Chapter 7: Explanations and Surprises
Back at the Den
When she arrived at the den, Kay was feeling a bit calmer. She had so many questions for her father and Uncle Henry. It was really hard to believe that her father was alive. He seemed to be so loving and caring, but she could not understand his decisions concerning her care. She wanted to know why he had left her with Norman and Helen. Didn't he know how they would treat her?
Kay wondered while growing up, why Helen never really showed her much affection. She thought mothers were the ones who gave you all the affection at least that is the way that it was in the books that she read, but not Helen. It seemed like the older they got the more she despised them. Norman was mean also, but it would have been bearable if Helen showed them some love.
She thought about the powers that she had. Norman must have been a tiger too because he had some of the strange powers that she had. It was going to be interesting to see what else she could do.
Charlie came in the library. "Do you want a coffee Kay?" he asked.
"Yes, please Charlie," replied Kay.
Bradley came in with everyone else, so Charlie asked, "Would anyone else like a drink since I'm just about to get one for Kay." They did so he went to get drinks for everyone.
Bradley sat on the sofa beside Kay and she leant on him. He put his arm around her to comfort her and let her know that he was there for her. Everyone else sat around by the big table with the wolf carving on it. It was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. They all knew that Kay had so many questions, and they were just waiting until she was ready to begin asking them.
Kay stared into the fire not, really thinking about anything in particular. After a few moments, Charlie returned with a large tray of tea and coffee that he placed on the conference table. He served Kay and Bradley their coffee and as he left the room told everyone else, "Help yourselves."
Once everyone finished their drinks, Kay couldn't take the silence, so she confronted her Father saying, "Why did you leave me with Norman & Helen?"
"They were Paul's parents, and Norman was my older brother," said John.
"I don't think they really wanted me. They never showed much love to me. Actually, I don't think they wanted Paul either because they treated him as badly as they treated me," Kay said.
"It was the best solution that I could come up with at the time. I had to hide you, and I wanted a family member to take care of you," John said.
Paul said, "It was fine when we were small as they treated us ok. When we got older though, they didn't want the responsibility anymore. We spent much of our childhood making up games to entertain ourselves. By accident, we discovered that we could communicate with each other using telepathy."
John asked, "When did that start? How old were you?"
"Well, Kay was 3 and I was 5 when we discovered we could communicate with each other. Kay had been crying a lot that day when she just turned 3. It was driving mom mental, so she put her in the cupboard under the stairs in the dark to teach her a lesson. Kay was sobbing. I thought, this is so sad, and Kay heard me.
"She thought back, is that you Paul?
"I was surprised but replied, yes, it is me.
"The entire time that Kay was in the cupboard, we talked to each other that way. It kept Kay calm.
"Mom noticed that Kay had stopped crying and let her out thinking that she had learned her lesson. Mom and Dad never knew we could talk to each other like that. It used to be our secret."
"I bound your powers when you were 2, so you could lead a normal childhood without coming to harm. I never knew Norman and Helen didn't really want you. I'm sorry Kay," said John. "You should know I only left you because I was afraid that Lazlo would find you and take you. You are a very powerful woman even though you may not feel it just yet."
"Who is Lazlo?" Kay asked.
"I will tell you later. For now, let me try and explain some other things to you. Ok?" John said.
"I know a few things, Father. Things that have been happening to me and they are making me very scared. Can tell you?" Kay stated.
"Like what?" John asked.
"I heal a lot faster than normal, especially in the dark, just as Paul can. I can run about 25 miles an hour, when I try. I can teleport from one place to another. I found that out one morning when I was almost late for work. I just thought about being late for work and I started getting upset. The more I thought about being late, the more upset I got and the next thing I knew I was at work. I can, also, move objects with my mind.
"These things are pretty cool, but it's these other things that are happening that are scaring me. I can completely vanish or fade in and out without having any control over when it happens. The last few weeks my skin is on fire most of the time and it's the scariest thing I have had to cope with.
"So, are you going to tell me exactly what is happening to me and why I have this feeling of burning up most of the time?" Kay asked.
John stood up and slowly made his way towards Kay. He was standing right in front of her. She was all grown up. He had missed her so much. He loved her with all his heart and didn't want her to feel this hurt anymore. They looked at each other, just staring for a bit.
Kay was standing front of her father, and she felt this immense feeling of belonging, something she never felt while growing up. If it hadn't been for Paul she would have ran away from home when she was little. Many times she had come near doing just that, but Paul would know when she was upset, come find her and make it better.
All of a sudden she put her head on her father's chest. He pulled her into his arms holding her close to his heart. Now, tears streamed down Kay's face. She held her dad, and he in turn held her while she cried. He rubbed her back and said, "I'm so sorry, baby. I love you so much and I promise that I will never disappear on you again. I really thought that I was doing what was best for you. I thought that with my brother, you would have a family and a normal childhood. It never occurred to me that you would be mistreated.
She could feel herself beginning to shake, and then it happened again. Her skin just started burning, and she couldn't seem to stop it.
John released Kay because she really was burning up. He looked at her and discovered that her skin was bright red. John asked, "Henry come feel Kay's skin. Is this normal? I have never seen this before." Henry put his hand on Kay's arm. He soon moved it, and found he had a burn on his hand.
Kay was getting really frightened. Bradley could feel the tension coming from her and building in the room. No one knew what to do. Kay thought, Oh, the pain. This is getting to be unbearable. I can't take much more. Suddenly she turned toward Brad and disappeared right in front of everyone.
While Kay's skin was hurting, she knew that she needed to cool down in a hurry. This was the hottest she had ever been before. Suddenly she thought about the stream and the waterfall where she was earlier. She remembered how cool the water was and all of a sudden she was there.
