Fathom(6)

Making my way to the bedroom door, I grasped the handle and pulled. Nothing happened. When I tried again and the door did not open, I began to panic. I wasn’t going to get out of the room.

“Help!” I screamed in desperation and began to swim around the room, clawing at the walls and pounding on the windows. When nothing worked, I stopped in the middle of the room, absolutely helpless, confined and out of control. Throwing my head back, I screamed. It was unlike any scream I’d ever heard. It was at a pitch that only dolphins or whales make and a second later, the windows shattered.



Blackness, silence - it was comforting now. I used to hate it. I preferred to dream. With all that was going on in my life, blackness and silence were easy to deal with. Silence is golden they say. How right they were.

“How long’s she been like this?”

“Several days.”

“Can you be more exact?”

“Two and a half.”

“Does she have a history of passing out?”

“No.”

“Does epilepsy run in her family?”

“No.”

“Why did you wait so long to bring her in?”

“I thought I could take care of her.”

“You should have immediately called 911.”

“I know.”

I recognized Thayde’s voice but the other was not familiar. The beep of machines told me I was in a hospital. Now that my comfortable blackness and silence was no more, I stayed quiet and listened.

“Is she taking any drugs?”

“No!” Thayde sounded annoyed.

“Are you absolutely sure?”

“Yes.”

“We’ll have to test her anyway.”

Test me? I struggled to open my eyes, but nothing happened.

“Do what you have to do.” Thayde’s voice was dull. When the door closed, I assumed the doctor had left the room.

I had to fix this, now. I did what I’d been taught - to focus my energy. The golden orb instantly appeared and I held it to me, forcing it to grow bigger and bigger until I was able to do a sweep of my body to try and wake myself up.

“Ah!” Thayde cried out and jumped back. For a brief moment, I caught sight of the gold encompassing me when I opened my eyes.

“Thayde?” I called, struggling to sit. My body ached and my hands felt as if I’d crawled through wood.

“Thayde?”

He was leaning against the wall, holding his hand. Why wasn’t he moving toward me?

“Hello Morgan,” he said, flatly.

“Did I hurt you?”

He nodded, remaining rooted to the floor.

“I’m sorry!” I reached for him but he didn’t move. “Thayde, what’s wrong?”

His beautiful eyes dropped to his feet. “I’ll leave you now that you’re awake. I just wanted to get you to someone who could take better care of you.”

I shook my head. “No! I don’t want you to go!”

When he still didn’t move, I felt his coldness grip my heart.

“You said you didn’t want us to be together.” His voice had an edge to it.

“No, Thayde!” Panic was setting in. The love of my life was shutting down, leaving me. I couldn’t live without him. “I can’t live without you.”

There were tears in his eyes when they met mine. “You said we were a mistake.”

I had hurt him, deeply. I hadn’t meant to. Hurting him was the last thing on my mind. I loved him. What was happening to me?

“Please come here.” I reached my hand to him and he hesitated before moving to the edge of my bed. Taking his hand in mine, I searched for burns.

Thayde’s voice seemed resigned. “There aren’t any burns. You electrocuted me.”

“I’m so sorry.” I held his hand to my face.

“Something’s wrong with me, Thayde. Ever since The Blessing, I’ve begun to think the most awful things. I’ve started experiencing powers I can’t control and I’m scared.”

For a brief moment, confusion played about his face.

“I’ve been dreaming of your death. I didn’t want to tell you because I was afraid you’d think it was a sign or something. I don’t want to hurt you anymore than I already have.”

“Hurt me?”

“Yes, like you were hurt when you went through The Judgment, like you were hurt in the battle that happened. If something happened to you Thayde, I don’t think I could endure it.”

He pursed his lips as if holding back pain.

“Thayde, it’s like I have someone else living in my body – someone who makes me say things I don’t want to say - things I don’t believe and I can’t control it. I promise you, nothing I said to you was what I truly believe or want. I love you.”