"Oh, yeah, sure! I just want to see you in person. This is a crazy conversation for over the phone. Maybe someone is tapping the line and they hear us talking about voices." Yeah, that was so Tish, conspiracy theorist extraordinaire.
"Okay, Tish. See you in a few."
"Yeah, see you in a few, Celeste."
Yeah, something was wrong. Tisha never called me Celeste unless she was concerned about something.
You know what happens when you begin worrying about things? You become consumed with everything else because before I knew it Tisha was at my door with a look of definite concern on her eyes.
"Girl, I'm here, don't worry." Tisha swept into the room and gave me a huge hug. What had happened to change
her
attitude?
Tisha stands about 5"3' with a tiny little figure and a chest that would make a NFL linebacker beg for his mama, 32D I believe. She has amazingly gorgeous blond hair that flows all the way down her back and touches her butt when she wears it down. The subtle waves in her hair make other women jealous because she just doesn't have to work at making it look like a style from a magazine. Oh, and her intense green eyes have always made me envious but who could be jealous of their best friend? It would be like hating your sister because she got all the good genes.
The fact that Tisha and I had been friends for, I don't know, forever made me comfortable for the way she scrutinizes me sometimes and reminds me when I'm being a little too melodramatic.
I shook my head as I walked over to the kitchen. "Look, Tish, I don't know what the big deal is. I was just asking you a silly question. Not a big deal!" I swept my arm around the room and pasted a fake grin on my face. I really needed to be convincing and I was frightened that she was not going to buy it.
The last time that something like this had happened she followed me around like a shadow for two weeks. I couldn't afford that again—I needed a life of my own. Have I heard voices before? Yeah, I guess I have but I never truly admitted it to Tisha. I just told her it was a 'feeling' I had. Still she overreacted like a mother-hen.
"You heard a voice." She shook her head, raising and dropping her shoulders like there wasn't another way around it. She gently set herself down on the right side of my couch, smoothing out the fabric on the arm she was next to.
"Yeah, but it must have been the stress. Yeah, the stress," my voice trailed off as she looked at me with a deeply concerned look on her face. I huffed my breath out as I threw myself on my couch none too gently. I saw her pop up on her end of the couch where she had settled herself in for who knew how long. "You're going to follow me around again, aren't you?"
She cocked an eyebrow up at me, "Should I?"
Shaking my head vigorously I snapped, "Absolutely NOT! I can't take that again. You were around me almost 24/7. I can't even believe that you kept your old job with all of that going on." I felt horribly guilty about the fact that she had taken so much time off to ensure that I was safe. Or maybe she was just trying to make sure I wasn't crazy. Either way I felt guilty.
Tish looked at me with narrowed eyes, trying to read my mood. She always told me that I was pretty much an open book and my emotions just rolled off of me like a billboard. It also didn't help that she could see auras and had empathic abilities. She knew how I felt almost every minute of the day. Sometimes it felt pretty awesome to know that someone had a direct line into your fears and concerns, but other times I just wanted her out of my business. This was one of those times.
I looked at her sideways, knowing that usually would bring her down off her little high-horse. I hated it when she looked at me like a sudoku puzzle—it was so annoying!
"Tell me about the voice, Cella." She began slowly, lightening her stare on me to allow me to breathe.
"Well, it was just that—a voice." I shrugged.
"What did it sound like?"
"I don't remember, a man's voice I guess." I could feel my eyebrows beginning to knit together on my forehead.
"What did it say?" She was beginning to make me nervous with her staring.
"Um," I began to fidget with my pants, tugging at one of the cargo pockets, "It said
Celeste, where have you BEEN?
And then it said
Get out of the truck, Celeste."
I took a deep breath and released it, using the 'cleansing breath technique' that Tisha and I use when we are stressed out. I could feel that the breath did no damage to my frazzled nerves. Actually, was it making it worse? I couldn't tell.
Tisha looked at me with deep concern in her eyes, "He knew your name?" It was barely a whisper.
I nodded as surprise overtook me. She was not shocked that I was saying this, not any of this was throwing her for a loop. What had just changed to make her think that I was honestly telling the truth? "You believe me?" The words nearly caught in my throat.
Tisha pushed off from the couch, walking in long strides across my living room into my kitchen in five steps. Hey, that was a lot for her—she nearly had to jump across the room with those tiny legs to make that much of a difference anywhere. My apartment isn't small by any means and I was shocked to see her in the kitchen rummaging around in my refrigerator before I knew it.
Tisha came back to the couch and handed me a bottled water, turning the lid on her own as she considered what she was going to say next. She took a swig, put the lid back on the bottle and set it down on the coffee table in front of us, not bothering to put it on a coaster at all. Geesh, she was as bad as a man.
"Let me see what this man looked like, Celeste." She looked at me encouragingly as she took the water bottle from my hand and placed it on the table as well. "I need to know if it may be who I think it is."
You know, when Tisha starts to talk like this it always freaks me out. She always seems to take the angle of the protector. But who could she be protecting? Definitely not me, I'm two inches taller and a good thirty pounds heavier than her. She pretty much could be picked up and blown away by the wind whereas I have much more than my fair share of… everything to keep me from floating away. I'm not fat, don't get me wrong, but I am definitely right at my 'target' weight and about five pounds more.
I turned to face her as I instinctively gulped loudly. "Um, okay." I tried to shrug as I placed my hands in hers.
She gathered my hands quickly, gave me a warning glance and then snapped her eyes shut. She was up to something but I wasn't sure what, "Now close your eyes, Celeste, and imagine the stranger in your mind. Think of how tall he was, his hair color, his facial structure, his shoulders, his clothing, his mouth, and finally focus on his eyes."
I closed my eyes, sighing. Clearing my mind is no big deal—I can do it in a blink BUT imagining the man on my porch was another thing because I seemed to be blocking it for some reason.
"You can do this," Tisha whispered as I continued to focus my thoughts. Yes I could.
My mind began to pound with the effort. This shouldn't be that big of a deal. This man was something unique so why was he so easily forgotten by my obsessive mind? Squeezing my eyes tighter, I began with his boots: ropers, black. Jeans: worn, blue and fitted.
Gosh I love cowboys
.
"Focus," Tisha warned.
I continued on my way up. Waist? Can't tell because his shirt is untucked but it's trim. Shirt: fitted, crisp black, long sleeved button down, sleeves rolled up to show off the forearms. Forearms: muscular and strong as if he lifted weights. Shoulders: wide, strong, masculine. Face: Roman nose and chin, high cheekbones—almost Native American in nature, tanned skin, perfect forehead with no creases. Ears: not too large and not too small, red it seems from sunburn or emotion. Eyes:… My mind drifted to those eyes and concentrated on them. Eyes: hazel with specks of blue, green, brown, and was that purple? Huh, weird. And his height? 6 feet and 2 inches. I'm positive because my ex had been exactly that tall—I knew the height.
I let out the breath I had obviously been holding. Wow, that guy had been gorgeous and I didn't notice at all. He was absolutely every woman's dream… tall, dark, tanned and handsome. What was wrong with me?
I could feel Tisha pull away from me as I opened my eyes. She looked pensive and concerned. Hmmm, what was up with her?
"So, Tish, what do you think?" I tried to dissect her reaction.
She bit her bottom lip before turning around sharply to grab her purse. She began sifting through her belongings like she was digging for artifacts. Her purse was an absolute shambles—she always had EVERYTHING in there. What could possibly be so important about having a can of bug spray on you at all times? I mean, it's not like mace—it can't keep a rapist off your back. Or could it?
She finally found what she was digging around for—her iPhone. She began scrolling through pictures on her overly-f camera roll and found what she was looking for. "Is this the man you're talking about?" She held the picture out for me to see.
I looked at the picture on the screen and then quickly to her, to the phone and then back to her, to the phone and then back to her. I must have looked like an idiot because her concern turned into a low grin. My reaction was answer enough.
"Yes, that
was
the man you saw. I can tell." She smiled as she put her iPhone in lock mode. The screen went dark and I lost sight of the man on the screen. She laid it down in her lap as she began to tap her finger against her chin. "Hm, very interesting. I would have thought it would have been the vampire to find you first." Her voice sounded different—not quite right.
I could see the man on my porch very clearly, so handsome, so strong. I didn't hear her clearly. "Vampire? Did I hear you right?"
Tisha just nodded, waiting for my full reaction.
At first I didn't react. I just looked at her serious expression and then considered what she said. Yeah right,
a vampire
. What a crock! I started to laugh, beginning with a giggle, which rolled into a laugh and then began to take over my whole body. I actually was afraid that I was going to fall over laughing it was just so absurd.
"What?" I began to hiccup between bouts, "What are you thinking?" I continued laughing, gripping my sides, "A VAMPIRE?! Oh my gosh, Tish! You were way too funny! I almost believed you!" I was laughing so hard that I began to cry. "Oh, that is just so funny! Oh my gosh I don't want to wet myself." I sighed with a happy release of air.
Tisha's serious expression just threw me over the edge especially when she crossed her arms and looked down at me with those eyes that said she did not approve of my behavior. She looked 60 when she did that!
"Oh my gosh! Don't look at me like that, Tish! Oh my gosh! I'm going to pee myself!" I was gripping my sides, kicking my legs and trying to catch my breath in between exclamations. I was really getting some mileage out of this joke.
Tish just looked at me sternly and waited until I began to calm down. "Are you done?" she snapped as she grabbed her purse and stepped up to the breakfast bar. She straightened her white v-neck t-shirt and turned on me like she was going to attack. "You need to take this seriously, Celeste, you are in a very dire situation." She crossed her arms and looked down her nose at me.
Okay, I was enjoying the joke.
What went in HER cheerios?
I sighed, trying to calm my laughter down from the height that I had achieved. There was still a small ache in my ribcage from the laughter. I really needed that good, strong laugh.
"Oooookay then, what do you want me to do, Tish? And what the heck is up with the serious attitude? I'm just laughing because you mentioned vampires. Geesh!" I threw up my hands in exasperation. What did she want?
Tisha began to pace the room. She walked from one end of the room to the other. Spinning on the balls of her feet, she turned to face the far end of the room and began again. She stopped in the middle of the room, crossing her arms across her ample chest and released a sizable sigh. "I hate going through this every time this happens."
My eyes narrowed and I leaned forward to rest my elbows on my knees. I didn't ever look very feminine when I was doing this but I felt more in control of my thoughts when I did. "What do you mean?" I continued to dissect her every move.
She flicked her hand up to the ceiling as if dismissing what I just asked. Looking down at the ground she squared her shoulders as she spoke softly and slowly. I was afraid that I was going to miss something so I held my breath as I strained to hear. But even considering that I was listening closely it sounded like she was mumbling. I couldn't hear a thing.
There was a sudden burst of white light and the room was drenched in a light glow as if all the lights were turned off and we were sitting around a flashlight.
"Sound dampening spell," she looked at me pensively.
Tisha sighed and began to walk towards me. I looked up at her and saw her for what seemed to be the very first time because I truly
saw
her. She stood a good inch shorter than I was accustomed to and her hair was now laced with beautiful golden highlights. Her face beamed with pristine beauty and her chin seemed a little sharper, leading up to her ears that had a very distinctive… point. "You're, you're a fairy." I whispered under my breath.
Tisha sighed and nodded, "And I am your sworn teacher and protector." Looking at me like I was five years old and I just found out that there was no tooth fairy, she glided over to my side on the couch and put a hand on my shoulder.
"My dear, we have a problem on our hands and you have a decision to make."
I looked up into her beautiful green eyes, rimmed in black, "What problem? What decision? And why are you speaking to me like an old woman would, all of a sudden?" I knew the questions were thick in my voice.
Tisha tossed her head back and let out a beautiful laugh, the most beautiful laugh I'd ever heard from her in all of the time that we had spent together. It sounded like bells chiming or birds singing, or even crystals dinging—it was amazing. I wanted to hear it again as I felt all of the stress wash away from me. I needed to hear it again.