Free Awakening by J. E. Swift Page B

forth between both hands. “I don’t know. I can almost perform the levitation. When I am trying, I am pushing, trying to make the levitation occur, but my mind is not yielding. I need to do something different.”
    Garrett scratched the back of his neck. “That is good. Very good. I am surprised you can feel a barrier already. It takes weeks for most people even to recognize it. Think of it this way. Your brain is used to functioning one way, but now the nerves need to complete the rewiring process. The basics are there in your head, but everything needs to connect. Give it time.”
    She sat back down, closing her eyes, starting again to concentrate on the ball. The next twelve attempts were the same as the first, that invisible block always in her way, mocking her, refusing to succumb. It was late in the afternoon by this point and she rubbed her temples, frustrated that they would need to stop soon.
    Garrett plopped down next to her. “We will have you try one more time today and then we can resume again tomorrow, okay? It’s been a long day and there was a lot for you to take in. Believe it or not, you have already made a lot of progress.”
    Caitlyn dropped her head to her chest, wallowing in her defeat, before slowing raising it again. “Can I take a break, just for a minute, and then we can try our last attempt?”
    Her teacher smiled. “Of course. I am going to check to see if Katie has the details on my meeting with Councilman Riley. I’ll be right back.”
    The door closed shut behind her and she pulled at her hair with her hands. Caitlyn could not grasp why she could not do this. She knew that it was right there, right in front of her. She needed that barrier to break. But the question remained on how? What was she doing wrong? When Caitlyn felt the barrier, she pushed and she had pulled, and… nothing. She paced around the room thinking of a solution.
    Garrett re-entered the room, her mood no better than she was before. He placed a sympathetic hand on Caitlyn’s shoulder, patting in lightly. “Ready to go one more round?”
    “Yes.”
    She grasped the ball in her hand, the image of raising it clear in her mind. She felt the obstruction at that moment. As she pushed at the barrier, she again pushed harder, to try to lift the ball, only to find the resistance got stronger and harder. Finally, a thought occurred to her. What if she didn’t push? What if she did not do anything? She let her body relax, the stress built up in her melting away. The barrier then released.
    Caitlyn surged forward when she felt it, visualizing the ball high in the air. She felt it leaving her hands gently, and she opened her eyes. The ball was floating directly in front of her. Caitlyn gasped in surprise that it worked, losing her concentration, and she heard the soft clang as the ball hit the floor.
    Garrett’s eyes were wide. It appeared that he was talking to himself. “Remarkable.”
    Caitlyn grinned. “Nothing to it!”
    “No, Caitlyn. Actuals don’t…” he squeezed his eyes shut. “Actuals don’t just levitate on the first day of training. It just doesn’t happen.”
    Her elation deflated. “Is there something wrong with it?”
    He forced himself to smile at her. “No, of course not! It’s just… very unexpected. Sorry, it sounded like I wasn’t excited by it. I really am! It’s an amazing feat. Really!”
    “Can we try again?”
    “Not tonight. But I promise, first thing in the morning we will begin right where we left off.”
    As they left the building, Caitlyn felt as if she was the one floating only a few minutes before. That night, she went to bed truly believing that all of this was real; that it was not just a dream or something she made up in her head. Caitlyn was beginning to feel that for the first time in her life, she truly was where she belonged.

Chapter 7
    T he weeks flowed by and Garrett and Caitlyn fell into an easy pattern. They met in the mornings to train, working all day, and several