Page 48 of A Curse On Black Lake
I smile and study the horses grazing down the hill. “It was. Grams seemed to know what was going on, but she didn’t tell me right away. I was exhausted, so she got me to bed, and then…”
Killian leans forward in his chair, waiting for me to continue.
“I woke up screaming because I heard all these voices in my head. It wasterrifying.I thought I was losing my mind, maybe even dying. Once Grams got me calmed down, she explained that I toed the line. I was a seer, and what I have is special, a gift from God. I was destined to live on the line between life and death, as my ancestors did many generations before me. The last seer in my family was my great-great grandmother. The Spirits talk to me. They can’t see into the future or anything, but they are told things we wouldn’t know because they’re on the other side.”
“It’s like you have a line to God,” Killian says.
I shrug and start braiding my hair nervously. “I wouldn’t put it that way, but I know what you're saying. Many people were sent visions directly from God. I haven’t had visions, but dreams sometimes. All of it is part of the reason I came to you, and Grams said I had to find you, and Ialwaystrust what she says. Always.”
“And the Spirits told you to help me?” he asks.
“Yeah.”
“And they didn’t explain why?” he asks.
“Wait, you’re not freaked out?” I’m shocked at how calm he is, like this is a totally normal conversation, and I didn’t tell him there are voices in my head.
“It’s weird, that’s for damn sure. But stranger things, right? Sounds to me like an amazing but sort of heavy gift.”
I jerk back at his total acceptance. My eyes burn, and I blink the tears away. Killian’s validation of something that I’ve struggled with for the majority of my life blows me away, and I like him even more for it. My legs grow weak, and I plop down on the chair so I don’t fall over.
“Have you ever told anyone else about the … voices?” he asks.
I nod, thinking of the only friend I’ve had in a very long time. “Yeah, his name was Eddy. I was homeschooled at that point. He moved in down the street from me and popped up one day.” I smile, remembering how he approached me. “At that point I was really nervous around people, so I was hesitant with him, and I was still learning to work with the Spirits. He started asking me questions about plants, and he noticed I talked to myself a lot, so I eventually told him. He thought it was cool.”
“And he’s not in Black Lake anymore?” Killian asks.
“No, we … had a falling out. Anyway, thank you.”
“Nothin’ to thank me for. But I have to ask, what does this have to do with me? Why did they send you to me?” he asks.
“Well … I had a dream, and the point of it is someone was after me, and then someone helped me. I couldn’t see his face, and then you helped me out of the ditch. I knew it was you, as bizarre as that sounds.”
“It wasn’t because we’ve seen each other in passing over the years?” he asks.
“Surprisingly, no. But, a few weeks or so before that, Grams died, and she said …” I take a deep breath, but a sob rips through my lips, and it hurts to speak. The pain of missing her drowns me for a moment as I kick to the surface trying to find breath.
Killian’s hand rubs circles between my shoulder blades in a soothing motion. I gasp as my heart shreds in my chest. “Breathe. You can do it. Deep breaths.”
I do as he says, taking long breaths in and out, in and out while I fixate on his hand rubbing my back.
Eventually, I’m able to inhale normally, and he sits back down. “She said I have to find the one I saw in my dream. All will be made well when we find it within each other.”
“I don’t suppose she told you whatitis, did she?”
I smile sadly and shake my head.
He squeezes my shoulder before dropping his hand.
“I know it’s a lot,” I rasp.
Killian sighs and runs his hand through his sweaty hair, making it stand on end in funny places. “It is. But it still doesn’t explain why me?”
“I don’t know. If I did, I’d tell you.”
“Can’t have it all, can we?” he says.
Closing my eyes, I take another deep breath.
