“So, I have a little surprise planned for you. Arie was confirming the details for me. She figured I might be a little too busy to finish up the details this morning.” His laugh echoing through the air.
“Pretty perceptive of her. Did you fill her in on the mystery man this morning as well?” I asked innocently, hoping I could latch onto something more than the boogeyman.
“Yeah, I mentioned it.” He replied coolly.
“And?” I began to get a little impatient.
“Well, not much. It’s already been taken care of.” He said trying not to make any waves.
“Earlier you were rattling off how I would be told what was going on. Now it’s like none of that ever happened.” I could feel my temper begin to rise, and at this point, I didn’t care. I wanted answers.
“Fair enough.” Athen sat down on the couch, and I followed his lead.
“Tell me what you think is going on.” He asked flatly.
“I honestly don’t know. Maybe you guys are into something bad, and I’m an innocent bystander or maybe somebody is after me, and you work for the government, and this is all a ruse. I honestly don’t know. Maybe I’ve read too many spy novels. I know I had a very boring existence before I met you, not that I would trade for it back, but I’m less in control than I ever felt in my life, and I don’t enjoy being in the dark.”
“Alright, what I will tell you is not going to make much sense, but this is the first piece, and the other pieces will come out in time. But for now you are, in part, correct. There is someone after you. No, we don’t work for the government or anyone for that matter. We kind of belong to this subset of society. Because of that, there are certain situations that come to us that don’t usually involve most people.”
“Are you criminals? Is that the subset? Is that why you don’t work?” I asked my heart pounding fast, knowing deep in my heart that these people could do no wrong.
“No, you can rest assured it’s nothing mundane like that.” Athen said laughing a little trying to lighten the mood. He began to get that overly confident almost cocky air about him. In all honesty that was one of the qualities that seemed too hard for me to resist and it was starting again.
“Well, I’m at a loss, and you aren’t explaining it very well.” I told him, once again beginning to get a little impatient.
“I know. It is going to take showing you more so than telling you. We have gifts that aren’t typical. It tends to bring a little more baggage. You do too, believe it or not.” He grabbed my hand, and I pulled away from him for the first time ever. I didn’t like where this was going. Either I was crazy for believing this, or he was crazy for telling me this. Either way it wasn’t a good outcome.
“The dreams, for instance... “ He paused, “Listen, Ana, imagine if there was a possibility that life as you know it was only one part of the world. That there was more than the human world, maybe more of a good and evil underlying that was directing life from behind the scenes. God, I’m not making sense!”
Athen was truly upset. The angst was building in him over how bizarre he was sounding, which made me realize how hard this was for him. In my heart, I knew whatever I was going to find out was something big. The feelings that would come over me by merely being in his presence seemed very abnormal. I was sure of that but accepting that didn’t mean I could pin my reaction on anything tangible though. Rather than making this more difficult on both of us I decided to end the discussion for the moment. Much to my amazement, I was pretty sure that I could only handle little snippets at this point.
“Ok, I will wait to be shown as you put it. Until then, please assure me that this is the real thing.” I closed my eyes, inhaling and feeling his lips on mine. This time I could feel myself falling into the possibility of a world that I had never imagined. I was ok with the unknown as long as it involved Athen and his family. He loosened his embrace. I opened my eyes to see him looking back at me, eyes glistening with dampness.
“About that surprise?” I asked trying to break the seriousness of the moment.
“Have you ever ziplined before?” Athen laughed.
“Oh God,” I sighed, “I do hope I actually live to hear about everything with all the surprises you seem to have set up for me.”
“Well, it isn’t for a few days out so you should have plenty of time to get your nerve up. Think of it as learning something about us with a set of training wheels.” His eyes twinkled mischievously, which made me wish the phone hadn’t interrupted us earlier.
CHAPTER 8
I looked over at Athen who gave me a wink. I went for it. I closed my eyes, took one step off the perch, letting my body fall as if I have done it a million times before. The sound of the metal harness racing down the wire became amplified as I picked up speed. With my eyes shut, I began to hear the sound of trickling water down below. I glided down the mountain as if I was floating. The fear overtook me. My eyes still remained tightly closed, and I tried to scream, but nothing came out. I took deep breaths as the wind rushed past me. My face turning as cold as stone. I heard Athen hollering and forced myself to quit missing everything this almost out of body experience had to offer. I slowly opened one eye and peered down below as my hands were squeezing the rope to an almost liquid state. I saw the most stunning sight; a rushing river heading down the snowy mountain as swiftly and smoothly as I was. Could this be? Am I really flying? I had a few more seconds of bliss before it came painfully obvious that I was indeed still human and was about to crash into the man standing on the platform waiting to catch me. The scream from within finally appeared as the man put on the brake.
“Oh my God! That was so incredible.” I told the guide as my heart was still pounding a million miles a minute. “Are they all like that?” I asked as I began smoothing down my ponytail which had erupted into a frizzy mess.
“I’m glad you liked it because that is the only way off the mountain at this point. You have several more lines to go. They actually get longer as we head down the mountain. Hey, here comes your boyfriend.”
I was so happy hearing the word boyfriend ring through the air. As I was thinking about how lucky I was to find someone so perfect for me I spun around to see Athen gliding in hanging upside down from the line, looking as graceful as ever. The snow covered limbs almost brushing him as he landed on the platform right side up. As the guide unhooked his harness, Athen grabbed me and spun me around. I didn’t want to let go, but I knew the next person on our trip would be landing in a few seconds so I held on tight, and Athen hopped down to the next level.
“Thank you, Athen. Thank you so much. I never thought I could do something like this. It was incredibly amazing.”
“Of course, angel, I knew you could do it. Wait until you do it without the harness.” His voice whispered in my hair just soft enough to leave me wondering if that’s what I really heard. He squeezed my waist sending chills through me. I squeezed him back as hard as I could.
“Yeah right.” I laughed, but partly wondering if he was kidding or not. I had never actually seen any of them fly or have any abilities for that matter. Although, I did wonder about their speed; they seemed to get everywhere quickly and without any obstacles. Still not knowing what they were, I laughed at myself for even indulging in the insanity of it all. I was sure there was a logical explanation for that. I do tend to take the long way everywhere. The fact that I would even let my mind wander like that was so embarrassing. It’s not like these people can have supernatural powers – they are just people. Things like that don’t exist. The more I tried to talk myself out of the things I imagined, the more my stomach began feeling like it was tied in knots. Maybe that is what he meant by subset. I could drive myself insane trying to figure things out that were impossible.
I found myself deep in thought bouncing around all of the crazy ideas, but his laughter alerted me back to reality as our group walked to the next zip line. This one seemed far higher than the last one and much longer. I couldn’t even see the end of the l
ine. My blood was pumping extra hard. I wasn’t sure I wanted to continue. Nonetheless, I put a brave face on and climbed the stairs to the next platform.
My positive memory of the last line was quickly fading as I approached the platform. I looked down from the Douglas fir respecting every inch of how truly high we were. All I could hear was the blood pounding in my ears. Suddenly everyone’s voices began to fade into a soft rumble, and a light ringing began in my ears. I turned to look at Athen, and that last swirl of my head was all it took. My knees gave out. I was headed face first towards the wood platform when the strength of Athen’s arm swiftly surrounded me before I hit the ground. I heard our group give a gasp as he moved me to the bench that was built so graciously on the platform as if its sole function was to wait for people like me, which totally embarrassed me enough to become alert.
“Ana, are you ok?” Of course, hearing Athen’s voice made me feel better instantly.
“Yeah, I’m 100 percent fine. I’m a bit flustered, but I’m fine - really. I probably didn’t eat enough this morning or something.” I saw the guide making his way through the group of people, and my embarrassment level grew ten-fold.
“Hey, miss. How are you doing? You seemed to be holding your own. What happened?”
I shook my head not actually knowing what did happen. I certainly didn’t want to admit it could be the height factor.
“Well, we are going to have to double harness you to someone to get down the next line or two for a safety measure.” I grabbed Athen’s hand immediately.
“I can take her down, if you don’t mind.” Athen offered as he squeezed my hand. “I’ve done doubles before.” Hearing him say that made me wonder who with. A twinge of jealousy entered my veins.
The other guide had already started harnessing the waiting customers and began sending them one by one down to the next perch. Thankfully clearing out the crowd of onlookers.
“That sounds good, man. We will get you all hooked up.”
I looked up at Athen somewhat embarrassed. He touched my cheek gently and gave me a wink.
“Don’t feel bad, Ana. It’s no big deal. It’s kind of funny. I honestly can’t wait to add it to the list.”
I managed to kick him right in the ankle, which only made him laugh harder.
“Ok, are you feeling up to this or would you like to rest a little? We don’t have to keep up with the group.”
“No, no I’m good. I’m so sorry about this. I honestly don’t know what came over me.” I shot straight up like I was a contestant in a spelling bee trying to prove to everyone I belonged on this adventure. Thankfully I didn’t feel woozy any longer. I had gotten my bearings back. I walked with our guide and Athen over to the equipment and couldn’t figure out what led to my demise because now I was feeling as energized as before. Maybe it was the thought of being fastened directly to Athen for the rest of the way down the mountain that made me feel so alert. The guide fastened two extra clips and a belt around my waist, with a strap that went around Athen and then we both stepped into our connected harness.
“Alright, the only tricky part is walking to the line now.”
I followed Athen’s moves, and we got there as if we were one in a fluid motion. Another sign we were meant to be together. Athen tried to stifle a laugh.
“What’s so funny?” I demanded.
“Nothing really. I kind of think it’s cute how you can find so many things to reassure yourself of our relationship.”
“What do you mean?” I asked incredulously. I never said anything like that. At times it still occurred to me that he was meddling in my thoughts. I knew that was impossible or was it. I honestly had no idea anymore. As always with his perfect timing he took a step off the platform, and we were flying. I held onto him with all my might hoping I wouldn’t crush him. Being with him made me feel so safe. Instead of being terrified, I could actually look around and see the wonderful scenery. I didn’t even have any screams welling up inside.
“My God, Athen. This is breathtaking. I like it better this way – with you.”
“I knew you would.” I heard the wind whipping by my ears, seeing the majestic rock formation rising from the snow capped mountain, and the baby trees trying to poke out from under the snow and still sheltered behind the larger more grandiose trees. All things I would normally overlook but being with Athen always made me appreciate the little things.
With the added weight to the harness we sped up swiftly as we sailed down the mountain. The snow became patchier near the river, and the firs got a little thinner in the forest. For a split second, I thought I saw something large in one of the trees-almost like a human, but I knew that wasn’t possible. It turned into a black streak and darted through the trees. Great, I can never get away from my dreams.
“Is that a bear in the tree?” I yelled at the top of my lungs, hoping for a sense of normalcy to be yelled back at me. We had long since whipped by my sighting by the time my words reached Athen’s ear, and before I knew it we were landing on the platform.
“Did you see that thing in the tree?” I asked Athen again. He told me to be vigilant and aware of my surroundings, and I was doing my best.
“No, I didn’t see anything,” he replied, “What did it look like?”
“It was so fast it actually looked like a streak, but that isn’t possible so I would say a bear because it was so high up.” Then it hit me. It truly was one of those black things I had seen in my nightmares. My body tensed up, and I began to become sick. My night creatures were now haunting me in the day.
Athen’s eyes changed instantly, a gathering swell of angst building quickly through him.
“It wasn’t a bear. They are hibernating.”
“Sure. What do you think it is? I thought that other situation was taken care of…” I trailed off hoping he would give me something to latch on to.
He grabbed my hand as we walked to the next platform. He was detached a bit, on alert now. For what, I didn’t know. It wasn’t like my dreams could be a reality.
“Nothing. Just promise to keep your eyes open.”
I whispered softly to him as we stepped off the platform, “I have seen them in my nightmares.”
Athen wrapped his arm behind him so he could touch me as best he could to comfort me as we sailed down the rest of the mountain. Once we got to the base we unharnessed in silence and wandered over to the benches waiting for us all. Because of my little mishap earlier on the mountain, we were behind everyone so the place was pretty cleared out.
“How many times have they appeared in your dreams?”
“Well, first of all I would say nightmares and several. The last one before I met you was one the worst. There were many of them. They were swirling all around me.” Athen reached for my hand and squeezed it.
“And?” He asked gently.
“I didn’t make it. All I was left with was loneliness and desperation. I…” That’s when it hit me. It was Athen who tried to protect me from these creatures. It was Athen standing there with tears running down his face. Cyril and Arie were the other two people with him in my nightmare. How did I not see this before? That’s why they seemed so familiar.
All of the color drained from my face. My hands were cold and numb. I couldn’t move my arms. I wanted to reach for him, but I couldn’t. I looked in his eyes, an understanding beginning to spread.
“You were there. You were there, Athen! That’s why you have felt so familiar. Your family - everyone. I don’t understand.” My entire body was numb now. It barely registered that his arms wrapped around me. I didn’t understand what was taking place. He kissed my cheek gently.
“You are almost home, sweetie. The time is almost here. I have missed you so much my darling. You are my everything. You always have been.”
As I was trying to make sense of even a morsel of what was taking place, I heard footsteps coming up behind me.
“You seem to be doing a lot better.”
“Yeah, thanks. Not sure what
happened. I’m so sorry about that.”
“Oh heck, not a problem. We are all going down to the Dublin Gate to grab some beers. Feel free to meet us there if you want. I’m sure we will be there for a long stretch.”
“Sounds good man. I’ll call my sister and see if they want to meet us there. Thanks again for all of your help up on the mountain. Seems like my angel is a bit scared of heights.” He kissed the top of my head like the night of our first meeting, and I immediately warmed.
“Kind of ironic. An angel afraid of heights.” The guide winked at us and walked back to his friends.
“Yah, it is.” Athen said as he tied up his boots and looked at me with an honest curiosity.
“Well,” I said, “I guess it would be even more ironic if I actually were an angel.”
“Whatever.” Athen whispered in my ear and grabbed me only to give me a peck on my cheek.
“So are we going to meet up with our new found friends tonight?” I asked, wanting to continue the night with Athen. “ I was kind of hoping for a more detailed explanation about what is going on, actually.”
“Well, the time is not exactly right. I think this would be a fun outing to lighten the mood. We are almost there, Ana. We can’t rush it. In fact, I never expected things to go this fast in the first place. The fact that you have been having these dreams is beyond anything I could have imagined.”
“I’m counting on an explanation and will go tonight on the condition that you’ll tell me everything in the next 24 hours. That being said, I would like to go back to my house to get changed and see Matilda for a little while.”
“Would you mind company?” Athen asked so innocently as if I could possibly mind.
“Have I ever?” The excitement began building replacing the fear with every second that passed. I loved being alone with him. I stood up and grabbed my backpack, and Athen grabbed it away from me to carry the rest of the way to my condo. God, he’s so considerate in every possible facet, such a gentleman. I looked over at him. He was beaming as we headed down the hill. Sometimes I wished I knew what he was thinking when he had expressions like that.
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