Witness: See Series (Volume 1)(53)

My eyes left hers and moved to the butterfly in front of me and the others that were fluttering in front of my car.

“They’ll lead me out this...this mess I’m in?” I asked, willing to believe anything at that moment.

“Perhaps. They reflect what you want, and lead you to that point - but you have to understand that sometimes to get what we want, we have to do things we don’t want to do…”

“And why did they decide to show up now?”

“You had a revelation…subduing the Escorts, wanting the impossible to be possible.”

Possible…everything was possible. I already knew that – my shadows taught me that long ago.

Before I could conceive if these butterflies were some kind of sign, some kind of help, they began to fly in circles around my hood; the white of their wings made them seems as if they were one constant string of light – then they moved away from us.

I turned my head to see where they were going and found them in the center of the road as if they were waiting on me to follow them. I turned my head slowly from side to side as I put the car in reverse and began to follow them. Once I reached the road, the light I saw around them faded, and they were gone.

“So much for a guide,” I mumbled as I reached for my GPS and hit home. I wasn’t sure I was ready to go home, to face the ghost of my father - or anyone else, for that matter. l was angry and had a million questions racing through my mind.

I was twenty minutes away from my house and chose to drive as slow as possible as I muddled through my thoughts.

We were driving through the back roads to my house, when all at once I saw the glow in front of us again. I slowed down even more, but they vanished the moment I did that, which infuriated me. I turned my lights off bright and let the dark of the night invade the road before us, looking for something – anything that would make these butterflies appear again. A mile or so later, I saw them once again off to my left. I pulled over to the side of the road and turned my lights off. The light wasn’t in front of us, but rather off to the side. I couldn’t figure out how to get where they were.

When I stopped the car, they stopped in their place as well and seemed to grow brighter. I reached for my GPS to try and figure out what was over there. The screen on the GPS reflected a pond or some kind of water off to the side of where I was parked. I knew where I was now – there was a Dog Park over there. I used to run around that pond and play my guitar underneath one of the large oak trees over there.

I let the GPS fall between me and Monroe and put the car in drive. I was almost sure there was an opening to the park just ahead. Once I found the entrance to the park, I pulled into the deserted parking lot and parked as close as I could to the edge of the field.

“Feel like going for a walk?” I mumbled as I unhooked my seat belt.

Monroe was still as a statue.

“What? You’re not going to make me walk through that field alone, are you?” I said, halfway teasing.

“We’re not alone,” she mumbled.

I furrowed my eyebrows. “Would you tell me if I shouldn’t go?”

“I can’t tell you what you should or should not do – this is your life.”

I let out a deep breath as I stared forward through my windshield. I could see the glow I was chasing in the distance. My curiosity outweighed any fear I would have about strolling through a dark park on a moonless night.

“Lock the doors. I’ll be right back,” I said as I climbed out of the car.

As I stepped into the damp grass, I stared forward at the light I was chasing. At the very least, it was giving me a distraction from the racing emotions that were terrorizing my heart. With each step I took, the light seemed to grow wider. It almost looked like the stars had fallen and were lingering among the dark grass. As the pond came into view, so did even more of the butterflies. There were thousands of them. Most of them had landed on the long blades of grass, while others seemed to flutter over the still water that had a thin film of fog lingering across it.

Staring at the beauty of this moment, I forgot all that was troubling me. I began to give credit to Monroe’s simple explanation that they were a guide; at this moment, they’d guided to me to what I really wanted: peace.

A numbing, calm sensation washed over me, and peace absorbed my soul. At that moment, I felt strong arms encircle my waist. I didn’t flinch or pull away or even turn to see who it was; I already knew Silas was holding me. I leaned slightly back against the warmth of him, ignoring the guilt that was screaming at my heart. I was mad at Draven right now. Being held and comforted by Silas was nothing compared to what I saw him do with Bianca. If anything, I felt justified – we were now even. Even though I knew that thought was immature or selfish, I didn’t care. I wanted to be held...I wanted to feel peace.

“They’re beautiful,” I whispered.

I felt his arms tighten around me and his face lean against mine. “You’ve always loved them.”

I closed my eyes as the idea of a life I couldn’t recall began to haunt me.

“How could I forget something like this? You?” I whispered.

He silently turned me in his arms, giving me no choice but to gaze into his eyes, which were slightly glowing in the darkness around us. “It’s a side effect of living in this reality…a risk I drove you to…I’m sorry,” he said as he gently cradled my face.