The Rebirth of a Dragon: Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

 

December 21, 2004-sometime after lunch

     

Today, I am eight years-old. And this is the weirdest birthday ever. First of all, I can't see my mom, dad and siblings. The people giving me a birthday are all bad guys. I don't see why those adults celebrate with me if I can't even leave here. They think I'm just some stupid kid that they can get to do whatever they want, but I still remember papa's face during that time and what they threatened to do to mama. I promise that no matter what happens I won't forget and I'll never let those adults read what I write here. They may have gotten this for me, but I still have siblings and know how to keep a good secret and hide things really well. I know that I won't be here forever too because when I left with those grown-ups papa said, "My little one, do not forget us and know that you will never stray from our thoughts and be one who is close to our hearts." He didn't say bye-bye and he told me to always think about him and mama and everyone else so that means that we are going to see each other again. I hear footsteps now so I'll hide this for now, but when they go away I'll write what happened.

December 21, 2004-early twilight

When those oldies came in they had on these smiles that were just scary and asked those stupid questions about my dreams again. Like I'd ever tell them what I really dreamed so I just told them that I forgot it. For a second, I thought that they were gonna get really mad and hit me like the bad guys do in the movies. You know, I've never been hit before. Not even that time that I punched that guy in school for making fun of my brother. Anyways, they just put on the same phony smiles and Scarface (scariest one) said, "My dear, we know that you are very young and things like these do happen, but it has been been nearly a month since you have come here and that has been your answer each and every time. Next time try not to forget, after all you are a pretty child and it would be such a shame if something happened to that prettiness when you are so young." Now, I may only be a kid, but I've seen movies and read books. I know when someone is saying to do what they want or your going to get hurt. And anyways, out of all those oldies Scarface is the one who scares me the most. I wonder if I should lie, but I've never lied before. Mama says that lying is wrong, but what they're doing is more wrong so I guess it's okay. Right? Now I'm not to sure. I'll see what happens and then pick what to do. It's starting to get dark now and I want to read before I sleep so that's it for today.

December 22-sometime after breakfast

Today they (the bad guys) asked me that question. They were so stupid. Instead of telling them my real dream I told them that I dreamed of papa practicing with my brother. They even believed me. This just shows you what happens when you underestimate a kid. The bad part is- 

     Seth-kid heard footsteps from outside so he closed the diary, absently tucked it in his bag, and hid under the bed. He held his breath and waited for the footsteps to recede. After what seemed to be an eternity, but what was really only a few seconds Kid-Seth slid from under the bed. He then slipped out the door. After this happened Seth felt Josephine grab, or more like yank, his hand and push him through another vortex.   

    This time when they came out, Josephine landed on her feet, but Seth landed flat on his back. He gave himself a mental high-five that he did not faint like a girl this time and then faintly wondered if he was getting used to the vortex thing.He muttered a curse and then said, "If we were inside my memories how come it feels like I fell from some random place?" Josephine helped him up and then said, "Because although we were visiting your memories, I can't just pop both of our consciousnesses into your brain so I took us to a place that deals with only your lifetime." He looked at her like she was speaking Greek and then said, "Never mind. I've got enough on my mind to think about without trying to think about how your abilities work." 

     After this new proof, Seth sat down and looked at the events that had happened all in the span of two days. He knew that he was not in a dream because the pain that he felt was real and he had woken up on his motorcycle instead of his bed so he did not hold out hope that this was some elaborate scenario that his psyche had created from the trauma of getting into a fight. He had no choice, but to rule out the insane idea because of the proof that was shown to him not only by Josephine, but also by his own body. In the midst of his thoughts a cellphone went off and Josephine  whispered a curse before saying, "Hey, I really hate to run after showing you all that, but we were there for a while so I have to head home before I get even more screwed than I already am." Seth absently nodded and wondered what the hell he was supposed to do now.

The Reburth of a Dragon: Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

    Seth remembered reading that Gothic architecture was designed to make the visitor of the building feel small and insignificant. He had never before believed that a building could inspire such emotions, but following his younger self, he began to understand and remember that feeling. Now that he thought about it, the feeling of remembering his memories as he watched his younger self experience what happened to him for the first time was sort of surreal and Seth thought that he probably did not want to make a repeat of this experience, not that he had much of a choice the first time around.

       The corridor they were walking in fit the Gothic/horror theme that the outside gave. It was dark because there was nothing to light the way, but from what Seth could barely make out, it wouldn't seem to be appealing even if there was a light. The walls were made of stone and Seth remembered that they felt like ice to the touch. As for Kid-Seth, he had taken his gloves off when he entered the building and was now feeling his way across the walls to move around. As for Josephine, she seemed to have turned three shades paler when entering and as a result, seemed to forget about her anger. Seth knew this to be true because when they entered, she always made sure that they were walking shoulder length apart. 

     Seth didn't want to upset her again so he focused all his attention on following his younger self and pretended not to notice her fear of this place. He had reasoned that if  she wanted to keep her secrets, it was fine by him for heaven knew that he couldn't deal with anymore baggage for a long, long while. As soon as he thought this, a wave of guilt hit him. This was followed by anger and annoyance that he should feel guilty for not being able to help a person who so obviously didn't care for him, but a tiny voice from deep in his psyche whispered, "If that were true, then why did she try to warn you about her dream? Why did she continue to push the subject, even after you had so blatantly disregarded her words as nonsense? And why are you currently in this situation? Would someone who gave no thought to your well being have went so far for you?" Seth would rather deal with his irritation than with the feelings that some  of these questions brought up so he mentally told that voice to take a hike. In response, Seth could have sworn that this voice had called him an idiot.

    This made him pause and break the silence by asking Josephine if it was possible to enter another person's mind and fool the said person into thinking thoughts that are not that person's thoughts. She replied by telling him that although there were a lot of creatures that could read minds and think things into another's mind, but the person that it was being done to would be able to differentiate his thoughts from the thoughts of the alien presence in his mind. When she finished explaining, she asked him why he would ask something like that. Seth thought that hell would freeze over before he ever told her about his inner monologue. Out loud, he said, "No reason. Just call it morbid curiosity that happened in the spur of the moment." She gave him an odd look, but let the subject drop. 

       Afterwards both focused on Kid-Seth because the wall had ended and turned into a corner that looked like a stairwell, but unlike the corridor, the wall adjacent the stairwell was filled with lit candelabras. When faced with this, the child looked at the stairwell with big, fearful eyes that were shaken off after he took a picture of the stairwell and tested the first couple of stairs to deem them safe for travel. Seth remembered that at the time, he thought that he had gone too far to back out now so he might as well finish exploring this place and that he might never have a chance like this again. 

      With a light to guide him, navigation became much easier for the child and with that power came the sort of confidence that only a child could muster in such a situation. Because of this fact, it was only natural that Kid-Seth passed through the stairwell much faster than he had the corridor. And at the top of this stairwell was not another corridor as the ten year-old expected, but a door. And when he opened that door, he saw a room. What surprised him the most was that it was not a room that matched the rest of the castle with it's dark and gloomy colors that seemed to give an aura of despair, but that it was but a child's room that awaited him.

      It was a room filled with the things that any ordinary girl-child would enjoy. The walls were pink with the exception of one side which was a mural of the forest that stood outside, but in the middle of spring instead of winter. The right corner was filled with toys and there was a bed designed for one of Kid-Seth's height in the left corner. It was directly below this ledge that was just under a giant window that overlooked the forest below. The bed was also the pink of most of the room. On the right of it was a bookshelf, no taller than Kid-Seth's eyes, filled with fairy tales and classics in a variety of languages. 

      Kid-Seth had bended down to take a look at the contents of the shelf and before he got up, he caught something out of the corner of his eye. When he turned to the bed there was something jammed in under the mattress. Kid-Seth pulled it out and saw that it was some sort of diary. The cover read, "J's Journal" in pretty cursive writing. He wondered who J was for a moment and in his imagination thought that it must be the name of the girl who lived here.

      Kid-Seth knew that it would be rude to read someone's diary, but the temptation of finding out what it was like for whoever lived here proved to be too much for the boy. So with a silent apology he cracked it open and read with the present Seth and Josephine able to follow along with him through the same power that had brought them here.

       

    

    

The Rebirth of a Dragon: Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

      For the first few minutes, Kid-Seth walked carefully, but after he was sure that the road was safe he developed a steady, speedy pace and kept his eyes peeled for the scarred tree. His movements were watched by the present Seth and Josephine as they followed his path. After a few minutes, Josephine said, "Hey, I've been wondering something for a little while now." Seth said, "Yeah, what?" She said, "What the hell happened to you?" He asked her hat she meant and she replied, "When you were a kid, you had the guts to go on some treasure hunt to a place that might not even exist, but when I first met you, you seemed to be the type that would do anything to survive, even if it meant being a complete wuss." 

     "That's not true. I'm not coward. I never was and I never will be," stated Seth. In response, She asked, "Then why was your head down and why did you try to make yourself disappear from your own desk?" He said, "I don't know, but if I had to guess, it would be because I know the rumors about some of the kids in school and even though I'm not the type to listen to gossip, I know for a fact that some of those rumors are true and I guess I just wanted-actually I'm not even sure what I wanted. In the end, I suppose that I justified my actions to be one of those facts of life that you want to change, but you just can't."  She asked him why and he said, "I don't know. 'Cause that's life and you don't always get to be the person you want to be or get to do all the things you want to do."

          She looked like she was gonna say something, but stopped because Kid-Seth had found the tree with the cross-shaped scar. It was the strangest thing, in a forest filled only with evergreen trees, there stood the largest oak tree that both the ten year-old Seth and the sixteen year-old Seth had ever seen. It's roots were so big that they reached above the ground and were possible to climb on. It's branches seemed to stretch forever and the trunk seemed to be thicker and wider than a house. And in the center of that trunk was a pale cross that spanned the entire front side of the tree. 

        Seth turned to Josephine to see what she thought, but stopped when he saw her pale at the sight of the tree.  He put his hand on her shoulder to try to turn her to see what was wrong with her, but at his touch she screamed and went into a fetal position on the ground while saying, "Please don't make me go back their," over and over again like some mantra. Normally, he wouldn't have paid attention to things like this, but he had come close to a panic attack earlier today and more to the point, if he didn't do anything he knew that the guilt would make him feel like a complete asshole and he didn't want to deal with that sort of responsibility. 

     It was this reasoning that made Seth get down and say, "Hey, Josephine... Josephine- Earth to Josephine!" With her eyes filled with fear she looked up and said in a weak voice, "What?" "I'm not really sure what your afraid of, but this is just a memory and we can't even feel the cold here so that stands to reason that whatever caused your fear is also a part of the memory and by default not real in the time and place that both of us are from," calmly reasoned Seth. "Yeah, and what's your point," hesitantly asked Josephine. He said, "No one is coming to take you to anyplace you don't want to go...feeling better?" 

       At her nod, he helped her up and said, "But it is a surprise. Even someone like you has things that their afraid of." At this she seemed to get mad. Seth knew this to be true because she quickly walked ahead of him and at his cry that she wait, she turned back to him with a glare that could turn the strongest to dust and said, "You may not be a coward, but you are an ass." Seth blanked and wondered what he did wrong and then remembered that she was a girl and that because of this it would be hard to figure out what he did wrong. This caused him to reason that it would be best to keep his distance until she calmed done and then broach the subject. After looking at her angry form again, he thought,"Or I could ignore the subject and hope she forgets about it and then try to get along with her by not mentioning whatever it was that I did."

      As this had gone on, Kid-Seth had found the pathway and had already maneuvered through the branches before taking a picture of the tree. When Seth and Josephine came to the tree, they just walked through it as if they were ghosts. The road this time was a lot more ruff and Kid-Seth's pace was a lot slower than it was earlier. This time, there was nothing to pass the time with because Josephine still refused to speak to the Seth of the present. 

     During this time Seth let his thoughts wander, but decided to concentrate on his younger self when he realized that all he had was a lot of questions with no answers and this made him regret storming out the other night. This, in turn, only made him dread the coming confrontation that he would have to make with his own parents. A fact, which only served to strengthen his resolve to concentrate at the task at hand. After what seemed to be an eternity, All three stopped in front of a castle that looked like either Hogwarts or Dracula's castle. After a moment's hesitation, Kid-Seth entered with the present Seth and Josephine trailing behind.

       

The Rebirth of a Dragon:Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

     He was falling. It was a strange experience that reminded him of Alice when she followed the white rabbit down the hole into Wonderland. The only anchor he could find was Josephine so he held onto her with both his arms because in the deep recesses of his subconscious, he just knew that if he let go of her, he would never find his way out again. After what seemed like forever, but must have been closer to seconds or minutes, Josephine said, "You can let go of me now." He looked around and saw that they were standing near a house that was surrounded by trees with a single road that lead to, what seemed to be, the middle of nowhere. The snow that he saw told him that it was deep in the winter. 

     After seeing a place that he knew should and did in fact exist, all of his fear seemed to vanish and he became aware of the feel of her body against his. He hastily pushed her aside in embarrassment. Seth didn't think himself to be completely hideous and had been on his share of dates, but this was still the same girl who had insulted him when they had first met and he did have some pride still left in him. He noticed that she was blushing from this encounter and to his humiliation, he felt a burning creep up his neck. She then coughed and said,"So... This is your memory. Now where is the younger you."

     Right on cue, a beat-up Mercedes from the 1970s drove up. Out stepped, a man in his early thirties, Seth's parents, and a ten year-old version of Seth. Seth recalled a vague memory of spending his Christmases at his uncle's house, but his family had stopped doing that after he had turned eleven so this must have been the last time he had been here. He didn't know why, but he had a feeling that this was an important memory and that he should pay close attention. 

      Aleksander said, "Thank you again for picking us up from the train station, Jo-I mean Mr. Snow." Seth's uncle turned to him and said, "It's Doc Snow to you." The present Seth said, "That's right." Josephine asked, "What's right?" He replied, "Uncle John never did like dad. He had this thing against foreigners and even if he didn't, he always said that he never trusted a man who could talk his way out of anything, dance, or cook and Dad could do all those things. Every time we came here, Dad spent the entire holiday trying to get him to like him, but he was always shot down coldly." "So why did he keep coming back," asked Josephine. "He didn't. My uncle is still alive, but this is the last time that we ever visited him, but for some reason I can't remember why." Josephine said, "Don't worry. That's why we're here so let's just watch. Your memory should come back as we watch." Seth nodded and they both turned their attention back to the scene before them.

       When they turned back, the ten year-old Seth was helping his dad take their things into the rooms they would be staying at. After they were done, Seth went to the living room and started reading a hard-cover Harry Potter novel on the couch. He may have been known in school for always studying, but Christmas vacation was the time where he had made a rule to never pick up a textbook and to only read stuff that was not required for school. Seth remembered that whenever he went to visit his uncle, there was no Internet or phone connection, except for one land-line, so he always brought books with him to help him deal with the remoteness of the place. 

      "Why do you always do that," asked Seth's uncle from the corner of the room. Kid-Seth looked up and said,"Do what?" He said, "Ever since you were three, all you do is sit there and read. Don't you ever want to do anything else?" Kid-Seth put his bookmark in the novel and closed the book before saying, "What is there to do? No-offense, but the kids who live here are all boring and there's no Internet and the T.V. here doesn't have anything fun to watch and even if it did, it doesn't work most of the time." He laughed and said, "Children are always brutally honest no matter when they were born, huh." he said it as a fact. Kid-Seth shrugged and said,"If that's all, then I'm going back to my book." His uncle put his hand on the book and said, "If I let you do that then what would be the point of this conversation. Now, look out the window and tell me what you see." 

      Seth craned his neck to the window behind him and said, "I see the road that leads to town, I see the forest filled with evergreen trees, I see the snow that has stopped falling and covers everything, and I see your 1976 Mercedes. As for the forest, it should be a miracle that places like this still exist considering that most of the natural wildlife in the U.S. was torn down when the Industrial Revolution started, but then again maybe it isn't so surprising since people have begun to take an interest in the environment within the last fifty years or so." Seth's Uncle muttered, "Right, I forgot that you were ten going on seventy." 

     Seth's Uncle John sat down and said, "You like reading those fantasy stories about wizards and magic and all that, right?" After Kid-Seth's hesitant nod, John said, "Did you know that if you were to go into the forest and you go on that path for an hour," He pointed to a hidden road that was on the right side and then continued, "but go on the left road for another hour after you see the tree with a cross slashed into it, you'll reach a place that looks a lot like that castle on the cover of your book." Kid-Seth said, "That's not true. Although there are records of some castles being built in the Americas, the really big, Gothic ones are only supposed to exist in Europe and were in Nowheresville, Maine so even if a castle like that was to exist in the U.S., why would they build it here?" Seth's Uncle John had a far away look, as if he was remembering something sad from a long time ago when he answered, "Maybe they have something to hide, but you're only interested in fictional adventures so this has nothing to do with you." Kid-Seth said, "Uncle John, I read about reverse psychology and it won't work on me."

       Josephine murmured, "And I thought you were a pain in the ass now." Seth didn't quite catch that and said,"I remember now. I knew logically what he was doing, but what he told me was still in my mind. It snowed for the next few days, but after, it stopped and the weather said that it wouldn't snow for the whole day so I told my parents that I was going for a walk and I left. And then-ow! I can't remember." When Seth tried to remember further, his head felt like someone had taken a hammer and smashed it. Hard. Josephine said, "Don't stress yourself. It's weird that this isn't a memory that you remember, but it should come back as you watch so calm down and let's see what's going to happen." He asked why she was so calm and she replied, "Well, one of us has to be sane if we're both supposed to get back in one piece."

        As Seth predicted, they watched Kid-Seth unable to concentrate on any of his books and spend most of his time staring out the window waiting for the snow to stop. They watched his impatience and on the third day, the signal for the T.V. started working again. Seth's mom wanted to check the weather to see if it was safe to drive into town and the aforementioned forecast came to pass. When Kid-Seth saw it, he asked his mom of he could go for a walk. His mom said, "Seth, I don't think it's safe to go alone." Kid-Seth said, "The nearest house is four miles away and town isn't for another seven. Plus the only people who come here are the sick and injured. This isn't New York and who would want to mug a kid that's out in the middle of nowhere." His mom said, "But-" Seth said, "Don't you also have to go into town with Uncle and Dad so they don't kill each other and if you do that I would still be alone." His mom smiled and said, "You really are a perceptive kid. Well, all right, but promise me that you won't get lost and if you think you've gone too far you'll come back." Kid-Seth said, "O.K. I promise." 

     He then turned and changed into beige thermal pants, snow boots, a white long-sleeved thermal shirt, a coat, and faux fur lined gloves that his parents had bought him back in New York, just in case he wanted to go out walking in the cold. He also brought a small backpack that he filled with a digital camera, water, and some sandwiches that his mom had made for him in case he got hungry. He then waited for ten minutes. When he saw his parents drive off with his uncle, he set off for the path that his uncle had told him about.

      

The Rebirth of the Dragon: Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

    When Seth opened his eyes, Central Park had morphed into a hallway made entirely of light. At least that was the only way that he thought to describe it as. This was because the first thing that he saw was a single road that was a blinding white-blue light. The color seemed to him to be the same color you see when you try to look directly at the sun before it blinds you, but with a bluish tinge. It suited it because he remembered from chemistry that blue fire was the purest form of fire and this light, seemed to him, to be more like fire than light. This could also be why he was reminded of the myth of Apollo's son who got too close to the sun and burned up into ashes, but he wasn't in some Greek myth and he wasn't burning, but standing on that light, fire, or whatever. 

    On the side, there were what appeared to be doorways. All the doors were the same blinding blue-white, but the doorknobs appeared to be in the shape of dragon heads. He looked at one of them and could have sworn that it winked at him, but that should have been impossible. Then again, doorknobs made of light should have also existed far beyond the realm of possibility. At that moment, Seth decided that if magic was real or not, he was definitely insane because magic was one thing and seeing a place made entirely of light was a completely different phenomena that bordered on the schizophrenic side.

       He then turned to Josephine, who looked completely calm and unperturbed to be standing here, and when he did, he had the feeling that all of this was happening to the person right next to him. It was as if he could see, feel, and hear everything, but the phenomena could not quite reach his brain. He could witness everything, but it didn't feel entirely real to him. He tried to figure out what this feeling was and thought that it must have been some type of defense mechanism or culture shock. This feeling even made it so that when he spoke, his voice sounded like someoneelse's voice to him when he said, "Where the hell are we," with a trace of fear. When he noted the fear, he knew that was what he felt and it wasn't the type of childish fear that he felt whenever he thought he got a bad grade on an assignment or test. Nor was it the desperate fear of knowing he would have his life cut short before it had even began. This was the fear of knowing he would live on and on, but in a place where no one could reach him. It was of reaching a place where although he would live, he would not experience the things that a real life would grant him nor would he see the people he had cared about ever again.

     Josephine must have noticed the fear in his voice,  how his face paled, and the widening of his eyes because she said, "Relax Einstein. I may be a lot of things, but I'm no sadist. We're only here to give you your proof and then we'll be gone. So now, pick a door." Seth blanked and stuttered,"Wh-What?" She said,"Any door will do, just pick one... Look, the sooner you do, the sooner we're out of here. Now hurry up. Time moves differently here so I don't want to sit here waiting for you to pick one and find out that by the time we're done here, both of us have been missing for a week." "A week," questioned Seth. "Yeah, and that only happened to me once, but I don't want a repeat because the last time I was gone for that long, my dad grounded me for a month so hurry up," complained Josephine.

       Seth was angry at his parents, but he had no intention of pulling a disappearing act for that long so he randomly chose a door that was four places up on the right side from where he was standing. When he made a grab for the handle, Josephine cried, "Wait, don't-" "Ow, something burned me," said Seth. He looked at his hand and a tiny burn mark was there, but he soon watched as that burn mark healed itself up in the span of twenty seconds. Seth thought that although the healing thing was useful, it was going to take some getting used to.

     She sighed and muttered, "This is why mom and dad always complain about getting involved with dragons." He said, "Did you just call me a dragon, as in the big fire-breathing monsters like in the story of St. Gregory who slain the dragon?" She gave him a look that said, "Really, you're asking me this now," before sighing and with a voice dripping with sarcasm, she said, "No, that's only why the only pathway to get into your memories is the same color as the fire that you used to nearly incarcerate that Kane dude and each entrance to said memory is guarded by some god-forsaken dragon. Now move before you screw this up." 

    She pushed him aside and said, "Wow, you must have been one of those returnees that mom talks about. This is a really strong mind-block and the funny part is, it was set up by yourself, instead of some other supernatural being. No worries, though because yours truly happens to be a bone-fide returnee so even though I don't remember that lifetime, I still got the powers accumulated from it." She then got close to the door and on one knee, whispered something to it for a good minute that Seth couldn't quite catch. After, she turned the knob and said, "Now let's see what we have here."  When the door opened, the only thing there was a swirling vortex of the same blue-white light.

      Seth was still thinking about all the things she had said to him when she had finished muttering. Things like the fact that he had nearly burned a man alive, he might share something in common with Josephine by being a "returnee," whatever the hell that was, and that this was supposedly some weird passageway that lead to his memories. These facts caused Seth to not notice the open doorway of light until Josephine said, "Hey, you just going to stand there or are you coming?" When he looked up. The myth he had remembered came back to haunt him. He was going to back away slowly and try to escape, but Josephine grabbed his arm while saying, "No way in hell are you chickening out on me now after you made me ride your deathtrap twice," and they were both soon falling in that swirling vortex of light. 

       

The Rebirth of the Dragon: Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

     When they had arrived Josephine went to a cluster of trees and Seth soon followed. She sat down and said, "I haven't been here too long, but from what I've seen, I'm pretty sure that Central Park is going to be my favorite part of this whole city." He asked her why and she said, "Hey, did you know?" Seth asked, "Know what?" She replied, "This place is a favorite for both the Sun-children and the Moon-children living in this area." He said, "Oh really? How come?" She said, "This is one of the oldest parts of New York. Those that remember the Earth as it was enjoy the feeling that comes from places like this." He said, "Listen. I know that I supposedly be some weird, strong supernatural being, but I'm not really into the whole supernatural and mystic thing." She looked at him for a moment and then changed the subject. 

   "Is it really so strange," Josephine asked as she stood up from under the tree that was in the center of the cluster in central park. Seth, who was standing a few feet from her said, "Isn't it normal to think things like magic and werewolves and fairies exist only in fairy tales and in the imagination of writers?" She said, "Isn't that just your version of normalcy? If your parents had told you about your parentage when you were young, would you be reacting the same way?" 

     He asked what she meant and she replied by saying, "Take the things that you see every day. The skyscrapers that New York is famous for, the T.V. That sits in your living room, and the motorcycle that you seem to love so much. A century ago, these things would have been far beyond human comprehension, but here you are using and seeing these marvels each and everyday of your life." He asked if there was some point to this lecture and she replied, "If you are able to understand these things, why don't you give your own abilities a chance?" He said, "Why are you trying to make use abilities that I don't even want or am not even sure if I really have?" She replied, "Because, I dreamed of you."

        For a moment he was shocked and then he remembered that she said she was a shaman. After this, his brain went through all the myths that he had read about shamans. He knew that they were the native American version of witch-doctors. They were said to be able to see into the spiritual world, healed through strange rituals, and have prophetic dreams. 

     Normally, he would have blown off such things as silly superstitions, but he had seen fire come out of his own father's mouth inside a room that didn't contain anything that flammable. He also knew that a lighter couldn't have made a flame that was that big. Another factor to consider would be his wounds that had mysteriously disappeared. With all these points he could either accept that the supernatural existed or assume that he was crazy. Both were not good options and he was almost positive that he wasn't clinically insane so for the time being he chose to act as if everything that was happening was real.

     This way of thinking caused him to ask, "Was this a good dream or more like those nightmares that people call dreams to make the person it was about feel good until they hear what the actual dream was about?" Josephine contemplated his question for a moment and said, "A little of both...So do you want to hear the good part or the bad part first?" The crazy option was looking more appealing by the minute to Seth, but he still answered by saying, "Bad first." 

      "The bad part is that there's a chance you might get killed by this extremely powerful, 8,000 year-old, kind-of immortal that really hates you and would do anything to see you six-feet under," explained Josephine while speaking extremely fast. For a moment Seth just stared at her dumbly and then he said,"You're joking, right?" She just stared at him and he realized that she was dead serious. He said, "Yup, that's it. I'm outta here." 

     She stopped him and said, "Wait, don't you want to know why or how to stop him? This is- and you don't believe a word I'm saying." He said, "Yeah, you kind of lost me at the 8,000 year-old part." She said, "Look, I know that this sounds completely psycho, but I swear I'm not making this up." "Prove it," said he. "What," replied Josephine. Seth said, "I said to prove it." She made an exasperated sigh and said, "You want proof, then fine I'll give you proof. Give me your hand and look straight in my eyes." Seth thought that he had caught her in her act, but when he grabbed her hand, her eyes glowed and the darkness enveloped him once more.

       

The Rebirth of the Dragon: Chapter 8

  Chapter Eight

   The man looked at the full moon through the crack in his cell and thought of happier times. He thought of the child he had once been and the care-free spirit he had once held. He thought of his Máder with her pale, angelic features and his strong Páder with his cold blue eyes. His Máder said that looks could be deceiving and those seemingly cold eyes held a hidden fire that the man, himself had inherited. They were both dead now. He wondered why he was still alive if the people he cared for had all either died or betrayed him. His parents were dead. His láska was dead. His bratr was a traitor, unworthy of the love that the man had given him. The friends that were loyal to him had either fled the country or would soon betray him at his trial. 

    Not for the first time, he wondered what would have happened if he had never met her. If that day he had decided to through town instead of going through the forest. Ne, he could not imagine his life without her and was happier than he could ever remember being during those few short years. It didn't matter now. He would probably soon join them so for now he would close his eyes and enjoy what peace he could get in that dark, cold, and damp cell.

        Seth woke up to the dawn with a stiff neck, back, and really stiff everything. This was the second time that he had dreamed of that man and since he had time to think about it, he thought that it felt more like a memory than an actual dream. It was as if he was the man and was experiencing those things. He shook his head and thought this was no time to be worrying about a dream. He had bigger problems, like the fact that his entire life was a lie. How could his parents have not told him that their was a chance that he might not be human? Then an instance of clarity hit him. He was not upset that he might not be human, but that his parents had no wish to divulge this information unless a situation like last night occurred.

      As he went over this information, he got of his bike and stretched. He then made a mental note never to spend the night sleeping on his motorcycle again. He also spent some time marveling at the fact that he had managed to avoid getting mugged even though he had spent the night sleeping on his bike behind some abandoned building in Lower Manhattan. Some higher being must have decided that he had had enough for one night so had given him a little luck out of pity. Seth then muttered to himself, "Now, what am I supposed to do?" "Well isn't that the million dollar question," said a voice that he really wasn't in the mood for. Actually, now that he thought about it, last night wouldn't have even happened if it wasn't for this pest. Yes, pest was a good description for her. 

      He turned to her and in a dead voice said, "What?" She said, "Why aren't you just  a big bag of sunshine?" He said, "I'm not on the mood for your sarcasm so unless you have something important to say, buzz off." In that moment, her face lost all sarcasm and she said, "Hey, did you know that some humans can have abilities?" Seth  thought, "Oh, so she's one of them." Out loud, he said, "What does that have to do with anything?" She then said, "Humans with special abilities always get confused with True Seers, but to call them that would be a lie." Seth didn't know where, but he had heard these words before. This was why he was able to cut her off by saying, "The reason to that is because seers see the future while they wake and only when the moon is in the sky, but those humans with special abilities see the future in their dreams and some can even hear the voices of things like animals because they" "are one with the earth itself," finished the both of them at the same time. 

       An awkward silence ensued for a split second. Josephine broke it by saying, "My parents have taught me this all my life, but how is it that you who had no knowledge of the supernatural, know of a saying that few supernaturals have even ever heard of?" In that moment, Seth thought that she sounded much older than any teenager should ever be. He then remembered that she wanted an answer so he lamely said, "I just do."

      She nodded and held her hand out before saying, "Let's go." Seth laughed nervously and said, "The last time you told me that, I ended up spending the night here so why should I follow you?" She smiled and said, "Because I'm  what you would call a shaman and if you would like to learn the truth then you had best follow me." She began to walk away and said, "If you want to be confused and alone, that's fine too. I won't force you to listen to anything I have to say." He screamed, "Wait!" She casually turned her head and said, "Yes?" Seth felt a nerve twitch and thought, "Arrogant, little tree-huger... Tree-huger? Where did that come from? Never mind. No time to dwell on that." He said, "Fine, but first tell me where. I won't be dragged to some random place and make a complete fool of myself like last night." She said, "Central Park." As he was driving it dawned on Seth that today would be the first time in his life that he had actually ditched school and he honestly couldn't care less.