Page 8 of The Chosen Two

I hesitate before slamming my foot on the gas. “So, I need your advice on something.” I almost lose my nerve when her eyebrows shoot up. Normally, she’s the one coming to me for help. “Yeah, yeah. Shut up. This is serious. I think...I think I’m losing it.”

“Oh, honey. You lost it years ago. Are you just figuring this out?”

“Ha! No. Seriously. I think I’m hallucinating or something.” I look around to make sure no one is at the tables closest to ours, then lower my voice to just above a whisper. “I swear a, a kitsune has been hanging out in my yard.”

A moment of silence. Then Eliza’s face splits open as she lets out a deep laugh that even has some intermittent snorts.

“Oh, that’s amazing! There’s a nine-tailed fox living in your yard?”

“Well, only three tails, but yes!” I nod along as she laughs. Then I look up at the ceiling, asking some invisible force I don’t even believe in for patience. “Okay, okay. You had your laugh. But I’m serious. Shhh!”

She needs two full minutes to stop laughing. “Oh, I’m sorry. I needed that. It’s been a long few months… You know Rory works long hours and I don’t really get real adult interaction aside from ours.” She blots the tears from her eyes, being careful not to smudge that perfect liner and mascara. “Okay, so tell me about your mythical fox.”

I pull my coffee mug in closer and intertwine my fingers around the back of it while staring into the petals the barista created in the foam. “I don’t know that you deserve to hear now.”

“No, no, no. I promise to be good. Please, just tell me.”

I take a deep breath. “Fine. I first noticed this weird fox yesterday morning, but it was back today. For the record, the kids all saw it too, and Phoebe said it looks like a kitsune. I saw these weird red birds, and I heard this whispering that drowned out the PTA meeting. Oh, and a horde of blue butterflies covered my car at the grocery store. Oh my god! The guy! This man at the grocery store grabbed my cart and—”

Eliza holds up her hand while closing her eyes. “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, give me strength….” After a pause to inhale deeply and exhale slowly, she reaches into her bag and pulls out the steno pad she always has handy. Her eyes lock with mine momentarily, but then she flips her pad open to a new page and speaks with measured patience. “Okay. You told me about the fox. Now, tell me about the birds first.”

She takes fast notes in her experienced shorthand. I’m not sure if she’s interested in helping me or collecting fodder for her next book, but at least I have a confidant. I know how insane she must think I am, but she shows no indication on her placid face. After I finish telling her everything, she continues taking notes for several minutes, even turning the page once or twice, all the while holding up her left index finger to signal “one minute” to me. She finishes, places her pen diagonally across the pad, and looks up at me with a smile. “Okay.”

I lean toward her until the table is pushing between my ribs, waiting for more of a response than her smile. “Okay? Do you have any insight or questions or anything?”

She pats my hand in what is supposed to be a calming gesture. “Yes, I do have a question actually. Have you been drinking your water?”

My head shakes quickly in disbelief of her casual attitude. “My what? What could this possibly have to do with my water intake?”

She shakes her head back at me and her shiny hair falls behind her shoulders. “I don’t know, but that’s my gut reaction to everything with you because I know how shitty you are about drinking your water.”

I roll my eyes. Like not drinking enough water would cause me to hallucinate or something. Could it? I make a mental note to look up the possible effects of chronic dehydration…just in case. “Any other, non-gut reactions? Something that may actually be helpful?”

“I have to think about it.” She stares off for a second, and a look of confusion crumples her face. “Describe the red bird thing again?”

“I didn’t see it well, but I swear it was chuckling and whispering.”

She nods along. “Okay…. Um, did it look anything like that thing?”

She points behind me. I am afraid to turn around, but I know I have no choice. I steel myself with a deep breath and pivot slowly in my seat. Hovering outside the high window at the front of the coffeeshop are two red…not birds. Based on the wings, maybe dragon wings is more accurate? Then again, from where I sit, the creatures look like little red people with little red bat wings. I can’t make out the details, but they definitely have two pointy somethings on their heads. When they see me looking at them, they start jumping up and down with excitement. Thankfully the coffeehouse is largely empty, as can be expected late on a weekday morning. The only other people in the restaurant are some businessmen with their noses buried in their phones and the baristas trying to assist them.

I turn back to Eliza, who is practically cross-eyed with confusion.

“Yup. Pretty sure that’s what the bird was. Hey, Eliza?” She still looks completely lost and confused. “Eliza?” She finally looks at me, but her face is still scrunched. “What the fuck are those?”

“Miranda, I have absolutely no idea. But I promise you, I will research as hard as I’ve ever researched anything in my life, as soon as I can devote the proper time to the task. I want to know what’s going on too.”

We finish our coffees in silence but for Tabitha’s coos. When we walk out together, I hear a chuckle. And another. And then the whispering back and forth. I hope I’m just imagining it, but I know I’m not, and I can’t help but look all around us to find the source of that whispering. Eliza also darts her eyes left and right over and over again. “Wait. Lize, do you…do you hear them?”

“No, sorry. Seeing you look all about like that got me nervous, but I don’t hear anything. Is it the same sounds you heard at the PTA meeting?”

Even if she can’t hear them, I’m so happy someone else knows what’s going on. I could actually cry. “Yes! It is exactly what drowned out the PTA meeting yesterday. So now I know it’s these little red things.”

“Oh, wow. Can you make out what they’re saying?”

“Nope. They were way louder yesterday, but I couldn’t understand them then either.”

“This is bizarre.” She shudders with her entire body, as if trying to force away a skeevey feeling. “I’m taking my baby and getting out of here. You going to be okay? I promise I’ll get researching as soon as humanly possible.”

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