Witness: See Series (Volume 1)(66)
“I’m saying that that realm is addicting; it can be whatever you want, at any moment. All you need is energy, and the dammed souls freely give up their energy to create it. Your dad had turned away from that power. He had to commit to living this life, this reality, and to fight the nightmares - just to be with me. He wanted to set free the power that was flowing into him....he wanted to see and feel the energy in this reality....to show others how to see....how to break free from the restrains of the world. His music allowed his fans to feel emotions that were to dark to face, when they felt them they realized they were not alone, and they were able to move forward with life - even see it differently.”
“You mean redeem the shadows....the ones that we will become if we do not find the peace that is inside of us. That’s what dad did with his music...” I mumbled seeing how I’d already chosen his path without even knowing it, that Draven had....my only fear now was, if we had reached the point my father had in his life...what was next....what war would we fight?
My mother nodded. “He had already made that commitment long before I met him. He made that promise the first time he began to play, when he began to force the energy out of him and into a different source.”
I felt my father’s stare and locked eyes with him. In his silence, I heard a thousand words....he was telling me it could be done - that Draven could fight this.
“So there is hope for Draven. He’s not only helped lost souls before, but he plays. This world isn’t a prison to him; it’s all he knows,” I said, almost to myself.
“Not anymore,” my mother said quietly. “That realm is calling him, and his battle is going to be fierce. Your past is calling you…it’s time for you to bring balance to this world.”
“You really believe I lived before? That I made some choice that forced both me and Draven into this world? Into yours and Evan’s life?”
“It doesn’t matter what I believe; all that matters is what you believe,” she answered.
“Tell me how you helped dad, how I can help Draven in that realm. How can I help Britain and keep Silas at bay?”
Sadness filled her expression. “I don’t know.”
“Don’t hide anything from me,” I said coldly.
“I’m not, Charlie. I’ve never been there – I was too afraid. I still am. Your father and I were willing to remain here, to live a normal life - but you don’t have that choice.”
“Why not? You avoided it - why can’t I?”
“Your soul is much older and much stronger than mine or dads; you were born for the fate that’s chasing you.”
“You can’t help me?” I said as I looked between them. “Neither of you have any insight into what I can do to help them?”
Mom looked at dad, then to me. “The answers are all around you. You just have to ask. I do…I do have some advice.”
She looked down and leaned against her desk as she searched for words. My father moved to her side again and took her hand. I watched her smile slightly as her arm gently braced her stomach. “Before I even knew I was pregnant with you, I had dreams, very vivid dreams…I saw a dark prince - at least that’s what I called him because his flawless image was breathtaking and seethed with a raw power. I saw a beautiful girl….dark eyes, long dark hair…she was so bright, so mesmerizing that she stopped this dark prince in his tracks. As they gazed at each other, I felt indescribable love, an instant commitment to find balance – to find a way to bring their opposing worlds to peace…the dream was so beautiful that I would wake crying.”
My mother let go of my father’s hand and walked to the bookshelf that held countless photos of me growing up. She reached for a frame and stared at it for a few seconds before she turned it for me to see. It was a photo taken of me and Draven on the beach last summer. It was just as the sun was setting. In the frame, you could see the orange glow of the setting sun behind me and the rising full moon behind Draven. Our images were shadowed by the conflicting light of the day, but you could see his forehead against mine and his hand gently cradling my face. The photo, that innocent moment in forgotten memory, took my breath away.
“When I took this photo…when I saw this image…my dreams came flooding back to me,” my mother said as she choked back tears.
“I don’t understand,” I whispered.
Her eyes met mine. “Your entire life, you’ve made it an art to call the dammed back to a moment where they felt love – to a moment when they believed anything was possible…now you’re going to have to call yourself back to a moment when you felt the same.”
My eyes fell to the photo again as that day, that moment, played out in my memory. It was a beautiful day, but if I remembered clearly it was one of the countless stolen moments we had growing up. I didn’t feel anymore at peace by remembering it.
“Not this moment,” my mother said quietly. “You have to remember a forgotten moment, the moment he fell for you, the moment he fought his desire to end your light…the perfect balance the two of you found then…a perfect circle of both light and darkness – so balanced that he couldn’t pull you down. When that moment comes again, you must protect him from what he’s becoming once again. Find that peaceful, forgotten memory. Don’t think about what you left behind then or now; focus on that moment, and if you manage to feel half of what I felt by witnessing that unyielding love and commitment in that dream - then nothing will harm either of you.”