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Awakening

Page 16

by Karice Bolton


  “So the one at the hotel front counter, why did I not feel threatened or worried?” I asked Athen.

  “Many of them have their own agendas and are preoccupied with whatever they are set on. They could care less about us. Some, like the ones in the village, were most likely summoned to you by who we don’t know yet, but it definitely lets us know to be fully aware while we are in Seattle. There is a directive on you possibly. We need to make sure that we are always with you in some capacity until it’s over, or your process has finished. The one at the counter, however, clearly had no interest in you and is probably interested in turning tourists into minions or some such disgusting thing.”

  “Huh.” I sighed on the verge of being more confused now than before I asked the question. “In the village then, you think they were summoned? Why would I be of so much interest to anyone or thing? I don’t understand that part.”

  “As a family we can do a lot of damage. Back in Whistler, we mentioned that we chose to be good. What we mean by that is that we truly fight for the good of humankind. If a demon is there to taunt a human we try to step in to show the human the other side, the other choice. However, when one of our family members isn’t with us we spend our time trying to get them back. We are distracted, which is exactly what the other side likes to see, right? They don’t want us to be able to step in with the human world. They want to keep us chasing after our loved ones so they can continue to damage humanity. Make a little more sense now?” Cyril chided.

  “Oooh, it does. I never expected to hear that there was this level of good and evil playing in the world all the time that wasn’t even remotely controlled by humans.”

  “If one of them had gotten to me before I phased, what would have happened?” I asked afraid to hear the answer.

  “We would have lost you again. You would never have remembered meeting us in the pub that night. We would have been wiped from your memory yet again. You may have had to even start over in a new city. It just depends… Until the timing was right and the process could begin again. Then hoping that you would sense us.” Athen said in an almost whisper.

  I looked up at him and caught that his eyes were brimming as were Arie and Cyril’s. I quickly grabbed my napkin from my lap and started dabbing what was inevitably about to come pouring from my lids as well.

  “Thanks for not telling me until now guys,” I uttered lowly, “ I don’t think I could have handled that too.”

  “We know, sweetie.” Athen squeezed my hand once again under the table.

  I don’t think I was ever this excited to see a salad show up in my lifetime. The server began placing them in front of us. I think that was definitely all of the serious talk I could handle for the night. It would take me a while to recover from this bizarre world that I was reentering into. An underworld that wasn’t completely mine for the taking. I needed to take small, baby steps.

  A chill ran through me, and everyone at the table sensed it. I was having some sort of flashback. It was déjà vu. Athen and I were at this very restaurant sitting at a table that was set for two, placed directly in front of the window with both chairs facing the view. It suddenly occurred to me why Athen loved this restaurant so much. It was the last place we were together before the attack, literally.

  All of a sudden the salad that I was so excited about seconds ago didn’t seem so appealing. The level of emotions that kept creeping up on me were overwhelming. I quickly excused myself to freshen up in the Ladies Room. I needed to regain some sort of composure. I quickly made my way through the lounge, moving through the crowd of people and up the stairs where I found the right door. I beelined right to the sink and reminisced back to the night at the Pub in Whistler when I first laid eyes on Arie and Cyril. Never would I have expected in such a short time to have my world flipped upside down. I hoped that I could handle this process. I took deep breaths hoping to fill the void in my chest that wasn’t caused from lack of oxygen. As the faucet produced the constant stream of warm water, I glanced up at the mirror expecting to see the same disheveled face looking back at me as was in the pub. Instead I saw a woman who was nothing like that night. My hair fell past my shoulders gracefully, framing my face in a softer way. Even though my eyes had been rimmed with tears several times tonight, they were beaming with a radiance and beauty that was no longer of this world. I turned the faucet off, finding myself sitting on the chaise to compose myself, slowly forcing myself to fall back into the happiness of being with my family. I took a deep breath in and began feeling Arie’s energy winding its way towards me. I decided to step up the recovery process and cut her off at the door to avoid any more emotional elements thrown at me.

  I swung the door open, barely missing her and fully embraced Arie. We headed back to the table, and as we passed by the piano, one of my favorite songs came rolling off the piano.

  “Wow, he certainly pays attention doesn’t he, Arie?”

  “He certainly does, sweetie. He requested it as soon as you left the table. Cosmic Love certainly is an ethereal song huh? Who knew it came over the same on piano?” She said laughing as we sat back down at our table, rolling her eyes.

  “Yah, pretty fitting. I loved playing this song while Matilda and I were snuggling on the couch daydreaming. Florence and the Machine is pretty incredible.”

  I looked over at Athen thanking the heavens that everything was as it was. Like usual, my appetite didn’t miss a beat. I began devouring my salad, much to everyone’s amazement.

  “I know what I have been meaning to ask you!” I couldn’t believe I hadn’t remembered to ask sooner. “When I was on the phone with Karen I kept getting this needle-poking sensation run through my fingers. Then in person it happened ten times as bad. I knew out of the blue that she was up to something, and an image of a guy, who wasn’t Justin, texting her popped into my head. I gave her my two cents immediately. She supposedly didn’t continue down that path. Regardless, though, were the feelings that I kept getting connected to the behavior that she was exhibiting, or the choice she was about to make?”

  “Wow, Ana. It usually takes months before any sort of feeling like that comes back. Maybe it was because you were so connected to her prior to your reintroduction process. I think you actually intervened in a situation, helping her to choose the correct path. I’m amazed that you recognized that so early.” Athen looked truly impressed and kind of proud.

  “Yah, Ana, that is pretty big. Maybe we will get back to doing what we do best before we know it. I’m so proud of you. I can’t believe you already experienced the visions too. To be able to see something as it’s happening is huge. That’s an important attribute. That is one of your gifts, Ana.”

  “Really? Thanks, I guess, but will I always feel the level of pain when I’m alerted to something that is about to take place?”

  “Oh, heavens no. That is only in the beginning until your body can sense the nuances a bit more,” Athen said laughing, “We aren’t sadists.”

  “When you say I’m able to have premonitions or visions of the future how will I know what is real and what is not? If I can see things as they are now and also into the future how can I tell the difference?” I asked Arie, avoiding Athen’s eyes. I was determined not to give anything way or let my thoughts betray me.

  “What do you mean?” Arie asked confused.

  “Well, the nightmares I have been having for the last few months... How do I know those are only nightmares and not premonitions or vice versa?”

  “As time goes on you’ll be able to distinguish the difference. Often as long as you don’t recognize people or anything, you can just count on it being a normal dream. You know it’s your mind trying to sort out the day’s events or something. I would imagine if certain players kept entering your dreams you would be able to conclude that those were visions instead.”

  I felt an emptiness.

  “Huh, not quite as straightforward as I was hoping. For instance, that demon we saw on the way out of Whistler was a creature I h
ad recognized from one of my nightmares. It wasn’t good. It was part of a group. I don’t remember what they were doing though.” I was lying. They were with the hikers.

  “My hunch is that it’s a vision, Ana. If, as time goes on, you can remember what it is they were doing, it could prove really helpful. Baby steps, I know. But things will come - clarity will come.” Athen touched my hand gently, the guilt filling my heart instantly for not telling him everything that very moment. It was too painful and would lead to me explaining all of my nightmares. I wasn’t ready for that. I was afraid if I uttered anything out loud it might make it true.

  “I will keep trying.” I said attempting to push the images of Athen’s soul escaping into the clouds out of my head. I couldn’t let him see that. I’m sure it wasn’t a vision, only my imagination.

  “The good news is that you have saved a lot of people with those visions of yours over the centuries. You have helped a lot of horrible decisions from ever being made. You’ll see. Good will come of it all. I promise. Right now it’s just a bit overwhelming trying to separate the truth from fiction I’d imagine.” He winked at me. I knew he was right. The possibilities were endless. I only hoped I would figure it out soon enough.

  I felt immensely better, beginning to let the excitement build back up in every cell of my body as I thought about the good that I could do in the world once I got the hang of things.

  “So what are the plans for tomorrow?” I inquired almost afraid to hear what Arie may have planned for such a short amount of time.

  “Waterfront and shopping!” Arie exclaimed, my worries quickly drifting away as I enveloped myself in the warmth of my family.

  CHAPTER 18

  The sun woke me up before my alarm clock even rang, a strange sight for November in Seattle. At least Seattle was a dog friendly city I thought to myself. No way would Matilda want to be left in the hotel room all day. She’s got places to see and sidewalks to explore. I grabbed the remote for the curtains, pressing the button commanding the sheer curtains to open up. I continued to lay in bed thinking back to the night before, reflecting about how many answers lead to more questions.

  I was relieved I had a night full of blissful dreams, not the nightmares that I usually expected. One dream in particular that made me happiest of all was Athen cradling me tightly. We had just made love. We were on the beach. I could still feel his skin against mine. The cool dampness that was connecting our bodies was heavenly. I was in heaven. I only hoped that a new pattern of dreaming was emerging, more positive and less creepy. The dream was so vivid, and I could feel his every touch as he embraced me. That was my first dream of its kind. I couldn’t wait for another. Being patient wasn’t my best quality. I breathed in desperately hoping to have the salty air from my dream run through me one last time before getting up.

  I was listening intently for movement in the rest of the hotel suite so I didn’t get out of bed too early; when all of a sudden my bedroom door swung open to reveal Athen standing with a non-fat pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks in one hand and a Top Pot donut in the other.

  “My word! You can’t get any closer to perfection can you?” I said feeling the smile on my face unable to evaporate. Everyday Athen got kinder than the last, and I didn’t even think that was possible. I sat up in my bed, secretly wishing I wasn’t wearing the black t-shirt that Cyril bought me as a gift that read, “I DO ALL MY OWN STUNTS” blazing across the front with a stick figure biting the dust. I started to pat my hair down and then realized it was hopeless. It wasn’t like anything was bound to happen at this rate anyhow, so I gave up.

  “Hey now.” Athen said laughing.

  “For heaven’s sake that can be annoying. It will be nice when this whole mind reading thing doesn’t happen all the time.” I scolded him, grabbing my Top Pot donut.

  “When did you get up? I thought I would have heard you.”

  “I wanted to surprise you so I was pretty quiet. I’m glad it worked. I have a feeling with Arie in charge today, there will be very little time to grab anything to eat. We should get what we can now.” His beautiful eyes bringing me back to my wonderful dream from the night before.

  “Are you kidding? Is she that serious about it?”

  “Pretty much. We go along for the ride and try to help her carry her bags. That’s about it.”

  “I hope Matilda can keep up.” I looked over at Matilda who had a worried look in her big, brown eyes. She was a fit bulldog, but nonetheless still a bulldog.

  “I had a pretty incredible dream last night you know?” I teased him as best I could. “It almost seemed real. Maybe I just wanted it to be.” My voice trailing and my grin unable to be hidden.

  “Is that so?” Athen said grabbing and holding me tightly against his chest. “Wanna share any details?” He asked gently hugging my body back and forth with his.

  Athen lifting me up and gently placing me on a boulder near the sea raced into my mind. He was frantically undressing me as our lips became connected driving us both into a madness we had been without far too long.

  “Absolutely not.” I said staring into his eyes. “Since you won’t give me the real thing, I’m not going to give you the satisfaction of hearing the fun stuff I’ve got going on up here.” I said pointing to my temple doing a double tap with my index finger.

  “Fair enough.” He kissed me on my forehead.

  “Can’t wait for the real thing though.”

  “Yeah, well I’m barely able to look at you let alone touch you at this point, sweetie, but it’s the way it’s got to be. You’ll see.”

  I began hearing the others shuffling around in their room. I knew I had better enjoy my donut pretty quickly so I could hop in the shower to get ready for the day.

  By the time we had made it downstairs to hit the streets of Seattle it was about 10 am, which in Arie’s mind was perfect timing since that is when most of the shops opened up. The fog started to lift down the streets of Seattle allowing all of the Christmas decorations to be exposed on the lampposts. I had made clear the stores I needed to visit, Nordstrom’s being first on the list. Much to my amazement, every store I had listed she also had planned on going to, plus some. It looked like today would be a whirlwind. Arie was a true shopper. Maybe if I was lucky she would want to keep on going, and Athen and I could sneak back to the hotel with Matilda or because of Matilda.

  The streets were hustling with the typical business people rushing off to who knows where thinking things were far more important than they actually were, while in stark contrast witnessing the families who must have taken the holiday week off to be together. It was a truly friendly sight. All of the wreaths and holiday swags hung from building to building hanging above the streets creating a ceiling along 5th Avenue. The red, velvet ribbons were gently flapping in the light breeze reminding me how l was glad to have my jacket for the day’s adventures. I began to get a little flutter in my stomach at the thought of beginning the holiday shopping experience with my family. Matilda began pulling on the leash in the direction of Nordstrom’s and off we all went. I was looking forward to seeing the holiday window displays there. They were always impressive. Seattle was known for great ones, but Nordstrom’s really outdid the rest. The goal was to all take turns since we were buying for each other and stand post with Matilda outside each of the stores. So far it had worked wonderfully.

  ******

  We began hearing chatter that snow might come down to the lowlands which made me think this might be the perfect time to head back to the hotel with Matilda and Athen. It was close to 5 pm and the day, had flown by so quickly with the guys taking turns watching Matilda as Arie and I went from store to store. I had gotten into the holiday spirit completely. I was thrilled to be marching through the aisles of scarves, knit caps, and gloves with the Christmas music serenading me throughout each department. I was beginning to realize how fun the holidays were. People were more relaxed, more kind and willing to chat a little longer. It made every environment a little bi
t more festive. I thought I had no more strength in my arms to carry the bags that I had accumulated and desperately needed to find the nearest Starbucks to crash. I explained my dilemma to Arie, and she completely understood. However, she wasn’t planning on stopping. She apparently had several more stores on her list so Athen and I decided to head back to the hotel. My master plan was actually happening - alone time with Athen. As I hugged Arie goodbye she whispered to me to ask Athen what he had planned for us tonight.

  I looked over at Athen. He looked so innocent and casual. I wondered what he had up his sleeve this time. He grabbed my hand to prepare for the long walk back to the Westin; Matilda pulling us along excitedly. Athen’s warmth was reaching me through his coat. I was elated to be next to him enjoying this experience. My thoughts were few as I enjoyed the moment until the words White Christmas came into my head. That was odd I thought. That was one of my all time favorite Christmas movies, along with National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, and a Christmas Story, but I wondered why White Christmas popped in. Before I knew it, I was humming White Christmas aloud.

  He looked at me smiling with a contentment that made me realize something happened that he was hoping for. I’m sure it was another step in the infamous process. I didn’t know the significance.

  “You read my mind, Ana! It is starting to come to you slowly.”

  “What is?” I asked not exactly sure what he was talking about.

  He stopped on the sidewalk and hugged me while Matilda patiently waited for us to continue our march.

  “I kept repeating White Christmas in my head hoping you would pick up on it. You did. Soon you’ll be able to do that on more complete thoughts, and eventually, you’ll be able separate ideas from many thoughts. Also, I know it’s one of your favorites, and the 5th Avenue has a performance of White Christmas which we are going to tonight.” I hoped I could someday repay him the happiness that he gave me daily. How could I ever thank him enough? His surprises were endless.

 

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