The Realms [Watty 2017 Shortlist]

The Realms - Part 1

The first time it happened, I thought it was a fluke. It didn't seem possible that, after being in this realm for almost a year, my powers would just come back.

I was running in a cross country meet, in the final kilometer of the race, and the fastest girl in the county was ahead of me. Sweat was pouring off me in little rivers down my back and I was lengthening my strides, willing myself to go faster, to find something in me that I no longer had. My feet pounded the dusty path but instead of focusing on her, I let my mind drift to why I was here in the first place. 

I felt a surge of that old anger, the one I tried so hard to tamp down. It flowed through me and down into my legs, accelerating my pace beyond anything reasonable in this realm. My body was in overdrive, a feeling I knew well, but one I hadn't felt in a long time. It was exhilarating as I passed her in the final few meters to take the win. At the finish line, my coach was overjoyed, but I was bewildered. I shouldn't have been able to beat her; she'd been too far ahead. The feeling that coursed through my body was both familiar and foreign.

I'm bewildered now, too, as I stand tracing my fingers across the family photos framed in the hall. I don't have any memories of the events in the photos and how the photos were created always fascinates me. None of these things actually happened: no trip to Disney, no family reunion, no barbeque out back. So where did the photos come from? Who made them?

When I trace over this realm's mother and father, the faces of my real parents are left in their place, like a film laid over top. There is a flutter of panic in my chest, and I use my thumb to try to brush away the faces, trying to smudge the image. But, it's no use.

I'm still standing there, staring at the altered faces when my mother comes up behind me, smoothing my long, dark blond hair from behind and peering over my shoulder. What does she see? I turn to look at her, taking in her dark features so different from my own, but there is no curiosity or concern there. She can't see the new faces in place of hers and my Second Realm Father.

I turn my back completely on the photos and follow her into the kitchen. My mind is spinning like an out of control top, careening all over the floor. What do the altered photos mean? How is it possible after that, after all this time, there are cracks in the realms?

As we sit at the table, I spoon potatoes into my mouth and listen to my parents talk around me about things in this realm that don't interest me. God, the food here is bland compared to my birth realm. I don't understand how people get fat.

I try to keep focused on other things as they re-tell a supposed tale from my childhood. I laugh in pretend remembrance. I'm used to this, now. I don't know where their memories come from, but I've stopped trying to fight the manipulation. The memories seem to make them happy.

After my banishment, the ruler of the realms warned me that pushing back at their memories would do more harm than good. I look up from my plate, and my mother gives me a soft smile. My heart is in my throat when I meet her gaze. I don't want to harm them.

"How was cross country this week, Hannah?"

They know about my big win, but not how I won, of course. It doesn't make sense to me, so it would be impossible for them. "It's been good. I'm starting to get to know a few of the girls on the team." She looks so pleased that I have to say more. "Not friends, just...friendly." They believe we moved here almost a year ago and that I'm having trouble making friends.

"Well, that's good. I'm glad. Your dad and I were worried about you. You've gotten so thin and you run so much. It would be nice if you had friends other than Maizie."

I eat more potatoes to avoid talking about my one and only friend who my mother finds sweet but weird. She doesn't know that Maizie is like me and like them.