He did experience a small amount of relief as he started down the hall to class — he had been unsure if his feet were permanently rooted in place.
Grinning as he walked into English, Ayden noticed that all eyes averted from his, most noticeably Ben’s. He took his seat as the teacher walked into class.
The teacher did a double-take. Walking into a quiet class obviously threw him off, especially on a day where he expected total chaos going into the winter break. “Well, I didn’t plan on this. If you’re going to actually behave, then feel free to do whatever you like. I’d like to get these finals graded now instead of using my break to work while you all enjoy the vacation.”
The other students sitting near Ayden stood up and walked to other areas of the room. Everyone huddled close and whispered. Without a doubt, all conversation was in regards to the display earlier in the halls. Ben was starting to play it off, pretending that he was trying to be nice for the holiday and hadn’t really pushed Ayden, while also explaining the trip in the hall as slipping on a puddle of water from the melting snow someone had brought in.
Ayden was content to sit quietly for once, no one bothering him, as he pulled out his journal. He had never been much of an artist, but before he knew it, he had sketched out a scene from his dream.
Bethany sat down in the seat in front of him, turning to look at his notebook. “Wow, you’re really good. What is it?”
A few seconds passed before Ayden even realized someone was talking to him. He looked up to see Bethany’s cerulean eyes staring at his art. He instinctively started looking for Ben who was still avoiding all contact with Ayden. “Uh, just something I had a dream about. I probably shouldn’t be talking to you, though.” He shot a nervous glance at Ben and went back to work on his sketch.
Bethany brushed the blonde curls from her shoulder as she smiled at Ayden. “Don’t worry about him, silly. We aren’t really a thing. I thought maybe he wanted to be, but after class yesterday, he wouldn’t even talk to me. What an ass, right? I mean, I always knew he was for the way he treated you, but the way you stood up to him today… That was amazing!”
Ayden looked up once again, unsure if this was some sort of cruel joke or not. On several occasions, people had pretended to be his friend only to worm their way through his barriers to cause more pain. Holding out his hand, he looked her in the eyes. “Can I see your hand?”
“Sure, I guess. You aren’t going to do anything weird to me, are you?” She placed her hand in his.
Ayden wasn’t sure what he was expecting. The dry winter air caused a spark of static electricity to jump between their fingers, startling them both, but as her hand rested in his after the initial jump away, a very unsettling feeling washed over Ayden.
As he sat staring at her hand, Bethany quipped, “I think you’re supposed to look at my palm if you’re trying to read me.”
Ayden smirked at the comment and shook it off. He knew that normally he would have chalked that up to one more person trying to tease him, but with her hand in his, he felt a surge of that unknown energy. There wasn’t much strength through the connection, but as he had felt the tree grow from the nourishment he had fed it, he knew that this, too, had room to grow.
What is this? How am I supposed to know what to do if I can’t figure anything out?
Quietly in his mind, but much clearer than the night before, he heard his sister’s voice. “Friendship is there, if you are willing to open up. You cannot take on this task alone.”
Chapter 4
Though school passed with little hostility by Ayden’s normal standards, he still felt more exhausted than he had in quite a while. Few could understand how exhausting it was for someone who was uncomfortable socializing to actually take part in conversation, but somehow he had made it through the day with a few new friends made.
Bethany was in many of his classes, and they had spent the good majority of the day actually getting to know each other. Before the day was out, several others noticed that they wouldn’t be tarnished by talking to him and joined in on learning more about the guy who stood up to Ben. Not everyone was completely sincere in their actions, but he tried not to let that bother him.
Ayden smiled broadly as he walked in the front door with Bethany behind him. His mother was unaccustomed to him coming home with a smile on his face, let alone with a beautiful young woman.
“Hey, Mom. This is Bethany. Bethany, this is my mom. We’re going to go hang out upstairs.”
Stuttering slightly, Maria said, “Ayden… Umm… Can I talk to you for a… Can you help me in the kitchen?” She spun on her heel and walked stiffly toward the kitchen.
Ayden shrugged and looked at Bethany. “I’ll be right back.”
No sooner than he was through the door, Maria opened up on him. “Ayden, dear, please don’t take this the wrong way, but would you care to explain to me what is going on here? I still don’t have a clue what happened last night, and if I hadn’t had to drag you back to the car, I would have thought it was all a dream. Then this morning you were distant and elusive, but even stranger is you bringing someone home. Have you been hiding something from me?”
Ayden wrapped his arms around his mother. “Mom, you know I wouldn’t hide anything from you. I’m still a little confused myself, but that’s why Bethany’s here. We talked a lot today, and she’s going to help me figure this out. I just need someone I can talk to.”
Ayden leaned down to kiss her forehead, and then turned to head back to his company. Knowing the concerns a mother would have about her teenage son didn’t take any new special powers. Before she could argue the point, he looked over his shoulder. “Oh, and we’re friends, nothing more. No need to worry, Mom.”
Ayden’s steps had a little extra energy in them as he headed up the steps with Bethany in tow. Bethany glanced over the railing and waved sheepishly at his mother before following him down the hallway.
Ayden turned the knob and opened it slowly. “Um, please excuse the mess. I’m sure you can understand that I wasn’t expecting company.” His cheeks reddened slightly as he let the first person outside his family into his escape from the world.
Bethany giggled as Ayden rushed across the room, trying to pick up the few things that were out of place.
Bethany crossed to the wall and touched an anime poster from Tsubasa Chronicles. “I have this same poster. I didn’t think a typical teenage guy would be into this.”
Ayden shrugged. “Yeah, it’s one of my favorites.”
“Your room is a lot like mine,” Bethany went on. “I have a lot of books, too. How many books do you have? What’s your favorite genre to read?” She ran a finger across the spines on his shelf as she perused the selection. “I’ve read this one… and this one… Oh, this looks good, I’ll have to remember it.”
“I really like fantasy and dystopian, but I’ll read just about anything. I’ll let you borrow some if you’d like, but you have to be careful. A lot of them are signed.”
Bethany randomly pulled Mother of All from the shelf, her eyes wide. “Signed? Like by the author? Are you serious? How do you get them signed?” She carefully opened the book as if it were a rare artifact and gazed down at the inscription and signature.
“It’s not really that big of a deal. Most of them are indie authors who publish themselves. I find their stories refreshing compared to some of the bigger names. Don’t get me wrong, I love the other guys, too. I just… I don’t know, I feel like I can connect with the little guys a little more. She’s a great author. I even got to meet her at an author’s event when she signed that one.” Bethany looked entranced as Ayden went on to describe the different authors he had met at various events.
Before they could even notice the time, Maria knocked on the still-open door. “Dinner is about ready if the two of you are hungry.” Looking over at the stack of books lovingly held in Bethany’s hands, Maria smiled with satisfaction.
Ayden rolled his eyes. Obviously, she was just gl
ad Bethany held books instead of him.
*
Dinner had been slightly awkward with his mother trying not to embarrass him, but now that the girls had bonded over the misery they caused him, he felt safe in his room again.
“Bethany, today has been amazing. I never would have thought that I could talk to someone about anything and everything like we have, but I have something else I want to talk about.” Walking across the room, he began to shut the door for privacy.
Color rose in her cheeks. Bethany shifted uncomfortably and licked her lips.
“I don’t want you to think any differently of me, though,” Ayden continued. “I haven’t been able to talk to anyone about this in the past, at least not someone that would take me seriously.”
Bethany visibly relaxed as if realizing the conversation was not going in the direction she originally thought. She sat back on the bed, crossing her legs beneath her, and nodded. “I’m open to whatever, as long as you don’t start planning mass murders or the end of the world or anything. I don’t want to be a part of that.”
Ayden didn’t immediately pick up on the sarcasm. His head dropped, and he deflated. He wasn’t sure if his dreams foretold the end of the world or not, but how could he tell her about them after that comment? How had she known?
“Ayden, I’m kidding.” Patting the bed beside her, she looked at him with a curious gaze. “I’ve really enjoyed talking with you today, too. I can’t help but regret not trying to be your friend earlier, so let me make that up by being here when you need me now.”
He wasn’t sure if he was ready to open up, but he knew it was his only chance. “This is going to really sound strange, so let me get most of it out before you start thinking I’m losing my mind. See, I have dreams at night…”
Tension hung heavily in the room. Bethany cocked her head, eyebrows furrowed. “Silly, most of us have dreams at night. Nothing strange about that.”
Ayden couldn’t help but smile. He subconsciously reached out and took her hand in his. She gently squeezed as he took a deep breath before continuing. “There’s more to it than that. The dreams I have… They come true. Nothing big at first, just something here or there that would happen days or weeks later. But then, the other night, they started getting really… strange. And scary.”
Ayden went into great detail of what had happened in the dreams, explaining everything from the return of the different mythological races, to the death and destruction that followed in their wake. Bethany sat, seemingly unaffected by the tale he was weaving.
When he fell silent, she smiled. “Wow, you really have a talent. I’d do anything to be able to tell a story like that. You should write a book, you know, become one of those indie authors.”
Frustration started to fill Ayden’s composure with disappointment. He thought Bethany would be different, that she would believe he wasn’t telling stories.
“Show her, don’t tell her. Take her to the tree.”
Standing up from the bed, he looked at the clock on his nightstand. “It’s getting late, why don’t I walk you home?” He reached for her jacket and held it out to help her into it.
Bethany looked at him with apology written on her face, but she didn’t speak. They walked out the door, both forgetting the books she was going to borrow, and silently took the sidewalk through the bitter cold toward her house.
Bethany led the way, since he wasn’t sure exactly where she lived. As they turned the corner to her street, she came to a stop and gasped. She ran to her front yard, not noticing the black ice on the sidewalk, and slid across the ice like Bambi until she landed firmly on her backside.
Ayden had no trouble walking across the ice and helped her to her feet, steadying her until she could stumble to the snow-covered grass.
Ayden followed her shocked gaze and noticed the tree he had connected with earlier in the day, standing much taller and fuller despite it being the beginning of winter with the solstice a few days away.
Bethany was smiling like a little girl who’d just found her misplaced favorite doll. “Do you see this? This morning, my dad told me he was going to have to cut it down because it was dying. He said that if he didn’t, then he was afraid it would spread some disease to the other trees in the area. I’ve loved this tree all my life, and now I don’t have to lose it.”
Looking around nervously, Ayden thought back to his sister’s voice earlier. He thought she had meant the tree in the forest, but now things were making a little more sense. He couldn’t help but smile back at her. “Would you like to hear a little more of my story? On my way to school this morning, I saw this tree. Sure, it was a little out of my way, but I was just following the path my feet were taking me.
“When I came around that corner, I saw this tree hanging low and reached up to touch the branches. I still don’t why I did, but when I did, I could feel the tree. Not like feeling the bark on my fingers, like I could feel what the tree was thinking. I felt something pass between me and the tree. I could tell that we both felt stronger. I touched every tree between here and school, hoping it would happen again, but nothing did. There was something special about this tree.”
“I mean, it definitely looks healthier, but…” Bethany trailed off, glancing at him with a wary look. “That story seems…” She paused again, searching his face for a long moment before she shook her head and shrugged. “Thank you?”
“Introduce yourself. Let her feel for herself.”
“Bethany, there’s one more thing I need to tell you. I lost my twin sister when we were born, but she still talks to me. Well, only recently, but I hear her sometimes.”
Bethany started to back away slowly, checking her footing as she walked toward the house. “Okay, look… You’re going a little far now. You see the future, you heal dying trees, and now you hear dead people? If you didn’t want to be friends, you could have said so. Why bother walking me home?”
“Introduce yourself.”
Ayden turned toward the tree, still feeling the connection from earlier in the day. “I am Ayden Walker, and meeting you this morning was a pleasure.”
Bethany turned to see who he was talking to, staring at him as if he had lost his mind. There was no breeze to blow the tree, yet somehow the tree seemed to bend, as if a gust had blown it half over in a bow.
Reaching out for the tree, Ayden held another hand toward Bethany. “Humor me one last time?”
Bethany hesitated, as if warring inwardly between the part of her that wanted to believe and the part of her that thought he was crazy. She finally inched forward and took his hand.
The initial contact with the tree made Bethany jump. Ayden figured she had touched the tree throughout her youth, playing hide and seek near it, climbing through its limbs, but now she could feel what he felt: a feeling of such warmth and compassion.
“Good evening, young persons. I am Adair of the Crann’arsa. Please don’t be frightened; we are a peaceful race. Several generations have passed since we have spoken to man, but strange times are upon us.
“I must thank you for your kind gesture of the morning, young Ayden. We Crann’arsa are more afflicted with the pains of the Goddess Eorpe, or Earth as you would call her, than our counterparts. I have not felt so young and nimble in a century or more. If only I could stretch my roots a little, but alas, I don’t think the neighborhood would care much to see a tree trampling through the street.”
Ayden didn’t expect the tree to speak to them, but after the past twenty-four hours, he was beginning to think anything was possible.
Bethany, on the other hand, squealed at the experience and looked to Ayden. “You weren’t lying, were you? Everything’s true? The dreams?”
Ayden nodded, giving her a moment to let that sink in. Some of the particulars he had given her were gruesome.
“But the way you painted the scene… I felt like I was in the middle of it. Now… I, and everyone else, truly will be in the middle of it all.”
Adair s
poke again. “Ayden, have you seen the coming days, the return? I had no idea things were so near. Fear not for yourselves. The Archetypes’ sole reason for return is to save Eorpe, protecting her from the dangers man creates. Be kind to her, and they will be kind in return.”
Ayden was thirsting for more information in regards to what was happening to him. “What do you mean &the Archetypes’? Are they the elves and dwarves that I saw?”
“The Archetypes are many races, we Crann’arsa included. However, we were unable to travel to Aaru with them, as we were appointed to directly watch over Eorpe in their absence. Our sustenance is provided directly from her — evident by my ill state this morning. The world that you know will soon be changed in ways you could never imagine.
“Evidence of this flows through your veins even now. You are very special, Ayden Walker, and you have been given special gifts. I would surmise that you have only months to discover your potential. Failing to do so could result in tragedy for you and those you care for.”
The door to Bethany’s house opened, and her mother stuck her head out. “Bethany, it’s freezing out here, and we’ve been worried sick. Come inside, honey.”
“Remember, care for Eorpe and your fellow man. And for Eorpe’s sake, stop cutting trees down to decorate. You don’t want to be a part of that blasphemy.”
Bethany laughed and wrapped her arms around Ayden. “Did that really just happen? Wow! I can’t wait to tell my parents.”
“Bethany, you can’t tell anyone. Trust me, I know. Remember how you felt when I was telling you things earlier? They aren’t going to believe anything you tell them. We have to keep this between the two of us for now.”
Chapter 5
The next few days felt like a couple nerds playing “Dungeons & Dragons.” Several times, Bethany would get caught up in the details of Ayden’s dreams and add her own thoughts. Before they knew it, they had a journal full of true visions mixed with fantastical dreams, woven together in a tapestry that only the two of them would be able to decipher as events came to fruition.
Each night involved less rest and more dreams for Ayden. He found comfort in the fact he was able to control the fear by accepting faith in his knowledge to provide answers. A few of the answers left more questions than he had to begin with. He’d seen scenes of him hurtling fireballs, but he hadn’t the slightest idea how that was ever going to happen. They’d speculated for several hours over what powers he would have, how to use them, and if Ayden was the only person to have gained them. They had become very close in their recent time together.