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.That’s when I first realized that Nova truly cared about me and that I should trust him.He drew closer and closer to me and before I knew it, his arms were encircling me, holding me safely against his chest as it heaved up and down heavily.For the first time I realized that Nova must have been scared, too.Even though his voice was strong and calm, he must have been just as frightened as I was.I looked up at him and the relief on his face was radiating in his smile.I hadn’t realized my feet were on the ground until that moment.I still felt like I was floating while in Nova’s embrace.We both just stared at each other for a moment and then we laughed until we collapsed.“Well, this was quite a night!” said Nova between fits of laughter.“I’ll say!” I gasped.“I told you, you could do it,” he boasted.“Okay, okay, you were right.But I think I’m done for tonight.”“I agree.You scared me for a little bit there.”“Me?! You scared me! I thought you were turning my brain to mush or something!”“I know, I’m sorry about all that.I’ve never shared these secrets with anyone and I guess I didn’t think about how you might react.I’m sorry, Tippy,” he said sounding downtrodden again.I scooted closer to him and grabbed his left hand, gently scooping out the little flame he was controlling.“All is forgiven,” I said, resting my head on his shoulder.“And I’m sorry I called you a freak.I guess we’re both freaks, huh?”Nova smiled and shrugged, “I like the sound of that.”We sat like this for a while, trading the light back and forth with each other.In Nova’s hand it was a flickering flame, in my hand it transformed into a white, gaseous orb.The beauty of it mesmerized us.Each seemed a fitting representation of us.Nova’s flame was bright, bold and fiery, and my orb was ever-changing and seemed a bit unstable.For the first time tonight I started to feel more like myself than ever before.I couldn’t explain the feeling of ease and contentment I felt playing with this magical source of light on the damp forest floor with Nova.It was like the feeling of finally coming home, even though I had no recollection of my actual home.This feeling gave me strength, courage and peace that I was doing the right thing.And it gave me trust in Nova, like I had never had for another person before.I felt like our souls were meshed together like the flickering flames before us and that he would always be a part of me.Nova gave me a reassuring sigh of contentment.I guess he was feeling the same way, or perhaps reading my thoughts.I turned to look at him and said,“Can you tell me everything about you? I don’t want any more surprises and I won’t overreact, no matter what you tell me.I promise.I just want to know you.”He smiled at me and reached out his empty hand, pulling us to our feet.“Nothing would make me happier, Tippy,” he murmured.“There’s a lot to tell, but we better be heading back, I think your light show woke up the whole forest.We’re going to have to go deeper next time.You’re a lot more powerful than I even imagined.”I beamed at his praise of my powers, and followed Nova, brushing the mossy forest floor off my legs as I walked.I let Nova light the way, and held his hand to keep on the trail.As we walked, Nova started to tell me about his life.How he had grown up in a small village on the edge of the rain forest called Leone.As farmers, his family worked alongside the Beto people to learn the best ways to farm the land.They had a great relationship with the tribe, and Nova remembered playing in the fields with his little sister, Ivy, and their friends from the forest while their fathers worked.When the Flood came, his father brought him, his sister, and their mother into the forest to find higher ground, but they never made it.When they entered the forest it had already begun burning from the lava.Nova’s father told him to climb a nearby tree and not to stop until he reached the top.That was the last he saw of his family.He thought they were climbing the tree as well, but when the storm was finally over and he could cling to the tree no longer, he slid to the ground to find he was completely alone.At first he thought they may have climbed other trees nearby, so he searched and he searched and soon realized that the trees held nothing for him.He wandered aimlessly around the forest until he was eventually found by the Grifts and brought to the Troian Center.“And you know the rest,” he said.I pondered this for a moment.I still had so many questions.“When did you find out you had powers?” I asked.“I think it first started right after the Flood.After I couldn’t find my parents I was so alone and had no one to talk to in the forest, so I just did a lot of thinking in my head and I remember I kept thinking, Please find me, I’m right here, I’m right here.And that’s when the Grifts found me.They said I was calling them, but I knew I had never uttered a word.Then, back at the Center, I figured out that I could hear what people were thinking.Like if one of the orphans were scared I’d be able to tell and comfort them; and if one of the teachers were in a particularly foul mood, I’d know why, and how to cheer them up or if I should just steer clear of them all together.It’s like a sixth sense I guess.We can all read people’s feelings, I’m just really in tune with them and I think that helps me hear their thoughts.”“What about the whole mind-bending thing, where you can get inside people’s heads?”“Well, that happened by accident at first.Like in the forest when I was begging someone to find me, I guess my thoughts were so strong they were able to enter into the minds of the Grifts.But I would find myself thinking things in my head and someone near me would start responding, like they thought we were having a conversation.I tested my theory out on a few innocent Grifts.It was harmless fun really, like sending them into Greeley’s office when she hadn’t called them, or telling them to walk in circles.You know, pranks and stuff.Soon I realized it was a pretty powerful tool though, and I decided I didn’t want to use it unless I had to.”“Like to tell me when to meet you?”“Yes, and other times.Like having Miss Breia set up that cot bed in your room and having it positioned right under the window.And telling one of the Grifts to clean the window and leave it unlocked.And also telling them, they had to use the John’s room at the precise moment you were escaping from your room.”“You used it to make everyone think Jemma and I had just fallen off the rubble pile, too, didn’t you? That’s why we didn’t end up in the locker!”Nova just smiled and shrugged, but I caught his wink.“Wow! That really is handy! Do you think I have that power?”“I don’t know, Tippy.One step at a time okay?”“Okay,” I sighed.“So, what about your little flame here?” I said pointing to the fire light dancing in his hand.“Well, that has been the best part of this whole thing, and it’s what led me to you!”“What do you mean?” I asked.“Well as you know, I’ve spent my fair share of time in the locker.” I nodded for him to continue, because everyone knew Nova was a fixture of the locker, yet he always seemed to return unshaken, unlike the rest of us.I was dying to know his secret [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]