Shortly after I had finished packing,
Valetta returned to take me to see Gloria. She had requested my audience. We
would be going separate ways tonight and she did not foresee our paths crossing
again soon.
I followed Valetta to the far side of
the lake—the side none of us ever visited. It was shrouded in thick forest; the
paths were overgrown with moss, grass, and weeds. Gloria’s cabin was the
furthest in, the windows covered but allowing the sweet scent of marigolds and
roses to escape their hidden cavern.
Valetta stopped at the foot of the
path leading to the door. “Gloria is waiting for you,” she said. “This is where
I leave you.”
Though I wanted her with me, I
started down the path, head high and trying to convince myself this was not
some fairy tale gone awry—because that’s what it felt like.
“Come in,” a deep voice said from
inside, a puff of the thick flowery scent hitting me through the open door.
Gloria sat surrounded by violet,
white, and indigo candles, flickering gently across her creamy complexion. Her
eyes were gray on the edges, white in the center. Just as Nick had a way of
looking through me, her eyes seemed to see everything in their once over.
“I would suggest you sit,” she said
gently, her eyes following me as I sat cross-legged. “I would have aired out
the fumes if I had been given more time. Under the circumstances, I just hope
you can bear them long enough.”
I nodded, unsure what kind of answer
she wanted, but hoping she would continue; I was already beginning to feel
lightheaded. If she had wanted, I could have aired it out pretty fast, but I
didn’t want to seem rude. She was the one who saw everything, after all.
“This was the easy part, the
beginning,” Gloria said. Although she spoke softly, her deep voice seemed to
fill the room.
“And I thought this was finally
ending,” I whispered, lifting a hand to my head, trying to focus.
“No, Abriel. You still have a long
journey ahead, with many choices and many more ordeals, increasingly difficult
to overcome.” The words were not threatening, or even of warning, but still
managed to be disheartening. “Do not fret; you will have a companion always
with you.”
“Drei,” I said suddenly. My hands
covered my mouth, my eyes wide at my own audacity.
Gloria’s full red lips upturned,
crinkles appearing in the corners of her eyes. “You already know; that is more
than I thought you knew. You must also remember your friends and charges, you
will need them. They will need you.”
“Gloria,” I started, needing to know,
“is my mom still alive?”
She nodded slowly, her short brown
curls shifting around her clear visage. “You will meet her one day and may ask
for yourself.”
I nodded, unsure in what state I
would find my mom now. The thought also crossed my mind if I was the only one
who would leave her presence feeling even less sure about the future or if she
did this to everyone. So far, nothing she said made me feel confident about
what came next.
“One thing, before you leave. If you
remember nothing else, Abriel, remember life is about perspective. You can see
endings or you can see beginnings.” She reached out to me and I took her hand.
It was soft and surprisingly warm. “Choosing to focus on the endings will bring
sadness and depression. It will paralyze you.”
“And beginnings?” I hated asking
since it seemed a simple enough task, but the fumes were starting to cloud my
thoughts.
“Choosing beginnings brings hope.” Gloria
squeezed my hand and smiled kindly at me. “Be strong, child. Remember, you do
not walk your path alone. There may be times you feel abandoned, but know the
opposite is true.”
With that she released my hand and
ushered me from her cabin. Fresh air had never been more welcome, though I was
grateful for the opportunity to finally meet the clairvoyant. As I made my way
back along the lake’s shore, my mind pondered the many beginnings I had come
across in the past couple years.
When Drei had first ended his nightly
visits, I had begun to grow and discovered my unknown strength. Ending things
with Ritchie was the start of defining my individuality—from social
expectations and my mother’s expectations. Each ending was also the start of
something that promised to be better. The move may be the end of this location
for the camp and my time with Nick, but it was the also beginning of whatever
adventure waited around the corner. For all of us. Nick impacted all of us,
whether positively or negatively—or both—and perhaps this journey was the beginning
of a long needed change…I hoped.
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