Prism Book 1 (Complete)

Chapter Twelve: The First Mission

Inside the crackly mirror at the front of the room, I stare at the reflection of myself in Abigail's dress. I turn around slowly, watching the bottom of the dress float lightly around in the air. When I'm not moving, the bottom of the dress almost reaches the floor, and the sleeves come down to my elbow.

I lie down on the bed, taking a deep breath of relaxation. I've gotten so used to sleeping with Gladden in my room that, now it feels empty to be alone. Who would have thought that I would forget what it was like to be lonely in such a short amount of time? I will never take the presence of someone who cares about me for granted again. I feel worlds away from Gladden. I guess because I am worlds away from him.

Then, my thoughts move to Jesse. It's so ridiculous, this thing we have going between us. I felt the closest to him, besides Gladden, before he harshly cut me off. My heart hurts when I think of him, and I hope with every fiber of my being that we can fix things between us while we're here. A desire to speak with him has been inside of me for weeks, but it's stronger now--almost critical.

A distant sound breaks my train of thought. I turn my head toward the window on the right wall of the room. Faint, gentle wind chimes twinkle in the distance, but I don't remember seeing any on the house. I spot a single, small, green light in the grass that flashes briefly.

It flashes again, and with it, the twinkle of sound.

Pulling the covers off of myself, I approach the window, watching as the flash moves to another spot in the grass. Then another. Soon, small flashes of green light appear all over the place. Some move up into the air, while some stay on the ground. They look like--no--they are fireflies! I would know a firefly anywhere. I remember catching them at night with my father when I was little. With every flash, quiet twinkles of chime sound in the air, creating a soft undulating melody, a soundtrack for their light show.

I gasp in delight as I watch them. I have never seen so many fireflies at one time in my life. It is even more beautiful than the Seltsam sunset, and that's a hard feat. I reach up, unlocking the latch on the window, and they swing open, revealing the full sound of the melodic fireflies. I rest my arms on the sill as I watch them, mesmerized.

A soft knock taps my door.

"Come in," I say and turn, expecting to see Chelsea. I smile at the door as it opens, excited to show her the spectacle. When I see who it is, my smile fades.

Jesse.

He stands there by my door and stares at me. He too is wearing one of Abigail's creations. It is a white, long sleeved collared nightshirt with thin, vertical lines. He also has some old fashion styled brown pants, similar to what Michael wore earlier today. I gaze at him a moment before I say anything. When I do say something, it sounds stupid.

"Hey," I say, sounding more surprised than anything.

"Hey," he replies. He sounds as flustered as I feel.

Why is he here? Why is he standing there? "Uh," I begin, "What's up?"

He runs a hand through his long dark hair, swooping it off of his face. When he brings his hand back down it runs across his face and down to his chin tiredly. He shakes his head confused. "I don't suppose you called me, did you?"

I blink and shake my head. "No."

He shakes his head and crosses his arms. "I don't know, I thought I heard you call me. It was real loud too," he says.

"No, I didn't call you.... Maybe it was Chelsea," I suggest, awkwardly.

"No. It was definitely you," he says. "Plus, I went to Chelsea's room thinking it was yours and she told me you were in this one."