Awakening

Chapter 10

As she lay tossing and turning in her bed, Maddy couldn’t help but think about what she had experienced earlier that night at Devin’s house.

“How could I have manipulated time,” she thought to herself.

She hadn’t read about that when she was doing all of her research.

She also kept thinking back on the conversation that she had just had with Grandpa.

“Maddy, you are about to experience some very powerful feelings. Things that you have never experienced before. You must not let this power go to your head, and you must also learn to control it. The more power you use, the harder it will be to hide you from The Hierarchy, and we don’t want them to find out that you exist. We can’t let them find out that you exist.”

When she’d exchanged words with Nana, she was so sure that she was prepared, but now not so much.

She’d finally fallen asleep, but as soon as she closed her eyes, it was time for her to wake up.

“Maddy, I need you to run to the store for me,” said Nana as she rushed into Maddy’s bedroom. “I’m out of vanilla extract and I don’t want to leave your grandfather here with the turkey. He’s trying to deep fry it this year.”

Maddy rolled over and let out a soft laugh.

“Sure, Nana.”

Dillon lifted her head from under the blanket she’d been sleeping under.

“Oh, I didn’t know Dillon was here.”

“Hey, Mrs. Fisher. Rough night,” Dillon mumbled as she quickly put her head back under the blankets.

“I see,” Nana responded back. “Well yes,” would you two girls be dolls and run to the store for me?”

Maddy nodded.

“What is it with everyone deep-frying their turkeys this year,” Dillon asked.

Maddy got up from the bed and got dressed.

“Is there anything else either of you needs while I’m out,” Maddy asked as she walked passed the kitchen.

“You might want to bring an extra turkey,” Nana said. “I’m not so sure how this is going to turn out.”

“Oh, hush lady. This is bound to be the best turkey to ever touch your lips,” Grandpa said. “Maddy, grab an extra turkey please.”

They all laughed.

The smell of all of the food cooking had made her forget about last night’s events. There was honey glazed ham, chicken dressing, Nana’s delicious pies and so many other things captivating the air in the Fisher house.

“Here Maddy, taste this. I know you like to test out my famous sour cream pound cake before everyone gets here,” Nana said.

“Yeah,” Maddy responded. “There’s usually none left before we even eat dinner.”

Maddy would usually cut half of the cake and hide it in her bedroom. That’s how good Nana’s cake was.

“Would you like a piece, Dillon? I’m sure it’ll relieve you of the headache that is burdening you,” Nana asked.

Dillon laughed.

“Yeah, sure Mrs. Fisher.”

The two girls ate their pieces of cake and headed out of the door.

On the way to the store, Maddy realized that she hadn’t checked her phone since her party last night.

“You look terrible,” Dillon said.

“Yeah, I didn’t get much sleep last night,” Maddy said.

She grabbed her phone and went through scrolled through all of her notifications. Her phone was full of birthday texts, Instagram mentions, and phone calls.

“I love my birthday, but I also hate my birthday,” she said. “Having to respond to all of these messages is so draining and it kinda gives me anxiety.”

“Just do what I do,” Dillon said. “Send out one mass ‘Thank You,’ and call it a day. Whoever takes it personally is just… weird.”

The streets were empty, but the stores were filled with last-minute shoppers.

“Ugh. I do not want to stand in this line for 20 minutes for some vanilla extract and a turkey,” Maddy said impatiently.

Then she thought to herself, “It wouldn’t hurt to slow down time a little bit so that I can buy what I need and get out of here.”

She paused and began to think about what she had been feeling the night before when she ‘d manipulated time. Next thing she knew, everything had paused. She walked over to the self-checkout lane and paid for her items. She then resumed time.

“Girl, I swear we were not in the front of this line,” Dillon said confused. “Also, why the hell was I standing all the way over here and you’re damn near out the door?”

“You were checking out those ‘As seen on TV’ products. You don’t remember,” Maddy said.

“I don’t but you know I do love me a good one of those. That aisle is full of enticing items that make absolutely no sense, but you just feel like you have to have them,” Dillon said.

Maddy shook her head and walked out of the store.

Dillon’s house was on the way, so Maddy dropped her off before she headed back home.

“Tell your mom I said hi, and you know you’re always welcome at my house,” Maddy said as Dillon walked up the driveway of her house.

“I’m sure I’ll be seeing you later then,” Dillon yelled.

The whole car ride home, Maddy felt a sense of vigor. Like Grandpa had said, she was feeling power that she had never felt before. She hadn’t planned on using her ability to manipulate time anytime soon but because she was so ready to leave the store, she couldn’t help it. She also felt guilty because Grandpa had told her not to use her powers unless absolutely necessary. She was just as afraid of The Hierarchy as Grandpa was, and after finding what they’d done to him and her parents, she wanted nothing to do with them.

When Maddy pulled back onto her street, she saw that her Aunt Rosalyn had already made it over to the house. Aunt Rosalyn was Nana’s eldest sister. She had married rich when she was young and had made a career out of it. She had traveled the world, and at one point in time lived in Spain. She and Nana got along very well, but she hated Grandpa. She was nosy, and the fact that she didn’t know much about where Grandpa came from really bothered her. When Nana and Grandpa had first gotten married, she had the town’s police department do an extensive background check on him. Of course, they found fake information, but they didn’t know that it was. That still wasn’t enough for her. From that day forward, she made it her life’s mission to find and expose Grandpa’s secrets. That was actually the reason she had moved back to Mountain Canal from Spain.

“Hey, Aunt Roz,” Maddy said as she sat the groceries on the kitchen counter.

“Hey, Pumpkin. Happy Birthday,” Aunt Rosalyn responded as she reached out for a hug.

“Maddy won a position in the school election, Roz. I forgot to tell you,” Nana said.

Maddy smiled awkwardly.

She could feel the tension that had already built up between Aunt Rosalyn and Grandpa, so she went up to her room.

As she sat at her desk, she watched as her family slowly began to creep into their driveway. All of her favorite cousins usually drove together, and they hadn’t made it yet. She didn’t want to go back downstairs until they arrived because the adults could never seem to get along. Every year, Aunt Roz was trying to figure out why none of Grandpa’s family ever showed up for dinner, Uncle Ryan always had a new government conspiracy theory, and Aunt Leanne always had a new boyfriend. Uncle Nolan, Nana’s youngest brother, was Maddy’s favorite.

After Maddy’s father had disappeared, Uncle Nolan had taken to her so quickly because his wife couldn’t bare kids of her own. He would show up with his wife, and they’d sit off to the side and watch everyone bicker amongst one another. He, his wife, and Maddy would sit together with all of her cousins and make laugh at all of the stupid things everyone said. He’d also always give Maddy $150 since her birthday was always near Thanksgiving.

“Knock, knock,” said a familiar voice as Maddy’s door opened.

It was uncle Nolan.

“There’s my girl,” he said smiling from ear to ear. “I got something for you, but you can’t open it until tonight when everyone leaves.”

Maddy jumped from her desk and rushed over to give him a hug. She grabbed the box out of his hand and shook it to see if she figure it out.

“You’re not going to guess what it is, but just know that I love you,” Uncle Nolan said with a smile.

“Thank you so much, and I love you too,” Maddy said. “You know you’re my favorite.”

“Yeah, I know,” he responded. “This is from your Auntie June and me.”

They both laughed, and Maddy gave him another big hug. As she walked back over to her desk, she heard the sound of loud music coming down her street. She knew instantly that her cousins had finally arrived.

She rushed downstairs and spoke to all of her aunts and uncles, and then ran outside to meet her cousins.

“Girl you are looking good as ever! 18 looks great on you,” said Tyler, Maddy’s oldest cousin, and Aunt Roz’s daughter. They’d grown up together, but she was just a few years older than Maddy.

“Chile, I’m tryna get like you,” Maddy said as she spun Tyler around, checking her out.

Following Tyler were all the rest of her cousins Jessie and Ryan, Uncle Ryan’s children. Then followed Ashton, Kyle, and Josiah; Aunt Leanne’s children. She hugged them all and they headed into the house for what was about to be a very interesting night.

“Maddy, help me set the table,” said Nana as soon as Maddy made it inside.

“No it’s okay, I’ll do it,” said Uncle Nolan. “It’s her birthday. We’re serving her today.”

Nana smiled and rolled her eyes.

Everyone went into the dining room area as Nana and Uncle Nolan set the table and sat all of the food out. Once everything was together, Nana said grace, and the family began to eat.

“If the turkey tastes a little weird this year, I didn’t make it,” Grandpa said and everyone laughed.

The conversation was all over the place this night. Jessie, who was sitting next to Maddy ate in embarrassment as her dad spurt out conspiracy after conspiracy. He and Aunt Rosalyn’s husband always went at it because his theories usually involved how rich people were basically media puppets used to control the masses with their influence. The conversation had gotten heated, so Nana sped up the evening and began to layout the desserts. The desserts seemed to calm everyone down.

As everyone got up to clear their plates, another conversation began, this time it hit home for Maddy. Aunt Leanne had brought up how she’d gone to see Leslie's grandfather recently.

“Don’t you know that man is still claiming he caught an angel,” she said. “After all these years, you’d think he’d just let it go.”

“Well I believe him,” Uncle Ryan said as he scoffed down his last piece of cake.

“Of course you do,” Aunt Roz’s husband responded in laughter.

Everyone began to share their opinions. Every single person had something different to say. Nana, Grandpa, Maddy, Uncle Nolan, and his wife sat to the side with nothing to say.

“How about we play some games,” Tyler said interrupting the conversation. “All of this is starting to creep me out.”

“Agreed,” Maddy said as she went into the hallway closet and got the board games.

They sat and played board games all night, and eventually, everyone started to phase out one by one. Uncle Ryan had left because he couldn’t win anything, and Aunt Roz eventually grew bored because there wasn’t enough gossip going around. Aunt Leanne was in a rush to get back to her hotel with her boyfriend. After they’d taken a trip to the store, all of the cousins were tired from all of the weed they’d smoked so they ended up leaving too. The last to leave was Uncle Nolan and his wife.

“Maddy, remember that I love you so much,” he said as he grabbed his coat from the coat rack. “Wait until I leave to open your gift.”

“I love you more,” Maddy said. “You too Aunt June.”

Aunt June smiled and gave Maddy a tight hug.

As soon as she saw there lights leaving the street, Maddy rushed upstairs and opened her presents. Uncle Nolan had given her a scrapbook filled with photos of her mom and dad. He’d also given her 5 large books. She tore the wrapping paper from the books, and what she unwrapped was more than she could have ever imagined. They were her dad’s old journals from when he was her age. She skimmed through all of them and came to realize that her dad had chronicled everything from when he first met her mother all the way up until the day they’d disappeared. As she looked deeper into the bag, she saw one more thing, a card. The card read:

Dear, Maddy

I know things have probably been getting pretty strange for you. Trust me, I’ve seen it all before. Your father went thru some of the same things that you are going thru. Have you stopped time yet? Are you having premonitions? What about being able to read minds and communicate telepathically? Not many people know about your father. I was the only person your Nana and Grandpa felt comfortable telling. Aunt June as well. I’m always here for you if you need anything just as I was for your dad.

Always,

Uncle Nolan and Aunt June

Maddy began to cry, and then her phone rang. It was Luke calling to wish her a Happy Birthday.