Keeper Of Light |book 2|

Chapter 3. Hallucinations

Every day she would wake up to a notebook wide open on her bed. She'd run her fingers down the scribbles she made, Edmund. Although her mind worked against her to forget, she put an effort into remembering. Life slowly returned back to how it was, however, and there was no use sitting around and waiting for Narnia.

A month ago she was allowed to go back to school, but she still had to visit the school counselor every week so they made sure she was doing okay, even she was surprised by the effort that everyone put into her. No one cares about you until they fear for you.

"You're making friends?" The counselor asked. He exhumed care and kindness, but she didn't buy it. It was his job anyway.

Angelina put on her best fake smile, "yeah, sure." 

"But really?" He read right through her.

She sighed, "these kids, they're just not my kind of friends you know."

"I see, but you still have to have someone. No one is an island. I want to challenge you, today is Friday, go out of your way to find at least one friend. I am sure you teenagers know where to hang out," the bell rang and he returned back to the papers that were on his desk, putting his glasses on.

Angelina stood up, opening the door she hit someone who was walking past it, "oh, sorry!"

"Watch it!" The boy said. He had longer blond hair and the grimace of an absolute dirt bag. Sounded and acted like someone's personal bully, thank God he wasn't hers, unless she just jinxed herself.

"Sorry," she said again and he walked off, rolling his eyes as if her apology was a bother.

Walking out of the school she waited for a bus at the stop. Across from her was a park, the tree branches were bare, welcoming the first falling snow. She swore she had seen this scene somewhere before, beautiful trees. A part of her had a hard time remembering where.

The bus finally came and she hopped on. Making her way to the very back, she pulled out her earbuds and connected them to her Ipod. Seeing it she remembered how she was worried about it in Narnia. That's right. She was in Narnia, and that was where she saw those trees. Her thoughts were quickly stopped by someone laughing. Looking ahead of her Angelina saw the same boy she almost killed with the door. He was with someone else and they were sitting next to another boy who looked much young than them. They were about 17 and he was 10. They grabbed his phone and he lifted his hands to reach for it, but they just pushed him back. They blonde boy stashed the phone in his pocket and Angelina's eyes widened. Did people really still steal phones? Pulling her earbuds out she walked up to them, tapping the blonde on the shoulder.

He turned around, clearly annoyed, "oh it's you-"

"I think you just took something that wasn't yours," she said, as bravely as she could muster, they were taller and bigger than her and probably played cricket.

"And who are you, the queen of justice or something?" He smirked.

He had no idea the memories that one sentence brought back, "no, but I learned from someone like that, so give him back his phone."

The boy stood up, towering over her as he grabbed the handle on the bus to not fall, "make me."

If she had to fight him she would, Edmund wouldn't back down from a fight. But she was no Edmund. Pulling her courage together, she didn't back away.

"You heard the lady," someone said behind her, "let the boy have his phone back."

The boy looked past her and she didn't dare turn around, "or what mate?"

"Or you're gonna be in big trouble because this bus has cameras, one wrong move and the driver will make his way over here, I doubt you'd want an actual adult to say something about this encounter now would you," Angelina felt as the voice got closer and closer until he stood right behind her.

The boy pulled the phone out of his jacket and threw it to the 10 year old, he looked down at Angelina, "I'll see you in school." The bus stop and him and his buddy got out.

"Thanks," the 10 year old boy turned around and said quietly to them. Angelina turned around to thank whoever it was that came to her rescue and noticed that it was the same boy she saw a couple of months ago at a bus stop, the one whose eyes sparkled.

"You-"

"Are welcome," he finished her sentence with a wink, noticing her lack of reaction he grabbed her hand and shook it vigorously, "Edgar, and you are?"

"Angelina," she finally replied, feeling that same spark in her finger tips. It only lasted for a couple of seconds, but it gave her hope.

Edgar was from Australia, and quite talkative unlike her. He instantly started telling her stories about his life, asking her questions about her own. Dare she say, he was probably the closest thing to a friend she had ever come close to in these couple of months. The entire ride to her stop, Edgar would talk to her, until she had to leave. He'd just shut up and wave to her saying, "until next time."

There was a next time. Every day after school she would somehow spot him on the bus, he had a new book every week and soon enough they became friends, or at least the closest thing she had to friends. They were quite similar, and if she were to tell the truth, he reminded her somewhat of Edmund. A part of her started to wonder if she had truly made Edmund up, or visualized an unrealistic expectation.

She still had moments sometimes, as if someone was watching her, as if a shadow loomed over her existence. With Edgar, however, all those fears would go away. He was a distraction, a true friend. Although she got to know him pretty quickly in a month, there was still a lot she didn't know about him.

"What do you think of time traveling? Or traveling in general, like to another realm?" She suddenly asked him as they were sitting outside on a park bench, each glued to their own book.

Edgar put his book down and looked at her quizzically, "it is possible, in your imagination."

"Ugh, forget it," she turned away and returned to her book.

He pulled her book away from her, "hey come one, I was just teasing. I kind of believe in it."

"You do?" she asked.

He looked at her and then looked around to see if no one was listening to them, but there was no one in sight, still Edgar spoke quietly as if the trees could hear him, "do you believe in ghosts?"

"I'm not sure, haven't see one," she said.

He looked down at his hands, "I believe in them, they're not really ghostly though, they're more like-shadows." Although she didn't believe him, not really, she couldn't help but trust him more. Perhaps she could talk to him about her ambitions to travel to other worlds, even though she had forgotten how that passion even started to begin with.

Edgar walked her home like he always did and she ran up the stairs of her apartment building. As she pushed the door open and peered into the spacious hallway that was connected to the dinning room she saw someone sitting on the chair.

"Hello," the figure turned around and smiled. It was an older man and he was holding a cup of tea. Angelina was about to answer him when her mother stepped in front of him, blocking him out, "hi honey! I made dinner." The second she stepped away he disappeared, as if he wasn't there to begin with.

Angelina got scared that she was having illusions again, and she shook her head. Not again.