When We Spirits Awaken

Chapter 16: Skipping a Day in Reality

There's something to be said about happiness; it's underrated. Here, and Vanoria I suppose, people are obsessed with the gloom in their lives and search for some shred of beauty in the dark portraits someone else painted. I'd lived in a dark portrait since I stepped into this world, fooling myself to think that I was as happy as I could be. Happiness, after all, is only so great as the happenings in your life. The last month, however, had made me realize that in focusing on the bad happenings, I was ignoring the good ones.

I spit into the sink and rinsed my toothbrush, watching the white foam disappear down the drain before looking in the mirror. In that rectangular sheet of reflective glass, there was a ridiculously happy face with messy tumbles of brown hair and green eyes that brought a smile to my face as I recognized they were just like my mother's.

I was happy--inexplicably, wondrously content with living.

There was a tap on my door before Emily fluttered into my room and jumped into the wheelie chair for my desk, riding it over to the door of my bathroom, a cup of coffee, miraculously unspilt, in her hand reached out towards me. "What's the lovely lady planned for today?" 

"It's Tuesday...I have school," I said, eagerly grabbing the cup from her hand and taking the first gulp.

"Mhm." Emily raised an eyebrow, giving me a mischievous look. "You know what's great about dating a teacher?"

"I wouldn't know," I stated, sipping again.

She grinned. "Well, Smarty Pants, it means that I get to know what's going on around your school. Like how  today is grade twelve skip day."

I smiled at her as subtly as I could manage, understanding her implications. "Good thing I'm in the tenth grade."

"And Kaleb is in the twelfth."

I rolled my eyes. "Emily Grave you wouldn't be implying that I would skip my classes now, are you?"

Emily sighed and placed her elbow on the armrest, her hand now supporting her chin. "Well, Lillyana Rivers, if someone should happen to show up expecting you would skip today, you have my permission."

"What are you...?" I didn't even know what to ask.

Giggling, she got up and put her hand on my bare shoulders, looking at my confused expression and toweled frame in the mirror. "You better get dressed." 

"Why do I have the slightest suspicion that you're up to something?"

"Who, me? Never," she giggled. 

I rolled my eyes and put down my coffee, nearly all gone.

Emily stared at the cup for a moment, then met my eyes in the reflection again. "Another rough night?" 

I shrugged my shoulders. "Nothing new, I almost wish there had been something different, just so I could get closer to figuring this spell out. Why would Jadus' spell give any inclination that he cast one, at all? Though cryptic as they may be, it doesn't make sense Jadus would want me to know anything." 

"I wish I had any answers for you; I'm stumped, too. But," Emily said as she grabbed the handle of my coffee mug, "I can make you another and bring it up while you get ready." 

I nodded, never opposed to a second cup of coffee. 

As Emily wisped away out of the room, I stared in the mirror a while longer, not really seeing myself this time. The dreams were constant, but not progressive, enough to disturb my slumber, yet not enough to explain why I was disturbed. The thought of Jadus' spell on me was enough to keep me awake, but I often tried to shy away from the idea of him actually being in this world.