Senses Aligned

Sweat covered his entire body; Harper began to worry as he had been asleep for quite some time. Morgan had told her not to worry, that his body and soul needed the rest so he would be able to continue the spiritual journey but Harper could not help her worry for him. Maybe this was too much for him to take; she wasn’t even sure what exactly it was that he had seen in his memory vision, but one thing was very clear, whatever it was shook his soul to the core.
“He will be fine you know,” Harper recognized her brother’s voice coming from behind her, “Aye, I know,” was all she said as she continued to wipe the salty sweat from his head and neck. “I fear for him, brother. What could possibly have been so bad to do this to him?” She turned and looked at her brother with so many unanswered questions in her eyes, questions he himself had no answers for.
“I know not, sister, but understand you must fully trust Morgan; she is ever so powerful and the only one that can take him through this journey,” he said as he walked across the room to sit on the bench across from the bed Brayden lay in. He watched his sister care for him; most gently and lovingly. Christian wasn’t sure if his sister fully understood or even knew how deeply she loved this man. They could both deny it all they wanted; but one thing Christian did know for sure was their souls were combined.
“His path has been laid out; his journey to finding himself is only beginning. Morgan has her methods; it is not just what Brayden feels he needs to know, but also what Morgan needs him to understand. Only then will he have the full knowledge of his place and journey.” Standing up, he walked over to where she sat next to Brayden on the bed. Extending his hand to her he said, “come now, we must let him rest and you, dear sister, also need to rest. I have a feeling tomorrow will be worse than today.”
He woke early the next morning; his body was sore and his head had a dull ache; information overload, he thought to himself. Walking over to the window he spotted Morgan out in the field, bent over gathering herbs. Her voice was soft in his ears as he heard her say, “I have been waiting for you to rise; come join me.” Brayden didn’t think he would ever get used to these witches and their different powers; but after what he had just gone through the day before, hearing her talk to him in his mind seemed to be something he could deal with.
He walked outside and began moving towards where he saw Morgan, now sitting on the ground surrounded by purple flowers; as he got closer he noticed the bowl sitting in front of her filled with some kind of liquid. “Must we really begin again so early?” he asked, as he came to a stop just in front of her. Smiling, she began to pour the liquid into a small cup, “sit, Brayden, and relax; this is just chamomile tea.”
He sat in front of her and accepted the tea she handed to him. It was absolutely beautiful here, he thought, it was odd to him that he didn’t notice that when they first arrived. “It is because you were very weary of what was to come, your mind reeled with negativity; and beauty only comes with light and positivity,” she said, grinning at him as she answered his thoughts.
Before sipping his tea he replied, “yes, well you must forgive me; I am a warrior coming into an unknown situation with a woman that was on a mission to kill me and her brother that reads my mind and I know nothing about.” She placed her cup down in the grass beside her; tilting her head slightly to the side she stared at him intently.
“Your heart has been hardened, your trust misplaced. Is your intent not to learn the truth?” Brayden stared deeply at the cup of tea he held in his hand; the truth was he really didn’t know what his intent was. Learning his lineage, the truth, all of the unanswered questions he had seemed to be more taxing than the thought.
“I thought it was; but now I’m more confused than I was when I came here. Now absolutely nothing makes sense anymore,” he said softly. “You are not confused, Brayden, you are just fighting what you are seeing. Sometimes it takes more strength than you ever imagined to accept the truth, maybe you are not ready?”
“Aye, I am ready; I just don’t understand why you can’t just tell me instead of taking me through this emotional, confusing journey.” She stood and looked down over him, “walk with me,” she said as she began walking away from him. As he caught up with her, she began, “the supernatural world is not complicated, you see, just because you do not understand something does not mean it is wrong or confusing; just as knowing something and understanding something is not the same thing. For you, Brayden, you cannot just know; you have to understand, and that only comes from belief. Until you believe; you will not understand.” He listened intently; her words were spoken softly, he felt at ease with her.
Stopping in the middle of a field, she turned to him, “look around you; tell me what you see?” Brayden’s eyes began to scan the field; it was beautiful, sunflowers filled the lush field and were as widespread as far as the eyes could see. Bright colored flowers merged with the yellow of the sunflowers making for a glorious sight. “I see beauty,” was all he said. Smiling to herself at his softness beginning to shine through, she told him, “now close your eyes. You don’t just see with your eyes Brayden; you have other senses that you should always use as well, otherwise you’re just seeing pieces of a puzzle.”
Closing his eyes he took a deep breath and tried to relax his mind. Birds were singing and chirping in the distance, the sweet scent of honey flooded his nose and he couldn’t figure out why, there were no honeysuckle trees around that he could think of. Suddenly all of his senses began to kick in all at once; he was smelling things mixed together, hearing different birds and animals all at once and then he heard the voices of Harper and Christian and they were nowhere around.
“What is happening?” he asked, still clenching his eyes shut. “You are beginning your journey,” she said as his eyes popped open. They stared at each other in silence for a moment, then she said, “The reason I do not just tell you the answers you seek is because it is your nature to be cautious; therefore, you will only truly believe when you feel it. In life, no matter supernatural or mortal, when you witness things with your eyes you feel it in your soul; that is what makes you believe it. You need to see the whole picture; tonight I will take you on the second part of your journey, and it will be just as hard as last night.”
Brayden felt an unease in the pit of his stomach; deep down he knew he was beginning to put the puzzle together, but he had to know for sure. “You must accept it; your past is not what you thought it was and you have been deceived from within your closest circle, this you already know. Are you truly ready for what you are about to learn? Are you willing to accept it fully and embrace the path you were born to take?” Her eyes pierced his as she asked this of him; there would be no turning back after tonight. Whatever he learned would seal his fate, and he had to be ready to take on whatever it sent his way. “It’s time for me to take control of my destiny; whatever that may be,” he said. “It will not be easy, you must be prepared to grasp everything you learn, for your future will be one of continuous battles, both on and off the battlefield, alliances will be broken, trust questioned and it will be up to you to make the right choices. Let your heart guide you. You are more than the warrior you think you are Brayden; you were destined for greatness,” she said as she began to walk away from him. A sense of belonging came over him; he didn’t know if it was what she said, or because since they had been in this trickery field all of his senses seemed to be aligned and working intensely, but a true feeling of self overcame him.
Turning to walk back in the direction they came from, Brayden stopped her by asking, “who is the child?” She kept her back towards him as she turned her head slightly to the side, “it is you Brayden.”