Brain Storm

"*We do? Heh! Once again, speak for yourself, darling. I'm ready to go home anytime you are.*"

Hannah's blood froze. She instinctively grabbed her own chin to keep her jaw from hitting the floor.

"Oh, babe, that's nice," Delea smiled. "*I wish I could say the same. About your friend, that is. I love having you around; you're my daughter. Of course, your head felt like a bowling ball in that delivery room, and you destroyed my vagina, but I still love you.*"

She could not believe this. Well, she thought she'd let that last one pass, but...oh my God. She did not want to be right about this. She should've anticipated it in the car. She'd made the turn off en route to her house, and Mara's demeanor changed. The entire trip, weekend and ride home up till now, she'd been absolutely delightful. Her thoughts had been nothing but happy, lovely and upbeat. Five minutes in the presence of her mother, the mind of her very same girlfriend, Mara Kim Bronson, was spewing utter venom.

...It's true, Hannah finished her own thought in abhorrent shock. My mother and my girlfriend...cannot stand each other.

It seemed inconceivable. They'd spent plenty of time together before, and she'd never caught so much as a hint of this mutual disdain. Perhaps it had built up from virtual nothingness over the years, or perhaps they were both excellent at keeping it inside. Whatever the case, Hannah could see something awful had happened. Maybe one or two small things had come of it, but overall, this wish had been a terrible idea. Veritably nothing but trouble from the beginning. Curse you, shooting star, Hannah thought, even though she knew it wasn't the shooting star's fault. She was engaging in utter sadomasochism by this point, but she had to try one last time.

"...Y—...yeah, I mean...isn't this nice? Just...just the three of us, all hanging out together, like this? I mean, I...I may not be able to speak for you guys, but there's practically nowhere I'd rather be than with my two best girls right here!"

Geez, that sounded phony. Hannah couldn't even convince herself of this one. Mara and Delea kept watching the screen, though their expressions altered a bit.

"*Han, 're you on something?*" thought Mara.

"*Sweetheart, if you want something from me, there are easier ways to go about it than this,*" Delea chimed in.

Hannah couldn't take it anymore. She felt her stomach lurch, about to literally vomit. She stood.

"And yet...w-we should save some of the fun for next time, of course. I, uh, guess we'd better be getting home, Mom. Mar?...Shall we?"

Mara had already stood up with her before she was finished. They exchanged quick goodbyes, headed out and got back in the car.

It was twenty to thirty minutes back home from Delea's depending on traffic, which this evening was light. The girls spoke very few words the rest of the way. Of course, Hannah picked up each thought out of Mara's mind, hardly one of which was so cheerful anymore.

Hannah sniffed back some pushy tears. "...Mar?" she finally said.

"Yeah?"

"...Do you like my mother?"

"*You kidding me?* Yeah, honey, of course I do."

"Mara..."

"...What?"

"...No, I'm not kidding. Please don't lie to me."

It was Mara's blood's turn to run cold.

"Huh?"

"Mara...I have a confession to make. Do you remember that nightmare I had last night?"

"*...Yeah?* ...Yeah?"

"Well, then you might remember I got up and went to the bathroom, and I didn't come back to bed right away. I went out on the balcony for a little while. And while I was out there...I saw a shooting star."

"Oh...okay..."

"And there was really only one thing I wanted, so I wished for it. I...wished I could read your mind."

A sudden chilly silence settled.

"...What?"

"Yeah...well, I just meant yours, but the way it came out, it actually made me able to read everybody's. And, uh..."

Her girlfriend's tone sharpened.

"...Why?"

"Um...well, because you never tell me what's on it. I mean, I just want us to be close, and share our feelings, an—"

"W-wait-wait a minute here. Are...Hannah, are you kidding me right now?? I...I don't happen to express my thoughts a lot, so...so, what, you thought you'd go behind my back and wish for me to? You-you don't get what you want, so you have to invade my privacy now? Is that what you think of me?? Of our relationship?!"

Uh-oh. She didn't need clairvoyance for this one. Mara was audibly very angry at her.

"Well...Mar, honey, I-I didn't really expect you to react like this. I mean, I...I was in a troubled mood, and all those times I'd ask what you were thinking, just 'cause I wish you'd share it with me. But it wasn't until today when it came true and I...I realize now that when you said, 'Nuttin', honey'...you meant it. I mea—not-not that I mean there's literally nothing in your mind, I just..."

Mara shook her head. "I can't believe this. I can't believe you."

"Okay, Mara, sweetie, you're not in your right mind right now. A'right, I'm really really sorry I took you to visit my Mom. I never would've done that if I knew you hated her."

"Well, shouldn't you have known I hated her, you being a goddamned mind-reader now?!"

"Mara..."

"Don't talk to me," Mara snapped, glaring out the window away from her. "Just don't even speak to me right now. Just drive home."

Hannah almost instantly started to cry. This was really not the reaction she needed.

"Mara, I'm sorry! It-it wasn't until after it came true that I realized what a mistake it was! Honest to God, you have no idea how much I regret this right now. I can't turn it off! Believe me, if I could, I would've hours ago! It...Mara, please! This was possibly the biggest mistake I've ever made. And I've made a lot of mistakes in my life! I mean, my..." She sobbed helplessly. "...God, sometimes I feel like my whole stupid life is its own mistake."

Mara shook her head again, too hurt and mad to sympathize right now.

"Don't try to make me feel bad for you with your self-deprecating manipulation, Hannah."

Hannah's heart abruptly broke, bursting with scorched, boiling blood.

"Manip—...manipulation?!" This remark cut and burned Hannah deeper than either of them realized. "Just one goddamn minute here, Mara Bronson! I know you're hurt and mad. But now you just hurt me and made me mad. You honestly think I'd deliberately try to control or manipulate you to get what I want?!"

"*Well, that's more like it.*" Mara took spiteful satisfaction in wounding her back. "*Now you know how it feels to be hurt like this.*"

"Well, gee, Hannah, I don't really know, do I? You made the wish, right?? What am I supposed to think after that? If you're already capable of this kind of deception, how do I know anything about you's real?"

"O—...oh, my, God! How dare you say that to me?! Seriously, how do you dare?!"

Mara snorted. "Said the pot to the kettle."

"Mara, you take that right the hell back, right the hell now!"

"Make me."

"If we weren't in this car right now I would make you!"

"Then pull over and let's go! C'mon, right now!"

Hannah didn't pull over. She didn't have this kind of strength in her. She could handle one variety of fighting, but not another. She just stepped on the gas and sped home, trying to ignore Mara's scathing thoughts in her ear the rest of the way. Mara'd begun purposely thinking hurtful things at her, now aware that Hannah could in fact read them. And if what she'd said was true and she couldn't turn off her power, then Mara could aggravate and torture her with horrible thoughts all she wanted. Hannah was quickly losing the will to argue as well. This was good for Mara's scorned ire. She genuinely wanted to hurt Hannah now, to make her feel excruciating emotional pain in the name of justice. She wasn't sure when it would be enough, but for now, this was perfect to obtain her vengeful devil jollies.

Finally, Hannah got them to the apartment and parked. She took the keys out of the ignition, and Mara snatched them from her with one hand, rapidly opening her door with the other.

"Enjoy your car, sweetie," Mara growled, exiting with an aggressive slam! Hannah didn't fully realize what she meant by this until she remembered: the key to the apartment was on the same ring with the key to her car. And...Hannah gasped. The other one was in Mara's purse. She had both apartment keys.

Oh God.

If Mara didn't have a head start on her, and if she'd had the energy, she'd run after her to avoid being locked out. But she'd no stamina left. And could frankly use a little alone time right now. She sat in the driver's seat, dropped her head in her hands, and bawled. One terrible wish, one confession thereof, and her relationship was falling apart. She didn't know what she'd do if Mara wasn't in her life anymore. Worse yet, she didn't know what to do to amend things. She'd tried apologies, remorse, explanation...but nothing could penetrate Mara's fury now. She'd gone too far—not by laying it all out for her, but by making the wish in the first place. She now wished she never tried to find out what was on Mara's mind at all. Mind reading, she now saw, was not a power. It wasn't a nicety, a privilege or a blessing. Just the opposite. It was a curse. And now it had possibly cost her what she'd treasured above all else.

She didn't want to sleep in her car. One obvious option was to go back to her Mom's, if she could work up the energy for the twenty-minute drive again. Even if Delea'd been hoping she wouldn't want to sleep over...maybe she just meant Mara. She was so upset and anguished by the way she'd hurt Mara and vice versa. But her own mother would never treat her this way, locking her out of her own home. Maybe she should go back to her Mom's...

Oh, wait. That was right, she couldn't do this either. Mara had the keys!!

The old expression was right. Hell really didn't have any fury like a girl scorned. Then again, Hannah was a girl scorned too. Did that mean she should also...oh, who the hell cared. She had to find a way to make this right. She'd made such a mess of things, now she had to somehow fix it and clean it up. She dug out her phone and checked the time. It was almost 8:30. The phone had a single bar left. All right, well, one thing she could do was charge it. She plugged it in, opened the car door, made extra sure not to lock it, and got out.

She wandered the sidewalk up and down the complex, trying to get her eyes to dry and her mind to focus. It was pretty nice out, still mid-70s, not too humid. All she could hear now were crickets. The logical first thing she thought to do was look for another shooting star. But the chances of that first one coming along were already slim. There weren't a whole lot of other options. She traversed in one direction until she could no longer look back and see their apartment. For all she knew, Mara right now was destroying her things. Something she'd never do under normal circumstances, but...maybe she didn't know the girl as well as she'd thought.

Some yards later, Hannah indiscriminately chose a patch of grass upon which to kneel, look up, and fold her hands under her chin.

"*I'm sorry I haven't talked to You in a long time. There's...well, been a lot going on, Y'know. But You know everything, so...You know why I'm asking for Your help. And...Your hotline's open 24-7, I appreciate that. And I know how merciful You are. I also know how much You've got on Your plate, but...well, that's why You're You. So...You know me, Hannah Amelia Finnegan. And You know that...well, I really screwed up big this time. I've had to learn a lot of lessons the hard way, but...oh, I really could've done without this one. Hell, I...oops. Uh...excuse my language. Anyway, the point is...overall, I'm a good person. I'm sorry for the bad things I've done, but...well, You know this, we're not perfect. I should know too; I'm...not exactly Your best work. But I still try.*"

The first single tear in several moments slipped from her eye.

"*Anyway...I'm aware I don't regularly stop by for a chat, like a lot of people do. But I didn't know where else to go. I need some kind of assistance. I don't know if You sent me that first shooting star, knowing I'd wish on it like I did. But if that's my lesson, and I had to learn it, okay. Got it. So...if You can't send me another one...maybe You could take my curse away Yourself? And bestow a real blessing on me instead? I understand You're pretty good at that kind of thing. Please believe me, I'm so sorry I took my girlfriend for granted. I didn't appreciate her like I should've, and it was so wrong of me to invade her mind. And...everyone else's too. I, eh...I almost thought it was kind of cool at first...but it wasn't. I don't want this power; I just want to be like everybody else again. Can You hear me?...*"

She opened her mouth, as subsequent tears followed, and vocally continued her prayer. A breeze picked up around her.

"...Can You hear me? I don't wanna be able to read anyone's mind anymore. I...I just want things back the way they were. It's okay if Mara and my mother don't like each other. I just want them to love me again! I just want resolution! Please, I need Your help!..."

The breeze turned into a strong wind. Trees shook and whipped around her. Clouds above her swirled in dark blue. She shut her eyes.

"...This is all I'm asking for! I don't need any superhuman ability from now on; I just want my life back! I'll be good now, I'll do better! Can You hear me??...I'm sorry I didn't appreciate it before! I will now! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!!"

The furious wind now whirled into a giant vortex surrounding Hannah, intensifying around her until she physically left the ground. The force of the whirlwind exceeded that of the gravitational pull, carrying her higher and higher, dizzying her in its mighty spin.

She could no longer speak, move or even breathe.

She could neither feel nor think, and had no cognizance of the abrupt hurricanic vortex with her in its grasp.

Faster and faster, more and more violently, the vortex spun, dangling her in centripetal space...

...Until finally...

...Her dazed eyes opened.

*****

Way Within

Sunday, August 28th, 2016, 11:43 a.m.

The distinctive ceiling tiles stared back down at her. To her left, she heard the shower running. Salty bay air and sunshine filtered in through the balcony window. She pushed up, waited for her vision to adjust, and looked around.

Weird.

"...Mar?"

She must've been in the shower. Hannah found and retrieved her laptop, and booted it up. 11:43 AM 8/28/2016 the readout informed her. She put a hand to her chest. Sunday morning. She and Mara were still on vacation. She gave herself a pinch. Whew.

WOW...a nightmare...within a nightmare. Unreal! God, am I ever glad that's over.

Still in her jammies, she got up and tried the bathroom door. It was unlocked. Hannah smiled. Today's smile was among the easiest she'd ever achieved. She entered, and slowly pulled the curtain aside.

"Oh!" a startled Mara reacted, reflexively covering herself before noticing it was only Hannah. "Sweetie! Ya scared me!" she giggled.

It was all she heard. Mara's beautiful natural voice, in perfect sync with her lips...and nothing more.

Tears of joy leapt to Hannah's eyes. She stepped right into the shower with Mara, fully dressed in her pajamas, disregarding her soaped-up state, and hugged her as if she never wanted to let go.

"Wh—honey, what in the..."

Hannah planted kiss after kiss on her, indifferent still to the foamy soap or spray. "I love you so much," she called just loud enough.

"S—...Hannah, sweetie, I'm washing my hair!" Mara chuckled. "And you're still in your p.j.s! What're y—...what is going on?"

Hannah sniffled. "I am just so happy to be here with you right now," she shouted. "I love you, Mara. Just please remember that. Nothing's wrong, I'm not in trouble or anything, I just need you to do that for me. Don't ever forget how much I adore you."

Mara's heart warmed. Whatever was going on here, she supposed it was...charming...if perhaps a little bizarre.

"Well, I...I love you too, Hannah...but, um...can I finish my shower?"

Hannah laughed. "Of course. I'll tell you all about it when you get out."

She left Mara to wash, chortling at herself. She must've just gotten back from her run on the shore. She picked up her phone.

Yup, first voicemail from her mother, right there waiting for her. Oh, Mom...I love you too. She was just about to call her back when something else flashed in her mind. She returned to the laptop, did a bit of digging, and dialed a different number.

"...Um, yeah, hi, is...is this Amber Boswell?...Oh, it used to b—...you're married now?...Uh, well, you might know me. If I may ask, did you go to Juniper High School from '98 to '02?...Oh, okay, good. Well, I dunno if you remember me, but my name's Hannah Finnegan. There's no need to say anything, I just wanna tell you this. You...kinda...did some things to me back then that made me think of you as my personal archenemy, bully and tormentor. And, I mean, y'know, we were kids, we were in high school. And I dunno how much's changed, or what your motivation was at the time. But, Amber...I just want you to know I forgive you. And I'm not holding any grudges. I wasn't a bully, but I didn't behave so perfectly in high school either. Y'know, we still might not be each other's favorite people in the world, and that's okay. I just kinda felt the need to explain that.

"...Uh-huh?...Oh, you...oh, you do remember. Well, that's good; at least I don't sound crazy...y—...really?...Well, gosh, Amber, I...I appreciate that...w-yeah, well, y'know, like I said, it's okay...of course, apology accepted. Bygones're bygones. All right, well...yeah, yeah, it was good talking to you too. Um...have a good day. I'll talk to ya later...sure! Sure. See ya. Bye."

Gee, that felt better than I thought it would. She called her Mom next.

"Well, hi there, snickerdoodle!"

"Hey, Mama bear!"

"Soooooo, how's it gooooiiing? How're you enjoying your triiiiiip?"

"Oh, best vacation ever, Mom. I'm so happy right now, I can't even tell ya."

"Aw, that's fantastic, babe! How's Maaaarrra?"

"Heh! She's fine too, Mom. Just in th—oh! I actually just heard the water shut off. She just finished her shower."

"Well, tell her lotsa love for me!"

"O—hang on just a sec, Ma, I'll put you on speaker, you can tell her." Hannah did so, and got back up to greet Mara at the bathroom door, calling inside. "Sweetie, my Mom's on the phone! Go ahead, Mom."

"Heeeeyyy, dollface!" Delea's voice came through the speakerphone, addressing Mara.

Mara laughed. "Heeeeyyy, Dele!" she greeted back, toweling herself off.

"Well, cookie bears, I won't keep ya from all that fun. Enjoy the rest of the trip, and feel free to come by whenever you want!"

"Thanks, Mom, we will," said Hannah, returning to the living room. "We love you!"

"Love you too, moon pie! Both to pieces!"

"All right, I'll talk to ya again any minute now...oh, and Mom?"

"Yeah? What's the word, hummingbird?"