LOOKING TROUGH YOUR EYES

CHAPTER 14

The next morning Sheryl woke up happier than ever. She apologized to her mom for her behavior over the past few days and promised she wouldn’t do it again.

-          Your necklace is a bit strange ... I mean, it doesn't seem off like when you don't put it on, but ... I don't know, it seems that some blue paint fell on it or ...

-          No, it's not that… it's just… Ethan doesn't like it when I’m with Jair, or even when I think about him. Whenever Jair is around or when I think of him, the necklace turns blue - she explained

Lindsey looked a bit thoughtful. She didn't know if it was really the right thing to do for Ethan to find out about everything that was going on in Sheryl's life, not only because it was so invasive, but also because, after all, he was just a child, only a year older than Sheryl... "A child isn’t prepared for something like that, and if he likes Sheryl that much, it must be very painful for him to see her so happy with Jair" she thought.

-          Mom, are you okay? You were staring at the wall… is something wrong?

-          huh? No, it's nothing ... let's have breakfast - she said as she got out of bed

They got ready, had breakfast, and headed to school. During the ride, they talked about how much fun they’d had the day before.

-          It's been a while since I felt so good, I’d forgotten how much I like spending time with Jair - Sheryl said excitedly

Lindsey noticed that the necklace was turning bluish.

-          Yes, it was all very nice what happened yesterday ... I'm glad that finally you are yourself again, you shouldn’t rebel again eh - she said trying to change the subject

-          Yes... from now on I won’t behave like that again - she paused briefly and began to remember - you know, while we were watching the movie ...

-          before I forget! - Lindsey interrupted, very concerned about the coloration of the necklace - the diary... remember that you should only use it to talk with Ethan or write down important things

-          Yes, is everything okay? Are you mad?

-          No, it's not that ... well, we're here, we'll keep talking in the afternoon. Take good care of yourself, remember that you shouldn’t take off the necklace - she said while hugging her

-          Okay ... take care ... - Sheryl said, surprised by her mother's behavior

That day during the break, Sheryl and Jair hid behind the cafeteria and, together, they opened the diary. "Hi, remember you have to take off your necklace" the black ink wrote. Sheryl closed the diary to remove the necklace from her neck

-          But ... they said you should never take it off - Jair reminded her - it can be dangerous

-          Mmm ... it's just that ... Dad doesn't want us to be spied on ... besides, you're with me, nothing can hurt me - Sheryl said as she hugged him

Jair was going to object, but he just smiled and hugged her back, kissed her forehead and said in a fatherly voice:

-          But you’ll put it on as soon as the break is over, okay?

Sheryl gave him a kiss on the cheek and nodded. Jair helped her remove the necklace and she reopened the diary.

"who is with you?" wrote the ink. Sheryl put her hand over the diary pages for a few seconds. "Are you sure he won't say anything?" asked the ink.

-          What did you say to him?

-          I made him remember ... he did know you, do you remember? You saw him once at the zoo ...

-          Yes, I remember ... it’s strange that he doesn’t...

"Put your hand, Jair" they read in the diary.

-          What for? – he asked

-          He can't hear you, he just looks through the pages of the diary or something like that, I really didn't understand very well - Sheryl said - but do as he says, just put your hand on the diary.

Jair approached his hand slowly, he noticed that when he was already a few millimeters from the sheet, the ink seemed to want to come out, as if it was trying to adhere to his fingers. At that moment, a little bird pushed the diary away, knocking it out of Sheryl's hands. The bird perched on the dropped newspaper and stared at Jair. His eyes seemed to beg for help. Sheryl tried to scare it away, but the bird didn't move. Finally, Sheryl jerked the diary up, knocking the bird down onto the grass.

-          ash! Ethan! Always inopportune…. Well now. Put your hand on the diary - she said while looking for the page

-          But… did you see the look in its eyes? It seemed very concerned… what if it's something bad? remember that…

-          what side are you on? I thought Ethan bothered you too

-          Yes, it's just that ...

Luckily for Jair, the break bell rang, it was time to go back to class.

-          Well - he said with a more relaxed smile – we’ll do it later, now we have to go back to class ...

-          You're very clever - she said while laughing - well, but you must be waiting for me in the pool eh - she gave him a kiss on the cheek and ran to her classroom

Jair was left with the sensation of the kiss on his cheek, he wished it’d been longer ...

-          Jair! - He heard someone called him - stop smiling! The break is over, go back to class

It was the teacher. The boy nodded and ran to his classroom. In class, he was thinking about the little bird. He was always jealous of how protective Ethan was towards Sheryl, but ... the anguished look of that little bird had made him doubt, would it be okay not to tell others about "Paul"? Was it really him? What if it was really so dangerous that Sheryl was removing her necklace every time she wanted to use the diary? If something happened to Sheryl, he knew he couldn't forgive himself. He’d feel too guilty for not having done anything to stop it. It was decided, he’d talk to Mike.

At the time of departure, he tried to take as long as he could so that he wouldn’t have to do as Sheryl told him to do. When he finally finished packing his things, Sheryl was waiting for him at the pool.

-          Come, hurry up before our mothers arrive - she said as she pulled him towards the cafeteria

Just at that moment, Lindsey arrived.

-          Sheryl, where are you going? - she called her

-          ush! Why did you take so long? - She murmured somewhat annoyed - well .... I thought I’d forgotten a notebook in class, but here it is - she said answering her mother's question

-          Well, come on. Emma is already arriving, she called me a while ago and said that she’s a block away ... here she comes - she said pointing to Emma's car that was approaching.

Jair said goodbye to Sheryl and Lindsey and headed for the car.

-          Hello son, how was your day? I'll go to say hi to the girls ...

-          No, mom, please. Can we go home now?

-          OK, what happened? - She said as she started the car again

-          I need to talk to Mike ... it's urgent

-          what happened? - Emma asked anguished

-          Mmm ... I really want to talk to Mike first ...

-          Okay, as soon as we get home I'll call him. But first you must finish your chores young man

-          Mom, it's urgent ...

-          So tell me, what is it about?

-          Well ... fine, but as soon as I finish my chores, you call him

Emma laughed and nodded. They got home and Jair rushed to finish his homework. As soon as he was done, Emma called Mike and he immediately came to talk to Jair. The boy explained what had happened at the break.

-          Ethan told me something about that ... we must get that diary, we won’t be able to convince her that this is NOT her dad

-          What is it? - Jair asked scared

Mike thought about it for a moment, he wasn't sure it was worth explaining him, he wouldn't understand anyway.

-          Mmm ... it's sort of complicated ...

-          You must stop treating me like a child. After all the things we've been through, I think I've already matured more than a boy my age, don't you think? - Jair said somewhat offended

-          You're right ... well, what happens is that, as I told you yesterday, we aren’t alone in this world, the reality we know isn’t the only one that exists. There are many other "versions" of reality that we cannot even imagine ... Ethan comes from one of them, the most beautiful I’d say; Melany is from another, perhaps the most terrifying ... but, there are still many others that we don’t know about. Many other beings and we don’t know what they are or what they want from us, so we must be careful ...

-          I don't understand, what does all this have to do with the diary? And by the way ... how come Ethan keeps talking to you and not Sheryl or his mom anymore? Why does he now need the diary to communicate with them?

-           Be patient ... what happens is that it isn’t easy to connect all these realities. As you may have noticed, there is only one thing, in each reality, that allows you to open a something lie a "door" to connect with the rest of them ... for example, from the Crystal moor, the only way to communicate with the rest of realities It is through the Fountain Of Light and from the Forest Of Souls, the only way to obtain communication with other realities is by getting more and more tears from all possible creatures, that’s why Melany won’t stop ... anyway The disturbing thing is that ... Ethan can feel the presences, even though Sheryl didn’t have the necklace on, it was still close to her heart, and this allowed him to feel “that something” behind everything that appears on the diary in black ink. And well ... he told me that he's sure it's not Melany, which is good, but ... we don't know what it is, Ethan doesn't have a good feeling about it... - he paused, he wasn't sure if Jair was following - do you understand?

-          Yes, I think... but how will we get the diary? You’re right, Sheryl isn’t willing to believe that whatever she’s talking to through the diary isn’t her father, she’s convinced that it’s Mr. Paul

-          Mmm…. I was thinking…

-          Wait, there’s something else I want to ask - Jair interrupted - you say that there’s only one place that allows realities to connect, but ... why doesn’t Melany use the necklace or the diary to communicate with Sheryl? Why did she have to give her the ring?

-          Because the forces, so to speak, that Melany and Ethan use are totally opposite ...

-          So ... that’d mean that whatever that’s using the diary has some goodness, since it’s using the same thing Ethan uses, right?

-          We cannot be sure of that ...

-          And another thing ... how did that manage to communicate with Sheryl? I mean ... why is everyone looking specifically for her?

-          I know you have a lot of questions, but right now we don't have time to waste, we can't let that continue to communicate with Sheryl. I'll answer you all you want on the weekend, but you must help me get the diary, or at least the bracelet.

-          Okay, what should I do?

Mike explained that he should just distract her, he told him that the next day they’d all go to Lindsey's house.

-          You just have to get her to leave the house without the diary and the bracelet, I'll take care of the rest.

They continued talking for a while, when they were done, Mike called Emma and explained the plan. Emma accepted, everything was ready.

-          But ... yesterday she asked me to put my hand on the diary... Sheryl still wants me to do it, is there a problem if I do it tomorrow?

-          Mmm ... it’s better that you try to avoid it, make an excuse ... only until Sunday. I know that you two are very close, but try not to interfere too much with this diary thing…

The next day, during the break, Jair pretended to have a stomach ache and spent the entire time in the infirmary. On Wednesday, he was playing basketball with his classmates, on Thursday he was hiding from Sheryl. On Friday he had to confront her.

-          That's enough - Sheryl said - what's going on? Why are you avoiding me? We hardly spoke the whole week ... weren't you the one who told me that I had to go back to being like before so that we can spend time together?

-          You're right. It's really been hard for me not to be near you these days, you have no idea how much I've missed your hugs and your company ... I'm really sorry, what happens is ...

Just when he was about to tell her everything, the teacher called them.

-          Jair Walker! Sheryl Smith! Come please, I must give you something.

-          I promise I'll tell you later - Jair said and stroked the necklace.

Ethan understood that he was asking for help; however, Sheryl was confused, it was the first time that Jair touched that necklace with such delicacy. The theacher gave them a summons for their mothers.

-          But what did we do? - they asked worried

-          Don't worry, it's not something bad

They went to their classrooms to save the summons and, as soon as they left, the break bell rang. Jair ran to Sheryl's classroom, gave her a kiss on the forehead and said: "Trust me, everything is for your wellbeing" and quickly returned to his classroom. Sheryl was intrigued, wondering what he meant by that. She entered her classroom, sat in her place, and tried to guess what Jair was referring to…. The teacher started her class early, but she wasn't paying attention. Suddenly, the teacher entered the room.

-          Miss, excuse me. Sheryl has an exit ticket. Get your things ready, they've already come for you - she said hurriedly

Sheryl was surprised, none of her parents had ever taken her out of school before, would something bad have happened? Did it have something to do with Jair's behavior? She packed her things, asked permission to leave, and followed the teacher. When they got to the door, she was even more surprised, it wasn't her mom who was waiting for her.

-          Hi Sheryl, shall we go? - Asked Mike

-          You must sign this, please - said the teacher, handing him a document

-          Good afternoon Mike, did something bad happen? - Sheryl asked intrigued

-          No, no ... your mother asked me to pick you up from school because she’ll stay a while longer at work. I’d have waited a little longer, but I have a meeting in a few minutes - he signed the document and said to the teacher - thank you, good afternoon.

They went to the car and Sheryl said worried:

-          But there is still a long way to go before classes finish...

-          No, there are only 15 minutes left, look - he said showing her the clock

-          But…

Time had passed without her noticing it, she felt that only a few minutes ago the break had ended.

-          Is there something wrong? - Asked Mike

-          No, nothing. It's just… I had to meet Jair at the exit

-          I'm sure he’ll understand

-          sure…

They didn't say anything else the whole way. They got to her house, Mike gave her the key, helped her lower her backpack and left.

Sheryl ran upstairs to her room and hurried to get the diary out, a week had passed since “her dad” was asking Jair to put his hand to get to know him better. "I must know who is with my daughter, I cannot leave you in the hands of just anyone," it said.

-          As soon as I see him I’ll ask him to do it - she said aloud – he’s already been avoiding me for a week, the next time we meet he’ll have no excuse

She stayed for a while "talking" through the diary and then began to do her homework. About half an hour later, Lindsey arrived and apologized for not being able to pick her up from school.

-          Mike told me that you had something to do with Jair, do you want us to invite the Walkers on Sunday?

-          yeah!

-          okay. I’ll invite them for lunch. Now go to finish your homework.

Sheryl finished her chores and locked herself in her bathroom so no one would interrupt her, she left the necklace in her room so that even Ethan couldn't spy on her. She stayed there with the diary until almost 9pm, then went to sleep, leaving the diary under her pillow.

Lindsey was also in bed, she was reflecting on what she’d discussed with Mike in the morning. She knew her daughter missed Paul a lot, but she didn't want to believe that it made her easy prey for other creatures to take advantage of her credulity; furthermore, she didn’t agree with Jair helping to take the diary from her, she still thought that Ethan wasn’t mature enough to be able to overcome the closeness that Sheryl and Jair had. "he’s only a child, we cannot consider him as an adult" she said out loud. She was glad that her daughter was so excited with Jair, she saw them very happy when they were together, despite their young age, she could see the illusion in their eyes every time they looked at each other, every time they played ... you could see that they really enjoyed the time together, they loved each other very much, it was comforting to see them smile; when they hugged, the atmosphere changed completely, you could breathe tranquility and confidence, the affection they had for each other was very noticeable. "Even if I, who can only see them, feel how much they love each other, I can’t imagine how Ethan must feel, given that he can feel exactly the same as Sheryl" she said to herself. She was very grateful to that child who’d helped them from the beginning, she liked him almost like her son, like an angel who was always by her side, that's why she felt sorry for him, she feared that someday he’d get tired of seeing Sheryl so happy with Jair and, if that day came, there’d be no one to protect them from Melany. She didn't know why she wanted to hurt Sheryl, but she knew that she’d been chasing her from the beginning. Now, with the problem of the diary, there were more creatures that could hurt her daughter, this worried her too much. She fell asleep thinking, reflecting, she wanted to think of some other way to protect her daughter without having to continue hurting Ethan ...