Midnight Rose (completed)

Chapter 25

I couldn't stop fidgeting on the drive to The Order's headquarters. I was queasy, and my lip was swollen from chewing on it so much.

"You okay, Peanut?"

My dad was staring at my stretched out shirtsleeves that my hands had been working on for the past hour. I interlocked my fingers to stop them from causing any more damage.

"No." I sniffled, looking out the window.

"I know it's a lot, but you'll adjust quickly. I did."

I had never asked him about his experience. A part of me was worried I would drudge up bad memories for him with Grandpa and Elijah's dad.

"Dad?" I paused.

"Yeah?"

"What's it like?" I was picturing a concrete structure surrounded by barbed wire, much like a prison. Not sure if it was to keep people out or to keep people in.

"Believe it or not, much like being on an extended vacation."

I looked at him, surprised. "Really?"

"For the most part. Don't get me wrong. It's hard work, too. Most of your days are spent training, which is exhausting, but The Order has taken great care into making your experience tranquil. A lot of The Order training is based on Zen ideas."

"It doesn't sound as horrible as I imagined." I smiled, thankful.

"It's even better in person. You'll never want to leave. Integrating back into the real world after spending a year there was not any easy transition," he admitted openly.

His honesty curbed my nerves a bit, but knowing I would be confined for a year without any possibility to communicate with Wes or my parents was breaking me.

"We have a stop to make before The Order. There's one last thing I'd like to do for you."

My heart jumped excitedly. My dad always had the best surprises, and I could definitely use a pick-me-up right now. He pulled off the highway in a cute little suburban town, surrounded by mature, bushy trees in every fall color imaginable. It felt like we had stepped back into the past when life was simpler, houses smaller, and kids could safely play on the streets as they were doing now. A soccer ball raced in front of the car followed by a little guy. He waved with a huge smile on his face as he retrieved it and ran back onto the sidewalk where a group of kids his age were playing soccer on the large lawn in front of a house.

"Why are we here?" I was beguiled by the serenity. I rolled down my window, taking in the warm, fresh air.

"You'll see," he said mischievously.

Leaving behind the town, we wound through a thick forest of deep green cedar trees and open road. Thirty minutes later, we pulled into the Roosevelt Grove of Ancient Cedars. I was awestruck by the massive nature of these trees and immediately jumped out of the car and ran to the informational sign. The trees dated back two to three thousand years and were over 150 feet tall, and the trunks were as wide as twelve feet in diameter, the sign read. My dad caught up to me.

"You've always wanted to bring me here," I said nostalgically. My grandpa had taken him here every year as a little boy.

"I wanted to continue the tradition, but then Elijah needed me, and there just wasn't enough time. My dad and I stopped coming here the year I entered The Order. I wished that we would have come back, but it never happened." His memory was fraught with regret. He draped his arm around my shoulders.