The Curiosity of The Enigmatic

“I haven’t seen you in a swimming costume before. I must say however, I thought you were more of a bikini girl.” I rip my shirt off and glare at Eric as he plonks down next to me grinning wildly.

His dark brown eyes form half moons and I notice that he has light freckles on the bridge of his nose probably brought about by the summer sun.

“I haven’t been here in a while but I’m certain you don’t have a swimming pool much less a kiddies’ one in your backyard, last time I checked. You going to go swim in the heat waves?”
A muscle near my eye jumped. “I see you haven’t changed since the holidays Eric.”

“Glad you noticed,” he said standing up when I did. “One shouldn’t take a new school year so seriously. I remember how you sulked and grumbled...Actually, I should say I can still see how you sulk and grumble.”

I didn’t raise to the bait by denying it. I wasn’t a fan of school and was frequently stressing about the work. I grinned and said, “Trust me in this at least, grade eleven is tough; you WILL be forced to take it seriously.”

“Ah well,” Eric replied stroking an imaginary beard and trying to look wisely benevolent. He failed miserably. “You know me.” He eyed my costume and grinned secretly. “Were you sitting here and waiting for me to invite you to swim?”

I raised my eyebrows and folded my arms over my chest. “That plan has many holes in it. I’m not an idjit; you’ve never invited me to swim in your pool.”

“Then why....?”

I couldn’t tell him. I broke out in a sweat though it was more from the heat than anything else. “Maybe I just like to walk around in my new swimming costume, you have a problem with that?”

Eric smirked and folded his arms as well. “Not at all.”

I blushed for some strange reason even though his answer made no logical sense. “Never mind, I’m going in. Hopefully I won’t see you around at school.”

“That was mean!” he followed me across the lawn and my neck stiffened.

“That’s precisely why I did it,” I jiggled my eyebrows and smiled maniacally at him. “Ciao.”

“You know you just have to ask if you want to have a swim!” he shouted as I banged the screen door shut in his face. Angrily I stomp upstairs and lay down on my bed.

My older brother, Eoin, walked past my room, caught a glimpse of my face and whistled. “Moooooody,” he called. His twin Oliver however, came in and sticking his hands in his pants’ pockets said, “Eric home?”

I flung my pillow at him and catching it he strolled out with it and I realised I would probably never see it again.

Unfortunately Eric was home. I was all dressed up for swimming but if he was home I wouldn’t be able to. If it was just his parents home it would’ve been fine; his father was a writer and his mother worked at the nearby hospital as a doctor. His father never went swimming in their pool and rarely ventured outside and his mother came home too late and was usually too tired to take much notice of what went on in their house.

But Eric was another story. He was ALWAYS home. Except for the past few weeks he had been on a beach vacation with close friends and I had all the freedom I needed to swim in his pool whenever I wanted to. But he had told me he was only coming back tomorrow as school started the day after.

Liar. I walked to my window that faced his house and held up my binoculars to my eyes. Darn him! He was swimming now. I’d try to go tomorrow night. And so for the rest of the day I lounged around the house, bemoaned the fact that our dstv had been switched off because my father had once again forgotten to pay, stayed out of brothers’ way who would be going to University in a few weeks time, and tried not to climb into the fridge in order to stay cool. Alas, at mid afternoon, my mother walked in laden with groceries to find me with my head in the freezer.

If it was even possible, the next day was even more scorching than the previous one and I longed for Eric’s swimming pool as some people long for water in a desert. In my room I had locked my door, stripped down to just my underwear, put my fan on full blast and fallen
asleep on my bed dreaming of curry of all things.

My alarm shrilled next to my ear and being shaken awake I moved my arm to put it off for lack of nicer terms. I felt my hand connect with the table with a hard thwack! And still beeping pathetically my phone tumbled off onto the floor. Puzzled, with bleary eyes I tried to pick up my phone with both hands only to feel soft carpeting instead of cold plastic. Bewildered now I looked down trying to see my arms; usually I ended up sleeping on them and they become so numb I couldn’t move them for a few minutes after waking up. I thought that was the per usual problem and I expected to see them hanging limply from my sides. But I couldn’t see them. Yet I could easily flex my now sweaty fingers who felt perfectly un...numb and normal.

The room suddenly became much hotter than before when I looked down at myself only to find myself...well, gone.

I stumbled to my small mirror hanging against my far wall and gave a girly shriek I would’ve laughed at if it wasn’t from me. I was a floating pair of black underwear! When I moved, they did. Desperately looking for a solution I rushed to my closet, ripped out a scarf, a beenie, a long sleeved shirt and pants. I pulled them on clumsily not knowing where to put what and only working by touch. I moved towards the mirror again. None of my body parts were visible but they were more discernable, that is, I could at least make out the outline of my body now. I dug around in my drawers, put on a pair of rainbow gloves and marvelled that I could finally
see my fingers move yet not see them move in the flesh so to speak.

Slowly I sat down on my bed thankful that I could place my limbs correctly now. I breathed deeply; in and out, in and out. Do I even freaking have lungs?! Calm down. Think clearly.

Think of all the possible explanations:
This is a dream/nightmare? No; too real. I can’t even remember my room in such detail let alone dream about it so clearly. Besides, it’s still damn hot. I felt the sweat running down my neck and back and affirmed this fact. I’ve never had a dream so real.

I must be hallucinating? No, besides for a slightly unhealthy addiction to custard, girly anime and dark humour, I’m not crazy nor have I ever hallucinated except when I’m feverish.

I’m feverish? I felt my forehead and shook my head.

I considered the last option with a humourless smile. I suddenly have the power to turn invisible? I looked down at my gloved hands in dismay and thought grimly, I wish I had the power to turn invisible WHEN I wished. Would I stay like this forever?! A faceless freak? Doomed to wear winter clothes just so that people would SEE me and not drive over me or something?! In a panic and sweating profusely I started ripping my clothes off ignoring the sound of my pants tearing as I did so. I stood stark naked in my room breathing heavily. I fell to my floor in a miserable heap and started crying.

There was a knock on my door and I remembered with a prayer of thanks that I had locked it.

“Tania?” I longed to rush out and ask my mother for help but my mother has never been very open minded. She would freak much less if I told her I was pregnant. “You’ve been in there all afternoon, you should start getting up and preparing your clothes and books for school tomorrow. Tania?” School! I had nearly forgotten! How could I go to school tomorrow like... this?!

I croaked out, whilst looking for a tissue, “I’m awake. I have a bit of a cold I think.”

“It’s probably because you have that fan on full blast. Come and eat; dinner’s ready. Then I’ll give you something to stop that cold dead in its tracks.” My ever practical no nonsense mother managed to get ANGRY with us if one of her children picked up a flu or virus.

My stomach growled, threatening mutiny. Wait. Get dinner!? How could I think of food in a crisis like this! I couldn’t go out like this.

“Could you please just leave the medicine or whatever it is,” I rarely had a cold or flu and was unsure what was the latest administration for it “outside my door? I have a huge migraine coming on and I’m going to go back to bed.”

“You sure? Can I come in?” My mother sounded slightly worried now.

“No!” I yelled. If I opened up she would never find me, just an disembodied voice. I quickly gabbled an excuse, “I’m just in my undies; it became a bit too hot.”

“Alright, alright. But come down for dinner when you feel better. I’ll leave a Panado and Corenza for you outside your door.”

“Thanks,” I yelled and then proceeded to blow my nose with the tissue I had finally found. I felt uncomfortable with no clothes on sitting on my floor and I climbed back into my underwear, threw a shirt on and lay down on my bed. I felt emotionally and mentally spent as if I had just finished the first week of a month long of exams. I fell asleep trying to remember how my hands looked like.