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Behind Every Illusion by Christina Harner

The following is the preface and first chapter of Christina Harner’s Behind Every Illusion.

Behind Every Illusion is Christina’s debut novel about a girl who discovers she may be part of a new species, created to save the earth from the destruction wrought upon it by mankind. The story of Tatiana takes place in 21st century America, where she, along with some of her friends and family, learns what it is like to change and become something new while trying to live a normal life.

In the news: Behind Every Illusion creates internet stir

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Read and enjoy!

Preface

This story is not a fairy tale. A fairy tale begins with “once upon a time” or with a little old lady visiting a barren woman and blessing her with a miraculous baby. On the contrary, this story is about a girl who was born to ordinary parents in a land and time where people no longer believed in magic, myths, or – least of all – fairies. Perhaps there had been times when some people had actually witnessed the extraordinary taking place on earth, but that was many centuries ago.

Nothing extraordinary happened at her birth, and no one expected otherwise. Was it even possible for anyone to be truly extraordinary? All creatures born of human parents must be human, and therefore must be ordinary. It was a commonly known creed that kept both the matters of being born human and also of dying as a human consistent and guaranteed for everyone. If you were born with human parents, you were human. Besides, what else could you be?

Chapter 1: The Beginning

Tatiana Lewis was born at a time when no one believed in the extraordinary. True, it was generally thought that other powers might possibly be at work in the universe – perhaps spirits or God or Mother Earth – but they did not involve themselves with humans. This would have caused a rift in the carefully organized play written and directed by the Western world; and so important was this stage, the spirits themselves would simply have to perform somewhere else, thank-you-very-much. The second of three children, she was seven pounds, three ounces at birth, nothing unusual – although her mother declared her beauty to be so extraordinary that the angels must have sent her down to earth as a gift.

Growing, she by no means felt any different from her two siblings or her very small group of friends. She was an observant child, preferring to watch people conversing rather than to engage in the discussions herself. As time went by, she began to pretend as though she could read minds, picking out truths from untruths in order to determine each person’s authentic beliefs. Introverted by nature, singling out the falsehoods came easily; for the more time one spends watching others, the more one can accurately judge a character. This skill developed until she could nearly conclude people’s sentences, so carefully did she watch their eyes and lips and gestures.

Tatiana came to a crossroads during her pre-teen years. She could appreciate what people said aloud and allow their statements to hold true despite what she guessed they were actually thinking; or she could become cynical, always alighting upon her own conclusions of a person’s beliefs despite what came out of their mouths.

The decision was forced upon her early, far earlier than it might have been had her world not begun to crumble when her parents decided one summer to take a trip to London for some “alone time” without their three children. The day arrived for their fateful trip. At least, fateful was how Tatiana – at eleven years of age – felt that it should be described. She’d spent the morning on the small grassy beach overlooking the lake by their home. Watching her reflection as it danced on the surface, she imagined she was a mermaid escaping the confines of human feet. Swimming felt like flying; it gave freedom to move in ways that standing upright did not allow. Tatiana smiled. She liked being a mermaid.

A cold chill ran down her spine and she shivered. Something was wrong. Not yet even a teenager, Tatiana did not know how to explain the way she felt that day. She simply knew they should not go to London.

The night before, she’d gathered together all the courage she could muster and snuck into Isaac’s room after bedtime. Waking him up, she had explained to him the dread she felt about the trip, explaining how something deep inside told her that their parents shouldn’t go. Ten years old, he’d neither laughed nor tried to comfort her. Instead, he took her by the hand and marched her straight into their parents’ bedroom down the hall.

Being careful not to wake their father, who took his sleep very seriously, Isaac pushed Tatiana toward their mother, who was propped up by pillows against her bed frame, reading The Lovely Bones by the light of a small lamp on her night table. “Mommy, Tatiana has something to tell you,” he said quietly.

Their mother looked up, several small tears resting on her eyes. Tatiana hesitated, not wanting to cause more pain, even if it was only a fictional story that had made her mother sad. She knew Isaac was ignoring the tears. Even at ten, he believed in honesty at all costs. And unlike Tatiana, he was never afraid of what others said. Isaac believed what he knew to be true, no matter what anyone else claimed.

After a moment’s pause, Isaac pushed her gently forward. “Tell her what you told me,” he whispered.

Tatiana sighed. “Mom, I don’t think…” Hesitating, she looked down at the floor, torn between having her mother think worse of her, on the one hand, and protecting her from the harm she believed would occur if she remained silent, on the other. Finally, she continued, so quietly that her small voice was barely audible in the room. “I don’t think you should go to London. I think something bad is going to happen to you if you go.”

Her mother smiled softly. Tatiana watched her eyes and mouth as she casually leaned back against the frame and looked away across the room, as if carefully rehearsing her words. But she already knew what her mother was going to say.

Her mother looked back at Tatiana. “Angel, nothing is going to happen to us. We’ll be perfectly fine. Airplanes are a very safe way to travel, you know. This is the twenty-first century, after all,” she added. Tatiana saw the slight upward curl on the edges of her lips as she attempted to hide her amusement.

She nodded meekly. After all, she was only eleven. How could an eleven year old know something bad was going to happen? Leaning down, her mother kissed her lightly on the forehead. “Sweet dreams, little angel,” she called out quietly as Tatiana turned and walked sadly back to her room, glancing up at Isaac who, for a fleeting moment, had a look of bewilderment on his face.

Her older sister Bethany broke into Tatiana’s replaying of the night before. Running up to the lake, she called out, “Sis! Mom and Dad are leaving now! They want to say goodbye!”

Tatiana jumped up. This was her last chance to tell them not to leave, to convince them that something was wrong. She ran toward the house, leaving Bethany scurrying as fast as she could to catch up. Even if her mother had not believed her the night before, she’d decided she had to do everything possible to convince her not to leave.

Bending down, her mother held out her arms for Tatiana, who ran straight into them as she approached from the lake. She hugged her mother tightly.

“We’ll be back soon, sweetheart,” she assured Tatiana.

“Mom, please don’t go! Please stay here,” she begged.

Her mother sighed and looked over at her husband. Smiling back, he shook his head. “We’ll only be gone for a week. Aunt Ruth will be here, and if anything happens while we’re in London, we’ll call you immediately. I promise.” Aunt Ruth, her mother’s younger sister, had no children of her own. After her husband left, she’d taken a job traveling the world as a cultural journalist. Tatiana’s mother had convinced her to take a week off to watch the children. Tatiana could see that Aunt Ruth enjoyed being an aunt because it allowed her to experience the thrills of having kids without the pains involved in a lifetime commitment.

But tears began running down Tatiana’s face. She couldn’t help herself. Something inside her knew that it was imperative her mother and father stay home on this particular weekend. But she finally saw that she was too young to do anything about it. Her father wiped the tears from her face and hugged her tenderly. He hugged Isaac, who stood by Tatiana’s side, watching her with a look of confusion on his face as she cried. Then he helped his wife into the car, and the two of them drove away, waving and blowing kisses to the three children. Don’t go, don’t go…

Tatiana woke from her dream with a start. Rubbing her eyes, she worked to separate herself from the memories that had run through head her all night. She opened her eyes, focusing first on the large poster nailed into the ceiling above her bed. Photographed from high in the air, it offered a bird’s eye view and revealed a beautiful blue lake reflecting clouds and sunlight from an unseen sky. The lake was surrounded by forests on all sides, filled with greens and reds and oranges. Every time she looked at that picture, she let her imagination run wild, forgetting momentarily anything that reminded her of being tied to the earth. Today, however, the picture gave her little comfort.

It was unfair that the night after her eighteenth birthday she should feel such sadness, caused by dreams so vivid and real that they brought her back to the day they’d actually occurred. Sitting up she pushed aside her blue quilt and sheets and set her feet down on the wooden floor. Walking barefoot across the room, she stopped at her computer desk in the corner by her small window and studied the picture taken only days before her parents’ trip to London. “Seven years,” she whispered, putting her finger beside her mother’s face. Her arm was around Tatiana in the photograph.

She looked out the window. Ducks and geese were floating aimlessly along the small lake just across the yard from their home. The sun was shining brightly. Tatiana smiled and put the picture of her family in her pocket. Despite the fun of sleeping in on Saturday mornings in July, the lake – or rather, pond, as it was so small they always argued over its true label – was so compelling, she barely thought twice before opening the window. A small ladder ran down the side of the house, allowing easy access to the roof. The ladder had also allowed her siblings and her to enjoy secret sleepovers in the yard by the lake, watching the stars shoot across the sky as they fell asleep snuggled in warm sleeping bags. Isaac had taught Tatiana the constellations, which he thought was a truly important part of understanding life.

Climbing onto the window sill, she reached over and set her feet on the ladder, then made her way to the grass below, careful to avoid Aunt Ruth’s flower beds. She ran barefoot across the wet grass toward the lake. Ducks and birds flew as she ungracefully trespassed into their residence.

The three Lewis children had spent their entire lives on Azalea Lane, where each home was separated by more than a hundred yards of trees and grass and – as was the case on their property – lakes. The house itself had been purchased by their parents twenty-five years earlier when they first decided to move an hour away from the city of Louisville and get away from all the pollution and traffic. Looking through the neighborhoods in Bellevue, they had fallen in love with the beautiful Victorian-styled home. The outside was a light yellow with white shutters and trim. A large wrap-around porch graced the front of the house and a small set of stairs led up to the porch. Inside, there were four modest bedrooms, perfect for starting a family. Her parents had purchased it immediately, and had hoped to live there forever.

Watching the ducks finally return to the lake, she smiled and lay down on her stomach on the small grassy beach. She missed the quiet mornings outside. They were becoming less and less frequent as school and other troubles filled more of her time. The grass tickled her arms and legs, and she could feel sticks and prickly plants poking at her in various places. Still, the view was perfect.

The sound of footsteps approaching the beach reached her ears and she looked back to see Isaac walking toward her. Like Tatiana, he had exceptionally fair skin and blond hair – which in his case was always a mess. When he’d turned fourteen, he had vowed never again to use a comb, and he’d since been keeping his word for over three years. As always, there was no good reason for this commitment; he simply wanted to raise eyebrows.

He lay down next to her, his mouth curled up in his usual smile, as if he had an interesting secret no one could ever uncover.  “So, is lying out by the lake your new Saturday morning routine?”

“Kinda nice out here in the morning, isn’t it?” she asked cheerfully, tossing a few blades of grass into the water.

Isaac nodded. “Lately, you haven’t been waking up early enough to enjoy it. It’s nice to come out here while the grass is still wet and you can watch the animals before they go back into the woods and stuff.” He looked down at Tatiana and added, “At least, that’s what Bethany says.” She laughed, knowing that Isaac didn’t ever like to admit his unusually strong interest in the lake and forest behind their house.

Rolling over, she put her hands behind her head and closed her eyes. It was true that lying out on the lake was the best way to spend a morning. “But sleeping in is nice too,” she argued half-heartedly. “That way, you get to hear the sound of the clock ticking, Aunt Ruth making breakfast, Bethany stressing about homework, and you messing around on your computer, all without leaving the natural confines of your bedroom.”

Isaac laughed. “If sleeping’s what’s important to you, then I say go for it.” He stood up and began collecting small rocks. “So, did you sleep well last night, since that’s your new goal?”

Remembering her dream, Tatiana pulled the picture from her pocket and thought of how she’d failed to convince her parents to stay home from London. She stared blankly up at the clouds, remembering when the news had come that her parents had died in a plane crash returning home from England. No tears had come. She’d simply run to her room and shut the door. It was not as though she didn’t care for them; it was that she had been grieving throughout their trip, somehow knowing with complete conviction that they would not return.

Opening her eyes, she sighed. “Actually, I didn’t sleep well. For the last few nights I’ve been dreaming about mom and dad going to London.” She put her hands on her forehead. “I don’t know why it’s suddenly popping up in my dreams.”

Isaac looked at her. “Do you keep trying to tell them not to leave?”

She nodded. Although slightly embarrassed that she’d told Isaac her fears about their parents’ impending death, she was glad he knew the truth, even if it meant facing the uncomfortable fact that Tatiana’s prediction was correct. After their death, she’d tried explaining her feelings to Aunt Ruth but had simply been informed that no one could have known they would die. Aunt Ruth adopted the children soon after, taking a home-based job with her company until Bethany was old enough to watch over Tatiana and Isaac so that she could return to traveling and writing. But Tatiana never quite recovered, returning to her stance of observing as much as possible without speaking. As the weeks and years passed, she wished more and more that she could just disappear into the woodwork. After all, if even a mother would not listen to the desperate pleas of her daughter, who would be willing to listen to this nobody of a girl with a “bad feeling” about something?

Isaac threw a few stones into the water. “I know I’ve told you this before, but you really shouldn’t blame yourself for mom and dad. It’s only tearing you down to keep thinking about it.”

She winced, knowing full well he was right. If ever someone had asked Tatiana who it was that she admired most, it would have taken her only a moment’s contemplation to answer that it was Isaac. Isaac was younger, to be sure, but by such a small margin that even she forgot on occasion that he was in fact her younger brother. He carried himself with such confidence and maturity that it surprised her when she thought of how he was still only seventeen.

He looked at her hesitantly. “Has anything like that happened recently?”

Tatiana frowned. “Like what?”

“You know… like getting a bad feeling about something just before it happens?”

She shook her head. “No.” She gave him a cryptic look. “Of course, nothing really bad has happened since then, so we can’t really know whether it was a fluke or not.”

He threw another rock into the water and then looked over at her, his eyes flashing mischievously. Even though he was a full ten months younger, their identical brilliant blue eyes caused many people to think they were twins. “Then I should probably tell you that Bethany is in the house looking for you. She said something about digging your grave because she thinks you left to go running without her. So I guess your premonitions aren’t so good after all.”

Tatiana groaned and got to her feet. “Thanks for telling me right away,” she cried out before running back to the house. Isaac’s laughter rang through the yard before he turned back toward the lake and continued to throw stones into the water.

Climbing back up the ladder and into her bedroom, Tatiana headed across the room, pausing for a moment to glance at her reflection in the mirror. She had reached five-foot-six as she turned sixteen and had not changed since. Her dark blond hair fell a little beyond her shoulders and parted on the side to frame her face. She considered herself thin – she ran nearly every day which certainly helped. It was her complexion that bothered her more than anything; her skin was so fair there was no hope of a good tan during the summer months. Although Tatiana had never believed it, Bethany always assured her she was quite pretty, with her large blue eyes and long eyelashes and her ears that – according to Isaac – pointed at the top just a bit too much to be normal. He liked to tease her about anything he could and she’d been trying to ignore him for years. It was for her good; Isaac’s main goal in life seemed to be getting her comfortable in her own skin. His tactics, however, weren’t quite to her liking. Looking at herself, she realized she was still wearing her pajamas. She grabbed a pair of running shorts out of her dresser, threw on her Explosions in the Sky t-shirt, and dashed out of her room into the hallway. Looking down the stairs, she called out for her sister.

A gentle voice came from around the corner. “There you are, sis.” Bethany tried to look offended but failed miserably.

Tatiana smiled. The two weren’t as close as they could have been, having been born four years apart, but they’d made it through the rough times together. She liked having an older sister, someone who coped well with the death of their parents, who helped her with homework and gave advice on everything from clothing to friendships. Although she was twenty-three, Bethany took it upon herself to spend time with her little sister as often as possible.

“Let’s go,” Bethany said, taking a last gulp from her water bottle and gathering up her long dark hair into a pony tail. Bethany had always been the tall sister, at five-foot-eight, and carried herself in a way that made Tatiana feel just a bit outshone.

“I’m grabbing some water first. I’ll be right there,” Tatiana called out as she headed into the kitchen.

A moment later, Isaac entered the house through the kitchen entrance. He looked around the corner at Bethany waiting by the door, then looked back at Tatiana and grinned. “I’m glad you found Bethany before she began plotting your funeral,” he said teasingly. Tatiana looked up from filling her water bottle and smiled. Sitting down, he added, “Are you planning on going hiking this afternoon?”

Tatiana loved Saturdays. The three of them had their problems – as all siblings do – but generally made up for it in their shared love of nature, hiking in the woods together, pretending to be wood elves living in the forest and other such nonsense. Even as they entered their teen years, something drew them to the woods, and – although they had sworn an oath to each other a few years back never to reveal it to any of their friends – they still loved to go out into the woods together for a few hours every weekend to read, swim and talk. On more than one occasion, Bethany had also brought along her favorite plant books to learn more about the natural habitat of the forest. But even Tatiana and Isaac made fun of her for that.

Isaac cleared his throat. “Hello? Am I alone in the room?” he asked.

Tatiana smiled. “Sorry. Of course I’m hiking later; I guess I’ll see you then.” She turned off the faucet, screwed her water bottle lid back on and headed out the door with Bethany.

Downtown Bellevue was only three miles from their house. Several years ago, she and Bethany had decided to begin each summer vacation morning with a run. Something about the wind blowing against her face and hair and the rhythmic movement of her legs and arms always filled Tatiana with an indescribable calm. And as she ran more often and drove less, cars became an undesirable mode of transportation; they smelled bad, dripped oil everywhere, and the floors were always dirty. This was the first run since Tatiana’s birthday. She’d skipped yesterday because Bethany and Isaac had awakened her early with a surprise drive to a fancy breakfast in Bellevue. Although Tatiana didn’t want anything special, Bethany had insisted that it was best to start off her adult years with a full-day celebration. She hadn’t minded too much, enjoying the time with her siblings despite the unwanted attention that came along with being the birthday girl.

Today, however, Tatiana noticed something was different. Her legs moved more gracefully than before, as if the run was as easy as a casual stroll. They ran up a hill. She looked over at Bethany and realized her sister’s breathing was far heavier than her own. Perhaps it was simply that daily running was beginning to pay off…

“Have you talked with Isaac lately?” Bethany interrupted her thoughts as they jogged along the sidewalk bordering coffee shops and restaurants.

Tatiana refocused. “About what?”

Taking a few deep breaths, Bethany added absent-mindedly. “I don’t know. He’s just been on the internet researching stuff a lot lately. I saw him on his computer this morning looking at old paintings of elves and stuff.” She shrugged. “Not that it’s really weird or anything, but I always wonder what he’s up to.” 

Isaac was known for his fascination with ancient history and mythology. His interest was shared by Tatiana, but Isaac was more addicted to the topic than she could ever be. He liked having Tatiana around since she was one of the few people who never minded listening to him talk endlessly about an ancient Greek myth or a Celtic fairy tale and how it related to the modern world. To Isaac, the world was full of endless possibilities, and he felt a constant urge to discover who was out there, and why. Even with all his eccentric ideas he apparently had made an impression on his seventh grade teacher, who had suggested he skip a grade. So now, although he had only just turned seventeen in May, it was two months since he and Tatiana had graduated together.

Bethany jumped in front of Tatiana, who had slowed down, and began jogging backwards in order to look her in the eye. “What’cha thinking about?”

Tatiana looked up. “Not much.” Her musings on whether she was running more gracefully than usual would probably be an uninteresting topic to her sister. They were nearly to the Courthouse on Main Street. “Let’s stop and get something to drink before heading home.”

Bethany nodded. Changing course slightly, the girls slowed as they reached their favorite coffee shop and walked in the front door.

Walking up to the counter, Tatiana ordered an iced chai and then looked around the room. Small round tables filled the walls and center of the shop. The coveted suede couch in the corner of the room was currently empty, so after getting her drink Tatiana headed straight for it with Bethany close behind. Tatiana plopped down and sighed. “I wish this summer would never end.”

Bethany sat down next to her and set her feet on the coffee table in front of the couch. “Why?”

She thought for a moment. “Because right now I don’t have to think about anything important. And I don’t have to make new friends.” Ever since she could remember, “introverted” had been stamped on her forehead. It wasn’t that she didn’t like people; it was more the fear of not knowing what people were thinking and the constant worry that they were secretly laughing at her.

Bethany smiled and sipped at her drink. “Yeah, you’ve never been one for making friends voluntarily.”

Playing with her cup, Tatiana nodded. “It’s always hard to find those people you can really trust. Besides, I have you and Isaac, and I always know that you guys will be honest with me. Most other people don’t seem to care about meaningful conversation. It takes forever to get past the small talk and find out what’s really going on inside their heads.”

“Small talk is part of life. We can’t all be hermits.” She took another sip. “When you start college, you’re really going to have to work hard to let people in. Freshmen might be strange, but they can make life more interesting.” She paused. “Have you thought of a college major yet?”

Considering this question for a moment, Tatiana said hesitantly, “This probably sounds crazy, but I’m thinking about something related to people…”

“People?” Bethany interrupted, her eyebrows raised in surprise. “I thought you didn’t like people!”

She sighed. “It’s not that I don’t like people; it’s more that I don’t want to see just the externals. I’d like to know why people act and speak and think the way they do.”

“So you want to study anthropology?”

Tatiana cocked her head. “I guess. I’m not into the big terms yet.”

Bethany laughed and unconsciously sat up straight in her “grown-up” posture. Tatiana tried not to smirk whenever she did that. “Anthropology is the study of man. You’d learn about culture, language, religion, family life, worldviews – all that good stuff.”

Tatiana took a sip of chai. Maybe that’d be good; maybe she’d finally figure out these “humans” she so terribly misunderstood sometimes. “Yeah, I guess that’s it. I’d really like to learn about all that… people stuff.” She grinned, knowing her terminology would have to improve in college.

Finishing their drinks, they walked back out to the sidewalk and began to run again. Try as she might, Tatiana couldn’t stop thinking about college starting up in less than two weeks. She wished Bethany was still living on campus rather than living in an apartment while she worked on her master’s degree. Liberty was an extension campus of a Louisville university, so Bethany was able to do her graduate work without moving to the city an hour away. Still, she wished Bethany could be with her at all times to protect her from all the… Tatiana suddenly laughed as she realized she was about to refer to freshman as “scary people.”

Bethany jumped in front of Tatiana. “You’re spacing off again!”

Tatiana looked up, startled. “Sorry,” she mumbled.

Bethany continued to jog backwards absent-mindedly, talking on and on about some group she was helping to start up at school.

“This last semester our group worked to get recycling bins set up in the cafeteria and…”

Suddenly Bethany’s voice became muffled and distant as Tatiana felt a terrible sensation begin to run up and down her spine. Her heart began to beat faster than she’d ever felt before and her head began spinning, as if the world were starting to move in slow motion. Looking up, she saw Bethany jogging slowly backwards on the sidewalk and the cross-walk sign ahead of them changing from “walk” to “stop” at what seemed an impossibly sluggish rate. To the left, a red car began driving toward them. All this happened in less than a second and suddenly Tatiana knew what was about to happen. She knew that in just a few moments, the car would run through the red light. In her mind, she saw Bethany’s foot tripping over the curb, tumbling her backwards into the busy road. She saw the speeding car attempt to come to an impossibly fast halt before its sudden connection with Bethany’s falling body.

She looked back at Bethany, her heart still beating implausibly fast. Prattling on about college, Bethany had no idea what was happening.

And then everything changed.

Suddenly, Tatiana clearly heard the driver of the red car trying desperately to step on the brakes as fast as he could, and then she heard Bethany trying to comprehend what was happening as she tripped over the curb and fell toward the street. Not a second later, Tatiana screamed and ran to catch up with her. She grabbed Bethany around the waist and pulled her back onto the sidewalk just as the car was nearing the point of impact.

The girls toppled up onto the sidewalk, shaking and breathing heavily. Looking at them through his window, the man in the red car shot them an apologetic look as he continued down the road.

For a moment, both girls lay on their backs, trying to take in what had just happened. A rush of emotions ran through Tatiana: surprise that she made it to Bethany in time and confusion over the slow speed at which everything seemed to occur. She replayed the scene in her head, trying to make sense of it all.

Suddenly, a new emotion hit her: shock. She frowned. She wasn’t shocked, but she still felt shock running through her all the same. Looking over, she saw Bethany’s pained face beside her and finally grasped what had happened: it was Bethany’s emotions she was feeling, not her own.

Sitting up shakily, Bethany looked over at Tatiana. “Wow! I can’t believe I almost got hit!”

Tatiana sat up and nodded slowly. Instantly, she felt Bethany’s relief wash over her as if it were her own. And then, to make things even more alarming, a familiar voice ran through her head, How did she run so fast? I barely saw her moving!

Quickly, Tatiana looked back up at Bethany and suddenly realized that Bethany was not moving her lips. Was someone else talking? Looking around and finding no one else on the sidewalk, she looked back at her sister. She most certainly had heard what Bethany was thinking.

Suddenly it dawned on her that it would have been impossible for her to hear the man in the red car aloud because his windows had been rolled up. Yet she’d heard him thinking about trying to stop the car, as clearly as if she’d watched a movie of his mind forcing his foot to push the brake pedal. At this, Tatiana felt her breath leave completely. She’d heard the man’s thoughts. It was the only explanation.

Bethany frowned. “What is it?” she asked, her voice still trembling slightly from the shock.

Shaking her head, Tatiana said quietly, “It’s nothing. I think I’m just feeling a little sick right now… Are you okay?”

Bethany laughed quietly. “Yeah, I’m fine. You’ve never jumped me before like that. You running at me like that scared me more than anything. Once I saw the car speeding away I finally figured out what had happened.” Sitting up, she helped a very confused Tatiana to her feet.

After taking a deep breath, Bethany started jogging again, this time her feet facing forward. That was so weird. I never even saw that car coming. How did she grab me so fast? Bethany thought to herself. And Tatiana heard it too.

Breathing hard, Tatiana jogged quietly beside her sister, trying to act like nothing had happened. Like nothing was still happening. She was still hearing Bethany’s thoughts and she didn’t know how to stop. She started working inside her mind, trying to figure out some way to block the thoughts and feelings inside Bethany’s head from barging into her own mind. After a few minutes of hard concentration, she managed to stop hearing the thoughts, as though there was a part of her brain that she could shut off with enough concentration. This, however, did not seem to be a simple process like flipping a light switch. Rather, she had to deliberately tell herself to stop reading her sister’s mind in order to make it happen.

Bethany looked over at Tatiana. “What’s wrong?” she asked. “Are you still feeling sick?”

“No, I’m fine,” Tatiana replied shakily, without any conviction in her voice. “I’m perfectly normal.” She kept walking. Perhaps if I pretend nothing happened it will go away. Life was already complicated, and she’d never heard of anyone actually reading thoughts before. It didn’t even make sense.

Noticing Tatiana’s serious demeanor, Bethany picked up speed again. “Why don’t we go see if Isaac wants to head out hiking? I think you need to get out in the woods. You don’t look too good.”

Tatiana nodded absent-mindedly and shot a nervous glance toward her sister. She knew she couldn’t tell Bethany what had just happened. A million questions would be asked and Tatiana herself couldn’t possibly explain how or why she suddenly read minds. I have to act normal, she told herself. At least until I can get this to stop.

“So what parts of culture and people interest you most?”

Confusion swept through Tatiana. All of the things she normally cared about seemed so trivial when compared to the fact that she was hearing people’s personal thoughts. A man ran down the street toward them. He looked over and smiled; but Tatiana clearly heard him judging their speed compared to his own. A girl sat at a table outside the bookstore. Tatiana felt the girl’s excitement as she opened up her newly purchased book. Riding on a skateboard, a boy looked up at them, annoyed that they were taking up his part of the street. It didn’t even matter that he didn’t say a word. His thoughts were as clear as if he had screamed them.

“Tatiana, are you listening to me?”

In a way you can’t even imagine, she wanted to say. But instead, Tatiana simply nodded.

Bethany shook her head. “You’re not listening at all. I was asking you what classes you were going to take during your first year at college. What’s wrong with you?”

She gritted her teeth. Telling Bethany the truth was out of the question. Maybe it’ll stop soon and I won’t have to worry about not telling her.

Copyright © 2009 by Christina Harner

Behind Every Illusion can now be purchased at www.behindeveryillusion.com

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Posted: June 13th, 2009
Author: Lee
Categories: First Chapter Program