WHEN THE SEA CALLS
Chapter 69: An Illusion

Chapter 69: An Illusion

She also has a mark on her waist. Rhea thought. She couldn’t be the missing daughter. Is she? She shook her head quickly. She can’t be the missing daughter of Sanara. Her mother is Edith.

"Are you okay?" Leslie asked.

"I am fine," Rhea answered.

"Are you sure? You seemed lost in thought."

Rhea nodded. "I am sure. I am just thinking about how Luella felt when she saw her sister."

"She was very happy. I could tell that," Leslie answered. "Do you have more questions for me?"

Rhea shook her head. She doesn’t have any questions now. She can’t think of any.

"I don’t have any questions," Rhea replied.

Leslie sighed. "I do have a few more questions for you though. Are you going to answer them?"

Rhea nodded. She will be willing to answer them if she can.

"The bluestone," Leslie began. "Did you notice anything about it in the last few days?"

Rhea nodded quickly. She just remembered she had a question she had wanted to ask Leslie. How come she forgot?

Rhea moved closer to Leslie as if trying to prevent others from hearing her.

"Just a few days ago. It took the face of Celia and tried to provoke me."

"Aside from that, are there any other things?"

Rhea nodded. "I thought about hiding the bluestone from Celia because I was supposed to give her some seashell hair clips I made. So I lied to her that the hair clips were in my bag. It was to help me take the bluestone from the locker where I kept it, to another. When I opened the locker I saw the hair clips with the stone. But when Celia opened my bag, she saw the hair clips there."

"Did you see the hair clips in the locker after that?"

Rhea shook her head. "I did not. Not even a single one. I was surprised."

"That should be teleportation," Leslie mumbled.

Rhea was surprised. Teleportation? Doesn’t that involve movement that isn’t physical?

"Does the bluestone have the power of teleportation?" She asked.

"I think it does," Leslie answered.

Rhea’s eyes were brightened up. "What other powers does it have?"

"I don’t know. I haven’t seen the bluestone before. I do not know how it works either. I have only seen the picture, read about it from books, and listened to the story from my mother and grandmother."

Rhea sighed. If Leslie doesn’t know much about the bluestone. Who will?

"How about you ask Aquamarine?" Leslie suggested.

That is a good idea. Rhea thought. Or she could ask Aqua about it when next she sees her. But when will that be?

Rhea knew talking to Aquamarine was the best option.

"I think I will do that," she mumbled. Rhea had nothing else to say and Leslie too. Silence invaded the room for a while until Rhea spoke up again. "Can you predict when next I will merge with the stone?"

"That will depend on your body and how ready it is," Leslie answered and Rhea nodded.

But how will she know when her body is ready? Would there be any sign?

She could not ask Leslie about it since she knew little about the stone. She will need to ask Aquamarine about it.

But what if Aquamarine knows nothing about that too? She shook her head. She should know a lot about it.

"Do you want some fruits?" Leslie asked, cutting into Rhea’s thoughts.

"No... I mean yes, thank you."

Leslie stood up to get some fruit for Rhea. "Do you want to come with me?"

Rhea nodded and stood up. She would feel lonely staying in Leslie’s living room alone when Maia is not around.

She followed Leslie into the kitchen and waited by the table as Leslie picked out some fruits. Leslie asked Rhea what kind of fruits she would like to take and she named a few out.

"You must love fruit," Leslie said with a smile.

Leslie picked out the fruits and Rhea offered to wash them. Leslie did not stop her. She handed the bowl to Rhea and sat down on the stool.

Rhea opened the tap and placed the bowl into the sink. The water ran for a while and suddenly stopped. Rhea closed the tap and opened it but water did not come out.

"Leslie, the tap has stopped running," she said and Leslie moved close to her.

Leslie opened the tap and water came rushing. Leslie stared at the confused Rhea.

"There is water, Rhea," Leslie said.

Rhea walked to Leslie’s refrigerator and opened it up. She brought out an empty bottle of water.

It’s happening again. Rhea thought. But why now?

"Are you okay?" Leslie asked. "Do you want to drink water?"

Rhea shook her head. She doesn’t want water. She only did that to confirm if what had happened to her some days ago at home was happening again.

"I will get you a cup."

"No," Rhea shook her head. "I don’t want to drink water."

Leslie stopped. "You don’t want to drink water?"

Rhea nodded. She doesn’t.

"Look," she pointed at the bottle in her hand. "Is there water in it?"

Leslie nodded. "There is. Are you okay? Is there a problem?"

Rhea nodded. There is indeed a problem. But it seems the problem has everything to do with her.

"It’s empty to me, Leslie," Rhea answered.

"You can’t see any water in it?"

Rhea nodded. "Yes."

"Is this the first time?" Leslie asked, and Rhea shook her head.

"It’s the second time. When it happened the first time. I thought it was my imagination. But it’s happening again."

Leslie furrowed her brows. Could Rhea’s power or one of them be an illusion? An ability to make things that are real lookunreal and things that are not real look real?

Rhea stared at Leslie. She wasn’t saying anything and that is making Rhea worried.

Does Leslie have no information about this too?

"Leslie, please say something."

Leslie smiled. "Are you scared?"

Isn’t she supposed to be scared? Something could be wrong with her eyes or her.

Leslie still has a smile on and that made Rhea a bit relaxed.

Maybe it’s not something serious. She thought. But she was still scared a bit though. What if Leslie’s smile was only to calm her down, but in reality, there is more?

"You don’t have to be scared," Leslie said. "I think I know what it could be but first... Let’s slice the fruits and get them into a plate. Do you want some orange juice?"

Rhea shook her head. She doesn’t think she will be able to eat or drink anything.

"No, thanks," she mumbled.

Leslie moved closer to her and patted her. "Rhea, trust me. It’s not something serious."

Rhea sighed. If Leslie says it’s not something serious, then maybe it’s not.

"I want orange juice," Rhea answered.

"Can you get a bottle of orange juice from the refrigerator?" Leslie asked.

She wanted to confirm if water was the only thing Rhea could not see.

Rhea opened the refrigerator and brought out a bottle. "This one?" She asked.

Leslie furrowed her brows. Rhea picked out the right bottle. Why is she asking such a question?

"You can’t see what is inside of it?" Leslie asked.

Rhea nodded. She can’t but she has a feeling the bottle contains orange juice.

"Did you pick the bottle at random?" Leslie asked.

Rhea nodded. "I followed my instinct. Am I correct?"

Leslie nodded. "You are. Can you try bringing out a bottle of milk?" Rhea brought out a bottle, and indeed, it contained milk. "Does this bottle look empty to you?"

Rhea nodded. "All the bottles in the fridge look empty."

Leslie sighed. It seems water isn’t the only thing she can’t see. It could involve all liquids.

Leslie tested Rhea with other liquids and her prediction was right. Rhea can’t see any liquid. She asked Rhea to sit so she could quickly slice the fruits. When she was done, she placed the plate in a tray and added two glass cups and the bottle of orange juice Rhea had brought out. They went to the living room and sat down.

"You should eat," Leslie said. "I have a few questions to ask you."

Rhea picked a sliced apple up and began to mulch on it. Leslie waited until she had taken a few more slices before asking her some questions.

"Can you remember when you experienced the first illusion? I think what you are going through now is an illusion."

Rhea furrowed her brows. Can she remember the day correctly?

"I think it was on the day a pink cloud showed up in the sky."

"Can you remember how it happened?"

Rhea nodded. She does.

Rhea explained how she had tried to rinse two glasses, but the water from the tap suddenly stopped running. When she called Celia, there was water in the tap. She also told Leslie how all the bottles of water in the refrigerator were empty.

"Aside from the bottles of water being empty, were bottles containing other liquids empty too?"

Rhea shook her head. "No, only the bottles of water were empty, and the tap, too."

"Is there any other thing that happened that day? Maybe before you went to the kitchen or after you left it?"

Rhea nodded. "It was also the first day I met with Aqua. She was in my room when I came out of the bathroom. Before I went to the kitchen, I saw the pink cloud."

Leslie sighed. What is the connection?