had been made scapegoats for the recent bad luck the church and local villages had endured. A man dressed in dark red colors started to speak directly to the crowd. The coldness in his voice made my body shiver; I assumed he worked for the church from his state of dress.
I listened as he addressed the audience, “My good people, these people have brought ruin to our crops and deformities to our children. Our closest family members have died because of a plague they brought with them when they moved to our village. God has found them guilty of witchcraft and therefore has sentenced each to death by hanging.”
I could hear the people cheering loudly and I was horrified as I thought to myself. ‘Are all these people daft, what is wrong with all of them?’ There seemed to be no one in the crowd that carried any concern for the life of these people. It was as if they had lost their compassion and were demanding a scapegoat to blame for their troubles.
One of the women, in shackles, handed over a small baby to the man dressed in the colored robe. Before she let go, she kissed the baby’s head and whispered something in his ear. I was sure I saw the child smile before he was handed to a woman dressed in black who had stepped forward a few minutes earlier. I looked around and found Max standing beside me.
“You have to do something,” I said. “I know you can change their future.”
He looked sympathetic and replied, “These people have chosen, on a higher level, to become martyrs for the rest of you. From now on, the powers and abilities of their descendants will not be activated until the environment is friendlier to their existence. Each child has passed these abilities to the next generation through their DNA. These gifts cannot be used until they are activated within the body through a certain series of events.”
“How are they activated?” I asked.
“When you start to feel a sense of longing, like you are missing something in your life, synchronistic events come into play to allow the activation process to begin. If you were not feeling anxious about turning thirty and somehow wanting more out of life, we would not have been able to connect with you. The conversation you had with your sister recently, sparked a realization of the unhappiness within yourself. This conveyed more unconscious spiritual markers than either one of you knew. It signified to us that you were ready to move forward spiritually, meaning that it was time for you to activate your gifts and step into your potential. If you had chosen not to have lunch that day, your life path would have stayed the course, with no change. You would have continued to find pleasure in saving others from their lives, instead of living your own. We would have tried again later to help you see the truth of the life you were living and helped you want to reach for more.”
I thought back to the conversation I had with Megan that day, and how that moment had sent me forward on this adventure. I now looked at our Sunday brunch in a completely new light. It had also become very clear what had happened during the conversation with my mother on the phone. She was already aware of where my life was headed when she spoke to me. The comments she made now made sense. This was a huge epiphany for me.
Coming back to my surroundings, I asked Max if we could leave. He nodded his head yes, just as they started the hanging process. Before we disappeared, I was unable to block out the first horrific hanging of the woman who had been holding the child.
Max looked at me and said, “What your ancestors had been practicing wasn’t witchcraft. They were creating whatever they needed for themselves, instantly, in a time when this ability couldn’t be understood or explained.” I heard his words just before I woke up. I was crying and struggling for freedom in the small bed. I grieved for the woman whose hanging I had just witnessed. I was sad for the child who would never know who his mother was. I could hear Derrick speaking softly, as a hand grabbed my arm.
“Jordan, it was just a bad dream. Take a few big breaths and let go. You’re completely safe.”
By this time, I had sat up and was struggling to get out of bed. The whole time he was speaking to me, he had been gently rubbing my arm in a comforting manner.
Trying to compose my emotions was more difficult than I thought. I felt the room closing in on me. I needed to get out! I leapt for the door in one quick movement, and in doing so; I accidently knocked Derrick to the floor with a loud thud. I reached the rickety door and swung it wide open, hoping the single top hinge would hold. I could smell the fresh morning air. I stopped and focused on breathing and relaxing for a few minutes, as the first rays of the morning sun filtered through the evergreen canopy.
I was surprised to sense his warm body move up behind me.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I just need a few minutes,” I said.
“Take as much time as you need. Do you want to talk about it?” I shook my head no.
I watched as a few black birds flew over the trees, chasing one another happily. They landed briefly on a nearby branch only to fly off again, chirping in another direction a few minutes later. They seemed content with their lives. I felt my body sigh, before I relaxed and leaned against the door jam.
Derrick was standing so close behind me; it was making me very aware of parts of my body that had been dormant for too long. Although he did not touch me, my body tingled. I tried to convince myself that the only reason I was attracted to him was that I was tired and my mind was confused. My friend Rita always tried to convince me that she slept with too many men because she was over tired. I knew at the time it was a lie, but thought today that it might carry some truth. However, my theory was totally blown; I had slept well last night except for the rock hard man poking me in my thigh.
“Are you up for beans, coffee, and jerky for breakfast?” he asked.
I realized he had taken a few steps away from me as he spoke. My body still quivered as I turned to smile at him.
“I’m famished, that sounds great,” I said trying to disguise my arousal.
“Would you get some more water?”
“I think I could use a small walk to clear my head, anyway.” I grabbed the bucket and headed out the door. Going back to the stream, I splashed icy cold water on my hands and face, allowing the water to refresh and clear the cobwebs from my mind. I drew in deep breaths of crisp, clean air and tried to expel the dusty air of the cabin from my lungs.
I could hear the chickadees singing their song, and continued to take big breaths to clear my body of all the muscle tension. Wherever I looked, trees and mountain range stood in all their magnificent beauty. It was quite breathtaking. I felt more relaxed and peaceful as I lived in the moment.
Filling up the bucket with water, I headed back to the cabin. My mood was still contemplative and confused about all I had learned in my vision. Derrick met me outside the door, and I handed him the water, hoping that he had found a stash of coffee beans somewhere. He did just that. When I entered the cabin, the most delicious scent of freshly ground, dark roast coffee filled the air. My senses awakened and I was excited about the meal to come. My breakfast was sitting on a plate on the dusty cupboard. I was amazed at how great it smelled, considering I was only gone for a short time.
“That was quick,” I said.
“Sit by the fire, I’ll bring you your breakfast in a minute,” he replied.
We ate in complete silence. I never thought I would see the day that I’d actually enjoy brown beans for breakfast – but I was starved.
“What about the men following us?” I asked with a concerned look.
“Don’t worry; unless they know how to fly, they went for a swim at the bottom of the ravine. Scaling up the cliffs and to the top would be a long tedious task for them. I figure if they lived, it will give us a few days head start.”
“Where are we headed then?” I asked.
“I thought I would take us back to my house and then you can be on your way from there,” he explained.
“You live in the middle of nowhere?” I asked.
“No,” he said. “I know a shortcut to my house from here. We have
at least a two-hour hike ahead of us today.”
Time Travel
The morning air was crisp and slightly cool. I was thankful that yesterday had been a bit chilly, so I had my sweatshirt on top of my t-shirt before we set out again. Just then our eyes met, our gaze seemed unbreakable for a few moments. I could actually feel my attitude softening towards him. It was going to be difficult parting ways; he wasn’t as offending and conceited today as he was yesterday. Perhaps under different circumstances we might have hit it off.
The further into the forest we headed, the denser the trees became, and the sun was unable to touch the ground in many spots. I followed along in silence for I was still deep in thought, remembering the information I had learned last night. It all seemed to make sense, on an emotional level, but not on a logical one. Could this all be real?
I remembered feeling as a child that I had a special purpose in my life, but when my purpose never showed up, I had lost faith in myself and considered it a childhood fantasy. I always felt there must be more magic to life, even though that wasn’t what I was receiving. After exhausting all possibilities, I joined a church for a short time and it helped fill some of the emptiness in my life, being around others of like mind.
However, I wondered how looking outside myself for the answers was helping my inner growth. When I wasn’t at church, I still felt terribly alone and unhappy with who I was. I assumed I was missing something, which is why I waited for my life to actually start, instead of living it. I wasn’t sure how long we had been walking, but my side started to ache.
Finally, I spoke up, “I need a few minutes break, I have a stitch in my side and it is becoming unbearable.”
“There is a cave at the top of this hill; I am going up there to look around. Rest here for a few moments and I will meet you at the entrance when you get there,” he said.
I nodded, trying to catch my breath. I glanced around for a place to sit. A large rock, nestled at the base of a majestic tree, couldn’t have been more inviting. I sat quietly and began to relax as the cramp in my side stopped. However, I felt relief for only a second before an uncomfortable pressure built up within my head. I continued to relax through my breathing and massaged my temples slowly. Strangely, as if on cue the stones in my pocket started vibrating out of control.
When I started to breathe through the pain, the vision of the three men from yesterday was very clear. I saw the cabin where we had spent the night. The men were throwing things in every direction as if they were looking for something important. After tearing everything apart, they left the cabin. When they were well out of reach, the tall man, who was last to leave, threw a huge white ball of fire into the decrepit old cabin. A large fire ensued and the cabin burned quickly to the ground. It looked very similar to the restroom that I had seen the day before. There was smoke and ash everywhere. Nothing of the cabin we had called home for one night was left standing.
Panicking, I jumped off my rock, and high-tailed it up the hill to the cave where Derrick seemed to be deep in thought.
Before thinking about how it would sound, I blurted out, “Derrick we have to hurry. They’re at the cabin we stayed in last night and they’ve ransacked it. The tall guy from yesterday threw a big ball of fire into it and the cabin has been completely destroyed. They are on their way here.”
“How do you know?” he asked staring at me intensely.
“I’ve been having visions lately,” I paused a moment before continuing, “They seem to be coming true.” I could feel my cheeks get warm and wished I had made a different choice with my wording. All I needed right now, was for him to think that I was a nutcase. He took
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