Chapter 2

The crimson leaves were the brightest that Elliot had ever seen them. It was the midst of autumn, and Halloween was just around the corner. The downtown streets of Bumble, Georgia, would be packed soon with tourists and vendors alike, profiting off of the small town’s rich history. Although the city of Bumble was small, it had a strange history that echoed through some parts of the country. Well, it was more like a rumor that drew people in. And what better rumor would there be than to say that Bumble, Georgia, had a magnetic attraction to all things paranormal? 

Ghosts, haunted houses, mediums, and physics alike—these were the hot topics whenever Bumble was brought up. The town ran along with it and decided to make a killing off of the ignorant tourists, which brought in a sizable amount of income for the city that helped fuel its economy. There were more than enough ghost tours to go around this time of the year. Along with mediums and palm readers that were more than happy to scam the poor tourists, the city of Bumble was bustling with life this time of year. Elliot had never bought into it, though. Even with his visions and the things that he could see, the genuine article could tell when most others were not. Although it was a harmless rumor painted in myth, a thought occurred to Elliot that those rumors might have some truth to them. Elliot thought his waves were a special case, but what if they weren’t? What if these scam artists, psychics, and mediums were actually legit? What if there was someone out there who could help him? Possibly help cure him of the curse that was always on his shoulders? The damn waves had been consuming him since he was a child, and he truly didn’t want to live like this forever. 

Ghastly visions that were sometimes incomprehensible. Past and present all jumbled together with images that Elliot had no idea what they meant. He didn’t want to know what they meant, especially the one that made him pass out for hours. Mom, Father, cradles, smiles, blood—what did it mean? What could it possibly have meant? Why did those damn waves have to come back so hard? He had cut off his loved ones and lived in mostly solitude for almost a year. Was that really not enough? It had worked smoothly for so long, and his head was finally clear. But now, they had risen to the surface again. 

The waves were back, and Elliot could hear them again. The thoughts of people ringing through his head, their happiness, their sadness, and Elliot couldn’t cut them off. Perhaps he was wrong to cut all contact with his family. Maybe it wasn’t the right move afterall. Maybe it was just delaying his problems instead of actually solving them. The waves were still here, and Elliot needed help. An old friend was even right there for him, reaching out her hand and begging to help. And what did this idiot Elliot do? Just push her to the side and tell her to leave him alone. That didn’t make him feel good or strong. It just further proved his weakness. He was tired of being alone, but he didn’t know what else to do. 

A pulsing pain in his head and loneliness haunted the young man now as he lay in the bed of his apartment, his hand covering his ears, begging for the noise to stop. Almost praying that it would just end. He tried to distract himself, focusing on the bustling city during the late night. He lived in the downtown area where noise was plentiful. Cars, music from the bar across the street, the noisy, drunk folk yelling at the top of their lungs—nope, no good. The waves were still there. Those pulsing attacks on the brain just kept surging on with no end in sight. That damn pain just wouldn’t go away, and Elliot just lay there, silently weeping and desperate for help. Selly, Corey, Mom, Dad, Enid… Anyone, please just help, he thought. But, they wouldn’t come, and he had made sure they wouldn’t. 

The young man had made his bed, and he would lie in it now. His cold, lonely bed was all he had to show for himself. He had made it all right. A seventeen-year-old boy with his own apartment, fully supporting himself with no help at all—he had done what most kids could only dream of doing, but he was alone. Sis… please help me, it was a final plea that he thought to himself as he closed his eyes and embraced the flood of waves tormenting his mind.

***********

A cold, wet rag pressed against the young boy’s swollen cheek as his sister sat beside him, holding it gently. His twin sister, Enid, had always been there for Elliot—after every stern lesson from Father, she was there by his side, teasing and making fun of him as he winced in pain, and his face covered with tears. But she was there for him, as strange as she was; she still cared deeply for Elliot, and he was grateful. Enid was the only friend he had for a long time growing up, and it went both ways. They were both often loners who had trouble making friends at school. The type to never get invited to birthday parties or sleepovers and whatnot. But the strange twins were always there for each other and could often sense when the other was distressed. Enid especially had a knack for knowing when Elliot was down. As aloof and in her own world as she was, even moreso than Elliot, she would always be there for him when he needed her the most.

“You got in trouble with daddy again, I see,” Enid said, grinning as she pressed the damp cloth on Elliot’s cheek. “You gotta stop getting on his bad side, Ellie. Just look at me, I never get in trouble, stupid.”

Elliot sighed as he wiped away a tear, mustering up a grin to reassure his sister. “I’m not in trouble, I’m not,” he shouted. “I-I’m doing really, really important lessons with daddy. He says it’ll help us a lot. And he said it would help us get out of this dump one day. And we would have money and go on trips and stuff,” he explained, talking somewhat incoherently.

Enid just smirked as she continued to rub at his wound. “Dump? What dump? I love our home here. We have you, me, daddy, and mommy. What else do we need?” she asked curiously, maintaining an upbeat smile.

“He called it a dump, a geeto or something? Daddy said we’ll get a big mansion one day and we’ll even have our own rooms!” he gestured, expanding his arms wide across.

Enid put the rag down and stopped wiping at his wound. She just sighed nonchalantly and said, “Yeah, right!” She started to tickle the young boy, and he fell out of his chair, giggling wildly. She followed him to the ground and continued to relentlessly tickle the defenseless boy until he finally gave in, begging her to stop. They lay on the ground of their dirty, moldy room in their apartment. They had always shared a room since they were babies. There was hardly a time when the twins weren’t by each other's sides. “I wanna stay here. It’s fun here. And if we leave, we won’t be at home anymore. You really wanna leave home forever? That’s crazy talk,” the young girl continued.

“Well, I dunno. Daddy says it’s to help us and mo-,” he paused, remembering his Father’s cold words with eyes just as cold. “Your Mother is a whore,” he recalled Julian saying. Whore? What did that mean? Why did he call mommy that? Was that a good word or a bad word? Elliot didn’t know. The way Daddy said it, he didn’t think it was such a good word, but Elliot pondered on it. Daddy and Mommy loved each other, right? So, no way Daddy would say anything bad about Mommy. It wasn’t possible, was it? He brushed the thought aside as Enid waved her hands across his face.

“Huh, what’d you say? Help Mo? Who’s Mo?” Enid asked with a confused glance toward her twin brother.

“N-nothing,” Elliot replied as he lowered his head.

“And how are you helping us get a big mansion and take trips anyway? You’re not a big kid at all, and you don’t have a job. You can’t even stay outta trouble with daddy,” Enid grinned and teased her twin brother some more as she poked at his side. “ Are you magic or something?” she asked in amusement.

“Yeah, Elliot said seriously with a stone-cold face. I-I can see things sometimes before they happen.”

His twin sister just stared at him for a moment, her mouth gaping open in surprise until she finally replied: “That’s bullshit!” She shouted so loudly that it covered the whole apartment, as she quickly reached for her mouth to cover it. She looked around cautiously for a moment, hoping Daddy or Mommy didn’t hear. They had heard many bad words from both of them that they told them never to say, but the taboo sometimes felt fun to let loose. Unfortunately for Enid, it was let loose at the wrong time.

“Enid!” Daddy’s voice sharply pierced into the twins’ room as Enid jolted up with a look of fear on her face.

“Guess you’re in trouble today,” Elliot teased, making a face toward his sister.

Enid just grunted and stormed out of the room in a hurry, bracing herself for punishment—fortunately for her, it never came. After about ten minutes, Enid walked back into their room, perfectly fine with that same bratty grin on her face as usual. She left her daddy’s room with only a good, stern talking to and was sent on her way, much to the chagrin of Elliot.

“He really didn’t hit you at all? You didn’t even get the belt?” Elliot pestered.

Enid just folded her arms in triumph, smiling gloriously at her twin brother. “Hmph, I’m daddy’s princess. He’d never be mad at me for too long,” she teased, sticking out her tongue.

After more pestering and back and forth about the unfair discrepancies in punishments that the twins received, the conversation turned back to what Elliot had said earlier. Something that was still on Enid’s mind. She wasn’t entirely convinced of her twin brothers’ claims, but she didn’t brush them off entirely either.

“So, about what you said earlier,” Enid began as she sat on a bean bag chair in their room. “Were… you serious? You can seriously, like, see things like, in the future?”

Elliot nodded slowly as he looked at his sister seriously. There was not a hint of doubt or hesitation in the young boy’s eyes.

“I can see things. I don’t really know how to explain it, but I can see things like changing right in front of me sometimes. It happens so randomly, and I get really confused sometimes. And and I can hear things too. Like voices in my head. It’s… scary sometimes, and I don’t know how to turn it off,” he shuddered as he wrapped his arms around his knees. “But, I know it’s helping. Daddy said it’s a good thing and it’s helping us, so…”

Enid just looked at her brother with a blank gaze as if she were staring deeply into his soul. It was a look of understanding that only the twins themselves could know, but as they locked eyes, they understood each other in that moment.

“What do you see?” Enid asked. “When things change around you? Is it happening right now?

Elliot nodded as he still craddled his arms, refusing to avert his gaze from his curious sister.

“And what do you see?”

“Everything,” he said.

And it was true. As he stared at Enid, he saw her whole. Her life, her death, everything was converging all at once. He saw her as a baby, an adult, an old lady, and a long-deceased skeleton. Images rapidly changing as he forced himself to look at life. Her life. Just a faint glimmer in the face of eternity. His surroundings grew colder, darker, plants uprooting from their small bedroom until all was consumed by dark emptiness. And then, it was just Elliot, drifting by himself in a dark, timeless void. And then, he blinked his eyes, and all was well—as well as he could hope for, at least.

Enid nodded and walked toward he twin brother.

“I can see things too,” she grinned proudly as she stood over Elliot, her hands on her hips. “That no one else can.”

Elliot just stared at her in bewilderment, his brown eyes wide as if the world just opened up even more. His mind raced, and he didn’t even know how to respond to that. Enid… was like him? And she was happy about it? The things Elliot saw, the things he heard—they were nothing to cheer and grin about from his perspective. So why? What did Enid see that filled her with so much joy, while Elliot dreaded the next time a wave would come on?

“What?” he asked softly, his voice filled with confusion. “What do you see?”

“Friends,” she responded excitedly, her smile still glowing with joy.

“Friends?” he repeated with a blank stare.

“Yup! They’re my best friends. They only come out at night, though. Wanna meet 'em?” she asked.

“I-I don’t know,” he responded, lowering his head. “You’re not scared of them? Like, not even a little bit?”

“Nope, they’re super nice and cool,” Enid said. “Smoky is my bestest friend, meet him, please, Ellie,” she pleaded. “Maybe they can help you not see the bad things anymore. He’s really helpful and helps me with lots of things.”

“Like what?”

“Um, I don’t know,” she hesitated. “Just when I have like bad dreams and stuff. He’s always there to make sure I’m ok. And he’s super funny too! I’m sure he could even cheer you up, Mr. Gloomy pants.”

Elliot nodded. He did recall sometimes waking up in the middle of the night, hearing Enid whispering and giggling softly on the top bunk bed, but he never thought much of it.

“So, you weren’t talking in your sleep all those times I heard you? You were talking to this… Smoky guy?” he asked, confused.

“Oh, I was that loud?” she asked, covering her hands with her mouth. “I thought we were being quiet. I-I just didn’t want you or mommy or daddy to think I was a weirdo or anything,” she blushed. “But, we’re the same now, right, Ellie? So we gotta stick together. Please keep it a secret!” she pleaded. “Don’t tell Mommy or Daddy. Only you can know!

“Ok,” he said quietly.

“Yay,” she exclaimed, tackling him to the ground and hugging him.

It was a relief for Elliot in a sense. He wasn’t alone at least. He and Enid, the two twins, were even more alike than they thought. They shared even more in common. What made them so special, he wondered. And why did his gift feel more like a curse, while Enid’s felt like a blessing? He pushed his jealousy aside and just relished the fact that he was no longer alone. And he would hide her secret tightly, and never tell it to Daddy. Elliot would never want Julian to find out and wipe her joy away. He surely would find a way to use Enid’s gifts as well. He wouldn’t let it happen; he couldn’t. He had to protect Enid, and he was sure she felt likewise. She wanted to protect him just as badly, but it was already too late for the young boy.

“So, you wanna meet Smoky? I can show him to you tonight, maybe?” She asked.

“How do I meet him?” he asked.

“Um, I dunno,” she responded, pointing a finger at her cheek. “Maybe you gotta just believe?”

Elliot never got to meet Smoky, unfortunately. They tried so many times, but Enid always said he didn’t want to show himself to Elliot. Smoky was… afraid of Elliot. Smoky said that the young boy was scary. He said that Elliot could not be helped. Elliot watched his twin sister plead and beg at the air, begging Smoky to show himself to Elliot. She pleaded, saying that her brother would think that she was a liar. She wasn’t lying; she told Elliot multiple times. They were the same; they were both special. But it didn’t change. Smoky never came, and Elliot never saw Enid’s best friends. But he still believed his twin sister, at least for a time. Enid was disappointed for quite some time, sad and ashamed whenever she looked at Elliot. She wanted to show Elliot the amazing things that she could see. She wanted him to know that they were the same. Elliot told her multiple times that it was fine, but Enid still felt so disappointed. She just wanted to share it with someone, the things she could see. Anyone, her twin brother most of all, she felt would understand. But, he couldn’t see them. Smoky refused to see him.

The years went on, and the twins slowly drifted apart over the years. They were still close and still shared a strong bond, but those silly things that they told each other as children slowly faded out of their talks with each other. And, by the time they were both in high school, they hardly talked at all. They had a bigger house, and their own rooms at that point. Mom and Dad were divorced at that point as well. They stayed with their Father, and Elliot hardly came out of his room. Family dinners were few and far between. 

Time, growing up, growing pains were hard. And those childhood imaginary things were something you’d eventually grow out of. The friends that only Enid could see, and the waves that only Elliot could see, they became just that: the imaginations of childhood boredom. At least, Elliot believed that of Enid. Enid, on the other hand, though she put the thought of Elliot’s claims to the back of her head for so long, there was still a lingering thought in her mind about what her twin brother had told her. But, they still stayed there in the back of her head. 

It was silly afterall, being able to see into the future or read minds? She would often laugh at how silly it all was. Laughing and giggling on with her best friend, Smoky. And the distance had become larger than a soccer field between the two twins, as well as their parents, friends, and relatives. They both walked alone as they headed towards adulthood, their gifts—their waves, slowly walking them down different, but eerily similar paths.