Into the Shadows (2 page)

She stood up, looking around in amazement. It
looked like a bomb had gone off. Posters had fallen to the floor
and others clung to the wall in tatters. A flying hairbrush had
shattered a mirror and the walls were chipped and dented from the
force of the collisions. Her parents thundered up the stairs and
threw open the door. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson stood in the doorway,
stunned, their jaws dropped, chins almost touching their chests.
They looked at each other with wide eyes and then at Paivi,
bewildered by the destruction that surrounded their little girl and
stunned that she stood in the middle of the chaos and was
completely unscathed.

Birthday Surprise

Paivi couldn’t have been more excited.
Friday, the fifteenth of August, was a special day. It was not just
her fourteenth birthday. She was also finally getting her braces
off. In all honesty, she was more excited about getting the metal
contraption removed than she was about the birthday. As far as she
was concerned, birthdays come around every year, but it’s not every
day that you get a new face.

She considered briefly that her new gleaming smile
would attract a few boys, maybe a boyfriend? Okay, she didn’t want
to get too carried away. There were more obstacles to getting a
boyfriend that a mouthful of beautiful teeth couldn’t solve. At six
feet tall, Paivi hoped there were more tall boys at St. Andrew High
School than there had been at Riverview Junior High, otherwise she
would be out of luck.

The morning of the fifteenth dawned bright and cool,
as if recognizing the setting of Sirius, the Dog Star, signifying
the end of the Dog Days of summer. Paivi woke to the light tinkle
of wind chimes that hung from the porch below her bedroom window.
The sun filtered through the purple curtains that fluttered in the
light breeze. The smell of fresh waffles wafted up from the
kitchen. She wasted no time getting down to breakfast.

“Happy birthday, my love!” said her mom as Paivi
entered the sunny kitchen. There was a large stack of steaming
golden waffles covered with powdered sugar sitting in the middle of
the table. “Don’t bother looking at the newspaper this morning,”
she added hurriedly.

“Why? Did that terrorist group blow someone else up?
What else is new?” Paivi added flippantly, grabbing the front page
and reading the headline ‘7 Dead in McDonald’s Playground Attack:
Righteous Front claims responsibility.’

“Righteous Front.” she snorted. “I hope that makes
them feel better about what they do. I mean, seriously, what’s
righteous about killing innocent people?”

Mrs. Anderson sighed at her daughter’s nonchalant
response. Attacks by the domestic terrorist group Righteous Front
were so commonplace that everyone under the age of twenty thought
weekly terrorist attacks were a normal fact of life.

“I just don’t know what’s going on anymore. I wish
the government could get a handle on the situation. Hopefully one
of these presidential candidates can get it right, although that
Senator Stevens seems to have no new ideas. Maybe Moira Kelly. She
seems to have her head on right. Those Righteous Front members are
just a bunch of right-wing loonies. I know the economy is bad, but
wanting to get rid of immigrants, legal or not, isn’t going to
solve the problem. It’s not their fault! And the RF keep killing
citizens too, so what are they really trying to prove? I suppose we
should just be glad we haven’t had any attacks by those monsters
here in St. Andrew,” nodded Mrs. Anderson.

“Yet,” added Paivi cautiously. “Don’t say that too
loud, they might hear you!”

“Well, anyways, I think we are all set for today.”
Mrs. Anderson handed Paivi a plate and a fork and knife, happy to
change the subject. “We have to be at Dr. Summers by noon. It’ll
probably take some time there, maybe an hour or two. And then the
girls are coming over for pizza at five thirty. The movie is at
eight over at the Cineplex and I think that just about covers it!
So what are you excited most about today?”

“I have to say — getting my braces off! I couldn’t
ask for a better birthday present!”

“Well, great, that solves the problem of having to
buy you a present!” said Mrs. Anderson brightly. “Now finish your
birthday waffles while I go drag your brother out of bed. I swear,
if I didn’t get him up, he’d sleep the whole day away!”

Five thirty arrived quickly. Paivi paced back and
forth in the living room, watching anxiously out the front windows,
awaiting the arrival of her friends. She kept running her tongue
across her smooth teeth, flashing them on and off at the mirror as
she practiced different smiles. She couldn’t stop looking at
them.

As she glanced out the front window for the tenth
time, looking for any sign of an approaching car, she heard a noise
behind her and jumped.

“Jeez! You scared me!” she said as she wheeled
around, clutching her hand to her heart.“Gotcha!” Her younger
brother Torsten hopped down the last few steps. His curly, dark
hair was neatly combed and he was wearing khaki shorts and a
button-down shirt. This was quite dressy compared to his normal
wardrobe, which generally consisted of basketball shorts and
T-shirts.

“Wait a minute, why are you so dressed up anyways?
Got a hot date or something?”

“What, this?” he asked, fidgeting with his shirt
collar. “I dress like this all the time. So, uh, what are you guys
doing tonight? Is Aimee coming over?”

“Oh, I see! Yeah, Aimee’s coming over. Only don’t
get your hopes up. Aimee will NOT go out with an eighth grader!”
snorted Paivi.

Torsten and Paivi were complete opposites, aside
from height. Paivi, with her blond hair, green eyes and fair skin
was a stark contrast to her brother, with his dark brown hair,
matching eyes and olive skin.

“Anyways, you know what we’re doing tonight. Mom
said you were supposed to leave us alone.” She felt sorry as soon
as she said it, it sounded so mean. “But if you want to go to the
movie, I guess that would be alright.”

“Yeah, but what are you going to see?” he asked,
trying to sound nonchalant, even thought he was clearly excited at
the prospect of spending time with Aimee.

“Well, I want to see ‘Sweet Pete,’ that new romantic
comedy,” she said.

“Seriously? That’s what you want to go see? God,
anything is better than that! I would rather get punched in the
stomach than see that movie”

“It’s MY birthday. No one said you had to go!” she
sputtered.

“It’s going to be terrible, I hope you know that,”
he said condescendingly.

“Look, we are GIRLS. We like romantic comedies. If
you ever want to get a girlfriend, you better get used to it,
quick!” she shouted at him. As she stormed upstairs to her room,
she heard a picture frame crash to the floor behind her. She
cringed, but didn’t turn around.

“God, you walk like such an elephant! The picture
just fell off the wall! I’m telling Mom!”

She’d rather her mom think her heavy feet had caused
the picture to fall, but Paivi knew it had nothing to do her
stomping. After demolishing her room so many years ago, she had
tried very hard to control her anger. Many times she could feel the
energy well up in her, and with a few deep breaths it would
subside. She didn’t want her friends or anyone at school to know
her secret. What would they say? She didn’t want to be seen as a
grade-A freak. The whole seeing-the-future-thing was much easier to
hide, though it ate at her every time she thought of Michaela.

“Oooooo! Your teeth look AWESOME, Paivi!” Michaela
squealed as she dragged their friends Aimee Watson and Crystal
Harris through the front door.

“Definitely hot,” agreed Jenn Hernandez as she and
Paulina Kaminski followed the group inside.

“Thanks! Come on in, I think my dad just got back
with the pizzas,” she said, waving them towards the kitchen.

After a few thick slices of Chicago-style pizza and
an impromptu burping contest, Mrs. Anderson brought out a thick and
fudgy chocolate cake. They sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to Paivi very
loudly and off key.

“Make a wish!” shouted Paulina.

A wish. Paivi stopped and looked at the candles.

Normal, she thought. I wish for a nice, normal
freshman year. Oh, and maybe a boyfriend. Yeah, that would be
nice!

She closed her eyes and blew on the candles, the
tiny flames flickering and then going out.

Brightly wrapped birthday presents were then passed
to Paivi, which she happily tore open. Picture frame, silver
necklace, photo album, clothes and CDs; overall it wasn’t a bad
haul.

The last gift was in a small and wrapped in bright
pink paper with a silver bow. She picked up the box and shook it,
trying to hear what was inside, but it made no noise. She tore off
the wrapping to reveal a delicate mahogany box. The wood looked old
but was still shiny and dark. The lid displayed an expertly carved
design. There were some words in a strange language engraved in a
circle around the edges and a metal closure on the front. Paivi
pressed what looked to be a tiny button and the clasp popped open.
She lifted the lid, revealing the most beautiful locket she had
ever seen.

It was small and round, a little larger than a
quarter. Around the edges it was finely polished silver, which
surrounded a circle of gold. In the center was a Celtic knot shaped
like a triangle, inlaid in silver. She turned the locket over, and
saw some more unfamiliar writing engraved around the edge. The
chain that hung from the locket was of thick silver and looked
heavy, but it was surprisingly light. It resembled a metal chain,
only in miniature. She ran the chain through her fingers, turning
the locket over and over in her hands. She pulled it open to find
it empty on one half. The other half contained a mirror.

“Wow Mom,” said Paivi. “Where did you get this?”

“The locket has been in our family for generations,”
she started, “and now I am passing it on to you.”

“How cool,” said Michaela. “Ooo, pass it around, I
want to see it!”

“Sure, here.” Paivi passed the locket to Jenn, who
paused to give it a look before passing it around the table.

“Mrs. A.,” started Paulina, as she turned the locket
over in her hands, “what does the writing say here? What language
is this anyways?”

“It’s Gaelic. My relatives back in Ireland used to
speak it, but sadly it’s not something they passed on to us after
moving to America. Unfortunately I’m not quite sure what it
says.”

“That’s too bad,” said Paulina. “Well, whatever it
says, it’s really pretty!”

“Thanks, everyone, for the best birthday ever!”
Paivi glanced at the clock on the wall. “Oh! It’s getting late!
We’ve gotta go if we’re going to make the movie!”

“I am so tired.” Paivi walked through the kitchen
after they returned from dropping off her friends, basking in the
pink and purple streamers, balloons, and presents strewn across the
table.

I love my birthday! she thought to herself with a
sigh. I wish I could have more than one a year!

“Paivi,” started her mother, pulling her out of her
birthday bliss. “And Torsten,” she continued. “Don’t go upstairs
just yet, your father and I would like to have a word with you
both.”

“Did we do something wrong?” Paivi asked, trying to
think if she had done anything punishable in the recent past. She
glanced at Torsten, his brain clearly hard at work.

“Do either of you want a piece of cake?” Mr.
Anderson cut a huge piece for himself and dumped it on a plate.

“Oooo yes please!” answered Paivi. Cake was always
good.

Torsten took a piece as well and they carried their
plates to the family room, where they settled into the couches.

The family room was large, with two tall windows
flanking the stone fireplace. Along the wooden mantel was a
collection of family photos, showing Paivi and Torsten posing in
uniform with a basketball alongside pictures of them as chubby
little babies. The room was filled with overstuffed leather
furniture that looked like it belonged in an English pub.

Mr. and Mrs. Anderson sank into the couch across
from Paivi and Torsten. Paivi looked at her parents and could see
something on their faces, but she couldn’t quite figure out what it
was. She glanced at Torsten to see if he had noticed anything, but
he only had eyes for his cake. He was shoveling large chunks of it
into his mouth so quickly that he didn’t notice the large smear of
frosting on his cheek.

“We have something to tell you, and we know you will
have a lot of questions,” began Mrs. Anderson.

“Are you getting a divorce?” asked Torsten, wiping
the frosting off his cheek with the back of his hand, which he then
licked clean. Between licks, he continued. “Because if I have to
pick someone to live with — well I just can’t do it. I’ll have to
split it evenly because I like you both equally,” he hesitated for
a second, “okay, well maybe I would pick Mom. Sorry Dad, but she’s
much cleaner.”

“No Tor, we are not getting a divorce. But it’s nice
to know who’s side you’re on, just in case!” laughed Mr.
Anderson.

It seemed to lighten the mood a little bit, and when
Mrs. Anderson began again, she sounded less nervous.

“Okay, well you both are aware that Paivi has
sometimes had dreams where she can see things that later happen,”
she paused.

“Oh yeah!” interrupted Torsten. “Like the time she
had that dream that I was going to fall off the slide at the park
and break my arm and then I did! That was crazy!”

“Not only that, we later learned that Paivi can move
things without touching them. However, that has only happened once,
as far as we know. You remember that night a few years ago when
your room was, well… a bit destroyed?” she asked, looking at
Paivi.