Eternal Echoes: A Dance with Darkness

"Coming!" I yelled back, hastily picking up the locket. With a quick glance, I realized it was just an ordinary gem - no orange light or scratching noise. Was I imagining things? I wondered as I placed it back on my dresser. Just then, Sara burst in, clearly agitated.

"Where have you been?" she demanded, arms crossed.

"Well, hello, Sara. How are you today? Isn't the weather lovely?" I replied sarcastically. "I only got home about an hour ago. What's going on?"

“You were supposed to meet me for lunch, remember?” She replied angrily. “I tried calling you a thousand times!”

I glanced at my phone in disbelief. "It never rang..." I couldn't believe I had forgotten about our lunch plans. "I'm truly sorry, Sara," I began to apologize. "I woke up early and decided to go for a walk. I must have completely forgotten when I ran into Easton..."

"Easton?" Sara muttered, her expression turning ashen as she collapsed onto my bed as if struck by a sudden blow. The color drained from her face as her thoughts raced erratically through her mind, overwhelming both of us."

I sat down beside her and said, “Sara, you need to calm down. What’s the matter?”

She didn’t respond to my question right away. It wasn’t until some of the color returned to her face that she started, “What is he doing back?”

“I don’t know…” I responded questioningly. Why did she care that much about Easton’s return? “He wouldn’t tell me anything. Hell, he hardly even spoke to me, to be honest. There seems to be something wrong with him or… I don’t know… He was acting stranger than usual.”

Sadness filled Sara’s eyes as she asked, “Where did you meet him?”

"Why are you so concerned about him?" I demanded, rising to my feet. "You stormed in here furious because I unintentionally stood you up, and the moment Easton's name is brought up, you fall apart. What's happening?"

Sara shook her head, forcing a smile as she replied, "It's not a big deal. Did you have one of your nightmares?"

“Oh no, you’re not going to change the subject that easily,” I stated firmly.

She got up from the bed and walked over to the window. “I just don’t want to talk about it right now, Ember…”

“Alright, but you ARE going to tell me about it… One way or another…” I threatened.

Sara spun around on her heel. “You promised that you would NEVER do that!”

“Hey, if someone you barely knew had this much of an effect on your best friend, I think you would do the same.” I retorted in defense.

“Some things are meant to be private, Ember!” You cannot just pick stuff from people’s heads on a whim! It’s not fair that you can know everything about everyone while you are allowed to keep your own secrets.”

Sara and I have been best friends since our days in Kindergarten. I remember meeting her when she was going through a tough time at home and struggling to make new friends. She was a sweet young girl with a flushed face, long blonde hair styled in braided pig-tails. Now, as I look at her, I see a grown woman with a face red with anger - anger directed towards me because of our differences. I made the foolish mistake of threatening to reveal a secret about her and Easton, a secret that she held close to her heart.

Sara was the only person who knew about my unique abilities. Unfortunately, this knowledge led to a sense of distrust from her end, as sometimes her thoughts unintentionally slip out. It's not a common occurrence, but it does happen. Some thoughts are so intrusive and brazen that they cannot be contained.

I’m not sure if it is because of how close we are that I managed to keep her thoughts at bay. Lately, I only hear her thoughts when she is upset or when we are physically close. Strangely, physical touch seems to amplify not only her thoughts but others as well.

Over the years, my parents' inner voices have quieted down, but not as much as Sara's. But there were always times when my parents or my friend would become emotional and I could hear them loud and clear…

Feeling speechless and guilty after my outburst, Sara walked over to my dresser and noticed the locket I had placed there before she arrived. She picked it up and examined it closely.

“This is a very beautiful necklace… Where did you get it?”

Before answering, I contemplated on my answer. Should I be honest or just lie? After the way she reacted to Easton being back in town, I wasn’t sure if I should say. But, then again, I have always detested dishonesty. “Easton found it in an unusual place today.” I hesitantly replied. “He said he had no use for it and told me to keep it.”

Her eyes lingered on the jewel for a minute before placing it back down. Clearing her throat, she continued, “It’s very beautiful.” She sat down on the bed with me following right behind her. “So, are you two a couple now?” Her voice cracked.

“What?” I asked incredulously. “No! Today was the first time I had seen him in years. You know I have a weird feeling about him…” Then a thought dawned on me. “Wait… Do you have a thing for him?”

Sara’s face turned as red as a tomato.

“Really?” I asked in astonishment. “You two would’ve made a cute couple in high school.”

Tears started to stream down her face.

“What’s wrong?”

“I thought you knew…” She sobbed. “I just assumed you knew and kept it to yourself like you always do…”

“What?” I replied confused. Was there something I was supposed to know?

“Easton and I were together in high school…”

I stood up and stared at her in doubt. The confusion I felt changed to a feeling of betrayal. “How? When? What happened? And why the hell didn’t you tell me?” Why wouldn’t she tell me something like that? That seems silly to hide.

“I thought you knew… You know everything…” she repeated.

“Apparently I don’t. I told you I couldn’t hear everything you were thinking. And I also told you I couldn’t hear anything from Easton from the beginning. I was honest with you when I said your thoughts mostly bleed through if I touch you.”

Sara let out a drawn-out sigh and grabbed my hand. “Concentrate. Then you will know everything…” She let out another sob. “It’s easier than talking…”

“Are you sure?” I questioned hesitantly, not wanting to get lost in other thoughts she was having.

She nodded. “You deserve to know…”

“Fine…” I replied in defeat. “You focus on what’s making you feel this way so I don’t wander into other thoughts…”

I am not an expert at this at all. I’ve unintentionally done this one other time and I was not entirely sure how I had done it. It would be nice if there was some kind of manual on how this stuff works.

For the first few minutes, nothing happened. I was just staring at the back of my eyelids. Just as I was about to give up, Easton’s face flashed before my eyes. I was reliving Sara’s memories. I could feel all of the emotions that she felt and hear everything that was going on around her. It was like I traveled back in time to freshman year in high school, except I was Sara. We were wearing our white button-up blouses and hunter-green pleated skirts – our school uniforms.

I turn to look at my past self through Sara’s eyes. This is so weird…

We were talking about some nonsense that had just happened with some of our classmates. Then the room grew quiet when Easton appeared at the entrance. Sara’s heart started to race as his intense green eyes stared through me. His blonde hair was styled with a spikiness to it. She was checking him out!

As Sara, I found it hard to catch my breath and anxiety began to consume me. Sara’s eyes glanced over to high school me. Her voice rang in my ears, “Ember must like him too… She is studying him as much as I am.”

Just as quickly as I saw this memory, it passed. Transporting me to a time when Sara was sitting alone in the cafeteria until my past self walked up to sit with her.

I looked at my old self, as Sara, and began, “Do you find the new guy interesting?”

High school Ember replied, “I find that there is… something interesting about him,” pausing to take a bite of lunch. “Why do you ask?”

“No reason, really… I have just noticed that you have been spending a lot of time with him these past few weeks…”

“Well, it’s not exactly by choice, Sara. You know that. I don’t even see him after school or know anything about him. He just happens to be in all my classes.”

“Why do you say that he is interesting then?”

Before high school Ember answered, she looked around to make sure no one was listening or near us before leaning closer to Sara and continuing quietly, “I just don’t trust him. He freaks me out. I’ve never experienced this situation before.”

Sara’s eyes wandered away from her face and rested on Easton, who was staring at her from the back of the cafeteria. I could feel my face becoming warm.

Past me continued, almost as a dull murmur in the background. “I can’t hear his or anyone’s thoughts when he is around…”

Sara’s heart must have weighed heavy at this remark as I was suddenly absorbed by sadness. “Well… sounds like you two would make a great couple…” She began, looking back at me with a feeling of disappointment. “Maybe there’s a chance you won’t have to put up with your abilities 24/7 now.”

“What, and use him?"