowly again. "I don't like instability."

  "And having a boyfriend would be unstable?"

  "Very much so."

  "How?"

  "Boys complicate things."

  "But how?"

  "They just do." She said that a little too harsh.

  He was quiet.

  "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean that."

  "It's all right," he said. "My questions bother you."

  "Yes," she said, but then added quickly, "No, they don't. It's the answers that bother me."

  "You don't have to tell me anything that you don't want to," he reminded her.

  Mary sighed. She picked up her sandwich and took another bite. When she swallowed, she said, "My turn to ask again."

  "Certainly."

  "How did you get out of the hospital so fast?"

  His left eye twitched. Slightly. "I heal fast," he answered.

  "That was too fast," she said. "My mom's a nurse. She said stuff like that doesn't happen. Not naturally."

  He thought for a moment. "I'm an unnaturally fast healer."

  Mary wasn't convinced.

  "My turn," he said. "When you said you don't know who your father is, did you really mean that?"

  She looked at him. "What?"

  "I'm sorry," he said quickly. "That was probably not the correct way to ask that."

  She popped the last bite of her sandwich in her mouth, chewed, and swallowed. "My mom was young. She had a lot of boyfriends and messed around a lot. It made Ba really sad. Then she got pregnant." She picked up the remains of the orange but didn't eat them. "I guess he didn't want me. Mom went back home to Ba. Nine months later…voila."

  "Have you ever asked to meet him?"

  She shook her head.

  "Why not?"

  "Why would I want to meet someone who didn't want me?"

  "Did your mother or grandmother say that he didn't want you?"

  She tore off another orange wedge. "No, but it's obvious that after all this time, if he hasn't come looking for me, then I'm not worth finding." Mary realized what she had just said. She hadn't meant it like that, but maybe that's what she'd been feeling all this time. And it was only in front of this boy, who was probably possessed, that she had revealed a little too much of herself.

  He stared at her and said nothing. It made her feel naked.

  "What?" she asked.

  Carter smiled. "I think it's the other way around."

  "What do you mean?"

  "A treasure hunter who won't go looking for his treasure is rather useless."

  Mary ate the last of her orange. She didn't like talking about this anymore. "My turn. What are you going to do now that you're not with Laci?"

  "I don't know," he said.

  "You don't plan on going out with someone else?" she asked.

  He chuckled. "Is there a rule that says I have to?"

  "That's not an answer."

  "You asked two questions in a row."

  "So?" she said.

  He chuckled again. "Well, it's my turn at any rate. Have you forgiven me for insulting you?"

  She started to say, "opt-out." But what came out instead was, "I don't know."

  "I will apologize again, if that will help," he said. "I will do whatever I can to make amends."

  "Why is this so important to you?" she asked.

  "Because it's important to you," he said. "And that makes it important to me."

  "I didn't say it was important to me," she said.

  "No, you didn't," he said. "But you brought it up with a tone that suggested it was."

  They were both silent for a moment. Mary didn't like where this was going. And since it was her turn to ask now, she changed the subject. "My turn. Why did you save me that day from the bus?"

  Carter sat back in his chair quickly. He looked like he had been shocked.

  Brrrriiinnnngggg! went the bell.

  Carter stood. "Opt-out." And he was gone.

  Back to Table of Contents

  - 11 -

  Salt and Holy Water

  Mary went to Anna's after school one day to get more paint. "Hey," Ben greeted when she came in. "I got your tickets for the show." He gave her an envelope with three tickets inside.

  "Thanks," she said.

  "Did you ask your mom about making the mobile?" he asked.

  She nodded. "She said it's not a good time right now. Money-wise. Plus, she thinks you're going to steal me and sell me into slavery if I come over here more often."

  They both laughed.

  "Well, if things change, just let me know," he said.

  "I will," she said. "And thanks for the tickets."

  After she bought what she needed, she started back for the bus. But she stopped in front of the fortuneteller/psychic's shop for a moment.

  Carter had been avoiding her again for the past couple days. He sat in the back row in Physics, and he didn't speak to her in the halls or wait outside her classrooms. Mary had debated for a while what to do about him. She seemed to be the only one who figured out what was "wrong" with him. She didn't tell anyone else that he was possessed, for fear of looking like a lunatic. Perhaps she was. But when it came down to it, Mary figured that no one should be possessed by something he didn't want. And even though she didn't like the old Carter very much, since she was the only one who knew, it was her responsibility to try and help him.

  Mary didn't know the first thing about this possession stuff. And maybe the best person to ask was someone who dealt with spirits and otherworld-type things regularly. Ben's purple-curtained neighbor seemed to know what he or she was doing, since the shop had been there for a long time. Mary took a deep breath and went inside.

  She expected skulls, black cats, and crystal balls. But to her surprise, Mary found herself in an ordinary waiting room, like in a doctor's office. There were chairs, a desk with a computer, and some tall plants. A sign on the desk read, "Lakshana has been expecting you. Please have a seat."

  Mary sat down and waited. Her knee began tapping nervously. Most of her bruises had healed, but there was still one on her knee that was taking longer to go away. She looked around and saw a poster on the wall. It had a picture that was shaped like a person, but the inside of the person was colored to look like stars and space. The edges of the person were glowing, like a light was shining behind it. At the bottom of the poster were the words, "Radiant. The Energy Within."

  Mary heard voices. A door in the back opened and two women emerged. One of them mopped at her red face with a wad of tissues. "Thank you so much, Lakshana."

  The non-crying one patted her hand. "You're most welcome, dear." Like her shop, Lakshana didn't look very unusual. No bohemian skirts, bangles, or scarves holding back a wild mess of hair. If anything, Lakshana looked like a teacher at Mary's school. "I'll see you next week. And remember what we talked about."

  The crying woman nodded. "Yes. I will. See you next week." And she left.

  Lakshana turned to Mary. "How can I help you, dear?"

  Mary stood. "Hi. Um, I was wondering if I could ask you some questions."

  Lakshana went to her desk and pushed the sign aside. "I'll see if I have some answers. Is this for a school project?"

  "Well, sorta," Mary said. "Have you ever dealt with anyone who was possessed?"

  Lakshana looked at her curiously. "Possessed? Like by a demon?"

  Mary nodded. "I know this is gonna sound nuts, but I think a boy at my school is. And I was wondering if you would know how to help him and—"

  "Whoa, wait a minute," Lakshana said. "Are you asking me to perform an exorcism on him?"

  Mary nodded. "I don't have a lot of money. But I—"

  Lakshana raised her hand. "Listen love, I work with spirits. But this is beyo
nd my expertise."

  "So, there's nothing you can tell me to help him?" Mary asked.

  "Have you tried throwing salt on him?" she suggested.

  "Will that get rid of it?" Mary asked.

  "I've heard that demons don't like salt," Lakshana said. "Or maybe that was slugs. Anyway, maybe you should check with a church and ask them."

  "Oh," Mary said. "All right. Thanks."

  ***

  "Mom? Do we have extra salt?" Mary asked the next morning at breakfast.

  Mom looked in the cupboard and pulled out a canister. "Here you go. What do you need it for?"

  "Art," Mary said. "I want to try this technique with watercolors in class." And that was true, so she wasn't lying. However, she had more plans for the salt.

  Carter was still avoiding her, and Mary had several challenges with her plans to exorcise him. She couldn't chase him down the hall and throw salt on him, but she didn't know how to get him by himself to where she could do it. She didn't really want to do this at school and freak other kids out, since she wasn't sure what an exorcism outside of the horror movies looked like. But she didn't have many options, so she had to plan things out carefully.

  In between classes, Mary found David at his locker. "Can I ask you a favor?"

  "Sure," he said. "What's up?"

  Mary sighed. "Here's the deal. It's gonna sound weird. And you have to keep it a secret. Is that okay?"

  He eyed her suspiciously. "Um, okay."

  Mary took the canister of salt from her bag and gave it to him. "You have Physics one class before I do, right? After the bell rings and everyone's out, can you sprinkle some of this on the second desk from the left in the back? But you can't let anyone see you doing it, so it has to be after everyone leaves."

  He looked at the salt. "Are you serious?"

  "I said it was gonna sound weird," she said. "Please?"

  David thought for a moment. Then, he shrugged and put it in his bag. "Well, you let me borrow your brushes a bunch. I think I can handle this."

  She thanked him, and they both headed to class.

  Mary didn't concentrate at all during English. They were supposed to be reading Romeo and Juliet. But since it was reading, she had little interest. And since it was Shakespeare, she had even less. Plus, she was nervous about Physics. She hoped that David was able to sprinkle the salt on Carter's desk. Her knee tapped nervously.