THE wind whipping her hair in her face should have been annoying-not exhilarating.

When she told Zack she would leave her hair down, he raised a brow and questioned her decision. At some point, she did the same, but all her worries were quick to dance away with the wind.

Unlike she had assumed, they didn't head back to Larry's when they left the trio of new students. Zack offered they stop and have lunch, which she agreed to. Due to her aunt's horrid insistence that she finish her chores before leaving, she couldn't find time to stuff a morsel down her throat and hence hadn't eaten all day.

Sitting at a table under a bright green umbrella outside Fast Foods, the scent of burgers, fries, and sizzling meals stimulated a hunger she satiated with every bite of her burger.

"You say you've been here more than a week, huh?" she asked as she finished up, wiping her fingers with the tissue that came with her order.

With his arms folded on the table, he nodded, his pack of nuggets now empty.

"Then how did no one know about you? News would have spread that there were some new people. Emerfield is small and everyone knows everyone."

"The Lake House is at the far east of town and I stay with my grandma..." he trailed off.

"You don't go out much then," she completed, and he confirmed with another nod.

"I knew a family staying at The Lake House-" she snapped her fingers, eyes lighting up once she remembered the name. "The Gunters. Are you related to them?"

"Mr. Gunter's mother is my grandma's sister."

She pursed her lips in thought before she asked, "Mr. Gunter is your dad or mum's cousin?"

He stole a glance at the pack before he said, "My mum."

In the short time she'd been with him, he'd spoken about his grandma with a certain look in his eyes. At first, she thought it to be admiration, but the longer she'd seen it, the more she felt it was far from that. Which also made her ponder about his parents. She'd heard nothing about them from him.

"You're wondering about my parents, aren't you?" he asked, and she whipped her head up to look at him.

"I swear you can read my mind."

He let out a light chuckle. "You spend a lot more time in that head of yours than out of it. So, what question do you have?"

"I don't mean to pry but, where are they? I assume it's just you and your grandma living together."

"My parents are still alive, but they're... not here, not now, at least."

Just before she could recognize the emotion his eyes held, he cast them down, hiding the truth behind them from her.

"Do you plan to bring them here?"

His voice had an edge to it and she caught a hint of anger when he answered, "If I could, yes."

"Are they in some sort of danger?" she couldn't help but ask.

His silence spoke volumes. When he finally lifted his eyes to meet hers, his lips parted, but no answer came. Then he shook his head ever-so-slightly before he cast his gaze at another table on their side. Despite his lack of words, she had some understanding of how he felt.

She'd been an orphan since she could remember, but she had Elowen's parents, who were the closest thing to family. If something terrible were to happen to them, it would be equivalent to having her heart ripped out of her chest, leaving her empty inside. The mere thought stung her heart.

She reached out to hold his hand and assure him he could share his emotions with her, but couldn't.

In the next moment, an umbrella wasn't shielding her from the sun, and Zack's emotionless side profile was no longer in front of her. The tables that surrounded her morphed into parallel walls, caging her in a lone hallway. With little help from the flickering light above, she could make out a lone figure sitting on the floor some meters ahead with their head downcast. The air was thick with moisture clinging to every surface and the stench of torment hovered heavy like a presence on its own.

She took small tentative steps but stopped when she heard a voice.

"If you're here to kill me, then get on with it," the figure said, disgust and disdain filling their tone. Even as the voice sounded weak, she could hear the powerful will in their words. "I know my boy would never do anything for you. With that knowledge, I can die in peace and it wouldn't matter how you do it."

She squinted to have a better image, and the longer she stared, the more she could make out the bars separating her from the figure.

Before she could go further, a shrill laugh came from behind and bounced off the walls. The sound gripped at every muscle in her being, threatening to keep her frozen. But she dared to turn, and the sight she met made her eyes bulge. A cold sweat broke out on her temple as her throat tightened, leaving her short for air. Her heart raged in its cage at the sight of a familiar hooded figure. One that inhabited most, if not all, of her dreams.

The Faceless.

Despite wearing the same cloak, something about it felt different from the one in her dreams. For starters, it didn't have the signature bright red lips. The darkness that swirled under the hood possessed a power that was both mesmerizing and terrifying like a magnetic pull, drawing her closer despite her instincts screaming at her to take flight.

Paralyzed by fear, she could only stare as it slithered past her with a chill emanating from the figure, stretching out and clutching at her bones.

"You've brought someone along huh," the person behind bars said and she cast her eyes in their direction.

The hooded figure turned toward her but didn't seem to acknowledge her as it shifted back to the person behind bars.

"It seems like your mind is going to do that for me."

"Do what?" the person asked.

"Kill you, of course."

She gasped and glanced toward the bars. She moved to step back, but a sucking motion made that easier. Her mind lulled as the ground shifted beneath her feet. Her vision blurred and when it cleared, she was back under the bright green umbrella.

She blinked in rapid succession with her eyes darting around. There were fewer umbrellas open, as most people had left. When her eyes rested on Zack, she found him staring at her like she had grown a second head, his eyes wide and lips parted in...

Shock.

It was the first time she saw an expression so apparent on his face, one he hadn't tried to conceal.

He blinked. "What just happened?"

She looked down to see her hand was no longer atop his.

"You tell me. One moment I was going to tell you that if you wanted to talk about it, I'm ready to listen, and the next moment I was somewhere else... I-"

"What do you mean somewhere else?" he asked with his brows slanting inward to a frown.

"I... I... can't explain it, but I wasn't here."

"Your eyes went white more like a... silver color," he said, enunciating the last part before he stared off into the distance with his eyes darting side-to-side in minuscule motions.

She ran her hand over her face. "That must have been so weird for you. I've never experienced that. I can't explain it..." she trailed off.

"Maybe you're tired. We should head back."

♛ ♛ ♛

UNSAID words hung above them the entire ride back to Larry's, making the ride a lot less enjoyable for Karyn. Despite how much the wind whipped at her, it wasn't enough to take her questions away. They shared an awkward goodbye, but as she headed away, she knew she couldn't just leave. The words were too heavy to remain unspoken.

So when they both turned and called out to each other, anxiety sparked within her. What if he didn't want to talk to her again? What if he found it too strange to get over?

"You go first," he said.

"Thanks for the ride today and I'm sorry about..."

"Karyn. It's fine, there's nothing to be sorry or worried about," he said and stepped closer before he placed a hand on her shoulder. "What happened won't change how I relate with you, and you should still be comfortable with me. It's your choice, but if you want to talk about it, I'm here to listen," he assured. His words danced on her skin like a gentle breeze in a soothing melody that eased her worries.

"And to think that's what I wanted to tell you earlier."

"I already know that," he said and her eyes met his, warm brown clashing with calm green. She hadn't noticed how close they had gotten until now. "I also want to say, it was nice to spend time with you and I'd like to do it again sometime. Just us."

Warmth exploded in her chest, stretching her lips into a natural smile. Despite being unsure she would ever have the chance with her aunt breathing down her neck, she said, "That would be nice."

She watched his eyes flit down to her lips before he leaned in. Hot tingles sparked from the trail his hands made from her shoulder to her chin. But before anything could happen, a car sped by, striking her back to reality with a horn louder than the sound of her pounding heart. She cleared her throat, and they both took a step back.

"I should head back," she said, and he nodded before she turned. She brought her hand up to scratch her temple, trying to dissipate the pleasurable tingling within her and mounted her bicycle before riding away with her thoughts racing along.

Finding her uncle in the living room came as a surprise, but it didn't end there.

"Uncle-"

"Where were you!" His loud voice echoed around the room, and she jerked back, unable to process the increase in volume from her uncle, whose voice had always been a constant monotone. She had become so used to the same pitch of her uncle's voice that the sound of something higher froze her on the spot.

She stuttered under his stormy gaze. "I... I was with-"

"With who? Don't go meeting people you don't know!"

He opened his mouth but, before he could say any further, he blinked. The stormy expression evaporated, replaced with something soft. As if he was now only taking in her wide eyes and clenched hands that gripped the slender handle of her crossbody bag.

He took in a deep breath and ran his hand over his face, revealing the bags beneath his eyes and making her wonder if there was more to his sudden anger. He took a step forward, but when she retreated, he stopped.

In his usual tone, he said, "Like I've said before, this is your home. And there's nowhere else you should be."

His words hung heavy in the air even after he left.

♛ ♛ ♛

"DO you wanna talk about it?" her sister asked once she stepped in and closed the door to her room behind her.

"I'll uh go do some chores," she said with an absent look in her eyes as she dropped her bag.

"What chores? You did all before you left," Kara complained, raising her hands in exasperation.

She let out a deep sigh before she flopped onto her bed with a dramatic flourish, burying her face in her pillow while Kara floated in the air. Her voice came out muffled against it when she said, "We have to talk about it right."

"Of course. I won't let you process it all on your own after the whirlwind that was today. How about we start with your discussion at Travellers?"

She sighed again before turning to lie on her back, the plain white ceiling coming into view.

"What can I say? Jamie asked if I believed in magic, which was after I asked how they got Travellers secure," she said, enunciating her last word with air quotes before dropping her hands back onto the bed with a soft thump.

"I'm sure he asked because whatever they did involved magic and he wanted to know how you would feel about that," Kara reasoned.

"But why did he only ask me?" she said with a frown painted over her features.

"So you don't believe in magic?" Kara deadpanned.

"I... I don't understand how it can exist. There's an explanation for everything. Gravity brings whatever you throw up back down. The earth spinning around the sun causes the various seasons in a year and bullies just project their insecurities on their victims. But magic..." Karyn paused and Kara watched her deliberate in silence. "There's the fact that I can see you, the fact I somehow survived a fire on my own as an infant, and my aunt vanished with Jamie."

"With all that, one would think you'd have enough belief in magic," Kara said.

"Yeah, but I don't. Everything works on a set of rules that have taken humans years to figure out. Magic alone shakes the foundation of those rules. Magic works against everything that we know to be logical."

"Aside from being able to see me, you didn't witness the fire or your aunt vanishing with Jamie." Kara let out a sigh before she added, "So I understand why you're skeptical."

The only noise was the faint chirping that came in from the open window, which also brought in a ray of late spring sunshine.

They'd never discussed the topic before, but she'd always insisted on explanations for anything and everything. With nothing more to say about it, her mind drifted as her eyes traced the lines on the ceiling. "And he asked about any strange occurrences."

The first thing she thought of was the fire that took her parents and Kara. When she learned that was how her parents died, she did some research on it but came across the same answer.

An odd incident. A strange tragedy.

A tragedy that confused the residents, yet they never questioned how she made it out alive at such a young age. The police never found how or what had caused it. They concluded it was a gas leak with no concrete evidence, so they could close the case.

At the end of her trail, she fumed in fury that no one did her parents and Kara justice. They didn't even try.

Down to earth and humble.

Such good words about her parents, yet no one deemed their justice necessary, she had thought. But over time, she grew to conclude that if the people who knew them didn't succeed or try to get them justice, then how far would she-who didn't even recall them-go?

Her weakened resolve infuriated Kara because the fact was simple. She had given up.

"Why didn't you tell them about the fire?" Kara asked when she hadn't said a word.

"I... It's a private thing, and how would it be useful to them? That has nothing to do with the person they're looking for."

"So you're helping them spy on Elowen?" Kara asked, and Karyn couldn't help but smile. She had been expecting her sister to ask about that.

"Of course not," she said and sat up to meet Kara's questioning stare.

"Of course not?"

"Elowen is my best friend. I've known her for what feels like forever, while I've only known these guys for a week. They say they need her to do good and people are depending on her, but they don't know what they're going to do when they find her? That has to be a lie. Since she's their princess, they would want to take her back to her kingdom, right? Now how am I sure that's what Elowen would want?

"As cheerful and vibrant as she is, she has never once expressed that she would want to leave Emerfield. So what if she doesn't want to leave? What are they going to do to her? Would they force her against her will, all in the name of some heroic work she has to do? And what of her parents? Would they take them too? Would she leave them?"

She sucked in a gulp of breath, her chest rising with the effort.

Kara's features beamed with a proud smile. "Those are a lot of questions, but I am glad you're not so willing to help them. You can't put Elowen in such a situation because if it comes down to her leaving-which I'm pretty sure would be what they want-that would be a tough pill to swallow."

"I can't imagine having to choose." She knew the world had much to offer. Anytime she saw pictures of anywhere that wasn't Emerfield, a bud of excitement rose within her at the prospect of traveling. But when she sat down to think, Emerfield was all she knew, all her life. She'd become so accustomed to the town, she wondered if she would survive anywhere else. After some beats of silence, she resolved, "I know I would stay."

"Don't say that," Kara said, and Karyn turned to find her sister's solemn gaze cast out the window.

"Why?"

"Aside from Elowen and her parents, Luke, and maybe Lisa. Who else do you have here? These people didn't even care to get our parents justice. How much do you think they would care for you?"

Translucent eyes finally rested on hers and she could make out the hazy outline of her closet some steps behind Kara.

"I want you to leave this place. Maybe it's because they didn't get justice for Mum and Dad. Maybe it's the feeling that this place is getting more unsafe by the day." Her sister's eyes were raw with emotion.

"Why is everyone saying so and when did this town become so... perilous," she said, sarcasm tainting her last word.

"I'm serious," Kara said, with her lips pressed in a firm line. Karyn moved to her previous position, lying on her back.

"Karyn?" Kara asked after a while.

"Hmm," she said, but she already knew what her sister was going to ask.

A first-time event.

"What happened when you touched Zack? You looked..." Kara trailed.

"Was it scary?" she asked.

"For Zack maybe. His eyes were out of his head."

She chuckled at the words her sister could have only read in a book.

"He mentioned his parents, and it seemed like an unshakable weight he'd carried for too long. I only wanted to tell him he could talk to me if he wanted to, but before I could, I was in a dark hallway. Someone was there, and it looked like a prison. The person said something about a boy before-you won't imagine who was there," she said and shot up to look at her sister, whose wide eyes mirrored her own, shining with anticipation.

"The Faceless?" Kara asked. The excitement of surprising her sister vanished in the blink of an eye, melting along with her slumped shoulders. Was she that easy to read?

"How did you guess that?"

Kara smirked. "I had a feeling."

At this, she rolled her eyes. As much as she didn't want to inflate Kara's ego, she had no choice but to confirm her sister's guess.

"You're right. But this one didn't have red lips, and it felt masculine. Even the laugh was cold and so... heartless."

She shivered as the laugh resounded in her head.

"So there's more than one Faceless?"

She shrugged. "Seems so."

"What could this mean? And why did this happen now?" Kara asked.

A silence settled between them, but it was short-lived because Kara soon snapped her fingers and said, "Do you think Zack has something to do with it?"

She groaned. "Not everything has to do with Zack, Kara."

"No, no, hear me out. This has never happened before and how many times and how many people have you touched in your life? A lot, right?"

"But it's not like this is our first contact with each other. He has touched me before."

"Exactly! He touched you. Not the other way around."

Karyn finally caught on to what Kara was trying to convey. This was the first time she was touching Zack, but how could an innocent touch take her somewhere she'd never been before? She saw the answer in her eyes.

"No, no," she said and jerked up from the bed before she started pacing around, running her hand through her hair twice before it rested on her necklace. She twirled the pendant between her thumb and index.

"This only adds to your list," Kara said and moved to take the space on the bed Karyn had just shot up from, watching Karyn pace back and forth. "And why are you going in circles-or squares-you should be happy?"

"Happy? What if I'm having a random conversation with someone and I touch them and go all brrr," she said, rolling her eyes as far back as she could, imitating what Zack said she had done.

"Yeah, that would be weird. Imagine kissing Zack and-"

"Kara!"

Kara burst out laughing before she stood and jigged towards her. With a sing-song voice, Kara said, "Someone almost had her first kiss today."

She rolled her eyes and sat on her bed while her sister still danced around.

"So? How was it?" her sister asked, floating towards her.

"Nothing happened, so I can't answer that question," she responded with folded arms and lips set in a thin line.

"Oh, don't be sad little sister, it will happen-"

"Little sister?"

"I'm wiser beyond my years," Kara said, with her chin up and her arms crossed just like Karyn's.

She scoffed. "We're still the same age. For all we know, I could have come out first, which would make me older-"

"By two seconds." Kara cackled, prompting her to laugh.

The smile on her face translated to a calm beating of her heart, a familiar feeling that came whenever she offloaded to Kara. Her sister was like her living diary, and she wondered what it would have been like if Kara had survived. They would go to school, do various things together in public, and she would also be like a living diary to Kara. As a ghost, Kara had little experience with people, the reason being no one could see her.

She always wished Kara should have survived instead. Her sister would have put in more effort than she did to get their parents justice, so why was she the one who came out unharmed?

She looked at her sister, who was still smiling at her, and she knew Kara could tell what she was thinking, the question she was always asking.

Kara always gave the same reply.

"Even if we could alter the past, that is something we could never change."

♛
*A/N*

Spent my whole day working on this chapter but here it is!

♛

ITNC: As Karyn tries to understand her best friend's recent demeanor, a conversation she overhears sparks fresh questions.

♛

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The Sparkling Authoress,
Mis. A
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