by Night, H. T.
“I couldn’t have said it better myself.” I patted my son on his head.
“Son, what’s your name?” Tommy said to the twelve year old boy who Joshua had laid out.
“Lawrence,” the boy said.
“Lawrence, have you ever heard of a natural consequence?”
“No.”
“That means when you act a fool, then expect a consequence. Usually it’s by natural means, but what’s more natural than a twin brother sticking up for his brother? But remember...fighting never solves anything,” Tommy said.
I looked at Tommy and tried not to laugh. “Yes, boys,” I said. “It’s always good to solve problems through words.” With that hypocrisy, Tommy and I decided to take the boys inside, where we spent the rest of the party by their side, to make sure nothing else went down.
The boys were on one couch talking and Tommy and I were on another couch talking.
“Good job, Tommy,” I said sarcastically.
“Hey, I’m not the one who raised a miniature Muhammad Ali.” Tommy said, pointing out the obvious.
“No, but you’re the one who encourages them him to be just like his uncle.”
“Which is what?” Tommy asked.
“Reckless.”
“Good, I thought you were going to offend me. I take reckless.”
“I knew you would.”
“And you’re a bad ass, too.”
“I’ll accept that, too.”
Chapter Eleven
I grinned, looking down at my third glass of chocolate milk. Damn this stuff was good! I had to admit, I was pretty damn proud of Joshua that day, sticking up for his brother and doing what was right. It was always hard for me to separate the right thing to do, according to the Tandra, and what was right in the eyes of the Mani. We took an eye for an eye to a whole ‘nother level.
I finished up my chocolate milk and decided to go into the den. I enjoyed the den at this time of the day. It always reminded me of my dad. I thought about my dad more than I ever thought I would, since we had the boys.
I sat in my brown recliner and put up the footrest and continued to think about my family. I remembered through the years, I came and went periodically, doing my business, but I always made sure I had time for my boys. Where I was lacking was spending quality time with Lena.
I remembered that once Lena had confirmed my suspicions about wanting to have one of our special talks. Special talks were talks that we had when Lena seemed to be fed up with something that I was doing. In the past, it consisted of playing too many video games, and being addicted to Captain Crunch cereal. I had a feeling this talk was going to take on more of a serious nature.
“Josiah, can I ask you a question?” Lena asked.
Oh boy, here it comes. What did I do now? Did I forget to refill the ice? Is the toothpaste top off? Then Lena shocked me with what she asked me.
She asked, “Do you still love me?”
“Why would you ask that?” I was stunned by her question.
Lena paused and then reflected, “Before, it was okay that you didn’t always tell me that you loved me, but I knew you loved me because you proved it to me in all that you did for me. I was always certain that you loved me. You would go above and beyond what any man is asked to do. Now, I am not sure you would and you haven’t for a long time.”
“I would lay down my life for you and the children.”
“It’s always me and the children. It’s never just me.”
“Wow. I’m not sure how to respond to that.”
“Why don’t you just say the first thing that comes into your head and not be so perfect? I don’t want the Chosen, I don’t want vampire superhero. I don’t even want Josiah the Mani. I want to talk to you, the boy who saved me from those frat boys, a long time ago, because you’ve seemed to have forgotten who he is.”
“I’ve never changed. Everything around us has changed. I’m just going with the flow. My love for you has never changed.”
“I wish I could believe that,” said Lena, “but you forget I’m with you every day. Now, you’re just words, no actions.”
“Somewhere along the line, this has become about everybody else and no longer about us.”
“And you’re okay with that?” Lena asked.
“Actually, I’m not.”
“Seems like you are.”
“In the end, we were given a calling. Hell, even our boys have callings. If somehow, I forgot to be romantic in all that, I’m sorry, but one thing has never stopped is how much I love you.”
Lena paused and by her body language, I could tell she finally gave in. “Sometimes, I just need to hear it.”
I walked over and gave Lena a giant hug. I kissed her on the lips and said, “I think it is time for the entire family to see the Deity.”
“Are you kidding?”
“No, I’m dead serious. It’s time this family had answers, that...you and I need some answers.”
“You want to have family and marriage counseling with a two thousand year old demi-goddess?”
“I just think it’s time for all of us to get on the same page. And who better to get us on that page than her?”
I wasn’t sure that Lena wanted to go, but she was a trooper. Our whole family went anyway, boys and all.
Chapter Twelve
I continued to lean back in my recliner in the den and continued to think about my family. Lena did not like the fact that when the boys turned twelve, I thought it was time for them to meet the Deity. Our two boys were exceptionally smart. They were catching onto everything. I wasn’t sure how much I was allowed to tell them, but it was my belief that they should understand why they lived in a castle on an island that was separated from the Tandra world.
While the rest of the world went on around them, they were sheltered and safe. They weren’t idiots. They were really confused that they were cooped up and far away on this island. They were having incident after incident that made it impossible for me not to take both of them to see someone of the Deity’s caliber. They needed answers, and hell, I needed answers.
I remember the visit, although still in the city of Pahrump, Nevada, and taken down in a basement, far underground.
This time, I brought the whole crew, including Lena. She was trying to be a good sport, and I knew once she was in the Deity’s presence, she’d remember what an honor it was to see her.
I knew my sons were young, but they were coming up on puberty and that was as scary a thought as any. The divine brothers thrived, and now were fueled by increasing testosterone. Watch out, world, here they come. The Divine Blood brothers. Boy, did I need the Deity’s wisdom.
When we came into the bunker in Pahrump, Nevada, there was at least a hose to wash our faces and hands before entering the nasty bunker. Although it was night, the bunker was probably still quite muggy.
My sons, by then both twelve years old, looked as if they could play linebacker positions in high school football. They were still only twelve. We needed to remember that, although Joshua sometimes talked to me as if he was running his own morning TV show and was feeding me useless information about animals, pop culture and whatever he read on the internet that day in world news. While Joshua was an endless stream of talk, Jason kept to himself and read every book he could get his hands on. They both had curious hearts and asked a lot of questions. What did we expect when their mother and I home schooled them? Eventually, their questions were bound to have more substance than whether George Washington really chopped down that cherry tree.
Getting the family to any parts of the States wasn’t the easiest of tasks. We did have a private jet—compliments of Hector—that flew us to anywhere we needed to be. The jet didn’t stay on the island but we usually needed a week to get our itinerary straight with people who ran the private jet company. All I knew was, Hector picked up the bill and had never complained about it. But we had to be really specific and have all our ducks in a row because it was really expensive for the fuel, pilots and
maintenance, and I didn’t like wasting anybody’s money.
The jet flew us in to McCarran Airport in Las Vegas and we rented a car and drove the rest of the way to Pahrump, Nevada, on our way to the Deity. It was about 45 minutes from Vegas, out a ways.
Our kids understood by now that their parents couldn’t be in the sunlight. I had never had a conversation about it with Joshua, and Jason only told me about the one time when he was really young.
We arrived at the Deity’s property, and drove our way to the back where the barracks were. The Deity never knew when I was coming and the only reason why I knew she still lived here was that Sion kept in touch with the compound.
I asked Lena to wait in the rental car with the boys until I checked things out. The Deity’s new property in Nevada was a lot safer than the one in Mexico. I told Lena that I wanted to go down and prepare the Deity for the family and not just spring it on her without a briefing first.
Lena agreed and stayed with the boys. She didn’t seem too pleased with the plan, but didn’t make a fuss either. I could read her, though. Lena did not like being put on the back burner, not for any reason.
I was immediately recognized by the staff and welcomed. Once again, I was led down the maze in the bunker by one of her security staff. In Mexico, her security had had their guns out in the open, in holsters. That wouldn’t fly in the United States, nor was it necessary. As a country, we were done living like the Old West, with hats as tall as buckets and bravado on our hips. Her security detail had their guns, to be sure, but they were concealed carries, and each security detail was carrying multiple guns. It was very sophisticated and matter-of-fact security, rather than “in your face” weapons details.
I was once again led to the very back of the bunker. We could go no farther. This time, the door was closed and reluctantly, I stood there, not knowing what to do. Did I knock? Was that polite? I looked at the guard and he solved my dilemma by knocking for me.
I heard the Deity’s voice from the inside, “Open the door, I am up.”
I slowly opened the door and the Deity was once again sitting in her rocking chair. I’m certain it was the one she had all the way back in Mexico. I guessed it was still her favorite chair.
“Josiah Reign, is that you? I had a dream you would visit and here you are.”
“You always know, your Holiness, whenever I’m coming. I’m pretty sure the Triat informs you any way they can.”
“It doesn’t work that way. Sometimes, I can just feel it and others, I see it in a dream. I’ll tell you this much. I know you’re not alone. You brought your whole family.”
“Well, your dream was pretty accurate. They are waiting above ground to come down and speak to you.”
“Your boys are twelve? Correct?”
“Yes.”
“And you don’t feel talking to me would be too heavy for them?”
“No. It’s time.”
“How much do you want them to know?” she asked.
“Jason already knows things in his weird supernatural way. I want him to hear it from you.”
“Can I ask you a question, Josiah? Is this the real reason? Or is it that you want to hear me speak to him so you can have a better idea of how to save him from his prophesied destiny?”
“It’s everything. Regardless, we all need to know how to move on from here. We keep hitting these roadblocks in our relationships with each other.”
She warned, “I disagree on informing Jason that he will be martyred. He’s just a twelve-year-old boy. Even for him, that absolute direct knowledge would be too much for him to bear.”
“What do you suggest?” I asked.
“We tell both boys that one of them will someday save his people.”
“But leave out the details?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“When Jason was five, he mentioned to me that he was saving mankind.”
“He just might be. That’s why this is critical. He can’t run and get scared. He needs to think he’s in this with his brother and he will be able to handle it.”
“What about poor Joshua? How am I going to tell a kid that he might be martyred when I know for a fact that it isn’t in his destiny?”
“Do you? Joshua is going to become an amazing Mani.”
“If I allow it.”
“You will. When the time comes you will see the value in it for everybody...especially for Joshua.”
“We’ll see about that. I have to decide what is best for Joshua, Mani or Tandra. But, let me get this straight. We plan on telling them everything they need to know, except which one is actually martyred. We leave that a mystery. That sounds pretty morbid. In fact, it’s cruel and dishonest at a certain level.”
“You were the one who brought the boys to me when they were twelve. Who is the morbid one?” Oh, a conflict! That was about as feisty as I’ve seen the Deity get and I liked it.
After a short lull in our conversation while I gathered my thoughts, she said, “Bring them to me.”
I wasn’t too sure about her strategy of only telling the boys part of their destiny, so I reluctantly agreed to go get Lena and the boys and have them meet with the Deity. My entire family went down into the bunkers and walked down the hallway to see the Deity. The door was already open and the four of us entered her room.
My boys both seemed nervous and I wanted them both to relax.
“Boys,” the Deity said. “You are twelve, correct?”
Both boys nodded. I motioned for the whole family to sit on the floor next to the Deity.
The Deity allowed us all to get settled and then she said, “My first question is for the two boys.” She continued, “You have known things about yourself, your parents, and where you live that wasn’t quite right, but in the beginning, you didn’t question anything because you were children.”
The boys paid close attention.
She paused. “But you are no longer children anymore. You’re growing into two very capable young men.”
Again, both boys nodded.
“You can speak, Jason and Joshua. This is a safe place,” Lena said.
“Now, you’re here,” the Deity said, “because things are happening and you want to explore more of the things about your family that makes it unique. Why don’t you tell me some of the things that are so unexplainable?”
I looked at the Deity. She needed to hear it in their own words, from their own lips.
I looked at Joshua, who was, by far, the more outgoing of the two boys and I nodded my head. “Tell her every freaky story, if she wants to hear them,” I said, smiling.
“What should we tell?” asked Joshua. “There are so many.”
“How about the top three, just to start?” the Deity said.
I said, “Remember that time when we were at Uncle Tommy’s and it was evening and you boys were about five? You decided to climb as high as you could in that eucalyptus tree in Tommy’s backyard?”
The Deity then nodded at the boys after my cue. Then Joshua began to tell his version of a couple of bizarre stories, starting with that one.
Joshua continued the story. “You see, I got to the top of the tree, but there was nowhere to go.”
“Where were you?” the Deity said, angling her head at me, though she was blind. I knew what she was getting at. She knew full well that I could have just flown up there and grabbed him before he hit the ground.
“I was in the yard, but it happened so fast that by the time I they both fell, it was too late.”
“Too late?” the Deity asked the boys, turning her head toward them.
“My brother, Jason, climbed the tree as fast as he could and moved his way toward me. He reached for my hand, but once our hands touched, we both fell.”
“Is that what happened? Is that how you two fell? I never knew that,” I said.
“You fell? How far?” the Deity asked.
“Thirty feet,” Lena said, as if she was the one who had lived through it.
The Dei
ty looked at the boys. “Well, you’re here now, and you obviously lived.”
“I don’t think one of us would have lived if it wasn’t for the other.”
The Deity said, “Josiah?”
I explained, “You see, Jason didn’t have a scratch on him and Joshua was an absolute mess, coughing up blood. No one knew the extent of his injuries.”
“And...” the Deity asked.
“I told Jason to heal his brother.”
“Jason, what did you do?” she asked gently.
“I placed my hands on his chest and I concentrated on his body being pure and healed and...”
“And what?” the Deity asked. She wanted to hear it from Jason.
“I healed him.”
“How did that make you feel?” the Deity asked. “You were really young. Do you remember how you felt?”
“Scared. I was scared.”
I looked at Jason and had no idea that he felt that way. He had never told me.
“What scared you about healing your brother?” the Deity asked.
“That so much power was coming out of me,” Jason said. “I could feel it and I didn’t understand it.”
“Do you understand it, now that you’re twelve?” the Deity asked.
“I understand it a lot better. You see, when I heal, I see things in my head. It doesn’t matter if they’re humans or animals. I can see their lives. I see what they will become after I heal them.”
I was stunned.
“Did that happen when you healed your brother?” the Deity asked, “that you saw his life from that point forward?”
“Yes. That was the first time it happened.”
“What did you see?”
I held my breath. Even I was afraid to ask my son this question.
Jason paused and said, “He will do great things.”
What did that mean? I looked at Lena and she looked at me with the same look of puzzled curiosity—Jason’s cryptic answers were sometimes worse than the Deity’s.
I decided to speak up. “I wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do to ask Jason to heal his brother at such a young age.” I said to the Deity. “I knew I was risking a lot giving a five year old the knowledge that he had that kind of power, but I was out of options. When you are out of options, the truth will set you free, isn’t that right?”
