Silver Eye

Chapter 7

Two days later...

Catherine was pacing back and forth in the living room, occasionally muttering to herself, unsure what she should do. She had spent the whole of Tuesday at home, unable to decide to go see Silvester for some Spirit lessons and too troubled by the dilemma to focus on studying her normal school subjects. Every time she had thought about going, Melany's words came creeping in her mind and she became too self-conscious to take a step outside. What did she think or feel about him? Or, even more disconcerting, what did he think or feel about her? Then, depending on those answers, how was she supposed to act, talk and dress? There were so many unknown factors, but she couldn't linger too long on them because it was already afternoon and that wasn't counting the time it takes to go there and the time to get back before her mom came home. The one thing that was certain for Catherine though, was that if she stayed home again today she would never find the nerve to go see Silvester. She brought her hand up to her left ear and felt her Core; her fingers tracing the claw shape of the light green jade earring. It didn't really match her current outfit, a white tank-top with varying blue ring patterns all over it and a navy-blue skirt, but she wasn't going to make that mistake again. I need to know how to use my Spirit properly... I don't want to be so helpless again. Finally, with her resolve strengthened, she nodded into thin air, grabbed her things and left the house in the direction of the train station.

Forty minutes later, Catherine was knocking on Silvester's strange metal door basked in the warm sunlight of the cloudless afternoon. She was finding it hard to catch her breath while she was waiting. Was it nervousness? Excitement? Before she could figure out which one it was, the door suddenly swung inward to reveal her mysterious one-eyed savior.

"Oh, didn't expect you to come so early." He said with his eyebrows raised. He wore a slightly loose white t-shirt and some black sports pants with a spiral pattern around the right leg.

Catherine was a little thrown off from his comment, but also because she wasn't used to seeing a facial expression with only one eye. "Early? It's almost 3 pm."

"I'm not talking about the time; I thought it'd take you at least a week to get over the shock."

"Well, as you can see..." She gestured to herself from top to bottom. "I'm perfectly fine. I'm not so fragile as to let something like that bother me for too long."

"You know we can keep talking about your durability inside." He said pointing his thumb behind him.

Catherine looked left and right, but there seemed to be nothing unusual. "Are the neighbors watching or something?"

His eye was squinting. "No, it's just a little too bright outside."

"Don't mind if I do then." She told him as she nudged her way inside. She heard the metal door close behind her and the first thing she noticed was how somber the interior of the house was. Having just been outside the contrast was even more striking; with the drapes closed barely any light was getting in. The next thing she noticed was it all seemed a little more... messy. A few garments and shoes lying about here and there, dishes left on the counter and furniture slightly displaced from their original position. But out of all these she was more curious about another matter. "So how does your door actually work? Something like fingerprint recognition?"

He walked past her towards the living room. "Along that line. Someone else than me would have a hard time opening it." Pulling himself a chair in front of the sofa he showed it with his hand. "Make yourself at home."

"Alright." As she sat on the sofa she felt a slight tingle in her right knee; a tiny prickle as if her body expected it to still be hurt.

"Let's start with what you know." He said, resting his hands on his legs.