Awakening (26 page)

“
Sorry, Ana. We didn’t want to freak you out any more than we had.” Cyril tried to assure me. “It seems to be a theme.”

“
I appreciate that. I do, but I would prefer to know. If that’s alright with you.” I looked around the kitchen at each of them and got a slow nod of agreement.

“
Thanks! Now back to chopping. I have got to see what all Arie has planned for decorating.”

*****

Cyril lugged the last box of decorations into the family room, and Arie was quickly opening up each box. I had never seen so many decorations before, at least 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 40 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 little glass 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 too?” I asked.

“
Kind of. You actually 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 was further away than I thought. I had no recollection of making these. No memories were flooding into my memory as in times before. I felt desperate for answers that I was not getting. I hoped I would 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 we need.”

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 11. 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 40s. 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 at least 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 20 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 up Matilda again, “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 i-tunes 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 wonderfully delicious smell of the turkey roasting reached every corner of the house, as did the Christmas music that Arie had picked out so carefully. 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 all of a sudden.” 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 at this point. 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.

******

I woke up in a sudden panic. My heart was pounding. My head was burning. I had no idea what was happening. It was dark outside so I must have slept for a little longer than I thought. It’s at least 3:45 pm or so since that is when it first gets dark. I tried to turn my head, but the pain was excruciating. I reached down for Matilda and found her with my hand. I knew I needed help but wasn’t sure yelling would do much in a house this large. This was not a dream. This was real. The pain was far more debilitating than even the reintroduction process. The pain was getting worse by the second. My fingers began to lose feeling. The numbness began to slowly creep up my hand and slowly began to spread to my wrist leaving a trail of coldness in its journey. I began to holler for Athen or anyone. Nothing would come out. I tried to move, but my body wouldn’t budge. It was entirely numb. Matilda didn’t seem disturbed, which gave me a little comfort but my heart knew something was different. From my bed I stared straight ahead and saw out my window a dark reflection. I couldn’t see a clear figure. I didn’t really know what I was seeing. Was I even awake at this point? It seemed like I was in a frozen dream state. How could I be seeing a something out my second story window?

The image was getting closer to the window, and as it did, my pain began to worsen. A sharpness was running through my veins as if someone was ripping a scalpel inside my body tearing through my veins. This was the creature who had been on our property. The black swirl was becoming a little clearer. I began with all my might to scream. I wasn’t sure what kind of noise was actually making it out, but I kept screaming with all my being. Matilda didn’t move at all, which made my heart fall with the realization that no noise was coming from me. I wouldn’t give up though. I kept yelling for help, in part, because I was in so much pain. I was certain that pure terror-filled screams were coming from me. I began to hear what sounded like a mumble coming from me, maybe a soft murmur. Even if someone happened to be walking by they wouldn’t notice. The creature was now at my window. My fingers that were numb before now burned with an intense fire that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.

The creature in front of me began to look mostly human versus the quick black streak I had seen briefly on our property. I’m sure if darkness wasn’t surrounding him he would look like any other person walking down the street except for a few strange characteristics that I was pretty sure now were common traits among these demons. Partially because my fingers were in such pain I noticed his, and they were extremely pointy and long, but the most unnerving part was how long the creatures nails were. His jaw stuck out to me as well. It looked as if a grin was coming over his face. I kept up my screaming, but apparently it was only for me to hear. His eyes were welcoming death.

Matilda’s ears perked up. She could hear them running up the stairs. They were running down the hall. Somehow they made it to my bedroom, but in that instant, the image vanished from my bedroom’s view.

“
Ana, is everything ok?” Arie asked breathlessly. She looked around the room and saw that nothing seemed to be amiss.

“
We felt that you were in pain.” Cyril said the last to reach my bedroom.

Athen came over to my side, gently touching my forehead.

“
Ana, you are soaked. What happened? Did you have more memories? Is it from downstairs?”

Words weren’t coming quite yet. I could only slowly shake my head. I tried to point out the window with my fingers. Everyone looked out my window and saw the very same thing I did, nothing.

“
It’s ok, sweetheart. These things can happen. The memories can be painful. I’m so sorry.” Athen said hugging me.

I shook my head. No words were coming. They didn’t understand. I needed words. Now was the moment to see if I could manipulate my own thoughts to make sure that they could hear them.

I forcefully placed the thoughts in my head, their head. I attempted to give a step-by-step recap of what happened once I woke up. I looked up at them for any recognition that they intercepted my thoughts.