Witness: See Series (Volume 1)(21)

Surprisingly, there were several people walking along the sidewalks, and the traffic was heavy. I guess people were out enjoying their break, being with old friends again.

“Alright,” Aden said as he pulled up to a red light. “I doubt we’re gonna go over fifteen miles an hour for the next two blocks. Start looking at the people walking by. If you get it, then we’ll park and walk a block or so.”

“You want me to see that fast – while you’re moving?!”

“I can do it.”

I glared at him, which only made him laugh. “We can go home,” he said, reaching for his blinker.

“Stop, fine,” I mumbled as I looked out the passenger side window. The first people I saw were a middle-aged woman and a young boy. I gave up on focusing and just stared. All at once, I saw them in the last store they were in. She bought him a game with a gift card. In this image, I focused on the card and saw the words ‘love Dad’.

“Ok,” I said, nodding to them so Aden could check my ability. “Divorced. Dad is a paycheck that thinks gifts substitute love.”

“Is that a guess?” Aden asked.

“Kinda. He gave him a gift card; why would he do that if he could just take him?”

“You’re assuming. Look deeper.”

I rolled my eyes and looked back to the little boy.

“Hurry – light’s changing.”

As Aden said that, I was gone from the truck, watching that little boy talking to his dad on a webcam. His dad was in uniform. The little boy was talking to him about how he’d done everything his mom asked all summer, just like he asked, and he became choked up when he asked when his mission would be over.

Grief overtook me, and I closed my eyes and found myself back in the truck. The light had changed, and Aden had moved forward a few feet and was waiting at the next light.

“Well...?” he asked as he glanced at me.

“Dad’s a solider, defending our country and trying to be a dad at the same time.”

Aden nodded and smiled slightly. “Never assume anything; make sure you see it.”

I nodded and looked down at my hands. I let my thumb trace the pick on the broken necklace. The whispers calling my name became calmer, but their pleading was still as intense.

I mumbled, “show yourself” as I looked out the window.

All at once, the Hummer was surrounded by shadowed figures.

“Warning next time,” Aden said firmly as Monroe all but leapt into the front seat with us. Aden began mumbling random words as I looked to my side at the shadow next to me. What I saw was no different from the other shadows I helped: lives that were dark and lived with despair. I shifted through the thoughts of this image as I held tight to Draven’s necklace. “Pumpkin pie,” I whispered as I relished in a memory that was full of that aroma. That shadow vanished, and another took its place. With this one, I shifted through an endless life full of abuse until I found a sunset that would make any soul cry. “Shades of Amber washed across the sky as he whispered, ‘I love you’.” That shadow faded as another came.

Honks from around us caused us to move forward, even though we couldn’t see past the front of our truck. I wanted to prove to Aden that I could handle anything at that school, so I started searching the memories of the dead faster, saying the first the thought I saw that gave the emotion of unconditional love. My efforts were in vain, though – they kept multiplying. Monroe had climbed between me and Aden and was gripping my arm for dear life. I knew she couldn’t take much more of this.

“Enough.” I said sternly. “Let me pass; be patient.” As soon as the words left my lips, they all vanished and it was silent.

Aden looked across Monroe at me with an awkward grin. “The girl that commands the dead.”

Monroe’s grip tightened on my arm. I reached for her hand and looked into her eyes. “I don’t think fear helps much – at least, that’s what I was told today.”

She smiled slightly and let go of my arm. I looked past her at Aden. “I swear, the dead are easier; the living have too many layers.”

“There has to be a reason why we can do both,” Aden mumbled as he pulled the Hummer to the side of the road and parked parallel in front of the coffee shop. “We’ll stop here. This traffic is insane.”

I stepped out and let Monroe climb out on my side. We then leaned against the side of the Hummer, waiting for Aden to come around. I let my eyes settle on people that were passing by. Aden came to my side and would glance from me to whoever I was looking at, and I’d mumble what I thought. He’d either tell me to look deeper or nod to tell me I was right. After almost an hour, my head started to hurt.

“I need a break – coffee?” I asked, looking up at him.

“Fair,” he mumbled as he stepped forward to go into the shop. Monroe started to follow him, but when she saw I was staying there, she leaned against the truck beside me. Down the street, I saw people I could go the rest of my life without seeing. It was Anna, a girl that went to Madison’s school and had had a huge crush on Draven; I despised the sight of her. With her were two other girls and four guys. I recognized a few of the guys as people that Aden and Draven had played with in the past.

“You know what, Monroe?” I mumbled. “Sometimes, I think I hate girls.” She looked nervously up at me. I smirked. “Not you; just ones that don’t know when to back away.”