Old Soul New Mind

Old Soul New Mind

Written By

Harry Melia

Chapter 1: A Bad Start

"Alex!" a shrill scream woke him up from his dazed state

"What is it Molly?" Alex grumbled into his hands

"Why are you always so grumpy?" Molly asked a puzzled look glancing over her features

"Why do you always have to annoy me?" he retorted with a smile

"Hey I'm not annoying I'm active" she replied head held high with pride

"More like hyperactive" Alex grinned "anyway what did you want?"

"Mom wanted to-"Molly started

"Stepmother "Alex cut in

"Actually she is my mom anyway any more interruptions ... good MY mom wants to talk to you about something she said it was serious" Molly chimed while sticking her tongue out

"Fine tell her that I'm coming down now" Alex replied ruffling molly's hair

She glared at Alex from under her frizzled hair and raced down stairs fixing it as she went as Alex admired his drawing of the landscape outside his window and put it gently down on the windowsill and set his pencils down next to it after which he slowly trudged his way downstairs.

"Hey Alex how are you?" Jane asked a wavering smile of warmth and strained comfort worn bravely on her face as Alex walked into the living room

"Good" Alex replied bluntly not even bothering to look up from the table

"Oh..." her smile faltered for the briefest of moments "Good anyway we need to talk about something"

"Yes Molly mentioned it to me" Alex bluntly replied a dash of venom in his words

"It's about your father" an unnoticed tear fell from June's face as she stopped herself

"Is he finally coming home?" Alex replied joy creeping into his smile and tone and after not receiving an answer Alex looked up to see June silently crying "Is something wrong? Did something happen to him?"

"Your fathers in the hospital" Alex stiffened and a cold passing breeze could have blown him over after receiving such a blow "He had an accident when he was driving home" she paused "Alex are you OK?" Alex blinked shaking the shock from his muscles and bolted for the door he was down the street before June could even call out his name and still Alex did not stop he wanted no he NEEDED to be alone and he knew just the spot for it and if he needed to get there fast he needed to run as fast as his legs would carry him and further still. When he reached his destination after what must have been twenty minutes of running but seemed like an eternity he sat down on the small tree stump that he had in his small den hidden in the forest for when he wanted to be alone and separated from the rest of the word such as this moment now. The den itself was nothing impressive and only consisted of a small stump of a tree with a cushion placed on the top of it, a small candle which not only provided the small place with light and much needed warmth in the current winter months but also it gave an aroma vanilla which helped to calm Alex down and a small table which could barely hold the candle that stood atop of it and a small amount of room to play cards or just to think but most importantly the room was silent apart from the refreshing sounds of the cold winter winds blowing outside of the den which helped Alex in his moment of strife. After some time Alex's sobbing reduced to his body being racked with silent sobs he opened his puffy eyes to light the candle with his lighter coating the room in a dull light and presenting to Alex a small strange black box which seemed to absorb all light apart from the intricate patterns of white dust like light that appeared to flow against the shell of the cube at a sluggish pace which seemed to radiate a light ever so slightly brighter than that of the light provided by the candle. He stared at this mysterious cube wondering how it had made its way into his secluded den curiosity getting the better of him he picked up the cube to closely examine the patterns that seemed almost too fluid like to be real and then to his shock the light appeared to change course and head towards Alex's figure tips at which he saw the light crawl into his skin and started flowing towards his head s feeling of panic breaking out  inside of him but it was subdued by a strange numbness that felt too good to resist and he gave in to the numbness at which the fluid accelerated towards his head and dripping into his brain and as the world around him started to dim and he knew his conscious was slipping away from him he found that he could no longer feel his body as if it was just his conscious and he found that he could not only not feel his body but also that he could not think about anything other than one thought that would not allow Alex to let go of it this thought been that he did not feel alone anymore and that this was the start to something that would possibly change his life which he simply could not comprehend. These were the last thoughts that Alex had before he slipped into unconsciousness to an unfamiliar voice that seemed trustworthy and comforting to Alex

"Everything will be explained soon" and then there was only darkness.



Chapter 2: some answers

Alex awoke an hour later sprawled out on the ground

"Thank God you're awake" a female voice said laced with worry

"Who's there? Where are you?" Alex shouted fear coursing through him

"Alex calm down I-"

"How do you know my name?" Alex interrupted

"I can explain Alex just calm down please" the voice pleaded

"Ok but I want answers"

"To start with I'm now inside your head" Alex opened his mouth to talk "This will go by much faster if you don't interrupt" Alex nodded silently "Thank you now I find myself in your head because of the small box on the table which once served as my prison before you released me to which I thank you greatly for and now because you made contact with it my soul rests in your head like a second conscious let’s say"

"I think I have finally gone delusional" Alex mumbled

"Maybe this will prove that I'm real" and a brilliant flash of pure white light that caused Alex to shield his eyes and when he could see again he saw a girl about his age standing where there was just empty space she walked up to Alex and held out her hand and said "Hello Alex I'm Emily glad to see you face to face" Emily said smiling

"Ok hey how did you get trapped in that block?" Alex asked shaking Emily’s hand

"I'll tell you later" Emily said avoiding the questions

"Come on you must know everything about me" Alex said

"Hey I only looked enough to learn your name nothing else" Emily said sounding offended

"Thanks... I guess" Alex said

"Your welcome-"

"Oh no" Alex shouted "I forgot about dad I need to get to the hospital now"

35 minutes later

"I need to see Danial Barret please he is my dad my name is Alex Barret" Alex said to the receptionist

"Certainly Mr Barret he is on the second floor in the third wing room 12" She replied but Alex was already at the elevator

"Thank you Miss" Emily said "Alex wait!"

They stood inside the elevator and Alex was shaking slightly

"I'm sure he will be fine" Emily said reassuringly

"I hope so" Alex replied "I hope so"



Chapter 3 The Hospital

"Alex? Thank God. I thought you had gotten hurt!" Worry was laced in Jane's tone,

"How's Dad?" Alex questioned, his voice giving away how worried he was.

"Alex!" Emily scorned at his complete dismissal of Jane.

"What?" The boy asked, it wasn't like she was his real mother or anything.

"I know you are worried about your dad, but she is clearly worried about you, the least you could do is to at least acknowledge her." Emily said with finality.

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" Jane asked the young girl, Alex didn't talk about his friends much, he didn't really talk to her at all.

"My name is Emily, I’m a friend of Alex's Miss..." Emily let the question hang, hoping the woman would tell her.

"Jane, I'm Alex stepmother." Jane answered,

"Now that the introductions are over, once again, how is dad?" Alex replied, choosing to ignore whatever Emily was about to say.

"The doctors say he will be fine but he might not wake up for some time due to the anaesthesia, but after that he should be just fine." Jane said smiling for once after the whole ordeal.

"Can I go see him?" Alex asked cautiously, he knew how strict doctors were with their patients.

"Of course, but family members only, so Emily will have to stay out here." Jane answered

"I'm fine, don't worry." Emily smiled and touched Alex's arm sparingly earning her a small smile in return.

"Thanks." Alex said and walked into the room after calming his nerves.



Alex walked in to see his dad lying on a bed with a breathing mask on.

The boy cautiously walked closer to his dad and sat in the white chair next to the bed. He sat there in silence for about ten minutes looking from one blank, white wall to the next and trying to avoid looking at his dad's multiple burses around his face, on his arms and head. He sat in silence for a few more minutes before he heard the man cough which distracted him from the poster he was reading on the far side of the room. He looked at his dad in alarm, not sure whether to call for a doctor or just be glad he was awake. His Father's eyelids fluttered slightly, seemingly taking in his surrounding before they landed on the shocked form of his son. The smile that lit up under his oxygen mask could have set the world on fire.

"Dad!" Alex exclaimed, "I will be right back, I just need to get some doctors and everyone else." Alex said as he ran out the room to go tell his family that his dad was awake.



Meanwhile

"So Emily how long have you known Alex?" Jane asked.

"Not that long, I've recently moved here" Emily answered while rubbing her hands in apprehension. Alex had been in that room for 20 minutes now and the anxiety was getting to her.

"Strange Alex does not get on well with that many people," Jane said frowning, "he never really talks about his friends." The woman finished.

"He did seem a little bit quiet at first." Emily answered, her hand coming under her chin as she pondered on the first time she met Alex.

"Yes, he is like that with new people.” Jane whispered a sad smile make its way onto her face.

They sat in the waiting room, an awkward silence falling between them until Emily noticed that a little girl was sleeping next to Jane who was snoring silently.

"Who's that?" Emily questioned, pointing her index finger towards the prone form next to the older woman.

"Oh, that’s Molly, my daughter, and Alex's step sister. I'm surprised that he has not mentioned her before." Jane said, confusion laced in her voice.

"But not surprised that he did not mention you?" Emily asked in a questioning tone.

"Well Alex and I have never seen eye to eye if you know what I’m saying." Jane said sadly

"Why?" Emily asked

"I think, that he thinks, I’m trying to replace his birth mother, or something along those lines." Jane answered.

"What happened to his mother, if you don't mind me asking?" Emily asked

"Well it was a few years back that his mother Sally passed away due to-" The door burst open stopping Jane from her story. The crash of the door hitting the wall caused Molly to awake from her sleep with a jolt as Alex hurriedly walked into the waiting room.

"He's awake!" Alex said an overjoyed expression on his face "Come on he's waiting for us!" Alex gestured Molly and Jane towards the door, at which Molly ran to Alex, and Jane followed the two as they walked past.

"I'll go get a doctor and tell them that he's awake." Emily said smiling at Alex who was greeted with another smile in return.

"Thank you." The boy said over his shoulder as he walked back into his dad's room.

Emily turned into the hallway and looked for a doctor whilst thinking about what could have possibly happened to Alex's mom that led to her not being with Alex.







Chapter 4:

"I can't believe that they have already let you out of the hospital!" Jane exclaimed with joy evident in her voice. Alex might not see her as his mother or a parental figure but she still acted for him.

"Well the crash didn’t do that much damage to my body, according to the doctors anyway. I still feel a bit saw in places though." Danial replied with a smile tugging at his lips smiling, happy to be with his family and away from the dreary Hospital Ward.

"Well we were worried about you." Alex said with finality, reprimanding his Father slightly on his carefree attitude, "But I am so glad that you are safe." He mumbled causing Danial to release the smile he was holding.

"How about we enjoy the rest of the journey in quite?" Danial asked before whispering, "I think Molly is asleep." The car was silent as they heard just the gentle breathing of Molly next to Alex in the back seat, the sound of the passing cars on the motorway barely fazing her, "So Alex, Jane tells me that you have found yourself a girlfriend." Danial said cheekily with a quiet laugh as Jane slapped his shoulder causing him to wince a little.

"Sorry," Jane apologised, "But you know I said no such thing!" The angry women scolded.

"OK, Sorry. So Alex who is this new friend of yours?" His Father asked, never before noting that he knew much about Alex's friends.

"She is just a girl who I know." Alex avoided suddenly looking very interested in the tarmac whizzing past outside of the car like a bullet.

"Are you going out with her?" Danial asked seriously.







"WHAT! NO!" Alex shouted waking Molly up in the process, "She's just a friend" He mumbled listening to Emily trying to hold in laughter inside his head.

"Who was shouting? Molly asked drowsily, not happy to be awoken from her beauty sleep

"I was," Alex grumbled which was followed by a shout of, "OW!" As Molly slapped him.

"What was that for?" Alex asked rubbing his saw cheek from the sudden slap.

"For waking me up!" Molly responded, staring at Alex.

"Molly you should not hit your brother like that, what have I told you?" Jane scorned at the sleepy girl.

"Sorry," Molly said looking at her feet but amusement evident in her eyes.

"It doesn't matter much, were home now." Jane sighed pulling onto the drive of their house.

"So Alex where did your friend go?" Danial asked suddenly causing Alex to freeze.

"Oh" Alex stuttered, "She said that she needed to go home." Alex explained, "Something about her parents being worried about her a lot." he finished

"Well that makes sense," Jane mused to herself as she unlocked the door while everyone rushed into the house.

"I'm going to my room see you in the morning." Alex announced as he left the front room and headed upstairs to get some rest.

"Goodnight!" Alex's family said together as if in a choir.



As Alex locked his and went over to his bed, Emily appeared next to him in her usual blinding flash of light which stung Alex's eyes every time he saw it. When the boy had finished rubbing his eyes he noted that Emily was standing in front of him whilst he was sitting on the bed with his head in his hands, amusement dancing in her blue eyes.

"Can you please warn me the next time you do that?" Alex asked really wanting to never have to reduce his eyes to the blistering light.

"Sorry," Emily apologised with a small grin covering her face.

"It's okay, I guess." Alex mumbled half-heartedly, a small smile on his face as well.

"So this is where you sleep?" Emily asked rhetorically, "Much nicer than what I had," She mused looking over the contents of Alex's bedroom. She stopped when she came over to a stack of paper and sporadically placed stationary, "You draw?" she questioned, turning to Alex in the process.

"Nothing that good, but I like to think that I'm quite decent with some of my better pieces." Alex boasted with a smile on his face

"What do you draw?" Emily asked finding the topic incredibly interesting.

"Pretty much anything landscape, still life, while I’m getting better at drawing people” Alex listed automatically.

"These are pretty good," Emily praised, "Honestly you underestimate yourself." The girl said with a slight shake of her head as she lifted one of the drawings Alex had done. It was a canvas of his window looking out onto the street and all the houses. Amazing really, how he was able to capture all the little details she hadn't known was there.

"I guess," Alex replied with a blush, his pride being boosted at the same time, "Do you like to draw as well? It’s just that you seem very interested." Alex asked.

"Not in a while, no, but I never was that good. My brother, however, was always good at drawing, he could have been an artist-nut, but that was all before I got trapped in that prison. I don't know where he could be now." Emily finished sadly having to recall the painful memory of her family.

"I'm sorry." Alex apologised for his lack of social skills.

"Its okay, you have nothing to be sorry for. I just worry for him sometimes, he was my little brother and I don't know when I will see him again." Emily said on the verge of tears, the slight glistening of her eyes sent a painful spike down Alex's back.

"It's okay, I know I would feel the same if it happened with me and Molly." Alex said, "I'm sure you will see him soon anyway, he's probably been looking for you as well." Alex continued trying to cheer her up not want to see her cry.

"I guess you are right." Emily sighed, "Thanks Alex, I needed that." Emily finished with a deep smile.

"Don't worry about it, I was just doing the right thing anyway, girl like you don't need to cry, you look better with a smile anyway. I need to get some shuteye so I'm going to sleep now." Alex said before going into bed, not noticing the slight blush on Emily's cheeks.

"Goodnight Alex, I think I will stay up a little longer." Emily answered turning to look out the window.

"Goodnight Emily, but makes sure you hide again before my parents see you." Alex said before falling into a peaceful sleep.

Emily walked over to the window and stared out of it as she was thinking of how long it would take before she would see her little brother again. After she had finished her musing, she flashed a brilliant white light in the dark room and went to reside in Alex's head where she slept awaiting the next day's events to unfold.

Little did Emile know that she would see her brother soon and the meeting will arrive much earlier than she ever expected. Oh so much earlier.





CHAPTER 5



"So that's where he's hiding her" A mysterious figure murmured to itself as it sat on the opposite Alex's window "I'm sure that he will like this information" The figure said before snapping it's fingers and disappearing into the night.



Alex woke with the sun at six in the morning, he looked at his alarm clock on his bedside table and sighed today was Monday so he needed to go to school and then his alarm rang shattering him from his comatose like state in his bed, Alex always wondered why he woke up just before his alarm it was more of a precaution just in case his body did not wake him up. Alex finished his breakfast and went to wake up Molly before he went out to school only to find that she was not feeling well so she was having a day off much to Alex's irritation as he would never be allowed to have a day off for a simple common cold and he headed out of the house to begin his mundane Monday morning doing the same thing as last weak and the week before... Alex was not happy about this.



Alex turned up at school and carried out the same process again of waiting until lessons started and heading over to first lesson maths. Alex did not mind maths that much some of it was challenging but it was not always that hard but sometimes like today it was more difficult then trying to cut down an oak tree with a herring

"Oh well" Alex thought too himself "At least it isn't French." second lesson went well he had Art the lesson was something he enjoyed and the teacher was okay as long as everyone behaved...

The lunch bell signalled that it was time for fifth lesson Geography and English had taken its toll on Alex and now it was time for the last lesson of the day French

"This is just what I needed" Alex murmured to himself before another of the longest hours of his life he hated Mondays.



Hours later after Alex had gone home and started talking to Emily about her experiences with school where she explained that her and her brother had been homeschooled by her dad to which Alex found interesting and would have asked more about had his dad not called him from downstairs.

"Alex have you seen Molly I have not seen her all afternoon?" Danial asked

"No but she is probably in her room listening to music again" Alex guessed "But don't get up you still need rest Ill go check on her" Alex finished as he started walking up the stairs and entering Molly's room where he saw a note from Molly telling Alex to meet her at his "hidey hole"

"Is she in there?" Alex heard his dad asking

"No but I know where she is Ill tell her to come back when I get there" Alex replied as he walked out the door "back soon" he gestured then started walking to his "hidey hole" as Molly put it.



After Alex turned the corner and walked into his no longer secret retreat he was shocked to find his sister was crying with her head in her hands

"Molly are you okay?" Alex asked clearly concerned for his half-sister

"Not one more step Alex" A mysterious voice said "Not if you do not want your sister to be harmed" As a figure suddenly formed behind Molly with a sadistic grin on his face

"What are you?" Alex asked "And what do you want with my sister" he continued his voice filled with rage towards the mysterious figure behind his sister

"Simply I would like a trade" The figure said calmly with a smile "Your sister for my sister"

"What do you mean?" Alex asked confused

"I will give you your dear Molly if you free my sister Emily" The figure explained angrily

"Robert?" Alex turned around to see Emily at the entrance with crying eyes "Is that you?" Emily finished

"Emily come on I can save you" The figure Robert said with joy

"What are you doing Robert leave her alone!" Emily shouted

"But I'm trying to rescue you from him" Robert said pointing at Alex

"You Idiot do you not think that if I wanted too I could have killed him already I am not a prisoner why would you think that?" Emily shouted at Robert

"But Zuzu said that you had been captured by him" Robert almost whined to Emily

"You can't still trust that stupid imp can you?" Emily asked Robert

"Zuzu get here now!" Robert shouted causing a black puff of smoke to appear and a small black imp with bright yellow eyes and two jagged horns to appear

"Yes master Robert" The imp said with a slight stutter

"What did you see last night exactly?" Robert asked sternly

"I saw Emily with him and may I say it is good to see you Miss Emily" Zuzu answered with a bow

"Thank you Zuzu" Emily said flatly "But what made you think I was a prisoner?" She asked

Zuzu stopped for a while as he tapped his sharp claws against his chin making a sharp annoying sound until he replied with a small voice "Lucky guess?" at which point Robert clipped him over the back of the head causing him to reply with a small "Sorry"

"Alex I am very sorry for what has happened here it all appears to be a huge misunderstanding due to some bad information" Robert said as he glared at Zuzu "Anyway I am seriously sorry about what has happened I was just trying to save my sister I hope you understand" Robert apologised towards Alex

"And I hope you understand that doing such a thing to my little sister is not much of a forgivable act so that you will not be hurt if I do not accept the apologies straight away anyway you could have traumatized her why did you not ask me first I'm sure you would not have needed to do this from the start" Alex explained staring at Robert with malice

"Actually Alex I can fix that" Emily said tapping Alex on the shoulder "If you would allow me to I could make her forget about this whole incident" Emily paused "Can I?"

"Of course as long as it is safe" Alex answered

Emily walked over to Molly who was sitting facing the wall and sniffing and Alex started talking to Robert

"So you must be her younger brother that she was talking about?" Alex asked

"Yea I am but I am sorry about what happened she is the only family that I have left that I can trust and when I lost her I felt terrible I'm sorry about how I acted but I just wanted my big sister back" Robert answered sullenly

"Its okay" Alex said "I guess no actual damage was done thanks to Emily"

"She was always good at fixing all the trouble that I caused" Robert smiled "It's good to have her back"



5 minutes earlier

"Hey Molly are you okay?" Emily asked

"I'm scared" Molly cried into Emily's chest

"It's okay Molly you have been through something bad no need to be scared though it's all over now" Emily smiled

"Is Alex okay" Molly sniffed

"Everyone is fine" Emily answered while she stroked Molly's hair gently and after Molly's sniffles had stopped she looked Molly in the eyes and asked "Would you like to forget about what happened today"

"Of course" Molly replied

"Then just look into my eyes for a second" which Molly did as they began to pulsate white and seemed to sap something from Molly's eyes and then Emily's eyes flashed with a bright white light

"Shall we go back and check up on Alex Molly?" Emily asked smiling

"All right then" Molly answered back as Emily and Molly walked towards the two boys currently talking quietly to each other



Emily and Molly walked back over to Alex and Robert after a flash of white light saying "Robert, Alex I think it would be best for everyone to forget about this"

Both of the boys nodded before Alex said "All right fresh start nice to meet you Robert" Alex said with his hand outstretched

"You too Alex" Robert concluded as they both shook hands.

And after Molly was reintroduced to Robert as Emily's younger brother in a friendlier manner the group headed back to Alex's house so that the two long lost siblings now rejoined could talk with each other and debate about a much

more serious matter.