Twin Reflection

Chapter 12 - Ella

Katie waved briefly at Willow and cast a quick glance in Ella's direction, before stepping out of the car and making her way up to her house. Their pulled out onto the road and headed home. Ella had noticed how Katie had not really spoken to her much after seeing Ella's eyes briefly change colour earlier. Ella desperately wanted to talk to Willow but they had to wait until they were back home, as to not be overheard by their parents.

When they got back, they all gathered in the living room, whilst their mum carried in the cake which was topped with 14 candles. She put it down on the coffee table, just as there was a knock on the door...

Ella tensed and shuffled back until she stood against the wall. Who would be knocking on their door at 9:00 in the evening? She was about to warn Willow when she caught their parents grinning at each other.

"I'd go and open the door if I were you!" Their mum said quickly.

Cautiously, the girls made their way over to the front door.

"Willow..." Ella whispered, "What if it's that man again from the restaurant?"

"I know, I was thinking the same thing..."

Ella carefully opening the door slightly so she could see who it was. Gasping in relief she flung the door wide open and squealed in delight.

"Grandma! It's so good to see you!" She embraced them both in a massive hug.

"Oh look at you two, you've grown so much since I last saw you! You look almost as beautiful as me!," she said, winking at them. "It's getting a bit nippy out here, come on in we go," she ushered them all in and closed the door behind her.

Their parents came through into the kitchen to meet them. "Hello Pam, good to see you again," their dad said, bending down to give her a hug.

Their mum smiled, "Thanks for coming up mum, you're just in time to watch them open their presents!"

"Oh good! What about the cake? I hope there are a good few slices left for me after that long journey"

The family shuffled into the living room whilst Willow went to help her dad make drinks. Ella sat down and smiled, they hadn't seen their grandma since they had all been away together in the summer holidays. She had missed her cheerful personality and the happiness that she always managed to bring.

"So, anything exciting happened recently?" she asked as she arranged herself on the sofa.

Ella couldn't help but smile, their life had been anything but boring recently but she wasn't ready to tell her grandma any of that.

"No not really, school has been alright."

Willow and their dad came back with the drinks and a box of matches. "Time to sing?" he grinned, bending down to light the candles on the cake.

Ella and Willow laughed as everyone started to sing, their grandma was by far the loudest and completely out of time. The song ended and everyone cheered as Ella and Willow blew out the candles.

Ella glanced at her Grandma who had suddenly begun to cough. She turned to look at her parents who exchanged a worried glance before standing up to get her a drink.

By the time their mum had got back, their Grandma had stopped coughing and was smiling weakly at the girls. "Oh don't worry about me petal, I think it's time for the cake!"

Their dad cut the cake and handed out slices to everyone, nobody said anything whilst they ate. Pam rummaged through her handbag and sighed, "Oh sugar lumps, one second girls I've left your present in the car."

"Don't worry mum, let me go grab it,"

A comfortable silence filled the room as they waited for their mum to return. Ella loved opening presents and couldn't wait to see what their grandma had gotten them. She always gave them small, personal gifts which she and Willow loved. But tonight all Ella really wanted was to go up to her room and try to understand what exactly had happened to her today. After the close call with Katie seeing part of her ability and the strange guy in the restaurant, she just needed some time alone. However she also desperately wanted to talk to her sister, in the hope that they could find an explanation for today's events.

Her mum came back from the car, a small box in her hand and she handed it to their grandma.

"Ah, thank you petal! You're a good'un."

She beckoned them over and gently placed a small black box in the palm of Ella's hand. Ella carefully took off the lid and they both looked inside. There lay a small charm attached to two different chains. Ella gently picked it up, it felt cool and heavy in her hand. It looked like two wings that attached in the middle, each engraved with an initial. Willow reached out and gently detached the wing with the W on it. They slid apart easily and Willow hung it around her neck.

"So, what you think my dears? I had them made the other day!" Their grandma asked them.

"It's beautiful!" Willow said in awe as she gazed down at it.

"Yeah it's amazing! I love it so much!" Ella quickly gave her grandma a quick hug, who looked very pleased that they liked their presents.

"I'm so pleased you like the shape, it took me a while to decide. And you never know, they might come in handy one day. Right, on with the rest of the presents." She said enthusiastically.

At eleven everyone went up to their rooms. Pam was staying in the family's spare room and when Ella went in to say goodnight she saw her grandma pottering around the small room, rearranging the objects on the dresser and bedside table.

"Night grandma, thank you again for the necklaces."

She smiled warmly, "That's alright petal, sleep well."

She fell into an uneasy sleep filled with appearances of the man in the dark car and images of her and Willow being exposed for their powers. She sat up with a start, breathing heavily. The dream had felt so real and yet it was already fading from memory.

Shaking she got up and opened her door. She could hear her grandma in her room but apart from that the house was silent. The others must still be asleep. She grabbed her dressing gown and made her way downstairs.

She knew Katie was coming over today but she didn't really feel like joining in with her and Willow. She definitely didn't feel like going out anywhere after the stressful few days she had just had, so she decided to see if Brook was free and wanted to come over. She was just about to press call when she realised it was still early in the morning and he probably wouldn't even be awake yet.

She slumped down on the sofa and went to turn on the TV. The remote was on the windowsill so she couldn't reach it. She was about to get up when something landed next to her with a dull thud. She looked down, amazed. The remote was lying next to her. Had she imagined it? It must just have been there before she sat down and hadn't seen it. She looked back at the windowsill and was surprised to see that it was empty. There was definitely no remote there any more, only a dried bunch of flowers.

They belong in the bin thought Ella automatically. No sooner had she formed the thought and the flowers were flying across the room and into the bin which shut itself neatly. Surely this couldn't be happening?

Slowly, a huge grin spread across her face. She could move objects with her mind!

Before she could think about trying this new ability her dad came in. As neither she nor Willow wanted to reveal their abilities to their parents yet, Ella thought it would be good to take Ollie to the lake with Willow so they could talk without being overheard.

She heard her grandma coming down the stairs, "Morning petal," she yawned as she slumped onto the sofa.

"Morning Grandma, did you sleep well?"

"Not too bad, how about you?"

"Yeah pretty well thanks," she said "Would it be okay if me and Willow go to the lake for a bit with Ollie, before Katie comes over? It would be nice to get a bit of fresh air."

"Of course, you'll be okay to get the bus won't you?"

Ella nodded, "Yeah, I'll go and check if Willow isawake yet."