Before I have a chance to say anything, my father buts in, "Chris?" I tense up at his stern voice, "I think you owe me an explanation."
Naomi steps in front of me, "Hold on, I'm not sure who you think Chris is, but this girl is Senna and she's--"
I put a hand on her shoulder, "It's fine Naomi." I sigh and shake my head. "I didn't want to hide it, I was just afraid to share it with anyone really." I change back into being Chris.
"Amazing." My father says in awe. "Were you hiding this power this whole time?"
I laugh. "Wouldn't you know that better than anyone? If I was hiding this power, surely it would have been evident in my cells from birth." Mild anger seeps into my words. "I'm not sure if it's some practical joke or elaborate scheme on someone else's part, but I'm absolutely sure that you finding out my cells had changed wasn't accidental, dad."
Naomi goes wide eyed, "You mean, someone deliberately planned this?"
"Everything has gone strangely according to plan, even down to traffic patterns. It's all too strange to call it a coincidence anymore. My personal theory is that whatever or whoever gave me this power, wanted me to discover it's potential for some unknown reason. And at this point, I wouldn't be surprised if it's using me for some greater purpose."
"Then what should we do here? Should we just let it do as it pleases?"
"What else could we do?"
My dad clears his throat, "I hate to interrupt this conversation, but perhaps I can help." We turn to look at him. "If this thing has planned everything up until this point, then it might be possible that I could offer you protection. Alongside that protection, I could assist you in understanding that power to possibly hinder any plans whatever entity is trying to use you for."
Anger flares up inside me, "Why now?! Why are you helping me now?"
He falters, "Well, I--"
"You didn't help me at all when I was looking for answers! You just let me go down that rabbit hole and end up in the state I did! All I wanted was someone to tell me what I was living for!"
A hard slap hits my cheek and I turn to see Naomi seething with anger beside me. "Listen to him! He loves you! He only wants what's best for you!"
Taken aback by her sudden change in demeanor squeezes out any anger I had towards my father. Still disgruntled, I respond, "Fine, do what you want." I brush past both of them and lock myself in Naomi's bathroom.
I hear a faint conversation behind the door to my back, but I'm too lost in thought to even consider listening to anything they are saying. Everything is just happening too fast and I can't handle this new pressure. It's as if everyone now expects great things from me even though I was never someone who could achieve anything worth celebrating. There was always someone better than me, someone worse off than me and even someone who understands that better than me. This "unique" ability doesn't even change that, since deep down inside, I'm just a normal guy with the same fantasies as every other male on the planet. Yet even still, I don't have the guts or the courage to follow through with a risk unless I know it's a guarantee. That cowardice has allowed me to survive even against my own thoughts. But now, everything seems to be falling apart, all those walls I built up to protect myself are threatening to collapse in on themselves. I'm afraid that if those walls break down and people see the real me, the broken and pitiful person behind this power, they will reject me and never want to be with me. I hate that feeling so much that sometimes I wish I was just invisible and maybe then I would be able to live with myself. A sense of loneliness washes over me and I cry bitter tears as yet another transformation overtakes me.
I fail to notice the change and so I'm surprised when I realize that I'm floating in the air. Quickly realizing that this is probably a new form, I go to check myself in the mirror, except nothing appears on the other side. I try touching the mirror, only to find that my hand passes right through it. I open my mouth wide in shock. I look down at my hands and realize that they are transparent. Merely a wisp of air, as if I was just a mirage. That thought terrifies me, so I scream, but I can't even hear a whisper of my own voice. Thinking that it's just my hearing that's gone, I listen for other sounds, only to realize that Naomi and my father are still conversing about something. Curious about what it is, I phase my head through the door to get a good earful of their conversation. Before I can take in the conversation, my eyes immediately meet Naomi's and I'm overtaken by this sense of unease as an unknown scene plays out before me.
A small Naomi is crouched on a bench beside her brother crying while he's comforting her. She sobs into her knees as I hear the start of a foreign conversation reach my ears.
"It's alright," The younger Daymund says, "I'm still here, I won't leave you."
She just shakes her head, "No! You'll just leave me like mom and dad did!"
"But I love you sis." He wraps his arms around her, "So I'd never want to ever leave you."
She sulks, "That's what mom and dad said before they disappeared."
"Then test me," He stands in front of her. "If you close your eyes and count to 10 and I'm still here, will you believe me?"
She stares at him for a few moments before finally closing her eyes. "1... 2... 3... 4... " Her count continues, but each number brings more tears to her eyes as it becomes more evident how afraid she is of the result. "9... 10." She opens her eyes and sees Daymund no longer in front of her. Tears well up in her eyes as a tap on her shoulder gets her attention. She spins around to find Daymund's goofy grin behind her.
Naomi slugs him, "Jerk, I thought you left."
He just smirks, "But I'm still here aren't I?" He motions to the area around them. "Did I ever really leave?"
That gets a smile out of Naomi, "No, I guess you did not."
"I'm sure our parents are just like that. They just are hiding from us."
"You think so?"
He shrugs. "I hope so."
Naomi is laying on her bed with the covers over her head when Daymund walks in. He tries to pull off the sheets, but it only makes Naomi curl up even tighter underneath them.
"Come one Naomi, we're going to school today." He says calmly.
The covers stir slightly, "Nuh, uh."
"We're going." He says a little more forcefully.
"NO!" She screams.
He stops and realizes something is off. "What's wrong, Naomi?"
She sniffles. "Those kids, they laughed at me." She pauses. "They said I was a suicide child."
"Did you understand what they meant?"
She pokes her head out and nods. "It's someone who kills themselves."
Daymund sighs, "Look, they're just jealous of you. So don't let it bother you."
"Daymund." She says with a weird tone of finality. "Our parents didn't commit suicide did they?"
He swallows loudly.
"It's been several years since they left us and you knew ever since you tried to comfort me didn't you?"
"I was trying to protect you."
"Protect me from what?! Cause you clearly can't protect me from those bullies."
Daymund grabs her hands. "Listen, Naomi. I wanted to protect you from the harsh realities of this world because sometimes there are bad things that happen to good people. Life just has a way of trying to keep us down, but I never wanted to see you like that. So I bent the truth a little to try to save what little bit of innocence you had left."
Naomi curls up on her pillow, tearing herself from his grasp. "Then let me stay here with you so I don't have to feel alone."
"But I'm going to school."
"I don't care, you can skip too."
"Stop this, please. You have a better future ahead of you than I do." He finds a way to look directly into her eyes. "I've seen your grades, how you've aced every exam and how easily it is for you to understand things." He shakes his head. "I don't know who you took after, but I wish I had half the smarts you do. I can barely get by in classes, let alone pass everything with ease."
"But class is soooo boring." Naomi sits up and turns away, crossing her arms.
He puts a hand on her shoulder. "Even learning can be fun if it's for something you enjoy."
"Are you sure about that?" She asks over her shoulder.
"Have you ever had a reason to doubt me?"
Naomi gives, "Fine, I'll go today." She shoves a finger in her brother's face, "But if those bullies try to hurt me, promise me you'll come to save me."
He just laughs, "I'll try."
Naomi smiles, "Thanks, Daymund." She hugs him.
He whispers, "It was my pleasure," and hugs her back.
When I return back to reality, I find myself wanting to cry again. But this time, it's for the sake of another and not for my own selfish reasons. A conversations looms over me that I dare not pay attention to as I slip back behind the bathroom door and contemplate my next move. I understand that my father wants to help me and protect me as a father, yet I can't accept that, if it means leaving Naomi all alone. I can already tell that it took a great deal of courage for her to even leave her brother's side to come to this school, knowing now how close those to had to be just to survive. There's just no way I can ignore that now. Resolved, I change back into Chris and stare at myself in the mirror. I wipe away the tears that threaten to crop up in my eyes and nod to myself to pump myself up. I got this.
I throw open the bathroom door and into a room silenced by my sudden entrance. Noticing their confused stares, I smile. "I've come to a decision. I've decided to..."
