Authors: M.A. KROPF
Walking down the hall toward Max’s office, I heard the drone of a television newscast. I knocked softly and peeked my head through the door, but Aaron was standing in the room instead of Max.
Relieved, I walked into the office, just thankful to be with someone I could talk to.
“What’s wrong with you?” That was not the greeting I was expecting from him.
“What?”
“Haven’t you seen this?”
Confused, I turned to where he was pointing. The news was reporting the death at the zoo. I saw our group as the camera panned across us.
I shook my head at him in an effort to express that I didn’t understand. He walked over to the television.
Pointing at the picture, Aaron said, “Right here… you… you’re all red. Your aura? It’s now broadcast for everyone to see. You’ve put us all in danger! You’ve put yourself in danger!”
I squinted my eyes to see what he saw, but all I could see was me. “I’m sorry, Aaron, but I don’t…”
I turned and he was standing just a few inches from me. I stepped back but he reached out and grabbed my arms. His eyes softened from their original intensity as he spoke. “Megan, you can’t see your aura, but all of the rest of us… and them…
they
can. We need to avoid the media. Didn’t anyone tell you that?”
I couldn’t remember anything specific about the media. There had been so much information I’d had to absorb. “No, I don’t… I don’t remember anything. I’m sorry.”
He took in a long deep breath. “If anything had happened… to you… I… we… .” As he trailed off he looked into my eyes. His eyes became wild and intense, his pupils dilated. He raised his hand to touch my cheek.
What is he doing?
He moved closer to me and everything inside of me begged to move away.
Run, run!
But I was frozen. My breathing was picking up and my heart was thudding in my chest. I noticed that his breathing was becoming as quick as my own as he began leaning toward me.
Move, Megan, move!
It was hopeless, and as much as I did not want advances toward me at that moment I could not move.
Then as if waking out of a deep sleep, his intense eyes broke contact with my own and he lowered his gaze. “Megan… I…”
My chest was tight as I struggled to breathe. “I… Aaron… I can’t.”
His hand fell from my face, “I need to go.” There was sadness and confusion on his face.
“Wait,” I urged.
“No, I’m sorry, I don’t know… I’m sorry.” Turning, he walked toward the door just as Max entered and they exchanged glances.
“Aaron?”
“I’m sorry Max, I have to go,” and he left.
Max continued into the room and looked toward me. “Megan, what… ?” He saw the look on my face and immediately stopped.
“Megan?”
“Max… I…”
“Come here, come sit down. What happened?”
Trying to slow my breathing and return myself to sanity, I started slowly. “I’m not sure. Aaron was upset that I was on television.” I turned toward Max, “Did I ruin something? I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
He nodded in agreement, “Yes, it was unfortunate that you were on the news, but there’s nothing we can do about it now. There was an accident at the zoo? What kind?”
I would have thought he knew. “There was a man at the bottom of the monkey cage… dead.”
Max shook his head, “The monkey cage? Too bad. That’s my favorite exhibit.”
My eyebrows furrowed in frustration at his elementary view of the event. “Max? The man in the cage had a red aura.”
This got his attention, and his head shot up. “What?”
I recounted with as much detail as possible what I had seen. I paid careful attention to the detail about the dark aura I saw. Max stood and paced around the room listening until I had finished.
“We shouldn’t be able to see a red aura around someone who is dead.”
I thought about this detail. “Did I mention that it faded out?”
He raised one eyebrow, “No, you managed to leave that out.”
“When I walked over and saw him lying there, his aura was still intact, but over the next few seconds it quickly faded away. And then I saw the writing on the wall next to him.”
Max thought for a moment before he continued, “And the writing on the wall behind him said?”
“YOU ARE NEXT, in capitals.” I didn’t know if that last part was important, but judging by the intensity of his look I figured it was better not to leave anything out.
“Megan, if his aura was just fading then that means he was just killed. No one saw anything?”
“Not that I know of, but remember I was going after the dark aura.”
He appeared pensive and it seemed like many minutes passed before he finally looked up at me.
“Tomas,” Max murmured.
“Tomas,” I also heard in my head.
I had to blink and shake my head because I heard both voices simultaneously.
Max looked at me concerned, “What?”
“Nicholai just said Tomas also.”
“Are you talking to him now?”
I had to stop and think, as if trying to switch to a different language.
Nicholai?
“Yes, Megan. I’m here,” he answered
.
“Yes Max I can hear him.”
“Okay, tell him I’m calling him.” But as Max reached the phone, it rang. Picking up the receiver he started speaking.
“Nicholai? . . . Yes, I know, this is getting serious fast… No I haven’t had an opportunity to tell her yet… okay… let me put you on speaker phone.”
Max pressed a button on the phone base and placed the receiver down, “Nicholai?”
“I’m here,” came his voice from the speaker on the phone.
“Okay, hold on a minute.” Max motioned for me to shut and lock the door.
“Megan,” Max began, “We have some disturbing news.”
Nicholai continued, “When we left to return home, Tomas mentioned that he needed to run an errand and asked Aleck and me to drive to the airport by ourselves. We questioned this but went ahead. We became very concerned when the second call came one-half hour before we were to get onto the plane. He told us that he was stuck in traffic and would have to take a different flight. Hearing from others that traffic was common in San Francisco, we weren’t surprised but still had our doubts.”
There was a pause as I looked back and forth between the phone and Max.
“He never made it to Greece,” Nicholai’s words echoed in my head as they rang out from the phone.
I looked at Max, who was apparently lost in thought, standing with his hands clasped behind his back staring out the window.
“Is he here then? That was definitely him at the zoo?”
Without turning, Max began to speak, “Good question. Aaron and I tried to track him down. We didn’t believe it was necessary to bother you yet. We couldn’t find him and he disconnected his phone. But… well the situation is such now that you may be in danger.”
“Why would I be in danger? Because of Tomas?” I asked the question even though I felt it was rhetorical since deep down I knew the answer.
“Remember, Megan,” Nicholai said, “anyone can turn from good to bad. It is a choice. A tough one but one that, once that road is chosen, is very difficult to turn back from.”
I flashed briefly on my husband’s aura but then returned to the conversation. “I don’t understand. If you all thought he was bad why did you allow him to continue on as a Senior?”
Max said, “Just because someone is suspected of possible wrongdoing is not reason enough to prosecute. Don’t we live by the laws of innocent until proven guilty?”
I found humor in this question, “Aren’t we also supposed to live by the law,
Thou shalt not kill
?”
Max smiled, and I heard Nicholai chuckle on the phone and add, “She’s sharp, just like her father. Good genes if I do say so myself.” Then he continued, “We would have loved to remove him from his position but never had enough proof. As you can see, he has removed himself. No problem on the Seniors panel now… except for a vacancy, Max… .”
That was clearly a leading question and one which Max seemed to ignore as he continued to stare out the window.
There was a quiet moment in the room while everyone’s minds were working.
I cleared my throat, breaking the silence. “So, I have a question. Was ‘YOU ARE NEXT’ referring to me?” Even though the answer seemed obvious, no one spoke.
“Well?” I prompted.
It was Nicholai who responded first. “I’m not sure. Tomas is a very powerful Aurator. If he had wanted to kill you, it would be feasible to guess that he would have at least tried to. This feels more like a message. Something to be acknowledged somehow.”
His last few words trailed off as my attention was beckoned in another direction. Pictures flashed in my mind and shifted as I saw the flowers and the panes of glass. I could clearly identify now the glass dome of the San Francisco landmark, the Conservatory of Flowers. “Could he be making a prediction about the upcoming fight?” I asked.
There was silence. I found myself immersed in visions that surrounded me, blocking out all else in the room. They flipped quickly in front of me, as if I were watching an old silent movie. Images of the zoo and conservatory faded in and out and then spun out of view, only to be replaced by other places and faces I had never seen before. Suddenly the site where the fight was to take place slowed in front of me, so close I could touch it, and then the focus sharpened. I felt as though I were standing there, so close to the flowers I could smell them, and I felt a slight breeze sweep my hair around my shoulders. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught the slightest glimpse of movement among the outlying trees. I squinted for better focus and saw a dark aura moving in and out of the shadows just on the periphery, weaving along an invisible path connecting the massive palm trees that hemmed the skirt of grass around the flower beds.
As I struggled to keep my focus, the dark aura began moving toward me, skimming over and barely brushing against the blades of grass below. My breath caught as the face came into view and broke my concentration. Bringing reality back into focus, I saw that Max was now standing in front of me with anticipation permeating his cautious expression.
“What did you see?” He asked in a concerned voice.
“Megan?” I heard Nicholai on the speaker. I realized from his tone that he hadn’t been able to see my thoughts. My voice resounded in the room with a confidence that surprised even me. “Tomas is here and he’s organizing. The written message in the monkey’s cage was meant for me, but I don’t think he set out to kill that man at the zoo…”
“Tomas killed him?” Max interrupted.
“Yes.”
“Damn him,” Nicholai cursed.
“Wait, let me finish. He tried to recruit the man from the zoo, but I don’t think he was from this area.” I paused, trying to picture the man again. His face… alive… was one of the images that had flashed in front of me. “He seems a little out of sorts.” My head cocked in a perplexed fashion as I stared off into the distance.
Nicholai snapped me out of it, “Megan, is there anything else? He
seems
out of sorts.”
“I’m seeing him before he died, though why, I can’t seem to get a handle on. Otherwise, there’s nothing else.”
Nicholai’s voice moved from one of concern to a tone of authority. “I’m calling a meeting with all the Seniors. Max, I’ll give you a call later. Let me know if anything else comes up.”
“Okay, bye,” and without breaking his gaze on me, Max clicked off the phone.
I left Max, walked to my car, and drove away. I had an errand to run today. I had decided to take my grandfather’s pin that Max had given to me to a jeweler and have it turned into a necklace. I drove to one of my favorite areas of the city, where the street was filled with small specialty shops. Before I had children, I would spend a lot of my free time down here, wandering through the stores, getting a cup of coffee, and frequently spending more money than I should.
Finding parking a block away from my destination was a complete stroke of luck, and I walked toward the shop. I saw the wooden store sign above the door, brown with gold letters inscribed that read “K. Tahati Jewelers.” My husband and I had our wedding rings designed and made here. It was a wonderful jewelers and even though I didn’t buy jewelry often… well, ever… I did come to have my ring checked and cleaned every year or so. I passed the display windows and saw the biggest diamond I had ever seen in my life set into a unique, intricately designed setting. Probably a brilliant find for someone who had an extra ten thousand dollars lying around.
I walked through the doors and heard the familiar jingle of the Christmas bells that hung there all year. There were two long counters on either side of the small room with display cases on the wall behind them filled with gold, silver, and various gems that caught the light from the fluorescents above and sparkled. Gretchen stood at the end of the room next to the cash register. She was a tall, slim woman who was always smartly dressed. Probably in her fifties, her brown hair was just starting to gray. It was very becoming on her. Always with a warm smile, her face brightened as I walked toward her.
“Hi Megan, how are you?” I sighed at this. This is just not something you get at the big major retail stores.
“Hi Gretchen, good to see you.”
“Is there a problem with your ring? Didn’t you just have it cleaned a few months ago?”
“Yes I did, thanks. I’m actually here for something else.”
“Great! How’s the family?”
I filled her in on the girls and Luke and heard how she and her partner were getting ready for their daughter to go off to college. I opened my purse, pulled out the small box, and handed it to her.
“This pin was my grandfather’s but I don’t really ever wear pins. I was hoping that Kevin could turn it into a necklace for me.” Just then the bells rang and Kevin Tahati, who owned the store and designed and made all the jewelry walked in. He was a very good-looking, easygoing man with a soft-spoken voice, jet black hair that glistened under the lights, and ebony skin that showed absolutely no wrinkles, which was uncommon in a man his age. Likely in his sixties, he always dressed unassumingly for such a successful businessman, in jeans, tennis shoes, and a casual button-up shirt. He owned and operated one of the best jewelers in the San Francisco Bay Area but always had an air of modesty about him.
“Hi Megan, how are you? How’s Luke?” Kevin always liked Luke, and they would talk sports when he came in with me.
“Good, thanks. How are you?”
“Oh I’m good, thanks. What’s up?” He spoke as he started toward the counter, never breaking eye contact with me.
Gretchen interrupted by holding up the small box. “Megan has a pin she wants to change into a necklace.”
Kevin walked behind the counter, setting down his briefcase. “Okay, let’s see what we’ve got here.” He opened the box and his expression changed to one of confusion. “Where did you get this?”
I took a quick look at the two standing in front of me. White auras. I didn’t think there should be a problem here. “It was my grandfather’s.”
Kevin studied the pin, removing it from the box and holding it in his hand. Then, as if acknowledging someone speaking, he nodded his head and said, “Okay, my morning is free. I can have it for you in thirty minutes. Okay with you?”
Gretchen looked surprised by this. “But aren’t you finishing the Castlers’ wedding rings?”
He turned and walked to the back office, which contained all of his equipment. “Yes, but I need to do this first,” and he disappeared.
Gretchen turned back toward me with a surprised look that I know must have mirrored my own. “Okay then,” she said with a forced and seemingly unsure smile, “half an hour?”
I looked at my watch. That was exactly how much time I had before I needed to be at school for pickup. “Um, okay, sure. I’ll go get a cup of coffee and walk around.” I turned and left. As I heard the bells jingle behind me, I felt something in the pit of my stomach. I pulled out my phone and dialed Max’s number. There was no answer, so I left a message for him to call me back.
I wandered down to the local coffee shop, passing up the chain coffee house that was just across the street. Standing outside with my cup, I started to wonder about Kevin’s reaction. There was no red aura so they wouldn’t have been able to see mine. They couldn’t possibly know anything about what I am. I shook my head and thought that it must be just like other times in my life when I was making something out of nothing.
Switching gears, I began to think about what my presence on television would mean. Would others know about me… seek me out? I felt a sudden panic. Would anyone try to hurt my family? I began to wonder if it would be worth it to tell Luke. As I was mulling over this new concern, my phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Hi Megan, it’s Gretchen. He’s… done.”
Looking at my watch, I saw that only twenty minutes had passed. “Umm, okay. I’ll be right there.”
As I walked back in, Kevin met me halfway. “Wow, Kevin, that was quick. I really appreciate it.”
He smiled at me as an old friend would to another. “Anything I can do.” He then raised his hands up, each holding half of the chain clasp. My grandfather’s pin was hanging from a small metal loop that had been added at the top. The charm was shinier than before and it seemed to glow. “Does it meet your approval?” he asked.
I reached out and cupped the form of Asclepius’s rod in the palm of my hand. My skin warmed beneath the metal. “Yes, better than I could have imagined. Thank you.”
“Turn around and I’ll put it on you. I reinforced the charm loop so that there is no chance it will break, and the clasp is the best that I have and… should
never
break.”
I pulled my hair to the side and saw the necklace come down in front of my face. He pulled the chain around and I heard the clasp click into place. I felt a warmth through my shirt where the metal lay against it. I released my hair and touched the pendant.
I am exactly where I am supposed to be at this moment in time
I thought to myself.
Turning back toward him, I noticed his expression had shifted to one of worry as I spoke. “Thank you for the necklace. What do I owe you?”
The worry lines became a bit more prominent. “Nothing… and thank you.”
I was caught off guard and nearly speechless. “What?”
But he motioned with his head toward Gretchen in a way that made me realize he did not want to explain further. He repeated, “Thank you… for everything.”
So confused I could barely speak, I played along. “Okay… thank you. Are you sure?” I found myself almost whispering.
“Yes.”
I reached out and shook his hand. He held it longer than was comfortable but I didn’t pull away. I moved toward the door and waved to Gretchen, who looked confused as well.
“Megan?” Kevin stopped me.
I turned to look toward him, “Yes?”
Then with a knowing smile on his face, he said, “Say hi to Max for me.”
I couldn’t hide my astonishment as I replied okay. I walked out of the store and toward the car in disbelief when I heard the phone ring.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Megan. Max here. What do you need?”
“Something really strange just happened.” I retold my experience in the jewelry store as Max listened. I expected him to be just as confused as I was and to hit me with a barrage of questions, but there were none.
So you had the pin made into a necklace?” Max asked
“Yes, but that wasn’t the point of what I just told you. How would Kevin know I knew you?”
“What was the name of the jewelers?”
“K. Tahati.”
“I’ve known him for years. His son is an Aurator who lives in Europe. I met his son years ago after we had seen each other’s auras at a medical conference in the city.”
“Great, another doctor?”
“A nurse.”
“Oh, okay, good.”
Max chuckled. “So how does it look?” he asked
“What?”
He spoke slowly as if trying to make a point. “The… necklace.”
“It’s great. It makes a very beautiful necklace.” I reached up and touched it.
“Did you feel the warmth when you put it on?” he asked.
“Yeah I did. What’s up with that?”
“Power… serpodus… purpose. It’s everything that validates who we are,” he explained.
“That’s along the lines of what I thought when I put it on.”
“Good, then you’re paying attention.” He spoke with an amused tone.
“Very funny,” I scoffed.
“So what are you doing this afternoon?” Max asked as I started my car engine.
Looking at my watch, I realized the time and told him, “Well, I’m off to pick up Abigail.” I turned out of my parking spot and headed toward the elementary school.
“Good. If I may be so bold, try to take time to enjoy your girls while they’re young because it goes so fast. Plus, in our line of business we don’t know what our future holds.”
“Max, do most… Aurator’s families know about them. You know, what they do?” I connected my bluetooth as I drove away, knowing that I did not just ask a simple yes or no question.
“Not initially, a new Aurator usually doesn’t understand what’s going on enough to explain to their families. However, eventually it becomes necessary to tell your close family. It gets increasingly difficult to keep coming up with new explanations for your frequent absence. At some point you have to trust that if we really are meant to do this then our loved ones will understand.”
I entered the carpool lane to pick up my youngest. Luckily I could enjoy the luxury of waiting for just her today because Luke was picking up the other girls. I saw Abigail come out and the teacher nudged her in my direction. “Max, can you hold on one moment?” The car door opened and Abigail climbed in. “Hi honey, good day?” I greeted her.
“Yeah mommy.”
“Great, mommy’s on the phone okay? Do you have some reading you can start on the way home?”
“Sure.”
I then returned to my phone conversation, “Okay, thanks Max. So, can I ask… how did Vivian find out?”
“I never planned to tell her, but it became a necessity one night.” I could hear him take a breath on the other end and then continued. “First you need to know a little about Vivian. She comes from a very well-to-do family in the city that was very active among the philanthropy circle. My family was, as well, and as much as I hated going to charitable functions it was expected that I attend. I always felt I was meant to do something different than just donate money.
“I was at a large function one night listening to a very pompous speaker tell of all the good he had done when across the room I saw the most unbelievably beautiful woman. Don’t get me wrong, there may be more beautiful women in the world to others’ eyes, but no one had ever equaled what I was looking at in that moment. While I was looking at her she rolled her eyes at the speaker and I was smitten. When the speech was over, I walked over and asked her to dance. We spoke about making a difference… a real difference. We seemed destined for each other.”
I pulled into the driveway, and Abi and I went inside. She asked if she could watch television before continuing her homework, and I was so engrossed with Max’s story I did the unthinkable and obliged her. After her eyes widened at the unexpected yes, she quickly disappeared into the other room before I could change my mind. I hung my purse on the back of the dining room chair, disconnected the bluetooth so I could hear clearer and continued to listen.
“Several years passed and we were married and eventually had two sons. I had finished my residency and began working on staff at the hospital. My shift usually ended in the middle of the night, and one night while I was leaving the hospital I came across a man with a solid black circle around him. Of course I learned later this was an aura. I was compelled to follow him and suddenly flashed back to what I thought had been a nightmare the week before. My mind connected the two, and my body reacted before I could comprehend what was happening. I completed my first purpose in that moment and got to the car before the pain hit. It was excruciating and I almost went back into the emergency room, but it passed and somehow I knew I was all right. From that day on I saw everyone’s auras.
“There were a few more purposes along the way and I eventually met Paul, who stopped me in front of a small shop one day when I was buying a birthday present for Vivian. He had noticed my red aura. He befriended me and taught me about Aurators and what my responsibilities were. He was also the Guardian of the journal which you have been given. His name was Paul Tahati and he was my mentor.”