Serafina’s laughter could be heard ringing throughout the house. Melinda stopped folding laundry to listen, wondering what could be making her two-year-old daughter giggle. She thought perhaps her brother, Jeremy, had arrived home early and gone in to entertain her. However, after examining the clock on the kitchen wall, she decided that was unlikely.
Moving toward the nursery, Melinda captured the nuances in Serafina’s laughter. First came a wild giggle, followed by a delighted cackle. The young mother couldn’t wait to see that had her toddler so enthralled. That is, until she actually entered the room.
Blonde curls bounced in the sunlight streaming through the filmy pink curtains. Blue eyes crinkled in excitement. That’s what Melinda noticed first. She gazed at her daughter as she placed her index finger into her mouth, showing off her adorable front teeth.
Turning in the direction of Serafina’s attention, Melinda’s heart stopped as she observed something that could only be equated to the paranormal. Bouncing on the window seat were her daughter’s many dolls and stuffed animals.
Some jumped high in the air while others simply seemed to dance in place. However, Melinda had no inkling as to what was making them move.
Running toward her baby, she gathered the child in her arms. As Serafina let loose of one last giggle, the objects of her enjoyment all plunged to the floor. It was as though someone had cut the invisible strings that held them in the air.
Next, the little girl let loose of a horrific scream, unhappy that her mother had disturbed her revelry. That noise brought consequences too. The nursery began to shake as though the earth beneath it was moving. Dropping to the floor, Melinda let Serafina maneuver from her grasp and crawl toward her favorite bear. She picked it up and hugged it before turning back to her mother.
“No! No!” the child mumbled the words she so often heard from the adults around her. “Bad Mommy!” Then sitting on the floor, she lovingly embraced each of her toys without turning another eye toward her parent.
Confused by what she’d seen, Melinda stumbled from the bedroom. Outside the door, she plastered her back to the wall while she gasped for breath. She had no idea what had just taken place. She only knew she didn’t like it.
The rest of the day passed without incident. Days turned into weeks and flowed into months until Melinda began wondering if she’d made the whole thing up or somehow dreamed it while fully awake. The answer to her question would take more than two years to answer.
Serafina remained a happy young child. She was the heart of her family; loved by her parents and her brother with equal zeal.
The next incident took place on Serafina’s fifth birthday. She was outside enjoying the bounce house with her friends when everything took a strange turn.
“Higher, higher” cried Serafina’s friend, Tiffany. Responding to her friend’s request, Serafina smiled and nodded her headed. Tiffany’s next bounce was significantly higher than before. Her third bounce had her head hitting the top of the rubber house.
At first the little girl giggled, but as each bounce became more uncontrolled, she began to panic. “Stop. Please stop,” she cried out in fear. That’s when her mother and Serafina’s father heard the ruckus and ran to help.
Serafina was crying too by then, “I did as she asked,” the little blonde mumbled. “Now she’s mad at me,” she wailed as she threw herself into her father’s arms.
“What did you do, Serafina?” her father demanded. He picked his daughter up and rocked her in his arms. By that time, Tiffany had already calmed down.
“She wanted to go higher, so I made her go higher,” Serafina said before burying her tears in her father’s shoulder.
“Tiffany’s just fine, Serafina.” The mother of the other child assured the crying birthday girl. “You didn’t do anything wrong. She just bounced too high.”
“No!” Serafina screamed. “It was my fault. Please tell Tiffany I’m sorry.” Then scrambling out of her father’s arm, she ran inside the house, up the stairs and hid in her closet. She refused to come out for cake and ice cream. The party ended abruptly.
It wasn’t until Serafina turned 12 that she began to understand her power. She could do things other kids could not. She could make things move with her mind; plant suggestions in other people’s minds; bend objects and even distort time. The power frightened her so she refused to use it.
One night at she lay sleeping, a tinkling voice called to her in her dreams. “Serafina come,” it commanded. “It’s time to learn who and what you are.”
The child tossed and turned, trying to ignore the voice calling to her but it would not be denied. “Come, Serafina. Come now!” it demanded, this time scaring her into submission.
Rising from her bed, the girl gazed at a strange light that hovered above her bed. Suddenly, a hand shot out of the light, grabbing her arm and pulling her into the light.
As Serafina burst through the other side, she gasped at the beauty around her. The sky was pink and orange. The grass was a powder blue. The sun was purple. The creatures surrounding her were both strange and wondrous.
Butterfly-like creatures soared in the air with tiny fairies on their backs. They giggled with glee as they dove downward and then soared back into the heavens.
In the grass were tiny green creatures, not unlike the Smurfs in one of Serafina’s favorite movies, except for their color. They skipped through the grass, picking flowers and weaving them into beautiful wreaths as they moved.
“I don’t understand,” Serafina turned toward the hand that had guided her. It was now attached to a tall, thin woman that looked remarkably like her grandmother. “Where am I,” she queried.
“Home,” the woman smiled just as she faded into a mist and floated away.
To be continued….