The Seer

I have one green eye and one brown eye. The green eye sees truth, but the brown eye sees much, much more. The green eye is easy to read. If someone is telling the truth, their aura will be white. A lie will turn their aura a deep red. An aura can also have a spectrum of shades depending on how deceitful a person is being. For example, an intentional omission would turn their aura a soft pink. A lie told for a good reason would be bright red.

The brown eye, on the other hand, can be complicated. The brown eye sees beyond, into the Other Realm. With both eyes open, my world stays in the forefront. I might see blurs of movement out of the corner of my eye and turn to find nothing there. This is when I know it’s in the Other Realm, not really here.

I could close my green eye and focus on the Other Realm if I wanted to see more clearly. I don’t usually want to. What’s in the Other Realm can’t get here anyway. It’s better not to know what’s lurking on the other side.

“Jess, over here!”

I turn to see my best friend, Lana, waving me over to where she leans against her bright blue convertible.

“If you help me bring my stuff up, I’ll help you with yours,” she tells me.

It’s move-in day at our dorm, and we’re preparing for our first year of college. I hug her tightly and hoist a box from her car in answer. She smiles at me, and we begin chatting comfortably while walking down the hall to our new dorm room.

“I’m so glad we get to be roommates,” she tells me as we sit the boxes in front of our door.

I dig in my purse for the key and turn to Lana before I open the door. “Ready?” I ask.

“Yes, yes, hurry and open it!”

I turn the key and push open the door to reveal our room. It’s plain with off-white walls and beige carpet. Two beds with sterile plastic mattresses sit on opposite sides of the room. Each side of the room also has a wooden desk and dresser, and there is a shared sink with a mirror against one wall.

Lana and I glance at each other and race to jump on our chosen beds; her’s closest to the window and mine near the sink. We lay back and stare at the ceiling, taking a moment to soak it all in.

A knock sounds at the door, and Lana jumps up to let in her boyfriend, Brad.

“You look extra beautiful today, college girl,” he says with a kiss as his aura flares a bright red.

I guess he should have told her she looks beautiful, as always, because that would have been the truth.

“Hey Jess,” he greets me, “It’s great to see you both.”

Magenta this time, a half-truth. I can’t blame him for wanting a moment alone with his girlfriend, though. I let them know that I’m going to go on a quest to find our shared bathroom somewhere down the halls. After that mission is accomplished, I go back towards the cars to bring another box in.

Movement blurs to my left, and I glance over. It must be the Other Realm again because nothing is there. As I near my car, whatever it was streaks across my vision to my right. I ignore it, unlock my car, and grab a box. When I turn back around, the something streaks across my sightline again and again. I’m used to the occasional blur, but it’s not normally this distracting. I wish I could tell whatever it is to move along.

Instead, I keep walking. And the blur continues moving side to side. It’s almost like this something is trying to stay in front of me, but I know that can’t be the case because they can’t see me. The further along I get, the more annoyed I become. When I reach a bench out front of our dorm, I sit the box down. I take a deep breath and close my green eye.

A short furry creature waves his arms at me from behind a veil of mist. He looks like a pointy-eared goblin but covered in brown fur. My eyebrows lift, and I look side to side. He cannot be waving at me. He points right at me and nods. I stare open-mouthed as he waves me forward. How can he see me, and what could he possibly want from me?

I take a couple of small steps forward, so that I’m somewhat hidden in an alcove. He begins making hand motions, pointing at himself and giving me two thumbs-up. I scrunch my eyebrows, my mouth still open. He repeats the motions, then stands up very straight and thrusts a slightly open fist toward the ground, almost like he is stabbing something in the dirt. He stands very still, arm held out in front of him, with a serious express on his face. It reminds me of those guards outside of the British palace. Is he trying to tell me that he is good, some kind of protector?

I nod my head, signaling that I think I understand. Next, he bares his teeth, makes his pointer fingers into horns on his head, and stalks around unnaturally. I nod again; I’ve seen these creatures before. He holds both hands up, palms out, against the misty barrier between my world and the Other Realm. He pulls his hands apart and takes an exaggerated step forward. He can come here? I point to him and motion him forward with a questioning look on my face. He looks at me with sympathetic eyes and shakes his head. He starts acting like the monster again, and I’m confused for a moment.

I know he can tell the second I figure it out. My face pales and my eyes go wide. I gulp and shake my head, but he nods sadly. The monsters can come here, or maybe they already have. I look to him for guidance, this little furry being from another world that I don’t even know. But what other option do I have?

He looks me dead in the eye for a long moment. Then he stabs his finger in my direction and holds up a palm in front of him. I consider him, and I can tell he isn’t joking. He wants me to stop them.

…

Lana and Brad don’t notice how long I’ve been gone. My new friend follows us back-and-forth as we unload the rest of our belongings. Of course, I’m the only one that knows he’s there. I assume he’s going to keep following me around until I respond to his request for me to stop the monsters. For now, I ignore him while I try to process everything I’ve just learned.

Not only can a being from the Other Realm see me, but there might be one already here. I glance around the parking lot every time we go out to the car, searching for signs of something that doesn’t belong. This is crazy. If one of the monsters that I’ve seen was here, I’m pretty sure there’d be some type of commotion.

Once we’ve brought all our stuff in, Brad leaves us to unpack on our own. We leave our door open in case any of our new neighbors want to introduce themselves. As students walk down the hall and stop to chat, I see the familiar flashes and flares of pink and red auras. One guy catches my eye, not because his aura is so deep a red that it’s almost black, but because it pulses this color when he isn’t talking. How can someone lie without saying a word?

Caught by surprise, I rush to the door and stop him the only way I can think of. “Hey there, handsome,” inside I cringe, “which room are you in?”

He turns and looks me up and down. “Now, don’t you look delicious?” The hunger in his eyes makes me go cold. “Room 412.” With that he turns and walks off.

I notice a flurry of motion to my left and close my green eye. My new friend is waving and pointing at the guy that just left. It occurs to me then why his very presence would be a lie. He isn’t human.

…

“What was that? It’s so not like you to flirt like that. Is this the new College Jess?” Lana says as she walks up behind me to check out the guy before he turns the corner.

I consider going along with the idea that I’m going to try being a flirt, but I don’t want to lie to my best friend. “The truth is something was off about that guy. I want to watch out for him.”

Lana doesn’t know my secret, but I’ve never actually lied to her face. The topic of me seeing other-worldly creatures just hasn’t come up in conversation. She does know that I’m very good at telling when someone is lying, and she trusts my instincts most of the time.

“I know you’re usually right about people, but you barely even talked to that guy,” Lana says.

“I just got a weird vibe from him,” I tell her as I plop down on my bed.

“Well, if you say so…”

It’s quiet for a moment as I process what I’ve just seen.

“We better unpack our clothes next. We’re going to need something cute to wear tonight,” says Lana.

“Dancing?!” I practically squeal.

“What else would we be doing on our first night in college?” Lana says with a laugh.

I brighten up and begin unpacking, setting aside my best dancing outfits as I go. Once we’ve finished, Lana helps me curl my hair and we apply our makeup. We make sure to take a few pre-dancing pics, while our look is still fresh.

Feeling beautiful, we strut to the nearest 18-and-up dance club. I don’t know where to look when they check our IDs. If I avoid eye contact is it suspicious? If I make too much eye contact does it look like I’m trying too hard not to be suspicious? Before I can decide, the bouncer hands back our IDs and waves us in.

The inside of the club is almost as dark as it is outside, lit only by a few colored spotlights. The music is loud, and the air is smoky. Lana and I grin at each other and squeeze our way onto the dance floor. We’re so excited that we don’t need liquid courage. 

I always feel bolder when I’m with my best friend. We dance together, laughing and cheering each other on. We pay no mind to the other patrons of the bar, until I notice a white light moving through the crowd. It stands out because few people are talking, and when they do their auras are mostly red and darker pinks.

I cast my eyes over the guy the white light is attached to, as he stands against the wall. Similar to the creepy guy I saw earlier, his aura pulses even when he isn’t speaking. I tell Lana that I’m getting hot, and we should move to the edge of the dance floor. I position myself so I can observe this guy while I dance. I must be too obvious with my staring, because after a few minutes he approaches us.

“Ladies, would it be alright if I danced with you?” he asks.

I glance to Lana and she nods. “Sure,” we say at the same time.

He stands between the two of us and we form a tight circle as we dance. He is being so polite that I shoot Lana a half-smirk. Most of the guys in this club are dancing much closer to the girls they are with. I appreciate that he included both of us and isn’t invading our space. Soon, we fall into a rhythm and start to chat. We have to lean in to hear each other over the music. I say something that amuses him, and he lets out a loud laugh. With it, his white light flares.

I step back and gasp at the sudden brightness. His eyes go wide for a split-second.

“You saw…” he starts to say, then stops himself. His eyes rove my face for a moment, and I just give him a questioning look.

Something he saw in my face softens his, and he asks if I would like to get some air. Lana bites her lip to keep from beaming at me and gives me a not-so-subtle look. When I ask if she will be ok for a bit, she waves me off. When we exit the club, the air is cooler than the crowded bar.

“Did you…see something in there?” he asks me as he shoves his hands in his pockets.

It’s my turn to scan his face, and in the end the prospect of having someone to talk to about my abilities wins out. “I saw…a light,” is all I say. I wait to judge his reaction.

He just nods. “Most people… well, no one I know, can see it.”

“No one I know either,” I tell him.

We stand in silence and contemplate what we’ve just confessed, and what it means. 

“I’m Jess.” I hold out my hand.

“Liam.” He grasps my hand and a warmth spreads through me.

Then he smiles. I smile too, because we’ve both realized we’re not alone.

…

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