“I bet Clarissa has some clothes in here
that would fit you,” he said with a bit of a laugh.
“I have clothes,” I protested.
“Yeah, but if we leave here and go into
town, you’re going to have to wear clothes that match this
dimension,” Landen said, raising his eyebrows.
“And what might they be here?” I asked,
seeing he was amused.
“They only wear yellow. They see the sun as
a god and honor him by wearing only a very bright yellow,” he
explained, holding his hand out for me to go in.
The house was beautiful, wide open. The
ceiling arched into a frame, the living room had over-sized leather
couches centering it, a fire place was in the center of the
couches, and there was a bar that separated the living room and the
kitchen. I walked slowly to the couch and collapsed; it was so
soft, framing me as I rested there. I heard Landen going through
the kitchen, looking in all the cabinets. I knew he was looking for
food.
“
I’m not hungry,”
I thought.
I closed my eyes and saw the photo of me and
Drake again. I debated on just telling Landen; the last thing I
wanted to do was stir up a conflict that had barely rested. Neither
of us understood why we, of all people, were tossed into a conflict
that began over four million years ago. It didn’t matter that we
supposedly chose this or that we were the ones who lived four
million years ago; we just wanted to live our lives without
conflict. I ultimately decided that I’d be protecting Landen from
unnecessary pain if I just forgot, like Olivia had told me.
“Are you sure you’re not hungry? Marc was
just here. The entire house is stocked,” Landen said, pouring
himself a bowl of cereal.
I turned my head from side to side against
the couch. Marc had traveled relentlessly since the day we laid
Livingston in the ground. He used the excuse that Landen needed to
spend time with me, and people still needed to find their soul
mates. Landen and I knew it was his way to grieve. We all wanted
Marc to find his soulmate, but he insisted it wasn’t his time. My
father had started to travel again, too; it was easy to see that he
loved it more than he ever loved being a doctor in Franklin.
I moved my legs to the couch and stretched
out. I then closed my eyes and tried to clear my mind. A few
moments later, I felt Landen crawl next to me.
“
Wait for me,
” he thought. I opened
my eyes quickly to see that he had turned off the lights and was
covering us with a blanket. As I felt him nestle against me, I let
my heavy eyelids fall.
When my eyes opened, I realized that I
didn’t focus on anywhere the way Landen and I always did as we fell
asleep; it was our way of assuring ourselves that we’d be in the
same place.
I was standing in the center of a gray
street with gray buildings. I then took in a deep breath, realizing
that this was Esterious. The weight that was always on my chest
when I came here in my nightmares was absent. I could feel almost
everyone around me, whereas in the past I could only feel the one
that had called me here - and after that I would always face Drake.
As panic came over me, I could hear my heart beating in my ears.
Then I felt my peace as Landen placed his hands on my shoulders. I
turned to look up at him; I could feel his fear as well.
“
How did we do this?”
I thought.
“
I don’t know. Are you in pain? Is this
nightmare?”
Landen thought.
I shook my head no.
“I can feel all of
them,”
I thought, watching all the people in long black coats
go about their mundane day; their faces were as solemn as they
felt.
“
I can, too,”
Landen thought.
At that moment, a small child was walking at
her mother’s side down the street. Landen was in their path, but
before he could move, the little girl passed through him. A
tantalizing rush soared through the two of us. I could feel his
emotion intensify; for a moment, he felt just as sad as the little
girl. After she passed through him, shock came over him, and I felt
the little girl fill with peace and love. Landen’s eyes widened,
then he quickly ushered me out of the street. There was a small
opening between the buildings, and we slid inside it and looked out
at the passing people.
“
How did you do that?”
I thought.
“
Me? How did she do that?”
Landen
thought.
“
I don’t know - but you helped
her.”
A man leaned against the wall next to us.
Landen looked at me, then cautiously raised his hand and placed it
on the man’s shoulder. He was solid. I felt Landen give the man the
same peace he had unknowingly given the girl, and a rush came
through us again. The man stood up straighter; you could tell he
wanted to smile, but he hid it as others walked by.
“
That doesn’t make any sense,”
Landen
thought.
“
I think we should help them all,”
I
thought, looking at the river of people walking by.
“
Willow, we have to be careful. They are
not supposed to smile or act different. I don’t want them to be
executed because we made them feel better. I don’t even know where
we are in this Esterious.”
I nodded, smiling at the chance to help more
than one person. Landen and I then took each other’s hand and
stepped out of the alley. As the people walked by, we touched them
lightly, and with each touch the rush we felt intensified; it was
mind numbing, blissful. The emotions around us shifted immediately
to peace. At the end of the street, we stopped and looked back; the
people were looking at each other curiously, and some of them were
whispering to one another as they looked back to where we had
walked. This was the first time I really appreciated my gift of
emotion.
Two men with hoods – whom I could not feel –
walked out of the gray building we were standing next to, and
Landen pulled me back before they could pass through me. The people
on the street noticed them immediately, and fear came through them
all; only a few of them were strong enough to hold on to the peace
we had given them. We leaned against the wall and watched as the
dark men walked through the center of the street. Once we were sure
that none of the people were in danger, we looked at each other and
nodded.
We opened our eyes; daylight was peering in
through the front of the house. Landen sat up and rubbed his face,
trying to wake up. I pulled myself up slowly.
“I don’t even know what to say,” I said
quietly.
Landen looked down at the ground, then back
at me.“I feel trapped,” he said. “What is the purpose of giving
them any peace if they lose it as soon as one of the priests comes
around?”
“Maybe we’re supposed to find the strong
ones, help them so they can help the others,” I said, reaching for
him to lie back down.
“People have tried to do that before. August
tried to help a man in Esterious. The man and his family plotted
underground to cause people to rise together against the priests,
against Donalt. Someone betrayed them, and they lost their lives.
They left behind two young girls. August has never forgiven himself
for encouraging the man.”
“When was that?” I asked, feeling disgusted
with Esterious.
“I don’t know...at least ten years ago.
That’s why I think we need to be careful. I don’t want anyone’s
blood on our hands,” Landen said, pulling me closer to him.
“I don’t think we hurt anyone last night. We
could do the same again tonight,” I said, staring at the A-frame
ceiling.
Landen looked at me. “I thought the reason
we left our home without warning was to spend time alone, away from
what Esterious has done to us, to our family and friends. We
stumbled last night; I think we should be more careful and focus
tonight. We need a break; we can go back when we understand it
more,” he said in a final tone.
I wasn’t fond of being told what to do - I
never have been. When I sat up quickly and went to find a shower,
he knew I was upset.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, grabbing my bag
and following me to the bathroom down the hall.
“What’s wrong?” I repeated sarcastically.
“You want to go home and get everybody’s opinion on last night. You
know what will happen – we’ll be pulled in every direction, only to
find out that no one even knows one way or the other. All the
while, people in Esterious are going to be living in their own
personal hell. It’s not fair.” I pulled my things out of my bag and
began throwing them on the counter in the bathroom.
Landen caught my hands before I could toss
my brush. He then gently put my arms behind my back and pulled me
against him, looked deep in my eyes, and smiled; he knew I would
melt as soon as I took in the breathtaking blue of his eyes. “Now,
you know that’s not my intent,” he said, tilting his head a little,
still smiling. He was right; all he wanted to do was help those
people, to keep everyone safe.
“I just want it to be over with; I don’t
have the patience for all of this to unfold. Why can’t we just help
and move on with our life?” I asked, almost pleading.
Landen kissed my forehead, then my lips
softly. “We’ll figure this out, I promise. But right now I need you
to clear your mind. Just in the past few weeks, our gifts have
grown stronger; imagine how strong they’d be if we took time alone
- just you and me, no distractions.” His hands gently moved up my
arms as he continued, “Our gifts could very well be the way we are
going to help them.” His eyes danced softly across my face.
“So your theory is that we take off alone,
let our gifts strengthen, and then go back and get everyone all
rallied up again?”
“Go back and help,” Landen corrected.
“It sounds like a very clever plan to get me
alone,” I said, smiling a little. I knew he was right; we were sure
to grow stronger without distractions.
“Everybody wins my way,” Landen said
cheerfully, seeing he had managed to calm me down. He was getting
better and better at that.
“I have to wear yellow here?” I asked in
dread.
“We don’t have to stay here; there are other
places, safe places. Let’s just not make any plans,” he said,
moving his hands up to my shoulders. I nodded and took a deep
breath. We did need a break, and I was excited to see all the other
dimensions, to find the beauty that this universe had to offer.
Chapter Two
I was sitting on the back porch of Rose’s
beach house, painting the beautiful sun as it pulled itself out of
the ocean. Landen was silently watching in the background. We had
spent so much time together now that our gifts had completely
merged. We could see every possible choice a person could make, as
well as where each of those decisions would lead them.
People-watching proved to be a captivating hobby. Over the last few
days, we had slowly made our way back toward our home. My father
had predicted the exact moment Felicity’s first labor pain would
come, as well as the very moment the baby would take its first
breath - and that day was about to begin. I looked back at Landen
and saw that he was already looking at me; we could both feel
someone approaching the beach house. “
August?
” I asked.
Landen hesitated for a moment, then smiled
and nodded. We woke ourselves back into our bodies. I made my way
to the shower. Landen pulled on his clothes and went to greet
August. Being able to remain conscious while our bodies slept
opened up so many possibilities for us; it was like we had time to
learn and apply so much more than we ever had before - and not a
moment was lost. I secretly counted the days until we would be
strong enough to help those people in Esterious. I’d imagined that
once we came home, Landen would tell someone about the dream, where
we’d helped so many people.
I hoped Landen would be more open to letting
us drift there again if our family encouraged it. I was glad August
had found us before we came home. He was very open-minded, and I
felt safe around him. I felt safe around my father and Landen’s
father, Ashten, too, but it was more than clear that they wanted me
and Landen just to fall into the background and let fate take its
course.
After showering and dressing, I found Landen
and August on the porch. August was admiring the painting I’d
finished just before he arrived.
“Would you mind if August took this one with
him?” Landen asked, smiling at me.
“Of course not,” I answered, hugging August
before sitting down next to them. Silence took over for a moment;
August was attempting to hide his intent and emotion from us. He
let out a small gasp of air, then looked across to me.
“I was telling Landen that I hoped you two
would come home today,” August said in a teasing tone.
We had every intention of going home today;
according to my father, Felicity’s first labor pain was to come at
9 AM, and the baby would be here at 4:32 PM.
“Is that why you’re up so early - you’re
waiting on that first great-grandchild?” I asked, knowing he had a
deeper intent that he was trying to hide. He smiled widely and let
his excitement flow.
“Well...I can’t keep a secret from the two
of you. I might as well get on with it,” August said, adjusting
himself while looking slowly back and forth between me and
Landen.
“I’m convinced that you’ll have to face
Drake - or at least Esterious - within the next month,” August said
in a slow, confident tone. “Perodine told you that ‘there are eight
beyond the sun and the moon.’ There are indeed eight planets in our
solar system. You faced Drake on the only night in over four
million years that a full moon shown through the gray sky in
Esterious.”
Landen stood slowly, his eyes lost in
everything we faced in the trail of the moon. “What’s the first
planet?” he asked, walking to the doorway behind August and leaning
in the frame. August turned in his seat so he could see Landen
behind him, a strong emotion of pride beaming from him as he looked
at the brave young man.