-Untitled-
by Sean L. McLane
copyright 1991

Amy looked up, awestruck. She never would have believed it if she didn't see it with her own eyes, but there was her boyfriend, floating five feet off the ground.

"Well, what do you think?" John asked as he slowly drifted down. He landed first on his left foot, then lowered the prosthetic at the end of his right leg to the ground.

Amy's mouth open and closed soundlessly for a few seconds before she could stammer a response. "How-- How did you do that?" she finally exclaimed.

John smiled. "Telekinesis," he explained. "I just developed the talent. I wasn't sure if the deal was for real, but this proves it."

His girlfriend scowled as she brushed a lock of wavy blonde hair out of her eyes. "What are you babbling about, John? What's this deal you're talking about? And you still haven't told me how you were able to fly like that. Will you give me some straight answers for once?"

John was crestfallen. He sighed. "Alright, let's go inside and I'll tell you everything." He took her hand and they led her into his dorm. John started grinning as they approached the elevator. Amy attempted to push the up button, but it lit before she touched it. John giggled as she shook her head in amazement.

They got out on the seventh floor and walked down the hall to John's room. John stopped in front of his door and started staring at it. "What are you waiting for?" asked Amy. He simply held up one finger, signaling her to wait a second. The door opened with a click, and John smiled once again.

John walked in first, and Amy closed the door behind her. "You should be careful about where you do... that. If someone saw you, someone who doesn't love you...." She walked over and hugged him. "They might want to carve you up and find out how you do that. Which also happens to be a question of mine that you haven't answered yet."

"Okay, okay, I get your point." He kissed her. "Have a seat and I'll tell you everything." He gestured and a chair skittered across the floor toward Amy. She sat down as he reclined on his bed. "This is the reason behind it," he said as he tapped the peg that served as his right foot.

"I don't know why you don't get a more real-looking prosthetic. That thing's an antique! Lord knows you got enough money from the settlement with the bus company, AND your insurance. You could afford the top of the line.

John looked a bit flustered. "I already told you, I like to stand out. besides, this thing serves me just as well as anything those doctors could screw on there. With anything they give me, I'll never be able to run again, so why bother?"

"I'm sorry," Amy said. "I didn't--"

"No, no. It's alright," he interrupted. "Besides, I was explaining how I could do this..." A pencil floated from John's desk into his open hand. He tossed it back and continued. "About a year and a half ago, for some strange reason, I decided that I'd be willing to give up my right foot if I could have telekinetic powers. I even said it out loud, sort of like a prayer. Nothing happened immediately after that, so I forgot about it. A couple of months later, my grandmother died, and I took the bus line to get to her funeral. You know about the big accident and how I had to have my foot amputated as a result.

"While I was lying there in the hospital, I thought about that deal that I had offered to the heavens. Every day I tried to make various things around the room come toward me. In frustration, I started getting angry. One day I shook my fist toward the sky and said that I had given my part, and that I was waiting. The next morning, I did it. I made a vase of flowers float across the room into my hands. Every day since then, I've practiced, getting stronger and more stable every time I use it. I can even fly now! It's a great feeling I don't _need_ to run any more."

Amy got up and came over to the bed and lay down next to John. "You have been given a great gift, my sweet, but you have to be careful. You know there are people who would exploit you at the drop of a hat. You shouldn't let anyone else know about this. It should be a secret between you, me, and He who gave you the gift."

John kissed her again. "You're right as usual. But I feel like I should do something with this!"

"We'll think of something for you to do later. For now, I'd like to think of something else."

"Yeah? What's that?" John asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, you've been away for a year, recovering from that accident," Amy purred as she rubbed her hand across John's chest, "and I've been _very_ lonely."

"Oh!" John exclaimed. "You mean..?"

Amy nodded slowly, with a wide grin on her face.

"Oh!" John repeated. He turned off the light with a gesture, and the room became shrouded in darkness.


this story is the first part of something I started, but haven't gotten around to finishing.