by Mia Castile
“I wouldn’t be sure about that,” Gideon said. “How sure are you that Zeke is your destiny?”
“There’s a feeling. I feel complete when I’m with him. I admire him, and he is honorable. I’ve known him for years.” He looked at me confused. I continued, “Zeke and I have shared dreams ever since I can remember, and they were like moments in our lives. Then he began visiting me on his own, I didn’t realize it then. I still thought they were dreams. Remember when we were placed with the Robinsons, and Mr. Robinson used you as a punching bag and liked to yell at me. Zeke kept me sane. He convinced me to tell our social worker, but she didn’t believe us. Remember how I kept telling anyone who would listen?” I paused.
“I remember. He tried to hit you, and I covered you to protect you and took the belt lashing,” he sighed.
“I knew he was hurting you more than just on the surface. Finally, Nancy took a look at our case. She dug around and took photos of you. She saved us. If I hadn’t kept telling on Robinson, who knows who else he might have hurt? Zeke helped me through that. You had to know. You always called him ‘tall, dark and handsome.’”
“I always got Glimpses of your dreams growing up. I never understood what they were. I guess I thought I was reading your dreams, and it was probably because you thought you were dreaming. So if you hadn’t been spending time with Zeke, we probably wouldn’t have met Nancy. We’d still have that other social worker,” Gideon said.
“Do you share dreams with Moriah?” I asked.
“No, but I think I understand what you’re saying about that feeling. I feel that way with her. My heart aches when she isn’t near. Sometimes, it’s like we have a conversation, and we haven’t said anything. It’s all in our heads.” I smiled at his honesty. He was always as honest as he could be with me. That was one thing we always had.
“So when you shape-shift back from animal form, are you naked?” I asked.
“Yes, that’s why I told you not to come in,” he laughed.
“That must be what Zeke meant when he said that Ben’s locking his clothes in his car was bad. Did you shape-shift when you were attacked?”
“Yes, I did. I thought of a ferocious creature and shifted into a bear. I’m glad no one was around. I would have been tasered and sent off to the zoo,” he joked.
“What does it feel like?” I was very curious.
“I don’t know how to explain it. I don’t even know how I know to change. Tonight I was worried about you. Before I was scared, I didn’t even know that I could do that.”
“Hanna wants to start training us. I guess everyone else has had years of practice and training. We’re on the late show.” He laughed at my joke.
“I’m working forty hours a week now. I guess I’ll have to talk to her about scheduling some time. I want to go to the bank Monday to look in the safety deposit box, but I need to be to work at ten a.m. Can you go at eight?” He was looking at his new schedule for the week.
“I have to be to work at ten also, so eight is good. Goodnight, Gid.”
“Goodnight, kid.” He hugged me, and I went to the bathroom to get ready for my night. I climbed into bed and fell fast asleep.
On Sunday I planned to lounge most of the day. Gideon had to work. Before he left, there was a buzz at the door, and I went down to answer it. It was Ben. I couldn’t believe it. I was still in my pajamas with my hair piled up on the top of my head in a ponytail bun. I buzzed him in, unlocked the door, and ran up the stairs.
“Did you know Ben was coming over?” I asked Gideon as I raced past him to my room.
“Yeah, I asked Zeke to come, but he had something to do with his mom and grandparents. He said Ben could probably come.” He laughed at my frantic dash. “You look fine.”
“I’m in my pajamas.” I shut the door.
“You never worried about Zeke seeing you in your pajamas.” He stood outside my door.
“That’s different.” I quickly changed into a pair of jean shorts and a t-shirt.
“How?”
“It just is.” I opened the door as I pulled my hair down and shook it out. I was face to face with him.
“That’s not a real answer,” he argued.
“It doesn’t matter. It’s my answer.” At that the door opened and Ben came stomping up the stairs. His hands were full. He had a few movies from the video store in a small plastic bag, and in another bag it looked like he had video games and a console. He also had two bags of junk food. We looked at him inquisitively.
“Dude, I’m like the Marines, always prepared,” he smiled widely. We both couldn’t help but laugh at him.
“I guess I leave you in good hands.” Gideon turned to me.
“Thanks,” I said sarcastically, as he turned and went down the stairs. We heard the door shut and the locks turn. Ben set the videos and the video games on the coffee table and handed me the bags of snacks.
“You never have junk food. All you have are healthy snacks. I had to fix that.” I went to the counter and dumped out the bags. There were chips, cheesy puffs, chocolate candy, and cakes. I turned and looked at him.
“Yeah, this stuff is poison,” I teased.
“Oh, come on, Ellie. Live life on the edge. Eat something bad for you. Drink a beer once in a while. Make out with a boy you don’t know.” He raised his eyebrows.
“I eat bad things on occasion.” I snubbed my nose as I scanned the ingredients on the package of snack cakes. “I’ve tried beer, remember? I didn’t care for it, but I don’t think I could make out with a boy I didn’t know. So I think I live life close enough to the edge.” He laughed.
“There’s no hope for you.”
We spent the day watching movies and playing video games. He ate his junk food, and I laughed at him when he got a sugar rush. I laughed harder when he crashed and had a belly ache.
“Ben, you don’t know your limitations,” I teased.
“I have an insatiable appetite for finer things,” he countered.
“Cheesy puffs are finer things?” I paused. I didn’t want to ruin our fun. I had to ask though. “We’ve had fun today, right? Are we cool?” I bit my lower lip, held my breath, and braced for the worst.
“What do you mean? Of course, we’re better than cool.” I blew out a deep breath. “I’m so over you. You’re overrated anyway.” He rolled his eyes.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you this whole time,” I joked. He draped his arm around my neck and pulled me close to him and squeezed.
“You just can’t break Zeke’s heart. I don’t know what he’d do if he didn’t have you.” Ben released me and looked out the large window to the roof. “You’d have me to deal with on that, and I’ve been known to be a bone crusher!” He pounded his fist into the palm of his hand.
“I think I could take you,” I smirked.
“You think so. Welcome to the gun show; can you handle that?” He pulled up his sleeve. He flexed his bicep and showed off his bulging muscles.
“I think I can top it.” And I flexed my wimpy biceps.
“I’m scared,” he laughed hysterically.
“You should be,” I smiled, totally satisfied with my own “guns.” After we had exhausted all of our entertainment options, I decided to begin dinner. I knew Gideon would be home soon. I knew he was bringing Moriah. I put some boneless chicken breasts in the oven, cut potatoes for mashed potatoes, and put green beans on to cook. Ben sat on the couch still playing video games. I began to pick up all the wrappers and bags that he’d left all over the apartment. I put dirty dishes in the sink and surveyed the room. It was fairly picked up.
“Are you staying for dinner?” I asked. I had made enough anyway; I’d have leftovers if he wasn’t. I hoped Zeke would stop by too.
“Sure, I think Zeke is going to stop by when he’s done with my grandparents.” I couldn’t help but smile.
“What was he doing with them anyway?” I asked.
“They wanted to give him some gifts and they performed a ritual
, kind of a rite of passage. It used to be performed on the eighteenth birthday, but somehow over the years it’s moved to graduation ceremonies. It’s only performed if your parents and grandparents are still alive, which isn’t always the case. Our life spans aren’t that long you know,” he said.
“It’s hard to think about things like that,” I sighed.
“I know, but it’s reality,” he stated bluntly. He threw the control on the couch and came over to the island where I worked. “We have to face these things.”
“I’m going to get cleaned up. Will you keep an eye on the food?” I avoided his eyes. I didn’t want to face it. I didn’t want to think about the fact that we were warriors and warriors usually died in battle.
I lingered a little in the shower. I let the water run over my head, over my face. I stood there and closed my eyes. I felt safe for a moment. I had escaped for a moment. I didn’t know what the future held, but I knew I had to do whatever I could to make sure we all survived. We had to come up with a plan. When I emerged from my bedroom, everyone was there. Even Selah had made it. We had a nice dinner. We laughed and teased. We were beginning to feel a closeness I’d never known before. Ben and I told them about the day we’d had playing video games. Moriah and Gideon shared stories from work. Zeke explained the ritual Passée Do Qualfela´ and how amazing it was. We sat and talked for hours—even after we’d cleaned up the dishes and put away leftovers. Finally, everyone left and Gideon and I went to bed.
Chapter 25
The next morning when I woke up, Gideon was already in the shower. I picked out my clothes. My favorite pair of perfectly fitting, faded jeans, a couple of yellow and white tank tops to layer. Once I had chosen my clothes, I heard Gideon go into his room. I still knocked on the bathroom door, but when there was no answer, I went on in. I got ready and met Gideon in the living room. He was sipping a cup of coffee and looking out the window to the roof. I followed his gaze and saw a black raven perched in the exact spot that the raven had been perched two evenings ago.
“What does this mean?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he said as he walked back to the kitchen. He brought me a piece of toast and small glass of juice.
“Thanks. We need to call Hanna.” I held eye contact with the big black bird.
“Let’s get out of here,” he said, as he walked to the stairway.
We made our way across town to the bank. We decided to take the bus since it was so far away. When we arrived, we found a bank manager. Gideon explained our situation. He excused himself and went to the back of the bank. We sat there in silence. He returned and asked for our identification. We retrieved our identification cards, and he left again. He was gone a few minutes then returned and gave us back our cards.
“Please follow me.” He was a prim, short, chubby little man with thick glasses. His suit looked like it was a few decades old. He led us to a room with metal drawers lining all the walls. When he found our number, Gideon took the key out of the envelope in his back pocket. They put the keys in together and turned the lock. The bank manager pulled out the box and placed it on the steel table in the middle of the room. He left the room, closing the door behind him. Gideon lifted the lid. There was a manila folder. Gideon opened it, and found a legal size paper folded in half. It was another letter from our parents. It had been notarized.
“Gideon, what does it say?” I couldn’t read it, so he read it silently. His eyes jolted back and forth so fast. He didn’t answer me. Instead, he went to the door and found the manager just outside, still in the hall.
“It says there is a bank account here in my parents’ and our names. How would we access that?”
“I would need the account number. Does it say that there?” he asked, as he began to lead Gideon back toward his office.
“Yes, it’s here.” Keeping pace with him, he showed him the paper. I trailed behind. Gideon was all business, but I felt lost. I wanted to know what the letter said. The manager sat down at his desk as we sat down across from him again. He pulled out the keyboard from under his desk.
“What is the number?” He didn’t take his eyes off his computer screen.
“100029743,” Gideon read.
“Certainly, just give it a minu—.” He paused, as his eyes widened and his jaw dropped so low I thought it was going to hit the floor. “Um, this account is a high-yielding interest savings account.” He raised his eyebrows as he looked at the computer screen. “It looks like it has grown substantially since the last deposit was made, wow, over thirteen years ago.” He looked from me to Gideon in disbelief. “This account has a balance of five million, nine hundred and eighty-two thousand, nine hundred, and forty-seven dollars and twenty six cents.”
“I’m sorry?” I whispered, so softly I barely heard it myself.
“Yes, Mr. and Miss Solomon, I can print out the information if you’d like.”
“Yes please.” Gideon inhaled sharply.
“Five million,” I breathed.
“Nine hundred thousand,” Gideon whispered. He looked at me in astonishment. The statement finished printing, and there in black and white it was. It had been there all along. Gideon handed me the letter. This handwriting was different from our mother’s.
Gideon, Elisheba,
When you have children, you want to provide only the best for them. If you can’t be there to see their lives lived, then you at least want to make sure that they are well taken care of. You want to choose the people who will raise them. You pick people you would trust with your own life. That is why we asked Sam and Hanna Matthews to take care of you should anything ever happen to us. They love you as much as their own sons. I trust in our kindred friendship that they would give you the best life possible.
If something were to happen to us, we would want to make sure you are financially taken care of. Your mother and I want you to have the opportunity to go to any school you’d choose. When you turn sixteen and get your driver’s licenses, we want you to have a car. There are so many things we want for you. We will be watching over you. There is an account in this bank. It is in your mother’s and my name. We have also put your names on the account in case something were to happen to us. We want you to remember us. Remember that we love you. Remember that if we die, we died to protect the balance. We died so you could live a better life and have a chance at happiness. You are the best things that have happened to us in this lifetime. We are so proud of you.
The account number is 100029743.
All the love in our hearts,
Dad and Mom
“We will request your debit cards and order your checks. You should get them in the mail in the next seven to ten days. I just need you to fill out this form. We can have one savings account and separate checking accounts linked to it if you’d like to keep money separate.” The bank manager was all business now.
“I don’t think separate checking accounts are necessary. We will share the checking account,” Gideon said as he filled out the address form. I looked from Gideon to the bank manager. I put my hand on Gideon’s arm.
“What does this mean, Gid?”
“This means—that we don’t have to worry about bills anymore.” He paused. “This means—we can buy a house in a good neighborhood,” he smiled. “This means—we can buy a car, or two. This means—I don’t have to work forty hour weeks this summer.”
“We don’t have to work at all, do we?” I giggled.
“I think we should. We just don’t have to,” he smiled. The bank manager chuckled at us.
“This is a lot of money for you. You should also invest in stocks, bonds, or CDs. Let me give you a card of a local broker. He might be able to help you grow your money.” He handed Gideon a card that Gideon looked at it and put it in his wallet. “I’m going to give you some starter checks. Would you like to withdraw some cash, for walking around money perhaps?” Gideon and I looked at each other.
