Blink Once, Blink Twice, I'm Gone

War, 1942; 2017

Chapter One

“Adelina get the hell up. You will be late for school!” My mother calls from the bottom of the stairs leading into my room. I sit up but don’t open my eyes. I feel my way to my bathroom where everything should be laid out. I change into my clothes, wash my face and brush my teeth blind. I go down the stairs.

“Ready Mom!” I feel my way to the car. I sit. I find my bag with all my books. Thick book, folder, moveable pencil bag, folder, homework, reading book. Everything is there. Movement. The car backs out of the garage. Eyes are still closed. I imagine a dream landscape. Mountains cover the land; branches try and grab at you; birds soaring in the sky, singing their morning tunes. The sun sets the sky on fire, orange, yellow, red, and pink flare together. If only I would open my eyes for the ride. But, I won’t.

Car stops, door unlocks. I open door, open eyes, refuse to blink. Stare at Mother, say good bye, leave to go to school. Trained eyes stay open. Go to locker. Get books, go to Calculus. Smile at Lena and Jo. Sit with them. Blink.

“Aim the guns! Load the canons! Wait for my command!” A raspy but loud voice penetrates my ears. I take a step, blind. I run into a wall. I open my eyes. A tall man stares me down, I stare him down. I look at his uniform, grey. Others wear similar uniforms. I think back.

“Where am I?” I ask a man loading a canon.

“1942 of course.” He replies with a thick Irish accent. “Now go and load you gun. The Nazis are on their way. We’ll shoot ‘em down. Oh yes we will.” He starts muttering to himself about some odd thing so I go.

I grab a gun and point it. Blink.

Silence. I open my eyes. The light blinds me but I do not close my eyes, only shade them. The teacher is in front of the class writing a problem on the board. I write it down. I focus. A note drops onto my text book.

I can’t wait for tonight! Can you? I reply by a simple yes and smiley face and toss it to my long time crush, Alex Conway. His black hair covers his face, no emotion escaping the dark veil. My heart does a leap at the sight of him. Blink.

I am at my locker. My friends Lena and Jo are talking and laughing. I laugh. I grab my books, close locker.

“So, how’s your life?” Lena asks me in a mocking tone.

“Changing every blink.” I tease. We all laugh. Only my friends know my secret, along with my mother. Eyes closed, open, same scene.

Bell rings, run to English. Sit next to Ashtyn. Wink left. Wink right. Same scene. Poem is on the projector. Read and write. Note lands on paper.

Don’t blink! I look back to Tori. She blinks 10 million times to tease. I catch her gaze, close eyes. Wait ten seconds, open them. Nothing happens. She tries to hide her giggle. Blink.

Open eyes. Screams pierce my ears. Pain in left leg. Look down. Pant leg ripped and burned. Cherry red liquid streams down my leg, becoming acid when mixed with other liquids and gels. Bone poking through shin. Tears stream down my face, eyes are becoming puffy. Black dots blotch my vision.

I look around. Long blink. People scream and cry. People on floor, tarps covering their face. Get up from bed. Wink left, wink right. Pain pulses through my leg, sending shocks through my spine. I walk over to women taking care of neighboring victim.

“What happened to me?” I ask monotone. She opens her mouth to reply. Blink.

Open eyes. I am confused. That wasn’t past. I went into the future. Where was that care facility? What year was that? What had happened to me?

I start to freak out. A dainty had touches my back. I am in English. Ashtyn watches me. She over-exaggerates a blink. I nod. My eyes become glassy. I blink them away. Blink.

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