Nayantara

Chapter One: The Shadow Ghost

Shooting stars, massive meteors exploding in the black skies as they ram into each other, and the strange mystical woman keep invading my dreams. I wake up before Sam's alarm clock for work turns on. I levitate her phone into my hand to turn it off so I can wake her up myself.

"Sam," I whisper, gently shoving my hand against her back. She groans like an angry, stubborn cat. "Get your fat ass up." I raise my voice louder but keep it soft to not shock her out of sleep. She groans again, refusing to acknowledge me. "I will float you out of bed if you don't wake up in the next thirty seconds."

"Ten more minutes, Nikki," she says in a slur. I check her phone's timer to judge if that will be okay.

"No can do. Ten will become twenty, then thirty. Time to get up."

"Ugh. Can you pick me up?"

"Sure," I say, laughing in a quiet voice. First, I pull the covers off Sam's body, down her legs, and then sit her upright using my powers. She yawns and stretches with her eyes closed while moving in the air. "What will it be today, hmm?"

"Make me a sandwich."

"Ham cheese?" Her eyes pop open but go into a squint as she looks at me. She answers my question with nods and a tight puckered smile. "It'll be ready in a jiffy."

I speed out of our bedroom to the bathroom first to brush my teeth before heading to the kitchen. The air from my intense travel slams into my back. The paper towels on the counter fall towards the sink, but I catch them before they topple in. I rapidly place everything I need on the stove to begin Sam's breakfast, then wait for the eye to heat up.

"I could just light my hands on fire and cook like that," I whisper to myself, watching the eye turn red. "Nah, that sounds stupid." Just to see what I can do with my powers, I ignite my finger on fire. The flame dances like an open flame on a Bunsen burner. I extinguish it when Sam steps into the kitchen, coming my way with a toothbrush in her mouth. "You got up quick."

"Mhmm," she hums, brushing her teeth. "How was your sleep? Did you have those dreams again?"

"Yeah, but at least they're getting short." She spits the toothpaste from her mouth and cleans the bubble residue off her lips in the sink.

"I think it's time you go see someone about that." I ignore her suggestion by lathering up the bread with butter. "Nikki, did you hear me?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Babe, it's been a week."

"I know, but it's going away. It's just short visuals now." She stands to my right just enough that I can see her black hair over her chest.

"What if it gets worse? What if it keeps you up at night?" Her questions are making me anxious. I have to stop what I'm doing to fully take in what she's suggesting I do.

"Then I'm forced to seek help." My answer leaves me in a mild sour mood. I hate talking about my issues with her. The more problems we find, the greater I dislike the powers I randomly got.

"Nikki, don't ignore your problems until it becomes a major issue. Seek some help when you can." Her hands accidentally move near the eye of the stove, and she quickly pulls them back to her stomach. "Whoa, that's hot!" I turn down the heat to start cooking her food. "Nikki."

"What?" I snap. "Sorry..."

"It's okay. Will you find some help?"

"I will."

"Thank you, babe." She kisses me with her fresh minty lips, then watches TV on the couch. The news station is the first thing I spot before she inputs the numbers to put up a reality show. I catch a glimpse of a news network discussing what Rayan Odom did last week.