I fluttered my eyes. The sunlight penetrating the window started bathing my skin and irritating my eyes. I shifted my position trying hard to sleep again. I wasn't ready to begin my day just yet. What had happened yesterday was something I didn't want to deal with today. I knew I was already awake and I was trying to control my heart filling up with emotions. A deep soothing pain rushed inside me as I didn't hear my mother's voice calling me for breakfast. My dad didn't dash inside my room, pulling me out of bed to accompany him for the morning walk.

"Sleep Hayden, sleep!" I encouraged to myself. Thinking about both my parents was turning into the hardest thing in the world.

Something started itching my left thigh. I scratched it making the itch go away. For a second I was fine but again the itch surfaced.

I moaned and I was slightly ticked off when I forcefully pulled myself up to sit on the bed. I put my hand across my pocket to check what was so successful to wake me up. I brain quickly jammed when I felt it. I took it out and watched it with my own eyes.

The red blazing stone was back in my pocket. I fairly remember putting it in the drawer last night. I didn't want to believe everything the boy named Tyrell Kissler told me about the stone. But the situation was signifying otherwise.

"Hayden, are you awake?" I heard my aunt calling knocking my door.

"Yeah just waking up," I said and quickly slid the stone back into my pajama pocket, "Come on in."

She peeked inside first to check on me and then walked inside holding a tray with a plate of sandwich and a glass of milk. I smiled at her being very careful about not making her suspicious about me hiding something from her.

"Feeling better, honey?" she asked.

"Yup!" I said nodding.

"Good," she said placing the tray and sitting beside me, "Why did you run outside yesterday? I was calling you. Did you bring anyone in?"

I looked up at her for a moment. I was myself not interested to involve in all the obligations I was facing and I completely disagreed her involvement in it. But before I could answer her I heard a voice in my mind which I was sure belonged to Tyrell.

"Good morning buddy! Did you sleep well?" he said.

"Damn!" I whispered, gritting my teeth, forgetting my aunt was there waiting for my answer.

"Sorry honey, what?" she said looking at me intently.

"Nothing," I said quickly, "I mean no one; just a friend visited me last night, from Jacksonville. He stayed for a little while."

I hated that I was lying to her convincingly. But I had no choice. How could I tell her about everything happening to me. She might just freak out and never allow me to step outside the house again.

"Oh! Are you lying to your aunt? Oh my poor friend!" said Tyrell laughing.

It was really difficult for me to get him out of my mind. I clenched my teeth, trying hard to concentrate on my aunt.

"Hayden I wanted to talk to you yesterday but I couldn't," she said looking down at her lap. She hesitated for a while.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Have you taken any decision..."

"I wasn't talking to you!"

I cried out at Tyrell and bit my tongue.

My aunt looked up startled. He eyebrows knitted close together watching me as if I was a moth.

"So you were saying?" I asked before she could seriously get frightened about my weird behavior.

"We are leaving today," she said, still at me suspiciously, "Me, uncle Ryan and your grandparents."

I gaped.

"Today?" I asked, vehemently, "but I thought you said not leaving till the memorial."

"Yes and that's why we are having the memorial today."

"What are you talking about?"

My aunt took the decision of having the memorial for my mom and dad at the tenth day of their demise. My aunt especially needed some time to talk to her parents, my mother's parents, before they took the next step for the rituals. I never met my grandparents whom I presumed living in India. I never knew what had happened between them and my mom that they decided to take this drastic step of separation and swore never to see each other again. When my aunt informed me about notifying them and inviting them to my parent's memorial I was so much thrilled to meet them. But now it seemed everything drowning in gutter.

"You said you will be inviting them," I asked, "My grandparents."

"They are not coming," she said bluntly, "So we decided..."

"Not coming?" I asked shockingly. How can someone be so tenacious? "Let me talk to them."

"No," she said, "I already did that for you. They don't want to know about what had happened to their daughter and son in law."

I clenched my white knuckled fist. Anger crawled up to me like an ant. I started feeling my stone slightly burning down in my pocket but I was careful not to burn anything up.

"Do they atleast know I exist? Their grandson?"

"No," she said, "They don't want to know anything. Hayden, it's better for you, if you don't meet them."

"Why?" I asked with a raised voice, "Aunt Tanya, my mother never told me about them but you can. Please tell me what happened between my mom and them."

"I don't know," she said quickly, "Your mom and I left them a while ago. Since then we never met. And I appreciate if you forget about them too. I came to ask you to get ready for the memorial we are conducting in your living room. Don't worry, your uncle and I did all the arrangements for it. It's just a small gathering and then we shall leave."

I stared at her as I couldn't say anything. I was so irked to fight or argue with her about this anymore. I just wanted everything to be over so that I could start a new life and learn to live without my parents, not that I seriously wanted it to. I watched her closing the door leaving me alone in my own thoughts. But there was one person, I totally forgot still lingering in my mind and hearing me speaking.

"I am so sorry dude," said Tyrell.

"Leave me alone!" I cried in that silent bedroom of mine.

-----------------------

After an hour or so, all me relatives and friends gathered in my living room. I, in my black suit, slowly walked down trying to mingle in the throng. But then I started feeling a little bit uncomfortable standing among the whole lot of people. Few of them consoling me unnecessarily and some deciding my future without even my consent. I was really getting so frustrated that for a moment I thought to shout at them to get out of my house.

I watched my uncle setting up the stage by bringing up the poster of mom and dad's marriage picture. He lit up few candles across them. I gave it a quick but nervous glance. My mom in her white gown and my dad in his black tux-holding their hands-and smiling brightly. How happy they looked! I never really appreciated my mom when she was alive, but she was the most beautiful woman in my life. I was barely able to see that picture and turned away trying to keep my tears forming in my eyes.

"Please have your seats," said my Aunt standing up on the stage, facing the rest of us. As we sat, my stone in my pocket suddenly gave me a twinge. I slightly scratched my leg to let it go.

"Thank you very much for coming," began my aunt, "Even though it was very short notice, I really couldn't thank you less for coming here today for my sister and her dear husband's memorial who were nothing less than two angels in my life. Today we are gathered here to remember them and pray for them to rest in peace. They were such a lovely couple, so much in love with each other and blessed with this beautiful child who filled their life with joy. My deep condolences to you, my child, that you had to lose them in such a tender age. So without any further delays, I would like to ask my lovely nephew, Hayden, to come up here and say few words about them."

Silence fell throughout. My heart skipped a beat when she called my name. I slowly stood up. My stone in my pocket was burning that I wasn't able to concentrate on my speech. I scratched it without anyone able to notice that I was getting distracted. I stepped up on the stage, facing every one of them. I found each and everyone staring intriguingly back at me, waiting for me to speak. But I wasn't able to begin. For a moment I forgot why I was standing here. I bent my head down, to escape from the embarrassment that I might create. I didn't know why but I wanted to cry out loud. I never knew speaking about my own parents turn out to be toughest thing ever.

This nasty feeling inside me was killing me thoroughly. My nerves suddenly shut down. My sucked in a shaky breathe, feeling throat constrict. Panic rose like a bile inside my body. MY palms felt clammy and knees were giving up.

"HAYDEN MOVE ASIDE!!"

I jerked my head up when I heard my aunt's nervous shout. I followed her sight and I stepped back involuntarily. My mouth dropped when I saw my parent's poster on fire. It was burning right in front of my eyes. I didn't know how it had happened as my brain jammed watching it. The intensity of the fire increased as it caught the curtains right net to it. Everyone screeched, creating a newly born chaos. My aunt came running and pulled me away from the flames. Uncle Ryan, right away, brought the fire extinguisher from the kitchen, pulled the lever up and swept it back and forth till the fire was lit out.

Many eyes turned to me, where I was standing still drowned in shock. Slowly my senses came back to me, when I was silently hearing my deep breathes.

Uncle Ryan was staring at me incredulously, as if it was my fault everything happened. He always needed someone to throw a blame and I was always an easy target. I hated him for that. But this time I mentally thanked him for acting stupendously, and saving my house from turning it into an inferno.

"Are you alright?" my aunt asked hugging me thoroughly.

"I am fine," I whispered.

"It must be the candles," she said sadly.

She kissed me on my forehead and moved towards her husband helping him clean the ashes. I stared at her while doing so but my mind lingered on something else. I shivered slightly trying to touch my stone inside my pocket. My conscience was telling me it was not the candles that burnt my parents' posters. It could be me. It was me. I flinched as I recalled the words from Tyrell Kissler.

"It is better to get trained and master the stone before we mix up the normal people. If you be foolish and ignore this...I don't think you need any more complication in your life than you already have."

-------------------------

The very evening, trying not to think too much about the disastrous memorial, I bid good bye to all my relatives and it was really so hard especially for my grandmother who couldn't stop kissing me. Lastly leaving my house was my aunt, standing at the threshold, unable to leave me alone, watching me with her watery eyes.

"Why don't you come and stay with us?" she said, her voice quivering, "How will you stay alone?"

"I will be fine," I said, "I can take care of myself."

"I know you can," she said, "it's just...you look so much like your mom, I just wish all of this hadn't had happened."

"I do too, Aunt Tanya," I said, "Trust me, I do too."

As soon as they left the tranquility inside my house gave me sheer pain. Feeling a slight warmth inside my pocket I sat on the couch of my living room and switched on my television set to drive away my thoughts of Tyrell and his warning.

"Better I watch shows," I whispered to myself.

I finished a seasons of The Big Bang Theory and one from How I met You Mother. But the comedy sitcoms didn't quiet lighten up my mood. Whatever I tried nothing was helping me. Finally I decided to get out of the house which I thought was running after to haunt me. I started calling my friend from school to hang out with. I was about to dial the number on my landline when I heard a loud cry right outside my house. I frowned. I quickly peeked outside the window to see what had happened. I found an old man on the ground, hit by a car. He was bleeding and crying out of pain. I realized no one was coming forward to help the old man. I hurriedly ran outside, leaned towards the man and lifted him up. I noticed the car backing up and trying to escape the scene. I wasn't able to bare the driver's recklessness.

"Excuse me," I said knocking at window of the car and trying stopping him. The driver was younger man, nothing more than my age. He slid down the window and removed his glasses to face me.

"Can I help you?" he said, in casual manner.

"I hope you realize what you have done."

"Are you talking about the man? He is breathing right, what's the big deal?"

I was now really mad. I asked him to get down but he refused. So I opened the door myself and pulled him out by his collar. Suddenly I felt a hunch. I caught his palm and pressed it hard.

"Aaaarghh!!"

The boy bellowed.

I quickly let him go realizing what I had done. My mouth dropped and my heart skipped a beat. I just barbequed the man's palm. He was crying so loud in pain that he was attracting many people.

I was baffled finding in what situation I was in. My facial muscles strained with frustration. I wasn't able to bare all the many eyes upon me. I was being targeted falsely for the second time today.

Involuntarily, I ran away from the incident. I pushed away many people making my own way. I didn't want to go back to my house. It didn't seem the safest place for me. And so I ran and I ran till I found a place where I could all alone and where people wouldn't recognize me. I entered into the nearest city park beside a lake. I stopped running when I stepped up at one of the rocks beside the lake and fell on the ground placing my hands on my face, crying out loud and yet not wanting the people around find me in a the most vulnerable state.

My mind still racing, I felt my shirt drenched with sweat. I looked at my hand contemplating. What was happening to me, I thought, how could I hurt someone?

I took out my Cornelian. It was shining bright. These incidences were making me realize that I was really different. But I didn't want to be different. I couldn't resist, I felt my head bursting with pain and I did it which I thought I should have done it earlier. I threw the stone far away into the lake.

I absent mindedly stared at the cool rippling lake as the sun began to set. Its reflection on the late began to crept lower and lower. The day was about to end but I felt my dejection might never ever end.

I needed my mother more than anyone. I needed to share my feelings with her, to pour my heart onto her. Tears were still running down my cheeks as if running down from a rivulet. This pain was so much that I thought I might never stop crying.

And then, an assuring hand settled on my shoulder. Startled I glanced up to recognize it was Tyrell Kissler who was looking down back at me smilingly and sympathetically. I didn't ask him how he knew I was sitting right there. But somewhere deep down inside my heart I was glad he found me. May be, every thousand of littlest of the little particles were persuading me that he was the only person in the world who could understand my situation and help me get out of everything that was happening to me.

"I warned you," he said, in a low voice, "I told you to be careful."

"What is happening to me?" I asked apprehensively.

"Nothing is happening to you. It's your stone that's making you to think that way. These are just the deadly symptoms that your stone creates. We all underwent through this."

"I threw away that stone. I don't want it."

"Did you really?"

I looked at him skeptically and then checked my pocket. It was there. It was back.

Damn!!

"I told you, you cannot discard it. It will follow you wherever you go."

"What do I do now?" I asked, finally making him win over me, "I can't hurt all these people. I almost blasted my house and I almost killed a person today."

"Come with me, to the academy. I promise you will never ever miss your family again."

"Academy?" I asked perplexed, "I don't know."

"It's always better to choose the disliked people who accept you with open arms rather than the liked people who can never understand you and your capabilities. This is what doctor told me when he first visited me and I have been saying to everyone else."

I looked at him again trying to make up mind about what he was telling me. I know he was right, I know he was offering me my safety that I needed the most but I didn't know if I should take it. I looked away from him now gazing at the lake. My heart was convincing me to go with him but my mind wasn't accepting. I was changing, that was for sure. I wasn't being normal. Whatever I touched could burn into ashes against my wishes and I cannot afford to take the responsibility for it.

I swallowed hard, wiping me tears. I sneezed and rubbed my face with the sleeve of my right arm. I finally decided what to do the right thing. I looked at him again and smiling nervously, I gave him a single nod.

"Brilliant," he said delightfully, "Let's go."