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Then

Though her time with Bella was short, Alice helped her overcome a lot of grief much faster than a trained professional could have, though she made some mistakes because she was still a child herself.

Bella missed her parents dearly, even if she was working through it. Her grandmother did her best to support Bella, but nothing truly filled the void in her heart.

"I have something that could help," Alice said when she found Bella crying in the garden again. This time, she was standing under one of two trees that had sprouted overnight.

Alice had only a few days left at her grandmother's house before she and her mother returned to her father. Tanya had already asked about allowing Alice to stay at her grandmother's throughout the year. She felt that Bella needed someone like Alice around more often. It also made it easier when Tanya had to work.

"Nothing will help." Bella had tried everything. She had recently tried journaling, which made her cry harder, resulting in the two large trees in the front yard. They were beautiful weeping willows.

Alice ignored her. "Do you want me to show you your future?"

"No," Bella answered automatically, not even understanding how Alice could do that.

Alice didn't listen, though. Instead, she put her hands on Bella's face and gazed into her eyes. Bella tried to shove the hands away but suddenly, she was no longer in front of her grandmother's house. She saw herself, older. Her hair was longer than it was now, and it was styled differently. She looked...pretty. She was with a boy but she couldn't see his face. They were sitting on the ground, leaning against a building that she had never seen before. She was laughing at whatever he was saying to her but she couldn't hear it.

That's why she looked pretty. She was smiling. It was strange to see herself so full of joy. In fact, it made her angry. How could she be happy when her parents weren't alive?

Before she realized it, the vision of her future self faded, and she was back in front of her grandmother's house. She felt dizzy as she adjusted.

"See?" Alice responded, feeling hopeful. She pulled her hands away from Bella's face. "You'll be happy again, I promise."

Bella wasn't happy, though.

She was mad.

No.

She was livid.

"Stay out of my head!" She yelled. She felt the rage inside of her and barely noticed as a large vine wrapped itself around Alice's feet. Alice looked down when she felt the movement at her ankles. She went to step out of it but it wrapped more tightly around her. Her legs started aching. Her eyes widened.

"Bella, please let go of me." It was already too late, though. Bella didn't know how to stop it. She wasn't trained in harnessing her power. She felt her heart begin to race as she realized it was out of control.

"Grandma!" Bella shouted. "Grandma, help!"

As soon as she called for her grandmother, though, the vine began to loosen its hold. It threw Alice's balance off as it released, which resulted in her falling sideways. She tried to catch herself on the tree but her hands missed. As a result, she smacked face first into the bark, effectively knocking herself unconscious.

Bella gasped and leaned over Alice. "Alice?" She shook her. Blood began to seep from her forehead. Bella screamed.

At this point, two of the neighborhood girls, who had been riding down the block, stopped their bikes at the gate to see what the commotion was. When they saw the blood, they assumed the worst.

"Grandma! I think I killed Alice!" Bella cried.

The two girls - Jessica and Lauren - would go on to tell all of the kids in their class that the new girl was dangerous, which would cause Bella to not make any real friends until high school. They weren't entirely wrong about her, though. Bella could be dangerous which was clear from the young, unmoving girl in the yard. They would still end up purchasing from her when they were adults, with Jessica being the very person who requested a love spell.

At that moment, though, they didn't want to be near her, so they rode their bikes home to tell their respective parents about the girl who they believed murdered another.

Helen rushed out of the house, pulling Bella away from Alice. Alice's eyes slowly opened as she groaned. Helen asked Alice some questions to make sure she was okay.

"I'm fine, grandma," she lied. Then she remembered that she was speaking to someone who had a similar gift as hers, so she amended her statement. "I'll be fine."

A sobbing and apologetic Bella helped Helen carry Alice into the house. They led her to the kitchen table and set her in the chair. Bella held Alice's hand as her grandmother went into the pantry to pull out their first aid kid. She asked Bella to explain what happened, and Bella, still hysterical, did her best to tell the story through her panting and crying. After she finished, Helen squeezed her arm and moved a chair next to Alice.

"We don't harm anyone," their grandma spoke sternly as she cleaned the gash in Alice's forehead - a gash that would leave a small scar above her eyebrow. If she was in pain, she didn't show it. Bella, though, sniffled next to her. "I understand why you became upset, Bella, and it's okay to be upset. However, it's not okay to hurt anybody just because you're upset."

"I'm sorry, Alice." This was what Bella feared the most, using her special abilities to hurt others. "I didn't mean it."

Alice, who was still recovering from her concussion, waved Bella off. "It's fine. I should have known better than to use that on you."

"You're right," Helen responded. "You shouldn't use your gift on someone who is so vulnerable. It can cause more harm than good."

"I'm sorry," Bella said again. "I'm so sorry, Alice."

"I'm sorry, too, Bella." And she was. She knew Bella would become her best friend. She also knew Bella would be able to handle her gift in a more effective way.

So she wasn't surprised when her grandmother said,"Bella, we'll work on making you better at handling your feelings, and in turn, we'll help you become better at handling your gift."

And they spent the next decade doing just that.

Thanks for reading! Dealing with the Sunday Scaries over here.

Stay safe,

Bravery