Unaltered #2_A Diamond in my Heart (2 page)

When my mother exited her office with
the young girl named Sasha, she handed me the chart along with a
yellow sticky which had a phone number and name written on it. She
asked me to call the number and set up an appointment for the
petrified girl.

The name said Charles Rhondell. My
eyes shot up to my mother who didn’t seem to understand what I was
thinking. I’d met a man with that same name before; he was the
leader of the Mind Readers. Was this the same man? Did that mean… I
looked at Sasha who was eyeing me curiously, angling her head from
side to side.

She spoke to me in her quiet whisper
of a voice. “You’re different.”

I responded with, “How do you know I’m
different when you’ve never met me before?”

“No, you’re different than most, but
just like the doctor.”

“Honey, it’s impolite to talk to
people like that.” Her mother nervously tried to suppress her
daughter’s thoughtless blurt. I knew without even looking into the
mother’s mind she was embarrassed of her daughter’s ability and she
didn’t want to believe her daughter could actually read
minds.

“But Mommy, she doesn’t have a brain,”
Sasha insisted only to be quickly ushered across the room and given
a sharp reprimand.

I picked up the phone and dialed the
number for Mr. Rhondell. He was out of the office but a
receptionist lined up an appointment for the following week. He
would come to my mother’s office and meet with the girl.

Sasha’s mother came back over to me.
“I apologize for my daughter’s behavior. Sometimes she says things
like that and leaves me horrified. I’m really sorry.”

I glanced across the room to the couch
where Sasha sat with her arms folded and her ankles crossed. I
handed the woman an appointment card with the date and time Mr.
Rhondell’s receptionist had lined up for her and then answered,
“Don’t worry about it; most of the time I feel like I don’t have a
brain. The doctor will meet with you in one week.”

“One
week
? What am I supposed to do with her
until then?”

I looked around for my mom so she
could rescue me but she’d already gone back into her office. So I
said, “Well, don’t try to force her outside and she won’t have a
panic attack.” The woman seemed frustrated with my response and
dropped the card in her purse, walked over, snatched her daughter’s
hand and exited the office at a brisk speed.

Later that night at dinner, I decided
I’d ask my mother about Charles Rhondell.

“
Who is the man you had me
call for your last patient? Is he a doctor too?”

“No, but he’s a behavioral specialist
who works miracles with kids who are afraid of the dark and who
think they can read minds.”

“Do you get many kids like
her?”

“I’ve seen several patients with
nyctophobia, but they weren’t all young like her. In fact,
sometimes nyctophobia is accompanied with delusions of future
sight. One mother was so upset because her teenage daughter was
predicting the future with accuracy. It took me a long time to
convince her it was mere coincidence.”

“Do you remember what the girl
predicted?” I asked admittedly curious.

“Yes, she claimed to have foreseen the
destruction of their entire town, Kalapana, on the big island of
Hawaii in 1990. I didn’t meet the girl until several years later. I
tried to explain to her that ‘premonitions’ are usually based on
facts around us. The fact was, their town was in a potential lava
path and sooner or later the town would be affected by the volcano.
I told her our brains are quite powerful and can formulate possible
future outcomes based on the facts at hand, but she defended
herself to no end saying she’d seen the same images in her mind
prior to the event happening. The mother was torn between believing
her daughter and wanting to help her.”

My father, Dr. Allen Courtnae, put his
fork down and wiped his mouth. “Well, that’s completely
understandable. If Calli came to us with information that our town
was going to be destroyed, I’d listen. I might be a little
hesitant, but I know her well enough to know she would never lie
about something like that.”

“Thanks, Dad.” I smiled at him and he
raised his glass to me. My mind went back to Charles Rhondell and
what might happen when he arrived at the office next week. I looked
at my mother and quickly viewed her future and saw she would be
blown away when Charles referred to my injuries. I deduced I should
tell her right now that I know the man.

“Mom, I think I met this
guy while I was in Montana. One of the athletes was having the same
symptoms as your patient and Mr. Rhondell was brought in to help.”
A little white lie;
sorry Dad, but I’m a
seasoned liar.

“Well, he is the best in the nation; I
don’t doubt they would be anxious for him to help a potential
Olympic candidate,” my mother said.

“Mom, just out of
curiosity, what type of premonition
would
you believe to be that of the
paranormal variety?”

“It would take something
earth-shattering, something unpredictable, so out of the norm that
heads are scratched.”

“Like predicting the winning lotto
numbers?”

“No, that’s just dumb luck. I mean
something like, ‘On such and such date, at such and such time,
aliens will land at a particular place,’ something like that isn’t
predictable and highly unlikely to happen. If someone foresaw that
happening it would certainly catch my attentions.”

“Calli,” my father interjected, “what
do you want for your birthday?”

Oh yeah, my birthday was only a few
days away; the big seventeen! “I don’t know.”

“See, I can predict the future too. I
knew you’d say that.” He smiled at me and said, “We’ll surprise
you, how about that?”

Charles Rhondell entered the office
and right off the bat his eyes met mine. “Calli?”

“Hi, Mr. Rhondell.”

“What are you doing… how do you know
Charlotte?” My presence had clearly caught him off
guard.

“Dr. Courtnae is my mother, Charles.
How is your wife?” I asked knowing they were reunited following the
eradication of the Death Clan.

“Good, she’s good.” My eyes were drawn
to his neck and the peculiar necklace he wore. The leather cord
around his neck was attached to a glass encasement shaped like a
teardrop. A piece of the Sanguine Diamond floated gently inside,
suspended in a way that defied gravity.

“I’ll let my mother know you’ve
arrived.” I lifted the phone and pressed button one. I relayed the
message that Mr. Rhondell had arrived and my mother asked that he
be shown in. “Come, Charles.” I stood and walked him to the office
door.

“Calli, how are you doing since, well,
since what happened?”

“All back to normal,
Charles.”

He leaned close and whispered in my
ear. “It’s too bad you lost all your abilities.” As he did this, I
experienced a sharp pain within my heart almost as if my shard
moved. I kept calm.

“I don’t feel that way at all, sir.
And by the way, my mother doesn’t know anything about what happened
to me or about the world of powers and abilities.” I smiled and
opened the door.

“Well, Calli, I’ll keep my tongue in
check, but know this, your mother knows plenty about the world you
visited briefly.” He walked past me and closed the door behind
him.

I walked back to the front desk
rubbing my chest, willing it to heal with my mind. The pain
subsided almost instantly. I sat in the not-so-comfortable chair at
the desk in heavy contemplation. Had Charles’ shard reacted like
mine? Had it moved also? I hadn’t noticed.

The door to the clinic opened with
Sasha and her mother entering. Sasha skipped over to my desk and
smiled at me.

“Hello Sasha, do I have a brain
today?” I asked with a smile.

“Nope,” she said as she fidgeted with
the cupful of assorted pens on my desk.

“Leave those alone, Sasha.” Her mother
directed her daughter’s shoulders toward the couch and sat her
down.

I picked up the phone and spoke to my
mother informing her that Sasha had arrived. Soon, my mother came
to the waiting room and invited them back to her office. I sat
wondering what would happen to Sasha. Would Charles drop a
bombshell on the mother or would he skirt around the issue for
now?

I kept myself busy until everyone
exited the back office and entered the reception area. Sasha
literally bounced her way into the waiting room like a jackrabbit.
Mr. Rhondell handed Sasha’s mother a packet of information and
explained about his treatment plan which, not surprisingly,
included sending Sasha off to his therapy clinic for two months.
The mother wasn’t very excited but was obviously at her wits end on
how to deal with her daughter.

Sasha approached me. “Mr. Charles has
a brain but he won’t let me see it.”

“What’s the difference? Maybe I have
one too but won’t let you see it, just like Mr.
Charles.”

“Nope, your head is empty like the
doctor’s. I can feel his brain but it’s wrapped up like a present
and I don’t know what’s inside.”

I smiled at her and realized her
mother would gladly hand off her daughter to Charles in the hopes
of taming her thought processes.

“That’s enough, Sasha! How many times
have I told you not to talk to people like that?”

Charles intervened. “Sasha, how would
you like to come to my office and meet other kids who can see
brains too?” He winked at the mother.

“Yes, but not at night.”

“You know Sasha, I don’t like the dark
either. It makes me feel unsafe.”

I watched Sasha’s eyes open wide in
agreement. “My mom says there’s nothing to be afraid of in the
dark, but she’s wrong.”

Before Sasha’s mother could scold her,
Charles interjected. “Sasha, not everyone is afraid of the dark. My
mom wasn’t afraid of the dark either and she didn’t understand why
I was, just like your mom. At my clinic, I’ll help you understand
why, alright?”

“OK. Why won’t you let me see your
mind Mr. Charles?”

“Sasha!”

“It’s alright, Sasha, you
are not the first person to ask me that. What if another girl your
age came up to you and asked why you wouldn’t let her see
your
mind? What would
you say?”

“I’d say it’s right there,” she
thumped her fingertip on her temple, “if you can’t see it then
you’re not looking hard enough.”

Mr. Rhondell smiled and thumped his
fingertip to his temple. “Sasha, it’s right there, if you can’t see
it then you’re not looking hard enough.”

I must say, Charles certainly knew how
to downplay the emergence of powers.

The whole Sasha/Charles Rhondell
episode got my curiosity up about the Shadow Demons and I decided
to conduct a few experiments. What I know so far is, the Demons are
people of powers stuck in our world preying on living people of
powers; or at least that’s all Mrs. Winter knew about them. I could
see them when I had the whole diamond in my possession, but come to
think of it, I hadn’t seen any since arriving back home here in
Ohio. Did I need the entire diamond in order to see
Demons?

I decided I’d venture out into the
night and try to find them. I’d have to do it tonight because
tomorrow night would be my birthday party.

My cell rang and the display showed
Suz calling. “Hey Suz.”

“You want to go to the mall? I heard
Brand will be there tonight.”

“Who?”

“Brand Safferson! Where have you been,
girl? He’s only the hottest guy ever!”

“Oh, right; mister all-star
quarterback. I don’t think he’s all that good looking, Suz.” After
being around the Runners Clan, no guy in my high school would ever
compare to the looks of those fine specimens; especially when
compared to Chris.

“That’s just fine, one less girl I
have to compete with. But will you come with me, please, and um,
would you drive?”

“Sure, I’ll pick you up around seven.”
The sun wouldn’t be down until ten’ish so we’d have to kill some
time till the Demons came out.

My experiences of a few months ago
have changed me. The diamond inside of me has altered my
perceptions, and not just because I can see into every person
around me at will, but because I see intentions, both honest and
deplorable. I see the rising generation’s low self-esteem and the
current generation’s frustration.

It didn’t take long to realize Suz
asked me to take her to the mall because her other friends were
with Brand and she hadn’t been invited. I don’t like entering Suz’s
mind and I make it a practice not to but something was bothering
her and I couldn’t tell what it was; well, besides being left out
of the circle. I looked only for her current dismay. I found that
she was extremely attracted to Brand but he wouldn’t give her the
time of day anymore. Just two months ago, they were good friends
even to the point that they’d hang out together—alone. But
something had happened, something in the blink of an eye transpired
and suddenly their relationship ceased. From Suz’s perspective I
couldn’t determine what it was. All I saw was Brand and Suz in his
room getting a little hot and heavy, and suddenly Brand pulling
back and pushing her away both physically and emotionally. I pulled
out of her mind and turned my focus across the food court to
Brand.