The next morning, Rowan woke with a weight behind her ribs - a deep ache she couldn't explain.
Not pain or fear.
Just... homesickness.
Which was odd because she felt more at home with the Swans than she had since her parents were alive.
It would hit in waves, crashing against the shore.
While she was eating cereal, while she was brushing her teeth, and by the time she got into Bella's truck, it felt like water was sloshing against her ribs.
She tried to shake it off as she arrived at school.
But as she headed down the hallway toward the library, it hit again, stronger than ever.
The lights above her flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then every bulb buzzed like they were trying to harmonize with her nervous pulse's tempo.
Rowan froze.
Students looked up.
Then her hands started glowing, like she dipped them into pixie dust pulsing gently as the strange homesickness rose inside her. Quickly, she placed them in her sweater's pockets.
Still gasps echoed through the hall.
Someone dropped a binder.
"What the..." someone cursed.
Rowan then, of course, had to bring attention her way by apologizing...loudly.
"Sorry! Sorry, sometimes I just get sparkly."
Mike Newton blurted out, "You are like a Disney princess!"
Rowan straightened and replied with the most dignity she could gather, "I'll take it."
Jessica Stanley stared at her as she had personally seen Rowan rewrite the laws of physics while Lauren Mallory muttered 'witch' under her breath.
Several freshmen passed Rowan with a blush on their cheeks.
Who knew that in Forks, glowing hands could make you popular?
---
Later during her library shift break period, Rowan hid behind the circulation desk and pulled up a meditation site on the computer. She placed the headphones on her ears as she pressed the audio recording on it.
"Picture yourself as a quiet stream..."
Rowan took a deep breath, trying to center herself.
Her aura flared bright enough to cast shadows.
She shook her head, "Let's try that again. I am a calm stream. Be a calm stream, Rowan." Her aura flickered like a candle in the wind.
Then something tickled her behind her neck, and she found the windowsill plant had grown again, but this time it was flowering, and its vines stretched out to her like arms.
"Progress?" She sighed.
She slumped in the rolling chair, spinning around for a moment, her head thrown back as she sighed before she straightened, noticing her glow had softened. It was less noticeable now.
"Good."
But inside her, something tugged, and across several seas in Italy, 3 kings felt the same tug, turning their heads toward where their thread led out into the expanse.