Mom and Dad now had their eyes locked on her - lost in wonder. "Honey?! What's wrong?!" Look of great concern filling Mom's eyes.
Dad! Please just hide behind those newspapers again! I can't stand it when you give me that look! It reminds me of the first time you caught me smoking that trash!
"UHHH… I… it's nothing! I swear!" Jennifer responds. The coffee had spilt and made a puddle, the mug lay on one side and a small hot river secretly dripped onto her skirt and legs. She looked down in shame as she got up and walked away quickly with embarrasment.
"Honey!" Mom yelled calmly.
"Young lady! You get back here and clean this mess right-" the door shut, changing Dad's voice into a soft echo. Jennifer let go of the handle and paced slowly up and down her room. "What was that thing I saw on Dad?!" She whispered in between deep anxious breaths as she sat on her bed. The same thing she saw on Mom also appeared on Dad.
She apologized constantly to her parents, cleaned the mess and assured them that there is nothing wrong - whatever story she came up with to convince them she's 'okay' to go to school, was probably genius.
She prayed deeply, packed her school bag, said her 'goodbyes' and headed out. As she travelled down the walkway in confusion she tried her best to clear her head.
'Everything was fine! Really it was. Then all of a sudden, there was that evil thing and then nothing was the same again. Dad started looking worried, mom was cutting fruits with so much energy - or was it anger, I don't know! Am I going crazy?!' Jennifer's mind raced profusely.
"No! You're not," a deep feminine voice filled with mysterious power said behind her.
Jennifer turned around. It was a girl her age, leaning against a tree - dressed in black - mostly. Dark red make up around her eyes. Piercings covering her face, making her look like a famous rock-star. She stood up straight. "It's a hijacker - well, that's what we call them," she said, walking closer to Jennifer.
"Who are you?! What are you talking about?!" Jennifer responded in a defensive manner.
"Don't act like last night and what happened just now were coincidences! You know what you saw!" She responded with intense eye contact.
"I'm Miranda," the girl said stretching out her hand.
"Jennifer." They shook hands.
"That dark spirit that you keep seeing, that's a hijacker, as I said earlier. An entity created with the intent of stealing joy, " Miranda said as she walked slowly side by side with Jennifer.
"They are everywhere, look around you."
Jennifer scanned her environment, her eyes jumped from one person to another. Every third person she saw had a similar looking creature attached to them. A guy getting into a taxi was followed by one that hopped in with him. A woman talking without giving herself the chance to breathe, walking down the path, had a strange dark shadow seated on her shoulder. Another shadow sat on top of an old man's head, it appeared to be trying to bite into his skull.
"You are shocked. I understand," Miranda said staring into Jennifer's wide open eyes and face of pure pale white.
"What created those things?!" Jennifer asked in a trembling voice.
"The dark forces that run this world," Miranda said. "They don't want a happy environment, when there is sadness they prosper, and misery continues to rule this society."
"What dark forces?! Who's they?!" Jennifer responded in confusion.
"You will find everything out soon enough, fear not," Miranda glanced at the skies and adjusted her black vest so that it sat comfortably.
"So these spirits steal people's happiness to get them depressed, then these dark forces that created them benefit somehow?"
"Exactly," Miranda responded looking at Jennifer.
"So you and I can see these things but not others?" Jennifer's face filled with confusion.
"Yes. We have the ability to," Miranda replied.
"So what's the solution? How do we get rid of these things? And who are you?" Jennifer questioned further.
"Meet me after school, here at this exact spot," Miranda said. Before Jennifer could respond, she walked away quickly and disappeared mysteriously around the corner of a house.
ns 172.70.38.198da2
