Ciarán?" a voice queried from the side of the room. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhevqFuujT2
The person in question, a boy currently in his teenage years, stares blankly at the John McLaughlin painting hanging on the wall in front of him. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHo7hcMZmgK
It was the only splash of color that he could see in the otherwise pristine white walls or perhaps even in the whole sparsely decorated room. The settee provided for him to sit on was upholstered in soft white velvet. The smooth linoleum floors glistened like cold hard marble. The table in front of him, though made of stainless steel was topped with white-ash wood, tinted and glazed to an almost-white color, muting down any hint of warm hues from its natural state. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvy6IPah64S
Ciarán lowers his gaze for a moment, watching how the meager rays of sun light floats into the room and hits the glass covering the painting. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJsNIutcApn
He frowns. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrcTumMmcnI
Though the painting was a truly a classically modern work of art in its contemporary genre, he still felt the colors were too subdued.911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnahyjo2vg6
Too structured. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGkxZs8WJu2
Too pale. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5vDKEXfQ69
Too enforced to be in their respective place. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwmIVsChGnY
For Ciarán, his preferences were more widely attuned with the abstract, where warm and cool colors collide while the viewers' eyes are captivated by the vibrantly wild and raw quality of the piece at hand, never truly sure of whether where it belongs or stay in one place. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRJ5a7tJLF5
Even he would prefer a Noland. Though similar in style it at least had a vivid quality that would contrast well with the sterile whiteness of the room. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡytcK0YXq3n
Ciarán could see it now, images begin to swirl in his head.911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrxWVnlgc3e
Colors all around him, hazy and blurred, they appear almost like sfumato except for a form that sharpens in the middle. Its shape resembles a silhouette, obscured by the bright light at its back yet Ciarán could still make out the details. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMaXfKDVUif
Closer and closer, he manages to focus his eyes to the silhouette.911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxtlbiUwuG2
"Mr. Byrne." The voice calls again. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCj09G742ti
This time, the tone laced in subdued impatience.911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSPMlzjfkTk
And like a pin bursting through his bubble of thoughts, Ciarán snaps back to reality and to the white-clad room.911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqwWI77lJaW
Slowly, he lowers his eyes further until they land on the stern-looking figure behind the table911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgymntzNWT1
His wayward gaze meets her cold calculating stare. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFh92CIrPLX
The same stare she had gifted him the first time he met her a few weeks ago. The same stare that always made him feel like there's something more lurking from her albeit reserved appearance and charismatic smile. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7aGrCsbN7s
It made him feel like she's waiting – waiting for something to happen. Only, he wasn't sure what it was. It was times like this that he always dreaded the past few weeks, having to attend sessions with her. Sitting on the same old chair and facing her as he pours out all his thoughts of delusion while she writes them down, each paragraph labeling him closer to being mentally insane. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiK6XyF4BEy
" Ciarán, are you with me?" She asks, a slight crinkle etched on her brow.911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHdTt5NfrCY
"Yes?" He hesitantly replies, his voice a bit too husky for his age.911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhQXZGzep9R
"Do you know why you're here?" 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡViLAHUVPOI
It was always the same question she asks to start their session. One that which Ciarán always fail to answer coherently.911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAxNxC4wxV9
"Uhh," he gulped, the sound almost audible in the room. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT5eH7REvQN
He looks around, his eyes darting from side to side, as if the whole room was closing in. He never was good at being asked on the spot. Or being the center of attention – be it in a crowd or with just another person. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlgjS7Vqagb
With a deep inhalation, he replies "No."911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu5nffsxpOU
He watches as she scribbles something on her notepad. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKg0K1LPKiT
He glances at the clock on the right side of the desk, listening as it ticks away by the second.911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcml6Zq6Dfg
TICK! TOCK! TICK! TOCK!911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEyWSLS9sxp
" Ciarán, are you aware of the events that led you here?"911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKNgiOkLpsw
He gives her what he hopes to be a sheepish smile. "Honestly Doc, I don't really kn-"911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtOSaXDb4GE
TICK! TOCK! TICK! TOCK! 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGpYw3lOuhD
The clock goes on. Louder and louder like an echo.911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡByt8mljI39
Like being in the deepest depths of the sea, it drowns his ears until all that he could hear was the drumming sound of his own pulse.911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWvKdRBircC
" Ciarán?" The doctor asks again, her pen dangling a few centimeters from her notepad. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJn1CjJW5wn
Ciarán barely hears her, as if the very waves of sound were stuck, suspended on the surface as the waves they were. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUP6hii6GXv
Ciarán rubs his temple as a new sound begins to appear. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTcMpp0BJgb
This time, it was a piercing sound, almost like a slow drumming of static before turning into a constant ringing. His childhood physician had jotted it down as a mild case of Tinnitus but he knew it wasn't the case. The ringing kept on occurring in sporadic rates throughout the years. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ06fQFJE719
He continues to rub his temple, shaking his head until it finally disappears. At least, for the meantime.911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOFWWgt5kAe
He clears his throat. "I'm sorry, you were saying something?"911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡduK5Kihjz2
She sighs and walks around the table. She stops in front of him, leaning gracefully on the side of the table. Arms planted by her sides, she looks down and looks at him again in the eye. This time her expression lacks most of their icy reserve.911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzkJJnEUXB8
"Ciarán, I know our last few sessions didn't exactly start on the right foot. I also know that you don't want to be here but please remember that I'm just trying to help you."911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOyPkxyHrdQ
Right, as if he hadn't heard that spiel before. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAeeLp5wWMs
"Well, I don't exactly recall myself asking for help." He mutters, unable to conceal the bitterness in his voice. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7WbPDkci9c
He turns his head away, not wanting to see her reaction. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2iKY4SSDqF
When he did glance her briefly through his periphery, he adds, "So you might as well just write that down because that's all you're gonna get."911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXkvMKeXEEM
He didn't see her gaze softening but he did hear her sigh. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTRhfWHBq0g
"Unfortunately, I can't do that." 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHDKj7qZcOE
She reaches in the right pocket of her slacks and pulls out a small silvery object. When she raises it to his view, it got caught in the reflection of the light. The fleeting bounce of light was enough to catch his attention.911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI7gLNd3tKZ
"Ciarán, what do you see?" she asks, holding up the object closer to him.911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdqFJemMWz3
"A quarter?" he responds skeptically, not sure of where the sudden shift of subject would lead to.911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbG95ko3TXF
"Now, that's where you're wrong. This," she gestures at the coin, "is more than just a quarter. It's a memorabilia passed down through generations and it holds a certain part of a past almost like a story." 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJcC8o50DFe
She places the coin on the table by its rim where both sides can be seen. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7pzlEuaLOw
Still not letting go of the coin, she adds, "In fact, on my grandfather's word and many of those before him, had sworn that they still see glimpses of the past and helps them remember. Now, I don't particularly believe in such phenomena that can't be logically explained and experienced in a non-vicarial manner. Shall we try to find out?"911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS8HrVhfPcB
Ciarán merely shrugs before the doctor spins the coin. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRPrg05TWwG
Round and round, it goes, until all the naked eye could see was a flashing blur. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6iOmZWS2LF
"Ciarán, if you may, I need you to look at the coin. I want you to focus on it and slowly, take a deep breath and let it out."911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp6thOGRXFl
Eyes transfixed, he follows the instructions of her lulling voice. Breathing deeply, he exhales, letting go of the tensions that once knotted his shoulders.911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIQhl1SfCGY
"Good. I want you to keep on doing that while I ask you some questions. You're gonna answer them, won't you Ciarán?"911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXxp79r9Jtp
"Yes," he breathes out.911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqApVL9bOr3
"Very good. Now, let's start all over again. Why do you think you're here?"911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuB0NrQOwSy
"I," he licks his lips and gulps, a slight a hesitation in his voice. "I'm here because-because... I can move stuff with my mind."911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyR2X2a5cY6
"What sort of stuff?"911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlSWazcr9Ph
Another gulp. The clock ticks twice before he answers. "Anything. I 'pushed' the end of a crane to crush Sam's dad. I-I swear I didn't," he breaks off, his chest shaking at the memory, "I didn't mean to... do it."911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡISeN3FeW2U
The doctor lays a comforting hand on his shoulder. Its warmth temperature brought a much-needed respite to calm the cold vicious nerves entangling his lungs. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhaS6kzi5l3
"Hush, relax, Ciarán. Nobody thinks that you did it on purpose."911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYXFkSYg1mb
"But they do." He mutters harshly, "you should've seen them. Sam... Mike... Mrs. Lopez...the other kids at school, even- even my sister. They've always looked at me like I'm some sort of a freak." 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH4Bar9JGiz
He bites out the last word, remembering the cruel words the others had called him. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZn25PSqFdW
"But are you?"911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ399YEpI9YD
"No!" He breaks his gaze from the coin, facing her squarely and shrugging her hand off his shoulder. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGcB89UFpCl
He looks her straight in the eyes before turning his head back towards the coin, "At least, I don't want to be. Maybe I am a freak, I wouldn't know if I were one."911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJjoT7ljDVw
"I don't." 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7D9iHw5LBs
His eyes, while never leaving the coin, widen in surprise. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8m5bRniQ4p
"How would you know?" He snorts incredulously. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡceJnjxunLv
The doctor merely shrugs. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfkDoKJWv8S
"I don't know for sure. But what I can say is you're a special young man."911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEtubwcVFUL
"Come on, doc. You can't possibly think I would believe that nonsense. You're just saying this for my sake." 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL5cACbM6C4
She tilts her head to the side, a confused expression on her face. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8CjycnxHSI
"You keep insisting that gift of yours is a curse, and here I am telling you otherwise. Yet, you still won't believe. What really eats you up from the inside? What else makes you think that you're a freak, besides the telekinesis?" 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqv6pLiJRhr
He shakes his head, his voice rough, "No, you just don't get it doc. It's not just the mind-moving-telekinesis-shit you're going on. I'm a freak!"
Out of nowhere, the painting hanging on wall dropped on the floor in a loud thud. The glasses on the wall vibrating in a moderate hum, cracks threatening to break the surface. The forgotten glass of water on the table bubbles, slowly tipping off the rim of the glass.
Ciaràn leans in, his eyes clouded with an eery gleam. The coin spins faster than ever, losing its own shape in its motion and appearing like a blur.
He grits,"I'm a freak because whenever I sleep inside my room, I always wake up in who-knows-where. The recent one was in my neighbor's house. In bed. With his daughter. I'm a freak because wherever I go, I see her while no else does– and she distracts me like hell!"
CRACK!
The glass from the windows finally breaks, the water spills upward.
He can feel it now. The power he had been keeping at bay flows through this veins in an electric rush. He clenches his fist to reel it back in. He barely succeeds.
The water stops in midair, the splashes like rain drops floating above them. It suspends on an invisible force.
He motions his head to her and asks bitterly, "So you tell me, doc, do you still deny that I'm a freak? An insane freak?"
"Yes." She simply replies.He grunts and takes a deep breath. Slowly the water falls back down to the glass. The cracks on the window recedes.911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0zQIxLxPWV
Ciaràn grits his teeth, his gaze unblinking and still focused on the coin. As if by looking away, he would lose grip over his sanity and temperance.
"From what you've just told me, I don't think you're special,"
Ciaràn scoffs.
"Rather, you are a very special young man who had been through so much pain and enmity and in need to relax." 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Bpd5jh9KK
She places her hand again on his shoulder, applying a bit of pressure this time. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBWiBMg0gX0
"Breathe."911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx9nvfU7hBX
He defiantly does so. Again and again he breathes until the flow of air comes easier into his lungs.911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQePbm8aKuW
"Better," she remarks. "Now, about the girl. Can you tell me more about her?"911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ07uLrqjRrX
"What about her?" he asks, unsure at the turn of their conversation.911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNXeHCyXE5P
"Anything. Any thing you can think or remember about her."911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPs3UAyEwB9
"I don't-" he tilts his head to the side, "I don't know what to say."911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ659DM7Q1hk
Ciaràn thinks back to the blurred form earlier, to the silhouette who had her back against the bright light. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuMHAhy9TyL
Slowly, he can see her clearly now. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSxMJ4sjO2b
The haze disappears, showing the fine details of her face kissed by the warm sunlight. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOXGE4ZvSWl
Threading across a field towards him, floating like a nymph. Hair as dark as grey ash whipping wildly against her ethereally stunning visage. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ69TTfcPaTm
He blinks, and all of a sudden he finds himself mere inches from her. She slowly turns her back to him, silently urging him to follow her. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW7KBurztu2
He respires as he watches as her movement in the wind causes the silk strands to lightly caress a pair of wide sensuous lips. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSyb3lFnaVT
Her eyes. Christ, her eyes! 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV2yE6Q6QQ0
Like the misty sky from the mountains tops after a cold wintry night and speckled with light silver-grey specks, captivates his senses. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBAsoK2wPld
And when she smiles sensuously, when those beautifully curved lips meet, a merest hint of a dimple appears and he finds his jaw slacks.911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAzyn7jpEtp
He really was insane. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVvvaNpKK1m
He had to be. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSQ5XrhO4xN
No one could be that beautiful as her and still be real.911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJQtTidtXq5
"It's alright, take your time. Just think and say something about her like a"-911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3anbj976b
"Like a story?" he inquires, the side of his mouth quirking as if amused at the idea.911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6OEN8lhGq8
"Yes. Exactly. Like a story," she nods encouragingly.911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzdFLHvksDs
Ciaràn lets out a shaky laugh to himself. 911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTtnZazceIU
"I don't even know where to begin."911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi0wuJw4XHE
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Copyright © 2018 by Andrea Cassandra Lei Meñosa911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUmCBtAsUCN
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