by C Zinnia
Papa opened and closed his hands, looking perplexed. “That’s okay, but what just happened? My hands feel better,” he said.
“I’m not sure,” Mel said. She explained what she saw.
“It’s interesting you say that because your song did sound different. It almost didn’t sound like it was coming from a guitar,” he said. He kept looking at his hands, noting slight differences in their appearance. He looked up at her. “Thank you for that. You’ll have to tell Eli. Maybe he’s seen it before.”
“Yes,” she said. She played again, but she wasn’t able to get back to that state. She was disappointed.
Papa was nearly done with canning when Eli arrived. “Are you ready for our next session?” Eli asked Mel.
“Sure, but let me put my guitar up first,” Mel said.
“You should take it with you,” Papa said. “See if Eli can help you do that thing you did again.”
Eli’s lip twitched in amusement. “What thing this time?” he asked.
Mel told Eli what happened. He was intrigued.
“Music can be a healing experience. There are tribes who would do healing songs and dances. You have people who perform sound baths and those who use their voice to heal. Maybe music is an easy way for you to harness your gifts,” he said.
“So, do you want me to bring my guitar?” Mel asked. Viola would be happy if I learned how to heal, she thought excitedly.
“Not today,” Eli said. “We’ll maybe try that tomorrow or the next day.”
“Oh,” Mel said, disappointed. She put her guitar up and joined Eli. They walked through the village to Eli’s house. Mel was grateful Eli was with her. The entire time they were outside, she was stressed. She logically knew Bill was captured, but she kept expecting him to jump out from around a corner and open fire.
“You’re safe, Mel,” Eli said soothingly. He heard her increased heart rate and smelled her fear. “And Lee has scheduled you to see May tomorrow after our morning session. Their work will help you too.”
“Okay. What do they do exactly?” Mel asked.
“You’ll have to experience it to understand,” he said.
They reached Eli’s lovely home. It was a well-loved one-story house that had the forest surrounding the back of it. There was a garden on one side. Child bikes laid haphazardly on the front porch, blocking the metal rocking chairs.
Eli’s home was filled with books of different religions as well as many educational and children’s books. There weren’t many books on witchcraft. There were figurines of saints, angels, and Buddhas on an alter in the hallway. Clean incense burned on the alter. The energy of the home was pure and invigorating. The random toys lying about seemed to only add joy to the house.
Mel and Eli sat across from each other in his spacious living room. His three children were outside playing with their dog, Lala.
When Mel asked about the pitbull, Eli laughed. “What? Werewolves can’t have pets?” Eli asked. The retort shut Mel up.
“Let’s focus on relaxing,” Eli said. “Close your eyes and we’ll do some deep belly breathing. Focus on your breath. Allow your body to relax.”
Mel tried to relax as she took deep belly breaths, but her mind started up with its questions again. How strong are my gifts? How broad are they? What would happen if I don’t get them under control? Mel thought. She didn’t want to contemplate what could happen. She was aghast at the thought that it would involve people getting hurt. She prayed it wouldn’t happen.
“Are you ready?” Eli asked.
Mel jumped. She had been almost in a catatonic state. “Sure,” she said. “What are we doing?”
Eli smiled. “I want you to find my wife, Cindy,” he said.
Mel was confused. “What? How? I don’t know how to do tarot, spell locators, or anything, so how can I predict where she is?” she asked. “I don’t even know Cindy.”
“Not like that,” Eli said. He pulled out a photo and handed it to her. It was a beautiful woman with a bright smile on her face. Her skin was the color of warm midnight. Her long dark hair seemed to cascade down her shoulders. She was tall with long arms and legs. “This is what Cindy looks like.” Eli also handed Mel a shawl. “And she was wearing this just a couple of hours ago. It can give you an idea of how she smells and how her energy feels. Close your eyes again. Focus on what Cindy looks like and how the shawl smells and feels. Remember to protect yourself before you leave your body.”
Mel closed her eyes. She imagined protective barriers surrounding her that only she could travel through as she said her prayer. It felt easier and more natural to put the barriers up. Mel turned her attention to the clothing. She felt silly holding a shawl. Mel didn’t understand what exactly he meant by feeling it. She sat there in silence for a long time. It was a draining experience.
Mel was about to give up, but she thought about what Viola said. How you train is how you perform, she thought. She could almost hear it said in Viola’s voice. Mel knew Viola was right. There were going to be stressful times when Mel’s gifts were required. She had to be able to push through the fatigue and frustration. She focused on the shawl again.
Suddenly, it felt like the shawl hummed in Mel’s hand. She was startled when she realized she could sense Cindy because of the clothing. She could feel Cindy’s bubbly and kind personality. Mel couldn’t help but reflexively smile.
Mel focused on the energy. Where are you, Cindy? she thought. She allowed her mind to open up.
Mel couldn’t feel Cindy’s energy in the house, so she opened up her senses further. She got as far as half a house down and she still couldn’t sense Cindy.
Mel stopped, overwhelmed. How far does Eli expect me to go? she thought. “I can’t,” she said. “She’s too far out of my reach.”
“Distance isn’t real in the metaphysical realm you’re using, Mel,” Eli said. “Just focus on Cindy and her energy. Don’t focus on distance.”
Mel took a deep breath to center herself. She shook her head to clear all concepts of distance. She focused on the energy she felt from the shawl. She focused on the happy woman in the picture. She willed herself to find this Cindy.
Mel felt like she was lifted out of her seat. She was flying through the woods at a speed she couldn’t register.
She stopped moving. She could hear rushing water. She tried to look, but it was foggy. She couldn’t see anything.
Mel focused harder on Cindy. She heard a woman humming. Pieces of fog disappeared. She saw Cindy sitting by the stream. Her hair was different than in the picture. It was pixie cut with beautiful waves and bright gold stripes. Cindy was humming as she dipped her feet in the water. She was wearing a bright yellow dress that came to her knees.
A little sign was beside Cindy.
“Mel, knock over this sign,” it read.
Mel was stunned. How am I supposed to knock it over? she thought. Eli didn’t tell Mel how. She pushed her energy against the sign, but nothing happened. “I can’t move it,” she said. Her voice made no sound.
“Come on, Mel,” Eli said. His voice was warped and sounded far away. “You can do it. Focus and condense your energy. Act like you’re punching the sign.”
Mel thought about Viola throwing a punch. The thought of Viola made her heart flutter. She wondered how Viola’s day was going. I miss her, she thought.
Thinking about Viola caused Mel to drift away from Cindy and the stream.
Mel realized she had lost her concentration. She immediately gathered herself and re-focused on Cindy.
Cindy was still happily humming. “I can sense you, darling,” Cindy said. “I’m not gifted like you and Eli, but I have my abilities.” She smiled. “You can hit the sign. I know you can. It’s like punching something in real life.”
Mel imagined making a huge fist. She wacked the sign. It trembled, but nothing more.
“You can do better than that, Mel,” Cindy said. “Imagine it’s someone you don’t like.”
Mel imagined Bill’s face on
the sign. He was giving her a disgusting smirk. Bill was arrogant enough to think he could effortlessly overpower her. He tried to kill her, Daren, Dana, and Lee. He had tried to kill Viola. He tried to hurt Mel’s mate.
The memories angered Mel. Energy swirled around her, waiting eagerly to be utilized. Mel took the energy and struck the sign with all of her might.
The sign tore out of the ground and struck a tree. Large patches of earth were ripped from the ground and followed suit.
Mel gasped. She didn’t realize she was that strong. She was embarrassed. She looked at Cindy, expecting her to be horrified.
Instead, Cindy whistled. “Eli was right,” she said. She was impressed.
It made Mel feel better. Maybe being gifted isn’t a bad thing, she thought.
“You are powerful. Head back to your body and let Eli know what you did. I’ll be there soon enough,” Cindy said. She glanced at Mel’s general direction. “Eli told me what happened to you as a child. We aren’t afraid of you, Mel. We accept you for who you are. We’ll always be here to support you to the best of our abilities.”
Cindy’s not afraid of me, Mel thought. The fact brought tears to her eyes. Thank you, God, for all of these wonderful people. I really can be myself with them.
Mel took a deep breath. She focused on herself. She effortlessly floated back into her body.
Chapter 18
She opened her eyes to find Eli eagerly waiting.
“Well, what happened?” Eli asked.
“I knocked over the sign,” Mel said sheepishly.
Eli beamed. “I knew you’d be able to do it! Your power is amazing. Who knows how far you’ll be able to go!” he said. “How do you feel?”
“Tired,” Mel said. “It’s a little draining to do this sort of stuff.” She didn’t mention she was already tired before they started.
“It’ll get easier over time,” Eli said. “I think it’s so tiring because you are doing things you had been taught were impossible, so you’re also having to use energy to fight your preconceived notions and beliefs of what reality truly is and isn’t.”
“Possibly,” Mel said.
Eli stood and walked to the kitchen. “Let’s get you some chocolate and a warm cup of coffee. That’ll help you perk up,” he said.
Mel followed Eli into the kitchen. She ate the piece of chocolate he offered and watched him as he fixed three cups of coffee.
Eli had just finished making the coffee when Cindy walked in.
“Hello, Mel,” Cindy said. She enveloped Mel in a warm hug. “It’s nice to meet you in person.” She gave Eli a sweet kiss. “Did Mel tell you what happened?”
“She knocked over the sign,” Eli said proudly.
Cindy stared at Eli. “Knock? It was not a knock, dear. It was more like sending it flying into a tree along with two huge patches of red clay. There are two big holes in the ground now because of it,” she said.
Eli turned to Mel, astounded. “You didn’t tell me all of that,” he said.
Mel shrugged. “Sorry,” she said shyly. “I’m still not completely comfortable talking about that sort of stuff. Especially when it involves me losing control.”
“Do you feel like you lost control when you hit the sign?” he asked.
Mel hesitated. “Cindy said to picture hitting someone I don’t like and I pictured Bill and I feel like I hit it harder than I should have,” she said.
“So, was it losing control or using too much force?” Eli asked.
Mel didn’t understand. “Isn’t that the same thing?” she asked.
“Not necessarily,” he said. “You wanted to hit the sign and you accomplished the task, but you did it harder than you wanted to. Did you hit Cindy or did Cindy get hurt in the process? Did you tear down any trees? Did anything else get destroyed?”
“The ground did,” Mel said.
“Where the sign was,” Cindy pointed out.
“See that is too much force,” Eli said. “With the chair, that was losing control. Making these distinctions will help because if you keep reiterating that you lose control in every situation, it’s easy to feel hopeless about ever gaining control over your abilities. Keep celebrating your progress. You want to always improve and strive to do better, but putting everything you do in a negative light doesn’t help.”
“That makes sense,” Mel said. “I’m so worried about scaring you all away.”
“Are you afraid of me?” he said.
She didn’t understand the question. “No. Why would I be afraid of you?” she said.
“Because I’m a werewolf,” he said.
“No, I’m not,” she said.
“Then why do you expect us to be afraid of you?” he said.
“I guess I’ve been afraid of my abilities, so I expect others to be,” she said.
Eli handed Mel a cup of coffee. “We aren’t afraid of your abilities, Mel. The more you tell us about what happens with your gifts, the more we can help you,” he said. “And you need to learn to love and accept your abilities. The more you accept who you are, the less you will fear them. And by accepting them, you’ll be able to control them better.”
Mel was embarrassed. “I’m sorry,” she said.
“It’s okay. I know it’s hard to open up, especially when you fear judgment,” Eli said.
“I heard you’re from Arlington,” Cindy said. “How does it feel to go from a big city to the country?”
“It’s quieter here, especially at night. And it’s darker here at night. It seems you have to drive quite a bit to get anywhere. It’s beautiful here regarding nature. And I’ve enjoyed kayaking and going to the Harvester. So much has been going on that I haven’t had a chance to really notice any other differences,” Mel answered.
“I would love to visit Northern Virginia. I think the boys would have fun with all of the different museums. We’ve gone to the science museum more times than I can count in Roanoke,” Cindy said.
“Maybe you can visit when I’m back in Arlington,” Mel said. Both of them were surprised by her statement. “I have to go back at the end of my ‘vacation’ at least to get everything settled before I move down here. And I would like to see my grandma, mom, and sister. I also need to get some clothes. I feel bad for wearing Viola’s all of the time.”
“After we go see May tomorrow, we can stop by one of the stores to get you some clothes. I didn’t even think about you have things you’d have to get in order back home if you did move here,” Eli said. He smiled. “If you decide to move here, we can help you pack up your things if you would like.”
“I don’t have that much stuff to be honest,” Mel said. “I may have a carload worth of things that I would need to bring with me. The rest could wait since all it would do is take up space.” She glanced at her cup of coffee. “Do you think it’s best to move here immediately?”
Eli and Cindy shared a look Mel couldn’t decipher. She could tell they had discussed it before.
“You have to do what is best for you, Mel,” Cindy finally said. “It’s a huge step to move to a completely different area. I heard you have a Biology degree, so I would to love to have you help teach our kids science and math. But I understand if you’re not quite ready to make such a large leap.”
Mel looked expectantly to Eli.
“I agree with Cindy,” Eli said. He patted Mel’s shoulder. “You have to do what is best for you.”
Mel fought the urge to grumble. If they thought it was a good idea to move here, they would have said so, a part of her thought. “Do you think we’ll find out more about Chris and the Master Hunter before then?” she said. “I would hate to go to back to Arlington before that’s all sorted out.”
“I think so,” Eli said. “The cards show a lot of huge changes are going to happen soon. I just don’t know what those changes are.”
“When are we going to work on seeing the future?” Mel asked.
“That’s what we’re about to work on,” Eli said. “I just wanted to give y
ou a short break.”
Three rambunctious boys burst through the front door and charged into the kitchen.
“Whoa there!” Cindy said. “Who told y’all y’all can run in the house?”
The boys stopped in their tracks.
“We’re all thirsty, Mom,” the eldest, Jahi, said. “Can we have water, please?”
“Yes, Jahi,” Cindy said. “And I love it when you use your manners.” She poured three cups of water. The boys quickly guzzled them down.
The youngest, Mwamba, wandered over to Mel. He was about four years old.
Mel smiled at him. “Hi,” she said as she crouched down so they were eye level. “Are you having fun playing outside?”
Mwamba shyly nodded as he looked at her over his cup.
“I bet you’re a fast runner too,” Mel said.
“I’m faster than him,” Yafeu said quickly.
Mwamba ignored his older brother. “I’m faster when I’m a wolf! Want to see?” he asked eagerly. He didn’t wait for Mel respond before he put his cup on the floor and turned into a wolf pup. Mwamba’s torn clothes laid beside him on the ground.
“Mwamba, you’re not supposed to turn without permission,” Eli scolded. “And you’re supposed to take your clothes off first.”
Mwamba whimpered and his ears drooped down. He looked pitifully at his father with his big brown eyes.
Eli sighed loudly. “You might as well go outside and show Mel how fast you can run,” Eli said.
Mwamba happily yipped and danced around as he made his way towards the door Eli had opened for him that led outside.
“We want to run too!” Jahi said.
“Go on then,” Eli said. “But clothes off first.”
Cindy laughed as she kissed Eli. “You, my love, are a pushover,” she said.
“I may have to agree with you,” Eli said.
Clothes went flying across the kitchen before Jahi and Yafeu changed into wolf pups.
Mel was dazed as she followed everyone outside.
The wolf pups romped around in the yard before Cindy had them line up.
“Ready?” Cindy said. “Go!”
The three pups took off running at full speed. Jahi had longer legs than Yafeu and Mwamba and quickly outran them, effortlessly winning. The pups ran over to Mel and danced around her.