"Introduction."
I grin, sweeping my arm out in front of me. Saying it like that just feels... right, somehow.
Then I drop my arm with a sigh. I'm going insane. That old man is driving me crazy.
I sit down on my bed, bouncing absent-mindedly. I slowly look around my room. My drawings paste the walls, and a few sit up on the ceiling. As I do my best to ignore what I should be doing, I notice the corner of one of my pictures is falling off.
I drag my chair away from my paper-laden desk to rest under the picture. I stand and press the corner back up.
Then I return to the bed. I can't delay it anymore.
I've waited until I was home alone, I remind myself. No one will hear you.
Well, maybe not. I really don't know.
I lick my lips, then start to talk, staring at the dirty beige carpet.
"So, some crazy stuff has been happening. These days, I know things that I... I shouldn't be able to know. Mostly, it's reading minds. But some other stuff's been going on, too."
I close my eyes, replaying the last month's events.
"Like, I know the names of people I've never met, or locations I've never been to."
I look down at my lap.
Or at least, I try to. I see straight through it to the blue bed sheet. Not again... I open my mouth to scream, but I don't hear anything. Desperately, I squeeze my eyes shut, shaking my head hard.
I look down. I'm there, as solid as ever.
"Oh, yeah."
My voice shudders.
"I've been turning invisible, randomly, too."
I continue talking, trying not to dwell on it.
"So, this had been going on for a few weeks, when I met this man. I turned invisible the moment I saw him. I'd never done that in front of somebody. No one else was around; I was walking home from school, on a gravel road through the woods.
"So, anyway, there's this guy. He's thirty-five. Don't ask me how I knew that, I just did."
I hold back a sob. This is insane this is insane thisisinsane...
"He had on a brown suit, and glasses. He was just a head taller than me. I expected him to jump, or something, since I was invisible, but he didn't. He just kept walking. I expected him to pass through me- I don't just turn invisible, I'm insubstantial, too. But he stopped a few feet away from me, and he said my name.
"It's Elizabeth, by the way.
"He said, 'You're probably very frightened right now. I'm sorry it took me so long to find you.'
"I didn't say anything.
"He continued, 'I know you read and write a lot of fantasy,' (I still don't know how he knew that,) 'So you must think you're gaining some sort of superpower.' (I had, actually, considered it.)
"'Let me tell you, you are very close.' He smiled, as if indicating he was about to deliver very good news."
I pause in my story telling. Since when do I use words like 'indicating' when I talk? I only use words that big when I write.
Yeah, well, I guess I can add that to the growing list of weird occurrences.
"Anyway," I continue, "He said, 'You, my friend, are becoming a Narrator,' like I should know what that means. Then he said, 'I suggest you start telling your story very soon.'
"Usually, I'm not very good at remembering things, but I'm 100% positive those were his exact words.
"And then the weirdest thing happened. He started to fade out of view, at the same time I began to fade into view. And at the same rate, as far as I can tell.
"I said, 'Wait!' because I had no idea what he was talking about. I tried to grab him, but by the time I took two steps to get to him, he was gone.
"That was four days ago. And I'm pretty sure I know what he meant by 'my story'. I just don't know how to tell it, exactly.
"I thought maybe I should write it down. But I don't want anyone to see it- and besides, that would make me an author, not a narrator. I think. So I waited until I was home alone. Then I just started talking. To an empty room. By myself. To an imaginary audience. About how I can read minds and turn invisible."
I cradle my head in my hands. Insane. Need I say more?
But what else could I do? Maybe, if I tell my story, this can all stop.
Or maybe it'll get worse.
"So. This is what happened."
