In a large, plowed-out area, in the center of Star Grove, telescopes were scattered about. As soon as we stepped off the bus, Alex darted off to the closest one. But Aislin protested, insisting that if we went up front then we’d have a “better view.” I’m not sure if I understood her logic, but I didn’t argue because the closer to the front we were meant the farther we were from the trees.
Aislin placed her glove covered hand on top of a telescope. “What about this one? Does it work for everyone?”
Alex shook his head and let out a frustrated sigh. “You’re the one who is being picky Aislin, so just choose one already. Gemma and I were fine with the first one.”
Aislin tapped her finger on her chin as she looked down at the telescope, then up at the sky, then at Alex. “Well…if this one’s okay with you guys, then I’d like to use it. It’s got a great view.”
“Yes, it’s fine.” He stomped up to the telescope and twisted the knob, adjusting the lens.
Aislin sighed and retrieved the instructions from her pocket. “Who wants to go first?” she asked, unfolding them.
Alex looked at me, that all too familiar teasing smile creeping across his face. “I bet Gemma would love to go first.”
I rolled my eyes, but stepped up to the telescope anyway. As I rested my hand on top of it, excitement bubbled up inside me. I couldn’t believe it was going to be my first time looking through an actual telescope.
“Which constellation am I supposed to find first?” I asked Aislin.
“Ursa Major,” she told me.
I put my eye to the cold lens and twisted the knob to focus it. Even though Mr. Sterling had given a brief demonstration on how to use a telescope, I could only get the sky to look like a dark, splotchy blur with streaks of sliver.
“Haven’t you ever used a telescope before?” Alex asked me. He hadn’t taken more than a step back when I’d come up to the telescope, and was still standing close to me, invading my personal space.
“Nope,” I said flatly.
He moved even closer, reached an arm around each side of me, and placed his hands on the telescope. Sparks twinkled against my skin like stars. It made my heart melt.
I thought about jabbing him in the side with my elbow so he’d move back.
My elbow wasn’t having any part of it, though.
“Let me know when they come into view,” he whispered, his breath feathering across my neck.
A warm shiver tickled down my spine. The good kind of shiver—the kind that steals your breath away.
Moments later, the sky shifted into focus. “I can see them,” I whispered, awestruck by how beautiful the stars were.
He dropped his arms, but didn’t step away. I didn’t care, though. The view was too amazingly perfect and surreal to care. The way the stars sparkled, and the patterns they created. There was something serene in how all of them seemed to fit together, like pieces of a puzzle. A puzzle that, strangely, I felt like I was a piece of.
As I stood there, gazing up at stars, getting swept away, my head started to hum. At first it was only a low hum, nothing too horrible or concerning. But as the low hum swelled into a full-on shrilling ring, I thought my head was going to explode. I dropped my hand and jumped back, suddenly feeling as if I was falling.
Then everything went black.
The next thing I knew, I was standing in the middle of a snowless field. I had no idea how I’d gotten there. Maybe I’d somehow passed out and was dreaming? It didn’t feel like a dream, though.
I felt very awake.
A gust of wind blew up from behind me, and I suddenly felt like I wasn’t alone. I turned around, pieces of tall grass hissing at my legs. In the distance, I saw two figures surfacing; one tall and the other very small.
I couldn’t make out their faces, but it wasn’t because of the dark. A blurry haze blocked them out like bad reception on a TV screen. But the haze only rested over the faces. Everything else was as clear as day.
“We’re almost there.” It was a lovely voice that spoke. Not too high, or too low, and there was no denying it belonged to a woman. It sounded almost familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time.
The smaller figure, I was almost certain, was a little girl. She walked with a bounce, excitement springing in her voice when she said, “I’m so excited.”
“I know,” replied the woman. “And you should be. There is a lot to be excited about.”
They were only a few footsteps away from me now, and I waited for them to notice me standing there. But as they continued by me as if I were nonexistent, I wondered if they could see me at all.
“Hello,” I called out.
Nothing.
I followed after them.
They came to a stop beside a tall oak tree. The silver glow of the moon glimmered across their blurry faces. The only details I could make out about them were that they both had long, dark hair and fair complexions. I was getting a mother and daughter vibe from them. But I wasn’t an expert on the subject, so I couldn’t say for sure.
“Here we are.” The woman raised her hand to the sky. “See that one right there?”
The little girls head tilted up toward the sky. “Yeah, I see it mama.”
So they were mother and daughter.
“That one’s yours,” the mother told her. “That’s the spot from where you fell.”
Where she fell? Who fell? The little girl? What was going on? What was this place?”
I called out again, “Hello.”
“Almost five years ago,” the mother continued, my hello going unheard.
“And that was a very special day, right?” The girl asked, eagerness beaming in her voice.
“Right,” the mother answered. “My very special Gemma day.”
My mouth fell agape. Did she just say Gemma? What was this? “Hey,” I shouted, getting closer to them. “Who are you? And where am I?”
Nothing. It was like I’d gone invisible.
I started to freak out. I needed to know what was going on. But before I had a chance to do anything else, I was suddenly yanked backward. I gasped as the outline of the mother and daughter faded farther and farther away, until they were nothing more than a speck of light.
“Holy—” I jumped back, flinging my hands over my mouth. The telescope was in front of me. My skin was humming. Snowy mountains and trees were everywhere. I was back at Star Grove. I wasn’t lying on the ground, passed out. I was on my feet. What the heck had happened?
I glanced around. Hadn’t anyone noticed my disappearance? It didn’t look like. Everyone seemed content in their little groups, working away on the assignment. Alex was still standing right behind me just like he had before I’d…I have no idea how to finish that sentence.
Alex stared at me strangely as he cocked an eyebrow. “You okay?”
Aislin was looking at me weirdly too. But neither of them appeared to be alarmed or completely freaked out, which seemed odd since I’d just disappeared for who knows how long. Or had I? Maybe I’d hallucinated or something. Perhaps I’d dazed off. God, it didn’t feel like it wasn‘t real, though. It had felt very real. Too real. Like I’d seen it before. Lived it before. Maybe I had. The mother had called the little girl Gemma. Maybe the little girl was me. But if that were true, then why had I called the woman, who I was certain wasn’t Sophia, mama. My mother had died when I was one, and the little girl had to be at least four.
Confusion swarmed my brain. I started to sweat and blood roared at my ears. Tears stung at my eyes, and I had to remind myself to breath.
“I have to go,” I whispered, making to move around Alex.
He stepped in front of me and held up his hand. “Go where?”
“I…To the bus.” I made another attempt to sidestep around him.
He mimicked my move at lightning speed, blocking me and stopping me dead in my tracks. “You can’t just go wandering off. We’re out in the middle of a forest.” His bright green eyes were filled with concern. It was weird. Why did he care? In fact, hadn’t he been the one to drive me up into the middle of the forest just a few days ago.
Despite my efforts not to, I started to cry, tears rolling down my ice-cold cheeks.
Alex’s eyes widened. “Are you…are you crying?”
“Um...Oh just shut up.” And then I dashed past him, my shoulder slamming into his.
“Gemma wait,” Alex yelled after me.
But I kept running, not thinking about the consequences of what I was about to do as I headed straight for the bus.
Chapter 12
I found the bus door cracked open—thank goodness—leaving it easy to open. The bus driver was MIA and the lights were off. With tears streaming down my face, I dropped down in the seat Alex and I had rode up in. I hugged my legs against my chest, and cried in the dark in typical Gemma style—all alone.
What was happening to me? Was I heading towards an emotional breakdown? Was I going to end up locked away in a padded cell somewhere, screaming at the top of my lungs that everything I said was true—that I wasn’t crazy?
Was I crazy, though? Was any of what was going on actually real? Or was my mind pushing on the boarders of sanity, conjuring up a fictional world?
Absentmindedly, I touched the pocket of my jeans where the list of dates rested. I pulled off my glove and reached in, the edges of paper grazing my skin as I took it out. Letters forming my name and the dates stared back at me.
It was real.
Tears raindropped down from my eyes and splattered against the paper, bleeding the red ink. Everything was so complicated. I desperately wished I could just piece it all together.
Through my blurry veil of tears, I thought I saw a flash of yellow just outside my window. With my heart thumping wildly, I leaned in for a closer look and saw a tall, dark figure zipping through the pine trees at an inhuman speed, heading directly for the bus. I’d almost forgotten about the monster. How could I have been so stupid? Again. I needed to get off the bus. Right now. Before it was too late.