Finn turned to me and told me, "Our body is a vessel that holds our Spirit at it's core. We have points that run along our spine, called chakras, that energy flows along." He walked around me, and I tried to turn to face him, but he held my shoulders and stood behind me, turning my head back to face forward. Then, he brought his body close to mine so that he was almost against my back. He touched the top of my head, then raised his hand just slightly so I knew he was hovering it just above me.
"This is your Crown chakra." He reached his arm around and touched the center of my forehead with two fingers. "This is your Third Eye chakra." He moved down to cup his hand around the front of my throat. "Your throat chakra." He placed his hand over my heart, and the farther down he went, my heart beat faster. With his hand on my heart, I was moved to cover his hand with mine. "This is your heart chakra," he whispered this close to my ear, and it gave me chills. Then, he moved both of his hands around my waist and held me close to him with his hands resting just above my bellybutton. "This is your Solar Plexus chakra." He slid his hands down to my belly, which made me a little self-conscious, but he didn't seem to notice. He said, "This one is your Sex chakra, but it just means it's tied to your reproductive organs." His hands moved farther down to settle on the front of my hips in the crease where my hips meet my thighs. "And at the base of your spine is your Root chakra." He dropped his hands and walked back around to stand in front of me. His eyes were dark, but I wasn't afraid of him. He brought my hands up, palms up, between us. He asked me, "Which hand is your dominant hand?"
I was confused? "Which hand do you use the most, like for writing or throwing?" he clarified.
"Oh," I said, "My right hand."
"Ok, that's usually the case. Your dominant hand is called your projection hand. It sends your energy out. And your receptive hand, in this case your left hand, draws energy in. So, to cycle energy, you must first raise the energy within yourself. When I did it with you last time, I was lifting up a prayer to the spirits. But a simpler way to do it is to close your eyes and imagine your feet planted to the Earth." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I tried to imagine it as he kept talking. "Feel your roots spreading down, deeper into the ground and holding you securely. Now, draw out the energy of the Earth. The power that charges the soil and the stones and supports life." I did this and I felt a little stronger.
Then, Finn took my arms. At some point he had come to stand behind me again. He raised my arms up to a V. He splayed his hands out across the backs of mine so my hands would open. "Use the power of the Earth to grow, reaching up toward the sky." I was taking deep, slow breaths. The palms of my hands grew hot, and my body even warmed around my core. I imagined myself held to the ground, but stretching up to the height of the trees. Finn slid his hands down the length of my arms until his hands stopped just under my arms. He came back around to stand in front of me and touched the biceps of my arms to indicate he wanted me to lower my arms. "You can open your eyes," he said. I looked at him, still feeling the build of my energy, but calm and ready to release the energy.
"Now, that you've built up your energy," he said taking my right palm and pressing his left palm to it, "you can release that energy into something that is ready to receive it."
It was as if a flame was pressed between our palms. The heat was so intense, but as I focused to drive my energy into his hand, I felt my body cool. He pressed his right palm to my left and said, "And you can draw my energy out and through you. Let the energy flow through your chakras, in through your left hand and out through your right. Our energies will balance each other, and we are connected by them."
I felt the hot rush of his energy into my left hand and, instinctively, my body was pulled up straight, as if my spine straightened on its own from the flow of energy. We stood there cycling our energy. I don't remember when I closed my eyes again, but my mouth had fallen open. Then, I felt Finn's breath lightly in front of my face. I held my breath, and he covered my mouth with his. I slid my arms around his waist and he pulled me close and we kissed deeply. I still felt the energy flowing, but it emanated from our bodies as we wrapped around each other. He pulled away from the kiss and pressed his forehead to mine. A breeze kicked up around us, and I felt that we had drawn the spirits to us. I opened my eyes again and pulled my head away from his so that I could look into his eyes. When he looked back at me, I knew he knew that my spirit was awake now. It was as if I was seeing him for the first time. He was still my handsome warrior, but I felt now that I was his equal. I wasn't some delicate maid, but I had power in me.
"You feel it now, don't you?" he asked.
"Yes." My voice same out as a whisper. I said it again with more force, knowing that I shouldn't be afraid to declare it. "Yes, I feel my own power." He pulled me into a hug, and I held onto him, letting the energy swirl. It was calmer now, but still strong. He pulled out of the hug and stepped away from me.
"That's enough for now. We need to ground ourselves." He led me to the front door of his shed. "Wait here," he told me. He opened the door and went inside. Finding a flashlight and using it to search through little boxes and bags, he finally emerged again. He placed a small, rough, black stone in my left hand.
"Here, you keep this. Hold onto it, and keep it in your pocket if you can."
"What is it?" I asked him.
"It's an obsidian stone. It helps with grounding. Let's go back in and try to eat something. That's also good for grounding."
He took my hand and led me back to the house. It was dark, except for the little bit of light coming from the back porch. I made a fist around the stone, and I felt a little light headed. Like the power I had built had drained me now that it was leaving. We went inside and he sat me on the couch. Then, he went in the kitchen to find something for us to eat. The house was quiet. I looked at the clock and it was 9:00.
Finn came back with some cold pizza on a paper towel, one for each of us. I wasn't really hungry, but I ate it down to the crust. I set it down on the coffee table.
"I need to use the bathroom, but I should probably go home soon."
"Ok," he said between bites. I got up and excused myself to the bathroom. While I was washing my hands, I looked in the mirror. My pupils were dilated a bit. I watched them and they seemed to pulsate, growing and shrinking slightly. They flashed into snake eyes, then back to my regular eyes again. Suddenly I was aware of the weight of the amulet resting against my breastbone. I dried my hands and went out into the hallway. Finn's parents had heard me and came out of their room to meet me in the hallway.
"How did it go?" Owen asked me.
I smiled at them. "It went great." They looked at each other, smiling. We all headed into the living room where Finn was still waiting. I picked up the crust I had left and finished it off, crumpling the paper towel in my hand. Finn held his hand out for me to hand it to him, and I said, "Well, I guess I should be getting back home now."
"Alright, dear, good night." Minerva said. Finn walked me out to my car. I didn't have anything to say, but I think Finn understood that because he didn't say anything either. He kissed my hand, and said he loved me. I told him I loved him back, got in my car, and drove away.