Behind Amethyst Eyes

Chapter 15- A Mother's Perspective

    Kara! Katie! Time for bed!’ Mommy yells at us. I grab my best friend’s hand and we run up the stairs together. We both jump into my bed and snuggle up under the covers.

    ‘Mommy, can we have a bedtime story?’ I give her my biggest puppy dog eyes. Mommy always tells me a story before bed. They’re usually about princes saving the beautiful princess. Katie sits up next to me and folds her hands together, also giving mommy puppy dog eyes.

    ‘Alright, I suppose one story won’t hurt, but you both have to promise to go to bed afterwards. No staying up and sneaking out of your room after your father and I fall asleep like you two did last time.’ Mommy gives us one of her looks that tells us we better listen or else. Last time she gave me this look and I didn’t listen, she made me go to sleep for a whole week without a story.

    ‘I promise!’ Both Katie and I are quick to tell her. Mommy laughs at us and starts to tuck us in.

    ‘Do you want me to read from your story books or do you want a new story?’ She asks us. Katie and I look at each other with big smiles.

    ‘New story please!” We say at the same time. Mommy smiles really big. She loves telling us new stories.

    ‘Once upon a time, there was a group of people who lived peacefully together. These people had special powers gifted by the stars. Some could move water while others could hold fire in the palms of their hands.’ I watch mommy as she moves her hands like she’s trying to move water and hold fire in her hand. Mommy always acts like the people from her stories. ‘These powers were passed down to their kids. When they became big and strong, their powers would reveal themselves. Some would have the same powers as their parents while others got new powers. They all worked hard to learn how to use their powers to help people. These people were known as the guardians. It was said that the guardians would be the teachers of the ones who brought peace to the universe.’ Katie is already asleep next to me. I rub my eyes to try to stay awake until the end, but I’m getting too tired.

    ‘There was also a group of people who lived in the dark. They had special powers too, but it came from the dark instead of the stars. They were nice a long time ago, but power consumed their minds, and they became mean. The bad guys wanted to be the rulers of everything. The guardians were given the task to stop the bad guys, but they weren’t strong enough’ My eyes are closed, but I’m still listening. I grab onto mommy’s hand, so she knows I’m still listening.

    ‘The guardians waited and waited until they knew where the bad guys would go next. They were sent to this new place and each of them found love and had a child of their own. These children were going to grow up and defeat the bad guys. They would be the ones bringing peace to everyone.’ Mommy kisses my forehead and gets up from my bed. She must think I fell asleep. I open my eyes to see mommy about to close the door.

    ‘Wait! How does the story end?” I ask sleepily.

    ‘Well, the story isn’t over yet. You and Katie will finish this story together. Goodnight, my dearest Kara.’ She blows me a kiss and shuts the door, leaving me to my dreams.

                                                                                                …

    I jolt straight up in bed, wiping the sweat from my forehead. My hand goes to my chest, trying to calm my breathing and erratic heartbeat. My skin tingles and I feel wired, like I just stuck my finger into an outlet. Was that just a dream? I could still feel my mother’s kiss lingering as if it just happened. It felt like I was young again, like I was reliving a memory long forgotten. I don’t remember this particular memory though. I recognized my old bedroom. It was exactly how I remember it. But it was just a dream, right?

    I throw the blankets off and head to the shower to start my day. Underneath the scalding water, I close my eyes and allow the heat to absorb into my skin to wash away the tingles. I grab my peach-scented body wash and scrub until my skin is raw. I stay in the steam-filled shower until the water begins to run cold. Once it does, I shut off the water, wrap myself in a fluffy towel, and go to my closet. I pick out a pair of army green leggings with a matching sports bra. I twist my long hair out of my face and into a long braid. After a little mascara and concealer, I check the time to see I still have a while before I have to go to training with Daniel.

    My mother’s journal sits on my nightstand, begging me to open it. I’m not sure I’m ready to deal with it, but I figured a few pages won’t hurt. I run my fingers over the cover. The dark brown leather is cracked and worn. I open the book and it creaks from not having been open in a long time. The pages look aged and dingy but are in decent condition. Tears threaten to escape as they build in my eyes when I look at the first page. My name is written in my mother’s beautiful handwriting. Just the one word, like she wrote this journal for me.

    My heart swells with emotion, but I try to shove it down. She wanted me to read this, somehow knowing that I would need whatever is written in this journal. Holding her journal, containing her thoughts and feelings for most of her life, makes me feel close to her. Closer than I have since before she died. I swallow my emotions and take a steadying breath before I flip the page.

    I spend the next few hours immersed in my mother’s world. She lived a whole different life before she came here. She spoke about her parents, my grandparents. They were kind, loving, nurturing people. Her mother, Larisa, started her love for reading, just as my mother had for me. Her father, Henrick, was the one to teach her about the stars. He taught her from a young age that the stars are the best parts of each person that live on after they’re gone. He said that certain stars held powers. She later learned how true that was.

    I learn that I come from a long line of rulers. My grandparents were the king and queen of the planet Solaris, which is located in the Andromeda galaxy. They ruled with a firm fist but had compassion and love for their people.

    My mother was excited to come to Earth. The last generation of guardians met briefly before they began their journey, most meeting for the first time. However, some had known each other from the years past. My mother wrote about an old friend from her early childhood. His name was Eldrick. His parents were the rulers of a neighboring galaxy, so they met a few times during the summit meetings they were dragged to. Both of them were happy and relieved to know another person thrown into this new world.

    She went on to write about their journey to Earth. One of the twelve had the power to teleport. As long as she could envision her destination, she could teleport there. My mother explained that the woman, Nicia, was quite powerful compared to some of the others. She had a better understanding of what her power could do, which made it easier to control it. Nicia took groups of four to three different parts of Earth. My mother’s group landed in Raleigh, North Carolina. They were told to go in different directions, effectively splitting up so it would be harder for the Dhedra to track them down. She explained how everyone was supposed to change their names and not tell any of the others their new identity. Henrick explained to my mother how the zodiacs would have a way of knowing when they found the others. I thought about Katie and how I wouldn’t have thought she was one if Daniel hadn’t pointed it out.

    Soft melodious chirps break my concentration as my alarm chirps, signaling it’s time to leave for training. I grab a lightweight gray jacket and my gym bag and head out the door. My windows are rolled down and the sunroof is open, allowing the warm breeze to whip my braid and caress my skin. My country playlist is cranked as high as it can go, and I sing along without a care in the world.

    Driving down the back roads with no other cars in sight, I race it get to Daniel’s early. My talk with Katie really helped me realize how much I like Daniel. I recognized that I was trying so hard not to fall for him simply because people were telling me I would. I decided to lean into this foreign feeling. I just hope it’s not too late.

    I’m in the middle of belting out to Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus Take the Wheel” when I feel something thump against my car and then the right side of my car lifts as if I’m driving over a speed bump. My foot slams on the break as I swerve over to the side of the road. My arms are stretched out and my knuckles turn white as I harshly grip the steering wheel. My lungs are working overtime to force me to breathe. My hands tremble as I fumble for the handle. I stumble a bit getting out of the car, but quickly catch myself. On shaky legs, I slowly make it past the bumper to see a mop of shaggy hair covered in blood.

    My hands shoot up to my mouth as tears stream down my face. I rush over and quickly kneel in front of the whimpering dog. Gently, I pick up its head and place it in my lap. I shoosh the poor animal and softly pet the fir between its ears. Its eyes look up, filled with sorrow, and plead for help. My heart clenches tightly as the guilt of hurting this unfortunate creature. My tears drop one by one, soaking into its fur. I wish so desperately I was able to use my gift for someone, or something, other than me.

    “D-Daniel, I h-hit a d…d-dog” I blubber out as hiccups rack me, causing me to stumble over my words.

    “Slow down. I can’t understand you. Tell me what happened.” Daniel calmly tells me.

    “I h-hit a dog.” I manage to spit out.

    “Where are you? I’ll come meet you.” I explain where I’m at and hang up the phone. I pull my focus back to the dog. Its breaths are coming in slower and shallower. Blood is pooled by its stomach and its leg is twisted at an odd angle. I rest my head against the dog’s head and whisper my apologies and comforting words.

    Suddenly, my skin prinks with tingles. It’s the same feeling that I woke up with. Confused, I raise my head and look around, trying to find the reason for this odd feeling. My skin continues to tingle, but a new warming sensation adds to the intensity of the tingles. It feels like an eruption of a million tiny fireworks deep inside me, trying to escape through my skin.

    From the corner of my eye, I see movement. I whip my neck in the direction, thinking it was something more ominous, to find the dog’s tail is thumping against the ground. I scrunch my eyebrows together in confusion. The next thing I know, the dog jumps up and takes a swipe at my cheek with a large, very slobbery tongue.

    Just then, I hear the rumble of a jeep and tires crunch over the gravel on the side of the road as Daniel pulls up. He jumps out and rushes over before slowing abruptly. A perplexed look contorts his facial features.

    “I thought you said you hit a dog, not found a dog.” He bends down and starts petting and scratching the overly excited dog.

    “I-I did.” I say in shock as I point to the pool of blood, the only evidence of the crime. “I don’t know what happened. One minute, I’m crying over the dog, and the next, it’s licking me in the face and jumping around.” The tingles have mostly passed. Now, all that I feel is a soft prickle, almost tickling my skin. I feel worn out, like I spent all my energy and I need a nap. The last time I felt this tired, was when the Dhedra attacked, and I hurt my leg. I slept for almost a week and was still tired when I woke up. I audibly gasp as I realize what happened.

    “Oh my! Daniel!” I cry out. He breaks his focus on the dog, still prancing around, as he looks for the danger.

    “What?” He asks, confused when he doesn’t see anything. I look at him with wide eyes.

    “I think I just healed the dog!” I say before the biggest smile crosses his face.