“I-I’m not d-doing anything,” Katie stuttered, though she still felt responsible. Her father just stared at her.
She touched the refrigerator. It was solid, or as solid as liquid could feel at least. Katie wasn’t sure how to describe it to herself. She pushed her hand into the refrigerator and her hand sunk in. She gasped, withdrew her hand and inspected it. There wasn’t even the smallest droplet of water on her hand, though it had felt like it was submerged underwater when it went through the fridge.
“What’s happening?” she asked, scared.
“Well, you turned the kitchen into water,” John said. “You can fix this.”
“How?” Katie asked, not knowing why she didn’t say something about the situation not being real.
“Picture the kitchen as you know it,” John Dimes said.
Katie closed her eyes, took a deep breath and imagined the normal kitchen marble and color. When she opened her eyes, everything had returned to normal. The refrigerator was its usual black, the floor tiles were normal, and the cupboards were all white and made of wood again. The counters were topped with their normal porcelain tile. It all looked as though nothing had happened at all.
“See? I told you it was your fault,” John said, jokingly. He was very calm. Katie noticed that her mother was also very calm. Katie didn’t understand. She wasn’t calm.
What the hell is happening? Is this some late April Fools’ Day joke?
Katie’s usual cheesy, thoughts filled her head while she tried to make sense of it all. What had happened was impossible. Yet she knew that she saw what she saw. Deep down, Katie truly believed that she had turned her kitchen into water and turned it back. Katie remained frozen in shock.
“You can control water, at will it seems,” John explained. “You can draw it from the air, expand it or even alter its chemical make-up to turn it into ice or snow. Its limits are the limits of your will and creativity.”
Katie stared at her father for a second and then let out a small laugh. “You’re crazy. I mean, I’ve heard of parents overthinking their children’s abilities, but this is something else.”
Natasha’s expression was pleasant, and she smiled as she spoke. “Katie, have a seat.”
Katie didn’t mind being told to sit down, but from your parents, it wasn’t a good sign. Usually, it meant that your parents had something to say that would be upsetting, such as your best friend just died in a car accident, or your boyfriend or girlfriend was cheating on you, or the most likely and they wanted to have “the talk” with you again for the fifth time. Either way, it put Katie’s guard up and even though she was expecting the worst, she sat down on a chair by a small table against the wall.
“No,” John said, a bit harshly. He leaned on the doorway, the plate of pie still in his hands. Katie leaped to her feet, unsure if she should sit or stand.
“She should sit, John” Natasha said in a deeper voice than usual.
“Later, after she sees more for herself,” John replied.
“What more is there for her to see?” Natasha asked, slightly irritated. “She’s already seen that she could turn our own kitchen into water.”
“She must be certain that it was her!” John said.
Natasha glared at her husband for a moment. “She isn’t in the same situation that you were in.”
“I know,” John sighed. “But even so, she has to know how to protect herself. And she must know that she can.”
“What are you talking about? Protect myself from what?” Katie asked frantically, moving closer to her parents. “Mom, what is Dad talking about?”
Without warning the refrigerator door flung open and an icicle shot out of it towards Katie. She dodged it by moving over to the side and the ice hit the wall behind her and shattered.
“What the hell, dad?” she asked. Her blonde hair whipped around her face and she blew it out of her mouth.
Katie’s father smiled. Another icicle hung over his head, pointed in Katie’s direction. It too shot off towards her, but that one was easy for Katie to dodge.
“John, don’t hurt her,” Natasha warned.
Katie’s adrenaline spiked up and her body was rising and falling with each hard breath she took. She was panting. “Her natural abilities will reveal themselves soon enough. I won’t need to be careful; their instincts will take over,” her father said.
Another shard of ice shot out towards her. She dodged it but another came, this time more quickly. Katie screamed and threw out her hand in front of her face to protect herself. The icicle changed direction and shot towards her father.
John closed his eyes, and the ice melted into water, splashing his face. He stood there for a small moment and the water evaporated from his face. Katie could see the droplets of water rise, turn to steam and disappear into the air.
“Not bad, not bad,” John Dimes said, chuckling. “I didn’t quite expect that to happen. But I am proud of you.”
Katie stared at him and looked over to her mother. Katie noticed that she was smiling ever so slightly.
“I know who she was,” Katie said, her memory coming back in flashes. “The girl I saw earlier today. I know her.”
“It was Sabrina,” John said. Katie looked at her father, his answer catching her by surprise.
“I know,” he said.
“Who is she?” Katie asked. “What is she?” she added, remembering the incident that day.
Natasha walked closer to Katie. “She is one of us. More accurately, she is one of your kind.
