End of a Beginning (Book 4)

Chapter Seven - Broken Promises

I awake to commotion in the kitchen. Sitting up, I realize that I'm alone and the night prior a haze that fills my brain. Was any of it real? Getting out of bed, my head pounds uncomfortably but I still will myself out of the bed. With heavy feet, I follow the noise to the kitchen. The morning light feels too bright and hurts with my headache. But even through all the pain, my eyes immediately wander to Derek who is washing dishes at the kitchen sink and back in his original clothing. And it looks like he's smiling. Amara calls out to the other room, "I think they're over here somewhere!"

When I get to Derek's side, I try to focus but my mind is still jumbled. "Morning," he says as he nudges me. Through my squinting, I look up to him and surprised to see how happy he looks. All his features are relaxed and shine in the light. He's just simply gorgeous. He leans in and whispers, "Feeling better?"

I close my eyes. Yes I feel better about being here and being with Will's mother, but no in a sense that it hurts to even think. I put my head on Derek's shoulder and try to function. "You should have woken me up," I say into him. It was a little disorienting this morning to find that Derek wasn't beside me.

I hear him chuckle. "You needed rest. Besides I've been up for a couple hours now." I open one eye and glance up at him. "My arm was asleep longer than I was," he jokes as I feel my cheeks pinken. So last night wasn't a dream. Maybe he does know what I said last night.

"Good morning Gus!" Amara squeals when she enters the kitchen. At least one of us recovered from last night. She comes over by me and pulls me in for a hug. When she pulls back, she says in a more hushed tone, "I'm glad we were able to talk last night." I'm glad too. I'm happy I was able to get that off my chest but I'm not thankful for the headache I have right now. "I want to show you something before I forget." Before I can object to any fast movements, she quickly ushers me past the front room and in a sunroom that overlooks the Eastern Lake and the marina below. If I weren't in so much pain, I would've loved the view. "Take a seat, I'll be right back."

From the other room, I can hear Derek and Amara talk but I can't make out the words. What could they possibly talk about? Putting my head in my lap, I try to block out the entire world. Why does my head feel like this? Why do I only feel pain? Not before long, Amara is back and putting something in my hands. Glancing up, she's put a glass of tea in my hands. "For your headache, dear," she explains. Shrugging, I take a sip of the tea and look over at her. In her hands she has another object. Noticing my stare, she smiles. "This is what I wanted to show you."

She gives me the object and it takes me a moment to realize what it is. I haven't seen one in years. "How did you get this?" I ask through the haze. Examining it, it's in better condition that I've ever seen before.

Amara smiles. "Will used to find them along the shore. He had a knack for finding fantastical items." I look down at the rock, happy to have it in my hands. My father had a superstition that he claimed had been passed down generation to generation and that he had to pass along to me. He had said that anyone who claimed this certain type of rock, one that was forged from twelve different galaxies, would be given a chance at a long loving life. No matter how much we told him how silly it was to think that, he swore by it. My father had his own piece of this sparkly rock but had been long chipped away to almost nothing by the end of his life. He clung to his belief until the very end but I believed him. I believed most of his superstitions, most of his longings for the world. And having this very specific rock means something to me.

"Not many people know about this," I say as I put the rock to my heart.

"Bertie did and therefore Will did." Amara smiles in remembrance. "Anytime we told him a tale, he'd believed it as if it were our God's words. He took them as they were and to him it was truth. But that's what I loved most about him. His belief in almost anything." Looking back at the rock in my hand, I put it in the sunlight and admire the way it shines. There are just too many colors in it to describe and it seems as though all the colors are in balance rather than battling for attention. Besides the color, the shimmer is always what stood out to me. You can't even see the sparkle particles like most other things but this particular rock that my father loved so much just always seemed to shine. Maybe twelve different galaxies did forge this rock and it just so happened to be placed here because it sure looks like twelve galaxies. After some time studying it, I try to give it back but Amara just shakes her head. "It's a gift from myself and Will."