Rebecca sat on the bed going through color samples while Susanna arranged her wardrobe.  The sisters had spent much of the morning and early afternoon in Susanna’s bedroom, arranging and re-arranging furniture and debating interior design.  Occasionally, one of the girls would ask Vincent his input or opinion on something, trying to keep him engaged, but it was clear that this was not his area of interest by any means.  He sat on the dresser quietly.

“Vincent, I can tell that you’re finding this dreadfully boring,” Susanna said.

Vincent had been pondering.  It took a second for him to snap back to attention and to acknowledge that Susanna was talking to him.  He looked up at her.

“I know you skipped breakfast,” Susanna continued.  “If you’re hungry, why don’t you visit the kitchen?  That is, unless Rebecca’s devoured all the food already…”

“Hey!” the sister retorted.

“Don’t worry.  I ate a raisin earlier.”

“Oh wow.  A raisin!” Susanna said in faux amazement.  “Did you eat all of it, or are you saving half for later?”

“Ha-ha,” said Vincent.  “I ate it all and it was quite delicious, thank you very much.”  He stood up and stretched, rubbing his full little belly.  

“Very well,” Susanna said with a muffled voice as she rummaged through the closet.  A few moments later, she emerged with an idea: “Hey, why don’t you show Rebecca more of your abilities?”

Rebecca’s eyes widened with excitement at the suggestion.  “Oh, would you please?!  I’ve been dying with fascination!  Show me your magic!”

“She’s already seen most of what I can do.  But I suppose I can run through the trick book...”

Vincent was willing to oblige with the request.  If anything, it would get his mind on other things; for since its discovery, his thoughts were on the library globe.  What did that mysterious button do?  His imagination could not resist nipping and nibbling at the possibilities like a dog with a steak.  He couldn’t leave it alone.  He wanted to depart and investigate it further, but he did not want to arouse the sister’s suspicions just yet.

“Well, let’s see here.  You already know that I can fly.  That’s perhaps what I do the most.”  He demonstrated as he spoke, walking directly off the edge of the dresser and continuing on nonchalantly in Rebecca’s direction.

She smiled.  “You make it look so easy.  You treat the air just like ground beneath your feet!”

“Walking is a little easier than flying, but neither is that difficult.  It’s just second nature to me.  You never think much about putting one foot in front of the other, do you?  Flying requires being more deliberate, but it’s not that difficult to do something like this…”  

He continued his demonstration by soaring upwards and diving downwards, flying in circles and loop-the-loops.  The sisters responded to his aerobatic maneuvers with light applause.

Moving on, Vincent exhibited pyrokinesis.  Standing not too far in front of Rebecca’s face, he could see her green eyes widen when he flicked his wrist and a small flame appeared in his palm.  He repeated the movement a couple of times and proceeded to juggle three little burning orbs like a circus performer.  After a few rounds, he combined the three together into one much larger flame, then slowly guided it closer to Rebecca.

“Make a wish!”

The mesmerized Rebecca took a moment to understand the instruction.  She paused in thought, smiled, then blew the flame out like a candle.  Vincent was not prepared for the force of the gust which was sent forth from her puckered lips.  He lost his balance and fell a few inches before he recovered.  

“Wow!  That must have been some wish!” he said when he flew back up to level of where he had been.

“Sorry!  I guess I don’t know the strength of my own lungs.”

“What did you wish for?” Susanna asked semi-curiously.

“I can’t tell you or it won’t come true!  I’m not like Vincent over here who can make create anything he wants.”

“Well, that’s not entirely true...” Vincent explained.  “I can’t make anything.  It has to be simple.  If you were to ask me to conjure that clock, for instance, I would have no idea where to start.  The more familiar I am with something, like the flowers of the forest, the easier it is for me to reproduce it.  Furthermore, more complicated items require a great amount of mental exertion and are only temporary.”

“Vincent made me a dress once!” Susanna cheerfully bragged.  “It was beautiful and looked just like the periwinkle dress that Mother gave me, except it shimmered in the light like his own clothing.”

“Oh, now I’m absolutely jealous!  Can you make me a dress, too, Vincent?  Pretty pleaseeee?” Rebecca begged with pleading eyes.

“That dress was a challenge.  If I recall, it took me a few tries to get the proportions right. I was doing it from memory.  And afterwards, I was exhausted.  So no, I don’t think I can make you a dress right now, Rebecca.  I’m sorry.  But maybe for your birthday?”

“Okay…” Rebecca responded with a little frown and a pout.  “But my birthday’s not until June!”

Vincent thought for a second.  “Maybe I can get you an early birthday present, then.  Open your hands, close your eyes, then count to five,” he instructed her.  

Rebecca eagerly complied.  When her eyes opened and saw what Vincent had made, they opened even further in amazement.  Resting between her two palms was a single, yellow rose. Its petals were perfectly shaped and its was without blemish.

“Oh my heavens.  This is wonderful!  Vincent, you made this?”

“That’s nothing,” said Susanna.  “You should see the gardens he has made: whole fields of the most beautiful flowers you have ever seen!”

Vincent was pleased to make the sisters happy.  It was not long ago that he had not been able to share his gifts with anyone.  To experience the appreciation of others was something that he had come to--well, appreciate.

“Is there anything else that you can do?” Rebecca inquired.

The answer to that question was quite nebulous.  In practical terms, there was no limit to Vincent’s powers.  Anything that he could imagine in his mind, he could make a reality.  However, the prospect of this absolutely terrified him.  As such, he deliberately restrained and controlled his powers.  He feared what would happen were he a lesser-willed man.  Havok would certainly ensue.  Vincent certainly wasn’t going to reveal the true answer to Rebecca, of course.

“I’ve got one more thing for right now.  This is something new that I’ve been working on.  It was Susanna’s idea actually.  What was it that you called it?  Telekinesis?”

The yellow rose was soon lifted right out of Rebecca’s hands by an unseen force.  It moved up and down, to the left and to the right, before coming back and resting in her lap.

“Impressive!”

“It’s been very handy, especially when I’m feeling exceptionally lazy.”

“Last I saw,” said Susanna, “you could only move small pebbles.  Pretty soon you’ll be able to lift me!”

“Well, I don’t know about that.  You are much heav--” Vincent wisely stopped himself, his sentence trailing off into mumbles.

“Uh huh,” Susanna said, crossing her arms.  “Nice save, mister.”

~+~+~

After his presentation, Vincent excused himself while the sisters continued setting up Susanna’s room.  He said he was going to continue exploring the manor, but there was only one destination for him.  He made a beeline to the library.  

It did not take him long to find the button again, hidden among the painted-on islands in the northern hemisphere.  It wasn’t hard to understand how it could go unnoticed.  Only someone who knew it was there, or someone as small as Vincent, could have detected it.  Pressing it in as hard as he could, the mechanism within the globe clicked a few times, followed by a loud snap!

Vincent waited in eager anticipation.  He could hear the sounds of something mechanical in nature and of gears and ropes and pulleys.  It was followed by the sound of something heavy grinding and sliding and moving.  It was greatly exciting and Vincent's heart started racing!  

Then the noises ceased.  Several seconds passed.  Vincent continued waiting.

Nothing.

Vincent looked around the room.  Everything looked exactly the same.  Nothing had changed.  Nothing was different.  He was quite disappointed and perplexed.  He was certain that he had heard something happening.  What was going on?

Vincent was about to return to Susanna’s room when he felt a cool, light breeze overtake him.  Pages in a nearby open book went flipping passed.  It was strange and unseemly.  The windows were still closed, but the autumn chill was creeping in from some place in the room.  Leaping to the ground, he sought out the breeze’s mysterious source.  It was slightly stronger near the southern side of the library and persisted even when he stood next to the wall.

The wind appeared strongest near the grandfather clock.  Vincent stood on the ground before the majestic monolith, his eyes going back and forth as he watch its pendulum sway back and forth with each second of time.  His hair was swept back as the air rushed over him.  Vincent was tempted to conjure a fire for warmth, but he knew that the wind would have blown it out immediately.

Further investigation proved to be fruitful...and results were more peculiar.  The clock stood pressed up against the far wall almost as far as it could go.  Even Vincent could not squeeze behind it and there was certainly no way he would be able to move it.  However, he found that he might be able to fit underneath.  The body of the clock rested on four short feet, not much taller than Vincent.  If he stooped his head, he would able to walk underneath the clock fairly easily.  

Making his way past a veritable army of dust-bunnies, Vincent reached the south wall...but it wasn’t there. The wall was gone!  Had the clock not stood where it was, a passage would have been revealed in its place.  It was evident that whatever Vincent had activated by pressing that button had opened up a panel in the wall.  That was the noise he had heard.  

It was from within that darkness before him that the breeze made its way into the room.

And it was into that darkness that Vincent bravely ventured forth...