Atlantis (39 page)

Had something gone wrong?
I’d done as instructed, but this wasn’t were I was trying to be. But it wasn’t my meadow either. Wherever I was, it was a peaceful place. I should be scared to death, but something was oddly familiar about my surroundings. The mist was strange but comforting, and I didn’t know why.

“
Lilly.” A voice called from somewhere in the distance.

I looked around but couldn’t see anyone.

“
Lilly.” This time it was closer and familiar.

In a blink of an eye, I was back in my meadow. I was no longer standing but laying down with the warm rays of the sun shining down on me.

“
Lilly?”

I sat up. The sudden change in my surroundings was dizzying. I had to lean back against the tombstone for support as I tried to figure out what had just happened.

How did I get on the ground when a second ago I was standing? And who was that voice?

Before I could even finish my thought, the answer was right in front of me, Sophie.

“
Hey Soph. What are you doing here?”

She looked at me. I was confused and obviously shaken up, leaning on the stone for support. “I’m looking for you.” She gave me another good look. “Are you okay?” Too bad mini-mom was an observant little thing. I lied. “Yeah, I’m good.” I stood up as I talked. “Why were you looking for me? Do you need something?”

“
No. Mom’s after me to get dirt on you and Nicholas.”

“
And you are!”

“
Nope. I just thought I’d offer my services. Do you need anything?”

What a good little sister I have. I smiled. “Thanks Soph, but I’m good.”

The look on her face let me know she didn’t buy my lies for a second. But she didn’t push me either. “Okay then. I love you.” She gave me a hug and left.

“
I love you too,” I whispered as she walked away.

I sat down on the nearest stone to reevaluate my plan.
What had happened? Had I projected? If so, where had I gone? Was I doing something wrong? Why the mist?
As my mind ran away from me, the warm summer sun started to get quite hot. The sun’s rays on my skin broke me from my revere. I needed to go home. Maybe that would help me clear my head.

At half past seven, after surviving another round of interrogation at dinner, I asked Meredith if I could borrow the car to go for a drive. The look my mother gave me when I told her I was going alone made it clear she didn’t believe me, but she let me borrow the car anyway.

Even when I do tell the truth, I think I give off a vibe that I’m lying. I don’t get it. I did want to be alone. Because I had thought of a plan.

After getting home earlier today, I was thinking about projecting, flipping through my journal, and looking at the pictures from my camera conversations with Elliott trying to see if I was missing something when I realized a common theme, water.

It always seemed to be present in my dreams. A constant thing that kept coming up in the background. Especially in the really vivid dreams and memories. There was the steam in the bathroom, the underground lake, the cliffs by the sea, the bathtub, and the waterfall. I even found it hidden in the ink blotches from one of our first camera conversations - Water is the key. Nope, tonight I was alone. Tonight I was on a mission. And water was going to help me. Water
is
the key and it was going to help me project tonight.

I turned up the private road that led to the waterfall Nicholas had brought me to. Stepping from the car, I realized I was shaking. I was an overflowing combination of emotions. Excitement and fear, overwhelmingly happy and nervous all at the same time.

“
This is going to work” I told myself as I got closer to the sound of the falling water. “Water is the key.”

I looked up at the pink and orange sky as I approached my destination. It was a little past eight and the sun was starting to set. The soft sounds of nature were all I could hear, and that sound filled me with a feeling of calm. I was on the right path. I was close. And I could feel it.

I couldn’t see trying to project from within the little pool of water at the base of the falls. It was too deep. I rolled up my pant legs and slid off my flip-flops as I thought of my options.

There was a low flat rock on the ground by the pool with soft wild grasses growing all around it. I sat on the rock and let my legs dangle in the cool water. It was perfect. Earth and water at the same time. This was definitely going to work. Scrunching up my hoodie into a pillow and laying it in the grass behind me, I noticed I was still shaking. Every cell in my body was overflowing with potential energy. I smiled as I lay back, closed my eyes, and thought of Elliott.

I didn’t have time to go through the process of relaxing. My body was ready. And before I knew it I could feel the rush of air all around me. I was free falling from nowhere and on my way to my love.

I opened my eyes to Elliott’s beaming smile as he took me in his arms. “You did it Lil! You really did it!”

The tingles of energy I felt as our bodies touched was nothing compared to the overflowing happiness radiating from him. He kissed me. It wasn’t as sensual as the other kisses but the tingles were more intense. He gave my lip a playful little nibble before looking down at me asking, “Do you want to try something fun?”

The sparkle in his eyes would make anyone have a difficult time resisting. But there was also something mischievous in his smile.

“
What did you have in mind?” I asked cautiously.

He took both my hands in his. His thumb seemed to automatically rub my opal. I looked up into his eyes. “What is it Elliott?”

He smiled down at me and gave me a sweet, tender peck on the lips. “Close your eyes, Miele.”

I looked up at him confused.

“
Please.”

I sighed deep and complied.

Elliott, so soft, brushed his lips across mine. I shivered. “Now feel with your senses mia amore.”

I did as instructed. I could feel the tingles radiating from our clasped hands. I could feel the soft swirling air carrying all the scents of my meadow around as if in a dance. Then I noticed that even with my eyes closed I could see. It wasn’t like seeing with my eyes open, but it was definitely seeing. I saw tiny dots of brown, green, purple and yellow swirling around me on the misty white breeze. Occasionally the colored dots would burst and a fresh wave of scent would percolate the air. Wood, grass, flowers, and moonlight. I could see scent!

I opened my eyes and looked deep into Elliott’s green eyes. “Wow,” was all I could say.

He smiled down at me. “Wow is right. Now please close your eyes again.”

I did as he asked and closed my eyes on one world, only to open them with my
new sight
to another.

“
Now Lilly.”

“
Yes?”

He paused. “Can you see, me?”

I concentrated on Elliott with my new sense of sight. And I
could
see him too. Only he was more glorious than ever. He looked like he normally did. He was still tall with hair the color of chocolate. His smile was still radiating. His body lean and muscular. But something about him seemed to glow. It was like nature was showcasing a work of art in the magic of moonlight. That’s when I realized I was looking at his soul. And it was beautiful.

I looked into his sparkling emerald eyes and could see the rainbow’s array of color within them. He looked back into mine and winked. “Bene Miele. Now see if you can follow me.” He kissed my hand in a dramatic gesture and disappeared before my eyes!

I opened my eyes and circled around. I couldn’t see him anywhere. I was in my astral meadow all alone. Something inside told me to close my eyes and look around through
those
eyes. I did, and after circling around twice I noticed I kept being drawn in the same direction. I couldn’t see Elliott, but every fiber of my being told me it was him I was being drawn to.

I turned my ring around so the opal was facing my palm. I clasped my hands tight into fists and concentrated on Elliott. I thought of him. His hair, his eyes, the texture of his hands, the smell of his skin and before I knew what even happened I was falling. But this time was different. This time I could see the texture and smell of the air that swirled around me as I fell. And I could feel Elliott’s energy getting closer.

When the falling sensation ceased I couldn’t see. My heart started to race when I felt the warm touch of Elliott hands on my shoulder.

“
Open your eyes Lilly.”

My eyelids cracked open to a positively radiant smile. “What just happened?”

“
You projected.”

“
But why can’t I see with my eyes closed here?”

“
Because we aren’t on an astral plane anymore.”

My eyes peered out the corners as I tried to look around without leaving my already fabulous view of his face. It was dark here, but light too. The moon shone big and bright overhead lighting the scene. All I could make out were a lot of greyed greens, blues, and some browns. That is when something dark moved in my peripheral vision on my left and reflexively I turned and followed it. I fell back at what I saw.

Not a hundred feet from me, a wolf stood at the edge of a forest. It seemed to be assessing me. I was too afraid to take my eyes off of the regal and very intimidating creature. I felt back until my hand found what it was looking for, Elliott’s. His laugh broke my gaze.

“
Why are you laughing?”

“
Why not?”

I looked back to where the wolf stood moments before, but there was now nothing. “...the wolf?”