ARC Entry for Michelle Hodkin's "The Evolution of Mara Dyer"

The Preservation of Mara Dyer Shaw

By Taylor Mitchell

                Most of us know how Mara Dyer and Noah Shaw met, but how does their story end? Well I don’t have an answer for that exactly; but I can give you a glimpse into the life of Noah and Mara Shaw.

“Happy 50th Anniversary Love.”

I looked up towards that soothing voice to see the face, a face I’ve known for decades now, and shook my head. Where did the time go? I had thought. I still replay our first encounter in my head like a movie clip.

It was first day at Croyden Academy, since my stomach was protesting anymore search to find my classroom I had stopped at the vending machines to curb my appetite some until lunch. I had dug around my bag for change for what seemed to be long agonizing minutes, to find the exact change for a bag of M & M’s. I punched in the golden numbers for the candy I pined for, but low and behold they didn’t come out. Those suckers were stuck! So I did what any other teenager would do in desperation, I started to kick the damn thing.

“You have an anger-management problem” The familiar voice said.

At that moment I realized the huge grin on my face and looked up at the man that had changed my life.

“Happy Anniversary Noah. What sort of over-the-top charade do you have planned for today?” I said in hopes of hiding my trailed off thoughts.

“Well if I told you, it would ruin the surprise” He said as he glanced toward the porch.

After I rolled my eyes, I met his gaze and followed as he went out the front door. “It’s not like you have to do this grand gesture or anything. You got the girl remember.” I said as I paused just outside the door with my hands on my hips to emphasize my point.  “I’m happy just being with you.”

He sat in his favorite rocker and took in the salty air that came off the coast of Miami before he answered. “But I love the look on your face when I do those things for you.”
I noticed how sincere he was and sat beside him in my matching rocker.

As the years went on I never got tired of his wonderful surprises. Each year he would always one-up himself with these surprises. Noah always kept me guessing. One year he took me to New York for a special art showing a friend of his was in. I hadn’t realized that his “one friend” he mentioned was me.  It was really something to see my artwork on display being viewed by the public. Noah reassured me, as he always did, that they loved it but I felt differently. Selling a piece of my artwork was the cherry on top of the evening. Another year he had made a few connections and we were able to meet Death Cab for Cutie. Between that and the art show, this man had no limits.

Thinking about the possibilities of my surprise I hadn’t realized he had asked me a question.

“Are you listening to me?” He asked already knowing the answer. “Or are you trying to figure out what your surprise is?”

Damn.

He knows me all too well. But what do you expect with the man that knows your darkest secrets? I smiled and surrendered to him.
“Yeah, you caught me.” I said. “But I’m just coming up blank on anything you could do.”

“Oh babe, you just underestimate my abilities.” Noah said with his all-knowing expression.

“Oh no….. I do not underestimate your abilities. You never gave me the chance after what happened to Joseph.”  Which was true, how else could I dispute his abilities after he found and rescued Joseph.

“And you never second guessed me since.” He added with that crooked grin and easy tone.

“Well you could say that….” I trailed off as I saw the familiar car pull into our driveway.

Wait.

Two familiar cars pulled into the driveway. I was filled with such excitement I was practically jumping up and down. You know, as much as a 74 year old could. I sprang up from my rocker to meet our wonderful children. We were all together which hasn’t happened since, geeze, I can’t remember when.

Our eldest daughter Renee got out of the passenger side of the first car. Her red hair collided with her angular face as she pulled Jeremiah out his car seat in the Jeep. She looked just like her father; her face was strong but had gentle clear blue eyes of a mother. Her husband Zach got out of the SUV to meet their daughter Clara who was already bolting towards Noah and me. Zach, who was the epitome of tall, dark and handsome, had no problem keeping up with their oldest child.

Jeremiah and Clara were so special to me. With an eight year difference between the two, Noah and I weren’t sure if we were going to have another grandchild after Clara. I was lucky to find someone who understood my problem ability; I never would have thought I would be able to coach my own children and grandchildren with abilities. We didn’t spot Clara’s ability until she was a little older than Jeremiah now. We were at her second birthday at a local Major Magic’s. She was playing in the ball pit with one of the neighborhood kids and all of a sudden heard this scream and saw that his arm was stuck in the netting. She was able to help him out of the knot but when he came out of the pit had no signs of harm. We realized then that she had to the power to heal similar to Noah. Clara’s ability had shocked us especially since she was able to learn its capacity so quickly.

Jeremiah’s ability is taking us some time to learn.

It actually started when Renee was pregnant. She would get these overwhelming emotions but suddenly would feel a wave of tranquility. They happened as fast as the original emotion came. It wasn’t until recently Renee and Zach were able to link that to Jeremiah. Zach’s mother had just past away from breast cancer and he was devastated. He was putting Jeremiah to bed and felt so happy to be with his son, considering the circumstances. Renee and Zach had put the pieces together and were amazed. Both their children had special abilities similar with Noah and me.

Renee had felt left out since her younger sister, Tabatha had also been gifted with an ability.

As that final thought slipped through my conscious I saw Tabatha and her partner, Quinn get out of her red convertible smart car.

Tabatha has chestnut hair like her father’s and keeps it short, says it’s less fussy that way. I locked eyes with her as she jogged up the porch stairs to meet my embrace. She always had gorgeous eyes that demanded attention. Her girlfriend, Quinn was just a few steps behind her shaking hands with Noah. As long as I’ve known Quinn, she shows very little emotion but could talk your ear off any day. This always frustrated Tabatha because of her ability, she never wanted anyone to know of it and hated risking that secret to Quinn. Tabatha never wanted to share it either, but she couldn’t explain the mishap any other way.

They were walking home one late night after a movie and were interrupted when a man had jumped Tabatha. He wrapped his arms around her neck and attempted to grab her purse. One minute he had a death grip on her and the next he was on the ground dead.

Her girlfriend has kept the secret and proven her loyalty numerous times.

It was much easier to help Tabatha with her ability once I had perfected mine with Noah. I especially didn’t want my own daughter to feel the unwanted emotions I had when I discovered my ability. I felt so isolated and withdrawn when I was so young, I couldn’t bear my own child those same feelings.

“Having the family back together like this really makes for a great anniversary.” I said as I glanced over my wonderful gifted family.