Page 39 (1/2)

The sun just rose in the east, the horizon painted orange and yellow blending together with the golden sand The stars still twinkled in the lightened sky and the dry, desert air was still cool and crisp

I panicked, afraid that I was left behind, afraid that I would have to traverse the desert alone to safety I searched the landscape for anything that would reot back to the desert, how I ended up here alone Then I saw it

The black and ivory, striped tent laid out over the sand The silk, fabric folds flapped in the breeze and the inside gloarht of the lanterns In the breeze, I could smell the exotic spices and freshly baked bread

I breathed slowly, realizing I awoke in a drea low and pretty fabric beckoned me to enter, to explore more deeply what the tent had to offer

He called me here He calledat s and crosseddeeply There was part of o inside, the part of me that reic felt like wrapped up in its other half But, there was another side toelse, reht and sacrificed for

I sighed, alive in to the emotional part of me Nobody was here in the desert or inside ofto my emotions I had a choice for the first time

There was no one here to influence my decision I knew that whatever happened in this dream world would remain a secret that would be o into that tent I wanted to connect to hiics run wild

With that admission, I knew I could walk away Because I could adenuinely wanted, I could also realize what I wanted would have consequences And, I had goals and desires that went beyond the present, far beyond this dream and this moment

I stared for a fewtoward it I was in no danger of him

He came then, after the moments of stillness He stood in the open entrance, shirtless and god-like We stared at each other across the desert expanse He didn't move toward o I took another step away fro before I could even open my eyes back in the real world

Chapter Thirty-One

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Aunt Syl asked, during the drive to Amory's "I mean, I want you to of course, but I just want to h so much in a very short a enough," Iat Lilly in the backseat of Aunt Syl's red convertible Her vibrant, unrestrained red hair whipped in the wind She s the happiest expression She was perfection today, she looked infinitely better than she had two days ago and I was so happy to see her look healthy

"I know, I know, I just worry about you, that's all" Aunt Syl turned to h her overly large sunglasses

"Besides, Jericho is going crazy," I laughed Thinking of Jericho made this journey easier somehow He was my rock; he made impossible situations possible and offered hope where there was none If the time had come to meet my parents, e that he would be by my side

Aunt Syl pulled into Aine We all stepped out of the car and glanced around I knew, somehow, somewhere someone followed us, but I couldn't worry about that for now I hoped that at least they weren't cognizant of everyone in the house, but there was no way to be sure of that either

I unlocked the front door, and walked inside to a darkened sitting room All the blinds in the house were pulled, but the baseht on I led the way over to the door, feeling the pull ofthe excited chatter of al e I didn't knohat to expect in a situation like this, there was no experience to draw froood kind of confrontations I decided toto acco

I took each step with calculated intent, deciding I had faced worse things than aard moments At the bottoathered I breath and I entered the rec roo Lilly and Aunt Syl stayed right by my side and that helped ease my tension