Come Away

Chapter 11 - Concerns

I climb for what seems like forever, but Darren's legs are still so small above me. A seagull zooms past, missing me by mere inches.

If I'm in seagull territory, that means I'm freaking too high off the ground.

Cursing as my foot slips out of a loophole, I clench my hands around the rope until they ache and try to regain my footing. An image of a younger me holding onto a woman's hand flashes in my head. I'm laughing as I look down at my feet, but there's nothing between me and the grassy lawn several yards below us.

The memory disappears as quickly as it came, leaving a pleasant aftertaste in my mind.

"Are you okay, Raisin?"

Darren's voice filters through the hush of air pressing against the sails. I release a hand from the rope just long enough to give a small wave of assurance.

"No, I'm actually the opposite of okay, thanks for asking." I mumble, knowing they can't hear me. "I almost drown last night, and just woke up feeling worse than I did before because some creep won't stop showing up in my dreams. And now I'm dangling in the air, holding on for dear life..."

I'm rambling now, but in a strange way it's almost therapeutic as it distracts me from my current situation long enough to reach the platform where Cináed hoists me up to sit between him and Darren. I place one hand around my brother's shoulders and the other holding onto the platform with a death grip. My breathing is loud, and I know I'm visibly shaking.

I'm just waiting for Cináed to make a snide comment when my eye catches the view ahead, appearing in sectioned images between the white sails as they shift and shudder with the wind.

My lips part in awe. "Wow."

Cináed's smirk is now a full-blown grin as curls of golden hair toss around his face like ocean waves. I notice a sharp point formed at the top of his ear when his hair is lifted back. He wraps an arm around us both, and his hand rests on mine—the one I'm using to hold Darren close. It's a small gesture, but it makes my insides feel like they've been hit by a glitter bomb. I can't even glance at him because I know my face muscles will probably spasm into something ridiculous the moment our eyes meet.

So I rest my head against Darren's and focus on the bright blue sky fading into the haze on the horizon, and the island that grows closer with each cresting wave.

<<—————>>

"You did not tell me about the being in your night terrors."

Cináed is standing next to me on the upper deck as Darren plays captain at the helm. We're so close to Ireland that I can see houses along the coast. But my vision is blurred by that strange mist again because one moment I see cozy homes clustered together beside a road, and the next I see pure wilderness in its place, marked with no civilization at all.

"I didn't know I needed to keep you updated on my dreams." I say, trying to how serious he is about something as stupid as a dream. But I know I'm lying to myself when I say the dreams don't concern me. I want to stop feeling this weight on my chest, as if someone is watching me and there's no where to hide.

Cináed leans his forearms against the railing and looks at me. "When I first met you in the cemetery, you were not experiencing an ordinary night terror. I could see an aura around you and..."

He looks out over the deck where sailors are preparing the smaller boats to bring us to shore. "I need you to describe this being to me as best as you can." The severe look on his face does little to calm my nerves.