Free Evangelina Green by Susan Firtik Page A

and movies make them out to be. And as a matter of
fact, I can say on good authority they are watching over
us.”
    Damn! She hadn’t really
meant to tell them that. They each had their gifts and they knew she had an
affinity with animals but she had just stepped over the invisible
line from believable to a little loopy.
    Netta saved the day by standing and telling
her sisters she was retiring for the night. "I’m not really all
that hungry but I will take some of that broth you had on the stove
earlier, it smelled yummy."
    Both Tashi and Lina turned and stared at her
worry and concern furrowing their brows.
    " What ? I’m fine, just tired.
It was a long
trip.”
    Tashi grabbed a soup cup,
filled it, placed it on a tray with some buttered bread and a fresh
cup of hot tea, then walked out of the kitchen leading the way to
Netta’s room. Lina was surprised, as Tashi had always been the
standoffish one. Mother hen
    Lina was left with the
dishes. Smiling, she began washing and placing them into the drying
rack, lost in thought. The manual labor, the repetition, always
made her feel more relaxed. She could gather her thoughts and work
out problems, think of Keaton… Whoa. Don’t
go there. But of course, she did.
Daydreaming was nice when you had a subject like Keaton to focus
on. He really did seem to like her and just as she was, warts and all. She had
to stop with the self-deprecation and just enjoy the attention. She
was sure the sex would be out of this world amazing. So, she would
wait. She would let him woo her.
    Tingles went up her back and over her scalp.
She heard the owl hoot again. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on
the owl and let it show her what it wanted her to see. She felt the
wind blowing in her face and the ground fall away under her. Flying
was natural. Her eyesight was extraordinary. She could see in the
dark as well as any brightly lit day.
    "Where are we going?"
    No answer. Nothing other
than circling the mansion going higher and higher until she could
see the entire house, the yard and gardens and the rain-swollen
swampland behind. The attic drew her attention again. The green
glow pouring out the front window was a total mystery. What would
make that kind of light? Using only her thoughts and a little will
power, she guided the owl lower until it landed on the peak over
the attic window. Lina couldn’t see the window from that angle but
the glow extended out a few feet. The light was soothing and almost
beckoned to her... Find me.
    With a jerk, Lina sat up, wide awake and in
her room.
    Okay, just how did I get
here?” After her vision , she must have blacked out
and now it was morning and early...ugh. She got through her shower,
hair and dressing ritual in just a few minutes and headed to the
kitchen for her morning drug . Coffee!
    Netta was already in the
room with a pot made and was reading the local newspaper. The
overstuffed living room chair apparently had been claimed as hers and truth be told,
she needed to be pampered. Just a little. Lina was not going to let
her get away with feeling sorry for herself, milking her illness or
manipulating others because of it. They had not been raised that
way. Grams didn’t hold with coddling. You got up and got over it.
Move on.
    Tashi waltzed in like Pollyanna,
sing-songing. "Good mooorning ladies!"
    " Ugh ,” was Lina’s reply. Netta just
buried her head in the paper.
    "Well!! I expected some courtesy, but I
guess all I’m gonna get is a grunt from Lina and Netta
hiding!”
    "I hate mornings. I hate morning people. I
hate happy-happy in the morning. Hush now, and get the creamer out
of the fridge, please." Lina moaned.
    "Well, since you added the please. After
coffee, what are the plans for today?” Tashi settled herself at the
small card-table they were using for the time being.
    Lina hadn’t planned on her sisters being
here this soon, much less planning what she was going to do with
them. They weren’t supposed to arrive until after the