H.E.A.R.T. Saga: The Children

by Linna Drehmel

  “Oh?” he asked his voice still husky with passion. “Is that what you were doing under there? Did you find it?”

  “No, and I wasn’t able to see where it went either. It just vanished.”

  “Well, what did it look like?” he asked, still stroking her copper curls, unable to resist his wife’s beauty.

  It was incredible how much just his stroking her hair affected her ability to breathe. “Um…” she said, trying unsuccessfully to think clearly.

  “It was little, brown and furry. But I didn’t get a very good look at it.” Drawing a shaky breath DraDonna suggested, “Maybe we should have a look around and see where it went.”

  With reluctance he released his wife and asked, “So you didn’t see anything at all under the bed?”

  “Not so much as a speck of dust.” she replied, longing for him to put his arms around her again.

  They spent a few moments looking around the room, but there were not that many places to hide. “I’m sorry my wife, I don’t see anything. I don’t know what to tell you.”

  “Well, I don’t know what to think DraDevon, this place really is creepy.” DraDonna said with a frustrated sigh, “Whatever it was, I just hope it doesn’t come back. Let’s go see if that MDC is working and get something to eat. I’m hungry.”

  “That’s a great idea my wife.” He put his arm around her shoulders so they could walk to the kitchen together. “I think we also need to find more Traveler’s Joy so our minds stay fresh.”

  “Well, I already have a supply of it; I keep it in my small pack.” She pulled out two large sprigs, giving one to him.

  “Mmm!” He grunted while eating the sweet flowered plant. “This makes me hungrier. Why don’t I get us some food, and you use your new scientist brain and figure out what we should do next.”

  “Sounds good, welder man,” DraDonna said affectionately, as she sat down at one of the chairs by the lovely kitchen table.

  DraDonna’s mind was sharp and clear from the effects of the plant; she pulled her notebook and pencil from the small pack, and reviewed the few things that she had written down about the area that she and DraDevon lived in. She made a few more notes about the look of the ground and the dirt itself— after all, Tatiana had told her ‘it’ was in the ground.

  She was so absorbed in her thoughts and the notes she was reviewing that she did not notice the plate of food that her husband placed in front of her for some time, until he said, “Eat my love. You need to keep your body strong, too.”

  She looked up from her notes with a smile for the man she loved, said a quick thank you, and began to eat without giving too much thought about what she was eating. She saw that DraDevon had a notebook out as well.

  Looking across the table at it, she saw that he had something very different in his. “May I?” she asked, before pulling it toward her. “Sure, I… um… don’t know why I did that. I was looking out the window as you were working with your notes and started to write this image down,” he explained.

  DraDonna looked closely at the simple yet elegant sketch of the mountain range just outside the kitchen window.

  “How long did it take you to do this?” she asked.

  “Not long.”

  “It’s very beautiful, DraDevon. I think that this might be a gift you have in your soul like I have the gift for science in mine,” she said with wonder. “You can make images on paper, but what is that funny looking mark in the lower right corner?” she said with a confused look.

  “Oh that’s something my father’s father told me about. He said back in the days when they used paper more, you would press one of your fingers in the paper, concentrate a little bit of the energy and then it makes this energy stamp. Someday when we have children, I will show them this image and the energy stamp. It will show them that I was here.”

  His story filled her soul with hope. A hope that everything would be okay, that they would get to have children. DraDonna smiled as she handed the notebook back to him.

  DraDonna picked up a piece of fruit to eat and the happy couple settled down into a comfortable silence.

  While eating, DraDonna once again took up her pencil and began to write down all she remembered of both dreams. Following her lead, DraDevon picked up his pencil and began to work on the image of the mountain in front of him, but their peace was interrupted by a rustling sound outside.

  They both looked up at each other in alarm. “What was that?” DraDonna asked in a hushed tone.

  “It may just be an animal, but we shouldn’t take any chances.” he said, matching her quiet pitch.

  “You’re not going out there, are you?” she asked, suddenly terrified that something might happen to her beloved husband.

  “I’ll only be a minute. You stay here.”

  “Please be careful, my friend,” she said, fear showing in her light brown eyes.

  “Oh I will. The HEART is with me.” He smiled reassuringly.

  He quietly left the cabin and DraDonna watched with dread as the door closed behind him. Her food now forgotten, all she could think of was what he might find outside.

  The moments passed by at such a slow pace that it seemed as if time had stopped altogether. She strained to hear something, anything, when she thought she heard a rustling noise, and then it got louder. She stood from her chair when she heard what she thought might be her husband crying out in pain.

  Standing there in the kitchen, she debated on whether or not she should go out and help him when the door burst open and DraDevon came flying in with a strange man on his heels. Out of instinct, DraDonna tried to tackle the man.

  They toppled to the floor, knocking into DraDevon, causing him to fall and hit his forehead on the side of the HEART stone altar.

  She wrestled with the man for what seemed like an eternity, until the guy, using his brute strength, grabbed her shoulders and shoved her hard backward, flipping her over and landing on top of her. Gaining the advantage, he pinned her under him.

  Straddled on top of her, he said in a murderous voice, “I know who you are DraDonna. I was sent here to do whatever is necessary to keep you from interfering in our work.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. We’re on a couples’ solace!”

  “Do you think I am an idiot? We know what you’re up to. We know it has to do with science.” He sneered at her.

  “We? We who? Who sent you?” she gasped, out of breath. “Get off me, I can’t breathe.”

  “Ha!” He laughed at her. “I’m not going to let you just walk out of here, when you might go tell…”

  His speech was cut short.

  DraDevon, standing over them, said, “Get off my wife!” He smashed a chair over the attacker’s head and he instantly fell unconscious.

  With a grunt and a great heave, DraDonna shoved him enough so she could squirm out from under him.

  “You’re hurt!” she exclaimed, seeing a shallow bloody gash on his left arm, as well as his bruised forehead.

  “I will be okay. We need to gather up our stuff and get out of here fast,” he told her as he strode quickly into the bedroom, pulling the cords that held the curtains back off the wall.

  “What’s going on? Who was that guy?”

  “I’m not sure, but I don’t think he was alone,” DraDevon grunted as he tied the guy’s hands behind his back.

  “What happened out there?” DraDonna asked him, as she ran around the cabin gathering up their things.

  “There’s no time to explain. All I know is that I was lucky to have gotten way from him. He had a big knife and wasn’t shy about using it.” He stood up, done binding the dangerous man’s hands and feet. “Do you have everything?”

  “Yes, but where are we going to go? We need to look at an EDUstone.”

  “No,” he replied quickly. “I think they might be able track us with it, so wherever we go it has to be a random decision.”

  As both of them hurriedly took the travel stones out of their packs and place
d their hands on the HEART stone altar, they could hear a light female voice calling for someone.

  DraDonna hesitated for a moment and then said, “Cabin number two, Second Councilors Lake.” They hurriedly said the prayer for travel.

  The blue light of the HEART’s energy began to take them as a woman with long blonde hair burst in the front door, running toward them. She made a futile attempt to stop them, but was just a few moments too late, ending up with only a handful of blue energy.

  Help

  9

  JorRobert, a big man, sat uncomfortably in a small chair in the main living area of his home. He had the HEART percussion stone in front of him. Normally when he played, he didn’t even notice the small chair; he got lost in the music. But today, he couldn’t focus enough to channel the energy to the grain of HEART stone in his wrist. He should have been practicing some of the pieces for upcoming events, but his mind was not at ease. He kept going over everything that had happened just a few hours ago, but the sound of his wife throwing up again was really distracting.

  He stood as the bathroom door opened and his wife walked out looking wan. “Are you sick JorMelony? Maybe you should go see the energy PHY.”

  “No, I’m alright. I think that you and I just need to take some energy together here at home and then practice,” she said shortly.

  “Fine.” JorRobert held out his hand to his wife and they knelt together at the HEART stone altar. The unhappy couple placed their hands on the cool white stone and together they recited the prayer, “And the HEART provides for them that they hunger not neither should they thirst; yea, and she also gives them strength, that they suffer no manner of afflictions.”

  The white HEART stone began to glow with a soft blue light that gathered around their hands and then traveled up their arms with smallest sparks of blue light running in and out of their bodies. They took sharp breaths in and exhaled, sighing as the energy soothed their physical and emotional problems. The light withdrew from their bodies, leaving them with a feeling of warmth and happiness.

  “I feel badly about the way I spoke to you earlier. It was unbecoming of a son of the HEART,” JorRobert confessed to his wife.

  “I’m sorry I snapped at you, my husband.” JorMelony stood up first, leaned over, and kissed her husband on the top of his head. “I really think that I should go see an energy PHY because I still don’t feel well. Is it ok if we practice together a little later?”

  “That’s fine,” he said with a smile. “I need to commune with the HEART about the upcoming music events and how our band can best serve the community.”

  “Sounds good,” JorMelony said and kissed him on the lips this time. She hurried through the front door before JorRobert had the chance to stand from the altar.

  JorRobert knelt for just a few moments more, enjoying the warm sensation of having just taken energy, when he saw the flash of a message appearing on the HEART stone.

  “JorRobert. HEART’s greeting. This is an urgent message from the Ambassador. Councilor Jude told you that I would be in contact with you. There is a big problem with which I need your help. Your wife’s sister DraDonna and her husband DraDevon have gone energy mad in the worst possible way. I will need your help to stop them from what they plan to do.”

  With concern wrinkling in his forehead, he placed just his right hand on the far corner of the HEART stone.

  “Ambassador, HEART’s greeting. This is JorRobert. What has happened? I will do what I can to help, of course.” He knew that his words would appear on the Ambassador’s HEART stone.

  “There are things that the HEART wants you to do to help fix this situation and you will have to do them without question. Please come to my office and I will give you more details at that time. HEART’s blessing.”

  “HEART’s blessing,” he replied, as the glow of the stone faded.

  Now even more concerned, JorRobert got to his feet, walking quickly out of his house and up the road. He passed the Dra home on his way to the Ambassador’s office. He stopped for a moment to look at the house and the shop, wondering why they went energy mad. Everyone loved the energy. Who would voluntarily give it up? He reminded himself after all that this was DraDonna and she was the only one he knew of who didn’t like to use the energy in her work. Why she did things the hard way was a mystery to him and everyone else who knew her, including the Ambassador.

  This thought reminded him that the Ambassador said that this was urgent, so he jogged quickly up the road to the temple office, a little scared and a little excited about what he was going to hear. He approached the office door with a tingle of anticipation of the things he would be told to do. He made up his mind to do whatever the HEART asked of him as he knocked.

  “Come in,” called the unexpectedly high voice of First Councilor Jude.

  JorRobert opened the door looking surprised. “HEART’s greeting First Councilor Jude. I received a message from the Ambassador to come here to discuss an urgent matter.”

  “Yes, you did JorRobert. He called me here from my community as well on the same matter.”

  “Did he explain to you what’s going on?” JorRobert asked the First Councilor, his curiosity heightened.

  “Yes, it’s all very sad that two such talented and cherished children of the HEART can go so wrong. The HEART has not seen such madness in hundreds of years.”

  “I mean no disrespect First Councilor Jude, but why is the Ambassador not here?”

  “No disrespect has been perceived JorRobert. Ambassador Symon is in the temple communing directly with the HEART on this. So he called me here to help handle this.” The First Councilor continued, “He told me all the details and asked me to tell you everything… as well as give you this.” She held out a necklace much like the one that was given to DraDonna and DraDevon. Instead of the HEART stone pendant strung on a fabric cord, it was strung on a lovely chain made of a yellow ore that he didn’t recognize. “Please, put it on,” the First Councilor said with a smile.

  He took it from her hand. “Why has he given such a rare gift to me?” JorRobert asked in awe of this beautiful endowment.

  “This necklace is a gift from the HEART and her servant, the Ambassador, to a good and loyal child of the HEART,” she said, walking around behind him. “Let me help you with it.”

  He pulled the chain up around his neck, holding the ends so she could take them.

  She pulled the ends a little closer to her, putting them together. She then focused and channeled the energy down to both arms, intensifying the energy with the grains of HEART stone that she as a Councilor of the HEART had implanted in both wrists. The energy channeled to the thumb and forefinger on each hand, she let out a short intense burst. This fused the two ends together, causing a small wave of energy to travel down the chain to the HEART stone pendant hanging just below the hollow of his throat. It warmed up and glowed slightly.

  “AH!” JorRobert called out in surprise.

  “Keep this close to your skin at all times. This necklace is gift, but wearing it is also an oath of obedience. Serve well and it will give you a special link to the HEART’s energy,” First Councilor Jude explained sweetly.

  JorRobert took a deep breath in. “Again Councilor Jude, I mean no disrespect. But I was told that everything would be explained. Just what does the Ambassador think that DraDonna and DraDevon are going to do?”

  “I will explain everything in its proper order,” she began to sound a little irritated. “First of all, you need to do something special that will strengthen your body and mind.” She reached into one of the pockets of her black robe that marked her as a servant of the HEART and pulled out the sprig of a plant, handing it to him. “Eat this plant. It is called Traveler’s Joy. It is a gift of the HEART and will enhance the energy. Eat a good sized sprig of it every time you use the energy for any reason.”

  “What does it taste like?” JorRobert inquired, looking closely at the plant.

  “It is sharp, then sweet. Go ahead JorRobert.”


  He put the plant in his mouth, chewed quickly, and swallowed. Then Councilor Jude continued her explanation.

  “So, the rest of what I was told to pass along to you is that DraDonna and DraDevon have, for reasons unknown, stopped taking the energy and have gone energy mad.”

  “I know this already.” JorRobert felt a little irritated at her for repeating this information again, but one look from her and he ducked his head in embarrassment for having spoken so impolitely to a servant of the HEART. “I’m sorry. Please continue.”

  “Yes,” she said, not sounding as offended as he thought she would be. “Ambassador Symon has uncovered a plot that the two of them have come up with in their madness. They plan to force the HEART to let the two of them rule or they will kill her.”

  “What!” Shocked at this news, JorRobert said, “I admit that I have thought that DraDonna is a bit off, but for her to even think of doing this…”

  “I know, JorRobert. I myself am shocked by this. I really care for DraDonna, but I know it to be true. Her madness needs to be stopped.”

  “But the HEART, she is our MOTHER, our GOD. No one can kill her, not even the maddest person on our planet can do that!”

  “Of course she cannot be killed! But that doesn’t mean that DraDonna and DraDevon will not do irreversible damage to all our communities with their plan. This is why we need your help. They must be stopped,” she said fervently.

  “You can count on me, Councilor Jude. Whatever you need me to do,” he promised with the light of conviction in his dark eyes.

  “You are such a good, dedicated son of the HEART,” she said soothingly. “We have a couple out there by the name of TynLexa and TynTomus, also good dedicated people like yourself. They are watching and will try to stop them if need be, but we need someone here to monitor what is going on out there with this special EDU stone.” She handed him the smaller version of what all families have in their homes. “Please, make yourself comfortable here in the temple office and let us know if anything happens through energy message.”