Another week had passed, and it was now the day of Deidra's birthday and the big day of the Fall Festival. Deidra was at her grandmother's house preparing for the big night. Kree was to stay at his great-grandmother's house while Deidra was out. It was already six pm, and Caleb was to pick her up at eight.
"Okay, Granmama, I'm going to start getting ready now." Deidra called, heading up the stairs to the bathroom.
"Alright, honey." The elderly woman called back.
Deidra had an extra-long shower, and then put a face-mask on, to make her face nice and smooth. As lay down on the bed in the spare room, and dozed off while the face-mask did its work. When she took the mask off an hour later, she was pleased with the results. After pulling her hair back into a pony-tail to keep her hair out of the way, she put on her make-up, but made it look natural, but classy. She didn't really want to over-do it. Deidra then took her hair out, and then brushed it until it was more manageable. She then pulled it back into a classily messy bun, and slid her simple silver earrings into the small holes in her ears. Deidra then turned to face the wardrobe, where her dress was hanging. She took a deep breath, and took off her clothes, and put on the dress. It still fit perfectly. Then she slid the white shoes on, and now she was ready.
Glancing at the clock next to the bed one last time, it showed that it was five minutes to eight. She took a deep breath and let it out as a sigh. Tonight had to go well. Deidra just hoped that she could cope with the pain of Ascension. It was tonight, at exactly ten-thirty. She just had to make sure that she was gone by then.
Deidra made her entrance to her grandmother, and her reaction was just as it should be. "Deidra, you look so beautiful. So much like your mother." she whispered, her wrinkled hand pressed lovingly against her granddaughter's cheek. The gesture alone made Deidra want to cry. Tears were threatening to spill from her carefully made up eyes.
"Oh, sweetheart, don't cry. It would ruin your handiwork." Granmama laughed.
Deidra laughed also. Then the doorbell rang. Her breath caught in her throat.
"I'll get the door." Granmama said, heading towards the foyer.
The young woman sighed, and made herself look busy with Kree for when Caleb came in. She didn't want to make it look as if she was waiting for him.
Deidra's grandmother smiled when she opened the door to see Caleb. He thought that she had probably heard a lot about him. The elderly woman invited him inside, and walked him into the lounge, where he saw Deidra, laughing and giggling with her small son. The infant was reaching out to touch her earrings.
Caleb noticed that her elegant up-do accentuated how long and elegant her neck was. Her dress fitted her perfectly, it hugged all the curves of her body, and he noticed that when Deidra saw him, her smile was so bright it could light up the whole house. Caleb also noticed that when she turned around to put Kree back down in the bassinet, that the back of her dress plunged down to the small of her back. God, even her back was beautiful.
"You look beautiful." Caleb said to Deidra.
She looked him over. "You don't look too bad yourself.
Deidra looked Caleb over for a second time. He looked really handsome in his tux. His dark eyes glinted in the dim light of the lounge. She kissed Kree on the forehead.
"Bye, sweetie. See you later." she whispered.
Caleb smiled behind her at the gesture, and when she turned around asked, "You ready to go?"
"I sure am. Bye, Granmama." She answered, kissing her grandmother on the cheek, as the couple headed out the door.
They headed out to Tyler's Hummer which was parked about ten meters away from the house, when they heard Deidra's grandmother whisper something to Kree, which was just audible. "I don't think we'll be seeing her until tomorrow morning, sweetie."
Deidra blushed, as they got in the car, while Caleb simply laughed.
"What's so funny?" Reid asked.
"Deidra's grandmother is hilarious." He panted, out of breath from laughing.
Deidra scoffed. "She definitely speaks her mind. I'm just glad you find that funny." she added, the blush leaving her cheeks. Tyler started the car and they began to drive out of the driveway, and headed back to Spencer. It was about a twenty minute drive, but Deidra just hoped to god that her dress didn't wrinkle. She wasn't being vain, she just didn't want people staring at her for the wrong reasons.
When they were about five minutes away from town, Deidra found the singing bubble inflate inside her again. She tried to swallow it down, this so wasn't the time for it, but it just came up fast when she tried to make it go away. "Guys, stop the car, I have to get out." Deidra said, squeezing her hand into a fist, trying not to let the bubble escape yet. The pain of keeping it down was excruciating.
"What? Why?" Caleb asked.
"Joder!" Dedira swore in Spanish. "Just do it. Please!" She whispered.
"Tyler! Stop the car." Caleb said, hearing the despairity in Deidra's voice. Tyler pulled over to the side of the road, and stopped the car. Deidra gave Caleb a 'thank-you' look, and got out of the car and walked deep into the woods, where the bubble was furiously bubbling to the surface again. The only thing was, Deidra didn't quite realise that the boys had followed her into the woods.
Deidra stopped before she walked into the lake itself. She could barely stand on the edge of it, as the heels of her shoes were slipping into the soft grass. She took a deep breath, and sang the first song that came to mind.
"When I'm lost in the rain,
In your eyes I know I'll find the light
To light my way.
And when I'm scared,
And losing ground,
When my world is going crazy,
You can turn it all around.
And when I'm down you're there
- pushing me to the top.
You're always there,
giving me all you've got.
For a shield from the storm,
For a friend, for a love
to keep me safe and warm
I turn to you.
For the strength to be strong,
For the will to carry on
For everything you do,
for everything that's true
I turn to you.
When I lose the will to win,
I just reach for you and
I can reach the sky again.
I can do anything
'Cause your love is so amazing,
'Cause your love inspires me.
And when I need a friend,
You're always on my side
Giving me faith
taking me through the night
For a shield from the storm,
For a friend, for a love
to keep me safe and warm
I turn to you.
For the strength to be strong,
For the will to carry on
For everything you do,
for everything that's true
I turn to you.
For the arms to be my shelter
through all the rain,
For truth that will never change,
For someone to lean on,
For a heart I can rely on through anything,
For that one who I can run to...
For a shield from the storm,
For a friend, for a love
to keep me safe and warm
I turn to you
For the strength to be strong,
For the will to carry on
For everything you do,
for everything that's true
I turn to you.
For a shield from the storm,
For a friend, for a love
to keep me safe and warm
I turn to you.
For the strength to be strong,
For the will to carry on
For everything you do,
for everything that's true
I turn to you.
I turn to you..."
The boys hiding behind trees were more than impressed by Deidra's talent. They turned and materialised back in the car, before Deidra could realise that they had left. It only took her two minutes to get back to the car.
"Sorry about that," Deidra said, sliding back into the car.
Tyler, Pogue, Reid and Caleb all murmurred replies, and all they could think of was the etherial charm of her singing voice.
"Guys, we don't want to make too big an entrance, okay. Let's go." She added, a minute later, while they were still sitting in the small ditch on the side of the road.
"Could you sing for us?" Tyler asked as he pulled the car out onto the road. All of the other boys in the car got excited at the prospect of Deidra singing.
"Oh, mierde." She muttered when she realised she was caught singing by the men in the car. So, while the men waited for her to start singing, she projected her will onto them. They all fell out of the spell of her voice immediately.
"You're all idiots." Deidra said, as Tyler straightened up the car.
"Well, you freaked us out back there, practically screaming at us to let you out of the car." Pogue defended.
"Yeah, well, when you heard me singing, didn't any of you have the sense to leave?" She asked. The boys she could see looked sheepish. She shook her head.
"Lets just get to the party now, okay." Caleb added.
As the Hummer drove past the ruins that were once the Putnam barn, suddenly the group of people heard a not so good noise coming from the bonnet of the car.
"What the hell?" Tyler said.
"I'll check it out." Reid volunteered uncharacterisitcally.
"Are you sick?" Pogue laughed, reaching out to feel Reid's forehead.
"Ugh, I'm just sick of them two love birds in the back making eyes at each other." Reid scoffed, opening the door. He slammed it shut, and walked to the front of the car, and opened the bonnet.
Deidra could hear the uneasiness in his voice when he called, "Uh, guys, I think you have to see this."
Caleb, Tyler, Pogue and Deidra got out of the car, and walked around to where Reid stood. They all stared into the bonnet.
"What the hell? A car doesn't goddamn work without a engine. Where the hell did it go? And how?" Tyler protested, looking into the empty space which once held the engine for his car.
