The Awakening of Essence

Breath of Life

Dimitri had never been to Ireland , in fact he  had never been out of Anaheim, California but here he was standing in the ruins of a castle in Dublin Ireland that had once belong to some long ago ancestor's he had never heard of. He had received the call last month from Liam McCreary explaining to him that the castle wanted to be turned into a tourist site but in order for anything to take place he had to come in person and sign the deed. Unfortunately he was the only known heir to the place so everything was left to him.

"So you see Mr. Kelly. we need you to sign the documents stating we can you give us permission to renovated this place and the National Institute of Ireland and the United Reserve can continue the upkeep of the castle so it can be turned into a tourist site. Of course you will be given partial payments on any revenue that will come in from the tours." Mr. McCreary said with a slight nod of his head causing his red hair to fall over his emerald green eyes.

Dimitri was already informed about the work they to put into the castle and how it was important to Dublin to keep the castle in good repair. It was known throughout the country that the original owners the Kelley's were well known and respected. The family helped those in need with food and clothing , they also gave shelter to the homeless doing storms and frigid weather. Dimitri was told by Liam that they had one child a lovely daughter but she was lost one night supposedly taken by an Abhartach (a fierce vampire)but it was just a myth and the young girl must have simply ran away with a boy she fancied from school.

" The Kelly family was very wealthy , they had ties to King John of Ireland at the time , it was during this time it was said Vampires where amongst us and the King would allow them to feed on the poor and homeless to make sure the rich stayed safe. It was believed it was why so many people were never accounted for during that time but of course it was just a fable told to scare children." Liam said with a hearty laugh.

"That story would have definitely scared me into being a perfect child." Dimitri said laughing more at how Liam's stomach shook from laughter than the story of the Vampires.

Liam walked Dimitri over to a huge table in the middle of what was once a dining room and pulled out the documents that needed to be signed.

" The country of Ireland thanks you for your time to take care of this matter. I would think by you being a surgeon it must have been extremely hard to get away and come here so quickly." Liam said while shaking hands lightly with Dimitri

" Luckily I have friends that were willing to take on my patients while I am away. Afterall this has been an experience that comes once in a lifetime. I knew we had heritage here from my father's side but he rarely spoke about it so it was a shock to receive the call." Dimitri said handing the Liam the signed documents

" You will always be welcomed here Dimitri , your ancestors did wonders for old Ireland and it will be remembered for centuries to come. Just having the name Kelley speaks volumes around here." Liam said with a smile

Suddenly there was soft music coming from the pocket of Liam's overcoat. Holding up a finger to Dimitri he took out the phone to speak to the person who had called him. Dimitri walked around looking at what must have once been a grand castle, the kitchen had a huge open wood oven that must have cooked many glorious meals for the family and those who were invited to eat and sleep here. Liam tapped Dimitri on his shoulder to inform him about a situation that had come up at his office , he offered to let Dimitri follow him back to town where the Ashling Hotel was. Dimitri thanked him but declined his offer saying he wanted to walk around the castle before it became to late and that he would use GPS on his rental car to find the hotel. The two men shook hands and Dimitri was left to wander the castle alone.

Dimitri walked throughout the castle noting how the stonework was done perfectly, there were no gaps where rain could have gotten into the building ,he noted that the only thing that was wrong with the place was the ceiling in the dining area had fallen through as if a mythical creature had slammed his foot through the rough on his path into the magical forest. All of the furnishing had been taken to the National Museum of Ireland, he imagined how magnificent the place must have looked filled with paintings, furniture and statues.

Walking the upstairs rooms and finally making his way back downstairs he decided to check out the landscaping in the garden, it was pretty overgrown but Dimitri didn't care since history was something he enjoyed and by walking through the house and yard he was whisked back in time imagining the tea parties and how the gardens must have burst with color by all of the brilliantly colored flowers that must have been planted there. Walking deeper into the garden he had to pull back vines and walk through grass that reached his thighs. Dimitri was ready to head back to the main house when he spotted a black wrought-iron gate carefully he stepped over a fallen tree that had continued to grow even though it now laid on its side. Dimitri was met with a beautiful marble statue that depicted a young girl holding a basket of flowers, the young girl may have been a teenager and by the looks of it she had curly hair and was quite thin. Dimitri walked closer wanting to examine the statue better, her parents must have loved her and felt pain about her disappearance, wiping off the silver plaque he read:

Essence Ray Kelly
our loving daughter
1200-1214
"So she was only fourteen when she went away, how tragic" Dimitri thought with a sadness in his heart. Dimitri leaned on the base of the statue noticing there was a slight opening from which he felt a draft looking closer he saw a lock that had weathered over time. Looking around Dimitri found a large rock and with a soft thud the lock fell away with a soft thud onto the damp grass this helped him effortlessly push open a small door hidden under the base of the statue and without hesitation he crawled inside. Once inside he noticed stairs that led deeper into the ground, never being one to go on any type of adventures but for some reason he was drawn to whatever was at the bottom of the stairs. Pulling out his phone he used the flashlight to walk down the stone steps and at the bottom sat a white coffin with gleaming gold trim, standing there in shock he slowly walked closer thinking to himself 'why would they bury their daughter down here, maybe it was just an empty coffin so they could have closure to her disappearance." whatever it was Dimitri knew he had to check it out. The lid on the coffin had not been locked so he knew he could just open it but did he really want to see what was inside after all it had sat there for years, if someone was in there they would be bones by now or even worse maybe snakes or some other creatures had taken up residency there.

Dimitri took a deep breath and slowly opened the top of the coffin and what he saw sent cold shivers down his spine, falling over a chest he hadn't realized was there he shook his head in disbelief because what the coffin held was not bones of a person from years past or some creatures that called it home but a perfect body young girl laying there as if she was merely sleeping. Her curly hair black lay around her as her head rested on a white silk pillow, she was wearing a beautiful white dress with tiny golden flowers embroidered into it, on her feet were white slippers with the same tiny embroidered golden flowers on them. She had beautiful light brown skin and dark red lips, she looked like a doll laying there , but the question was why was she here.

Thinking like a doctor he quickly checked her pulse and found none, he carefully lifted her up to check for injuries but found none, gently laying her back down he decided to call the police and report what appeared to be a crime against a child. He looked back at the child and saw something sparkling near he hand he picked it up and saw it was a diamond ring the perfect size for a child's finger and without thinking twice he slipped the ring on her finger. He turned around about to make the call when he heard what sounded like a deep breath, slowly he turned around and in horror he saw the girl sitting up and looking around confused .Dimitri dropped his phone and stood frozen in place