She held herself against the library shelves. Her hands looking as soft as baby skin caressing the books at their positions. Her mind seemed to be in a world of her own, no internet, no noise, no people. Her beautiful black hair was cascading down her head as if it were a waterfall. Her straight nose and perfect lips were aligned as if it were the art of a magnificent artist with impeccable taste in beauty. No wrinkle, not a single freckle, neither a pimple could be seen on her cute oval-shaped face. Her brown eyes appeared sincere and deep in emotions as she shuffled through the old books. She wore a short floral blue dress and had a bracelet with a dog on it on her right wrist. Her hair was rested on her ears as she moved it back from time to time. She wore pink sneakers and one of the sneakers was left untied. She was magnificently neat and amazingly good looking to be in the library.
Kaylee was just watching her( instead of reading about her precognitive abilities) as she moved from shelf to shelf. She wondered what a pretty girl was doing at the library. It was the basic assumption that smart people(Nerds) are always found in the library. While good looking people were found, well everywhere except the library. So what exactly was she doing in the library looking for a book. Kaylee took her gigantic old book which smelled like peanut butter and a graveyard and sat down with it at a table. She looked at the cover page, 'Supernatural individuals amongst us'
she wiped the book with her bare palm as she raised it to see dust and debris on her right palm. She simply wiped it with her other arm and continued. She opened the first page and then the table of content. And in the middle of reading, 'Do these people really exist?' And 'why should we believe in them' she had an episode. It was just for a moment but it secretly made her feel euphoric.
She cleaned her palm properly, dug her arm into her bag and took out her pencil. And she started on the first page without reading the rest of the content.
She looked at the page sternly and seriously as she waved her pencil back and forth trying to show a stable way to be seen but another teenager. And after a few minutes of intense concentration,( still on the first page) there she was. The beautiful, pretty heart-throbbing girl came to her. This was what Kaylee had witnessed a few minutes back in her episode. The girl looked distressed and she sat down near Kaylee without asking her anything. She bit her lip slowly as Kaylee watched her. Something was troubling her, what exactly it was, Kaylee did not know. But she knew something was troubling her.
After a few minutes, the girl broke the silence with a gentle soothing voice, "Hi....Um...My name is Maya. I.....um..... really like your shirt."
Kaylee stared at the girl to her right side, she was still looking at Kaylee with an earnest face. She seemed to know more about Kaylee than Kaylee knew of herself.
"Hi... Mine's Kaylee...... Thanks. Can I help you with anything?"
"No, no. It's just that.... can I see this book?..." she stared at Kaylee and there was a long awkward silence."It's just that... I have a project. It involves people who have abilities."
Kaylee heaved then stared at the girl while raising her eyebrows. "Really, which subject is it?"
"Oh, you know. It'sssss it's you know...... Phycology"
"Okay. But can we read it together? Or would you like to...."
"Yesss yes let's read it together," Maya said hastily.
And they surprisingly started the book together. This time Kaylee concentrated on the book even though there was someone next to her who was breathing down her neck. They would finish the pages and turn to the next page after nodding both their heads to signify that both parties were done.
None tried to make the other uncomfortable by talking about unnecessary things. They read about a couple of shocking things that would change the way they thought about their powers. But no one seemed to be understanding the gravity of the situation. After hours of immense concentration and bloodshot eyes, their brains started to give in. They could not continue any longer. But neither wanted to say that they did not want to continue because none wanted to seem like a destroyer of happy times. Hence they continued, after approximately half an hour the librarian came and asked if everything was okay.
That was the moment both of them stopped putting up with the battle of wits they had put themselves through and started talking. After the old woman who was the librarian walked away with a lot of difficulties, they started their long-awaited conversation.
"Soo Kaylee. Do you know how to control your abilities?" Maya lamented while staring directly at Kaylee's face to see her reaction.
"Wha...Um... How do you mean?"
"You know, your abilities to see the future. Can you control it?"
"Who are you?" Kaylee said while whispering but with a harsh tone which likely showed how Kaylee was serious.
"I told you, am Maya. And also...... I can see the past." Maya said with a smiling face as her dimples showed on both sides of her chiselled face.
Shocked, flabbergasted and astound Kaylee was rendered speechless. She looked at Maya earnestly as they gazed into each other's eyes.
How could she know? She's just like me. No wait, is she? She sees the past, I see the future. But how is it even possible? A series of huddled questions passed Kaylee's mind but she remembered the first question and stuck to it. "No, I can't control it."
"Oh, it's nice to meet you then, am gonna go now."
"Wait a minute. Aren't you shocked, that we can see... you know what we see..."
"Believe me am just shocked as you are, but there is nothing I can do about it If I don't understand it."
Just as Maya continued talking a kid who looked very annoyed with the conversation going on, loudly shushed in the library as others followed in the shushing. Kaylee and Maya both stared at the floor and kept quiet for a minute before Kaylee signalled the door. Maya understood the hint and followed her to the door, where Kaylee checked out the big old book which smelled like rusted iron.
Once they were outside of the library, they walked until they reached an alley and then started talking loudly.
"Wait..." Kaylee heaved and panted as she paced up and down trying to process what she just saw and heard. "Wait a minute... so you have special abilities too?"
"Yeah. Please breathe..... What am I going to do if you faint?."
Kaylee took a deep breath with her mouth and then continued," So do you know others? You know like us. Are there people like us that you know?"
"No, you are the first one I've met., Maya said with a smile then quickly ran towards Kaylee and hugged her. I wouldn't have known if I didn't see your past. Did you see dogs this morning?"
"Yeah, Yeah I did."
"Oh. Um so..... do you wanna have lunch together? It's almost time for lunch."
"Yeah, no I can't I have to go back home. My grandmother is waiting for me. But how about we meet and talk about it? Is it okay with you?"
"Yeah, it's totally fine with me. How about dinner at MC NUGGETS. Is it good for you?"
"Yeah. let's meet there at six. Also, does anyone in your family know about your abilities?"
"No, no one knows. It's hectic to tell my family about it. If you know what I mean. Why do you ask?"
"It's better if they did not know about it. For your safety and theirs."
"Oh okay then. Bye Kaylee.."
Kaylee smiled and waved goodbye at Maya who had taken her bicycle and was cycling away. Kaylee started thinking about it all over again. Her grandmother's words.... were actually true. She had finally met someone who could understand her. And they were in the same boat. She started walking back home, with her stomach grumbling for food, and her mind cluttered, she tried to organise her thoughts. The old smelly book had also informed Kaylee of a lot of things like the myths of how such abilities had started and how people used their abilities in witchcraft. The truth, the bitter truth and the one-sided truth, all of them were different and Kaylee was stuck between them. Who was she supposed to believe? Her lifelong grandmother? A book which was written in the 18th century? Her thoughts and feelings which previously made had made Justus go into a coma? Her thoughts were disrupted by her stomach which growled and groaned very loudly at this point such that everyone who was waiting for a bus looked at her.