you know.”
“I read and play with my cats, work in my gardens, but don’t really go anywhere at all.”
“You know, it is our fault,” Serena says, “we need to get you to more events, and this upcoming one will be good for you.”
“Okay,” I tell her. “And I would like to go to this event at the Mason mansion. Yes, I enjoy being with my friends and family, and okay, I like to visit the graveyards and pick wild herbs. Oh, I really need to get out more, be sociable, or at least try.”
And I visit upstairs to Serena and Tom’s place a lot, as well as Cybelle and Keith’s home, and I do try to hit different pagan events and Sabbat celebrations. Yeah, I need to get out more. I have shut myself off since my friend passed away. Still hurts.
We talk and laugh until the clock chimes 9:00 p.m. We shut down the place. I go quickly and quietly, disappearing with my cats, who are now in their basket, into the wooded area outside the fence of our business. I take out my broom and get in position and tell Dresden, my broom, what to do and up and out we go.
Dresden my broom is named after a deceased friend we were close he and I and Cybelle. We all went places together, and he was the life of the party, but time and illnesses takes us all. So I named my broom in memory of him.
The stars and night sky seem soft tonight, but my mind is still focusing on dreams and wondering what it will be like in sleep tonight. We go through the woods, over the lake, and then take the backstreets to get to an alley that leads to a gate which leads to my backyard. Over the gate, we go, and Dresden descends, and we land quietly into the backyard. Two cats jump from the basket, and we walk the steps to the back porch. We all stop at my back door.
I say to the door, “We are home.”
The door unlocks, and we walk in, and it shuts and locks quietly behind us.
Jade and Triton get their snacks for tonight while I get ready for bed. I wash my face still pondering over all things that me and my friends have talked about. I go back and check, making sure house is totally locked down. I give the command to secure and lock down the house. Glowing walls of yellow appear with shields go up and encircle the house and sigils with other symbols appear on those walls. Clicks can be heard. The house and yard are locked down.
My cats race ahead of me and jump into their favorite spots on the bed. I climb into bed, and I say good night to house, ancestors, deities, and all.
“Lights out, 11:10 p.m.,” says the clock.
Another day done and sleep and dreams.
Chapter 2
Dream of the One
Dreams are like videos; they are films when you close your eyes. Or they can be places where you can go when your body needs a change of pace. Here I am again looking at a cabin in the forest. The ground around feels so real. And there he is. His back is turned to me, but then he turns around, and he is speaking, but no sound is to be heard! I note his features; he is handsome and has smooth dark-ebony skin with strawberry blond hair and blue eyes. He is smiling as he talks. He lifts his arm, and on his hand, a cardinal, and in the other hand, he has seeds. There is a cardinal on his shoulder, the right one. And other cardinals are enjoying the seeds with the bird feeder.
I look toward the cabin. Four cutout hearts on a purple door. They are of different sizes with glass in between. It is a beautiful place. The cabin has two stories with the first-floor roof being flat with a balcony and a metal railing with vines and plants, and on top of the railing sits a gray tabby. It opens its mouth but again no sound. Nothing about him or the cabin feels scary. It feels like I’ve been there before.
The two cardinals that were on him moved to the bird feeder. And then he walks toward me. His blue eyes are intense. My heart beats faster. I can feel his hands holding my arms, and his face moves closer and then ringing. I hear ringing, and I wake up. It is the alarm on my clock.
Darn it! Well, that was different! I think to myself.
Triton hops on the bed and looks and me, and on the other side is Jade, she meows.
Yes, I know, dear ones, it’s breakfast time!
I get up, and I run for the kitchen with two cats hot on my heels. I get our breakfast ready. While they eat, I light the incense and a candle, and I greet the goddess, the ancestors, and the house. The smell of sandalwood drifts through the house. I start my coffee with the dream fresh in my head.
As I scramble my eggs, I think, So I saw his face this time.
Smiling and blushing a little at the thought, I reach for a box of sprouts, then grab my cream from the fridge, and I turn on the kitchen television, and my phone rings. It is Cybelle.
“Hey, girl,” she says in her most southern drawl. “I called to find out if you would like to go to the nursery with me?”
“Yes,” I tell her, “that sounds fine, but I need to talk to you. I had that dream again.”
“Oh really, again?” she says.
But then I hear my brother’s voice in the background saying, “Again? What’s going on?”
I yell into the phone, “Hi, Keith!”
Poor Cybelle, we are a mess. And she married into us wild and crazy people.
“Hello, sis, are you okay?” Keith says.
“He says hello and wants to know if you are okay. Yes, she is okay!” Cybelle chimes in before I could answer.
“I see you’re getting the hang of it!” I say laughing.
“Yes, I am,” she chimes back.
Keith can be heard laughing in the background. But then she says, “I get the sense that the dream has changed?”
“Yes,” I tell her, “I got to see his face this time. He had rich, smooth dark-ebony skin with blue eyes and blond hair.”
“Oh my, sounds very interesting,” she says.
“So his hands weren’t dirty, he is just a luscious dark-skinned person.”
I could hear Keith saying, “Who are you guys talking about?”
“Nothing!” we both say together.
He laughs. “You women and your secrets! All right, keep it then.”
“I see you sticking out your tongue, Keith!” I yell.
“Damn, she’s good!” I hear him say, and Cybelle starts laughing. Then she says, “I will pick you up at nine, is that okay?”
“Yes, that will be fine, thank you. I will see you later.”
We both say goodbye and hang up.
And she did pick me up promptly at nine in her little green Chevette.
My goodness, do they even make these cars anymore?
Cybelle
