The Two Annarias
*TRIGGER WARNING*
*She tilted her head as she studied my face again. “The Goddess wishes to show you your future.”*
*“M-my future?” I stammered.*
*“Yes, your future.”*
*She held out her hand expectantly, and I took it immediately. The world around us shimmered for a moment before it was replaced by a dark room in what appeared to be a cabin. Lying on the bed, with her legs spread open, was a version of me that I didn’t recognize. Her face was caked with mud, and twin trails ran from her eyes to her jawline, telling me that she had spent many hours crying. Twigs and leaves were tangled in her hair, while her body was littered with bruises. I got to my feet as she gripped her knees to help herself bear down. When a tuft of fur poked out of her vagina, I gasped before turning to look at my namesake.*
*“I have a cub?” I asked excitedly.*
*She got up to turn my face back to the other version of me. “Just watch.”*
*I continued to watch as happiness blossomed within me when her cub was slowly expelled from her body. With one final hard push, the cub tumbled onto the mattress. The other me immediately picked her cub up to cradle the tiny female in her arms. She pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head before struggling to get up from the bed. She put one hand on the wall as she slowly moved across the room. There was a sense of urgency in her movements that made me wonder just what she had been through. She knelt in front of the cabinet under the sink, opening it before crawling inside, still cradling the cub.*
*I didn’t even hesitate to follow her through it, finding myself almost immediately in the forest. I continued to follow her into the woods as she desperately tried to escape from whatever she was running from. Loud growls erupted from behind us, causing her to trip when she fearfully looked over her shoulder. As a rogue bear’s scent grew closer, she whimpered before hiding in a bush. Moments later, an unfamiliar, enormous, scraggly bear burst into the clearing, panting as he frantically searched through the plants on the ground.*
*Something about the bear made me want to reach out to touch him, but as I did so, he found her hiding in the bushes. He let out a loud, angry bellow before dragging her out of the bushes while she begged him to spare her and her cub. His aura came out, holding her hostage with its power, which allowed him to rip the cub away from her. She screamed again, pleading even harder with him not to hurt her cub. When he bit down on the cub, tears started pouring down my face, knowing that the cub wouldn’t have survived the number of bones that I knew had been broken with his deadly bite. He pulled his aura back as he chewed and swallowed the cub before grabbing her hair to drag her back to the cabin while she sobbed hysterically.*
*“She was yours! She was yours! Why did you kill her? I HATE YOU!” She yelled, trying to break his hold on her, but was too weak to accomplish it.*
*I sank to my knees with my hands over my face, sobbing at what I had just witnessed. I could feel her pain grow as her cries grew fainter. I was so upset that I couldn’t even breathe. I started to get dizzy as I hyperventilated until Annaria put her hand on my shoulder. Peace and acceptance flowed through me, slowing my sobs and easing my breathing until I was calm. When the scene began to change again, I shakily climbed back to my feet. As the scene slowly formed around me, I was grateful to see a beautiful river that ran through a green field splattered with patches of white and yellow flowers. On the riverbank, a bear I recognized as Marsha was lying on her side, panting, while a large bear stood next to her, licking her snout encouragingly.*
*As I drew closer to the pair, it became evident that this version of me was also in labor, but it felt so different from the last one. This future was full of light and love instead of panic and heartbreak. I sat a few feet from the two bears, basking in the comfort that this bear gave not only to this Marsha but to me as well. When the female cub was finally out, the male immediately made sure to carefully pick it up and place it gently in front of Marsha, who nudged it with her nose, guiding it to one of her nipples. The boar laid down above her head, putting his head over her neck so they could watch their cub feed together.*
*Suddenly, the scene froze before it was split in two, almost like a picture inside of a picture, with the loving scene of the cub feeding beside the scene of the first me being dragged over the forest ground. Emotions welled up inside of me again, instantly overwhelming me as I looked at the first version’s devastated face. When I couldn’t look at it anymore, I turned my face away with my eyes closed for a moment.*
*“Why are they so different?” I asked.*
*She waved her hand towards the two scenes. “In one future, you honor the Goddess, and She gives you every single one of your dreams. Whereas in the other, you dishonor the Goddess, and She turns every single one of your dreams into a nightmare. In one glimpse of your future, you bear all the gifts She bestows upon you. And in the other, She takes all of them away.”*
*“How do I get my happy ending?”*
*“You follow the Goddess’s plan for your life. If you veer off of it, She will take back Her gifts one by one until you have nothing left. No protection. No bond with the forest. No bond with me. You will be nothing but a broken bear.”*
*“Is this about Gerry?” I asked.*
*She ignored my question as she waved her hand at the scenes, making them slowly disappear from sight. Once they were gone, she pinned me with a neutral look.*
*“The vial the vine holds is a serum to make Osprey’s aura ineffective. All you need to do is add some of his DNA to it and then take a little of it.”*
*I smiled widely at her as I threw my arms around her neck, hugging her tightly. “Thank you, Mother Annaria!”*
*Sadness crossed over her face quickly before she hugged me back tightly. “I love you, Annaria. I always will. I beg of you to make the right choices. The Goddess wants to save you, but you have to be willing to save yourself.”*
*“I will! I swear!”*
I was thrown from the vision, snapping back to attention in Gerry’s arms. When my eyes opened, he let out a relieved breath.
“Goddess, Annie! I was so worried.”
I pulled his face down to kiss me before showing him the vial that was clutched in my other hand. He ran his finger over it.
“What is it?” He asked.
“The answer to our little Osprey problem…”
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