NATHANHOUDINI

17-year-old Aidan Brown from Houston Texas had a promising future. An athlete and a brilliant student who got the love of the most beautiful girl in his school. Victoryville high. 

Life was perfect until one weekend  when Aidan and his older brother Keith went on a road trip and got into a fatal accident on their way back. 

Keith didn't make it, Aidan did. But it came with a cost, he would never be able to speak for the rest of his life. He wished death had taken him along with his brother whom he loved so much, Aidan could no longer do things he could do before the accident. He wallowed in self-pity and extreme depression. 

Aidan kept thinking about the night of the accident, and every moment he thought about it he became convinced that something took control of the car.

The accident took Keith's life and Aidan's ability to speak, making him a mute forever. But something else happened to Aidan that night. Something that would make him smile again, and may someday save humanity from certain doom.

AIDAN BROWN

 The moment I finished my first painting I had being discovered deep in the heart of Thailand by an extraordinary human who later thought me everything I knew about Asahignom and a whole lot of other things. 


Klahan Mongkut and his five followers. Prasert, Suchart, Wattana, Chakrii and Arthit assembled at their usual meeting place. They had no religion but they looked a lot like Buddhist monks, only they weren't monks. They were just bald and dressed like one. 


"The artist has been born." those were Klahan's words when he first sensed my painting, silence filled the room. Prasert the second in command spoke next. "It has begun." 


"Why did it choose teenagers to save the human race?" Wattana asked. 


"Unfortunately I have no answer to that question, no one knows the ways of the light ring. It chooses who it wants for reasons known only to it." Klahan replied with a smile. 


 Sophie's knock brought me back to earth, I snapped out of my astonishment when her loud unpleasant voice called out my name. "Aidan! Mom sent me here to check on you and bring you these fruits." 


 "Leave them by the door and go away." Sophie murmured something, but did as was instructed. I began painting for the third time, I finished a detailed painting of a man having some sort of conversation with my parents. He was bald and wore a dark suit. I stared long and hard at the painting and realized I couldn't make any sense of it, the bald man was unfamiliar, but he wouldn't be for long. 


I found my parking space next to dad's Lambo as usual and headed for the living room, I was allowed to begin driving again when my therapist happily announced to my parents that I had shown immense progress during the past weeks and was ready to get behind the wheel again, couldn't hold back laughter as the jerk of a therapist took all credit for my sudden immense progress and got dad impressed enough to triple his last pay. 


Anyone who cared to ask how I was, I told I was doing great, but deep down I knew I was more than just doing great. My family members were happy because they see me coming down to the living room often, was also smiling more than I did even before the accident. Sophie once whispered to mom that she was certain some ghost in the attic had possessed me that's why, in her own words. I had gone wackadoodle. 


 I know I'll never speak naturally for the rest of my life, I'm now at peace with that fact. I got this gift in return and I'll own it forever. 


For the first time in twenty six years Victoryville won the interstate chess competition. Excitement filled the air as the entire school cheered me on. 


"Was I any good at playing chess?" Not entirely, but painting every move of my opponent before they could even think of making it aced up the whole thing. 


Math wasn't really one of my favorite subjects, I was good at it though, became best buds with my math teacher one morning when I casually told him he'll be the next principal, four days later the present principal died of heart attack, and professor Zeeland became the new principal. 


 A bald man wearing a dark suit was having what seemed like a very interesting conversation with my parents in the living room, it was the same man I painted about a month ago, what felt a lot like fear froze me on the spot, my grip weakened and my keys dropped, all three turned their attention towards me with a creepy look on their faces, and an equally creepy smile.


CHAPTER FIVE