Chosen

least a hundred identical spiders littering the mass of webs that spanned the rooms’ walls and ceiling. The sunlight shining through the lone open window lit up the strands of silk, which glittered and swayed in the slight ocean breeze. Ocean? My senses sharpened and I tucked away the dizzying deja vu feeling I was beginning to feel into the back of my mind. The white stone of the walls poked at my memory, but the air that smelled of sea salt and sand only caused a thick longing for the safety of the sea.

I shut my eyes and focused on my body back at the villa on Cyprus. Unfortunately, just as in her underground cavern, nothing happened. I felt the spider being snatched off of my arm as Nadia chuckled at my increasing number of failed reverie-ending attempts.

“I have to admit, that never gets old,” she snickered and waited patiently as her spider crawled back onto one of the webs nearby. “I love watching you fail miserably. It just proves how little you belong in our world.”

“Where am I?” I asked calmly, refusing to take the bait. She stood with grace, brushed off her black skinny jeans, and swept her golden hair off her shoulders into a low pony tail.

“Exactly where you should be,” she retorted matter-of-factly. I watched as her golden eyes darkened and the light evil smoke twirled off of her skin. “Out of my way.”

“You think a bunch of spiders are going to stop me from escaping?” I tried to laugh convincingly. I was pretty certain a bunch of spiders was the best way to keep me from escaping. I pictured my body wrapped in the webs as a hundred spiders ate me alive, and shuddered.

“Of course not,” she grinned sharply. “The absence of your essence should take care of that for me.” My heart hit the floor as she picked up a full syringe from the window sill. My trace had faded to gray, and understanding filled my mind, quickly trumped by rage.

“Why are you doing this?!” I yelled at her, and tumbled backwards as I tried to move toward her. With a twitch of her finger something tightened around my ankles in a faint glow. Enchanted chains connected to chains secured my ankles to the stone wall; further ensuring that I had no access to my abilities. Nadia twitched toward me with a smile and pointed at me with one red manicured finger.

“Because I can.” In one quick motion, something solid and cold connected with my skull; taking my breath away and knocking me unconscious.

“He loves me. He loves me not. He loves me. He loves me….not. Well, crap.” I chucked the bare flower stem aside and plucked another yellow flower from the thick, lush grass beneath me. The neighborhood park had proved to be a formidable safe haven that was rarely frequented by any of the any other kids. They were too busy playing video games or spending time with their normal families.

I wasn’t jealous at all. I shifted my attention back to my flower and plucked the first petal.

“He loves me. He loves me not…”

“Love is never left to chance, dear.”

“Huh?” I started a little at the raspy voice behind me. I spun around to see an older lady with a cane peering down at the daisy in my hand with an amused grin. Her starched light blue pants matched her striped white and blue top, and I looked around to see who she was with. She must have grandchildren playing on the swings or the jungle gym, but I was the only kid around. I looked up at her, confused. “Do I know you?”

“No, dear. I’m only visiting.” As she smiled warmly, the corners of her bright blue eyes crinkled from age and I was instantly captivated by those kind eyes. They held such tenderness and wisdom, I found myself unable to look away. They danced with joy, and I got the odd feeling that I should know who she was.

“Who are you visiting?” I asked curiously.

She chuckled, and her wrinkled fingers played with the shining pendant that hung from her necklace. “It would seem the only one I’m visiting with at the moment is you! How’s that sound?”

I straightened, but my ankle rolled over a rock and I pitched sideways. The old woman grabbed my arm to right me, but I cringed as pain exploded from several fresh bruises. She released me when I cried out, but surprisingly asked no questions. She simply shuffled her feet and turned toward me with empathetic eyes. I realized just how short she was. The disfiguring hump on her back forced her slight body to bend over at an odd angle.

“Do you have grandkids?” I looked around again, wondering how an old woman who could barely stand got to the park.

“I will someday,” she laughed again and gestured to the flower I still clutched in my hand.

“May I?”

I handed her the fragile flower and she inspected it with interest. She had to be at least ninety years old. If she was going to have grandchildren, wouldn’t it have already happened?

Another odd feeling of familiarity passed over me, as I watched her hold it to her nose and breathe deep. She closed her eyes and smiled as if it were the sweetest thing she’d ever smelled.

“They say Sweet William will always find his Black-Eyed Susan,” she mused.

“Who’s Susan?” I asked. I had no idea what she was talking about. “Why does she have a black eye?”

“Their story is one of America’s oldest and least known romance tales,” she explained, and held up the flower with raised eyebrows. “Actually, this particular flower was named for her. This is a Black-Eyed Susan, named such for its dark center.”

She handed the flower back to me as she continued, “After meeting beneath the silver light of a full moon in a field of wildflowers, William asked Susan to marry him, presenting her with a bouquet of those very wildflowers. Only one day before their wedding, sweet William was taken prisoner on a war-bound vessel set for the high seas. Throughout his plight-ridden journey, her memory kept him alive; the hope of seeing her again pushing him to survive. Upon his release a year later, William was informed that Susan had run away to evade an arranged marriage. After searching for his true love for months and months, sweet William decided to return to the field where they had first met. That night as the full moon rose, William finally arrived at the field to find his dear Susan sleeping. She clutched a dried bouquet of wildflowers in her hands…the very same kind of flower you hold in your hand today.”

I glanced down at the yellow flower in my hand and smiled. “I want a sweet William.”

“Maybe you already have one,” she wondered with a conspiring grin.

“I doubt it. Plus, I don’t really want a black eye,” I clarified with a giggle.

Chapter 21

“I told you I would figure it out.” Nadia’s muffled voice scratched across my eardrums. “How could you have ever doubted me?”

I groaned and painstakingly forced my way into a sitting position against the cool stone wall.

The leftover lightness from my dream disappeared, and I leaned my head back in an attempt to hear Nadia’s voice more clearly. I couldn’t tell if it was coming from next door or below me. The acoustics of the stone room created a confusing echo, and made it difficult to discern the origin of the sound. At the contact of the jagged wall, my head exploded into a million shards of pain. I automatically reached up to touch the throbbing knot that Nadia had bestowed upon the side of my head, and I regretted it just as quickly. My hand came away covered in warm, sticky blood. I tried to wipe my hand on the floor, but only succeeded in spreading it across my entire hand and the floor beneath me. The thin tank top and cotton shorts I was wearing gave me a hint as to what had happened right before I woke up at this god forsaken spider web.

The last thing I remembered was resting on my bed after a warm shower, but I didn’t recall falling asleep.