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6 The righteous also shall see and fear , And shall laugh at him , saying ,
7 "Here is the man who did not make God his strength , But trusted in the abundance of his riches , And strengthened himself in his wickedness."
8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.

Ps 52:6-8 NKJV

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Melinda's P.O.V.

For the past few days,I completely ignored the fake versions of worried looks from my parents and friends. Ha! As if! I must be thoroughly disgusted with their stupid secrets, and stupid powers. But I guess, after that visit to the beach, those words have taken a toll on me more than I can expect.

They might think that I am still that sad, helpless girl considering my recent days. But one thing I'll never forget is that my parents and my friends have betrayed me. After evesdropping that meeting I know more than they wanted me to know. My parents practically made me friends with them so that they will get the 'superpowers' and I will also learn with them. Too bad, that I heard their plans beforehand.

So then, what about that piece of paper? Did they put it intentionally so that I may read? But then again, when I searched about those sayings, I found them as a part of Bible. If they wanted me to think that these powers are from God, well - I will never in my sane mind agree to it!

Believe it or not, I actually got an actual bible, although it was small, secretly from the ultimate Christian who walked into my life. Phil. During a recess, when I was in the library, I still remember what happened.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Phil greets me and say, " I've got another hunch about you."

I chuckle a bit too loud, "seriously? "
but when I saw the change in his face into a frown,

I say, " Hope your hunch can save me next time also" .

"Certainly madam" he says with a twinkling eye, handing me over a small leather bound book only to read the cover named :Bible!

When he sees my confusion written all over the face he give me a firm nudge, " God told me that I should give you this. Read The Word everyday. All your fears will be dissolved."

////////////////////////////////////////////////////
No. Maybe, it's not them who sent that piece of paper. But maybe God himself?-
my thoughts ran short as  I hear my mom call me,

"Melly! We have a party over here! A surprise! "

Oh well, I hope there is no lying in this one as I think it wouldn't hurt to relaxed a bit. After all, they are all whom I've got. I could give them a chance. I force myself to put the happy, comfy, trendy attire as I hop down the stairs.

To see everyone stand with their genuine glint of smile onto my face. Making me uncomfortable so I take the easy way out. Of course, by retorting!

"Take a picture! It lasts longer!" I smirk, carefully checking out Clary's facial expression as I knew from my childhood, she was the most fragile person, and so she was, even on the beach party revealing their secret which she wasn't supposed to tell. I guessed that from how my parents discussed earlier.

She too, wore a mask of excitedness, as if she was my best friend all the time. But beneath that mask, when her eyes pierces into mine, I can a flora of emotions from hope to regret to shame.

But that doesn't stop her crashing to me and is Fin and Penny who now have no difficulties hanging like a couple would do. Lucky for them, my parents chose to ignore their antics at all costs.

Crackers and music blast and all of them erupt into singing Happy Birthday. The air is tinged with moist of excitedness. I wonder if that was Fin's ability.

"Now, Melly! I'll blindfold you, for the ultimate" Clary says as she gently ties a vanilla flavored bandana clearly knowing my tastes.

" SURPRISE!" I hear Fin's and Penny joins in the spree. I also hear quiet chuckles of my parents although the music swells like an ordinary birthday party celebrated by normal hormone wracking teens.

Finally my bandanas removed, I can see a birthday cake in the form of a cobalt blue lightning with a saying, " Rumble and rock girl!" I raise up one of my eyebrows to my mother and Clary  in a form of question.
But it is my father who answers, " We know that since you are eighteen, we allowed your friends to decorate it" as jolly as possible.
"I know that your color is blue so I chose the punk version of it", cheekily Fin shrugs his shoulders.

"Besides, you love lightning. Don't you? " my mother asks in a knowingly way as I refuse to look her in the eye. My face flushes, making me look like a-

"Awww! A cute rabbit!", Penny exclaims when I least think of it.

Well I chose to ignore my weird past but today for some reason my mother wants to surface it back while father nods encouragingly at me.

"Whenever, there used to be a lightning during heavy rain, Melly used to open the windows and trot around like a dancing fox!", mom says it all in one breath in an overhypy mode triggering laughs, chuckles,Awww and wows when I guffaw in childish annoyance.
"Mom! "

"Yes, my dear ?" she sweetly ruffles my hair.

------------------------------——
Now that I gaze everywhere, I can some sort of sparkles! I wonder how they do it as I feel myself immerse into the contagious, blue cream icing of cake. I wonder if they have put something, be cause now slowly, I feel really sleepy...

______________.                                   ______________

Suddenly, I wake out of my stupor while I find myself sitting on a chair in a dark room lit by only a candle to find all my family expectantly looking at me.

I wonder if they have given me that stupid ability but anyways, I will never use them. I will just be normal. Normal. Normal.! So I utter a simple confused hi.

But they were perhaps expecting someone else or a changed version of me? By they, I meant my parents ; while my friends were surprisingly robotic! I wonder for the 100th time why I don't think normal!

"Dad, mom why are we here in this dark room? And why are my friends looking like l-like r-robots?" my question falls into a stutter.

"Yeah, now you are eighteen, I can finally explain everything.", my dad says a little too harshly top looking at my mom who sadly cowers down as if he is controlling her! Before she goes to any terrible state,
"Father!Stop it ! What are you doing to your own lovely wife!" I yell pathetically but gets a sneer from my father who then stops it. I think he might have been torturing her mind!

"So it was you who made her lie!" I'm surprised how my revelation comes out.

"Dear kiddo! Yes you are! I made her ... Wait. How do you know that?" he ask belligerently, very unlike a father.

"Considering your mind control on mom I understand. But answer my question first. What is this humongous secret that you and mom and my friends are keeping me from? Dad! Please! For your only daughter!" I give puppy eyed look, hoping that he would be the dad whom I used to know.

He first looks at me in a 'do not mess with me' look but after a little while he sighs hard, sitting on the floor and puts one of his fingers across the bridge of the nose.

" Me and your mother are Trynads. But I made your friends one of us and gave them certain powers too so that they would help you to believe in them. But according to the Trynads rule, one should know about it only when they reach eighteen. But you..."

My father pauses recollecting some funny scene making him look weird in my opinion though.

"You were the epitome of our life. You had already discovered your power at a very young age and that's why you loved lightning strikes." my mother gently interrupts as my dad look at her with sad eyes. While I stay numb, unemotional to their emotional story.

"But now, thanks to your friends who won't make you understand about it and made you hate it, we knew you wouldn't like it, so we put some stuff to make you sleep." my father continues without realizing that my friends were no longer as robots, you can see at each one of their faces, disgust written clearly.

"We did the procedures for the initiation of our ritual of Trynads for you that your unique gift  of lightning may encase you....
b-b-but you didn't change at all!For some damned reason you just stayed as the same old teenager!" my father growls as if it's my mistake!

My earlier daughterly side is abandoned as I  shout with distinct disapproval , "I don't want to be a Trynads or need your stupid powers! I can live without them!" I feel a relief to my bones when I say it out loud. It becomes hilarious even, when everyone has their astonished "what the heck ?" type of face at my outburst. It seemed to me they backed off from me a few inches.

Lights flood into the room which was mine gratefully as mom switches it on broken from the reverie. I find myself attracted to that piece of paper in the Bible  and as I take the page I bookmarked on my desk, I hear Fin saying,

"There is a sharp thunderstorm and lightning heading our way. I couldn't calm them!", he said frustrated. He must have been using his powers to detect them.

While my father goes into a commando cum evil grin mode, as he says,
"But you definitely need powers and us to defend yourself from this terrible lightning, dear kiddo", shaking his head.

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A/N

Sorry evry1 4 the late post🙁 as this was the longest chapter in the whole book! Thank you evry1 for reading this book. And I feel even more blessed when #TWOTL jumps to # 594! Hurray! This really means so much to me ! P.S. Guys and gals, I plead you to comment as well, as I need to improve this book too! Many thnx again 4 readin'
God bless!
Note:
Anyone who's interested in physics can check out my new revision guide😄