The Fifth Element

I traced the engravings in the metal plate that had been nailed to the back of the brand new mahogany bench placed by the New York Harbor. In honor of my sweet sixteen, my dad, the Mayor of Brooklyn Heights decided to dedicate a bench to me at my favorite scenic location, right here on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. The view of the slowly setting sun over the skyline of Manhattan was a sight of a lifetime.

It was July 5th, my birthday. The festive mood of Independence Day still clung to the air, making the mood of the New Yorkers more cheerful and therefore, a lower chance of running into an annoyed citizen full of complaints about the city. I was staring so intently at the orange-pink blend of the sunset that I didn’t notice the very handsome stranger who had settled down beside me on the other side of the bench until he spoke up.

“If I’m not mistaken, you must be Everly Quentin, the Mayor’s daughter,” the boy asked, his voice had a slight Scottish accent too it. Of course, the boy recognized my last name, my family was basically a celebrity here. Just as I was about to snap back at the boy I looked up at his face and that was the first time I stared right into the eyes of Noah Farley, and I swear at the moment the winds blowing around the promenade stilled. His eye color was a swirling grey storm color with such a strong pull powerful energy it shocked me for a second. I blinked back into reality.

“Uh… yeah” I stuttered, still withdrawing from the vacuum of energy his eyes seemed to hold. It was a weird gift that my father said only the Quentin’s had, or maybe it was just my weirdly over calculating observations of people. But in my gut, I knew that I had some type of 6th sense that allowed me to tell how much potential power people had, and Noah’s was stronger than any other person I’ve met.

“Did you know that your last name, Quentin, means the fifth?” Noah asked tentatively.

“Actually,” I corrected, rushing forward with my words, “my whole family legacy is based off that last name. There’s a weird myth about each firstborn of the fifth generation of the Quentin family would possess some super powerful type of magic” I started with a flourish, quickly realizing how immature it was of me to say something like that too someone I had met mere seconds ago. “But of course, as I urged, the Quentin Legacy is just a myth” I added nervously.

Noah smiled, seemingly unfazed by my weird garble of a tale, “And which generation are you?” he asked.

“Ironically, the fifth, the first fifth generation” I mumbled, I hated when people asked me that question, no matter how I tried to phrase the sentences the words just seemed so cliché, not to mention that it was hugely inaccurate.

“Magic powers?” Noah asked curiously.

“Nothing” I grumbled disappointedly. A moment of awkward silence filled the air.

“Well,” Noah resumed, restarting the conversation, “considering that you literally told me your whole family legacy, the least I can do is tell you my name. I’m Noah Farley” Noah stated informatively.

“I know” I responded casually, realizing a second too late that I wasn’t supposed to say that. But it was true, I just somehow knew what his name was. It was as if someone had written his name into my brain and matched it with the person as soon as I met him.

At first, Noah was confused but then he started laughing, “Are you sure your secret power isn’t being a psychic?” he asked in a surprisingly believing tone. Just as I was about to answer, my phone rang with the name “Mom” flashing across the screen.

“Well, I suppose I should get going” I rushed as I flung my bag across my back, knowing I was late for dinner. I got about three feet of distance before Noah called out my name again.

“Hey Everly” Noah called out from behind, I turned around to face him, wondering what he had to say.

“I forgot to say, Happy Birthday,” Noah whispered. I smiled and nodded my head as an indication of my gratitude. As I turned around to walk again he called out, “And I hope you find your special powers!”. I smiled at the words as I rushed home.

If Noah and I ever got a chance to relive that moment, he would learn that he might as well have been the psychic, because I did indeed find my very special power. Looking back now, I should’ve never wished for it, for the price that came with having it, outweighed all the positive factors about it.