The Watchers Trilogy: Awakening

by Karice Bolton

  *****

  Cyril lugged the last box of decorations into the family room, and Arie was quickly opening up each box. I’d never seen so many decorations before for a private residence, maybe for a hotel. There was one box with red satin covers spilling out from it along with silver rope. I had no idea what that was for. The next box had an assortment of at least forty different angels of various sizes and colors. Kind of ironic, I thought. The next box that was intriguing had items in it that looked like nothing but Christmas candy and cookies, but that couldn’t be. There were pinwheels, gingerbread men, and gingerbread houses all glistening with rays of light bouncing in every direction. I walked over closer so that I could get a better look. What I saw was mesmerizing. What looked like actual cookies and candies were hundreds of hand blown glass ornaments with red tissue surrounding them all. Tiny specks of crystal representing sugar were sprinkled all over the tiny ornaments. The sunlight coming in through all of the windows caught the glass in such a way that they all sparkled with a great intensity; it was like a fairyland. These were definitely my favorite decorations so far. I didn’t want to put them back down. They seemed so familiar. The room became very silent. I wasn’t sure why. I looked up and began to back away from the box. Everyone’s eyes were filled with tears.

  “What’s up, guys?” I asked hesitantly.

  I saw Athen move towards me with his eyes pushing back tears, a huge smile appearing.

  “Those were yours,” he told me.

  “These were my favorite even back then?” I asked.

  “Kind of. You created those. You made all of those ornaments.”

  I was completely shocked. I had no idea that I ever had a talent like this. I wonder if I could still pick it up. The delicate glass in front of me was so gorgeous. It was hard to believe that I had anything to do with creating something so intricate. I walked back over to the box, picking up the gingerbread and sure enough I saw my initials on it. My body went numb. I placed the ornament gently back in the box so nothing happened to it. My body slumped to the floor with the realization of an entire life that I was still learning to relive. I had no recollection of making these. No memories were flooding into my mind as in times before. I felt desperate for answers that I was not getting. I hoped I’d be able to remember creating these. Athen came up behind me, touching my shoulders gingerly.

  “You’ll remember in time, Ana. You will. It takes time.”

  I couldn’t reply. I hoped he was right. I had to trust. Something I wasn’t used to doing in my most recent of existences. I leaned back against him, admiring the tremendous view outside, which brought an overwhelming amount of tranquility.

  “I’m so glad we are here for the holiday. It’s the perfect place to be,” I said, looking at everybody.

  “It does have that effect,” Arie said, as she patted Cyril’s knee. Everyone had repositioned themselves in the family room. Cyril was sitting on the sectional. Arie was on the floor in front of him. Probably because they weren’t sure what my reaction to the ornaments would be. I certainly had a lot of learning to do about my past, but it was refreshing to know that I had a family here to support me. The stone fireplace continued to throw off a nice amount of warmth, which Matilda found sometime during the process of bringing in all of the decorations. She was snoring hard so I knew she was at home. Cyril got up heading for the kitchen, rustling around. I was wondering what he was up to.

  “Time to start the mulled cider. Don’t you think? We’ve got a good thing we can add into it later if needed.”

  I looked around the room and saw the fluffy, green tree placed in between the corner windows. The boxes scattered everywhere exploding with tissue paper and ornaments added a sense of urgency. Unfortunately, the floor pillows looked so welcoming. I wondered why I was getting so tired all of a sudden. I glanced up at the wooden, framed clock that hung near the kitchen. It was a quarter to eleven. I had only been up a couple of hours. I wondered if more memories were trying to make their way back in or not. I figured I had a little time before the cider was going to be ready so I reached out for one of the extra-large red, velour pillows and wrapped my arms around it. I settled into my comfort only to match my breathing to that of Matilda’s heading into a sleep far away from anything that I could relate to.

  The imagery that was infiltrating every crevice of my mind was overwhelming. The memories were coming in faster than I had ever experienced before. I saw flashes of a stone building with what looked like a stone furnace. Then there was a field with a large home on it with a wraparound porch, with a bench. I saw several animals off in the fields, but I couldn’t recognize what they were. I saw a flash of a horse carriage coming down a gravel road. A pain was surfacing similar to the one from the initial reintroduction process. It was gone in an instant. I saw Arie cooking in a kitchen that looked as if it was from the 40’s. I couldn’t understand why the different eras were being brought in so jumbled. I saw Arie collapsing in tears. Then the images went away. My mind went blank. I could feel Athen’s hand caressing my hair, helping to wake me up gently.

  My eyes were opening to awake my senses to the sweetness of mulled apple cider drifting in. Matilda was laying next to me on the floor. I began to feel very sheepish as it became apparent what must have happened. I saw Arie, Cyril, and Athen all on the sectional waiting. I thought I had been out for an hour, which made me feel even worse for taking time away from the planned decorating.

  “Hey, sleepyhead,” Athen said, “How are you doing?”

  “How long was I out? It felt like ages.”

  “Actually, only about twenty minutes,” Cyril replied, looking at his watch, “Barely enough time to let the cider warm up.”

  “Wow, that was intense,” I said, as I tried to get back up without waking Matilda. “Believe it or not, I’m ready to keep on trucking. I’m so sorry about that guys. I don’t know where that came from.”

  “Don’t apologize, Ana. This process isn’t an overnight one. We know what to expect. We want to help you along the way.”

  “Well, thanks. It’s a little embarrassing. Let’s move on for now. I’m ready to get back at it.”

  “Are you sure? It’s no big deal. We can wait.” Arie promised.

  “No, really. I think I’m ok, but I would like a cup of that awesome smelling cider now.”

  All three of them jumped off the sectional, making me laugh pretty hard. I began going through the boxes again, hoping not to find such a poignant treasure like before -enough surprises for the day. Cyril went into the kitchen to grab a mug of cider for me, while Arie went over to the stereo to plug in her iTunes with a pre-populated Christmas playlist, no doubt. Athen began rearranging some of the boxes, but he certainly was staying very close to me, which I appreciated deep inside.

  The delicious smell of the turkey roasting reached every corner of the house, as did the Christmas music that Arie had picked out. Between the smells and the sounds, I couldn’t wait for Thanksgiving dinner and was in awe at how much decorating we had accomplished in the short amount of time. Any surface that was bare now had a Christmas Angel, Nutcracker or Snowman on it. I was amazed at the several different types of table arrangements she had. Some were on the breakfast bar, end tables, and bookshelves. Pine garlands were thrown everywhere with little red berries peaking out from in between the branches. Even Scrooge would have had to come around to the Christmas spirit with Arie around. I was, also, informed that she had equally as many decorations awaiting us in Whistler.

  The thought of Whistler made me wonder if I would be staying at my place or back at theirs. I was hoping it would be their place, not that I didn’t love my place. Maybe by then Athen would stay over at my place. It didn’t matter where I was as long as Athen was involved.

  It was getting close to mealtime, but I suddenly became exhausted. This many hours of decorating seemed to take its toll.

 
; “Hey, I think I’m going to go up and lay down for a little bit before dinner. I’ve gotten extremely tired.” I grabbed Athen’s hand as he was placing the last bit of garland around the entry mirror.

  “Yeah, no problem. Want some company?” His eyes looked hopeful.

  I didn’t want to let him down, but I really needed rest, and who knows what my emotions would want me to do if he was laying next to me.

  “No, I think I’m good. I’m gonna crash for a few. I’ll be back before you know it.” I winked at him as I moved up the stairs.

  As I turned into my bedroom, I looked at my comforter with such longing. I couldn’t wait to snuggle underneath it and rest for a few minutes, only a few minutes. I could barely keep my eyes open. Hopefully, I wasn’t coming down with the flu or something. I called for Matilda to jump on up which she did without missing a beat. Before I knew it I was fast asleep welcoming more horrors into my life.