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IF YOU ARRIVED HERE BY CLICKING IN THE FEATURED BOX, PLEASE BE COURTEOUS AND COMMENT OTHERWISE YOU WASTE MY POINTS. I WILL ALWAYS DO THE SAME FOR ALL OF YOU!2
"Oh good grief," she thought to herself as she noticed the water in her fish tank tinged slightly green with no bubbles in the water. She set down her tote of cleaning things that she had been taking with her as she headed upstairs to clean. Saturdays were her day to keep up with the housework. She chuckled to herself, thinking of her colleagues astonishment if they could see her engaged in such domestic pursuits. "The Dragon Lady" as she was known at the agency that employed her. She shook her head ruefully, thinking how at odds her private pursuits were to the functions of her job as a special ops agent for the NSA. Due to a very special skill that she'd had as long as she could remember. 3
She had never concerned herself too much as to why she was able to see auras or how she discerned so much information from them; nor did she ever attempt to establish or prove to anyone that she did. She did have a notion that it might have to do with the severity of the astigmatism with which she'd been diagnosed in earliest childhood, also having severe myopia. Her nearsighted difficulties had been remedied years ago with laser eye surgery but the astigmatism remained. 4
Where normal-visioned people's corneas are round, astigmatism occurs when the cornea is elongated or oval. This causes there to be more than one point of light to be filtered by the lens. With an astigmatism that measured among the highest there are, Stephanie Wilcox believed that was at least part of the reason for her extraordinary gift. As a result she had bagged more terrorists than any other 10 agents combined. She could see their intent in the visual spectrum and it was impossible to lie to her. A lie was as visible as a spotlight in the dark. It was unfortunate that her gift didn't also afford her the ability to see the future, for it's very unlikely that she would have followed the impulse that she was about to. But looking back on the results....perhaps it was fortunate, even fated. 5
As she looked at the equipment that kept her tank oxygenated and filtered she pulled out the hose that should have been showing a stream of bubbles in the water as the tube conveyed oxygen into the environment. No bubbles. She turned the opening of the tube towards her face so that she could see if there were any obstructions. At the same time she reached down using the other hand, with her mouth open a bit in concentration, to jiggle the pump. Suddenly water which had somehow been drawn up into the hose shot out in a hard stream hitting her directly in the roof of the mouth, conveying a huge electrical charge to her brain, instantly stopping her heart. 6
She watched astonished as her body fell forward into the small fish tank shattering it and spraying water, glass and fish in every direction. Shocked she looked down at herself lying there deathly still, and realized she had to get help. 7
She went to the phone instantly and reached out to pick it up in order to dial 911. She was confused when her hand went right through the phone, trying again with the same result. Not pausing to consider the implication, she turned to the front door realizing she'd have to enlist someones aid directly. Reaching for the doorknob, her hand passed through it. She held her hand up to her face for a moment looking at it wondering why it was malfunctioning so strangely. 8
Then without even thinking about it she brought her chin up and stepped right out through the door. Seeing a man walking on the sidewalk no more than 50 feet away she ran up to him calling for help, when she intersected his path and opened her mouth to explain, instead she uttered some semblance of a gasp as he passed right through her.She heard her neighbor's voice in her back garden speaking to her dog. With no recollection of crossing the lawn and garden gate to get there she found herself right at Liz's side. "Liz you've gotta help me" 9
Boots had stopped in mid stride staring at her in astonishment. "What is it Boots?" Liz asked. Liz showed no indication of seeing her, but Boots did! Steph looked at the little dog, "Can you see me fella?" Boots began to wag his little black and white tail recognizing the neighbor who often gave him treats. Liz, looked at the dog curiously. 10
Steph went to the little dog, placing her spectral hand on the canine head. "Come on boy, Stephie needs your help!" She beckoned to the little dog to follow her and Boots was instantly there trotting along behind Steph as she led him back to her house. "What is it Boots?" Liz Asked, "What's wrong?" Going up on her porch, she realized the door was closed, how could she make Liz understand that she needed help? "What on earth?" Liz said as she went up the three porch stairs following the dog. Looking down, Stephanie was elated to see the water seeping out from under her front door. Liz knocked and called out her name, not waiting for an answer she turned quickly to the hide-a-key rock that she knew Steph kept in her front flower bed. 11
With a facsimile of a sigh of relief as Liz entered and immediately went into action to get help to the scene, Steph looked around curiously, realizing the extent of her situation for the first time since she had watched her body fall out of herself. She felt a sensation like static electricity pass through her, like goosebumps if she were corporeal. "Oh my God" she whispered, looking at the spectrum of colors and energy fields, and moving ethers that she hadn't noticed while she had been so focused on the task of getting help. She was oblivious to the bustle of activity as an ambulance arrived with sirens screaming. Turning away from her house and moving off the porch, she felt a desire to look everywhere at once. The instant she had the thought, she felt as if she were a million million million tiny particles or molecules that instantly spread out in all directions. 12
She felt in a flash the most profound epiphany that could be imagined. She understood the functions of all there is with an intuitive gleaning. She saw that time is not constant nor does it proceed in progression, instead it was a many branched tree of possibilities and the branch followed could be altered by something so minute as which honeysuckle blossom a humming bird selects to draw the nectar from. Enraptured by the glorious vision of the world laid out before her, her intuitive knowing took in all the infinite data laid before her. 13
She saw a sickening branch of possibility that humankind was about to take the world upon. As she contemplated the world she felt a pulling; a drawing on her essence; her diffused molecules of self being drawn away from the world. She felt a sense of acceleration, an opening before her of a cosmic vista; a gigantic slide of rainbow hued star plasma, with an understanding that it culminated in Nirvana. She glimpsed other ethers of consciousness in the path; each and every one as familiar to her as self; and then before her eyes there came a vision. A diagram, if you will of the events necessary to divert the rapidly receding world from the path of putrescence she had glimpsed in horror. She had a soul deep understanding of the structure of matter, and as a result she knew she possessed Creator's power over it. 14
She flashed upon an archived memory from the time of her existence in the mundane. A remembered tale of a fictional act. The Vulcan Mind Meld. She halted her forward motion with a flashing moment of will. She catalogued the whereabouts of all the necessary beings of consciousness in the everywhere/when. And with a single thought her molecules of self, re-concentrated; became cohesive again and she arrived simultaneously in dozens of places on earth at once, each of them in the presence of a powerful leader, or acquisitional sociopath. 15
She allowed each instance of her multiself to distribute her molecules through the physical bodies of each of those she had determined were essential to alter the course of Mankind's self destructive juggernaut. As she drew the trappings of each being about her she grasped the reigns of consciousness in each. Opening their minds to infinity, she melded herself with each of them for the brief flashing instant that was all that was necessary for her mission statement diagram to brand their consciousness with everything that was needed. With a single strand of thought each piece of self was drawn once more to her singular-self spirit form. 16
Hovering at the apex of a white room she looked down at those spirits within it, still trapped in their flesh cages. 17
She stifled a sob at the sorrow she felt as she settled once again into her own flesh, and felt the excruciating agony as she gasped air into her own lungs again. "28 minutes" she heard, "she's back, but there's no way her brain will ever function normally again, not after all that time." She felt a laugh building in her chest. It came out as a breathy giggle as she opened her eyes and sat up, swinging her legs over the edge of the table she'd been laying on. Looking the Dr. who had just spoken, deeply in the eyes, she said, "You got that right Doc!" She rose and left the room as the doctor crumpled to the floor in a dead faint behind her. 18
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She left the hospital looking at the world with new eyes. She still saw the aura around each person that she passed, but now she saw even more. Shifting veins of plasma seen in glowing shifting patterns connected each being to every other. She watched in wonder, as she saw a couple pass each other and exchange a smile, seeing in the glowing golden vein of plasma that flared between them their wedding, children, grandchildren, and a great grandchild who would bring a gift of healing to the world. 20
As she passed through the parking lot she paused beside a distraught woman, who was trying to get ahold of her lock button with a coat hanger, having locked her keys in the car. "Allow Me?" The lady was not sure why but she felt a surge of confidence as the strange woman took on the frustrating task. She blinked her eyes wondering if she was seeing things as she saw what appeared to be the end of the coat hanger inside the car melt into amorphous squiggles and realign wrapped tightly around the lock button. Pulling up on the mechanism, the strange woman opened her car door. "There ya go!" Stephanie said jauntily as she continued on her way. 21
She wandered the world all of that day and through the night feeling the tide of energies shifting and changing. In the cold of dawn, she heard a sound that stood her hair on end somewhere in the distance. The terrified desperate sobbing of a child. She felt her lips peel back from her teeth in a snarl and instantly she moved through space to the place where the child lay crumpled as her abuser approached her again. With a hiss of rage Stephanie placed her palm out before her, laying it on the forehead of the perverted sickness that was a man. He was blown backwards off of his feet and a shrieking darkness fled from his flesh which was no longer a hospitible place for it to crouch. 22
She lifted the young girl up by the hand. At her touch she saw the vein of plasma that was connected to her home and the mother and father who had been desperately seeking her since she'd disappeared 3 days ago. In a blink they were there and Stephanie knocked on the door. She was buffeted up on the waves of joy that flowed from that reunion, in a silvery blue white vein. 23
The sun was coming up on a new day as she approached her own home. The newspaper was lying in the drive. She unfolded it and looked at the headlines. "Good News!""Unprecidented turn of events!" "Amazing Discovery" "New Clean Free Energy Source" " Israel and Palestine Reconcile" etc. etc. etc. Stephanie smiled to herself, thinking her job might soon become obsolete. She might need to think of a new career. She was delighted with all the possibilities that came to mind.24
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What did you think? Please comment!
Comments
1 - 9 of 9
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THANK YOU VERY MUCH! ME TOO!
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I think I like your new ending much more
Especially seeing the aura...I told you I was curious 
The last paragraph could probably be broken into two or three paragraphs...otherwise it's a little long and unweildly...but otherwise it's good. And the time lilne isn't bugging me any more hehe.
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I loved this. What an incredible story you've wound into such a short space. It seemed so fantastic, yet believable. I've always been awed by things like this.
-Arias' Son -
I had originally written it that way to tie back in with a line earlier in the piece:
She saw that time is not constant nor does it proceed in progression, instead it was a many branched tree of possibilities.
Even before I posted it, I considered changing that though, thinking it might be too obscure or remote as a telltale. Your review was very helpful, prompting me to rewrite the last two paragraphs which I had felt were a little rushed to begin with....so tell me if this works better for you?:
She left the hospital looking at the world with new eyes. She still saw the aura around each person that she passed, but now she saw even more. Shifting veins of plasma seen in glowing shifting patterns connected each being to every other. She watched in wonder, as she saw a couple pass each other and exchange a smile, seeing in the glowing golden vein of plasma that flared between them their wedding, children, grandchildren, and a great grandchild who would bring a gift of healing to the world. As she passed through the parking lot she paused beside a distraught woman, who was trying to get ahold of her lock button with a coat hanger, having locked her keys in the car. "Allow Me?" The lady was not sure why but she felt a surge of confidence as the strange woman took on the frustrating task. She blinked her eyes wondering if she was seeing things as she saw what appeared to be the end of the coat hanger inside the car melt into amorphous squiggles and realign wrapped tightly around the lock button. Pulling up on the mechanism, the strange woman opened her car door. "There ya go!" Stephanie said jauntily as she continued on her way.
She wandered the world all of that day and through the night feeling the tide of energies shifting and changing. In the cold of dawn, she heard a sound that stood her hair on end somewhere in the distance. The terrified desperate sobbing of a child. She felt her lips peel back from her teeth in a snarl and instantly she moved through space to the place where the child lay crumpled as her abuser approached her again. With a hiss of rage Stephanie placed her palm out before her, laying it on the forehead of the perverted sickness that was a man. He was blown backwards off of his feet and a shrieking darkness fled from his flesh which was no longer a hospitible place for it to crouch. She lifted the young girl up by the hand. At her touch she saw the vein of plasma that was connected to her home and the mother and father who had been desperately seeking her since she'd disappeared 3 days ago. In a blink they were there and Stephanie knocked on the door. She was buffeted up on the waves of joy that flowed from that reunion, in a silvery blue white vein. The sun was coming up on a new day as she approached her own home. The newspaper was lying in the drive. She unfolded it and looked at the headlines. "Good News!""Unprecidented turn of events!" "Amazing Discovery" "New Clean Free Energy Source" " Israel and Palestine Reconcile" etc. etc. etc. Stephanie smiled to herself, thinking her job might soon become obsolete. She might need to think of a new career. She was delighted with all the possibilities that came to mind.
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Makes me wish I had astigmatism I've always been a fan of the more...speculative...fiction, so this was right up my alley. I want to know more about how she sees auras, though - what they look like, maybe an instance in which she actually sees and interprets one. But that's me...I'm a curious cat, what can I say Just a question...she was only "dead" for 38 minutes, and during that time she went out and saved the world...but why was it all in the newspaper by the time she woke up? They hadn't had the time to carry out their new epiphanies yet, and they certainly hadn't had time to print a new newspaper. Am I missing something? Anyways, overall I very much enjoyed it. Except maybe the poor fishies...
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Excellent
You are truly gifted. Your movement on paper is AWESOME! -
I like it...it was better than I expected it to be by far! I really should read some more of your writing!
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Wow! A surprise!
Oh, my goodness! A fantasy/Sci-Fi imaginary fun story! I love it! I was surprised by the way things unfolded, which makes for a very good write! Do more...do more...We like it! Just think..it was an ordinary Saturday and this is what can happen to 'ya! -
I really liked this work. I didn't expect ti to be anything like this when i started reading it. i really enjoy short stories and i enjoyed this as well. my girlfriend told me yesterday that short stories always leave you wanting more and i now fully understand what she meant, but isn't that really the whole point of short stories? but you really did an excellent job with this and i hope you continue to write many many more. Great imagination! -bear
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