Demon
Chapter 16

Brenda

I wake up early, before Ron or the kids. It’s still dark outside. I have a lot to do today, and as soon as my mind starts thinking about it I know there is no way I’m going back to sleep. So I get up as quietly as possible and head downstairs to make myself some coffee.

This is going to be one of the last mornings I wake up in my house, I realize. We told the kids last night at Laura’s house during dinner that we’ve decided to stay over here the next couple of days, so we can start deciding what to pack up and take over to Ron’s. And what we will get rid of.

It makes me a little sad. I’ve built this home, here in this house, and now that part of my life is ending. It’s bittersweet. However, I’m nothing but thrilled that the period of time without Ron is over. I’m excited about living with him, about getting remarried, about the happily ever after that we are finally going to get. We were always headed there, it turns out, but just had a few bumps in the road first.

And one of those bumps is going to be packing up and moving out of here. You know what, though, I tell myself. Guess who’s going to be here helping, doing all the heavy lifting, by my side every step of the way? Ron is. My love. He’ll be here with me, doing whatever I need. And I’ll be doing it all for him.

All right. I’m set. Let’s do this. I start considering what we need. Boxes. We’ll need lots of boxes.

Brenda’s

My beloved resolves to embrace the new phase of her life. Her reconciliation with her beloved husband has brought so much joy to her, and to their family. It is good that they have reached the decision about how to resolve the question of which residence to use, as it had been an ongoing source of some confusion for each of them.

The Seer’s Jonathan Project, unbeknownst to her parents, substantially impacted the decision. When Natalie decided that she wished to remain as close to Jonathan as possible over the winter break, it nudged her parents in the direction of choosing the house in that neighborhood. Natalie’s friendship with Timothy had been feared to be a possible obstacle to making this choice, but instead she was the one who essentially guided it.

Natalie is confident that her relationship with Timothy will not suffer from the distance. Although with a normal childhood friendship that would probably not be the case, it very well might be here. Natalie’s determination is a bigger factor than her parents even realize in formulating their plans. As always, if she wishes for something to happen, she will replace a way. All humans and Guardians in her orbit feel inclined to accommodate her wishes, as her presence brings a sense of well-being to all. With, of course, the one exception being Demon.

Furthermore, Timothy’s ability to communicate with Guardian has grown to the extent that he is able to reliably receive messages. As a result of this and of our ability to speak with each other over previously impossible distances, Natalie knows that she and Timothy will be able to remain in contact even while in different neighborhoods.

All appears to be working out beautifully for my beloved. Joy permeates the family.

Gabe

I fell asleep last night with my mind feeling very strange. I was trying to do what Timothy said. But honestly, how on earth do you open your mind like a cupboard door? I couldn’t figure out what that would even be like. So all I could do was just think about my guardian being there.

Aaron, Natalie says his name is, so I just thought about Aaron. She says that he’s always thinking about me, so maybe if I’m thinking about him too, it would help. So I was laying there, trying to concentrate on some invisible angel named Aaron, while I was getting sleepier.

And it felt different. Like when I finally fell asleep, there was something there. Was I dreaming it?

This morning, as soon as I wake up, I remember about all that. About Aaron. I think I was dreaming about him.

I guess I’ll never know.

Hold on. Of course I can know. Natalie can just ask Angel.

I jump out of bed so fast that I make myself laugh. I’m totally turning into Timothy, all eager to replace out the results of an experiment!

Natalie

When I fell asleep last night, Angel was telling me about Gabe trying to hear Aaron. It wasn’t going as well as it does with Timothy, but Gabe was really trying.

As soon as I wake up, I ask Angel, “Well?”

“Good morning, my darling. Your brother fell asleep while making the effort to feel Aaron’s presence. I believe that while he was in the twilight realm, between waking and sleeping, he felt just a hint of the love that Aaron was transmitting to him. He dreamed of Aaron last night.”

“So would you say that it worked at all?”

“For just a moment, he felt the barest glimpse of Aaron’s love for him, but it was similar to what other humans can sometimes sense when their Guardian is speaking to them. My dearest, you must remember how unusual this situation is. Only you and your closest companions have any idea of the existence of Guardians. The fact that your friend and your brother attempt to contact theirs, much less have any success, is extraordinary. If your brother does not immediately succeed, please be patient. It will take much time and effort. It might never actually work. However, the fact that Gabe knows of his Guardian is already helping him. The simple fact of that awareness brings him comfort.”

I guess he’s right. I’m being too impatient. But now that Gabe knows, I want him to be able to talk to Aaron. Talking to your guardian is so nice, and Timothy really likes being able to hear Guardian when he tries.

I think about Timothy and Guardian. I’m really glad that they have been practicing, since I won’t be living here anymore. I hope that soon they are good enough at it that I can just tell Angel anything, and he can tell Guardian, and Guardian can tell Timothy. It’ll be like a game of phone tag, but better than having to wait until we see each other at school to talk.

“Your brother is coming to see you,” Angel says, and a second later Gabe pokes his head in my door.

“You awake?” Gabe asks me.

“Yeah. Angel says that you were trying to hear Aaron last night.”

He jumps onto the bed next to me, making my mattress bounce me up like a teeter-totter. It makes me laugh.

“I was,” he says. “I don’t know if anything happened though. I think I remember right before I fell asleep thinking I could feel someone close to me, but then I was asleep and dreaming.”

“Well, just keep trying,” I tell him. “I think that you probably felt him a little. Angel says that since nobody else even knows about guardians, just the fact that you know and are trying to hear yours is amazing and will help you.”

“Help me what?”

“Like, feel calm and happy. Don’t you think that knowing that your guardian angel is always sending you love makes you feel better?”

“Yeah, I guess so. I mean, even if I can’t feel it, I guess I know it, and that seems nice.”

He looks around my room. “Have you thought about what you want to keep? To bring over to Dad’s house?”

“My books.”

“Ha! Of course that’s the one thing you’d care about.”

“What about you?”

“Boy, I don’t know. I am going to have to look through everything. My room at Dad’s is already pretty full of stuff. I don’t know how much more I can fit in.”

“Well, most of your Legos are over there. A lot of the stuff here is kind of baby toys, right? Mom said that we should think about what we can donate, so maybe some of your baby toys can go there.”

He nods. “Yep. But I’ll think about it later. I’m hungry. Let’s go get breakfast.”

“I still need to get dressed. I’ll be down in a minute.”

He heads out, and I go to my dresser and get out some clothes. The drawer is completely full. I have a ton of stuff in here. My room is full of clothes, and old toys, and all kinds of stuff. I guess I should think about whether I want to bring anything other than just my books.

“May I suggest that you search through your closet for Little Angel? A Guardian is not often sentimental about physical objects, but I believe it would be nice for you to keep that memento of your younger years.”

Oh yeah! “That’s a great idea, Angel! Thanks!” He’s right. I totally want to keep my little Beanie Baby angel, that I used to think was the same thing as my Big Angel.