Dream of Me: Book 1 The Dream Makers Series (23 page)

Dair didn’t have time to contemplate it further because as soon as the dream was complete he felt the call of his Creator. His chest tightened as he gave Serenity one last look before traveling from her presence and into the presence of pure light. Dair knelt as he entered the Creator’s presence, and the warmth that enveloped him brought him immediate peace. Dair attempted to slow his breathing as he waited—for what, he wasn’t sure. It had been centuries since he was last summoned to the Creator, and he was not foolish enough to think that this was some coincidence. It had to be about Serenity.

“Brudair,” the deep voice rumbled and Dair’s hands clenched into fists as he attempted to remain calm. “It has been long since our last meeting. You have done your work well.”

“Thank you,” Dair said reverently.

“As of late, you have become enamored with an assignment that you were given. She is special, Sarah Serenity Tillman. She will serve a much bigger purpose than you can imagine.”

“I am more than enamored with her.”

“You love her,” the Creator confirmed. “And yet, love is not an emotion you were created for.”

The air rushed from Dair’s chest as though he had been punched. It was one thing to know something, but then to be told by the very being who knitted you together was something else entirely.

“Am I not capable of love?” he asked, still not daring to raise his head.

“That is not what I said. I said you were not created for it. You have served me faithfully. The number of lives that you have helped is countless. You have helped shape history for the better and yet you will never truly know the impact you have had simply by making the dreams that inspire and guide.”

“I’m honored to serve you. Can’t,” he said then paused and took several slow breaths, “can’t I love her and serve you at the same time?”

“There are times that you are allowed to see the puzzle, not just the particular piece that you are weaving in the moment. Sometimes you get to see exactly what will happen if your assignment follows the path laid out for him. Then there are other times that I deem it better for you not to know. I think it is time you see the greater picture when it comes to Sarah Serenity Tillman and Emma Whitmore.”

That was all the warning he got before his mind was suddenly bombarded with images. Serenity was climbing out of her car in the driveway that he recognized as Mildred’s. The woman’s house came into view as he watched Serenity walk to the front door. Her face was one of restrained anger. She pounded on the door as she called Mildred’s name. But when the door finally swung open, it wasn’t Mildred who stood there.

Dair felt all of his muscle’s tense as the man who had answered the door leered at his Serenity. He looked as though he hadn’t bathed in weeks―his hair was greasy, his teeth yellow, and not all of them there. But it was his eyes that Dair would never forget. They didn’t have the glassy look of a drug addict. This man’s eyes were dark, soulless, and filled with complete evil. The longer he stared at Serenity the more wild the gaze became. It was obvious he was excited about the unexpected intrusion. Dair could practically see the man salivating, and it just confirmed even more that there was no conscience left in the human standing before Serenity.

“I’m here for Emma,” Serenity told him sternly.

The man laughed. “Well, she can’t come out to play, but you. . .” His eyes followed down her body and back up again. “You can certainly come
in
and play.”

Dair knew that Serenity was protective of those she loved. He knew that she was strong and fearless when she needed to be, but he was still shocked when she shoved the man back and stormed into the house calling Emma’s name.

He wanted to go to her, needed to protect her, and yet he couldn’t move. Instead he could only watch in his mind’s eye as the woman he loved argued with Mildred, who had emerged from the hallway. Both of their arms were flailing wildly as they yelled at one another. Emma then appeared from the hallway as well, and the fear on her face could not be hidden. That seemed to set something off inside of Serenity. But before she could move towards the girl, Rat suddenly had a gun pointed at her.

Dair choked on the air that wouldn’t go into his lungs. He couldn’t breathe as everything seemed to suddenly move in slow motion. He could tell that Serenity knew the man intended to pull the trigger. Resolve settled in her eyes settled on Emma. Her mouth was moving but Dair couldn’t hear anything above the roar of his blood pulsing through his body. When Emma was finally by her side she started to push Emma behind her. The whole time Serenity was whispering to Emma, the man with the gun was steadily talking, describing in disgusting detail how he planned to use Serenity.  He planned to kill Emma and then Serenity would be his. Serenity’s head snapped up at that comment and she shoved Emma behind her just as she had said she would. She lunged towards the man to keep his attention on her and off of Emma. And so when the gun went off, little Emma was safely out the front door.

Dair watched helplessly as Serenity fell to the floor. The shot was pointblank in the chest. Blood seeped out around her body and though he could hear Mildred yelling, and the man yelling back, he couldn’t take his eyes off of Serenity’s still form. Suddenly the scene changed and he was no longer in that death-filled house. His breathing was still ragged as he tried to gain control of himself after seeing his worst nightmare come true right before his eyes. Finally, he looked around and saw that he was in a huge room filled with thousands of people all staring up at a stage that was decorated in red, white, and blue. On the center of the stage was a podium and standing at the podium was a pretty black woman dressed in a red suit. She stood tall and confident as she stared out at the cheering crowd. After a few moments, she raised her arms and the room fell into expectant silence.

“First, I must give glory to God because, you see, if not for Him, I would not be standing here today. Long ago, when I was a small girl, He delivered me from the hands of some evil people and gave me angels, in many forms, to protect me. One of those angels was a young teenage girl name Sarah Serenity Tillman. When I was eight years old, she saved my life by standing between me and a man with a gun. She died that day.” The woman paused. The woman, Dair now realized, was a grown version of Emma Whitmore. She seemed to be collecting herself. Once she was sure the tears would remain at bay, she continued. “She died that day so that I might live. So the only reason I stand here on this historic day as the first female President of this great country is because God deemed it so. And because Serenity saw my life as something worth saving. There is no greater sacrifice than to give up one’s life for another. Think of the world we would live in if we all lived in such a way. Think of all the good that would be done if we valued others, as Sarah Tillman valued me, above ourselves. I stand here today honored that you, the people of this nation, have deemed me worthy to be in a position of leadership. I vow to you that I will strive to put your worth above my own. My life for yours. My sacrifice is to protect all of you. When I think about what it means to be the Commander and Chief, my mind is drawn back to a scripture that I think every great leader should read. It comes from the book of John, chapter 19 starting in verse 10. It is Pilate, a governor in Rome at that time, speaking to Jesus after the religious leaders of that day had turned him over to the government to be executed. Pilate says to Jesus, ‘Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?’” Emma paused as she looked up over the crowd. Dair could see the emotions welling up in her eyes―could almost feel her conviction himself. Emma took a breath and then continued, but this time she didn’t look down at her notes; her eyes were for the people. “Jesus’s response is a reminder to me of my place in this world. He says, ‘You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.’ ” Another purposeful pause. “I too would not be in this position if God had not allowed it to happen. I have no power, not without His say so. And so I will forever be humbled and daily remind myself that I am held to a higher standard. I will stand before my Creator one day and answer for my actions as your president and how I long to hear the words, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant.’ ” Finally she ended her speech with, “My life for yours; my sacrifice is to protect, serve, and value every person of this great nation above myself.”

The room faded and Dair found himself once again kneeling before the Creator. He couldn’t move. He felt as if everything inside of him had died the moment he saw Serenity still on the floor of that disgusting house. Though he knew it had not yet come to pass, he felt as if it had really happened. Probably because he knew that it would. Serenity would die to save Emma’s life so that she could fulfill the Creator’s plan for her to become the first female president. And he knew that there was a bigger reason behind her being president of such a great nation than just that she was female. She would do great things for the Creator and for her country. No doubt she would change lives for the better. But why Serenity? That was the question now repeating itself in his mind, in his soul. Why Serenity?

“Is there no other way?” Dair finally spoke. He was almost afraid of the answer and yet he had to ask. He had to know if there was anything he could do to change the outcome of Serenity’s future. Did she have to be the one to die?

“Emma Whitmore is destined to change the course of history for the greatest country on the planet. She must become the leader she is needed to be. If Emma does not become president, then her nation will continue down the path of destruction until they have immersed themselves in their own immorality to the point that they no longer recognize right from wrong. They will be desensitized beyond any other nation at any point in history. Tolerance will be preached as a way to ignore and accept depraved acts. Entitlement will become the peoples’ cry to every want and desire, regardless of the harmfulness of their desires. They will serve themselves and I will remove my hand from them. I have sheltered, blessed, and watched them flourish at times. I have also wept for them because they are my children, as is every human being on earth. They are mine, created by me, and I have watched them destroy themselves. I will never take their free will, but nor will I abide with debauchery and wickedness. History has shown this; as you well know.”

“That was from your Word, the book of Isaiah,” Dair said recognizing the reference to Babylon.

The Creator continued. “There is still a remnant left, those like Sarah Serenity Tillman, who have led a selfless life. She thinks of others before herself. And before her time comes, she will acknowledge her Creator. She still is searching. In her heart of hearts, she wonders if she is worthy of my love. She will soon realize that it is I who make her worthy. I ask you now, knowing what you do of this woman child, do you think she would ask another to die in her place to keep little Emma safe?”

“No,” Dair growled out. “No, she would never ask that of anyone.” And it was true. His Serenity would never ask another to make a sacrifice that was hers to give. “But, does anyone have to die? Could not they both be saved?”

“Great change requires great sacrifice. What greater sacrifice is there than to die for one another?”

“BUT WHY HER?” Dair lost his composure. His voice bellowed from his chest with the strength of the pain that was radiating through him. He didn’t know how to handle the emotions that were welling up inside of him. The grief, anger, and confusion was something he had never experienced before. Everything was overwhelming him in a flood, and he felt as though a giant boulder had been tied to his ankle and then tossed into a turbulent sea, and he was sinking fast. There had to be something he could do to prevent Serenity or Emma from being harmed. Surely his existence could serve a greater purpose than giving dreams. Surely he was meant for more.

“Peace! Be still,” his voice boomed and then gentled. “You weren’t created for love, Brudair, and because of this you weren’t created either for the pain that most assuredly always follows.” The Creator’s warmth and peace flowed over him and Dair was able to breathe again.

“What am I supposed to do now?” He wasn’t really sure if he was just asking himself or if he was actually asking the one who brought him into existence.

“Though I created you for a purpose, I have never taken your free will and I will not take it now. I am always with you, Brudair, just as I am always with Emma and Serenity. Both of them are mine.
She
was mine long before she was yours and my love is complete, whole, and all consuming. I see the past, the present, and the future. Nothing is missed by my eyes. I am with you, no matter what you choose. But remember there are consequences for every choice made.”

The warmth was gone and the darkness Dair had become so accustomed to was back. After several minutes, he raised his head to see that he was kneeling in the field just beside Serenity’s home. Dair stood slowly, knowing he needed to get his bearings. He didn’t want to appear in Serenity’s room with the grief of her death still fresh on his face. She would know something was wrong. Dair was pretty sure that he wasn’t going to be able to tell the woman he had fallen in love with that her death was coming sooner rather than later and that it would be at the end of a gun held by an evil soul.