We were heading back up to Whistler to catch some skiing since the entire mountain was officially open. I did my best to push aside the darkness that dared to squash my most intimate moments. I made myself stop thinking about the night before and how glorious it was in every possible way. I wasn’t sure how I would be able to make it through a day without feeling his embrace again, but I was going to have to. Reality still exists. Knowing the gravity of the situation made me restless. Realizing that my nightmares and dreams were foreshadowing the future made me sick. I wasn’t sure how to stop the dreams from turning into reality, but I was going to have to figure it out. I couldn’t let her win.
Athen had pretty much packed everything for us in Whistler. I loved the home here and couldn’t wait to come back to it for the holidays, but I was looking forward to seeing Whistler in full-blown holiday swing. It sounded like we would stay for a couple weeks. Athen was helping me with my bags as I remembered the last few things I needed that were in the bathroom.
“So will those things be waiting for us up in Whistler?” I hollered from the bathroom as I tried to gather the last few hair accessories I could find.
“Um, wow, that’s out of the blue again. I certainly hope not, but in all honesty, nothing would surprise me so as usual we all need to be watchful. You need to let us know of anything odd that you notice as well. Your senses are really coming back to you at an impressive rate. I don’t think you should discount anything that you feel. Better to be safe than sorry. They haven’t found the snowboarder yet. It looks as if they’re on the move. They located a yurt that fit your description. They definitely saw that it had been inhabited recently, but nobody was there. They’re on the run. The poor kid has no clue.”
My stomach began to turn knowing how accurate he truly was about my senses. They were coming back, and I had to figure out what I was seeing, without anyone knowing. I pushed the thoughts of losing Athen away and focused only on the innocent bystander.
“Oh, that’s a shame. It’s getting really intense trying to balance everything. It makes me appreciate what I have even more. I love you. Thanks for being there. Thanks for making me wait too, by the way. It was pretty incredible.” I told him, as I threw my stuff into my purse. Then I grabbed him lightly to reassure myself that he was still here and mine.
“Anytime,” he said laughing.
“Now you say that?” I rolled my eyes.
He went over to the French door and jiggled it to make sure it was locked before we left our bedroom and headed downstairs.
“Everything all locked up?” Athen asked Cyril.
“Yep. We’re good to go. I loaded the last of our bags. Thank goodness we are coming back down for Christmas. The thought of lugging all the shopping bags Arie bought up to Whistler was enough to make me boycott the season.” Cyril ducked as instantly as he spoke to avoid Arie’s purse from hitting him.
“I missed!” she exclaimed. “You are lucky.”
Matilda ran out to the garage excited at the thought of a car ride so we quickly followed so she didn’t have to stand in the cold garage. I began getting a feeling that I didn’t recognize and thought I would let Athen know.
“Uh, guys? Something doesn’t seem right. I can’t put my finger on it, but something’s up, I think.”
Arie stopped dead in her tracks and called Matilda back to the mudroom. I was hoping that I didn’t make too big of a deal out of this feeling I was getting. Athen grabbed my arm, ushering me back into the kitchen.
“You sensed exactly what we did. You can’t formulate it yet. There is a creature out there again. Probably right near the garage door,” Cyril whispered.
“Well, now what?” My heart was beating faster, and I was getting faint. “Should I be worried? Do we need to do something?”
Athen could sense my fear and wrapped his arms around my shoulder.
“Sweetie, we got it. This one I think is the leftover minion.”
Cyril looked over at Athen who went dodging out as Matilda came running back in. I could see flashes of light, and before I knew it Cyril was back inside.
“Minions are the easiest,” he told me as if this would explain everything.
“Aaah, I got it. I’ll remember that for next time. Actually, I take that back. Let’s hope there isn’t a next time.”
“True,” Arie agreed, “Now let’s try this again. The powder is calling.”