Ciara had jogged to catch the bus to the other end of town. If she missed it, she would be twenty minutes late. Now that she sat on the bus, panting a little, she could be sure she’d be early by half an hour.

She hated public transportation, but she had no other choice. She wasn’t going to drive again. Hell, she wasn’t going to sit in a car again, even as a passenger, if she could help it.

The seats were uncomfortable, and she idly wondered how to best position herself for the long bus ride. It took her a while to settle down, and just as she did, they arrived at the next stop. A group of kids got on with a couple of adults. The children chatted away noisily as they sat down, herded together by the teachers. The bright yellow, high visibility jackets the kids wore and their loud voices made Ciara feel dizzy. She closed her eyes and sighed. She didn’t have anything in particular against children, but all the noise was giving her a headache today. She wished they’d quiet down, but the teachers either didn’t care or didn’t notice how disruptive the group was.

“Let it go!” A boy argued with another as they both refused to relinquish a toy to the other. Their shouting quickly grew louder.

“Quiet…” Ciara murmured as she dug around her pockets to find her earphones. “I need some quiet.”

Suddenly, it was as if someone put a mute button on the world. She looked up and saw that everyone on the bus stopped talking. Ciara blinked in surprise to take in the vacant stares of everyone as they kept silent. An eerie pressure weighed down on the passengers.

A gasp escaped Ciara as she realized she had accidentally caused this strange phenomenon. But it was too late for her to do anything about it; she didn’t remember how to undo it. I swore never to use this power again, yet here I am, restricting people’s free will.

Until the effect wore off naturally, these people would remain quiet, just as she had wished. Since there was nothing she could do, she plugged in her earphones and started her playlist. As she listened to The Swan Lake theme song, undisturbed, she hoped today wouldn’t keep another strange thing in store for her. She had had enough surprises for one day.

***

This part of town was full of mansions, and Ciara wandered around until she spotted the home of her new student. The building was made of orange-hued bricks and had an early nineteenth-century feel to it. Ivy ran up one side, and wrought-iron fences embraced the estate. It looked a little bit run-down, and Ciara silently wondered why the owner wouldn’t maintain their mansion if they could afford to pay her such a high hourly rate.

She shrugged and checked the time again. She still had twenty or so minutes until the lesson began. Looking around, she spotted a park nearby and decided it would be a pleasant place to wait. Finding a bench, she sat down to check new emails.

Great. She received an e-mail from her medical insurance company. The next installment of paying for her latest operation was due in a few days.

As soon as I get home, Ciara thought, I need to check what’s in the envelope. She sighed, checking her credit balance.

She winced at the information on the screen. Rude or not, she really needed this new client’s money to pay off her debt. Until then, she couldn’t even entertain the idea of the new method she’d read about that could help heal her hands. Thin, white lines could still be seen on her once-smooth palms and on the back of her hands.

Her fingers trembled.

Next, she checked her debit card balance and was pleasantly surprised when she realized her aunt had once again transferred Karen’s rent. Ciara didn’t know whether to be annoyed or grateful. She had clearly told Kelly there was no need for Karen to pay rent, but her aunt ignored her request and sent the money anyway.

Ciara quickly transferred the full amount to a savings account. She had set it up after the first two instances of Aunt Kelly transferring the money and refusing to take it back. Ciara was adamant about not accepting rent from family, so this was the only solution she could came up with. She was sure Karen would find it useful later whenever she eventually told her.

Her phone rang, and Ciara’s eyes widened. She was one minute late, and her new student was already calling her! She quickly grabbed her bag and answered the call as she started speed-walking in the direction of the mansion.

“Hello?”

“Where are you?”

“I’m just outside. Give me a couple of minutes.”

“We agreed on eleven. It’s past eleven.”

“I know, I’m sorry.” Ciara ground her teeth, swallowing her retort. “See you in a moment.”

She ended the call, already frustrated with him. It was only one frickin’ minute! She huffed and marched to the orange-hued mansion. She was about to ring the bell, but the gate opened automatically as she approached.

“Hn.” She was not going to be impressed by that.

Ciara walked along the short path to the door and took the few stairs until she arrived at the entrance. Once again, when she was just about to knock, the door opened a crack.

“Hello?” she called as she opened the door. Silence answered. “Hello, can I come in?”

No reply. She shrugged, deciding to enter. After all, he sounded impatient on the phone. As she made her way inside, she was surprised not to hear any signs of life.

“Anyone—” Ciara’s sentence ended in a shriek as the door loudly shut behind her. She jumped and whirled around, her heart hammering in her chest. Only now did she realize how stale the air smelled. Her suspicion increased when she looked around and saw white sheets covering every piece of furniture.

She pushed the sunglasses to the top of her head as she stopped in the middle of the foyer and redialed the last caller. A moment later, she heard the ringtone coming from upstairs. A long, winding staircase led up to the second floor. She waited a little before making her way upstairs. Nobody answered the phone, but it kept on ringing. Maybe something happened to her new student?

What if he collapsed? What if he had a heart attack? She took two stairs at a time and sprinted toward the sound of the ringtone. Every second counted in a situation like this.

Finally, she arrived in the room with the cell phone. She ended the call and looked around. There was a big mirror with an ornate frame; it looked oriental. The silver surface was blackened in some spots, betraying its age. Her gaze stopped at the grand piano occupying most of the room. Mesmerized, Ciara made her way to it, stroking the keys lightly as if in a trance.

Wait, where is he? Ciara thought, glancing up, but she couldn’t see anybody. She was alone.

“Hello?” she called out again. She couldn’t hear any movement in the mansion. What if he really did collapse? She headed for the door when she caught sight of a cell phone lying in front of the mirror. She decided to get it, just in case.

“Where’s your owner?” Accusation was clear in her voice as she squatted down to reach for the phone.

“No need to worry about me.”

Ciara spun back and saw a black figure. His face was visible only for a moment before she was pushed forward. Her sunglasses flew off, and she screamed as she realized she was going to hit the mirror.