Insight (Web of Hearts and Souls #1)(40)

“You are different. Everyone is, and that’s what makes us all so special.”

“Willow, I think that I am—I have—I can…” She was struggling to find the words. I felt her emotions rush, and I squeezed her tight.

“I know. Don’t worry about it. It’ll all make more sense as you get older. Don’t rush it. You’ll find your way,” I said, playing with her long brown hair. I felt a calm come over her.

After she drifted off to sleep, I left her room. As I passed through the hallway to my room, I heard the discussion downstairs in full debate. I could still feel Livingston’s eagerness. I could also feel Landen’s frustration. It was obvious we weren’t going to get any answers that night. I climbed on my bed with my sketchpad in my hand, then turned to a blank page and stared, trying to decide what to draw first. It was hard because my day had been so amazing. I sensed my mother. When I looked up she was leaning in the doorway. She smiled warmly at me. She had her energy and excitement with her again.

“Can I come in?” she asked. I scooted over on the bed, making room for her to sit beside me.

“I can only imagine what sketches will come out of the day that you’ve had,” she said.

I smiled as it rushed through my mind. Mom saw the photo album on the table and grabbed it, smiling as she looked at the pictures. She then started turning the pages, watching my friends and I grow up over the years.

“Do you miss them?” she asked.

I nodded.

“Can you imagine what they’d say about you finding Landen?” she said, smiling. “What did you think of the string?”

“It was amazing, indescribable. It would change, the feelings, the colors, it all changed,” I answered in a rush.

“I wish I could see it,” she said, feeling envious.

I suddenly realized how scary only feeling it would be.

“So, Landen and you…” she said, shifting her emotion.

I felt myself blush. “Is everyone still shocked about us?” I asked, sitting up a little straighter.

“Not shocked. It’s just amazing. I still cannot believe that you don’t have to use any words to communicate. Did it scare you?”

“We didn’t even realize it.”

“Is it everything? I mean, can you hear his thoughts now?” she asked glancing to the doorway.

“We only hear each other when we speak to one another. I’m not sure if he could hear me now or not.”

“What about the dreams, are they the same place?”

“I think so. The last few have been at this beautiful home in our new world.”

“I bet it’s the one he built,” she said, smiling wider.

Landen building a home…I tried to picture it. His hands were not callused; his skin was not browned from the sun.

“They all help. The family starts the house when the children are around the age of ten. It’s not something that happens overnight, though. Your father said his was nearly finished when he left. He had spent ten years on it.”

The way I felt about the home was intensified. It would always represent Landen to me.

“You know the houses are run off natural energy. The whole dimension is run off the power of sun, wind, and water.”

This world was becoming a utopia to me. It was as if the world that I’d I lived in had the same choices, but failed to take the right path.

“Ashten went to see Aubrey today. You know it’s hard to be away from your soul mate for a long time. Clarissa found hers as well,” my mother said.

“Did he say what she thought about Landen and me?” I asked nervously.

“Aubrey and I are a lot alike. She can’t wait to meet you, and she’s very proud of her son,” she winked at me.

My mom started to tell me about all the people I would meet when we finally got Chara. I drifted off to sleep somewhere in the middle of that conversation.

At first, I slept without any dreams. Slowly, though, my home came into view. I walked into the house, stopping to smell the flowers on the front steps. Once inside the house, I made my way through the rooms I’d seen the night before. I made plans to create paintings and place them, highlighting my first time in the string and the wonders of the world where my childhood was spent. I traced my fingers through the designs in the framework that bordered the center of the walls.

I was in a large room. The couches and chairs all had beautiful patterns on them, and I ran my fingers across each one. I could feel the handmade stitching.

In the center of the wall was a vast fireplace framed by a beautiful mantel, and along it were pieces of what looked to be crystal. The shapes were all amazing, but one caught my eye: a willow tree. It was six inches high, and the branches and leaves each broke out into their own crystals. The sunlight peering through brought out an array of colors. Stepping closer, I could see a little knob on the base of the tree. I gently picked up the delicate tree and twisted the knob. I felt it wind up like a music box, and I could only imagine what song would come from it.

I felt Landen’s hands on my shoulders, he moved them slowly down my back birthing a throbbing sensation from my soul. One hand reached for my waist, and the other reached for my arm, he gently lifted it, so that I was stretching back and threading my hand through his dark hair. As I gazed into his eyes, his fingertips feathered down my arm, it took all I had not to laugh, that tender caress fell further, tracing my chest, my ribs, all the way down to my waist. I held his stare as I leaned up to let my lips brush against his.