Bridging Destinies

Chapter 58: The Unrelenting Path

I had fallen into a deep sleep after Namjoon left and slowly opened my eyes from my rest to see that the sun had long moved into the light of the next day. I gazed around the room and turned my head at the sound of a soft snort. I looked over to see Taehyung scrolling through his phone, completely engrossed in its contents. A light was on beside the bed, combining with the glow of the screen and the dim light seeping through the curtains, to shine on his features. The man was half crouched in the chair, bent over the device in his hands. He shifted in place, as he closed one app and then opened another. As I watched him, I considered what had brought me from my slumber and looked to the door. A sense of the approach we had all anticipated, sat heavy inside of me. Gaining the attention of the man sitting with me, I declared into the stillness that followed Taehyung's short expletive, "Taehyung-ssi, could you get Namjoon for me?"

Taehyung sat up in his chair, peeping at me past the fringe of his hair that was styled to frame his eyes and the upper portion of his cheekbones. He looked soft and open, and I smiled fondly as I attempted to sit up in the bed. He stood quickly and assisted me, set his phone to the side, and helped to pull the bulk of my body up, gathering the pillows behind me to make me more comfortable. I murmured my thanks and looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to respond to my request.

He peered back at me, a question on his face, when he remembered and stood up straight, "Oh right. Ya. I'll take care of that for you." Taehyung turned and hurried out of the room, leaving his phone behind in the process.

Moments later, Hoseok stuck his head in and stepped into the room, "Joonie's in the bathroom, but he'll be out soon. Can I do something for you until he's out?" He asked hopefully, with a bright half smile, his brows raised in question.

"Yes." I responded, attempting to adjust my position again, "Please tell him that my people approach, and I need to speak with him."

Hoseok's jaw dropped a little as he regarded me. He spotted the phone on the bedside table and walked over to it, then realized it was Taehyung's phone as he picked it up. He asked, finishing his half formed internal question, "Did they call you?" He glanced at the phone again as if he could find answers there, making a second query, "How did you know?" He blinked at me, waiting for my answer, looking a little like a very pretty long faced owl.

Trying not to laugh at the look on his face, I explained, "I can feel them approaching."

At my remark, Hoseok's jaw dropped further, then he quickly shut it, "Uh. I think Yoongi hyung or Joonie said that at some point, actually. So you can really read our thoughts?" His eyes going wider than they had been.

"I can if I put my mind to it." I laughed, then winced at the movement and my attempt at making a small joke to distract the man from his course of affable interrogation, "I apologize. My puns are weak right now."

Still looking at me with an owl-like expression, Hoseok's aspect fell to his normal pleasant expression and he nodded, "I get it. Okay. Give me a bit, and I will send Joonie in." He notified me and flashed a smile as he turned to leave the room.

As he left, I felt the energy of my people, a group of three coming closer. I felt mildly anxious and waited, fidgeting my fingers back and forth over the blankets that were over my torso and legs. Moments later, Namjoon came into the room, focusing first on my face then the rest of my body, to gauge my health. I smiled softly at him, attempting to soothe my nerves and patted the spot beside me on the bed, "Come sit. I have news."

Sitting carefully on the bed, Namjoon did not question my statement, knowing me well enough to know that mystery often surrounded me. He took my hand, stilling the twitch of my fingers that I could not hide, "What is it?" He asked me, looking down at our joined hands.

I shifted my eyes downward, and when I looked back up, I focused on our hands as well, softly speaking, "My people are close. My son is with them." I told him and looked into his eyes, "I assume that... " I continued, "they have taken precautions, but I would rather my son's image isn't out there for anyone to see. Would it be possible to turn your security cameras off?" I asked as I gazed over at him, anxiety hidden in my expression, but laced within my eyes.

Namjoon acknowledged my news with an anxious expression of his own, "Your son? I'm going to meet your son?" He asked.

With a nod I swallowed the bile rising in my throat as it broke over me in a wave, "Yes. And I don't want him on camera if it can be helped. So, can you do that?" I asked breathlessly, as the flood of bile shifted into dizziness that flowed over me. The poison in my blood surged to turn my stomach and lift my center of focus, and I shut my eyes in the struggle to equalize myself. Pressing his hand tightly against mine, Namjoon nodded, catching my mood. He grimaced and stood, releasing my hand and grabbed the water beside the bed, as if knowing what would help to sooth me. Namjoon put the glass to my lips, and I took a small sip of the liquid, as I hid my eyes from the man before me.

The water helped, but did not cure the sense of falling off a cliff that had rolled over me. I knew that the energy of my Light was working to purge the poison in my blood, as well as heal my wounds, but it would take time for it to leave my system completely. I was grateful for the aid that was coming, anxious for it to arrive, and wanted to still the future to fling it into the past.

Over the centuries and the many other lifetimes I had lived, I understood that the future was ever with us. It was always on the threshold and yet always outside of our grasp. We could sense it, even see it and its many paths, and sometimes change it, but we could not always control it. In some ways, we were just as pulled towards the inevitable conclusions as any human. Some paths were stronger than others and could not be changed. I knew this, and as I watched Namjoon leave the room to take care of my request, I felt the inevitable coming events would not change, and I clenched my eyes against it, choosing to rest in what was now, rather than fight what was coming.