At First Sight by Heather Todd

actually experienced it.”
                  “With whom?”
                  Frankie flipped through a few pages in a leather photo album and handed the book to Lola, pointing at a photograph of a young woman with blond hair and blue eyes. She looked very pretty as she smiled in front of a fireplace. “Her name was Beverly Johnson. She was a human, just like you. Leo met her by accident in the park in New York. They accidentally bumped into each other and their eyes met.”
                  “Sounds really typical,” said Lola, shrugging.
                  “They were attached at the hip and it completely changed Leo’s point of view when it came to the first sight,” said Frankie. He flipped the page to reveal a photo of Leo and Beverly together.
                  Lola furrowed her brows at the photograph. “Was this a wedding?”
                  Frankie nodded. “They got married about a year after they met. Her imprint turned out to be a flower. She could make any plant or seed bloom in record time. It matched her beauty of the world.”
                  “Leo’s imprint was the lightning bolt. Why is it so rare?” asked Lola.
                  Dean looked through the shelves as his father continued talking. “The lightning bolt imprint is so rare because nobody else has ever had it before. Leo’s the only one. We weren’t sure at first what the imprint meant. He could do just about anything. We figured he could basically borrow any other imprint. Then, things started to change.”
                  “Change?”
                  “He started to become angry as each day passed,” started Frankie, sighing. “His days grew darker and he became pretty psychotic. It became obvious that his imprint was controlling him. It was taking over his body, mind, and soul. Beverly did the unthinkable when it became too much and she attempted to leave him.” He paused somberly. “But, when she tried to leave, he got angry and his imprint burst from his hand. He created a fire in his house and everything inside burned. Including Beverly.”
                  Lola gasped and looked at Frankie in shock. “He killed her?”
                  “Some believe it was a mistake. But it’s the imprint. Nobody else has had it before. It controls you. There is no way for the person to control it. It’s pretty much a death sentence to any relationship,” explained Frankie.
                  “But, how did he survive without her? They had the gift for a while. Can it still go away?” asked Lola.
                  Frankie nodded. “It’s still possible, but it’s rare for soul mates to part with each other after spending so much time together. They are meant to be together. With Leo, it just went away but he was so controlled by the imprint that it stayed with him.”
                  Dean sat next to Lola with a worn, leather book. The pages had been worn down along with the spine. He pointed to an open page that featured the lightning bolt imprint. “It puts everyone in fear once somebody sees it.”
                  “What happens if somebody gets the imprint?” asked Lola.
                  Frankie chewed on his bottom lip. “Our speaker of the family, Matthew Baker, has said that if anybody else were to get that imprint then there will be an execution. Nobody wants to risk it happening again. So, according to Matthew, extreme precautions need to be taken.”
                  “You mean, they would kill?” Lola shook her head. “That’s immoral, though.”
                  “The speaker controls the laws in our family,” ended Frankie. He watched Lola carefully. “What is it? What are you thinking, Lola?”
                  “What if I get that imprint?” asked Lola, looking at the two. “I mean,