Landen’s impish grin told me he was shifting
back to his initial thoughts on the matter. “Maybe if they were
being hurt - but on the other hand, if you did it to help someone,
that would be different,” he said, shifting his weight and
following my eyes as I tried to imagine how any of this was
possible. “Remember that little girl when we ended up in Esterious?
She changed without me even trying,” he continued, searching my
face.
A shiver came through me; stepping into
someone on purpose felt like an invasion of privacy. I was sure I
didn’t want anyone inside my body beyond myself. As clarity came
over me, I looked up at Landen.
“How is it different? You’re basically
causing them to act or do something against their will,” I finally
answered.
He sighed deeply and said, “Alright then,
let’s have a friendly debate. How many images did you ask if they
wanted you to change them? And how many times did you just change
it against their will?” Landen said, sure of himself.
“That’s not fair. I couldn’t ask them.
Besides, emotions and bodies are completely different,” I said
defensively.
“Are they, now?” Landen said, seeing that he
was beginning to convince me.
“OK then, I stand by the point I made about
emotion: if someone doesn’t want to change, then they won’t. You
could push happiness through them all day, but if they enjoy
self-pity, they’ll go back to it as soon as my touch fades,” I
said, trying to prove my point.
“Right, but what about the ones who want to
change? When they feel the good you’re giving them, they have the
determination to maintain it,” Landen countered.
“So what are you saying - we should step
into people to give them assertiveness to do what they want to
do?”
“I think that’s just a small part of this –
well, I think that’s the fun part of it. The next element of
humanity is to open up parts of the mind that have never been
used,” he said, smiling widely.
“But where do the mind and soul separate?
When we leave, are we leaving with our soul - or through or minds?”
I asked, raising one eyebrow.
“I’m not a doctor,” he answered, laughing at
my expression.
“You were the one that wanted to
debate.”
“Which was foolish of me - everyone knows
not to debate a Scorpio,” he said, looking away from me and trying
to hide his smile.
I was about take the discussion to another
level when I heard the phone ring. Landen went inside to answer it.
I hoped it was Brady. I eagerly ran up the stairs to change into
something more comfortable.
I loved this house. Landen had taken me to
all the homes that our family had established across other
dimensions - well, at least the dimensions he felt were safe enough
for me to travel to. Out of all of them, this was my favorite. It
was made with our personality: historic, yet modern. Detailed and
out of control.
I washed my face and pulled on some running
shorts and a little T-shirt. I then walked downstairs to meet
Landen, but he was walking into the room.
“Baby duty?” I asked.
He shook his head no. “That was Dane. He
wanted to know if we wanted to go to New York sometime this week.
Olivia and Chrispin are going with them.”
“What did you tell him?”
“I didn’t tell them one way or the other,
just that we already had plans for the next few days.”
“It might be fun,” I said quietly, almost to
myself.
Landen nodded and looked down at the tattoo
on my wrist. Shielding his fearful emotions, he turned to walk to
his side of the bed. “What - New York, or being with them?” he said
under his breath.
I covered my wrist, unconsciously
remembering Drake’s perfect touch once again. I then cleared my
throat and did as Landen did: push down my fears. “Olivia and I
have never spent this much time apart, and I’m sure Chrispin and
Clarissa are missing you, too,” I said in a low tone.
Landen nodded and started to change out of
his clothes. I walked over to my side of the bed and pulled back
the covers.
“Maybe you should call Brady. Let him know
that we want to watch the baby,” I said.
“I already did. He said to just check on
them. You know he’s not comfortable with what we do,” Landen said
with a crooked grin.
I think leaving our bodies was Landen’s
favorite gift. I smiled shyly at myself, understanding Brady,
knowing that a few months ago I could have easily found a lot of
things foolish that I know now. “I can see his point,” I said under
my breath. The thought of seeing us hold the baby out of our bodies
would be disconcerting to any sane, normal person. A little
disappointed, I turned off the lamp and climbed into our bed.
Landen found my mood humorous. He opened up the doorway that led to
the balcony to let the night air in before settling next to me.
“So, where shall we go first, my love?” he
whispered, looking into my eyes. I knew then that he hadn’t changed
his mind on letting us go back to Esterious to help. I sighed, too
tired to try to persuade him to go.
“Our place,” I whispered. He smiled and
kissed my lips softly, and I took in the warmth of them. The only
two things we craved when we went to the beautiful place where we’d
spent our childhood was the warmth of bodies and essence of sound.
We laid side-by-side and gazed somewhere past the surface of each
other until sleep came.
Walking through this world, we felt a peace
that couldn’t be matched anywhere else. This place had sunsets that
would bring one to tears, waterfalls, lush green valleys - it was
like no other dimension. Each night, we would come here - at least
for a moment - and try to unravel the mystery of it. Why could it
not be found any other way? Why did it have no sound?
After a peaceful walk, we stopped and looked
at each other. If we wanted to move from one place to another, we’d
both have to picture it. We focused on Brady’s front porch and
stared at each other. A white haze came over us, along with an
addictive rush, and we found ourselves standing on the front steps
of the porch at Brady’s house.
There, we could feel the exhaustion coming
from the house, and we knew that they’d be glad we had come. Landen
led the way in through the door and up the steps to the master
bedroom, where we found Felicity sitting up in the bed, trying to
get the baby to burp. Brady was on the edge of the bed with heavy
eyes, watching her.
Landen put his hand on Brady’s shoulder. He
looked in to the emptiness of the room and sighed.
“They’re here,” he said to Felicity.
I stepped closer and touched Felicity and
the baby. Felicity smiled and laid Allie across her arms in a
cradle position. I looked down at her wide eyes and watched as she
seemed to focus on me
“
Landen, look - I think she can see
me.”
Landen stepped closer, and Allie’s eyes shifted to where
he stood.
“
I think you’re right.”
“
She’s too young to focus on
anything,”
I thought. Landen didn’t respond; he just smiled
intently at Allie.
“She’s just eaten and has been changed. It’s
time to sleep now, but she just doesn’t want to. I have milk ready
for her if she gets hungry,” Felicity said, pointing to the night
stand and looking blankly into the room.
Landen walked to the edge of the bed, pulled
back the covers, and pushed Brady to lie down. Felicity edged to
the side of the bed and laid Allie down in the cradle. I turned out
the lamp and touched her shoulder, telling her I’d watch the baby
as she slept.
Landen went to one of the other rooms to get
a chair for him to sit in. I slowly sat in the rocking chair and
watched Allie’s eyes follow me. I rocked the cradle back and forth,
keeping my hand on her stomach, sending her love and peace. Silence
took over, and you could feel the peace in the room as Brady and
Felicity shifted to sleep.
When Landen returned to my side, Allie’s
eyes found him.
“That is amazing,”
he thought. I nodded in
agreement. Minutes passed, then she drifted to sleep. Her little
eyelids shifted back and forth, and we could feel excitement, love,
joy, and peace as she dreamed. I wondered for a moment why we all
forget. Why would we ever step away from such bliss?
Hours passed, and Felicity and Brady cradled
each other as they slept. I was watching Allie and could feel
frustration and confusion in her emotions. I assumed she was
getting hungry and would wake at any moment. I reached for the
bottle Felicity had left for her.
“
Do you think it’s safe to pick her
up?”
I asked Landen.
“
I don’t think there’s anything that
would wake you. Just focus on being here,”
he thought. I
nodded. Landen reached for my shoulder to calm me, and I smiled,
feeling it take effect. Allie began to cry before her eyes even
opened. I handed the bottle to Landen, then reached for her.
Allie’s cry lessened at my touch, but her frustration was still
growing. As I settled into the rocking chair, cradling her, Landen
handed me the bottle. As soon as the bottle touched her lips,
gratitude filled her as she began to eat, staring up at me.
Felicity turned restlessly in her sleep. Landen put his hand on her
hand to calm her, then the peace returned to the room.
After Allie ate, I changed her, then rocked
her on my shoulder until I felt her drift into another dream. I
laid her down gently, proud of myself. The sun was starting to peek
over the hilltop, and we decided to stay until Brady and Felicity
woke on their own. Just past eight, they started to move, then they
both sat up at once with a panic. Landen and I grinned at each
other, then stepped closer to touch them, calming them down. Their
peace came back as they saw Allie sleeping soundly and the empty
bottle beside the night stand.
We woke ourselves back to our home. Every
night we spent together was amazing, but this one seemed to be
more; it was as if Allie taught us. I couldn’t remember a time that
I was so grateful for being able to eat or have such a constant
emotion of bliss.
On the bedside table, the phone rang. I
reached for it. It was Felicity. “Did you sleep well?” I asked.
“I haven’t slept that well in months. Thank
you, really,” she said.
“It was fun. She ate around five. I changed
her then, too.”
“Are you guys going to come over and spend
time with us today?” Felicity asked
“Maybe. We’re going to spend some time with
Libby and Preston today. I’m sure that you’ll have a house full of
people soon.”
“I can imagine that you’re right. I guess
I’ll let you go. I want to try and take a shower before she wakes
up again.”
“Alright then. Love you guys.” I hung up the
phone and nestled next to Landen. He was so warm. If I could take
this warmth with me to my dreams, I’m not sure I’d ever want to
wake up. I laughed at myself, thinking that may very well be the
reason that that flaw was in place.
Chapter Four
From the kitchen window, I could see Preston
coming over the hill toward our house. He was such an adorable,
peaceful little boy. He was wearing one of Marc’s black travel
shirts. It swallowed him, but it was easy to feel the pride it gave
him as he wore it.
I followed Landen to the porch to meet him.
We had not spent a lot of time around him, so we were both a little
anxious about trying to bond with him. Preston stepped up on the
porch, holding his little shoulders back with a big smile on his
face.
“Libby will be here in a minute,” I said to
him.
He nodded like he already knew that.
“Have a seat,” Landen said, extending his
arm for Preston to take a seat in one of the chairs.
Preston’s smile lessened a little. “We need
to be in the grass,” he said as he looked over his shoulder.
“Why is that?” Landen asked.
“You want Libby and me to show you how to
leave right?” Preston asked.
Landen forced a patient smile. “Yeah – but
why the grass?” he questioned again.
“Cause it’ll be easier for you the first
time,” Preston said, stepping down off the porch. He kicked his
shoes off, then walked to the meadow of flowers that surrounded our
house.
Landen gave me a wary look. He was not fond
of being barefoot – anywhere; his mother, Aubrey, told me that had
to do with him being a Pisces.
“
It’s just grass,”
I thought as I
winked at him and slid my sandals off to follow Preston. I could
feel Libby getting closer, and I looked in the direction of my
parents’ house to see her running over the hilltop - already
barefoot and wearing a long white cotton dress. Preston had made
his way to the center of our side yard, the only side of the house
that did not lead to one of our family’s houses. He sat down and
crossed his little legs, then smiled up at me. I took a seat next
to him and waited for Libby and Landen. Landen waited until he
reached his seat before he took off his shoes. Preston looked at me
and grinned, finding Landen’s demeanor amusing.
“Alright, little man, who taught you how to
do this?” Landen asked.
“Nobody. I figured it out. I wasn’t allowed
in a lot of rooms at my old house, and I wanted to see them...this
is the only way I could,” Preston answered casually.
“You step into other people to explore...?”
Landen summarized.
“Nah, I only step into people if I can’t
reach something,” Preston answered with an odd expression on his
face, as if we should have already figured that part out.
“Libby,” I said to get her attention, “can
you leave?” She nodded.
“How many times have you left?” Landen
asked
“All the time,” she answered, giggling.
Landen shook his head in disapproval. He was
extremely protective of Libby, and he was upset that he was just
now learning all of this.