I hated taking the second shower. I didn’t mind sharing the bathroom with my rather messy sister, but I strongly disliked when I had to wait for the bathroom to air out and look at someone else’s water droplets that they left when they had to shower.
Usually I would suck it up and rant loudly to myself, but since my shower would be followed by our family meeting that I didn’t want to have, I was already displeased.
I quickly got in, did my business, and got out, drying off in two minutes flat. My bushy yet low-trimmed hair retained a lot of water afterwards, but it usually dried before bed. I threw on some pajamas and exited the bathroom, going immediately into my parent’s room.
“Did you finish all of your homework?” my mom asked. I nodded, rolling my eyes. I always did my homework, so I don’t know why they felt the necessity to ask.
“Good, because we might be here for a while,” my father said as he leaned against his dresser with his arms crossed. Tobianna quietly made her way into the room as well, climbing onto the bed and laying in the middle of it with her arms out wide. I took a seat on the edge and rolled my neck.
“Well, here we are,” my father started. “We come together as a family, as one. I know we’ve all had hard days separately, but we have to be able to persevere through them. Tobianna, the demeanor you showed at school today was absolutely unacceptable. We cannot have that attitude in this family, young lady. It doesn’t matter what your opinion of school is, you are going there to learn as a student,” he gestured in my direction. Behind me, my mother coughed.
“Your brother made through easily, and he’s still trucking along. He gets good grades, is nice to all of his friends, and doesn’t cause any trouble,” the father took a breath. However, the girl cut him short.
“Yeah, yeah, I need to be more like my brother, okay? I just don’t like school, Dad. I really don’t,” Tobianna huffed, turning on her side.
“Well, like I said, you just have persevere. If you need help, we can get help for you. School isn’t for everyone, I understand that. But at this point in your educational career, you can’t make that decision of dropping out. We wouldn’t let you do that anyway. Do I make myself clear?” All Tobianna could do was nod and cover her eyes with her arm.
“Going forward, Tobianna, if I hear any more bad reports from school, there’s going to be numerous consequences.”
“Okay,” she muttered.
“Good. I’m glad you understand,” my father let out a long sigh.
“However, that’s not the real reason why I wanted to talk to you two tonight.” This caught a quick eyebrow raise from myself. I focused my attention on my father, who was looking a bit nervous to tell us something.
“This might be a little surprising to you, and you probably won’t comprehend it at first. But, look. We are a special group of people in this world—not like any other. This is a family of Soulfuls. Vincent, Tobianna, my son and daughter—both of you possess a wealth of powers that your mother and I have to teach you how to control—”
“Wait, we’re a family of sofas?” Tobianna interrupted, obviously not listening fully.
“No, Tobianna. Soulfuls. Let me finish now,” he spoke. “It will take some time for you to really understand, but hear me out. This bloodline, as a family, originates from the Oversoul, who poured all of their energy to create two Soulfuls that live on this planet. They were modeled after the original human being, of course, but they utilized the powers of the Oversoul to do good. Over time, they populated, and here we are today.”
“Where did the Oversoul come from, then?” I asked, the information still sinking in.
“The land of Echelon. I’ve never been there before, but your grandfather has said that it’s a beautiful place. Lots of flowers everywhere,” my father said, chuckling to himself.
“Show me,” I asked. My father blinked at me, then nodded. He closed his eyes and held up his hand out in front of him. His hands started to emanate a blue aura, which slowly took form around his hand. Suddenly, a small block appeared in his palm. Tobianna sat up, completely mesmerized by this act.
“Woah! That’s so cool!” the girl exclaimed, staring at the object. My father tossed the object to Tobianna. However, as she reached out for it, the block dissipated into a blue mist.
“Oh,” she muttered. “Well, when will I get to learn how to do that?”
“All in due time. It may not come at all. It’s all based on genetics. However,” my father placed a hand on my shoulder. “I think someone has already experienced their capabilities previously.”
I thought about that statement for a few moments before my eyes widened.
The dream I had a couple of days ago… that life-like dream… don’t tell me that that actually… happened?
“Here’s the most important part about it all. You may not tell anyone about your abilities. Do not let people see them. If we’ve been able to keep this a secret for so long, then you can too. I trust both of you to not reveal this generation of Soulfuls. Do both of you understand?” I slowly nodded my head, with Maureen nodding quite rapidly.
“Good! We’ll start with your training hopefully on Sunday. Meeting adjourned, get to bed you two.”
My father shoved us out of their room and swiftly shut the door behind us. Tobianna looked up towards me as we both headed to the kitchen.
“Are you excited?” the girl asked as she got a glass a water.
“Y-Yeah, sure, I suppose,” I stammered, checking the locks of the door. It was one of many daily nighttime duties. Knowing this new information, I could see why it was more crucial than ever.
“Are you nervous or something? This is going to be so much fun! I’ll see you in the morning!” Tobianna proclaimed, zipping off to her room. I chuckled to myself as she did so, turning off all of the living room lights. I headed off to my room and climbed into my bed. I laid there, handing atop my chest. I thought about that dream, then thought about how Maureen was.
I hope… I just hope… she didn’t do that for real… Was it real?
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