Gabriel and Aurora

I would say I was nervous, I wouldn't lie to you. College was a big deal and a whole new experience on its own. I knew I wouldn't see my mother for another year or two, I wasn't sure, but she'd send a card as always, wishing me well or no. My father however was still in the picture, he worked as an English teacher and very far away so we only saw him on the odd weekend. My sister Catherine, or Cat as I affectionately named her when I was young, was my everything, she alone raised me and did all she could to see me happy. There I was 18 and going to college, she couldn't be prouder of her baby sister. I saw it in her face, she was more like a mother to me than anything else.

For this event, Cat went all out, a little overboard if you ask me, as an event planner it was in her blood to make everything perfect, and this was no exception. There were balloons everywhere, if you could imagine a space in your home that was empty or couldn't possibly hold even the tiniest picture, Cat found a way. Not to mention the rest of the decor, two lager-than-life banisters read "Congrats baby sis," and a more traditional "Congratulations Aurora," I did love them very much, I'll admit. The house was packed with relatives and the few friends that I had who would be joining me at Burkwood College. I was beyond excited, a whole new chapter lay before me in all its glory.

"So what has she decided to study?" I heard uncle Albert asking my father.
"Psychology, but I suggested she give everything a try this first semester, just to get her bearings on what she really wants to do."
I saw my father sigh and shake his head a little.
"I can't believe she's going to college, she's grown up too fast," a hint of a tear trickled down his cheek, only to have him wipe it away hastily. I smiled to myself, and turned to find Marci standing behind me.
"I can't believe it!" Said Marci, with a glass of who-knows-what in her hand.
"Yip, we're going to college," I suppose I could have sounded a bit more enthusiastic.
"Wow, you sound really excited," she added, sarcastically, but when she saw the expression on my face she asked,
"What's the matter?"
"Nothing," which was a total lie, "I just wish my mother was here."

"Have you heard anything from her?"
I snorted at the answer I would give which I was slightly ashamed of her, but it was the truth.
"It's been almost 10 years now, where is she?"
Marci put her arm around my shoulder and gave me a squeeze, "She'll come back, don't you worry."
"Maybe," I didn't know where she was or why she had left but I knew that my father and Cat were keeping something from me, as usual I'd just forget about it when Cat would change the subject or my father's call suddenly ended, but not this time. I was going to find out soon.
"You want a drink? Alley made them special," she said, her voice ringing, it made me laugh.
"Sure," I smiled.
"Good, come on!" She took me by the hand and we found our way through the crowds of people to Alley who was standing behind a table filled with an assortment of all sorts of alcohol, sipping on a blue drink and bobbing her head to the music.

"Hello ladies!" She was always so jolly, so happy and cheerful, I wondered how she did it, "So, what can I get you?"
"Double Malibu and coke please."
"Ooh, shooting doubles tonight, are we?" She smiled, "Nice! I like!" Alley came round to us and gave us a big hug. "We're going to college!" She squealed, spilling my drink in the process.
"You know, I don't think it's that big of a deal guys."
"Oh come on!" Said Alley, "We," she said pointing to Marci and herself, "Didn't think we'd get in, it's a pretty darn big deal! I was ready to go to beauty school of be a model."
"A model?" Said Marci laughing, "You?"

"Whatever, let's dance!" Alley grabbed mine and Marci's hand. We laughed, and drank and danced, it was the most fun I'd had in a long time. I turned to see my dad and sister dancing together, like you'd dance if it were at a wedding, and it were the Father-daughter dance. Cat was so graceful, she could have easily passed for a ballerina, so beautiful with her lean body and long legs. My father was a strong man and he held her will poise as she laughed and laughed as he turned her round and round. I loved this atmosphere, it had a complete feel to it, the kind of feeling you always get when you're around family, that sense of complete comfort and trust. After a good 2 hours of dancing to the likes of Lady Gaga, Pitbull and a mix of faithless and some old tracks my dad had put on my iPod, the three of us sat back on the balcony facing the crowd and watched the festivities. I heard the faint sound of a car pulling up, and then I could hear a loud voice, it was muffled but I knew for certain that it could only be one person.

"Who's that?" Asked Alley, I matched her gaze with a little lady shaking my father's hand and howling "Hello!" to all she passed, I ran up and gave her the biggest hug I could.
"Nairobi!" I cried, "Nairobi, is it really you?"
"Well I'm here aren't I?" She giggled and held onto my arm as I helped her through the crowd.
I could hardly believe my eyes, "How on earth did you get here? Where are you staying? You need a place to stay? We have a guest room upstairs..."
"No, no, no," she disapproved and waved her hand which further said, "No."
"I'm living in the old cottage down in the forest, you know, the forest behind your house, so I'll be keeping an eye on you," she pointed at me and giggled again, "Now help me get in this chair."
She seemed out of breath but was still smiling as always, she looked up at us, "Well, now, who would like to get old Nairobi a drink?"

"Oh, that'll be me," it was no surprise that Alley rose to the occasion, she could have easily been a bartender, there wasn't a drink she could make.
"Great," said Nairobi, still huffing and puffing. "Jack and lime, blondie," and again she gave a hearty laugh, she was so spirited and full of life for a woman of her age. Nairobi, was a close friend of my late Grandmother, they grew up together on a farm in country. Nairobi was a housekeeper and my grandmother, a home maker. The one thing that set Nairobi aside from all the other little old ladies was the element of voodoo. Her mother taught it to her, and she taught a bit of the art to my grandmother, who's entire house was lined with lime salt!

"These are powerful things you know," my grandmother would say, as she poured salt on all the window stills. "We don't mess with anything in the dark, be it nighttime or magic, you do not play with these things, you here me?"
I'd ask her what the salt was for and she'd say, "To keep the bad things out, and to keep us safe inside."

She was really into it, almost obsessed. Cat and I were never allowed to play in the woods or even by the waterfall. We'd ask why, but she'd tell us not to ask so many questions and that we'd better get the hell inside the house. In her later years, she became more and more quiet, reserved and would let no one see her, except Nairobi.
"Have you been well?" Asked Nairobi, patting my leg.
"I've been wonderful, I'm so glad to see you Nairobi," and I was, it had been years.
"And you, so, we're going to college? I'm proud of you Aurora, I really am. Your grandmother would have jumped through this very roof if she were here, just out of pure excitement," she grinned, and the gold in her teeth was exposed.

"I know," I did miss her, she was our mother figure when Cat and I were younger. She was a wonderful woman, powerful and a real role model, but with the exceptions of a lil' voodoo here and there.
"Heard from your mother at all?"
"No."
"She'll come around, don't you worry," she grinned, and the grin grew wider as Alley approached, with a drink in hand.
"One jack and lime," Nairobi took the drink eagerly and sipped on it for a while, so much that the 4 of us sat in silence for about a minute.
"Oh, this is Alley," I pulled her closer for Nairobi to see, "And this is Marci," doing the same to her.
"It's lovely to meet you ladies, I suppose you'll be looking out for Aurora?" Nairobi eyed them.

"There's nothing else we do best" Said Marci, smiling. "Alley and I are going to hang around for a bit, and serve drinks, we'll be back in a while." She smiled and the two of them ran off to see to the guests.
Nairobi and I chatted for what seemed like hours, I was so glad to have her here, and she would be staying for the remainder of the year. The one thing I loved most about living in that house was the deep dense forest that lay behind it like a sea of green, waiting to be explored. There were a few houses deeper in, but I never came across a single one at the time, just the cottage where Nairobi was staying, and I would be going there often.

"So why are you back?" It was strange that she suddenly came back to Raven, after my grandmother died.
"You don't want me here?" She giggled. "I'm playing," her face became serious, "To be honest with you Aurora, there is something I came to talk to you about, it's the main reason I'm back. Do you remember all those dreams you used to have as a child?"
I thought for a moment and the memory washed over me, I felt my face go chalky white.
"The stranger?" My voice was soft.
"Yes," she nodded. "Things are going to change my child, I thought they were just silly nightmares that you were having, until last night."
I frowned, "What happened last night?"

"I had a vision..."
"Nairobi..." I interrupted, I wasn't exactly on good terms with the belief in the supernatural.
"Now... now, just hear me out. I know you don't believe in the same things that I do, but I'm telling you, this was as clear as crystal in the day time!" The seriousness in her voice and face caused me to be still.
"All right, I'm listening."
"I think this man is real," the look on her face make me wonder if she was joking, but she wasn't.
I sat there, confused, "I don't understand."
"The young man, the one from your dreams, I've seen him." Her voice was a whisper, and I now had a permanent frown on my forehead.

As a child, after my mother left I started having these strange dreams and there was always this man in all of them. He'd stand by my bed, watching over me. They weren't frightening dreams at all, just strange. As I grew older, he'd speak to me, he'd say, "Don't be afraid, I'm here to protect you," or I'd dream that we'd be sitting under a large oak and he'd tell me stories about the forests and the trees. It was a different scenario every single night about the same thing. Like a soap opera, the same characters, me and him, but a different story and setting every dream. I could never see his face quite clearly it was almost always shrouded in darkness or in shadow. All I knew was that he was kind and that somehow we must be connected. I had no problem with these dreams, they were joyful, it just puzzled me why I couldn't dream of something else, anything else. By the age of 13 the dreams stopped, and he was all but forgotten.

"Are you trying to tell me that he's alive, living somewhere? That my dreams are now reality? Nairobi, I know you live in a different world to me, you believe in different things, omen, visions, voices that whisper in your ear. I can't do this, not again. I won't have you turn into my grandmother, filling my head with ideas and hopes. You remember how I believed everything she told me about my dreams, that I was special and that I had some purpose. All those hours I spent at the therapist could have been time spent being a child, running around with Cat, playing, laughing. I was 6 years old, I can't get that time back. It's probably the reason why my mother left, she left because I went crazy about a man in my dreams and she couldn't deal with me, and then I had watched my grandmother change from a strong woman to a mumbling old lady who didn't know her own name. I was left with nothing, no grandmother, no mother, my father is away. Catherine is all I have left. So don't you dare tell me that he's real."

Nairobi stared at me a while with gentle eyes, "Help me up, I have to get home, Cat is waiting for me." I was so upset that I hardly noticed that I was crying. I helped her up and walked her to the door in silence. Alley and Marci were the only guests left, apart from my father, who smiled and took Nairobi's other arm, "How are you keeping old gal?"

"Old gal?" Said Nairobi, surprised. "Jack, I could out run you if you asked me to," she giggled, and I helped her into Cat's car. She smiled at me from the passenger's seat, I felt terrible for the way I spoke to her. I waved, and went back inside the house, feeling rather down.
"We're gonna head home," said Marci. "Hey, what's the matter?" Marci was good at reading people.
I smiled as best I could, "I'm just happy to see Nairobi, it's been a really long time."
"Alright, well thanks for the party, I'll call you tomorrow, ok?" I nodded and she headed out. Marci came up to me and gave me a big hug, "I love you, you know that right?"

"Of course, where would I be without you guys?" She smiled and followed Marci to her car.
"Just one guest left," I heard my dad's voice, and turned to see him standing by the stairs with a suitcase in hand.
"You're leaving already?"
"Sorry hun, last flight back leaves in an hour."
"Ah dad," I gave him a big hug and he too left.

Now, I was alone, until Cat got home, but that would be another half hour, the forest had grown out of control this past year. So I made my way up the stairs to my room where I laid down on my bed. I stared at the ceiling for a while in bitter silence. I closed my eyes for a while and then I opened them, to find myself being held tightly against a firm chest. I looked up and it was him, my voice felt small and my heart raced beneath my... where were my clothes? I was completely naked! As was he. I could not believe my eyes as I stared deeply into his. He was so beautiful, almost glowing in the moonlight. Eyes like green moss, not bright green, but a deep dark green.

"I must leave you now," he said gently, and loosened his grip of me.
"No, why?" I cried, I felt unconditionally attached to him in some way, like the very thought of being without him would be like agony in my eyes.
"This is no longer my world Aurora, I will find you one day, I promise. You must trust me."
"I trust you, just... don't go." I clung to him and I didn't know why. It felt like I couldn't be without him. It didn't take long to realize that I was dreaming, and that he was back in my dreams.
"I will come for you. I'll love you always."
He let me go and before I could grab him he faded away like mist in the night. And so, I awoke.