You Think You Can't See Me (eBook)

Chapter 2

They park in the lot farthest from the entrance, where they can see the top of the Ferris wheel slowly turning. The hum of the crowd and tinny sound of carnival music, vying to be heard over a heavier rock-and-roll beat, travels to them on the breeze. In spite of having just eaten, Brenda’s stomach rumbles when the sweet and tangy fried food and sugar smells reach them. Jim smiles and takes her hand, leaning into the sounds and smells, already thinking about a corndog or maybe a beer.

As they reach the entrance, Brenda thinks she sees Felicity, but she looks like she’s slightly bent over. Pulling on Jim’s hand, they approach quickly, hoping everything’s okay.

“Felicity? David? What’s going on?”

Felicity straightens up with David’s help and lets out a garbled laugh, holding her hand over her swollen belly. “I’m fine. The baby started kicking big-time as soon as I could smell all the food. Between those hard kicks, I mean the hardest I ever felt, and my hypersensitive nose, it got somewhat overwhelming. I feel hungry, almost to the drooling point. But I also feel a little bit nauseous from the sensory overload, with all the conflicting smells. It’s quite a mix between food I’m craving, along with sweat and a kind of lowlife vibe. Does that make sense?”

They all start laughing and Brenda says, “Only from you, Felicity, only from you.”

Once Felicity has gathered herself, and her baby has stopped kicking so energetically, they continue on together, wandering towards various food concessions and checking out the sights. Enjoying the children’s raucous laughter, along with the background noise of the barkers hawking their rides and prize booths, they proceed to an area in the back that has a colorful variety of small tents and lean-tos. A few of them have handmade crafts and jewelry for sale, with an overall feel of being less junky than the usual souvenirs.

Jim points to the largest tent, which seems to have drawn a small crowd, and they wander over to take a look. The tent entrance is closed off and they realize there’s a line of people waiting for the next magic show to start. The sign over the entrance indicates that the next show featuring Osman the Illusionist starts in about fifteen minutes. Jim looks over at David and says, “You want to go in?”

David looks over at Felicity, who suddenly puts her hands on her belly and utters a loud grunt. “Ughhh, the baby is kicking again like crazy. It’s even worse than when we first got here.”

“Oh, maybe you should sit down or something,” David says, as he leads her away from the crowd.

“I’m okay — the kicks are only light now that we’re farther away from that tent. I don’t think the baby likes this Osman the Illusionist guy much. In fact, the closer we got, the stronger I could smell that something wasn’t right. You know I can smell evil... and I wonder if the baby can too.”

The other three are looking at her now, nodding and looking around vigilantly. They’re all remembering how Felicity helped bring down a major drug ring with her ability to literally smell and sense evil, as well as determine when people are lying. After a minute, Jim starts laughing, and Brenda says, “What’s so funny?”

“Kind of ironic, don’t you think? Felicity smells when someone’s lying, and the guy is an illusionist. Maybe he’s also an evil illusionist! Isn’t creating an illusion like a lie?”

They all look at him for a beat, then start laughing too. What they don’t know is at the precise moment the baby started kicking furiously, Osman the Illusionist was “sawing” his lovely assistant in half. His assistant has bruises covered with makeup all over her body, and she was wishing Osman really would cut her in half and finally end her agony.

Now Jim and David are curious about the illusionist, and want to see the show. The farther they walk from the tent, the more the baby settles down, so Brenda and Felicity decide to get something to eat and meet up with them after the next show is over. They split up and the guys go back to wait, while Brenda and Felicity wander back towards the food concessions. Felicity hones in on the stand that’s selling the funnel cakes, and Brenda wrinkles her nose, thinking about how bad the fried dough is for your health — not to mention your waistline. The fried smell is even kind of sickening to her, and she wonders how it can be appealing to Felicity’s senses. “I’m definitely going to pass on those fried calories,” Brenda says, looking around for something else that might appeal to her.

“Suit yourself, but I’ve been craving them all day. Or maybe it’s the baby. Yeah, that’s it, we’ll blame it on the baby.”

While Brenda’s waiting for Felicity to get her treat, she looks around to see if they have anything she wants to eat. Somewhat disappointed in the offerings, she decides to pass and looks over to where the handcrafted jewelry and art are displayed. She wants to take a closer look and is glad when Felicity comes back, her face already sprinkled with powdered sugar. With her mouth still full, she says, “You don’t know what you’re missing. These are so yummy.”

“Ha, I’ll take your word for it. Let’s get away from here before I give in. I want to take a look at the handmade stuff over there. I think they might have more than I first realized.”

As they make their way towards the displays, the crowd thins out, and Felicity notices a small black tent covered with half-moons and stars set back from the crafts area. “Hey, look at that,” she says, finishing the last bites of her funnel cake.

They stand in front of the tent entrance, suddenly noticing there’s no one else around. It becomes unusually quiet as a perfumed breeze seems to take the carnival sounds away, leaving only a faraway white noise. The small sign hanging on the flap of the tent says, Ask Cibil — Your Past, Your Now, Your Future. Felicity’s eyes glaze over, and she instinctually puts her hand on her belly, imaging the baby’s little hand is meeting hers. “I want to go in here,” she blurts out, suddenly breaking the calm.

“Oh,” Brenda says, stepping back and looking around, shaking her head as though coming out of a daze. “Um, okay. Maybe it’ll be fun. I want to look at the jewelry, though, so I’ll come back and wait for you if you’re not done by then.”

As Brenda turns to leave, a voice from inside the tent says, “Come in, please do come in. I’ve been waiting for you.” The friends nod to each other, and Felicity enters the tent. The lighting inside is dim, and she’s surprised at how much larger the tent appears to be from the inside. The walls are covered with beautiful scarves and tapestries, and the smell is a perfect balance of incense, the ocean, and a summer breeze. For a second, Felicity tries to recall what the scent reminds her of, and then realizes it’s the smell that filled her senses the afternoon her baby was conceived. The memory causes the hair on her arms to stand up, and the baby kicks gently, as though doing a soft-shoe.

As her eyes adjust to the low, scarlet-hued lighting, Felicity sees a young woman sitting at what looks like a very worn wooden table, chipped and carved with names and symbols. With a slight wave of her hand, the woman motions her to sit down and says, “I’m Cibil, and I’m so honored you’re here. There is much I want to tell you.”

Felicity sits and slowly scrutinizes the young woman across the low table. “You’re so young. I guess I expected someone older. Like maybe an old lady,” Felicity chuckles.

“That would be my grandmother. Has she read for you previously?”

“Why, no, it’s just that this all seems so familiar — not like déjà vu, but more like I’m supposed to be here. Or maybe I have been here before. I have to be honest, it feels strange, and I have a certain…”

“Yes, I know,” Cibil says before Felicity can finish. “I know of your extrasensory abilities, although I don’t know from where they come. I just know you are powerful, as is your unborn child.” This makes Felicity nervous, and she protectively puts both hands over her belly and stares at Cibil, waiting for her to continue. “If you give me your hands, we’ll begin. Your baby can hear me too.” Almost reluctantly, Felicity reaches both hands across the table, and as Cibil makes contact, a soft hum of energy moves between them. “Do you want to know your baby’s sex?”

Even though Felicity already knows she’ll be having a baby girl, she nods. Cibil then says, “She’s so lovely, and she tells me she’s most excited to be your daughter.” She gives a little laugh and says, “You’re going to have your hands full. This one also has powers, although different from yours. She’s an old soul and has lived before, and that’s why you have named her Renee. It means born again.”

Felicity gasps and pulls her hands back. “How do you know this? How do you know these things? There’s no way you can know!”

“Oh, I didn’t mean to frighten you. Just as you have powers like no other, powers that can’t be explained, I can simply read you so clearly, and little Renee too. There are other realms we both know of and explore, yes? Would you prefer we not continue?”

Felicity puts her hand on her belly again and closes her eyes. She visualizes the baby placing her little hand in the same place. The sense of...