Maggie Grey #3
Squinting my eyes, I could feel me and the rest of the class lean forward as we watched the stretched shadow suddenly move to the corner of the room. Just waiting to return back to his body.
“A man that is able to detach his soul is a man that can go anywhere. It leaves questions that need answers about souls, spirit realm, are there worlds between life and death…”
The shadow crept closer to the man before dropping below into the floor, disappearing completely.
The man’s head suddenly leaned back with a gasp before he clasped his hands together and disappeared completely.
Stunned, I sat back in my chair unsure of what just happened.
The shakiness of the camera and the panicked men in the room were just as confused.
Professor Yancy waved his hand as the film went completely black.
“I have a question,” someone asked with a raised hand. “If someone today had the ability to do this, wouldn’t that make them the most powerful mythic? They themselves can be a moving door if they’re able to be anywhere at any time. They could trump any spell, any curse, any–––”
“It’s not something everybody can do but some believe that it happens when we sleep or dream,” Professor Yancy said. “Obie, before he passed, was able to depict what he was seeing when he would separate himself… he found an artist that began drawing what he calls the, "Third World or Middle lands.”
The images began showing landscapes, clouds, water, structures built within rocks and fields of grass that blew sideways. There was one image where people stood around with their eyes closed as if they were waiting to wake up.
“He’s the last one known to achieve this level of magic…
Some mythics don’t believe he actually saw any of this.
Most believed he disassociated from the abuse, but we will never know.
The purpose of this class is to teach about the possibilities of existing in more than one space at once.
Yes?” He pointed to another student with their hand raised.
“So who can do it if everybody can’t?”
“Gods,” Professor Yancy said with a straight face. I wanted to roll my eyes. “Those not really tied to this earth or their bodies from the moment they were born. I can only explain it as Gods. Those who can walk in this life, the previous life, and the next at the same time.”
“So that isn’t magic,” I exclaimed. “That has nothing to do with magic.”
“It doesn’t?” He asked as he turned his body to face me. I shrugged. “Explain.”
I stared at him with a twisted mouth, usually up for some sort of academic debate but my mood these days felt forced to say the least.
“I think…” looking down at my fingers twisting together in front of me.
“I think magic is something humans use as an excuse the way we use religion as a means to control and gain power. Gods, if I’m to believe they’re real…
regardless of your idea of what a God may be…
they should be above that, no?” Professor Yancy looked down for a moment with his hand on his chin as he thought to himself, but I continued.
“What it looks like to me is a man who indeed disassociated, or the video could have been doctored and edited specifically for this class. There really is no way of telling what’s real and what’s not in this realm.
The issue with reality versus actuality. ”
“Do you believe in God, Ms. Grey?” He asked.
“I believe there is something up there in the clouds that we can’t explain. I guess I just don’t like magic being the excuse for everything, including fucked up shit…” I concluded with my voice barely above a whisper. No one said a word, but Professor Yancy simply nodded.
“Class is dismissed everyone. Please do not be late again or you will be marked absent. Ms. Grey, come see me before you leave.”
The lights came on as everyone got up to gather their things.
I took my time while glancing at the professor who simply stared at me with his arms crossed.
I’m sure this is the part where I get reprimanded like a child or questioned for my takes.
So I told Ayira to go ahead without me while I waited to get him alone.
When the classroom finally cleared, I walked over with pursed lips twisted to one side while he dug around in his desk.
“Your grandfather was my best friend at one point,” he said without looking at me. Definitely not something I wanted to hear. “This is my first-year teaching at Drew Collins but I’m familiar with this school and was here for the inception of it. The Holmes were…”
Professor Yancy paused as he thought to himself.
“Interesting to say the least.”
“Yeaaaah. I barely know them.”
“Mmmm,” he hummed while taking a seat. He pinched his nose with a sniff and finally looked up at me.
“I knew your grandmother too. Everyone knew about that one…come running and chasing behind the dead, and he eventually married the living. I was much younger, so most is what I heard from my uncles and aunts.”
“Whatever you know about my Granny, that’s her story. Not mine,” I said with a firm tone. “Since you know Marvin, I’m sure you know the blood contract he has on my parents.”
He didn’t say anything, just stared and at this point, it was all I could do to keep from going off. So I nodded and turned to take my leave without another word.
“Marvin wanted me to give you a message.”
“Is it about my parents?” I asked, pausing. I knew it wasn’t. I already knew.
“No. It’s not. He wanted me to pass along the message of stay strong and always maintain your composure and always be prepared for whatever might come.”
The small ticking noise from the projector shutting down completely echoed in the empty classroom as I nodded before flashing a brief fake smile.
“Okay.”
The moment I stepped out, Ayira was buried deep into her phone when she pushed herself off the wall and instantly read my face.
“What is wrong?” She asked. “Did he say anything bad to you?”
Her face became serious like she was planning on going in there herself, but I shook my head.
“Nope. Just talked about being late,” I said, cutting her a playful look. She rolled her eyes with a loud groan. When she started talking about her scheduling, I pulled out my phone and began the process of removing this class. I didn’t have time for the cryptic bullshit this year.