I've taken a shower to clear my head. I've tucked myself into bed and pulled the covers up to my neck. I'm both nervous and curious. Curiosity overweighs the nerves so I decide to tap into the thoughts box. I'm holding it in both hands and the glow emanating from it fills my whole room with an eerie red glow.
The glow continues to increase brightness and when I almost throw the box to the ground, a voice booms through. My eyes sting from being exposed to such an intense light. My surprise overrides the pain in my eyes, I was expecting words to be inked onto the wall or maybe for the box to work like a projector. A voice was not even on my guess list.
I sit still to pay attention, it's Kira's voice.
"Hey sis, I wanted you to find me." Tears stream down my cheeks at this phrase, she wanted me to find her? She must have been lonely, it continues,
"I spent many of my early years trying to find a way to make this. When I finally made a break through, I went a step further to make it in such a way that it would only recognize you and only you can open it. I only wanted you to have access to my thoughts."
I'm shivering in disgust of myself, a sister I had lost that many years ago kept me this close. Yet I had dumped her somewhere in my 'to be forgotten thoughts'. I had made a resolution to forget anything that might bring me grief since the incident from 18 years ago.
"The day of the fire back home, I walked away from the road in a hope to find help. I had gone back and found it in ruins but I vowed to myself that if ever I grow up to be capable I will rebuild something just like it."
I clasp a hand to my mouth struck with realization. Her cottage. No wonder it looked familiar. She even built it close to the woods to imitate dad's plantation in the backyard. I beat myself up for not wanting my home to look anything like our old house when she'd embraced and rebuilt it.
"I was adopted by a poor farmer's family. We lived in little white cottage by a lake. I liked it, it's simplicity madee feel like I was still at our home.They loved me like a daughter. I learnt about herbs from my foster mom. She had a little garden in the back yard. We grew rosehips, dandelions, tulips, wormwood, rosemary,..the list is endless. It's where I did my trials and errors until I managed to make concortions for the thoughts box.
"When I turned 18, they found a suitor for me. I didn't want to marry him but I felt indebted to my foster family so I reluctantly agreed, out of duty."
"His name was Triek, tall, black hair, grey eyes and a hard worker. I didn't like him at first but I respected him. The respect was mutual. He was patient with me until we both fell inlove."
Sweet love, I'm tearing up again but this time they are tears of joy. It feels like she is right here with me, filling me in on all the years I have missed.
"I mixed in chamomile, the flower of presence. If you feel like I'm right there with you, then it worked. I did it as an experiment."
This got me laughing my lungs out, in amusement and partly to shake off the feeling of uneasiness creeping up my spine. She read my thoughts from the other side. Creepy.
"Ok back to my married life. I got a little carried away by my bragging there. We spent five years trying for a baby but we met failure at every turn. We tried everything, I even went as far as consulting other witches. All my efforts were futile. I tried experimenting with the herbs I had acquired knowledge about but non of it worked.
One good thing came out of all of the experimenting though, I deepened my knowledge about herbs and our craft"
I run a hand through my hair thinking, right– our craft.
I have long separated myself from the witches craft. I'm still bitter about how it was the reason why my parents got killed.
My sister has always been the good daughter, I guess that's why she forgave easily and moved on.
Or maybe there was nothing to forgive on her side, she probably never heard the reason behind our loss– mom, dad and our lovely home.
My hands are hurting from keeping them outstretched for so long. I get off the bed folding and unfolding them, in a quest to relieve the pain. I head downstairs to get myself a beer.
"Damn, for goodness sake." I scream as the beer forms over the can, spilling to the floor as soon as I open it. I head to the cupboards across the refrigerator to grab a paper towel to clean the floor.
Are those footsteps? I wonder looking around trying to figure out the direction of the source of the sound. Then I see a shadow whiz past the kitchen window overlooking the living room. I almost jump out of my skin, but I manage to compose myself. I round the table and tip toe to the living room. Everything is in place, nothing seems disturbed.
I hit my hand to my forehead, stupid imaginations. It's probably my mind making things up or it could have been Lynn. It's not like I live alone anyway.
I grab my beer and check up on Lynn on my way back up. She's snuggled in bed, eyes shut in a peaceful sleep.
On the rest of the way to my room, I'm wondering if the thought box will resume from where I left or start over.
I resume my position on the bed and hold the cylinder in my hand, it goes through the same process of increasing it's glow, this time I knew better and shut my eyes.
I sigh a breath of relief when it resumes.
"Triek was very supportive and was always there for me. He wasn't one to say many words but his mere presence was a welcome comfort.
The farm gave us a good harvest in the fifth year. Triek suggested we move somewhere else. His reason was that a good change of environment will help me move on. I could sense that he had given up on a baby. He had actually accepted our barrenness. Everyday, I wished I had his spirit, one of easily coming to terms with it.
He finally managed to tear me away from the farm and we moved to Blue grass. I fell inlove with the little cottage and it's surroundings because it reminded me of our home.
It's where we got our miracle. I established my herbal garden on the Eastern side of our home because I believe that the first rays of a rising sun have healing power. I believed that the sun kissed herbs possesed more healing power.
One day I was tending to it and I saw a new plant. It had a silver lining along it's light green leaves and purple flowers were blooming, a shocking sight since it had only sprouted that day.
It only took a few weeks of me tending to it until it developed oval shaped pink fruits. I had an intuition to add it onto my tea rack.
The first cup of tea I had sent a relief washing over me. It felt as if my whole body had been in binds and just been loosened. I called it soulagement.
The miracle started showing a few months on. My baby bump was showing and Triek was elated. I laughed at him for being this happy when he had given up."
I need twenty litres of water tomorrow. I'm sure all this crying I've done tonight has dehydrated me. I'm sniffing back tears, my sister went through so much, only to have her child taken away from her. By me.
I'm curious to know how we ended up crossing paths and Lynn ending with me.
A yawn tears from me, it makes me wonder what time it is. I reach for my phone and the time has me releasing the cylinder from my hands.
I have a party to prepare for, I wouldn't want to attend with dark circles around my eyes. I need to atleast get a wink of sleep. I tuck the cylinder away into a box I bought for it and locked it in the safe behind my dresser mirror. I don't want Lynn finding out about it yet.
The sun rose too early. I drag myself out of bed, I barely slept. I'm hoping that this lack of sleep won't make me grumpy.
I pull a robe around myself and put a foot in front of another, this is not walking, my feet feel like logs, to Lynn's room.
"Hey cream pie, wake up. We have a party to attend."