Chapter 3
2:03 PM September 3rd 1990, Russello Villa
Most kids are at their first day of school today. They said so on the news. I've began watching that a lot more lately. It reminds me that there is a world outside the villa…I'm not sure how I feel about that. A part of me dreams about the world and everything that happens in it. All the different places around the globe amaze me. How can they be so different yet be on the same planet? Watching the news lets me explore the unknown world, which I'm happy yet sad about at the same time. I long to visit all the places they talk about, but know I never will. I'll never live outside the villa walls. I'm not meant to.
I'll never go to school. During the summer I thought I would, but then nobody took me today. I'm assuming that means I won't be going. It makes sense that I don't go. It's not like I need education. Daniel said there's no point since I won't ever be getting a job or running a business. The only thing I will do in my life is give him power.
I've struggled with accepting that.
I can feel the confusion from the guards about my non-existent schooling. The couple of guards who now spend the most time around me noticed that I don't go to school and don't have a tutor. One of them asked Daniel about it, then disappeared the next day. Now all the guards have stopped questioning Daniel about me, which for their own safety is good. Daniel doesn't like it when others begin to discover our abilities.
Most of the guards are new, well at least new to the villa. They worked for Daniel in his branches, then were transferred here over the past few months. After the old guards found out about Daniel shooting Armando, they became suspicious. All of them began questioning the circumstances of his death. Daniel told them all that Armando was a traitor and needed to be exterminated for safety reasons, but the guards who knew Armando don't believe the lie. They all know that Armando was too afraid of Daniel to defy him. Some who were already getting transferred, such as Dante, were smart enough to keep their mouths shut and suck it up until it was their time to leave. But most were not so lucky. For a while it felt as if every day an inquiring guard disappeared and was replaced. Couldn't they figure out it is dangerous to want to ask questions? Everyone who knows the tiniest bit about the Russello powers is in danger. Can't they see that once somebody knows too much, Daniel gets rid of them?
All of the guards I knew the most are gone; either transferred or missing. I could have sworn I saw Tito on the news last month, being fished out of the river by the police. Now I barely recognize anyone when I walk down the halls of the villa, not one familiar face in sight. At first I felt alone, but now I like it. I've changed so much since Armando's death, I'm glad nobody I knew from before is around. Besides I would only put them in danger. If they had even one inkling about what is going on, Daniel would kill them. It is safer for everybody this way, if I just keep to myself.
That's what I've been doing since I found out about my abilities. I don't go exploring the villa anymore or hang out with the guards. Now I just stay in my room for the most part. Every once in a while I get restless and run around the garden or beach to stretch my legs. For the most part I don't leave my room though. I do it to mainly avoid Emily. Armando wasn't wrong when he said Emily would be taking care of Jasmine and I from now on. Because of Jasmine's powers, Daniel and Emily found it necessary to watch her themselves rather than hire someone who would eventually grow suspicious. Emily isn't as bad as Daniel to me, but I still don't like being around her.
After finding out about my abilities, it is almost impossible now for me not to notice them. Before it never bothered me being able to feel other's emotions and thoughts. To me it felt just like overhearing someone whisper a secret you don't care about. I paid no notice. But now it's creepy. Feeling other's minds, having the power to discover their deepest darkest secrets. I don't like it.
Especially when it's an icky person's mind I feel. Again, before I didn't notice it too much, but now that I know what I am doing it's uncomfortable. Some people have dark minds. Now almost every time one of them remember something horrible or have a nasty thought, I feel it. I can always tell an icky person's mind from a normal person's. An icky person's feels slimy. The worst is when an icky guard is on duty in the hallway outside my bedroom when I'm trying to fall asleep, their thoughts creeping into my mind giving me nightmares. Those nights I desperately try to focus on Jasmine's mind a few rooms away.
Being a baby, Jasmine's mind isn't too complicated. Mostly it is simple emotions and colors. Nothing interesting, but incredibly soothing. Even though she has caused me a lot of problems, it's been nice having Jasmine's pure mind around. Plus she keeps Emily busy and distracted from me.
The little bit of time I spend with the baby has been fine, I guess. She doesn't do much besides crawl around, make annoying noises, and cry. She doesn't cry much when I'm around, which is the only reason I'm ever around her. When she is driving Emily crazy and things are falling off the walls, suddenly I'm ushered into the room to calm Jasmine down. Most of the time, I just sit next to her, hold her tiny hand or rub her back and wait. I'll play some music in my head to keep me entertained until Jasmine is quiet again. Then I'm free to leave. The few times I can't calm the baby down, she is sent to the empty room. Or as the guards and I call it, the baby's punishment room. When Emily gets too frustrated about things breaking, Jasmine has to sit in the empty room for hours. There she can cry and fuss all she wants, but there is nothing in there to break. I feel bad for her sometimes, but it really isn't my problem.
My stomach grumbles. Sighing I realize I haven't eaten all day and it is way past lunch time. The chef is nice, he'll probably make me a sandwich if I ask. As long as it doesn't 'ruin my appetite' for the dinner. The chef kind of reminds me of Pippa, she would always say that when I ate too much while snaking. When my stomach lets out another grumble, I decide to head to the kitchen.
Unfortunately, the kitchen is far away from my room. I practically have to travel through the entire villa to get there. Nobody pays me much mind as I walk by. I note that there are a lot more guards than usual; Daniel must have a business guest today.
As I make my way through the villa, a cry catches my attention. A familiar cry; I know where it is coming from immediately. Jasmine is in the punishment room. When I pass by the said room, I can't help but pause outside the door. I can feel the distressed loneliness oozing out of Jasmine, being all by herself in the barren room. A part of me wants to go in and try to calm her down, all she wants is some interaction with another person. Jasmine usually doesn't usually want much attention, so for her to feel lonely means something very wrong happened. I try the doorknob, but Emily must have locked it. At a loss of what to do, I stare at the door and try to think of a solution.
"What are you doing there?!" Daniel's voice angrily yells at me. My head whips around to see Daniel and a tall man in a business suit making their way down the hall towards me. Daniel has a furious glare directed at me, while the other man looks uncomfortable.
"I…I…she…" I stutter, scared about being caught.
Daniel sneers "Were you told to be here?"
"No" I nervously answer. "It's just…she's lonely."
I see Daniel's hand raise. Then I feel the stinging pain across the side of my head. Next Daniel hisses "Stay away unless told otherwise. It's a baby, she's fine. I don't want to catch you loitering around here again." Looking up, I see Daniel's serious expression. The man next to him appears to be even more uncomfortable than he was before. The man follows behind Daniel as he continues his way down the hall and out of sight.
After Daniel is gone, I let out a sigh. Leaning against the wall, I calm myself down. After the day in Daniel's office, his beatings don't scare me anymore. Instead they now make me angry. Angry that I have to deal with him, Emily, and suffer through the pain which I don't think I deserve. Another one of Jasmine's cries brings me back to reality.
Sighing again, I whisper to the door "Just calm down Jasmine, it would be easier if you kept quiet." That thought keeps repeating in my head and goes through the door. Suddenly the cries stop. All the noises from the other side of the locked door cease.
At first I'm relieved, until I realize what just happened. My stomach does a flip as I think to myself 'Did I just do that?' It felt just like the time in the vent with the man with the metal mask. I feel sick, hating my newfound power. It doesn't feel right. I feel as if Pippa will pop out at any moment and scold me for doing something I knew was bad. Guilt pools up inside me.
I turn around and head back to my room, suddenly losing my appetite.
4:21 PM July 15th 1993, Russello Villa
Then Peter knew that there was not a moment to lose. "Come," he cried imperiously, and soared out at once into the night, followed by John and Michael and Wendy.
Mr. and Mrs. Darling and Nana rushed into the nursery too late. The birds were flown.
The chapter ends with a picture of a man, woman and dog by an open window. The parents are weeping into the room's furniture as the dog 'Nana' is straining its neck to look out the window to see a shooting star off in the distance.
Panning up from the book, I look out the window in front of me. I spend a lot of time in front of my bedroom window lately. It's my favorite place to read, something I have found myself doing a lot these past few years. There is a library in the villa full of books. Enough that I could read my entire life and never finish them all. That's okay though, I don't want to read them all. The only books that interest me are the ones about adventure. So far my favorites have been Treasure Island, The Hobbit, and Around the World in Eighty Days. The guards always give me skeptical looks when they see my reading choices, but never say why they do that. Whatever, I don't care what the guards think anymore. They're all idiots who follow Daniel's orders blindly. Daniel's underboss is pretty cool, but I can tell he's not going to last much longer. Already I have overheard him talking to the other guards about the strangeness of Daniel's practices. His mind is winding up, getting ready to snap just like Armando's did. Last time I was near the underboss, I could feel the crazy clotting up his brain, he'll be done within the month.
Turning the page of my book I begin chapter 4.
THE FLIGHT
"Second to the right, and straight on till morning."
That, Peter had told Wendy, was the way to the Neverland; but even birds, carrying maps and consulting them at windy corners, could not have sighted it with these instructions. Peter, you see, just said anything that came into his head.
The sound of my bedroom door crashing open breaks my concentration. Whipping around I see Emily standing in the doorway with a tearful Jasmine in her arms. By the expression on her face, I can tell Emily is not happy with the girl. I am proven correct when Emily practically tosses Jasmine onto the couch, not too gently I add. After watching Jasmine land safely, my attention returns to Emily. She looks like a mess. Her usually perfect blonde hair is frizzy and tangled, as if she has been thrashing about. There is a red stain on the shoulder of her cheetah top. I note how ridiculous Emily's outfit is when I see the tan pants and her shirt that isn't long enough to cover her belly.
Emily scowls at me and demands "Watch her."
"What happened?" I ask. It's been weeks since she has seemed this frustrated, and that's a big deal. Emily has an almost shorter fuse than Daniel.
"The little brat can't control her powers that's what! I need a break, you make sure she doesn't do anything stupid." With that Emily storms down the hall. As she leaves I see she is also wearing cheetah print high heels that match her top, adding to the stupidity of the outfit.
A sniffle brings my focus to Jasmine on the couch. She's bigger than the last time I saw her which was…it's had to be a few weeks. Jasmine is still very small. Her black hair is also longer; it now reaches her shoulders. Another sniffle escapes Jasmine as she holds a hand to her head, a couple tears running down her cheeks onto the white dress she is wearing. She seems fine, so I return my attention to my book.
At first his companions trusted him implicitly, and so great were the delights of flying that they wasted time circling round church spires or any other tall objects on the way that took their fancy.
John and Michael raced, Michael getting a start.
They recalled with contempt that not so long ago they had thought themselves fine fellows for being able to fly round a room.
The story draws me in. It is only every few pages that I remember to look up to check on Jasmine. I don't really need to. All she is doing is sitting on the couch with her hand to her head. Her still sad blue eyes survey the room with curiosity. It has been a while since Emily had last thrown her in here for me to watch. Jasmine might not remember it. I think I read somewhere that younger children don't have as good of memories as older people. How old is Jasmine?...Whatever it doesn't matter. I return to my book.
For the moment they were feeling less eerie, because Tink was flying with them, and in her light they could distinguish each other. Unfortunately she could not fly so slowly as they, and so she had to go round and round them in a circle in which they moved as in a halo. Wendy quite liked it, until Peter pointed out the drawbacks.
It isn't until I am almost to the end of the chapter that a small cry sounds from the couch. My head snaps up to see Jasmine staring fearfully at her bloodied hand. Her black hair covers her face, but I can still make out the cut on Jasmine's forehead, right where her hand used to be. Jasmine is trying to hold back her upset emotions, but I can feel them shooting out of her.
Sighing, I set my book down and make my way over to her. Why couldn't she have waited just a few more minutes for me to finish the chapter? So annoying.
When I reach the sofa, Jasmine finally notices my approaching. "Let me see" I tell her. Jasmine flinches away, but I grab her hand to keep her in place. Pushing the black strands of hair out of the way, I see that the cut is still bleeding. It's was hard to tell from far away because of all the smearing her hand did, but up close I can still see the rivers of red trickling out of it. As I observe the wound, Jasmine is frozen still as a statue making it easier for me to see. The cut doesn't look deep, but it is a bleeder. "C'mon let's get a wet towel on that."
I'm halfway to the bathroom when I realize Jasmine isn't following me. Turning around, I see that she is still sitting on the couch staring at her bloody hands in her lap. I say "Didn't you hear me? C'mon."
Jasmine doesn't look up at me, but she does slowly slide off the couch. I note how hard she is trying not to touch the furniture with her hands. After her feet hit the floor, Jasmine swiftly makes her way over and follows me into the bathroom. When we are inside, she stands there. "Go sit on the toilet" I instruct her.
She does what I say as I grab a hand towel from a drawer. I wet it down in the sink, accidently spraying water on my overalls in the process. "Crap" I mutter. Giving the towel one last squeeze to get out the excess water, I tell Jasmine "You really pissed Emily off." She doesn't say anything. I continue "Never could get her that angry when I was little, although I mostly avoided her." Still, no response. "You don't talk much do you?" No answer.
Giving up, I make my way over to Jasmine. She is looking down at her hands almost in shame. I push back her hair and place the towel on it. A small gasp escapes Jasmine as I do. I say annoyed "Can you talk?"
There is a pause, but eventually I do hear a small voice answer "Yes."
"Then why don't you ever say anything?" I ask irritated.
"They don't get as mad when I don't talk" she mumbles.
I sigh, "I get that. If you don't say anything, you can't say anything wrong."
Jasmine doesn't respond, only stares at the floor. I begin cleaning away the blood on her forehead. Jasmine flinches a bit every time I touch the cut, but allows me to continue. I ask her "So what did you do to cause this?"
The little girl's eyes widen then look down to the floor again. "Madre was getting mad at a guard about something. After she was done yelling at him, she started screaming at me. Sometimes when she does that, I get upset. I try to control it but…the hungry man statue fell over and the hand hit my forehead."
"Hungry man statue?"
Jasmine nods, the tears starting up again "The one with the apple. I didn't do it on purpose, I promise. It was an accident."
I frown and state "I know."
"What!" Jasmine exclaims shocked.
"Yeah I know about your powers" I explain.
"But Madre and Padre said that nobody else should know about them!"
"Relax. They both know that I know. I have powers too, different ones but still I have powers just like you."
A moment passes as the information sinks in for Jasmine. She says amazed "Really?"
"Yup, Daniel has them too. I don't think Emily does though."
"How do you control yours?" Jasmine asks hopefully.
I shrug "Mine never caused as many problems as yours, it's mental not material. Didn't even realize I had any till I was six, before that I didn't even notice anything strange happening. Looking back I guess the guards did get crankier whenever I was in a bad mood, but that was it. You'll learn how to control yours, it'll just take some work."
Jasmine slouches in disappointment, "I've been trying, I just can't control it. Whenever I think I have, something like this happens. Then Madre and Padre get really mad and…" She trails off as tears begin trailing down her cheeks again.
Rolling my eyes I say "Take my advice. First learn how to control your abilities…"
"But I don't know how" Jasmine interjects.
"Well figure it out!" I snap annoyed at being interrupted. "Go sit in a quiet room and just think about them. It did me a lot of good doing that when I was learning how mine worked. Do it quickly too. Trust me, Emily doesn't want to watch over you even more than you don't want her around. The sooner you figure out your powers, the sooner she will leave you alone. The only reason she is even looking after you is because you can't control them right now and they don't want guards catching on. So it will make your life a whole lot easier to figure them out soon."
Jasmine nods. I wipe the last bit of blood away and toss the towel in the sink. As I'm grabbing a new one for her to wash her hand and a band aid for the cut, Jasmine apprehensively asks "What else can I do to not make them so mad at me?"
"Not much, both Daniel and Emily are big jerks" I say handing her the towel. "You're on the right track though. Staying quiet is a good idea. I know it's boring and hard but try being really still, the less attention you attract to yourself the better. Whenever there is another person around, act as if everything is okay. You can't really handle that situation in a good way that will make Daniel and Emily happy, but you can get through it without screwing up and making them mad. Only talk when spoken to, don't look them in the eye, and keep noises to a minimum. Eventually they will just leave you alone like they do to me." Jasmine finishes cleaning her hands and gives me back the towel which I throw into the sink with the other. Then I gently place the big Band-Aid on her cut. Stepping back I notice that Jasmine's white dress has red stains all over it from the blood. "Hold on" I tell her.
Exiting the bathroom and my bedroom I head down the hall to Jasmine's room. Opening the door, I see that the room hasn't changed too much since I was here years ago. The crib has been replaced by a bed and the changing table is gone. In its place is a TV and couch similar to mine. But otherwise the paint, toys and decorations really haven't changed. Going to her closet, I grab a pair of jean shorts and an orange tee-shirt. I close the bedroom door behind me and head back to my room. Entering the bathroom, I see Jasmine hasn't moved since I left.
"Here" I say handing over the clothing. "Do you need help changing?"
"No, why would I need help with that?" Jasmine frowns.
Throwing my hands in the air is say "I don't know! Just trying to be nice."
Jasmine gives me a guilty look, then takes off the white dress and throws it where she saw me throw the towels. After putting on the shirt and shorts, she whispers "Thank you."
"No problem" I state, leaving the bathroom. I hear her tiny feet following behind me. I take my seat back in front of the window and pick up my book. Jasmine sits back down on the couch. Out of the corner of my eye I see her giving me a strange look. "What's your problem?"
"What is that?"
"My book?"
"Yeah. What is it?"
"You've never heard of a book?!"
"Well I've seen them, but I don't know what they do."
Oh my gosh, is this girl stupid? "They don't do anything. You read stories out of them. You have children's books in your room, hasn't anyone ever read one to you?"
Jasmine frowns, "No."
Great. I sigh and make my way over to the couch. Sitting next to her, I show Jasmine the book and explain "The words and pictures allow you to read the story. This one is called Peter Pan, it's about a boy who can fly and never grow old."
At first Jasmine is hesitant to come near, but eventually scoots closer to get a closer look at the book. She frowns and asks "How do you know what all the markings mean?"
Rolling my eyes I answer "It's called reading. And they aren't markings, they're letters. A bunch of them together make a word, then a bunch of words together make a sentence. Here, give me your hand."
Frowning confusedly, Jasmine reluctantly takes ahold of my hand. I discovered I could do this about a year ago, sharing information in my head with another person. I download the ability to read into Jasmine's brain. As I do, the girl's eyes grow wide and she shrieks "What was that!"
"Relax, it's part of my powers. Here trying reading now" I hand over the book.
Still frowning, Jasmine looks at one of the pages "It would have been well for Wendy if at that moment she had dropped the hat. Hey!" She smiles up at me.
"Good, now give it back" I say, snatching it out of her hands. The frown returns, but all Jasmine does is sink back into the couch. I sigh guiltily and say "I could read you the first chapter if you want."
"Really?" Jasmine asks hopefully.
"Yeah, come here." I open the book to the first page as she scoots closer. I'm a bit miffed that I have to start the book all over again, but luckily I wasn't too far in. I begin
"Chapter 1 Peter breaks through. All children, except one, grow up."
11:36 AM August 8th 1996, Russello Villa
A pink dot is sitting on a deck overlooking the river. I recognize it as Jasmine and decide to sneak up on her. Silently as I can, I creep up behind her and growl "What are you doing!" in my best Daniel voice.
Jasmine tenses and gasps. Slowly she turns her head up at me, her blue eyes beyond scared which is highlighted since her hair is up in a bun and out of her face. When Jasmine see's it is me, her terrified expression turns to one of anger "What the hell Joey!"
Laughing I take a seat next to her, "Haven't seen you for a few days."
"Been in the punishment room" Jasmine mumbles. "Emily's been even crazier than usual lately. Look at the bruise she gave me an hour ago" Jasmine lifts her skirt a bit to show me a blue bruise on her thigh.
"Yeah, Daniel's been crankier than usual to. Accidently ran into him yesterday in the hall, did this" I lift up my green tee-shirt. A giant bruise and cut are on my stomach. "And this is after getting a full night's sleep."
Frowning Jasmine mutters "What's his problem? I thought the woman is the one who gets moody during pregnancy."
"Emily's pregnant?"
"Yeah, you didn't know? A maid said she is due late November early December, so in a few months."
"Huh…thought she was just getting fat."
"Exercises too much to get fat" Jasmine grumbles, irritated at the thought.
Scrunching my eyes in confusion I ask "How would you know."
"Because when she was taking care of me, I had to sit in the stupid gym and wait while she worked out. Still remember how many tiles are on the wall, one thousand six hundred and twelve."
"That boring?"
"Worse" Jasmine mutters. She stares at a remote control toy car sitting in front of her. I recognize it as the one Pippa gave me, haven't seen it in years. Wonder where Jasmine found it. Before I can ask, Jasmine inquires "What have you been up to lately?"
"Reading, watching movies, exploring the villa. Same old same old" I shrug. "Finished a few good books, Great Expectations, The Baron in the trees, The Decameron. How about you? What have you been doing the last couple months?"
Jasmine frowns at the toy "Discovered I can do this."
Suddenly the little car starts to work. The few lights on it illuminate and I hear an electric buzzing sound. Next thing I know the toy is slowly driving around in small circles on the deck. Jasmine doesn't have the remote for the toy I notice. "When did this start?" I ask.
"About a week after we last talked" Jasmine answers. It's hard to keep track of dates here since I never leave the villa and my day to day routine doesn't really change. But last time Jasmine and I had a longer conversation was when I had to explain to her why we don't go to school, which was beginning of September. So she discovered this about three weeks ago. Jasmine continues "Found this in an office the guards were cleaning out for the new underboss; no idea where the remote is though. I brought it to my room, replaced the batteries, then one day I was staring at it and figured out how to do this."
"So are you just controlling the car or…"
"The battery power too" Jasmine finishes. "Well I can't control it, but I can turn it on and off. Then it is easier for me to move the parts of the toy that makes it move."
Raising my eyebrows I tell her "Have you told Daniel or Emily about this yet? They will both be excited."
Jasmine bites her lip nervously and scans the deck. After making sure nobody is around to hear her besides me she says "No; I don't want to."
"You have to" I snap. "It's Daniel's right to know, it will be his power one day."
"I know, I know. It's just…" Jasmine fumbles. "Don't tell them yet okay? I will eventually but right not right now. Right now I want this to just be mine."
"It's not" I state.
"I know, I just want to think it is for a while though."
"Daniel's going to find out, then he will be mad you didn't tell him. What are you going to do when he punishes you?"
Jasmine mumbles "What more could he do Joey? Either he or Madre hit you or me every day, and it's gotten worse lately. So what if Daniel gets mad about this, he's always mad at us anyway."
"If you get caught you better not drag me down with you!" I threaten. Jasmine doesn't respond, only watches as the toy car zooms around the deck. "Cut that out!"
The toy stops and Jasmine gives me a confused look "Why?"
"It's not okay."
"What do you mean? Padre likes it when we exercise our powers."
I hesitate before answering "You shouldn't do that. Our powers aren't natural, all they do is mess things up. You shouldn't be trying to strengthen them."
"They're natural to us, beside Padre uses his all the time."
"And you see what happens" I argue. "How many of Daniel's men have we seen go crazy because Daniel messes with their heads too much. I don't even know why he does that, I hate looking into others minds, it's creepy. Then changing the minds…something inside me keeps telling me it's just not okay. You should stop using your powers before somebody gets hurt."
Jasmine watches me with an apprehensive look for a long time. Eventually she turns her head and stares out over the river, not saying a word. One nice thing about Jasmine is she knows when to drop a subject. She's nice company to have around. She never argues or pushes to discuss something I don't want to. Sometimes when I am upset about Daniel or Emily, I just find Jasmine and begin ranting. For some reason, she always seems to know what to say. It's calming talking to Jasmine.
I join in Jasmine's study of the river. It is busy today, a lot of boats with people on them are travelling on it. I think out loud "Wish I was on one of those boats, get away from here."
Whipping her head around, Jasmine stares at me with shocked eyes. "Joey you can't say stuff like that! What if Daniel heard you!?"
"So what if he does" I shrug. "Like you said, what else can he do to me? Besides haven't you ever wondered what it would be like, not living here. Getting away from Daniel, Emily, the villa."
"No! It's dangerous to think those thoughts. Besides what's the use, we can't ever leave."
I sigh, "Yeah. Still it's fun to dream about. Sometimes I imagine going on an adventure like in one of the books I've read. Traveling down the river, seeing all the countries, meeting new people. When I was little, occasionally my nanny would take me out into the city, I always loved it." I look over at Jasmine, "Don't you wish to see what's outside the villa?"
Staring straight ahead, not sparing me one glance, Jasmine solemnly states "You shouldn't think about those things Joey. It'll get you in trouble." With that Jasmine stands up and walks back inside, slamming the door behind her.
Looking back out over the river, I notice the toy car sitting in front of me. It sits there sadly, waiting for the force to make it move.
Next chapter has Dick in it! I promise! Sorry it's taking so long.