Paranormal Twins: The New Beginning
Chapter 6: Jakki

I smiled as a tornado of water moved towards me. It fizzled and steamed out when it hit my outstretched hand. The girl who said she saw me, Sierra, smiled. “I’m an Elemental, too.” She said. I cocked my head to the side and scrunched my eyebrows together. Sierra understood my confusion. “You don’t know?” I shrugged.

“I’ve never heard someone use the word ‘Elemental’ before,” I replied. Sierra looked around before pulling me close.

“You need to come with me. My mother can help you and keep you safe.” She tried to pull me away, but I resisted and pulled out of her grip. “What’s the matter?” She asked.

“Multiple things. First, I barely know you, and just because you have powers like I do does not mean I trust you. I don’t trust anyone. Second, I have someone else with me. I can’t leave her on the streets by herself.” I explained. I started to walk back towards where Rachelle was. Sierra hurried to follow me.

“Is she like you? Is she a Fire Elemental?” I shook my head and put a finger to my lips, telling her to be quiet. She nodded and I slowly walked over to shake Rachelle awake. She sat up slowly, worry and sleep in her eyes.

“What’s wrong? Is someone here?” She looked around, worried.

“No. Well, yes, someone is here, but we don’t have to run. I met her while I was training. She’s like me. Well, she’s sort of like me. She said we could stay with her.” I pointed to where Sierra was standing. In this light, I realized that her hair was a dark blue. “Her name is Sierra.” I looked back at Sierra. “This is my sister, Rachelle.” Sierra waved and Rachelle gave a shy wave back. She looked at me hesitantly but I just nodded, hiding all of my doubts with a smile.

She stood up and wrapped a blanket around herself. I didn’t notice the cold too much; my body temperature was higher than normal. I wrapped my arms around Rachelle’s shoulders so she would be warmer. We walked over to where Sierra was standing and she led us to her house.

“My mom may be a little… Eccentric when she sees you. She worries a lot. She may be a little guarded at first, but when she replaces out you’ve been on the streets she’ll fawn over you.” Rachelle bit her lip, and I knew exactly what question she was going to ask.

“Will we get food?” She asked hurriedly, then blushed at her suddenness. Even though we ate, we were far from well-nourished. I felt bad for not being able to take care of her well enough, but Rachelle knew I was trying my hardest.

Sierra smiled and nodded. “Fed, bathed, clothed. You’ll be taken care of.” Rachelle and I shared equal looks of excitement. It’s been weeks since we’ve bathed, or changed into freshly washed clothes. Sierra chuckled, presumably at our excited faces.

When we reached, what I figured, was Sierra’s house, I started getting nervous. What if her mother turned us away? We were smelly, dirty, and underfed. What if she wouldn’t help us like Sierra said she would?

Sierra opened the door and a woman, most likely Sierra’s mother, looked up, a phone to her ear. When she saw her daughter she told whoever was on the other end that it was a false alarm and ran over to Sierra, embracing her, not even noticing Rachelle and I.

Sierra and her mom talked quietly, her mom going on about how worried she was and Sierra reassuring her that she’s fine. Rachelle and I stood awkwardly, not knowing what to do or how to act, until Sierra finally pulled away from her mother and introduced us.

“I’m sorry I stayed out practicing longer than I promised, but I saw a light and had to see where it came from. That’s how I found them.” Sierra explained.

Her mother eyed us suspiciously. She probably thought we were runaways. Or druggy kids. Great. We’re either going to be kicked back onto the streets or have the cops called on us. “Sierra… Honey… you can’t just bring...” She searched for the right words, “Strangers into our house like this.”

I was about to say that this was all a mistake and that we were just going to leave when Sierra spoke up.

“Mom, they aren’t just random kids off the street.” She motioned her mother closer and whispered in her mother’s ear, probably telling her about me. Her mother looked at me curiously. I felt like she could see right through me, and I hugged myself. Her mom mumbled something about clothes and food. Sierra nodded and walked towards Rachelle.

“Rachelle, why don’t you come with me? I’ll get you a shower and some fresh clothes.” Rachelle couldn’t hide the look of excitement in her eyes.

“And food?” She asked.

Sierra and her mother laughed. “Yes, and food. We’ll make sure of that,” her mother answered. Rachelle followed Sierra upstairs, leaving me to her mother.

“What was your name, dear?” She asked kindly. I hesitated before answering. “Um... Ja… Jakki. I’m Jakki.”

She smiled. “Well, welcome to my home, Jakki. You can call me Lauri. Sierra told me about you, but I wanted to talk to you a little myself. Then we can get you a shower and clothes like your sister.” She motioned to the couch and I sat down. She sat on a chair across from me. “Can you tell me how you came to realize your fire powers? And how you ended up on the streets?”

I was originally planning on telling a lie, something boring like burning my book bag and all my homework, but something about her made me want to tell the truth. Something told me I could trust her. I started telling her everything from the beginning, and somewhere during my story I started crying. I was a blubbering mess by the time I finished, and I was still crying when she showed me to the bathroom and I took a long, hot shower.