Sands Of Time

Time For Dinner

My footsteps echoed loudly in my room. There was no way I could just sit in my rocking chair and crochet anything right now, let alone the intricate lace pattern shawl that was waiting on the arm for me to finish. I couldn't help but pace back and forth lost in my thoughts, the image of Bruno seared into the space behind my eyes. It replayed over and over in my mind. The tears that spilled down his soft cheeks, the smell of his hair, the pain and questioning tone in his voice when he asked 'how could-?' How could, what? What was not possible? What did his vision show him that was so...so...bad? That had to be what it was. Something so bad that it had made him cry. But he was holding my hand when it happened. Did he have a vision about me? Was that a coincidence? Or did it mean he saw my fate? I lifted the hand that he had held and ran my fingers over the palm. I could almost still feel the warmth of his palm, and the way his long fingers wrapped around mine. The feeling of his thumb pressing gently into the back of my hand. The sensations that flowed through my skin and found every inch of my body was like nothing I had ever felt before.

"Please, come in, come in." The sound of my mother's voice in the other room jolted me back to reality and I realized that I had been just standing in the middle of my room for the past, who knew how long, just stareing at my hand and tracing my fingers over the palm. The small smile on my lips fell like a lead weight when I heard the second voice.

"Thank you, Señora Esposito. I'm sure we will figure this all out, and everything will be fine." It was the voice of the Doña herself, Alma Madrigal. "Now, where is your daughter?" I heard my mother calling for me, I couldn't very well stay in my room, so I stepped out into the sitting room. With quiet grace, I gave the head of the Madrigal family a respectful curtsey.

"Es un placer conocerte, Señora Madrigal." She smiled and bowed her head a little to show she accepted the courtesy shown to her.

"Your Madre says that you had a dream involving my son?" Straight to the point, I should have expected that. I panicked slightly as I hadn't thought to figure out how to explain my dream. I had let myself get lost in my thoughts about Bruno instead of trying to organize them. Once again, I thought it best to leave the naked in the lake part out.

"I, um" I tried hard not to fidget under the watchful eye of Alma. It felt like she was scrutinizing every word I said. "I was in a clearing in the woods. And he was standing there in the middle, looking at me. His eyes started to glow, and when it looked like he was about to say something, I woke up." Inwardly I sighed in relief that I made it through that. It shouldn't have felt so hard to tell her about the dream but something about the room felt different, like I needed to live up to an expectation that I didn't know if I could reach. I could feel her eyes on me until she turned to discuss what it could mean with my mother. The weight that seemed to be pushing down on me lifted slightly. Bruno's words played in my mind, 'No. Es... no es posible...Cómo podría-'. His glowing eyes shinning with tears that spilled down his face.

"Perhaps, you should come with me to talk to my son about this matter. I have not previously heard of anyone dreaming about him. Maybe he can verify what it means." The Doña's words brought me back to reality. She was going to take my mother and me to her house to talk to Bruno? I don't know when I swallowed a bunch of butterflies but they all must have hatched in my stomach at once. The fluttering feeling that engulfed my insides at the thought of seeing Bruno twice in the same day left me wondering if it was from elation or dread. I heard my mother instruct me to get my shawl and without a thought, I walked back into my bedroom obediently.

The walk to the Madrigal house felt like it took a lot less time than it should have, and before I knew it, the magical home of the most revered family loomed in front of me. I watched as the green front doors opened up to let us in even though no one was behind them. It wasn't the first time I had been here. My mother and I had come for the children's door ceremonies. I remember the flood of flora when Isabella got hers, and the quieter celebration afterwards when Dolores got her door. However, each of those times it was a happy occasion. At the time, I wasn't about to ask for clarification on a dream about the Doña's son, by her son. I pulled my blue shawl tighter around my shoulders as I stepped in through the door.