Morning Magic
Page 15
“I thought you girls might be hungry,” he said. And he was right, we were. As we finished our coffee our dad asked if we would take a walk with him and while we were walking he told us the story of our great great grandfather, the land and our mother’s wishes.
Harmony was the first to speak. “I think I remember mom bringing me up here when I was really little. She told me that we were hunting for fairies and unicorns. There used to be a stable of horses up here, right over there, and she would bring carrots with her to feed them. I remember that, I do!” she said with enthusiasm in her voice.
“I remember the stories about fairies and unicorns, but I don’t remember ever coming here,” Constance said looking around with disappointed eyes.
“Neither do I,” I added.
“Well, I can tell all three of you that your mother and I used to bring you all up here. I would carry Connie and mom would carry Olivia and Harmony would run like the wind all around here. This was your mother’s favorite spot. I had forgotten until now just how much she loved it here.”
“Do you think that it was mom who conjured up this spot as a perfect location for a hotel?” I asked.
“At first I wasn’t sure. But then something happened that made me think that maybe your mom did have her hand in this whole thing,” dad said.
“What happened?” we all asked at once.
“I did,” came an answer from behind an old apple tree as Jonathan stepped out.
“Me too,” said Larry as he led a young pony towards us.
We were all more than a little bit confused at this point. Turning towards our dad Harmony said, “I think it’s time to spill the beans, dad.”
“Well, how about if Jonathan spills his beans first,” my dad said laughing. “Jonathan….”
“Can we all sit down because this may take a while?” Jonathan said. Taking a deep breath, he began, “Olivia do you remember the day you brought me up here?”
“Yes,” I responded.
“And you remember how beautiful I thought it was and how after you fed me all that lunch and a little wine I fell asleep?”
“Yes.”
“Well, that part was sort of strange. It’s not like me to just fall asleep in the middle of the day like that. And once I was asleep, I had this incredible dream. I dreamt what this place would look like with some love and TLC. And instead of a hotel here, I saw a cluster of cottages that would create a destination spot where people would love to come and relax. There were hillsides filled with apple and orange orchards that were loaded with fruit. There were walking paths by the cliff side and horses to be ridden throughout the hills. And there was a mystical woman who walked me through the grounds and pointed out where various things should go. A hot tub here, a swimming pool there, a reading garden there. And it was all so beautiful.”
Taking in a deep breath and looking directly at me, Jonathan continued. “The weird thing was that this wasn’t the first time I’d seen this woman in my dreams. She’d been visiting me ever since I came back to New Moon Beach. And each time she came, she shared with me a slice of information about the land, the community or the people,” he said.
“And Olivia, she also shared her thoughts of encouragement about you. She told me not to give up on us and that we were meant to be together. I know that this may sound strange but as much as I longed for her nightly visits, I didn’t put much faith in her beliefs. After all, she was just a dream!”
“Oh,” was all that I could say.
“But then, all that changed the day you brought me here, Olivia. From that day forward I took the words of my nightly visitor very seriously.”
“That must have been mom,” whispered Constance as dad quietly shook his head in agreement.
“So anyway, I went back to my father and tried to pitch this new idea to him. I sketched up drawings of the cottages like I’d seen in my dreams and I added climate data, farming information. I even contacted my older brother who is a horticulturist to get his opinion. He was so excited he’ll be coming out here soon to see things for himself.
“So after I collected all of that information, I searched for any other hotel site with comparable opportunities. When I could find none that offered this cool location, awesome weather, farmlands and horse riding opportunities; I was sure that my dad would love it here. Instead, he threw out the entire idea and me with it!” he said. “Dad said that this was a money loser and that he wasn’t about to waste any more time or money here. He just could not see things the way I did.”
“That’s where I come in,” said Larry. “I have been dreaming of this place for months, I just didn’t know where it was,” he said slowly. “Every night, the same dream, the same lady. She showed me how developing this area would make my life fuller. And by using my skills and my money I could help to create some place really special. But I was getting pretty frustrated because I had no idea where this place actually existed.”
Looking at Jonathan he continued, “I ran into Jonathan one morning while I was having breakfast at The Hang Ten. He was all bummed out because his dad hadn’t believed in his idea of developing some bungalows in the hills. We took a drive up to the site and I realized that this was the adventure I had been dreaming of. And when I described the lady of my dreams I was stunned to hear that she had been visiting him too!”
“We both got so excited that we decided to put our heads and money together and create a business plan to present to your dad; since he was the one who owned the land.”
Stunned, we all sat there waiting for the rest of the story to unfold.
“So when they came to me with this business plan I told them that, as much as I liked their ideas, I couldn’t help them,” said our father.
“Why?”Constance and Harmony shouted together. “Why can’t you help them dad? It sounds perfect,” said Harmony.
“I can’t help them because the land is not mine, it belongs to you girls. Your mother left it all to you girls. You must make the decision as to whether to develop this land or not.”
Harmony, Constance and I all looked at each other and smiled. Reaching my hand out to Gail I pulled her forward, including her in our group hug. “Yes, let’s make this happen!” Constance said. And in one swift move all four girls shifted their momentum towards our father and enveloped him in a big hug.
“Hey, what about us?” questioned Jonathan and Larry.
Suddenly everything made sense. A cool breeze began to whip the air and Harmony said, “We hear you mom.”
Looking at my sisters, Gail and my dad, I turned to Larry and Jonathan and said, “Let’s do it. Let’s turn this beautiful spot into something truly special.”
And so that was the beginning of a lifetime of surprises at Jasmine’s Cottages By The Sea. Little did I know all that was coming my way as we all continued to work on the cottages.
#####
The Witches of New Moon Beach, Book Two:
Night Flight
Preview
I woke with a start. No, no, no. Not again!
Rubbing my eyes, I looked up into a cloudless blue sky and recognized the sound of waves crashing on a nearby shore and I knew that I had done it again. I was no longer snuggled in my own bed; I was somewhere else far from home.
At least this time as my sight cleared and I looked around a little more, I was relieved that I actually recognized where I was. On two other mornings I had awakened to find myself somewhere other than in my bed and twice before I had been terrified; unsure of where I was or how I even got there.
But today was different. I was tired of waking up afraid and uncertain. Today would be the day that I would learn how to deal with what was happening to me.
The morning breeze brought a chill as I wrapped my arms protectively around myself and looked down to see that my pajamas were wet through and through from the damp grass where I had apparently landed. A stray leaf had lodged itself in my hair and I swiped at it as I rose to look around. Could this get any weirder?
Damn. Why did this keep happening to me? More importantly, now that I was here, how was I going to get home? And what was I going to do about the fact that you could now see right through my soggy pajamas? After all, who wore underwear beneath their jammies?
You notice that I didn’t ask how I got here. I had already started to figure that part out. I guess that you could say that I flew here in my sleep; a skill I didn’t even know I had until recently. This was something new, over which I apparently had no control - at least not yet.
About The Author:
Meriam Wilhelm
In 2013, after 35 years in education, Meriam Wilhelm retired from her favorite career ever as an elementary school principal in Palos Verdes California. Over the next two years she authored five different parenting books on topics from bullying to getting your child ready for kindergarten. And now she has thrown her hat into the world of fiction writing.
The married mother of three is also an avid sewer, quilter and designer and spreads her time between writing, walking on the beach, sewing and enjoying traveling with her husband who is also retired.
You can learn more about Meriam by visiting her website at www.meriamwilhelm.com.
I hope that you enjoy meeting the sisters and residents of New Moon Beach. I love to hear from my readers so please feel free to contact me at:
My website - www.meriamwilhelm.com.
My e-mail - meriamwilhelm@hotmail.com.
On Twitter - twitter.com/meriamwilhelm
Or on facebook - facebook.com/meriamwilhelm.
The Witches of New Moon Beach is a three part series. Watch for my sequel to The Witches Of New Moon Beach - The Wedding. Coming soon!
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Preview to Night Flight; Book 2 in my series The Witches Of New Moon Beach
About the Author