Soul Seers Complete Set (9 page)

Just as I thought I couldn’t take
the piercing noise any longer, it stopped. It all just stopped. Every thought I
was hearing suddenly went silent, like everyone’s brain had been shut off
simultaneously and I was the only person left on earth. Then, I heard and felt
the vibration of footsteps rushing toward me as I knelt on the sidewalk,
completely confused about my current state.

“Jonah! Jonah, are you okay?”

I looked up into the face of a
worried museum director. Her brown eyes looked sincere, but I couldn’t hear her
thoughts. Nothing. Which was odd, because her thoughts were usually full of
animation and detail. I enjoyed reading her and it pained me that I couldn’t do
so at this moment.

“Ahh, yeah,” I answered as I
stood, wincing as I straightened my body. I clearly bruised my knees during the
fall. I also bruised my ego with the fact that I fell to the ground in
unexplainable pain in front of people I was supposed to be doing business with.
“Sorry, yes. I’m okay. I just suddenly had a migraine attack. I should… maybe I
should head to the doctor.”

“I’ll take you to the hospital,
Jonah. You shouldn’t be driving,” she said as she held onto my forearm and
tried to lead me over to a nearby bench.

“No, no. That’s ok,” I assured
her, shaking my head and sucking in a hissing breath at the sudden barrage of
dizziness that overcame me. She was right, I shouldn’t be driving.

“At least let me call someone?”
she begged with worry in her voice.

I just nodded at her concerned
face. “I’ll call my dad. Thank you though.”

We made our way over to the
concrete bench nearby and it felt good to sit for a moment. If I would have
stood any longer, I thought for sure I would have puked. She sat with me until
my father came around the main circle to pick me up. I felt like a little kid
needing to be picked up from the school clinic.

I was able to hand the frog over
to her and let her know I would discuss the idea in more length when I felt better.

“I love it, Jonah. The gems are a
perfect addition to an amazing work of art. The detail it adds is impeccable,”
she cooed.

Holding both sides of my head in
any attempt to make sure it didn’t split in two, I said, “Hold it up into the
sunlight and change the angle slightly.”

She did as I suggested and I heard
a sudden gasp come from her lips. “Oh, Jonah. That’s even more breathtaking! I
love it!”

“I thought with the skylights you
have in the lobby, the sun shining through would hit these gems just right at
different times of day, causing the wall to come to life like no other. I know
some other sculptors have done similar exhibits, so I wanted to make yours
unique and put my little signature on them as well,” I explained, not even
attempting to look at her or open my eyes in the process.

She patted my back as she said,
“Well, I think it’s brilliant.”

Even though she said she
absolutely loved the idea and welcomed it, even offering to pay extra for my
costs, I was still skeptical about her sincerity because I couldn’t read her
thoughts. Everyone’s thoughts were completely silent. So, I had no way of
knowing if she was genuine or just felt bad for me because she could tell I was
in obvious pain.

I was safely in my father’s BMW
when he started probing. “What the hell happened, Jonah?”

“I have no idea. It was so sudden.
One minute, everything was fine. The next, it was as if everyone’s thoughts had
been turned up to maximum volume. My ears began to ring and if it were real
sound waves, I’m sure they would have been bleeding with the piercing noise
that was assaulting me. I tried to block it all out, but it wasn’t working. I
thought for sure I was going to scream… I may have screamed actually, I’m not
sure. But then, it all stopped. Everything stopped. I can’t read anyone now. No
thoughts. No voices.”

“I am taking you home and will
have Dr. Jessen come check on you,” he said while his eyes stayed focused on
the road ahead. When he said home… he meant his home. Luckily, I still had a
room there. So, the idea of possibly staying there for the night didn’t bother
me much. Especially since I now needed to go out and buy a new pillow for my
room at the apartment.

“Dad, pull over,” I demanded.
Luckily, he didn’t ask any questions and made his way to the shoulder just in
time for me to spill from the car and throw up the once-delicious lunch my
mother had made for me. I don’t know how much time passed, but I was sure as
shit I would die right there on the side of the road. I felt THAT bad. The last
thing I remember was my father’s broad arms scooping me up and dragging my ass
back to the car. After that, it was lights out for Jonah.

Later on that afternoon, I woke up
in my bed at my parent’s house. Wincing as I glanced at the nearby clock, I
realized it was only an hour after my dad rescued me from the museum parking
lot. God, just the thought of him having to pick me up in front of a client was
enough embarrassment to last me a lifetime.

As if he knew exactly when I would
wake up, likely because my dad could foresee the time that would happen, the
doctor walked in to talk to me about my issues.

Dr. Jessen was a soul seer as
well, although he specialized in psychic mediumship, more specifically the
ability to speak to those who had passed on. But because he had a special gift,
it was easier to talk with him about our ailments than a mainstream doctor,
especially since he dealt more with psychological aspects of medicine. It
wasn’t like we could walk into a hospital and say ‘Oh, you wanna know what’s
wrong with me? Yeah… I can’t read minds anymore.’

The doctor said I should just
rest. He thought my blocking technique actually did work under the sudden
duress and that it may eventually wear off when I let my guard down. As far as
why the increase in volume happened, he had no idea. But if I noticed any other
changes in my gifts or if I noticed it coming back, I needed to call him right
away.

As my dad escorted Jessen out of
his home, I meandered down to the kitchen and found my mom’s worried form
hunched over the sink.

“Mom? You ok?”

“Oh, Jonah. You should be in bed!
Go. Go back up and I’ll bring you whatever it is you need,” she scolded as she
tried to shoo me out of the kitchen.

“Mom, I’m ok. Really. I just
needed to check on you. And, maybe get some more water,” I said with a shy
smile, knowing she would like to hear me drinking water over soda.

“Well, I’m worried sick about my
baby boy, that’s all,” she said with a sarcastic flick of her wrist.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what came
over me. Please don’t be worried. I’m okay. The doc says so,” I tried to assure
her.

“Well, get your ass up to your
room right now. I’ll bring you some water and we can talk more,” she ordered. I
obeyed and climbed my way up to my old room. I decided it would be a good idea
to heed the good doctor’s orders and just go to bed.

That night was the first in over
six years I didn’t dream. I actually woke up in more of a panic than I would
have with the most intense of dreams. I thought for sure with my nonexistent
dream of amethyst eyes, I was likely dead. And if I wasn’t dead, I wanted to
be.

Without my visions of her, I was
nothing but a pathetic shell of a man.

You know the saying “You don’t
know what you’ve got until it’s gone?” Well, I had no idea how much I enjoyed
and relied on my gift until it disappeared. I couldn’t read a single soul and
the quiet in my mind was near maddening.

“Sill nothing?” my father asked as
I was headed out the door.

“Nothing,” I said angrily,
avoiding eye contact at all costs. I didn’t look at him as I spoke. Even though
I felt very emotional, I would be damned if I lost control, especially in front
of my father.

“Jonah?” My name from his lips was
full of pity and sorrow, which caused a bit of rage to begin simmering in my
veins. I didn’t need anyone to feel sorry for me. He could tell I was hiding
something. As always, my dad could tell. He had a sixth sense about this kind
of stuff. Either that, or his precognition abilities gave me away.

I turned and struggled to look at
him, angry tears threatening to emerge at any moment, which I would ultimately
hide with an outburst of fury. God. Why was I being such a pussy? I was
contemplating whether I needed to share my despair with him or keep it bottled
up. Sharing my sorrow, if for no other reason, would be to keep my sanity. So,
I spoke from my heart and hoped he would understand. Hoped he wouldn’t push me
to the brink of sharing my deep and bottled up emotions with the world. Not
today. Not now. Gritting my teeth, I spoke. “Not even a dream, Dad. Not one
dream. This is the first time I haven’t dreamed of her in six years.”

He walked over to me and held both
of my shoulders so I would look him straight in the eye. He had to stoop down
slightly just to get my attention enough before he spoke.

“It will come back. She will come
back. You do not just lose a gift you have had your entire life. I am certain
you will be ok,” he said with conviction.

“How do you know?”

“I just do.” He enunciated every
word in staccato as if it made his promise more permanent.

I knew what that meant. That meant
he had a vision. As a precog, he was always very private of his visions.
Especially when someone was as close to him as I was. But if he said he was
“certain” of something… then he had a very good reason to be so confident in
his words.

His confidence that everything
would be ok lifted my spirits a bit. However confident his encouragement was, I
was still a basket case.

“Oh, your mother and I went and
got your car for you. She hated me for taking her away from you while you were
ill, but at least now you’re not stuck here.”

“Thank you. I actually didn’t even
think about the fact it was still at the museum. Shows how on top of things I
am. So, I appreciate you thinking ahead for me,” I said with sincerity.

“You sure you’re okay to drive?”
he asked, still holding on to one shoulder as if he needed to keep me in place
for a moment longer.

I just nodded and said, “Yeah, I’m
fine now. I was fine shortly after my little episode and sleep seemed to help.”

After a quick man-hug with my
father, which consisted of a shoulder bump and a single pat on the back, a kiss
for my mother, and sheer willpower not to break down like a nancy, I left my
father’s house for the studio. Lavendine was like my sanctuary. And my heart
was calling out for my safe haven.

To keep my mind occupied, I
decided to start laying the frogs out and planning the pattern they would be
mounted in. Taking up an entire classroom, I pushed all the high-top tables
together and spread several sheets of drywall out onto them to make up the
ten-foot by twenty-four-foot space the piece would occupy. This way, I could
organize and trace them with a pencil to plan their positions carefully.
Considering I had Jay taking care of the studio and member sign-ups again
today, I was able to delve into my work uninterrupted.

After several minutes of prepping
my area, I made the verdict I would place a sign on the classroom door,
claiming the room as mine until this project was complete. The members had
three other workrooms they could utilize, so it would likely only mess with the
workshop schedules, which could easily be transferred to other classrooms
temporarily.

Sitting down, I began gluing more
amethyst eyes to each frog, using the appropriate sizes for each and holding
them up to the sunlight to test their shine.

I heard Jay talking with what must
have been a new member because I would have remembered that voice anywhere if I
had heard it before. Songs of angels paled in comparison to her mesmerizing
voice. I was half tempted to peek out and see who this woman was, but thoughts
of amethyst eyes made me shake the thought from my head and stay put.

I needed to stay focused anyway.
Reminding myself it was just a random person, I decided to keep at my task and
ignore the conversations going on in the main room.

As the moments passed and a few
more eyes were glued in place, I cursed myself for not being able to read the
minds of those in the building. For the first time in a long time, I wanted to
go meet the girl whose voice piqued my interest. I usually always let the girls
come to me, and even if they did, I wouldn’t give them the time of day. This
time, I felt like a magnet was pulling me to the other room, but my
stubbornness kept my feet planted in front of my project and my mind set on
amethyst eyes.

“Jonah?” Jay called several
minutes later as he lightly knocked on the open door of the workroom I was
occupying.

“What’s up, Jay?” If I could read
his thoughts, I wouldn’t have to listen to him stammer.

“I, ahh… I thought you might want
to come meet one of the new members,” he said with somewhat of a shocked
expression.

The look on my face probably said
it all. I was completely baffled as to why he would want to bother me over
meeting a new member. Yes, I did notice her—at least I hoped it was the
voice of an angel he was referring to. But, regardless of her voice, I wasn’t
interested.

“Let me rephrase,” he continued
with his hands up in defense. “You NEED to come take a peek at this chick.”

Well, damn. If Jay thought it was
important for me to meet this girl, and my body seemed completely attuned to
her lovely voice, then she must be a total knockout or something. He definitely
wasn’t the type to go ga-ga over any random chick.

“Whatever you say, Jay!” I joked
with a sarcastic salute from my forehead. He scowled at me as I attempted to
sidestep his rage in the doorway. He hated it when people made his name rhyme
like that.

Jay began to speak in a more
hushed tone. “You don’t have to meet her if you don’t want to. I just thought
you would want to see her, even if from a distance.”

“What is so important about this
ch…?” The lump in my throat swallowed my words as my stomach turned into a
pretzel.

Turning my head in the direction
of the main studio space, I saw her. She was here.

The light from the window bathed
her skin and golden curls as if its rays craved to touch her as much as I did.

Sitting down at one of the
workbenches was the girl of my dreams, literally. She was here with someone and
I craved to be the person who occupied her attention so fully. She was real and
she was here, at Lavendine, in the flesh.

I was stunned utterly helpless as
I stood in the hallway and spied on her like a stalker. She wouldn’t know me
from Adam. I’ve dreamed of this girl for over six years, yet she doesn’t even
know I exist.

What should I do? What will I say?

Jay lightly clapped me on the
shoulder and said, “I knew you needed to see for yourself.”

The End of Part Two