Unwelcome Visitor

I awoke with a jerk, all twisted in the scratchy sheets of my new bed. I lay on my side, waiting for the voices from my dream to fade. I could feel someone behind me. I squeezed my eyes shut willing him away. The past few days were bad enough without him around. His timing was impeccable if the aim was to maximize my irritability.

“You already know that doesn’t work. Honestly, not trusting your own instincts is what’s gotten you into this mess in the first place. Why not try something else for a change, hm?” A melodic voice chirped with all the condescension of a parent berating a misbehaving child.

God, I didn’t need the reminder. I had been replaying the previous day over and over in my head. My team had been struggling to keep pace with the others, constantly snagging on tree roots and losing the trail. When we finally hit the fork in the path and our map didn’t extend further, we angrily fought over which path to take.

“I think we should go right,” I said, catching sight of the depressed grass where other teams must have already ran past.

“I think we should go left. I can see a marker a few meters ahead,” Perrin said. He was one of the largest boys in the group. He had taken an unofficial leader role and the others already looked up to him. He was strong, self assured, and calm, and so, I nodded and we followed after him. After all, I was terrible with directions. There did seem to be a marker on the next tree down the left path, but it was a different color from the others we noticed. And we ended up lost…for hours. Luckily we weren’t the only group so we weren’t last, but our ranking was abysmal. Out of 15 groups we ranked 13th. Unlucky.

“Ignoring me hasn’t ever made me leave either,” Tadhg continued over the scratching of his pen. Constantly writing in this little notebook. I had no idea what it contained. His thoughts? My miseries? What he had for breakfast? I didn't have a clue. But it was incessant. Anytime I asked what he was writing he would just change the subject, so I stopped asking a while ago. Now, the scratching of his pen grated on my nerves.

I grabbed the pillow from under my chin and chucked it behind me where he sat atop my dresser. He caught it with his one hand, pen still interlaced between his fingers. The only other movement was the shifting of his eyebrows closer to his hairline.

“Well, at least that was new,” he commended.

I angrily threw off the covers and marched to the bathroom. I hadn’t had a visit from Tadhg for weeks and had been enjoying the silence. But he always came back. From wherever he’s from. I think I used to dream of him as a child. An otherworldly man that could make trees change color or berries grow. When my nightmares ran rampant, he would soothe them until they were dreams, weaving a new story as I slept. The only problem was one day, he was still there when I woke. At first I thought it was a blessing, a guardian angel sent to watch over me. But he was not as sweet as he was in dreams. Instead, he spent most of his time criticizing my every choice. As I got older, I began to think I was crazy. That Tadhg was a hallucination. I’ve tried therapy, medications, exorcisms, but still he remains. The only proof I have that he exists is he has a habit of smoking some sweet smelling herbal concoction. People began coming up to me, telling me I smelled amazing, asking me what perfume I was wearing, asking me on dates. So some part of him must be real. Unfortunately, no one else can see him, so this didn’t make me feel much better.

Tadhg mildly disappointed face appeared in the mirror behind me while I brushed my teeth. His emerald eyes blazing into the mirror. I’ve never quite figured out what Tadhg is. I know he’s not human. I think he’s fae. He seemed aggravated that I knew his name and often use it instead of his nickname, Ty. It may also be the reason that he simply cannot seem to leave me alone.

"Would you try trusting yourself just this once. You might surprise yourself."

I spit the toothpaste into the sink and rinsed out my mouth. I began braiding my hair back from my face. We're not told what challenge we have to complete for the day, but it seemed safer to keep my hair back. Tadhg pulled out herbs wrapped in a dark green leaf and a box of matches. He struck the match and lit the end sticking out from his mouth.

"This doesn't concern you." I finished my braid and spun around. Tadhg blew the cloying smoke right into my face. I coughed and waved my hands in front of my face, trying to dispel the thick cloud. I reached out to snatch the thing from his fingers but he held it out faster than I could catch it.

"Everything you do concerns me, unfortunately," he sighed. He waltzed back over to the dresser and continued to blow smoke in my room. I took a towel off the wall in the bathroom and began waving it around.

"Stop smoking in my room!" I yelled angrily.

Three quick knocks sounded at my door. I groaned and gave the towel a final wave before chucking it on the bed. I pulled the door open and saw another one of my teammates at the door. She also had her hair braided back and boots on. She peered over my shoulder into my room. I let the door swing all the way open. She met my eyes, face flushing a bit.

"Uh, were you talking to someone?"

I shook my head. "Just the TV."

She frowned, seeing the TV off and no static from being on. I knew she didn't buy my lie, but I wasn't worried. Tadgh always disappeared when anyone else showed up. She would probably just assume I was one of those people that talked to myself, which is also true.

"Right, well, we're supposed to be down in breakfast in 5 minutes. So, get dressed."

I looked down at myself, finding I was still in my pajamas. Perfect start to the day. I mumbled an ok and was about to close the door before she stopped me.

"Um, also, can you wear a little less perfume? I feel dizzy just standing next to you," she asked with her nose shriveled at the overwhelming smell.

"Of course, my bad," I shrugged. I finally relaxed as the door clicked shut and she moved on to rouse the next person down the hall.