Ty dropped the rusty push mower and stood back. He surveyed the yard, the floods dandelions, the overgrown weeds, the tall wet grass, and the junk and car parts strewn about the yard. He felt the lizard watching him, sharing in his thoughts. He... liked her presence. It was strangely comforting and yet alien. Like something he didn’t know he needed.
{ Well? } She said with a smirk. He could feel the smirk, her snout pulling into a playful impatience. { I’m waiting. Do something interesting. }
“All right.” Ty whispered gently. He took a deep breath, gulped, and pictured the weeds shrinking into the ground and vanishing. He willed it so.
The weeds all jumped in unison throughout the yard and began to dwindle. From tall jagged things they shrank to small leaves in the grass before reducing to mere buds and pulling into the ground. They vanished forever.
{ I said interesting. } Narissa snorted. { Unlimited cosmic power and you make weeds go away. }
“Just getting the practice in.” Ty defended himself. He stared at the broken pile of rusty mufflers and worn down brake rotors thrown in the corner of the yard. He stared at the parts and willed them to vanish. They did, in a blink, gone forever.
{ I see, you’re varying changes! } Narissa said excitedly. { I take it back. That’s interesting, after all. }
“Glad you approve.” Ty chuckled. He stared at the rest of the yard and took another breath. He pictured the grass turning even and green, perfectly cut, perfectly healthy, the ideal manicured lawn. He held that thought and let it become so. The yard rustled and changed before his eyes, grass uniformly shrinking in height, pale spots turning full and rich, burnt patches fading. Ty stared and grinned.
{ Yes, well done. } Narissa nodded somewhere else. { You’re getting the hang of it. }
They looked back at the house, shrugged, and pictured the entire house being cleaned top to bottom. He tried willing it, and his head swam with sudden bewildering dizziness. “Whoa.” Ty gasped, staggering. “Too much.”
{ Give me a second. } Narissa said suddenly. Ty felt her pass from his mind and return moments later, { Actually, it worked. But yes, the more involved your desires are, the more it will take out of you. Curse of being just a human kid. }
“Small changes.” Ty blinked. “For now.”
He went back into the house and stared in wonder at a sparkling almost new interior. Stains had been purged, cracks were gone in the walls, the broken sink in the upstairs bathroom was miraculously fixed. He felt Narissa trailing along with him all the while.
{ Guess you’re done. } She shrugged, { Now what? }
“C-Can we talk?” Ty gulped,
{ Yeah. Sure. } Narissa said agreeably.
“F-Face to face?” He sat back in the downstairs recliner.
{ You know I knew, right? } She laughed. { Yes, fine. Back to the void for another chat. Close your eyes. }