“Ah yes, we would like to apologise about that. We didn’t mean to be so rude and outspoken,” Scott said.
“No need to apologise, you got me very intrigued. I want to hear more, and I would love to give you my opinion,” Fletcher said.
“Well, in that case, please do come in for a private meeting in our very own tepee that’s not quite a tepee,” Scott joked.
Fletcher got right to it. “Right, so I got a pretty clear understanding last night on what you and Letticia have gone through. I would like to firstly say I have never met anybody who claims to have actually had this happen to them. However, in my mythical legend studies I have learnt it is possible, if you choose to believe it or not.
“A person who has a powerful desire to chase her very own dreams but feels trapped in doing so may find herself in this situation, she has the ability to shape shift. It seems to me Letticia that you had a dream or a strong desire to travel to Scotland, and find a Scottish man along the way, am I correct?”
“Yeah pretty much, along those lines,” I replied.
Scott cheekily whispered, “Yeah a man by the name of Jamie Fraser more like it.” He quietly laughed. I gave him a look off ‘would you shut up!’.
I continued to speak, “Yes, it was indeed a dream of mine and a desire, and I had full intentions on chasing my dream. I was going to go until the car accident stopped me and I was left in a coma for six months.”
“So, you physically were unable to go to Scotland then, but that didn’t stop your mind from going and finding and bringing Scott into your very own dreams. And this was how you ended up meeting your Scottish lover,” Fletcher said.
I looked over at Scott to see his reaction to all of this, as I was still a bit unsure on it all. Scott looked back at me. He just confidently mouthed, “Have some faith Letticia.” So faith was what I decided to have. At that moment I decided to let go of all preconceived ideas and allow this journey to take a spiritual road that I was about to accept and get on board with, alongside my one and only Scott King who was in the driver’s seat. After all, I was his shape-shifting Swan so wherever I go he goes.
I mouthed back to Scott, “I do have faith.”
Fletcher was about to leave, but before he did I still had one unanswered question that I needed some clarity on. “Fletcher, before your workshop yesterday I walked the Damanhur Spiral and once I got to the middle, stopped and reflected, I then touched the crystal. It felt cold at first and I felt an enormous amount of energy enter my body. So I shut my eyes to enjoy the sensation, but before long I got an extremely clear vision. So clear in fact, I felt I was there, back in my car the moment of impact. The moment my car got pushed off the road by a man named James.
“Through investigation, it was concluded that there was an oil spill on the road that day which caused James to lose control and crash into me. However, my vision proves to differ. I saw him behind the wheel with a can of beer in his hand. He had been drink driving. The vision was so clear and so real. It has left me in a state on even more confusion. What is your take on this?” I asked.
“Well Letticia, you are right, some people have the gift of seeing visions with the aid of a crystal. I feel this crystal vision was a warning to you for something to come. You need to be aware of it and when the time comes, don’t take this vision lightly. You got this vision as a warning message so use this new-found knowledge to your advantage. Be very wary of this James person is all I can say Letticia.”
I felt a cold shiver run up my spine.
James confused me still, he was still very mixed up in my head. He wasn’t the same James I had met in my dream who fell madly and deeply in love with Sophie, yet he was called James and he was Sophie’s boyfriend.
All in good time I was sure things would become clearer. I just had to put that thing called faith into action.
I thanked Fletcher for his advice before he left. Scott gave me a hug and said. “All will be well, just have a little faith Letticia.”
“I told you, I do have faith Scott, you need to have faith that I do have faith,” I told Scott.
“Oh, touche” Scott replied. We both laughed.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Faith it is
The rain was starting to clear, but it was still a miserable day out. I was still feeling weak and tired from yesterday’s dramas. I was still running a temperature, well so I was told from my very own healer, named Scott. He ordered me to go back to bed and get some rest. He would make me some food and a cup of tea as soon as I woke.
I crawled under my covers, feeling cold, then hot. I was running a fever and dreaded the thought of that walk back to the car park tomorrow. I didn’t know if I had it in me to even make it the whole way back. I slowly drifted off to sleep with the help of the sound of the ocean and the waves crashing to shore.
I awoke an hour later to Scott placing a cold washcloth against my forehead. “Welcome back Sassenach, you were burning up again so as your healer I decided I better attend to you. I didn’t mean to wake you though. Were you dreaming about me?” He said cheekily, with a wink.
I was still waking up and regaining my focus. I just said, “No I don’t think I had any dreams at all. My dream powers must be disabled.”
Scott laughed, “Well you finally have what you wanted now, no need to continue dreaming, it’s now time for living those dreams out,” he said.
“Oh, is that so is it? And how do you propose we do that?” I asked.
“By finally kissing each other in real life and not just in our dreams,” Scott said.
“That is a good proposed idea,” I replied. We looked at each other, we were finally alone and uninterrupted. Scott put his hand on my check and used his other hand to tuck my hair behind my ear. He started to come in slowly, we positioned our lips ready for the impact from the other's lips. We were only inches away from interlocking when we heard a voice say “Knock knock, only us.” We retracted quickly and added extra inches and then metres to the distance we had been only moments earlier from one another.
Scott unzipped the door of the tent and we were greeted by Brysen and Bonnie. “Hey there, we thought we would come and see how everybody was doing this morning after last night, and to say goodbye. We are only staying one night due to band practise. We are still not completely sure as to why you and Letticia are here, but we are happy for you to let us know when you are ready.” Brysen said.
Scott and I climbed out of the tent to talk to Brysen and Bonnie. It was only lightly drizzling now. “Thanks, son we both really appreciate that and yes we will tell you the whole story once we are home,” Scott said.
“Bonnie and I will hold you to that, father,” Brysen replied.
“You have my word son.”
Bonnie looked over at me and asked, “Aye, Letticia, you still don’t look the best. How are you holding out?”
I agreed with this statement. “Still running a bit of a fever, but I’m in good hands, I will survive,” I said.
“Well, we might need to call in a helicopter to get you out of here if you don’t get any better by tomorrow,” Brysen laughed.
“I wouldn’t say no to that if it meant not having to walk back on that track feeling like I do now,” I joked.
Scott ensured everybody that he would get me home safe and sound if it was the last thing he did.
“See, I will be fine, I have my very own Claire here who is my healer. Plus I have my very own Jamie here who is my real-life Scottish warrior. If I don’t make it back to Kings Ridge in one piece, I will be very surprised,” I said.
“Well, I have 100% faith in my father to do so,” Brysen said.
“That’s right son, all you need is a little bit of faith.”
I looked at Scott and he looked at me. “Yes, everybody just needs a little bit of faith.” I agreed. Brysen and Bonnie gave us that same look they had given us back at the coffee shop in Edinburgh, like we were out of our minds.
“Well, faith it is then,” Brysen said, �
�Faith, it is.” Bonnie agreed. They both were not initially sure what or how faith was relevant here and why it was the word of the day, but they went with it anyway.
We said our goodbyes and planned to meet up for a family dinner once we returned to Kings Ridge. If I was to ever make it back that was. As Brysen and Bonnie walked away Scott yelled out “siubhalsàbhailte,” which means safe travels in Gaelic
Brysen replied, “And to you.”.
Scott put his arm around me as we watched the two young love birds depart. Scott turned to me looking concerned, “Sassenach you are burning up again, you need water and rest.”
He was right, I was starting to degenerate again so decided to accept Scott’s request and went back off to bed. I proceeded to sleep the rest of the day away, resulting in missing out on all the other workshops on offer about other mythical Scottish goddesses. Scott attended a few and I was fully aware he would give me the full rundown on them all once I felt well enough to actually listen. At the moment though, one mythical Scottish goddess was enough for me to get my head around.
Scott woke me up and to my surprise, it was dark out. He had lit the little campfire outside our tent and was boiling up some tea, and in another pot some baked beans for our supper.
“Letticia, you must eat to regain your strength and energy for tomorrow,” Scott said. I couldn’t face the thought of food and all I wanted to do was to go back to sleep. But I knew Scott had a valid point, so I tried my best to get some food into me. I ate a few mouthfuls of baked beans and drank half a cup of hot tea. Scott accepted my efforts and helped me back into bed. My fever did not want to go; it was sticking around for the long haul, it looked.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Driftwood
The next morning I awoke and was still alive, thanks to Scott monitoring me throughout the night. I had no fever, but I was still feeling weak from lack of food and of course my previous condition of only a month or two earlier - coming out of a coma.
I lay on my roll-out camp mattress. My body ached from being on it for so long without a whole lot of support or comfort. I needed to get up and move around for a bit. Before I did though, I lay there and listened to the sound of people outside busily packing up their sites and getting ready to make the trek back to their cars or vans that were awaiting their arrival back at the Blairmore car park.
Scott noticed I was stirring. He rolled over and said, “Aye my swan, you awake? How are we feeling this very unpleasant, cold and wet morning?”
I replied, “Swan, please tell me you are not calling me Swan now instead of Sassenach?”
Scott laughed, “Aye, I will call you whatever you want me to call you. How about my shapeshifter?” he joked.
“Um, no, I much prefer Sassenach thanks,” I said.
“Aye, Sassenach it is then my master.”
“Ok, Scott it's far too early in the morning for this. I need a nice hot cup of tea before I can play this game.”
“A cup of tea you want, a cup of tea you shall have my Sassenach,” Scott said. He went off and returned quite some time later with a nice cup of hot tea. Making a cup of tea camping style did tend to take a whole lot longer than making a cup of tea at home, so I had discovered.
Scott re-entered the tent with two cups of tea in hand. He passed me my cup as he said, “So Letticia, I was thinking we might just stay around here until about 1 pm and let the mass crowd depart first. We will take off when the track won’t be so busy, that way we can take our time and not worry about holding others up on the track.
“Scott, I think that is a brilliant suggestion.”
As everybody else continued to slowly start packing up and leave the convention and the camping site in the drizzle, Scott and I decided to take a walk to the beach and take in some sights. Even if it was still a dull, overcast day with a bit of fog around, it still did not interrupt the breathtaking scenery around us.
Scott held my hand to keep me steady as we made our way through the grassy track down to the one-mile long idyllic pink sandy beach. I turned around behind me and was greeted with enormous sands dunes that backed the view out to the sea, which featured overpowering high cliffs and the famous Am Buachaille sea stack.
Scott and I found a bit of driftwood that the full force of the Atlantic ocean’s impressive and powerful waves had disposed of. Leaving it sitting all alone on this unspoiled, wild and rugged beach. Not a bad place to be abandoned I thought to myself. This Driftwood that came from goodness knows where in this vast ocean, now had its sole purpose to support mine and Scott's behinds while we contemplate and self-reflect on what we have just endured.
“Isn’t this just the ultimate escape from reality?” Scott said as we looked out onto the North Atlantic Ocean, taking in the sights that we are not privileged enough to see every day.
“I feel like this last eight or so months have been an escape from reality. In fact, this is my reality now, I’m a shapeshifting swan apparently.” I laughed, Scott could tell it was half a laugh and half a confused ‘what is going on’ sort of laugh.
“Letticia, I don’t believe you are a shapeshifter or a swan. I, however, do believe that by some spiritual power our paths were meant to cross, and this is how our paths were destined to cross within each other’s dreams. So yes, you will always be Letticia my shapeshifting Sassenach swan. That’s quite the mouthful, compared to other pet names such as babe,” Scott laughed. “But we are different, and we do have an incredible story to tell. Beats other people’s stories on how they met through mutual friends or on online dating sites. I’m pretty sure our story will hold people’s attention spans a whole lot easier.”
I laughed at what Scott had just said, “Scott you have such a way with words and putting things into perspective.”
We caught each other’s eyes, and with no interruption apart from the pounding waves of the Atlantic Ocean and the overpowering presence of the sand dunes and the cliffs, we finally got to experience the feel of each other’s lips in reality, our ultimate reality. And ‘hells bells,’ if I thought Scott kissed amazingly in our dreams well then reality stepped his game up 100% because Scott kissed me like no other had ever done before. Is there anything Scottish men can’t do to make a woman go weak at the knees? They seem to have it all, I thought.
We kissed for what seemed a minute or two, until we pulled away. “Well Sassenach, that was something else. Nothing like in our dreams.” Scott said.
I looked at him rather taken aback, “Oh sorry, did you like it better in our dreams?” I asked, concerned.
“Aye, I liked it a lot in our dreams, but I like it a whole lot better in reality,” Scott admitted, with a wink.
“Oh, that’s good to know,” I said with a sigh of relief.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Ruffle your feathers
The vast majority of people had left by the time we came back from our kiss on the beach. We decided to start packing up our site and getting a move on before it got too late. We still had a 4.5-mile walk ahead of us, and my pace was not going to be fast. The weather was starting to take a turn for the worst too, so the sooner we got going the better.
The convention authorities and cleaners were still about making sure everybody got away ok. It was a very different sight being in the near-empty campsite. It felt more natural and I could now really take in the breath-taking surroundings without the added clutter of people and their belongings.
We were all packed and ready to go when Fletcher turned up to wish us well and say goodbye. “Siubhalsàbhailte,” he said.
“Thanks, and to you, thanks for all your insightful information. Letticia and I leave with a clearer head now,” Scott said.
“Yes, thank you, Fletcher, I have had quite the spiritual journey these last two days and I have learned to have an open mind,” I added.
“Well, you two have something very special. not everybody has the chance to meet their soul mate the way you did. Hold on to it, respect it, and enjoy one another. You only h
ave one life on this earth so embrace it with all you have. Share it and live it, and when your time comes to depart this life know that you have shared it with that one person that makes you happy, that supports you emotionally and physically. Somebody who understands you and loves you for who you are, your flaws and all, because somebody who doesn’t do or understand that is not going to be the person who helps you grow and develop into the swan you are.”
Fletcher looked at me at that point. “Letticia, you have a good man here, let him ruffle your feathers, let him look after you as you do the same for him. Just live a long and happy life with each other. Isn’t that in the end what everybody is chasing in their lives, isn’t that the end goal? Anyway, enough about that have a safe walk back out and here is my card with all my details on it if you ever need to chat again. You two are very interesting and mysterious people. I would love to find out more about your experiences.”
Scott took Fletcher’s card and slipped it inside his wallet.
“We most certainly will keep in contact Fletcher, you have been extremely helpful and informative,” I said. And with that, we said our goodbyes along with hugs and kisses that were placed on each cheek. Then we were off heading back to Scott’s Range Rover that was parked 4.5 miles away. Yes 4.5 long miles away.
Scott lead the way out of the campsite and back onto the track. “I can tell you one thing that will keep me motivated to survive this walk back, and that is a nice hot shower and a toilet that flushes when we get home,” I said to Scott.
“Aye, I hear you Letticia. Just let me know how you are going. If you ever need to stop and rest let me know and we will stop.”
“Will do my Scottish warrior, I’m in safe hands that’s for sure,” I said.
“Aye that you are,” Scott replied.
We had been walking for a good twenty minutes before the rain and wind really started to make their presence known. We stopped and pulled out our windbreakers from our backpacks to protect us. The North Atlantic Ocean was really throwing out its worst.
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