Bored with their idle discussion, I allowed my eyes to wonder. My gaze fell on a figure hidden in the shadows, looking in our direction. I slipped into his mind. Hi, Jason. The figure jumped. In my mind, I laughed. What are you doing at the beach? I asked him, but before he could form an answer, I went deeper into his mind, sorting through his thoughts. He had missed me yesterday. The thought made me smile. Jason was the only one who knew when I was gone.
I had once forgotten to create a memory that I was there, when truly I was gone, in his mind. When I came back from my mission, he had confronted me about my absence and how everyone thought I was there. I don’t know why, but I told him the truth. I could have just shoved the memory away from his reach, but I hadn’t. I had spilt my guts to him. And I have been forever grateful that I made that mistake and allowed myself to tell him the truth. He was my stone pillar, the one constant in my life that knew everything and still stood at my side.
I slipped out of his mind before he caught my thoughts. Ashley and Eric were still talking. I elbowed Ashley softly, my gaze still on the shadowy figure. Ashley abruptly stopped talking and followed my gaze. She heaved a sigh as she recognized the figured almost as quickly as I had.
"I promised him to be home early today. Sorry, Ky," she said.
"No sweat," I answered. We smiled at Eric, waved, then ran towards the figure.
"Sorry, Jay," Ashley breathed as we reached him. "Time flies when you’re surfing." Jason studied his sister for a moment. His green eyes, which matched hers, were almost scornful. He ran a hand through his black hair. I did not need to enter his mind to know what was bothering him. He was annoyed, as I was, at Ashley. She was never true to herself around Eric and instead became a flirt.
"Doesn’t matter," Jason finally said. "You’re here now. Perhaps Kyla will help to make up for the time?"
Ashley rounded on me, eyes pleading. I laughed good-heartedly. She grinned wickedly and started off towards the car. I started after her, not sparing a look at Jason. Ashley was already in the car by the time I got there, Jason at my heels. We both climbed into Jason’s truck. Only seconds after Jason turned on the car, Ashley turned on the CD player. Pink’s voice filled the car.
It didn’t take long to reach Ashley and Jason’s house. As we pulled up to the one-story house, I could see immediately what the job was. The grass in front of their house was filled with fallen leaves from their oak trees. Fall was approaching faster that I cared to believe. We climbed out of the truck as soon as it stopped, and Jason tossed each of us a rake. Silently, we began our work.
Two hours later, we were done with the front yard and almost done with the back. I paused for a moment, looking up at the sky. The sun was blazing high in the sky, and shade was limited. All three of us were sweating, and Ashley had put on gloves a long time ago. Jason and I, I knew, would have major blisters the next day. I stared up at the clouds, enjoying the peace I always felt while gazing up at them. It was yet another reminder of why I should stay in the day and not the night. Suddenly, as I looked at one cloud that was drifting faster than all the others, a dread fell on me. I could not explain it, this feeling, but unanticipated, I knew that a darkness was coming. I knew that the balance was in jeopardy.
"Hey. Earth to Kyla!" Ashley screamed. I lowered my face and looked at her. "You okay? You were staring off into space."
"Yeah." I shrugged. "Was just thinking." I looked at Jason. He was leaning on his rake, watching me, eyes clouded. I entered his mind to see what I had looked like. I shuddered at the image. My face had taken on a dreary, stretched expression that I knew was completely foreign to my nature. I slipped out of his mind and threw myself into work again. I could not shake the feeling that something terrible was happening.
