Authors: Nikki Landis
“Those nightmares I have been having were about today, Gran. I just didn’t know.”
She patted my arm reassuringly. “Well, that’s part of our gifts. Premonitions. Also, the vial you got for your birthday is special. It has something in it.”
“What?” I asked, thoroughly intrigued.
“Dust, magical dust. I guess that is the closest thing I can call it. It is very, very special and rare. Did you notice the gold dust fall to the ground around you? That’s what is in the vial I gave you on your birthday. Just add to it when you are low. You have to keep it safe and hidden, ok?”
Wow,
I thought. That is so cool. She had to tell me more. “Gran, that is so awesome. You have to tell me what it does.”
She laughed, patting my hair. “It can do lots of things, like shield you or protect you. Let’s just say it is special for now, all right?”
I pouted, sticking my lower lip out. Then I looked at her with my eyes wide and blinking. “Please, Gran,” I pleaded.
Gran really laughed now. “Rhia that stopped working when you were five years old. But you are right, you do need to know more.”
She patted the couch and I sat down next to her. “There are some things you need to understand. Things that are complicated and there is much you do not know or understand. Secrecy was necessary for many reasons. You need to know this world is not the only one that exists.”
I stared at her. “Really?”
She smiled. “There is another world, full of creatures, of light and dark, that you have never heard or seen. Very few people get a chance to experience both of these worlds. Very few people even know about them at all. Most people consider the truth to be stories, mythology, legend and fantasy. It’s the idea behind children’s fairytale storybooks and the Greek myths. It even influenced the great Grimm stories and Tolkien’s
The Lord of the Rings
.”
I nodded, deep in thought. It
did
make sense. I was still left with more questions than answers. “Gran, what about us? How are we connected to this other world? Why is that demon or whatever it is in our world? I don’t understand,” I told her in frustration.
“Well, we are really from that other world Rhiannon. It’s known as the Monterro Valley. We were never supposed to live here indefinitely. Your father was born there and he met your mother in our world. I was born and grew up there and so was your Gramps. We had to come to this world because of a great war long ago.” Her eyes became glassy with the memory. “We had to keep your mother hidden from a dangerous enemy that would have killed her and us. Coming here to avoid the monsters that live there...like the one you saw today, was the only choice we had. There is a gateway that exists, a bridge that connects the two worlds, allowing others to cross. As for the monsters, they aren’t supposed to be in this world. It doesn’t make sense. And I am very concerned.” Her voice was tight with emotion.
“But why was the creature here and why did it come after me today?”
“I only have guesses. I cannot say for certain. Promise me that you will be careful. I fear that you are in great danger. You need to be aware of your surroundings from now on. If anything happens again, you must let me and Gramps know right away.”
“Yes Gran, I will,” I promised, “I can only hope it was some kind of fluke.”
“Remember the dust and your ability Rhiannon. They can protect you against danger. Keep the vial with you, wear it always. And please remember to watch your surroundings.”
“Yes, I will Gran. Thank you for telling me. I am still confused but I’m trying to understand it all. I may have more questions for you later,” I told her, smiling to reassure her. I had never seen my Gran so afraid.
“Yes dear, come talk to me whenever you need to. I am always here.”
I gave her a big hug, squeezing her tight.
“Why don’t we get some dinner now? Gramps will be home soon.”
“Ok, Gran. By the way, I love you,” I squeezed again, hugging her small frame.
“Ditto. I love you too, Honey, very much. How about chicken tonight?”
I helped Gran make dinner while bombarding her with more questions. She patiently answered the best she could. Neither of us had a clue about the demon’s appearance though and that scared me. I had no idea if, or when, I would see it again.
As the next week went by I started to wonder, did I imagine the whole thing? Everything around me was normal but it didn’t feel the same, like a subtle shift had taken place and stolen my sense of equilibrium. I found myself getting a little depressed. I didn’t want to be different. Most of my life I had struggled with fitting in and being accepted by my peers. Now it felt like just one more thing to keep me from belonging.
I just wanted to be normal. Life was hard enough without adding extra burdens. I found myself quiet and introspective. At school, my friends noticed. They got a little worried about me. Mariah made extra jokes and Emily texted me constantly. I put on a brave face, but I kept worrying about that thing coming back and maybe hurting Gran or Gramps.
What evil lurked in the corners? What foul demon hungered for my flesh? Something hid in the darkness. Something watched. And it was staying close.
This line of thinking wasn’t helping me any. I noticed Kellen looking at me more often than usual. He seemed concerned. We were becoming good friends, close even, and we talked daily. He texted me often. His presence was soothing, like a balm to my soul.
I really liked his outgoing personality. Honestly, it didn’t hurt that he was so good looking either. He was always with me at school now and even carried my books for me a lot of the time. He was very sweet and provided the only distraction that tore me away from my gloomy thoughts.
But in the back of my mind, a constant worrying linger hovered on the edges, bordering on the hysterical, and left me bewildered. Were my days numbered? Was death inevitably coming for me? How much time did I have left?
In English we had a huge oral and written project coming up and Mrs. Yoder asked us to work in pairs. Kellen had looked at me with his big grin and asked me to be his partner. Like I would refuse. I had agreed easily with a smile. Any chance at spending extra time with him I jumped at. We were going to work on it over the weekend at my house.
I woke up early on Saturday, not my usual style as Gran knew, and showered. I spent forever finding something to wear. I finally ended up in a short jean skirt and a deep red silky top that floated around my body. Knee length brown leather boots and a charm bracelet completed the look. I curled my hair and added some mascara and lip gloss. If I was going to study, I might as well look good.
Gran raised her eyebrows at me when I came downstairs. It was eight in the morning on a Saturday and I was fully alert and dressed. I smiled a huge grin at her and sat at the table, humming and pouring some juice.
“Gran, Kellen and I are studying today. We have a project for English class.”
She nodded and looked me over but didn’t say anything. I wiggled my eyebrows up and down and she giggled. My Gran rolled her eyes at me. Seriously? It made me laugh out loud. Sometimes she was so much younger than her age. I loved it.
Kellen said he was coming over at nine. I got a little restless waiting for the time. It seemed to be taking forever. Gran watched me pace with interest, smiling. She set to work in the kitchen baking some cookies and bread. She was going to make my favorite, a homemade lemon poppy seed.
When the doorbell rang, I calmly walked over to it and answered it after he had pushed it twice. Gran had watched me wait for the second ring at the door. I didn’t want to seem too eager. I opened it slowly. When I saw him, I nearly fell over he looked so good. Amazing. Like human candy.
He was wearing a white t-shirt and jeans. The way that shirt showed off his tan skin and muscles made my head spin. It molded to his body, like a second skin.
“Hi Kellen.” I told him a bit unsteadily.
His grin was huge. “Hi Rhiannon, ready to study?”
I nodded and let him in the door. He followed me into the kitchen.
“Hello Kellen,” Gran greeted him.
“Hello ma-am,” he said politely.
“Did you have breakfast already Kellen? I have plenty of muffins left over.” Gran would feed the whole world if she could. She was such a good caretaker.
“No, I kind of skipped breakfast,” he admitted.
Gran clucked her tongue. “You can’t study on an empty stomach. Sit down,” she ordered.
She set about making him bacon and eggs and wouldn’t take no for an answer. He ate everything she put in front of him including four muffins and a banana. Just like at school, I couldn’t believe he could eat so much. I raised an eyebrow at him when he finished, not sure whether he was actually done or not. He grinned and thanked Gran.
“Are you finished now? I think we might have food left somewhere,” I told him sarcastically.
“Yes, I think so. Do you have anything left?” He didn’t mind the teasing.
“I’m making cookies and bread Kellen, you can have some later,” Gran informed him smiling.
We pulled out our books and set to work on our project, laying it out on the dining room table. It was about the renaissance. We were going to cover daily living during the time period. I pulled out a huge piece of white poster board and we folded it into thirds for our presentation. Mrs. Yoder didn’t like us to use PowerPoint for our presentations. She believed we needed to be creative and get up in front of the class the old fashioned way. Yay us.
Kellen was writing down information on note cards for us. I took a sheet of stencils and started on the title. I wanted it to be big and pretty across the front. I was concentrating on the second word when I felt him looking at me.
I turned toward him, glancing up, and noticed he was right there. I guess he had moved his chair closer without my realizing it. His face was only a few inches from mine. I was looking right into his big green eyes. His dimple showed on his left cheek.
“Rhiannon, why don’t we take a break? We’ve been at this for a while.”
I thought it was interesting that he thought it was awhile. It was only about thirty minutes. “Ok, sure,” I said gladly.
As we stood up, Kellen took my hand and led me toward the front door. “Would you like to go for a walk? It’s a nice morning.” He told me cheerfully.
He didn’t give me a chance to respond and pulled me out of the front door, walking down the sidewalk, and still holding my hand. I looked at him curiously. What was he up to? I had the distinct feeling he was up to something. Paying attention to that intuition Gran had told me about, I watched him curiously. He must have noticed my perusal.
“I wanted to be alone for a little bit,” he explained, winking.
I blushed and he grinned wider. “All right.”
He started humming as we went around the corner from the house and headed down the sidewalk, toward the direction of the forest. I eyed the tall trees a bit apprehensively. I hadn’t been back since the incident with the Minotaur. I wasn’t too keen on going back there now. In fact, realizing it quickly, I was scared.
What if that thing was still in there? I trembled slightly with the memory. Kellen noticed me stiffen. When he looked at me, my eyes were wide with fear.
“Rhiannon, what is it? What’s wrong?” He demanded, sounding concerned.
“I don’t think I want to go in there,” I told him fearfully.
“Why? What’s the matter? I thought you loved the forest and nature walks.”
“I do. It’s just that…I um, something came after me the other day while I was here. It was big and scared me really bad.” Oh please don’t think I am crazy.
He looked straight into my eyes and placed his hands on my cheeks. “Are you all right? Were you hurt?” He seemed anxious.
“No, but I was pretty frightened. I’m not sure what it was,” I told him. I didn’t like lying but I didn’t want him to think that I was a lunatic either. Imagine his response. He would probably take me to the loony bin himself. No thanks.
“Rhiannon, I…” He didn’t finish.
I continued to stare into his eyes, mesmerized by his concern for me. He leaned his face just a little closer to mine. “I don’t think we’ll go in there today, ok?” His voice was very low.
“Yes, thank you. I’m scared,” I said, shaking slightly.
He dropped his hands and put his arm around my shoulder. He steered us the other direction and we walked silently back to my house. Inside, we finished our project early. He stood up to leave when Gran offered some of her goodies. He happily accepted a plate full and sat back down. I asked him if he wanted to stay for a movie and he agreed.
We watched a recently released action adventure film about a super hero. I had the lights low so we had good atmosphere. Kellen sat next to me on the couch, our arms touching the whole time. I had the same feeling as that first day we met at school, a kind of electricity that seemed to zip through the air and hover around us. I’m pretty sure he felt it too since he kept looking at me all night instead of the movie.
Later, I walked him to the door and down the steps. We both stood there a little awkwardly, not wanting to say goodbye. He had his hands deep in his front pockets again and was kicking at a rock lightly with his foot. We were both quiet for a moment before I finally told him good night.
“Bye, Kellen, thanks for working on the project with me,” I told him softly, a little nervous.
“I’m glad you agreed to be my partner. Thanks for the movie. Oh, tell your Gran thank you for me. I’m actually full.” He patted his stomach, as if in triumph.
I laughed softly. It wasn’t right someone so lean could eat so much food I thought in humor. He must have an amazing metabolism.
“I will,” I replied, “see you later.” I turned to walk back into the house when he caught my arm. I immediately looked up at him and saw his gorgeous smile. He raised his other hand to gently brush the stray hair back from my face and then let it trace my cheek and along my jaw line before he let it fall.
I was completely entranced by the tender expression on his face. It held me captive as I kept staring into his deep green eyes that shimmered like a glassy sea. It looked like he cared for me, more than a little. More than just a casual interest. The thought sent the butterflies in my stomach to fluttering, as usual, and I felt my heart beating in my chest.
“Goodnight, Rhiannon.” His voice caressed my skin. “I’ll see you soon.”
He stayed where he was for another minute and then he turned, dropping his hand, and walked toward the Hummer whistling. I stood there watching him leave with my legs wobbly as gelatin and my eyes dreamy. Gran noticed when I walked in. She smiled and I waved to her as I went silently upstairs to bed. I closed the door quietly behind me and leaned against it, nudging the pile of clothing on the floor.
I realized instantly that I was really starting to like Kellen. Falling for him, actually, hook line and sinker. I had no idea where things were going but I was enjoying the process of getting there. I only knew that my heart was becoming attached.
Kellen had me forgetting all about my worries. Lying in bed, he consumed my thoughts for a long time. He was a welcome distraction from the fear and uncertainty that consumed my mind. That was definitely a good thing considering my preoccupation lately. Thinking about that made me realize something, leading to a startling conclusion.
I suddenly remembered that novel I had been reading from school, the one about the metamorphosis and the guy turning into a giant bug. I hadn’t gotten the point of the book before. Why write such a story? Why was it required material? It had frustrated me that we had to read it for school. The story had seemed so silly and pointless to me at the time. Now, I understood. I could sympathize in a way I hadn’t been able before.
The book was about more than just an abrupt change in Gregor’s physical form. It was the metamorphosis of his mind and character. Gregor chose to retreat into himself and then was forced to stay there. He became imprisoned within his form as an insect and ultimately dies of starvation, neglect, and rejection. It was such a sad and lonely story. But it showed me something.
I realized our physical forms, whatever they may be, do not define who we are. It’s about who we are
inside
and the choices we make with what we are given. We all make a metamorphosis with our soul and that was what mattered. We had choices. Nothing was decided. Each day new and filled with promise.
I was strangely comforted by that knowledge. I had been freaking out about my experience with the demonic Minotaur, feeling the presence of evil and death, and finding out about my heritage. I had felt like a freak and outcast. The future had seemed uncertain and frightening. I had wondered wildly what was going to happen to me.
Now I knew with profound insight that I had been looking at it the wrong way. I had a choice. I could go down any number of paths. Nothing was set in stone. My future was an open book. I could write it any way I desired.
Changes would come and I would be changed in the process. That was the point. Life was meant to be lived. Experience shaped us, molded us into who we are meant to be. That was the truth that Gregor missed and the truth that I would embrace. This was my time, my decision, my journey to take. It was
my
metamorphosis.