Chapter #18 The End Is Near

The group and I chatted away avoiding the topic of why we stopped in the first place. They were cautious of me. "I'm gonna check out the shrubs nearby, I'll be back." I said a little embarrassed. I got up and started walking away from the group. "I'll go with you." Darcy got up to join me. Once we managed to gain a respectable distance from the group Darcy asked me if I wanted to talk. "Um.....now...I'm kinda preoccupied with something else." I was in a hidden spot crouched down returning to nature what it has given to me. "Silly, after you're done. we don't have to go back to the group just yet you know that right?" Darcy smiled as she continued looking out for any Peeping Toms. "I guess, what do you wanna talk about?" Having Darcy around made me drop my guard and relax a bit. I fixed my clothes and walked over to her. "That was fast." She jumped realizing I didn't take too long. "I needed to pee. not number 2." I reassured her. "Well, I don't know what you know, and the group may be welcoming....I somehow still feel left in the dark." I was surprised. Darcy is the newest member of the group. But, everyone got along with her quite quickly. What else could she want? "What do you mean?" Darcy and I walked further away from the group till we found a fallen tree. there we decided to sit and chat more. "Well, JJ and Hamble seem to be best friends, Ann sometimes doesn't speak to me...let alone getting to talk to her one on one. Kevin, before he left tried to shun me from the group. It's only you who treats me like a friend." Darcy looked down as she avoided eye contact. "What? I thought you were getting along with everyone quite fine." I shook my head in disbelief. Did misunderstand the atmosphere with her and the group. "It's fine, I'm used to it. What I wanted to ask is why were you acting strange? The group seems to have a basic idea, but I'm left in the dark as always." Darcy started fiddling with a piece of bark she ripped from the tree. "Darcy...." I held back my tongue. Would she think I'm selfish and not want to be friends if I tell her the truth? "Darcy, I....In my life before I came to this world, I have come across nothing but unfortunate things. My biological parents gave me away at birth, my foster home was a nightmare, and school life for me was nothing short of a disaster. However, that all changed when I woke up here. Although I didn't stay in school, people regarded me as someone not to mess with and even went out of their way to keep peace with me. I was able to make friends, true friends for the first time and...well.....experience things that I never got to. When I think about finding Nina, my heart hurts. Because I know that I would have to go back to earth. Basically return to that life." Darcy looked at me with laughter hidden in her eyes. "Who said you have to return?" She chuckled a bit. I was too focused on her laughing to pick up what she said. "I pour my heart out and get laughed at. Great I guess heart to heart conversations isn't my thing." A minute goes by and I finally process what she said. "Wait!" I stood up shocked. "You finally decided to listen." Darcy got up with me. "But, can both Nina and I exist in the same world?" I was starting to gain hope. "Didn't Kevin call you Amy? So there must be a secret. Plus I was listening in on the chat you and JJ had." She smiled brightly. "So..?" "So, it's always been a taboo to meet your parallel self. It happened once before. My mom told me the story, it went something like this." Darcy paused to remember the story. "It was about a man from a distant world that came to visit this world. Little did he know he already existed in this world. So when they met for the first time, one of them died." She finished her story. "You said you met Nina before, but both of you are still alive. It's either there's more to you guys or the story is a complete fake." I took a step back at the news. Do I really get to stay here? If so one of two possibilities checks out. "My guess is that you had to assume Nina's identity and leave this world in order to survive." Darcy now had her hand to her chin. That makes sense...if I was some magical creature. "There's only one problem in your story." I pointed out. "What is it?" Darcy sat back down making me sit next to her. "I'm human. Just a boring human with no magical powers." "But you can use magic. Can't humans use magic in your world?" I don't exactly know how to answer that. There have been cases of witches being real and magic coming from dark forces like the devil. But it wasn't a popular thing let alone known. "I'm not sure. We could but couldn't at the same time." I was in deep thought. Is it possible that humans have magic just don't know how to use it? If so, then the ones who do.....why haven't they come out to teach? Maybe because the history with witchcraft hasn't been all...cheery. "Humans sure are confusing. You do but don't use magic. I didn't think it possible to do both." Darcy giggled. "Anyway, that clears up the hole in the theory. It's possible for human to have magic. So it's possible for you to have magic too." Darcy got up once more. She was a little restless but in a cute kind of way. "Let's head back. Thinking about this really put my mind though the gutter." Darcy stretched out her hand. I grabbed it, maybe I was overreacting a bit making the group stop and trying not to find Nina. "Darcy, thank you" I was finally able to breath with a clear head. This new found hope Darcy gave me, I'll cherish it.