Remembering Me

Chapter 2: Who's That Girl?

Raven’s Point of View

I was enjoying the peacefulness of the waves rolling onto shore on the beach on our property when it hit me. I’d been sketching the trees and a bird sitting on a branch when I felt compelled to turn the page and start drawing something new. It was like my sketching pencil had a mind as it dipped and turned, shading spots and drawing distinct lines. My hand moved exceedingly fast. It was a blur as the sketch took shape, and then, as quickly as it had started, it was done. I looked down at the image of a beautiful teenage girl with shoulder-length hair and gentle eyes. She looked shy and anxious and pointed forward in the sketch… almost like she was pointing at me.

I dropped the sketchbook and pencil as if they had burned me and hurried back onto the wooden log I was sitting on. The last time I’d sketched like this was before our two cats, Theo and Clover, became part of our family. I had been sitting on the dock, with my legs resting in the water and sketching, when I was overcome with an urge to draw something. The image unfolded was of my twin brother River and me with two cats in our arms. I thought nothing of it until two black cats appeared by our front door the next day.

We tried to find their owners, but no microchips or any notices of lost cats were posted in our small community. The vet we’d brought them to thought they were siblings and noted how taken the two felines were with my brother and me. He said it was almost as if they were claiming ownership of us and not vice versa. Surprisingly, my temperamental mother let us keep them. Dad is gruff but so easygoing that he would have said yes immediately. Thankfully, it didn't come to "playing one parent against the other" to keep the cats. It was odd how my mom accepted them as our new pets without a fuss.

My mother suddenly appeared and sat down beside me. She picked up the sketchbook, looked at the young girl's drawing, and furrowed her brows.

“Raven, do you know this girl?” she asked. She was eerily calm, and her expression was pensive.

“No,” I said, shaking my head.

“When you drew this, was it like how you drew Theo and Clover before they came?” Mom asked gently. She could tell that I was rattled by what had just happened.

I nodded again, stunned and silent by the experience of my body being pretty much hijacked again to draw a picture.

“Raven, honey, you’ve always had a way of knowing about important things to come before they occur, even as a small child. But it seems like as you’ve gotten older, your talent for drawing is giving you another way to see ahead,” Mom said gently.

“See ahead? What does that mean?” I asked, baffled.

“The Budrioli family is a very old family, with different gifts and talents that are quite rare. Not everyone in the family has these abilities, though. They are only given to a chosen few. Our family has benefited from my psychic ability with the stock market, but that, my dear, as you know, is a family secret,” my mother shared in a hushed tone.

“But what about River? Will he be able to do things like this, too? We are twins after all…” I asked with concern.

“Your brother is distracted and not open, so I do not know what he is or is not capable of. I know he has a talent for starting fires, figuratively and literally,” Mom said irritably. She bit her lip in vexation and sighed deeply.

I roared with laughter at that. River was a massive flirt, and he always had someone infatuated with him. My twin brother was not academic and preferred blowing off class and smoking weed with his bandmates. River was brilliant, and we enjoyed reading together when we were younger. As kids, we’d constantly huddled together, reading a book under one of the many trees on our property. But, when my brother grew into his looks, we grew apart. River liked to host bonfires for the parties we threw on our property and was always in charge of the fires with his friends. I got what my mom was indirectly saying with that comment!

“River may never have magic like you and I do, Raven. Or, it may manifest itself once he’s matured and grown. You’ve always been the more responsible and calm one, my love,” Mom said.

I hugged my mom and then picked up my sketchbook again.

“I don’t know who she is, but when I meet her, I’ll tell you, Mom,” I promised.

***



I was doodling in my sketchbook when I saw the girl from my drawing walk in. She looked around the room nervously, searching for a place to sit. The girl sat down in the seat beside me quickly. It was the last seat available in the middle section of the room. I smiled, thinking about how she didn’t want to sit in the front of the classroom even though many seats were still available. I could feel her eyes on me while I doodled, and I looked up at her and nodded hello.

The geography class with Ms. Williams looked like it would be intense this semester. I was pleasantly surprised that Sage was attentive to the lesson and took notes as our teacher spoke. It was clear that the new girl shared my studious nature, prompting a smile from me. I knew we would get along well. The bell rang for lunch, signaling the end of our second-period class. I invited Sage to join my friends and me for lunch.

Everyone was nice and friendly to Sage. We discovered that Claire, Vince, and Tristan were in her next Environmental Science class. Jason and Emily were in her last-period drama class. That meant River would be in the class with them, too. That would be interesting with Jason, River, and Emily all in the same class. Who was this girl? I needed to make sure I spoke with my mother tonight.