The Dreamweaver

by Nancy Joseph Peterson

  Niviane’s blackened soul had embraced the dark arts, and ironically with her newly acquired charm of making, her power was unimaginable. Her first vengeful act had been summarily directed at the one she blamed for all her trouble; Myrddin.

  Feeling death would have been too easy for him, she’d found a way to torment him for an eternity.

  The spell Niviane had used to enslave Myrddin had gone something like this;

  “One-hundred times one-hundred Myrddin Emrys shall wait, with only the dreams of others to be his fate…”

  Niviane’s chanting had gone on and on as the web of her spell surrounded him body and spirit. He’d struggled and fought against her enhanced power as a druid witch, but ultimately he’d been trapped as a dreamweaver in a cold dimension untouchable by time, and as had been foretold; the dreams of others had been his fate ... until now. He smiled with satisfaction.

  Niviane’s anger had not lessened since they’d fought some two hundred weaver-room years earlier in Caerfyrddin, Wales. The response she’d given him was just what he’d hoped for; she’d overturned the spell by saying one simple word, ‘Yes’ and thus releasing the casting urn to his command once more … he was free, at least for the moment, to leave the weavers room and from her spell of confinement.

  Myrddin jumped up and ran to Anna’s loom, pulling a strand of his hair as he went, he wound it around a needle to weave into her dream, and to assure he could find her anywhere, he cut off a small corner of her tapestry with a knife, and stuck it in his pocket.

  Smiling, he remembered something else, he quickly changed his attire with the sweep of his hand, and looking at his reflection in his looking glass, he was as pleased as he hoped Anna would be upon seeing him in his best ‘Mr. Darcy’ attire.

  The final thing he did before leaving was to place a ward around his casting vat as a sort of a trip thread that would let him know if anyone entered the room in his absence.

  Myrddin then smiled, “Anna, you’re about to have a visitor!”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Family

  December 2nd. The train ride from the city to Cooperstown, west of Albany, was going to take more time than usual. The many stops, people getting on and off, made it a longer, more bumpy journey.

  Anna gazed out at the landscape sweeping by her in a blur of fading Autumnal colour. Her overnight bag, along with a new kitty carrier containing a not too happy Py, sat next to her on an unoccupied seat.

  Anna smiled, her mother would be happy to meet Py, but only after a well acted show of disapproval. She would fuss a bit about the litter box (which Anna intended to establish in the laundry room) and she’d comment on Anna’s status as a woman living alone with a cat in an apartment. Everyone would laugh, Anna would pretend to pout, and Py would commence with rubbing against everyone’s legs in a show of affection for his new extended family.

  Anna looked around the nearly empty car, and carefully took Py out of his carrier, “Sorry, Py.” She murmured softly, as she stroked him to relive his anxiety, and with only a small growl of protest at his previous confinement, he relaxed into the steady rocking motion of the train and curled onto Anna’s lap. Anna resumed rereading her favourite book, Pride and Prejudice, as Py napped contentedly with Anna’s book perched neatly on his back.

  The sunlight, waning in the late autumn evening, gave way to night as Anna checked her watch, 5:45.

  Only a few minutes before arriving at her station, Anna rehoused a disgruntled Py into his carrier, and gathered her belongings to meet her bother Andy, who’d promised to pick her up at 6:10.

  “I’m only twenty minutes late!” came Andy’s cheerful voice as he spotted Anna waiting outside the station, surrounded by her bags, one of which was moving in annoyance.

  Anna smiled, “Guess your watch is as slow as you these days, I got here forty minutes ago.” Anna’s mock anger was belied by her grin, and the kiss she gave her bother’s cheek as she was caught in his fierce hug.

  “Yeah, well some things never change — like you and cats.” Andy feigned disapproval as he nodded towards the now meowing carrier, “Mom’s gonna have a fit!” He lifted the carrier, staring into Py’s unflinching yellow gaze.

  “No way, Mom loves cats! She always let me have cats at home, I bet she secretly misses them as much as she does us!” Anna exclaimed taking the carrier from Andy, and clutching it to her chest in mock defence of her pet.

  “We’ll see. She’ll probably like it more than she did my new girlfriend anyway.” Andy said dismally as he loaded her bags into the back seat of his car.

  “So, didn’t go well then?” Anna asked with interest as she settled into Andy’s car with Py snuggled on her lap.

  “Well, it wasn’t all bad, I guess. The worst was when she called Elle, ‘Marnie.'” Andy shuddered recalling the cringeworthy moment.

  “No, she didn’t!” Anna laughed, “That is so Mom. What happened with Marnie anyway, she seemed nice.” Anna snapped the seat belt into place and turned to face her brother.

  “It wasn’t really serious, we just kind of drifted apart. She’s fine, in fact it was … umm, sort of Marnie that introduced me to Elle.” Andy said sheepishly as he stole a quick glance at his sister to gage her reaction.

  “Wow. Andy, seriously? You’re now dating one of your ex’s friends? You gotta know that’s like some sort of unwritten rule of bad-boy behaviour and some seriously bad karma!” Anna laughed, and punched Andy’s arm good-naturedly.

  “I know … but I just couldn’t help myself. Elle is hot.” Andy wiped his brow to illustrate his overheated libido, “Oh, and she’s smart too…” he added as an afterthought grinning boyishly.

  “MEN!” Anna said with exasperation, “Andy, you’re all alike! If you weren’t my brother I’d tell this new one what to expect.”

  “Really, Anna, Elle is special. You wait and see. I can’t wait for you to meet her. This may be the real thing for me.” Andy’s voice took on a tone that that Anna knew to be sincere and she softened.

  “Okay, bro. I get it. No worries, I am sure I’ll love her.” Anna adored her two big brothers, and she dearly wanted them to be happy. Andy and she had always had a special relationship; being the closest in age and sharing secrets as children. Nothing had really changed as they’d grown into adults.

  “Good, that’s settled then! I’m bringing her to dinner later tonight.” Andy grinned happily, “She’s meeting all of you this time; Dad and Alex will be there too.”

  Alex was their eldest brother and a recent graduate from his last year at medical school and he was as smart as he was handsome. Anna guessed he’d be nabbed by some lucky girl too soon and then she’d be the old-maid Auntie to all their beautiful children.

  “Poor girl. Hope she still likes you after dinner.” Anna teased, “We can be a little overwhelming in one dose…” Anna thought of the large, happy everyone-speaks-at-once family that she knew and loved.

  Anna relished the easy banter between herself and her brothers. She knew of families who had grown apart as adults or due to divorced parents, and was grateful that they’d all remained close — although at times it had it’s drawbacks; such as what she anticipated was coming next.

  “So what about your love-life? Anyone new I need to beat up?” Andy teased in a not entirely joking manner.

  “Really, Andy, you are so predictable. I wondered how long it would be before you’d ask.” Anna smiled, “I have nothing new to report, other than my boss who can get a little too close at times.” Anna regretted saying it almost as soon as it came out of her mouth.

  “Right. I’ll go have a ‘talk’ with the guy. Alexander isn’t it? Rich guy who’s Daddy left him a business? He needs his attitude adjusted.” Andy said with a growl.

  “No, Andy, I’ve got it. I am handling it, really don’t worry. I am a big girl, it’s no big deal.” Anna quickly added to hopefully get her six foot, four inch brother off the scent.

  “Seriously, Anna, you’re beautiful and men are all after
the same thing...I know!” He grinned, “You’re just a kid, and kinda puny too...” Andy pinched her slender bicep playfully, but seeing her mouth narrow into a scowl, he relented, “Okay, for now. But I think I’ll stop by next week and take you to lunch. Wouldn’t hurt for the guy to see me. I’ll give him the 'eye.'”

  The ‘eye,’ as Anna recalled, was scary. Anna’s big brother could be intimidating when he choose, and the eye thing was effective in chasing off men, some unwanted ones as well as a few she hadn’t wanted chased away. Anna had seen it in action when she’d had boy trouble in college.

  “All right, Andy, but tone it down a little, okay? I don’t want him to be afraid to speak to me, he is my boss.” Anna admonished with a smile, “I think if you just make an appearance, maybe with your arm over my shoulders, would be enough.”

  Andy smiled, “So, big mean boyfriend instead of big mean brother? Got it, what about Thursday.”

  “No, sorry, I’ve got to go to San Francisco Wednesday and Thursday. Friday is good though.” Anna replied happily thinking this may just be a truly inspired idea.

  “Set. Just remind me to make a note on my phone to alert me…or I might be late.” Andy stole a quick glance and winked at his sister.

  Anna smiled back at him as they pulled into the long driveway that led to their family home.

  The aromas wafting up from the kitchen downstairs, and into to Anna’s small nose, made her mouth water. Mom’s pasta was renowned, at least within Cooperstown, as the best to be had for miles around.

  The introduction of Py went well; it hadn’t hurt that Anna had named him from an old movie that she and her mother both loved. Py was now firmly installed as an extended member of the family and was happily cuddled on one of Anna’s old stuffed bears.

  Anna finished unpacking, checked her hair and applied a dab more lipgloss before hurrying downstairs and into the spacious kitchen.

  “Mom, whatever you’re cooking smells great!” Anna grabbed a spoon from the drawer and dipped the tip into the bubbling sauce.

  “So, what do you think?” Her mother asked, knowing her sauce was perfect.

  “Perfect.” Came Anna’s expected reply, as she smacked her lips, “Can I do anything to help?”

  Tying a little apron around her daughter’s small waist she replied, “What about the salad? Check the fridge, there should be loads of fresh veg, oh and make that nice dressing that you do so well too.”

  Anna smiled, the ‘dressing’ was a recipe her mother had taught her long ago, and had become ‘Anna’s Dressing’ only after her mother had proclaimed Anna’s better than any she’d ever made. Thereafter it was always Anna’s job when tossed salads were on the menu.

  Anna gathered the fresh vegetables and began chopping, “Mom, do you dream much when you sleep?” she asked, keeping her eyes on her task to avoid adding fingers to the salad.

  “Sometimes, usually after I’ve eaten too late or had a really stressful day. Why do you ask?” As she briefly checked her daughter’s eyes to see if dark circles were present, “Are you having trouble sleeping? You know your brother’s a doctor now, he could give you something.” The pride in her voice was evident, having a son complete medical school and start his residency at a prestigious hospital was no small accomplishment, as well as giving her quite a lot of street cred amongst her bridge club friends.

  “I’m sleeping great. In fact, better than I can ever remember.” Anna mused aloud, “The dreams I have are amazing — seriously good, but the weird thing is I remember them vividly, sort of like they’d really happened, Py is even in them.” Anna paused in her chopping and added a few more tomatoes to the growing mix.

  “Well, I’m no expert, but Margo from my yoga class, says dreams are a window into our soul, so I guess if your dreams are pleasant, that’s a really good thing, right?” Anna’s mom wiped her hands on her apron and drained the steaming pasta into a colander in the sink.

  “Yeah, I guess so. I don’t exactly dread going to sleep, in fact sometimes my dreams are the highlight of my day.” Anna instantly regretted an implication that her mother would doubtless pick up on.

  “Oh, Anna, I wish you’d move back home. Cooperstown is so much better now, I’m sure you could find a good job and maybe even start seeing that nice boy, what was he called…” she tapped her temple, trying to recall his name, “I remember! Trey Hamilton - I think his family still lives over on Maple Street!”

  “Geeze, Mom. Seriously? I ‘dated’ him in high school and we never really got along that well. Don’t you remember our phone-fights? You and Dad used to pick-up the other line to tell him to stop calling and go to bed.” Anna chopped a cucumber in half with more gusto than needed, “No, that’s a road I’m not going down again, thanks.” Anna stopped chopping for a moment to kiss her Mothers pouting cheek, “Besides, I have a great job, sort of, and a great apartment, well sort of again, but still I’m doing great and I’m even going on my first business trip next Wednesday.” Anna dropped that little bombshell knowing it would throw her mother off her current train of thought.

  “A business-trip! My goodness, aren’t you becoming your Daddy’s daughter!” Anna had forgotten that business-trips were a sore subject because about four years ago, Anna’s father had engaged in a brief fling with a client in Chicago. He’d stopped the affair and confessed to his wife, but it had ended their marriage of thirty-two years, and left Anna’s parents dealing with the aftermath as two single people who, Anna believed, were still very much in love.

  “It’s San Francisco and I’ve always wanted to visit the West Coast, so I’m really looking forward to next week. My flight is early, so I’ll get there noonish and should have my meetings over by four or five o’clock, and the rest of the evening to myself.” Anna smiled happily at the thought of being a business-woman, staying at a four-star hotel, and even having a fairly good expense account!

  “Oh Anna, be careful.” Anna’s mother placed her palm against Anna’s cheek, “You are so pretty and with that long blond hair, you attract men like bees to honey!”

  “Mom! Really?” Anna took her mother’s hand in her own and said, “I’ll be fine…I live in New York, and you know that city is as bad as it gets for wolf calls and guys who don’t know when to stop. If you think it would help, I could cut my hair and dye it a nice, safe mousey brown...” Anna paused smiling cheekily as she pulled her long blond hair over her shoulder and pretended to cut it with a scissors finger motion.

  “Don’t you dare!” Anna’s mom exclaimed, “Your hair is so beautiful and frames your lovely face perfectly! Oh, you...you’re teasing me again!” Anna’s mom swatted her with a towel just as Alex stuck his head around the door.

  “Safe to come in?” He asked, grinning as he came into the fragrant kitchen to give his mother a warm hug, and picking up his petite sister to twirl her around the room.

  Giggling, Anna screamed, “Put me down, you’ll break something…like my arm!” Anna’s feet touched the floor and she made an attempt to stomp his foot. Alex dodged and grabbed her hand, pulling her out onto the porch at the rear of the kitchen.

  “So, have you met Elle? Andy called me and demanded that I make it for dinner tonight. She must be special or he has BIG news or something.” Alex paused, “You don’t think it’s already serious do you?” Alex’s somber brown eyes regarded Anna thoughtfully.

  “I don’t think they’re quite there yet, but I don’t know. He told me she’s ‘special’ so that could mean anything. I’m sure he wouldn’t make a big decision without talking with one of us first…would he?” Anna’s question went unawnsered as two sets of headlights shone coming up the driveway to the house.

  “Well, I guess we’ll know soon.” Alex concluded, “Better go see Dad and meet the new sister-in-law.” He teased as they went back in the kitchen to greet everyone as they came inside.

  Dinner went well — and no announcement, other than the subliminal ones that Andy and Elle displayed by their constant touching and little secret
smiles to one another. Elle was lovely, Andy had been right. Anna could see her fitting in with the family with no trouble at all. She’d helped with the clean-up, and after desert sat on the front porch, bundled in quilts, snuggling with Andy while sharing a cold beer and watching the moon rise.

  Anna’s father had, as always, taken his place at the head of the table and the eye contact between he and his ex-wife was almost as heated as the looks between the younger couple at the table. He’d stayed for hours and her parents had talked quietly in the living room as their children cleaned up.

  Anna smiled happily as she snuggled further into to her bed, remembering the moment happily. Perhaps her parents would make an announcement before Andy did! At least it seemed to be going the right direction if their body language could be trusted.