The wind was rolling through my hair, pushing it across my face and into my eyes and lips. I pulled a strand away, leaving my right eye watering. I growled and tried to fix it, but upon catching a glimpse of my shadow, I realized I looked like Medusa. No hope. I just let the wind carry my hair freely, there was no point. It's not like I knew anyone around anyway.

I glanced one more time around the school the best I could when I got to the door, but luckily there was no one left around to see me. At least no one that mattered to me. My time waiting in the library paid off.

Right on time I entered through, and my hair froze in its ungodly position when the door shut. Hurriedly, I tried to fix it before my eyes were met by Petunia's, the lady at the front desk. She put up a manicured finger as she was on the phone, and then smiled at me with her cheap lipstick and waved me off. I started down the hallway, my feet pounding on the carpet, and stopped at the door with a red placard that read "Dr. Singh".

When I walked in, he was focused on something at his computer. He looked up and saw me. "Ah, Basil, welcome!"

I gave him a smile and moved to the white leather couch in the middle of the room.

"So, how are your friends, Thyme and... who... Paprika?" He called.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah my name's Basil... funny." I laid myself down on the sofa. The room smelled of fish food, and I glanced at the tank. A little goldfish swam forth to the glass, as if he wanted out. I sighed.

Dr. Singh got up from his desk and walked over. "I'm sure you get that a lot, you know I'm just joking." He sat down on the couch in front of me and examined his clipboard. And then he chuckled. "Basil, you know you don't have to lay down like that."

"I'm just getting the full experience." I shrugged. "I take this seriously."

"Ok, well good. Let's begin then." He shuffled through some papers. "You've been on this prescription for quite a while," he said. "How's it been going?"

"I'm fine," I responded.

"Well, have you had your dreams lately?"

"Yeah."

He moved forward in his seat. "Oh?"

"Yes, the same one." The ceiling had a loose square directly above me.

He nodded slowly. "Do you... want to talk about it?"

I shot him a glance.

"Ok, we'll come back to that," he chuckled. "So how about your, uh, I know you said it doesn't happen anymore, but I just want to make sure. How about your supposed ability to control water?"

I looked back at the square. "Yeah, that doesn't happen anymore." If I told the truth he would just give me a stronger medication.

"It doesn't."

"No."

"Good! Good," he said. "What about your breathing? You haven't been holding your breath for too long again right? I heard about your swim meet, and I'm a little concerned."

"Dr. Singh, I'm taking breaths when I need to. Everything's fine."

"Alright, if you say so." He shifted forward. "But we both know these problems don't just disappear. If you want to talk, er, if any of it happens again... please talk to me."

I frowned. This wouldn't even be necessary if I hadn't messed up. If only I had realized I was different than everybody else, I wouldn't have ended up looking like a psycho. It was all because I was an idiot, putting more trust in people than they knew what to do with.

That one summer day, it had been so hot. Just one step on the scalding concrete ground was enough to warrant medical attention. So naturally, we were all outside by the pool as most people were.

But I, of course had been in the pool. And not just in it, I was at the very bottom. I imagine the atmosphere must have been so thick with tension, wondering if I was ok and when I would come up. But I felt none of that. It was calm and clear at the bottom of the pool. The shifting blues surrounded me, caressing my skin. My little legs were crossed over each other, my hair floating above me like flames as I stared up. The sun was bright through the rippling glass surface, but it could not hurt me here. It felt so far away. I was wonderfully, beautifully, chillingly alone.

Until a mess of colors appeared above. They were arranged in a manner that resembled a human. And then another one joined its side. And another, blocking out the sun. My family. And their faces were fixed down on me.

"So Basil, is there anything else you want to talk about? Shall we get back to your dreams?"

I sat up. "What would your advice be about that?" I sighed. "I've already tried calming techniques before bed, and sleeping pills like you suggested. Nothing works. I still have them."

Dr. Singh leaned back on the couch and tapped his pen to his lips. "Have you tried meditation?"

"Wha- medi-" I stuttered, "no."

"That's my advice, then." He smiled. "Just clear you mind, focus on one thing, and let your other thoughts fall away. Focus on breathing, how you feel, and look inside yourself. Just ten minutes a day."

My brown furrowed. "And you think that's going to help?"

He smirked. "I have faith. Just try it out. There's lots of videos that can help you, too."

I hated that look on his face, like he had me all figured out. I stood up. "Fine. I'll try it."

"Oh, are we done with the session? He called out to me as I began walking away.

"We covered everything we usually cover, so I think so. Goodbye Dr. Singh."

"Have a nice day, Basil."

I closed the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Once again, I found myself cursing the wind. I had to walk myself home that day because it was a Tuesday, and it happened to really suck. I always got home so late on Tuesdays. I had to wait forever in the library, go see Dr. Singh, and then walk myself home. It was never a good time. But I was getting closer to the shopping center nearby, and my step quickened.

I walked over to the PetCo, and when the automatic doors opened I headed straight for the fish aisle in the back right corner. When I got there, I was surrounded with the soft blue light of the tanks, and I took a deep breath. It was always so empty here, it was nice.

Looking into the nearest tank, I saw a school of thin little purple and yellow fish. The tag said "Royal grammas". I aimed my finger at the tank and shook it, making a little wave on the surface. Some of the fish were affected, however, and they were pulled away from the school. The others turned to me. The little fish in the school were all facing me, and they looked angry. One of them swam forward.

"Sorry," I whispered. "I didn't mean to do that." I pressed my finger against the glass. The fish paused, and then swam up to meet it. I sighed in relief.

I then took my backpack off and sat against the aisle. It was so beautiful here. The floors were gray and dirty, but as long as I looked up. I pulled my binder out of my backpack as well as a pencil, and focused intensely on the features of the zebrafish straight ahead. My pencil began sketching very lightly. Shame I hadn't brought my colored pencils. But I couldn't stay for too long.

Within half an hour, I had drawn a few zebrafish as well as some other kinds. I took a second to examine it all. Not bad. Lifting my binder up, I saw that o was getting to the end of the pages. Suddenly, on the top of the paper, I noticed there was a faint glow. I didn't think it had been there before. It was golden. There was no light here that would be that strong. Breath caught in my throat, and my head darted up.

Immediately, I was almost blinded. It was like staring right into the sun. My eyes began to water, and I tried to close them and hide them behind my hands. With my eyes closed, I could feel my heart racing more strongly. The racks behind me gouged into my back, and my brain felt like a wash of poison was flooding through it. Cracking apart my fingers, I tried to identify the source.

It looked to be a boy, just like the one at the swim meet. But the figure was behind the aisle, looking through a couple fish tanks, so I couldn't make out his features. What kind of person was this? Is it even a person?

Without realizing my actions, I was shoving my binder into my backpack and zipping it up. I began standing up, but I heard the smack! of my pencil hitting the floor. Quickly, I reached down and stuffed it into my sweatshirt pocket, and dashed out of the aisle. The figure moved, too. He started after me.

I gasped and quickened my pace until I reached the front of the store. The doors opened ahead of me because of an old gentleman with his bulldog, and I ran straight through. Gripping my fists tightly, I charged down the street, putting as much distance as I could between myself and the store, until I could go no farther. My mind was in a haze, as if it still hadn't left that aisle. I stopped to catch my breath and grabbed my knees, huffing. And then I ran another block. I felt like I was going to pass out. My lungs were burning, knees were shaking, and head was racing. It was fear, confusion, and adrenaline mixed together. There was only one clear thought on my mind.

It was after me.