Awakenings (Elemental Series - Book 1) (17 page)

The last time my body physically responded like this, I believed it was my mind catching up to my body and coming to the realization Nevaeh was now my new home—and it forced me to recognize I’d be doing it without Mom and Dad. That reaction I could understand. However, this one baffled me. This time it was happening while I was passing a house I’d never seen or been in before. The only thing I knew was it was owned by Eve and Bronson, friends of Aunt Grace, and their son’s name was Vincent.

“How old is their son?” I asked.

“Vincent? He’s seventeen, around your age,” Aunt Grace answered.

At the mention of his name, my stomach did a repeat of its earlier reaction. I grabbed my waist instinctively, not knowing exactly what this was. I looked around to make sure no one else noticed how queasy I was feeling. If any of them had been paying attention, I knew I’d be able to shrug off the stomach hugging thing as indigestion or something, but… the color rushing into my cheeks and ears wasn’t so easy to explain.

Jen and Hudson were too into one another to notice and Aunt Grace was in tour mode.

“I’ve asked Vincent if he could show you around St. Nemele when you get there tomorrow. He said he’d be waiting for you at the entrance tomorrow morning,” Aunt Grace said.

“Sounds good,” I said, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

“I’m sure you guys will all get along. I think he’ll be in most of Hudson’s classes,” Aunt Grace said.

“Sounds great,” Hudson said.. He glanced at me and a look I interpreted as annoyance crossed his face. As I was about to ask what the look was for, Aunt Grace announced we’d reached Main Street.

“Here we are, guys—not at all what you’re used to. You’ll find that Nevaeh has a way of growing on you, though.”

I took in the town center. In the middle of Main Street was one of the prettiest parks I’d ever seen. There were scatterings of oversized maple and oak trees, large lush green shrubs, bright flower gardens with every type of flower you could possibly imagine, and white wooden park benches. For September, the colors of everything were almost too much to take in at once. The flowers and benches all appeared to encircle a maze of sorts. Its entrance faced out onto Main Street. On all sides of the park were a number of different stores and shops.

From a glance, the shops consisted of a second-hand store, a flower shop, a clothing boutique, a hardware store, a photo place, Will’s Market, and of course, The Six and Samples. All of the buildings were small town picturesque. They all looked to be a hundred years old in a nostalgic, time-forgotten way, as if time had passed everywhere in the world except for here. Old world charm in a new world time.

As we took in the heart of Nevaeh, Aunt Grace suggested we go to the Six and Samples for a quick break.

“Who’s up for hot chocolate and fresh cinnamon buns?”

My stomach rumbled, answering for me.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Aunt Grace said as she put her arm around my shoulder and directed us all through the front entrance of the coffee shop.

It was nine in the morning. I didn’t expect to see a lot of people there, considering the population of Nevaeh was about five hundred people. There might be five people browsing on a Sunday morning, but I was wrong.

Every table in the place had been taken and there was standing room only. There were fifty people or more occupying ninety-nine percent of the booths there having breakfast. As we entered, a hush fell over the patrons of the restaurant. They all seemed to stop what they were doing, deciding we were more interesting than what they had on their plates. I thought for a second I was having another
Star Trek
moment, but when I looked at Aunt Grace, Hudson, and Jen, I could see that they were experiencing the same uncomfortable, spotlight presence I was. A voice from behind the coffee counter broke the silence. “Grace, I hoped you’d be by today. Come. Come and sit and let me wait on you for a change.”

The voice came from a woman who stood out like a ray of light from behind the counter. With the overhanging silence broken, the hum of conversation came back to life.

“Everyone, this is my friend and partner, Eve. Eve, this is…”Aunt Grace started to introduce us as we each picked four empty stools at the counter. However, before she could get through us all, Eve cut her off.

“Grace, there’s no need to introduce any of them to me. You’ve spoken about them for so long, I already feel as though I know them,” Eve said, coming from behind the counter.

“Hello, Hudson. My, you do look like your father,” Eve announced, hugging Hudson close. Hudson, not being one for public displays of affection, tried his best to not look uncomfortable. He was failing miserably. I chuckled silently. It was Jen’s turn.

“You must be Jen. No mistaking how Hudson looks at you.” Eve held out her hand and took Jen’s hand into hers.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Eve said.

For a brief second there was a glint in her eyes which summoned up a recent event for me. Another person had looked at me this way before and it took only a second for me to recall who and when it happened. It was the way Aunt Grace had looked at me after the incident in the gas station washroom, a look of awe. As quickly as it appeared it was gone, but it had definitely been there. Eve composed herself so fast I believed no one else saw her reaction.

“And you’re Jacey,” she said, taking both my hands in hers. “You definitely look like your parents.”

She hugged me. It wasn’t as uncomfortable as I thought it would be, but I still turned ten different shades of red and my ears felt like they were on fire. She eased up, letting me go.

“I apologize if my enthusiasm for seeing the two of you again has made you uncomfortable. I’m Eve.” She put her hand onto Aunt Grace’s shoulder.

“Grace and I have been friends forever. Since she’s been visiting your family away from Nevaeh, she’s kept me updated on your family exploits. From her stories I feel like I’ve been there with her watching you grow up. I hope we’ll be friends. I know how much you mean to your Aunt, and your Aunt means a lot to me.”

A gust entered the coffee shop. Again, I found myself in my own time, watching Mom and Dad travel around the shop in their intertwined state. They completed touring the shop, encircled me, and a peace filled me.

“Where have you two been?” I silently asked.

“We’ve been exploring. We haven’t been back in so long it seems everywhere we turn, an old memory floods us,” Dad whispered in my mind.

“Since I’m the only one who seems to be able to talk to you guys, and by the way, I’m extremely grateful that I can—but I really don’t want to walk in on something which will scar me for life. I know you two know exactly what I’m talking about.” I finished with a smile and a wink.

“Nice to see nothing’s changed,” Mom said, placing a piece of hair behind my ear that had fallen out of my ponytail. It was something she did that used to drive me crazy, but now I found it comforting.

“It’s nice to see nothing has changed. I love you both, you know,” I said, getting a little emotional.

Suddenly, an electric tingle startled us. My senses were hyper-sensitive. Mom and Dad didn’t seem to be as alarmed by the sudden atmospheric charge.

I was feeling extremely anxious.

“What’s wrong, Jacey?” Mom asked. She flowed the red and blue colors from my previous dream. Dad, the ever stoic parent, was more animated than I’d ever seen him. He was crouched in front of me as if to protect me.

A new, calming, yellow essence floated towards us. At first it was confusing because I felt nothing from this entity. It was like walking into a room blind and hearing something, knowing it’s there but not knowing where or what it was. I was totally shocked when I figured out who had joined us.

It was Eve. She materialized a few feet in front of me and attempted to touch my shoulder. The wall of protection my parents put in front of me stopped Eve midstride, leaving her motionless and confused. After a few seconds, she lowered her arm. She accepted this and smiled carefully.

I realized she couldn’t see my parents, either. I found this somewhat strange, considering she was face to face with my Dad right now.

She reached out again. This time a flash of light blew forth, making her recoil and grab her hand.

“You’re more gifted than we thought, Jacey. I’m sure you can sense I mean you no harm.” She looked directly into my eyes.

My parents became visible to her. Once their protective dome ceased, the truth became clear.

“Ria. Hearte. I’ve missed you so much,” Eve cried as she put both her hands to her mouth, trying to stifle her cry.

“You can see my parents?”

“Only because you let me, Jacey,” Eve said. She was able to engulf the two swirling spirits as she opened her arms, inviting my parents in for an embrace. They didn’t hesitate. Eve enfolded them in an over joyous hug. Their spirits intertwined, it was now my turn to be awed.

“Thank you, Jacey, for letting me see them again,” Eve said, tears pooling in her grateful eyes.

“Why can’t you see them without me? It’s obvious you can go into the same realms I can, so why can’t you see them?”

“I’ve never seen any of our kind in this realm before today. Until this point, I’ve been the only one known to be able to venture in this realm—the Charta zone—and see what those faithful to the Yietimpi had in mind,” Eve said solemnly.

“What do you mean of our kind?” I asked.

“Our own society, the Nemelites. It’s who your parents were and still are. It’s who you are. The who and where of the Nemelites will be shown to you soon. Some has already been revealed to you during the recent events which you’ve experienced.”

“I believe in my parents and my family. I don’t know you. I know I feel comfortable around you and don’t feel threatened, But I have no idea who you’re referring to when you talk about Nemelites,” I stated.

“You have witnessed many inexplicable events. Not merely in the last few weeks but throughout your young life. You may not remember most of them. While you’re here, they may come back to you. To give you some idea of who and what we are in terms you’re used to, we’re the magic, the spirits, that care for many worlds.” Eve stopped. I could hardly take this in.

“Your parents gave up more than any parent should ever have to when they left here, Jacey. They were of one thought. Save one to save all. It’s something they believed in and something which has given all of us hope. Our optimism in believing we could defeat the contingent of Yietimpi and maybe convert some still lives in some of our kind. You know nothing about it now, however in time your memories will resurface and your birthright will take over. The Awakening all have waited for is long gone,” Eve said.

“Eve and her family have been with us always,” Mom said to me as she placed her warmth around my shoulders. “Eve is an Elder in our Guild. You, Jacey, have an ability which no other before you has ever had. You can see into this dimension and interact with those in it. You can speak to us when no other can. You can use it in ways no other has been able to.”

Dad stayed in the background, keeping watch.

“I’m more confused than ever. You guys keep telling me I’ll learn everything soon, but I’m getting completely annoyed with the ‘in time’ bit. I know I’ve been blessed with this ability and I would never
not
want it. The one part of not knowing everything was okay for a while because I got to see Mom and Dad here. The magic thing I can handle. I enjoy it. But, what’s a greater problem for me now is knowing others can come into my thoughts without my permission,” I said.

“Jacey, try to understand how this works. You’ll be the one to judge who sees what. It will be your choice who you allow to see and interact with you,” Eve said slowly, wanting me to understand. “I’ve been to this realm more times than there are years to count and I’ve never seen another of our kind. I’ve seen a number of the Yietimpi clan who have tried to break into our thoughts through this realm—” Eve paused. I waited. “Be prepared to guard what you know and what you have. I’m quite worried about your isolation—your age and your inexperience puts you at a greater risk. However, I’ve seen that you’re stronger than anyone expected. You have abilities which have not been seen in millennia. The mere fact that you’re able to have this conversation now…in this realm, tells me you have more abilities than anyone I’ve ever witnessed—Nemelite or Yietimpi. Take comfort in the thought you have the strength to govern who and what enters your mind. This was proven to me when I tried to touch you.” Eve touched her hand.

“Are you injured?” I asked, grabbing for her hand.

“Yes, I’m injured, but I’ll be fine. I have a friend who’s pretty good at healing things.” She smiled at me.

“I’m leaving this realm and returning to the one in which our friends and family are in. I won’t say a word about all of this. I do want you to know you can come to me whenever you need someone to talk to. I do not judge,” Eve said and then turned to my parents, smiled, and disappeared.

“Did either one of you know she could do that?” I asked.

“We didn’t know anyone could come here. We were amazed you could. From this experience, it tells us there will be many more surprises in the near future,” Dad said.

“We’ll handle them together,” Mom said. She and Dad swirled together, said goodbye, and slid away.

I stayed in my thoughts for a while. Were there any other beings present that I might have missed prior to detecting Eve? After a few seconds, I was certain there was no one else here except me. I closed my eyes and returned to my family. No one other than Eve was aware of me visiting my own time again.

“Let’s have something to eat,” Aunt Grace said.

Eve and Aunt Grace stood next to each other, Eve’s hand covered by Aunt Grace’s. There was a purple glow which no one but me seemed to notice. I glanced at both of them. They both smiled.

We sat for the next hour enjoying the best bacon and eggs I’ve ever eaten. I’d planned on only eating a muffin and having an orange juice. The battle of muffin over bacon was lost before it began.

While I ate I went over my meeting with Eve. There were a few things she’d said in my ‘alternate universe’ which troubled me, causing me to question a number of things.

The first realization was learning that others may be able to go into the same realms I’ve been visiting my parents. Did this mean that place wasn’t purely made up in my head—exclusive to me? It validated that I wasn’t making things up to comfort myself. With the question posed and ultimately answered in the same thought, you’d think this would make me feel a lot better. But it didn’t. It made me realize how vulnerable I was.

Second, what’s Awakening? Who could I ask about this, and when was this supposed to have happen? Better yet, who could I go to that would answer my question and not tell me ‘in time’? Jen nudged me with her elbow.

“Are you guys ready to see your new high school? Vincent will show you around tomorrow. A quick tour today won’t hurt, though.”

All right … What was with that weird stomach thing at the mention of this Vincent guy? Mental note—make sure to ask Aunt Grace if I’d met him before. Maybe this was déjà-vu or something. The main issue was something bad going to happen or something good? I couldn’t figure it out. My hands were all sweaty and my heart beat had accelerated to the point where I needed to breath in deeply to control it.

“He’ll be there,” Eve answered.

“I’m ready to see the school, how about you, Jen?” I said, too enthusiastically. My heart continued to beat a mile a minute and my mouth felt like it was full of marbles.

“Let’s go, thanks for breakfast, Eve, it was great,” Jen said as she and Hudson stood up.

“You’re welcome,” Eve said. “I hope to be seeing a lot more of you.” She reached up and hugged each of us.

“Thank you, Eve,” I said when it was my turn for a hug. “It was nice to finally meet you.” I glimpsed down at her right hand and saw for the first time that it had, indeed, been injured during our meeting in the other realm. I looked away from her hand quickly and caught her gaze for a brief second.

“I know we’ll be seeing a lot more of one another, Jacey, this is the place to find a steaming cup of hot chocolate and a good book to pass the time,” she said.

“I’ll definitely be back for a hot chocolate and to check out the bookstore,” I said.

Aunt Grace said, “Time to go, Eve. I’ll call you later.” She ushered us out of the restaurant, which had refilled with customers. No one paid attention to us this time.

Once outside of Sample’s, I noticed Jen and Hudson waiting for us on one of the many park benches which adorned the entrance to the maze. As we walked out I found myself thinking,
Aunt Grace was right
. There was something magical about the park and the maze. The whole scene looked like it was from a fairy tale.

“How’s your hand?” I queried Aunt Grace.

“What do you mean?” she replied.

“Come on, Aunt Grace, I’m not blind, you know.” I reached for her hand. As I took it into mine I could feel the warmth of her burn radiating from it.

“Does it hurt?” I asked, turning her hand palm up to see if it bore any marks.

“It’s uncomfortable, but it doesn’t hurt,” She answered, taking my chin in her other hand and pulling my eyes away from her palm so our eyes met.

“Jacey, we’re going to have to talk about how this,” she looked down to her hand, then back up to me, “happened.”

“We will,” I said, as we caught up with Jen and Hudson.

“So, Jacey. You ready to see where you’re going to be the new kid for hopefully the last time?” Hudson asked, nudging me.

“Can’t dodge it anymore. Let’s go,” I said, sounding more like I was heading to a firing squad than to a high school.

It took five minutes to walk to the school. As we approached the border, I felt like I was in a haze. The front of the building was just like any other high school I’d been to, a large white stone building with two considerably oversized front doors. The walkway leading to the entrance was made up of small cobblestones and had shrubs and flowers spread sporadically along it.

Once we approached the school yard, a recurring feeling from late grabbed my attention; it was the sensation of the calm before the storm.

Chapter Thirteen

Asking why
The answers are there
But …
Do you really want to hear them?

A
s I stood in front of the school, feeling a haze of terrible discomfort, I looked at Aunt Grace, Jen, and Hudson, who stood behind me.

“I think that’s enough for one day,” Aunt Grace said, obviously feeling my anxiety. We left for home. On our way there, I took Aunt Grace’s hand into mine and looked at her.

“Thank you, Aunt Grace,” I said softly.

“For what?” she asked.

“For never questioning me, or making us question if we belong. I don’t just mean here, but with you,” I said.

“Always and forever,” Aunt Grace replied, gently placing her warm hand to my cheek.

“Our family and your well-being have always been everyone’s concern, Jacey. It may sound cryptic and it doesn’t make much sense right now, but there are reasons for it.” She took a deep breath. “But when you’ve finally allowed and accepted everything you’ve experienced since your parents’ deaths that seem inexplicable, well, you need to wait, and everything will make more sense. If it’s any consolation, what you’ve done already and experienced so far is something no one here has ever experienced.” We continued to walk.