Awakenings (Elemental Series - Book 1) (7 page)

BOOK: Awakenings (Elemental Series - Book 1)
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On nights when Mom wasn’t working or I wasn’t doing homework, Mom and I would have our ‘girl’ time in my room. We would sit there staring up at my ceiling for what seemed like hours and do the same thing she and Aunt Grace used to do.

For a brief moment while I was remembering my ‘girl’ time with Mom, I became jealous of Aunt Grace. I knew I was never going to be able to have those times with my Mom again. I was jealous because Aunt Grace had so much more
time
with her
than
I’d ever had—silly, I know.

I thought of leaving Hewfawe and everything it entailed. I wouldn’t go back to Donnelly High. I was going to be the new girl again. I hated that thought. Why couldn’t I just fit in like everyone else? The only person I’d ever met in all our traveling, the only person who’d ever made me feel like I didn’t have to try, was Jen. As scary as the thought of being the new kid again was, I found it even more unbearable when I realized I’d have to come to terms with no longer being able to just call her up and ask her if she wanted to come over, or vice versa. How was I supposed to get the book she’d promised me with all these symbols in it if I wasn’t here? That was also pretty disturbing.

I had to figure a way out of this. Not the moving thing—of course that was inevitable, but the no-Jen, no-book part.

“Do you think Jen could come and visit us?”

“Of course, Jacey, she’s more than welcome to come and stay with us anytime. It’s not like we’re going to be living in another country. It
is
only a two hour drive north of here,” Aunt Grace said. “Hey, didn’t you say earlier Jen had a book she was going to drop off to you that had some of these in it?” She pointed to the symbols on my parents’ urn.

“Yeah, she said she would try to find it and bring it over.” I slanted my head slightly to the right, staring at Aunt Grace. Here was a perfect example of how she had an uncanny ability to know what I was thinking without me having to say a word.

She changed the topic, or so I thought.

“Your parents set things up with Mr. Silverman. They chose every detail for their final good-bye to us. They wanted to make sure no matter where you go or where you end up, you know they’ll always be watching over the two of you.” She paused for a minute. “Your Mom didn’t make up the markings on the urn or the ones in your room. They’re all real. If you let me, I’d like to help you learn all about them.” She smiled at me and it felt like she’d reached into my soul and somehow made it feel a little better.

“Silverman, the engravings, you coming when we needed you most—Mom set it all up?”

“Yes, she did,” she replied, hugging me. I hugged her back a little and then grabbed onto my hot chocolate.

“What’s Nevaeh like?”

“I think you’ll love it. It’s quite a bit smaller than Hewfawe. However, what it lacks in population, it makes up for in charm.” She smiled a knowing smile to herself.

“There’s a fresh food market called Will’s. My friend Eve and her family run it. There’s a book store called Sample’s. It’s connected to the coffee shop in town called The Six—that’s where I work. The Six is more of a comfy hole in the wall to read a book in while sipping a nice cup of cocoa.” She paused, taking a sip from her own.

“From the front window of The Six, you can see the beautiful park in the middle of town. It’s full of huge knotted oaks and elm trees which have been there for as long as I can remember. Some of their trunks are twisted in strange and wonderful ways and most are covered in leaves the size of my head. Right in the middle of the park is a maze. At night, it lights up. It’s the perfect place for you to go and get lost for as long as you need. Depends on why you want to get lost or who you want to get lost with.” She nudged me gently with her elbow.

“I know it’s not what you guys are used to, but it has a way of growing on you. I’ll try to give you what Ria and Hearte gave you here. A safe place to grow and a home full of unconditional love. I’m not delusional by any means and I know it won’t be the same. Sometimes you’re going wish you’d never heard of Nevaeh. Sometimes I wish I’d never heard of it, but no matter what, I will always be here for you.”

I got up went over and hugged her—hard. I was feeling guilty. In all the time I’d been wallowing in my own grief, I hadn’t thought of the loss and pain she was going through. Not only did she lose her sister, she also lost a part of herself when Mom died.

“I know you love us, I’ve always known. We’ve always loved you and you’ve always felt like
home
to all of us
.
I’m going to miss Hewfawe, and not because of the city itself. More because it was the first place I’ve felt like my family made a home. But, like Mom always said,
‘home is where your family is.’
You’re my family,” I stated, now openly crying.

During the middle of my sob session,
Hudson came into the kitchen and broke it up. He looked like he’d come from a crying session of his own. His eyes were puffy and red and his cheeks were streaked with the remnants of tears I knew I would never see.

“So, what’d I miss?” he asked, wiping his sleeve over his eyes.

Before I could stop myself I was laughing. Yes, laughing.
Yet another perfect example of how I shut down.
It
must have been infectious, because Hudson and Aunt Grace both started laughing along with me. We laughed so hard and for so long it caused my sides and belly to cramp up in painful knots.

“Okay, we need to stop, I feel like my stomach is going to burst,” I begged through fits of laughter. I took in three deep hiccupping breaths and calmed not only myself, but it seemed to have the same effect on everyone else in the room.

“Jacey, it’s getting late. We should make it an early night so we can get up first thing in the morning to start packing up,” Aunt Grace said.

“Yeah, it is going to take a while—especially Jacey’s room,” Hudson said without any humor.

“How are we going to pack everything up? There’s so much here. I want to make sure we don’t leave anything behind and…”

“Jacey, breathe. You’re going to explode if you don’t. We’ll take our time. We have some movers coming in to get the heavy furniture and stuff. All of the other stuff,
we
can pack,” he said, putting his hand on my shoulder.

“Everything’s happening so fast. Do we have to pack and move everything tomorrow? Why do we have to go so fast? Maybe we could stay here until we get everything settled and then move to Aunt Grace’s. What do you think? Maybe we could even finish out the semester here and—”

I caught a look between Aunt Grace and Hudson. A sick feeling swept over me. From the look alone, it signified moving on with the loss of my parents wasn’t the only dilemma I was going to be facing in the near future—I had an undeniable gut-wrenching sense more was going to be revealed and it was going to show losing my parents had merely been the start of my newfound troubles.

 

Chapter Seven

Realities of Change
Fate is at hand
Thankful for unexpected blessings

M
y throat felt bitterly dry but I managed to raise my voice. “What am I missing? Is there something I need to know?” I stared at both of them.

“There is something…” Hudson paused. “The car crash Mom and Dad were in wasn’t an accident.”

“What! Wasn’t an accident…?” I said turning away from them.

“The police think someone or something else was involved.”

“What does that even mean? Someone, something…”

“They aren’t sure, but on the surface it initially looked as though Hearte lost control of the car and went over a guard rail. It was overlooking a fifty foot gorge. By the time the police were able to gather all the information, they realized there was more to it than your Dad losing control of the car.”

“More to
it
?” I asked stressing the last word.

“They think it had something to do with Dad’s work, Jacey.” I could see the pulse in Hudson’s temples. That was never a good sign.

“Who would want to hurt Mom and Dad? This doesn’t make any sense. Mom’s into green initiatives and Dad’s—well, Dad’s …” At that moment I realized I never really knew specifically what my Dad did for a living. I knew he worked in an office. I knew he took work home a lot of the time. I also knew he could pick up and go at anytime and find the same job pretty much anywhere. Just exactly what his job was, I didn’t know.

“The police think it’s a good idea for us to go stay with Aunt Grace as soon as possible,” Hudson murmured.

“Were you talking to the police when I came down earlier?” I asked.

Hudson didn’t answer, he didn’t need to. He began to fidget with his hands as he stood by the window. I knew now the initial dream I had was, in fact, an omen. It felt like the bottom of my stomach was trying to come up to the top of my throat.

“It’s time we all get some rest. It’s been an extremely trying day for all of us,” Aunt Grace gently remarked.

I was numb. My guilt-riddled conscience wasn’t going to allow me to forgive myself…ever. I took the urn and headed towards the living room. I turned to see if Aunt Grace and Hudson were following.

“Where’s Hudson?”

“He wanted to go and check around the house to make sure everything was all right,” Aunt Grace said, checking the front door and windows.

“Is there really enough room for Hudson and me to stay with you?” I asked on our way upstairs to my room.

“Of course there is.”

I paused for a second. There was more I wanted to ask. “Aunt Grace, I was wondering, do you think I could paint the same thing on the ceiling of the room I’ll have at your house? The same one that’s in my room right now?” I felt my pulse in my ears. I was embarrassed, not wanting to ask for more than what she was already giving.

She crossed over to me as we entered my room and both of us sat on my bed. We both lay back on my pillows and gazed up at my constellations.

“You know, Jacey, you remind me a lot of my sister,” she said lovingly.

“How?” I asked.

“You’re both beautiful and completely unaware of your abilities and the effects you have on those around you. Remember when I told you your Mom and I used to stare at
her
ceiling for hours.”

“Yeah.”

“The ceiling here is almost a replica of the one in the room you’ll be staying in at my house.”

“I had no idea, Mom never told me.”

“I know she’d love the idea of you growing up in the same room she and I did. Will you be okay staying in here by yourself tonight?”

“I won’t be alone.” I pointed to my parents. I’d put them on my nightstand.

“No, you’re not, and you never will be.” As Aunt Grace and I sat up, I hugged her. She stood, half hugging me back, and then went to the door. “I’m only a shout away if you want me to come and stay with you.”

“Thanks, I’ll be fine.”

She closed my door and I got ready for bed. I turned off the light and slipped into bed, pulling my covers up to my neck. The last memory I had before the colors came was looking at the symbols on the urn.

In the darkened room of my dream, I looked up. On the ceiling, my constellations came to life. They appeared to be breathing, independent of one another. They were dancing slowly to an unheard rhythmic tune. While moving across the ceiling, the bright pinks, purples, greens, and yellows intertwined. Their merging created new and fascinating mixtures of constellations and color. They lowered, swirling above my head. Without apprehension, I reached up and felt their rich, comforting textures. Each swirl of my hand engaged varying temperatures and textures. They were warm, cold, grainy and billowing.

I was so spellbound by the feelings and textures of the beautiful ballet of shape, size and color before me, at first I hadn’t noticed someone laying beside me. It was Mom. She was on her side watching me, mirroring the smile I had on my face.

“They’re beautiful, aren’t they?”

“They’re more than beautiful, Mom. They feel like they’re alive. They feel like you and Dad. Sounds kind of weird, but they really do.”

“Jacey, you’re right as usual. This is me.” She pointed to the constellation of Ria. “And this is Dad.” She pointed to the constellation of Hearte. “We were born there but we had to leave to save us all.”

I looked in her eyes. Within them was the look she had when Aunt Grace’s visits would end and she’d have to go home.

“Mom.”

“Yes Jacey?”

“I miss you.”

“I miss you, too.” She reached over and swept my bangs off my forehead. Her fingers whispered across my face like feathers.

“I’m so sorry, Mom.”

“Jacey, you have nothing to be sorry about. Your father and I knew this day would come. We knew the risks and that we’d only be with you for a short time. We were warned about the consequences of our actions a long time ago.”

“What do you mean, Mom? Everything’s changing so fast. I don’t know what’s real anymore. I feel completely guilty for not warning you and Dad. If I could go back, I’d change it… I wish I could.”

“Fate is something no one can change. All of our fates were decided way before we even came into the picture,” she said softly, still sweeping my bangs from my eyes.

“Did you know we’d end up living with Aunt Grace?”

“I didn’t know it was going to be this soon,” Mom whispered back. “You will love Nevaeh, Jacey. You will grow, you will learn, you will fall in love.”

The air suddenly changed in my dream. I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths. I felt every nerve ending in my body come to life. I reopened my eyes and turned to look at Mom. She was no longer there. In her place two beautiful crystal blue eyes were staring back at me. I felt my cheeks flush and my breath caught. I looked down towards my toes. A hand reached over and held onto mine.

BOOK: Awakenings (Elemental Series - Book 1)
11.62Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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