Migraine

Sean’s truck pulled up to the curb alongside the brick house that his grandfather had called home for the past forty-three years. He had certainly never entertained the idea of bringing this lady who thought she was a seahorse along with him to a place that meant so much, but here they were. He turned his key that was placed in the ignition and cut the engine before removing it. Sean was the first one out the vehicle, his door shut just as hers had opened. Tiffany chased after him and stood in front of him to impede any further progress.

“Maybe I should just dip under your arms like you did at my place?” The smirk that accompanied his words told her all that she needed to know. She was growing on him and she knew that this was both tragic and beautiful. Tragically beautiful, she thought to herself. While he stood just before the front steps, she tried to read his mind through his eyes. This had never worked for her, but she gave it a shot anyways. As she tried to do so, the only thing that came of it was a headache that would last for the rest of the afternoon.

“Damnit,” she inadvertently said aloud, causing him to wince and ask what was wrong. “Nothing, just tried to read your thoughts. It hurts sometimes. All of the time,” she said as she sat down on the grass beside the brick front porch.

“You’re going to get your dress dirty. Here,” he said, extending his hand for her to grab to support herself back to her feet. “Come on, I’m sure there’s aspirin inside.” She latched on to his arm and gathered herself back to her feet, holding his hand as they walked up the stairs and eventually through the massive black front doors. The door itself made her think of a draw bridge from way back in medieval times.

As they shut the door behind them, she leisurely strolled through the corridor, taking in each family photo like her next breath. She wanted to become them, she wanted to be one with them. The dated black and white photos didn’t give off that foreign vibe that other people’s photos usually do. There was something about them and she couldn’t quite put her finger on it just yet, but she knew in due time it’d come to her effortlessly.

Her headache intensified as she tried to sell herself on the idea of this place and everything it held being a part of one of her past lives. She halted and grabbed both sides of her temple with each of her hands, crouching down against the brown painted walls. Sean, who was only a few steps ahead of her realized that she had shriveled down against the wall.

“Are you ok? Do you get migraines or something?”

Going along with his assumed explanation was far easier than attempting to explain the real reason behind her sudden ailment. She shook her head yes and requested a glass of water. She slowly climbed to her feet and leaned against the wall just as he returned with the cup and two Advil tablets.  Tiffany thanked him for his help and tipped her head back as she swallowed the aspirin, handing him back the empty glass by extending her arm to its maximum reach, turning her head away from him until he accepted it.

“I would call you weird but that’s old hat to you by now, ain’t it?”

She chuckled and stood upright before asking, “so when do I get to go through the other stuff?” She followed him into the kitchen and watched place the cup in the sink before he answered her question. “we can do it now if you’d like. Sooner the better, I could change my mind, you know.”

“You wouldn’t do that to me. You’re too nice,” she said back. He knew that she was right but did all that he could not to show it. He figured that she could probably see right through it anyways, so he was actually questioning why he’d even bother trying to hide it. Hiding emotions was something that Sean had never been too good at it, and he was unsure whether it was by choice or not. He liked the idea of being a person, but maybe she was right when she said that he wanted to be a bird. He felt like a bird. Well, half bird-half human.

“I wonder what that would look like,” Tiffany remarked.

Sean stood there in disbelief, staring at her.

“Did you just –“

She cut him off before he could finish his question. The largest smile he’d ever seen had overtaken her face.

“Yes! I did!”