Lightning and Fire, page 8
“No, I might as well drink it like that. I’m hungry.” Lola brings it over to me. I’m sure the soup here is good, but nothing here can compare to my mother’s stew, I think.
“I know you must miss them,” says Lola.
I nod. “Wait, who?”
“Your parents.”
“Why do you..?”
“You have that homesick look.”
“For a minute there, I thought you could read my mind,” I say, getting to my feet.
Lola laughs nervously, scratching her head and pulling her hair behind her ear. “I can’t read minds.” Lola scratches her ear.
“I know. Wait, why are you scratching your ear? Why are you so twitchy? Are you just saying that? You are? You can read minds.”
“Maybe.”
“Oh my, so everything I think...”
“Yes.”
“Turn it off.”
“I don’t know how.” Lola laughs out loud, then covers her mouth to stop herself.
“That’s interesting,” I say.
“Creepy, I know. However, while we’re on the topic, I know of someone who can help you.”
“What do you mean?”
“With the thing that’s been bothering you. I can take you there and no one would be the wiser.”
I immediately know what she means. I gasp, “when can we go?”My stomach grumbles again. Loud enough for anyone in the room to hear.
“Let’s go now,” says Lola. “But for goodness’ sake, drink the soup already.”
Chapter Thirteen
Leann
I change my mind. I change my mind, but it’s already done. My hands hurt from the force of my body as I clutch the branch of the tree. Still, I hold on because if I don’t; I lose. Lose all the years I’ve been holding on for something better. I lose the future I could gain for myself—my happiness. I lose it all, and they win. Every monster who plunders and tries to destroy a person’s soul; wins.
These thoughts flow through my mind as I dangle from the tree. I try to pull myself up, but I’m slipping; my hands weak and my fingers numb. I use every ounce of strength I have. Still—I fall. I crash into the ground. The world spins and I am dizzy. I take a moment to gather myself. I’m sure something’s broken, but I’m still able to move.
I pick myself up and amble to find my way out of the forest. My hands are shaking, and my body is weak. Tears flow down my face now and I’m upset with myself.
My pace quickens, but I’m disoriented, and I take a minute to catch my breath and wipe my tears. Then I feel it—water running down my legs. It’s time and I’m frantic now. I have to get back, get to the house, get my things, and get to the hospital. I move, but pain covers me as the contractions roll in.
Realization sets in and I know I won’t make it far. I reach for my phone but it’s not where to be found. It must have fell from my pocket in the fall. I’m on the ground now, pressing my hand against my side. I try to think about what I’m supposed to do. Breathe. So I breathe and scream.
I glimpse an object in the corner of my eye and I see where my phone has fallen. I try to gather the strength to get to it, but I’m crippled by pain, so I don’t get far. I lie there on the ground and wait for the pain to subside a little so I can move. But it doesn’t, and I can feel something coming out. Now I’m in a panic, but I know what to do. I push. And push.
The baby is out, but I can’t see it. I reach for it and pull it towards me; a girl. I cuddle her in my arms and breathe for a while. I smile. What should I call her? Something with a—C.
****
Walking through the forest after all these years feels strange. I see the spot where I buried my firstborn, Chelsea. It seems like it’s gone untouched all these years. I walked a few paces, and it’s not distinguishable, but I know this other spot, too. Only a few paces from here is where I found Calina. Abandoned in the forest, I took her and gave her a life. She saved me that day, and I saved her too. If it wasn’t for me, she would have died here. It was almost as if fate drove me to the brink of madness to get me here. Though I can’t blame luck for my actions. I would say fate is wicked.
It didn’t have to end the way it did. I’ve had to live with the guilt of what happened that day. Then I get to the spot where I found Calina. It’s distinguishable only by the steps I took to get here. The movements engraved in my mind; like a reflex, like I have burnt it into my subconscious. The way someone can drive home and not remember getting there.
I sob. I don’t know what to do, but I feel like this is where I need to start.
The earth shakes a little, and I get the feeling of Déjà vu. There’s a spark, a flash.
Then a man appears before me, and I’m too shocked to speak—my jaw drops. I want to say something, but I don’t know what. Then I know, but I forget it in a second. My mind trying to focus on one thought but too many circling. The stress of my baby going missing is getting to me. This man appeared before me.
He stops in his tracks, staring at me. The scream is about to come and he sees it. He holds his hands out as if to tell me not to freak out. But it’s too late now. I remember what I wanted to do. I scream.
The man takes off, running. My hands shake; my mind is still frantic. I should get out of here. What was I thinking? Coming here alone, it’s dangerous to be here alone.
Then I see it. The messenger bag that no one else could have owned. The one my daughter Ric made for Calina. Resembling, the one I owned as a girl. He has Calina. I chase after him. I don’t care how dangerous it is now. If he has my baby’s bag, he must have my baby or know where she is.
He is fast, but his speed is no match for a mother who needs to find her child. I pick up a rock, and I throw it after him. He stumbles.
“What’s wrong with you, lady? I don’t want to hurt you,” he says.
“Hurt me? I’m not the one who’s going to be hurt.”
I dive on to him as he tries to get up. “Where is my baby?” I pound into his chest.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He tries to push me off, but I cling to him for dear life.
“You have her bag; tell me where she is. Tell me.”
He pushes me off and gets up to run, but I hold on to his leg, and I bite him. He screams out in pain. Then fire. Fire comes flying. I roll out of its path, letting him go. He takes off again. I don’t know what instruments of the devil he has or what witchcraft he wheels, but I will get my baby back. I’m chasing after him again.
“Give me back my daughter, you devil. Tell me where Calina is.”
He stops. For a second, I think he’s about to turn back and try to kill me. He wasn’t so intimidating when he was running, but now that he’s stopped, and his eyes are piercing into me—I’m afraid.
I stop short and prepare myself to escape.
“You know, Calina?” he asks.
I cover my mouth. “Yes, Calina is my daughter. Do you know where she is?”
“You’re Calina’s mother?” he asks.
“Yes, I said that. Do you know where my baby is?” I ask again.
He opens the bag and riffles through it. Then he pulls out a picture and stares at it, then he stares back at me.
“You are Calina’s mother,” he says.
I’m sure I said that. Then the man’s eyes drop to the ground, and it gives me all the answers. I do not want that answer, but it’s the only one that he can provide me with. I can see it in his eyes and in the way he’s standing. Hunching his shoulders and lowering his head—he doesn’t have good news.
He puts the picture back into the bag and closes it. Taking every minute in the world to answer the question, to avoid answering it. He takes a deep breath and looks back up at me—a sadness in his eyes.
I can’t wait for his answer before I break down. But I wait anyway, hoping that it isn’t what I think. Hoping that he will say he knows where my Calina is.
“I know where Calina is,” he says.
I breathe a little. “Yeah?”
“But I don’t have good news. I’m sorry.”
He all but cries; and I can’t hold it in any longer. The feeling of hopelessness that’s been trying to take over me. How will I break the news to Ric? Ric, who I’ve paid little to no attention to these past months, as I wait for Calina to come back. How will my life ever be the same? Can I go on and live my life without my miracle baby? She filled me with joy and had made me whole. Will I now be empty, broken without her?
I sob into my hand. “What happened to Calina?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
Chapter Fourteen
Aiden
I step into the portal and it feels like my soul is being lifted from my body. Clutching Calina’s bag tight in my hand, I press it to my chest and it’s soft material reminds me of her skin. There’s a pull, the feeling like I'm falling—but sideways. My feet touches the ground; then I feel gravel and leaves that don’t belong to Kollosnia beneath my shoes. A place I wasn’t standing before. I breathe a sigh of relief. A part of me thought it wouldn’t work.
Taking a moment I get my bearings of this new place; the portal transported me behind a large tree and I walk around it to see where I am. I look up and a woman stares back at me. This is not good. Her wild blue eyes are filled with questions. The woman has untamed hair and wears wrinkled clothes. She looks frightened by my sudden appearance. Frankly, who wouldn’t be?
She’ll tell her friends stories of a man who appeared out of nowhere, and they will think she’s crazy. I look around to see there is no one else here—only the woman walking aimlessly in the middle of the forest.
I back away slowly so not to startle her, but it’s too late. She screams, and I run. I think I’m putting distance between us. To my shock, she is chasing after me like a rabid raccoon on the hunt. She dives for me, screaming something about a baby. We wrestle on the ground as I try to get her off me, but she will not let up. She holds onto my legs avoiding my escape; then she bites me. Mad she is—a rabid wild animal.
I cry out, and a ball of fire rolls from my palm. I don’t want to hurt her, but she’s deranged. She moves out of the way escaping the hit and I think I will never get rid of this madwoman. She rants and rage, calling me a devil. I’m the devil? She attacked me for no reason, tried to eat my leg, and I’m the devil? Still, I try to get away. Then she says her name, and I stop; what does this mean? Does she know Calina?
I look in the bag for the picture I know has Calina’s mother on it. I take it out and compare it to the woman in front of me. In this picture, the woman looks sane—happy. The one in front of me is nothing like that. I continue looking; the eyes are the same, and then it all comes together like a puzzle. It’s her.
I came here to see her, to tell her, but I didn’t think about what I will say when I find her. Hey, your daughter is dead. I can’t stop myself, and the tears come, because finally, I’m with someone, the only other person who can understand how I’m feeling.
I don’t speak, but the look on my face says it all. She falls to the ground in pain, the kind of hurt you won’t be able to see. I sit with her.
“This is a hard thing to explain,” I say. “I’m from a place called Kollosnia, and Calina was there.” I’m finding it hard to put the words together, to give her an explanation that makes sense. How do I tell her everything that has happened, since Calina stepped through the portal? The words weigh heavy on me, knowing I am breaking this grieving mother’s heart.
She’s hanging on to my every word now, intrigue filling her very being.
“While she was there, she helped us fight in a war.”
Her breath catches, and I can tell she’s trying to hold herself together. Something I know isn’t easy to do. But already, she can tell where this is going.
“It was chaos; everything happened so fast.”
She’s crying, pain etched across her face and her body breaking from the inside. I thought she would call me a liar. Calina believed nothing when she first got to Kollosnia. This woman should call me a demon, and should be asking for my head on a stick for my false claims. But she isn’t. She doesn’t even look surprised.
“How did you know I knew Calina?”
“The messenger bag, it’s one of a kind. Her sister Ric made it for her. Look inside; there’s going to be stitching at the bottom.”
I look into the bottom of the bag, and there it was, Calina’s name stitched into the base. Calina Cabhair. Followed by the initial CC.
“Can I see where my daughter is?” she asks. “Can you take me there?”
“Yes.”
“Wait, I have to bring my daughter, Ric.”
“Sure.”
The woman pulls out a device and speaks to the girl through it. She tells her where to find her and to come right away. It feels like a long time to wait for someone—just sitting in the forest. But then I hear frantic screams and calls, and she’s here.
“Mom, is it Calina? Who is this? Why am I here? Why are you here?” The girls screams. So many questions, so much shouting.
“I will explain everything to you soon, Ric,” Calina’s mother says.
I get up from the ground, and help her to do the same. We walk back to the spot where the portal is. There’s a light flickering, so we can’t miss it, though I’m sure they wouldn’t have seen it before behind this tree. Ric follows behind us, cautious.
The question I meant to ask before comes back to me. It gives me a knot in my stomach, an unsettling feeling. I can get closure, and so can Calina’s mother, but a strange pang tremors through my chest.
“Why is it you don’t seem surprised by all of this?” I ask.
“When you’ve seen what I’ve seen, hardly anything surprises you. I always knew Calina was special.”
“I’m sure every parent does.”
“She was a miracle.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, turning to the woman.
Mrs. Cabhair whispers her answer into my ears.
We step into the portal, and we are no longer in Colorado; we are back in Kollosnia.
Me, Mrs. Cabhair, and Ric.
Ric is screaming again. Her screaming sounds like a distant hum, with the rushing of my heart and my mind.
“What is going on? Mom!”
“I’m not going anywhere!” shouts Ric. “What did you do to me? You drugged me. Mom, he drugged me. Are you seeing things too?”
Chapter Fifteen
Anorvia
Lady Lola and I head out by chariot and ride until we get to a small village in the valley. The valley looks different from everywhere else I’ve been in Kollosnia. There are patches of green, but most of it is barren, burnt dry—the earth red. It was snowing before, but there are no signs of it now.
The tattered houses are an eyesore. Shouts of joy and excitement fill the streets. I love it every time the village people come out of their hiding places to see the queen.
Today, though, I’m on a mission, and I should have traveled more humbly. Lola calls for the driver to stop, and the chariot pulls up by a house. The house is small and strange-looking; made of wood in the shape of a pentagon. It’s raised off the ground and has five tiny steps leading to the door.
I exit the chariot and the people around us bow.
“How do you know about this place?” I ask.
“Our paths crossed recently. It’s like we were reading each other’s minds. I must tell you though, the man might want something in return.”
“What?” I ask.
“That I do not know,” says Lola.
The man opens the door. “Your Majesty,” he bows. “What a pleasure. Come in, come in.”
Lola and I head inside. There isn’t a lot of space to stand. There’s only space for a bed, a table, and a chair.
“So, you know why I’m here?” I ask.
“Yes,” says the man.
“You can read minds, too?” I say.
“Sure can,” he chuckles.
I don’t know this person; or what he wants. I’m only meeting him for the first time.
He has crazy eyes; grey and watery like they are swimming inside his head. I try not to think about it. But the more I tell myself to think about something else, anything else, the more my mind disobeys.
He has small patches of black hair on his head and has a large scar on his arm. I look around the room, and it’s packed with trinkets.
“Not used to the whole mind-reading thing,” I say.
“My name is Leon.”
“Can you read anyone’s mind?”
“Not always.” He picks up a silver ring from a table filled with random and strange jewels. “I have what you’re looking for.” The ring has a green stone in the center. He hands it to me.
I hold the ring in the palm of my hand. “What will this do?” I ask.
“The very thing you want it to,” he says.
“How does it work?”
“You only need to wear it.”
“What do you want for it?”
“Your soul,” he laughs, long and hard.
“What?”
“I’m kidding. Only your firstborn child.”
I stare at him.
“You need to work on your sense of humor, Ma’am. For now, it’s yours. Just don’t forget who gave it to you,” he says.
“Okay,” I say. “Thank you.”
