Meeting Maia

Another One

I never knew that darkness could be so welcoming. After having been seduced by it for the last week or so, I was beginning to feel ready to allow the light to coax me into its arms. I had drifted in and out of consciousness for a whole week, each time I awoke I was in explicable amounts of pain. I would feel a sharp stab in my neck and the pain would go, but so would the light.

This time, though, I was ready to embrace the light. A soft hand covered mine and I smiled lightly and turned my head.

"Maia?" I asked.

"No, baby, I'm sorry." replied my mother slightly dejectedly. my eyelids fluttered open and my un-groomed mother smiled back at me. "welcome back."

"What happened?"

"A boy, his name is Kyle, he knocked you out and then took a knife from his pocket. He began hacking at you, baby, like a savage. These other boys stepped in and tried to haul him off you but he cut them instead. The police came and grabbed him but, as a last attempt, he-he-" my mother was crying her eyes out as she spoke and I could feel hatred boiling up inside of me and I looked down at the missing half of my leg.

The doctor entered and checked my monitors and tubes, barely giving my mother a second glance. She had obviously done this a lot while I was out.

"I'm very sorry about what happened." he said, solemnly. "Your condition is stable and we can probably allow non-family members in the room with you if you are comfortable with that. There are three people waiting to see you." At first I thought of Maia but how would she even know? She was on the run with my twin, my sister and my friend on the hunt for his dad to do God knows what to him.

I nodded, encouraging him to send them in, curious. He helped my mother out the room and closed the door behind him. I hitched up the covers and noticed my stump. It was awful and disgusting and all stitched up and awful. I should have died then, with my chest ripped open and my leg bleeding like a waterfall.

The door opened again and, to my surprise, Brad, his friend Toby and his girlfriend Celia emerged from the doorway. Brad had a huge stitched scar from his temple to the corner of his mouth and his arm was in a sling. Toby had crutches and a gash going up his leg. He had a few minor cuts on the visible skin.

"You- you pulled him off?" I gestured to them.

"I know what you are, Raphael. My uncle was like you. Not exactly but he was different, he could influence others, even possess them if he wanted! He joked though, he was never very serious and then one day, we came home and he was dead on the floor in our entrance hall with a huge gash across his front. The stain is still there and we never found the murderer." said Toby looking down.

"And you made me think that I was a dick and I needed to sort myself out. I needed to do something right and look where that got me. I saved a life and I'll always have this scar to remember it by." Added Brad.

"I'm sorry you got hurt because of me," I couldn't think of much else.

"I'm sorry you'll never be okay again. We'll get better, we'll scar but it won't hurt us physically. You-"

"Shh. I don't want to talk about it yet."

They nodded and Brad and Toby got up a bit later but Celia remained sat down. She looked at me with uncertainty. I looked at her with confusion. She leaned forward and pressed her forehead to mine. I sort of lay there feeling guilty with her face pressed against mine. She began muttering.

"Maia and you were close. Your in love with her. All your faith lies on Klaus' shoulders. Such a heavy burden. You are jealous of your twin brother. You are worried that he will take Maia from you. You think Kyle will come back for you. You know he will. You hope the other Elementals will crush Klaus' father. You want them to succeed now that you know you cannot go back to them. You-" I jerked my head back suddenly.

"Your one of us! How long have you know?"

"Since my first kiss, when I was eleven. I pressed my face close to his and I was connected to his memory in a way. I can sense your worries, your loves, your hopes and dreams, your failures, all your strongest emotions and the reasonings behind them." She was pressing her fingers to her temples and rubbing them gently.

"Shit." Celia just nodded. "There must be loads of us!" She just nodded again.

"I'm going to go now, Toby will be waiting but I'll be sure to visit soon. I promise."

"I'll hold you to that. I don't do much in here!"

She just laughed as she closed the door behind her gently and my mother burst back in, still crying as she tried to hug me and then decided better of it.