I shook my head, trying to clear the cobwebs from y mind. Having your life run through in 30 seconds tended to leave one a bit dazed and confused. Fortunately (or should it be unfortunately) it wasn't the first time my mind was violated like this, so I was at least able to keep my emotions in check.
"Are you ok?" Annabelle asked me, "You look like you are about to faint, young man."
That got a chuckle out of me. Physically, I definitely looked older than her, yet, after that revelation from her, she was right. I was a young man compared to her. Hell, compared to the entity inside her, I was more like an infant.
"I'll be fine, Annabelle. And please, call me Jake. After that mind read, I think you know me well enough to sue my name."
"I am so sorry. I didn't mean to read your entire mind. Just felt this pull to it. I only wanted to know what had happened and where I was. I…..I feel so lost right now." She was fighting the tears. Probably cause if they started, it would never stop. Let's face it, with everything that had happened, most people would have had a nervous breakdown at best, and just gone completely insane at worse.
"It's ok. I underestimated the amount of power you had. I'm usually much better at blocking mental attacks. Now, tell me, Annabelle, those images I saw. Those were of your life, weren't they?"
She slowly nodded yes, the tears starting to slowly come. I went over to her and led her out to the living room, helping her to sit on the couch while I took the chair next to it. We sat for a bit, as she did her best to compose herself.
"Annabelle, what were all those images I saw?" I finally asked.
"They were of my life" she responded, her voice sounding weak and strained, "I was born in Germany in 1923." Annabelle looked past me, as if she was drifting, but she continued on, "my family and I were Jewish, and needless to say, were put in those damn camps, those death camps, once that bastard took power. Me and my younger brother and sister were separated from our parents. They starved us and worked us from sunrise until well past sunset. I remember at night, being too afraid to cry, I would pray for something, anything, to come and help me. And there were times I thought I could hear that something trying to answer me and find me.
"It seemed like an eternity that we there. Or, I should say, I was there. None of family survived. Than, finally, we were liberated by the Allies. The war was fast coming to an end. Once I was well enough, I came to America. Land of the free. Or so they said. Seemed to me, if you did not speak English, I most difficult language to master, than nobody gave a care about you. They'd just assume spit on you than talk to you. Well, most of them anyways." She said, as her face relaxed, and a smile slowly came across it.
"He taught me how to speak the language, and during it, we grew close and fell in love." I nodded, not wanting to interrupt with questions that had obvious answers to them. "His name was George. He was so handsome and dashing. He was a college professor in English. He treated me as if I was the most precious person in the world. How could I not fall in love with him? We married after a very short courtship. We lived a happy life, despite not being able to have children. We traveled a lot, even back to my homeland, once that god awful wall came down.
"Once he retired, we moved to Texas. It's where he was originally from. We lived in a nice neighborhood there. There was a good synagogue near by as well. Even though George was not Jewish, he wasn't one for any faith really; he always encouraged me to keep going. Than one day, after services, I noticed some young men lurking outside. George had met me and we had walked home, but once we got inside, those men broke in. The names they had called us. They were those Nazi follower types. I couldn't control my anger and shouted back at them. One of them came after me with a knife, but George stepped in front…" her voice trailed off as her tears returned.
"The reality of what they did must have scared them, as they ran out right after that. But I will never forget their faces, or their thoughts. I've always had a slight gift for reading minds. The more powerful the thought, the more it jumped out at me. And those men, the things they wanted to do, just because I was Jewish?"
"I'm so sorry Annabelle. I know what hate can do and how it can make beings act like that." I stumbled out, trying to be sympathetic, knowing I was failing. "When did you lose him?"
She continued on, as if she didn't hear me.
"I sat there, holding George. My beloved husband. He managed to give me one last goodbye before he left me forever. All the rage and fury I felt at them. It was as if my very soul cried out for help. The next thing I know, there was a fiery flash, and I was here."
"This just happened?" I said dumbfounded.
"Yes." She said, her voice changing. It sounded different. A bit colder, yet it was filled with such fire, such passion. "And now….I can feel it inside me. I can get those boys. Make them pay for what they did." Annabelle said, rising up.
I could see her aura. The Phoenix aura. It was as if she was bathed in fire. Fire in the shape of a bird. It was definitely well named.