As soon as Aria arrived at school, she hurried down the hallway, catching her breath. Spotting Jackson standing in front of the bulletin board, she tapped his shoulder.
He turned around, a surprised look on his face. "Hey, how are you? You seemed a bit off yesterday," Aria said, concern etched on her brow.
Jackson assured her that everything was fine, but Aria couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss. Yet, he looked remarkably different today. His usually pale complexion had a healthy glow, and his eyes seemed to sparkle with an otherworldly intensity. His dark hair, styled in a casual, tousled manner, framed his face perfectly along with his sharp jaw and pinky lips.
Jackson seemed to brush Aria off when she approached him. It was as if he wanted to avoid the conversation. He seemed distant, his eyes distant and unfocused.
She also noticed that he was only wearing a t-shirt, a departure from his usual long-sleeved shirts. As he reached for a flyer on the bulletin board, she caught a glimpse of a tattoo on his upper arm. The symbol was strange and familiar, looking like an ancient, black masquerade mask—a cross with a loop at the top. Intrigued, she wondered where she had seen it before.
Aria hesitated, unsure of how to approach the subject. "Um, Jackson, about that tattoo... it looks really interesting. Where did you get it?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
Jackson seemed surprised by her question.
"Oh, this?" he said, pointing at the tattoo.
"It's an old family symbol. I got it a few years ago." He paused, his gaze drifting off into the distance. "I was in a bit of an accident a few years ago. I woke up in the hospital with this tattoo. I don't remember much about what happened."
Aria's curiosity was piqued. "An accident? What happened?" she asked, her voice filled with concern.
Jackson hesitated before speaking. "I-uhm- i-it-It's not important. What matters is that I'm okay now," he stuttered as if finding the right words to not make Aria suspicious of anything.
Aria could sense that he was hiding something, but she decided to respect his privacy. She nodded, understanding the unspoken message. Aria, sensing his reluctance, decided not to push further. She didn't want to upset him or make him uncomfortable.
"Well, good to know you're okay now," Aria said, her voice laced with concern. She paused, her gaze lingering on the mysterious symbol.
"I'll see you later" Aria said without waiting for Jackson's reply, her voice laced with uncertainty. She immediately left, still with a puzzled look on her face, intrigued about the symbol that she just saw.
—
Aria saw vague fragments of her past swirling around her. Glimpses of her parents, their faces soft and loving as they shared a moment, filled her mind. In one scene, they sat at a small table, a mysterious book open before them. The cover bore the same intricate symbol she'd seen tattooed on Jackson's arm. The title, however, was a perplexing jumble of reversed letters, indecipherable to her dreaming mind.
"Aria... Aria..." A gentle voice called out, and upon looking back to see who called her, a hand shook her shoulder, and she blinked open her eyes to find Ava standing over her. Aria had fallen asleep while studying in the library.
Worried by her lack of response to calls and texts, Ava had come looking for her, knowing Aria's tendency to lose herself in her books, she figured that Aria might be in the library, where she usually was ever since before.
"Hey, are you sure you are okay?," Ava asked while pulling the seat in front of Aria, her voice filled with concern.
"Ava, I don't know what's happening to me. Remember the time I told you about, when I felt dizzy then I gripped my guitar, and the strings came off?" Aria muttered.
"Yeah, what about it?" Ava continued, while munching on her sandwich.
"Well, it happened again. But this time, I broke the table…" Aria whispered, with a hint of shamefulness in her voice while fidgeting her fingers and looking down.
"Then, when I was walking home, I thought someone was following me, then I looked in the woods and I saw it in a black and white x-ray vision. It was like I could see through it, you know" Aria continued.
"A broken table and x-ray vision? That's... weird. But kind of cool! We should definitely look into this. Maybe there's a supernatural explanation" Ava added with a grin on her face.
"Oh, come on! I'm not making this up!" Aria insisted, her annoyance growing as she realized Ava wasn't taking her seriously.
"Woah, ok. Ok. It is just hard to believe– but we're gonna figure this out," Ava said but now in a serious voice, afraid that she might upset Aria again.
So, what do you want to do?" Ava added. Aria put her palm in her face then slid it down to her chin, then heavily sighed and said, "I think we should try to understand what's happening to me," her eyes filled with determination.
"But we should keep this a secret," Aria said, her voice low. "If anyone finds out, they might think we're crazy. Actually, they might think I'm crazy." She added with a hint of frustration in her voice.
Upon reaching their house, Aria saw her Uncle Henry. She paused for a moment, a sense of familiarity washing over her. Her uncle was standing outside the door and was reaching for his keys since Aunt Vivian was not around. 'Maybe she went to the market to buy some stuff that she doesn't need' Aria muttered to herself.
Henry saw Aria, walking towards the door, a warm smile gracing his face. He had always been more than just an uncle; he was a father figure, a constant source of love and support. She treated him like her biological father.
"Hey, kiddo," he greeted. "How was school?"
"It was fine," Aria replied, her voice a bit subdued. She hesitated, unsure of how to broach the topic of her strange experiences.
"It looks like there is something bothering you," Henry observed, his keen eyes noticing her troubled expression. "Is everything alright?"
Aria hesitated, then decided to confide in him. She told him about the strange dream, the mysterious symbol, and the odd encounter with Jackson.
Henry listened patiently, a thoughtful expression on his face. "It's quite unusual, Aria," he admitted. "But remember, sometimes the strangest things happen for a reason."
He paused, his eyes filled with a knowing look. "Perhaps there's more to you than meets the eye," he hinted, leaving Aria curious and intrigued. She was left with even more questions than answers. It seemed like her uncle was not surprised nor stunned when she talked about her strange experiences.
An ordinary person would react like Ava did, but not her uncle. She was left stunned because it felt like her uncle knew something she doesn't know and it kills her not knowing what it is.