Fire Scarred

Chapter Six

     Early the next morning, I walked out into the woods, shivering against the chill. The night before, I had found a note on my bed from Leo stating where and when we were to meet. At first, I was hesitant about meeting with him. What everyone would think was my main concern. If people found out, they'd ask questions. I didn't want that. Technically, I wasn't doing anything wrong. I may not have told my parents all I was doing out in the woods, but I was going swimming like I had said. A few extra things thrown in couldn't be that bad of a thing.

     As I approached the clearing, my heart began to race. I am going to find out everything today. Just beyond the trees I could make out the outline of a figure sitting in the grass. His sandy hair glowed in the soft morning light. Something in my chest jerked when Leo's eyes glanced up to meet mine.

     He smiled. "You came."

     "You sound surprised."

     "I just…I wasn't sure…" his awkwardness from the day we met returned. He stopped talking, his face turning hard. "I didn't expect you to show."

     I was taken aback by his sudden mood swing. Bipolar much? I grumbled to myself. Not sure what to say, I turned away and walked to the tank's edge. I shimmied off my shirt and out of my shorts until I stood in my swim suit.

     "What are you doing?"

     I motioned to the water as I stepped into it. "Swimming." I rolled my eyes like it was the most obvious thing ever.

     "Won't you be cold?" Then he shook his head, mumbling, "Stupid question. With the fire and all."

     I perked up at that. "What'd you say?"

     A ghost of a smile haunted his face causing a chill to shoot up my spine. Instead of answering me, Leo asked, "Ready?"

     "As I'll ever be," I absentmindedly mimicked Barbie's favorite catch phrase, one I said all the time when I was younger.

     "You're a nature spirit, meaning you once died. Whether you admit it or not, you had. It was in a fire. I know you see this memory every night in your dreams." He cocked an eyebrow at my stunned expression. "Yes, I know of your dreams. Everyone has them until they fully accept what they are, which makes this process even more necessary." Emotion flashed through his eyes, but Leo quickly recovered. "Some spirits don't accept the life they were given. Their dreams get progressively more vivid and real. They get scared and eventually turn their backs and feel as if it were better if they had died. Soon, it is their only desire to–" his voice faltered.

     "Die?"

     "Yeah. They recreate the scene of their death and are compelled to make sure they actually die that time."

     My stomach churned. "That's… delightful."

     The look Leo gave me made it clear that now was not the time for sarcasm. He let out a frustrated breath. His face betrayed no emotion as he continued, "They never understand that they were meant to live. It wasn't just a random spirit thinking 'Oh, I want to save someone', but it's a gut feeling saying they have to. You are selected to be saved. We don't know how or why, but it happens. Saving a person without that specific feeling can potentially kill both the spirit and the person in danger. Not saving will kill them both. See, they—you—were meant to survive."

     "Okay." My head was still spinning, but for some reason, I could accept this information more easily. "I just have to not refuse the gift of life. Got it." Leo glared. I put my hands up in defense. "Okay. Okay. You're hard core about this, aren't you." It wasn't really a question. My head tilted to the side. "Why?" I floated to the edge of the tank and rested my elbows on the gooey mud.