“Where’s your Where’s Elias now?” I asked. Caleb glanced over at me, surprised that’s the first thing I would say.
“He still lives in Lamen, from where I’m from, same house,” he said.
“Have you talked to him since?” I asked.
“No, I can’t.”
“Is there a restraining order or something?”
“No, not anymore. I just could never look him in the face, knowing what I did.”
“I see.”
“It was nice, seeing your family. I must say, I envy you.”
“Do you ever want a family?” I asked.
“Absolutely, one day. I would love to settle down, get married. I wish I could have become a foster parent but that’s not really an option anymore with my records.”
“Have you ever had a girlfriend?” I asked.
“Nah, nothing serious,” he said.
“Are you a virgin?” I asked.
“Knowing what you know about my past, what do you think?”
“No, I bet you were a man-whore back in the day,” I said with a laugh.
“Ha ha, I guess you could say that, but I’ve changed. I just need to find me a good Chris —” I cast a warning look at him, “Spiritual girl.”
“Well, I guess that means I’m disqualified. Damn,” I said with the snap of my fingers.
“Oh, yeah, I bet you’re so disappointed,” Caleb said, laughing, “What about you? Any…girlfriends?”
“No. . .”
“Hmmmm.”
“What?” I asked.
“It’s just unusual, I guess, the comment your brother made. I would think he would have some basis for that, considering he was much younger the last time you saw him. Figured maybe you had one at that time.”
“Nope.”
“Wait a second, so you’re the virgin!” Caleb said, raising his eyebrows.
“Go figure, right?”
“Wow, Danielle, you’re like almost in your mid-twenties.”
“Caleb, are you suggesting I should have premarital sex?” I asked with my hand over my mouth in false shock.
“No, never,” Caleb said, still attempting to stifle his laugh, “But I mean, gay marriage isn’t legal, so it’s not like that’s an option.”
“I thought you were supposed to hate gay people,” I asked, implying his Christian beliefs.
“Another misconception you have about me. See, I don’t hate anyone. I don’t judge anyone, because that’s not my job. As far as the ideas of some people regarding homosexual relationships, well, I have my own opinion.”
“What’s that?”
“Well, I think there are all kinds of relationships that are unhealthy or toxic. It doesn’t matter if you’re gay or straight but I can’t believe that there is something wrong with two men who love each other or two women who want to raise a child. I believe that there can be the presence of love in these relationships despite gender. I don’t think evil is capable of love. Evil is the absence of love. Love is eternal, and whatever the gender assigned to our mortal bodies, I don’t believe them to be assigned to our souls.”
I glanced at Caleb in admiration. He did have a love for this world and the people in it, and that was remarkable.
“I like you, Caleb.”
“You want to know something awesome?” he asked.
“What?”
“You didn’t correct me when I called you Danielle.”
"Damn you,” I said with a smile.
Chapter Thirteen
Fighting for Your Light
When I returned to the house, I hid my mother’s letter away from the world and myself. I wasn’t ready for it. I hadn’t known of its existence until now. I was working on myself and knew a message from beyond the grave could derail any tiny goodness attempting to grow. Something was different, It was a spark of motivation growing inside me, small but loud.
I spent the following Saturday in revolving group training. I had a period of time blocked out with every member of the house in order to learn from them and see how they train and discipline their gifts. I started the morning with Tanya and David and ended my day with Law.
After breakfast, I was asked to meet Tanya and David in the backyard. As I made my way out the back door, I saw them sitting across from each other on a large blanket in the grass. The air was cool against the warm day, creating a perfect day to be outside. They were both barefoot and sat cross-legged on the blanket.
“Dani, kick off your shoes and come join us,” Tanya said, beckoning me with her hand. I did as she said and sat on the blanket, thinking we were about to attempt to conjure some evil spirits.
“Okay, we’re going to practice some basic meditating techniques. We like to do this to quiet our minds from all those wild, crazy, thoughts that be running wild. Ya know, keep you up at night,” Tanya said, “Cool?”
“Yeah. . . it’s interesting that you two would be the ones who do this sort of thing,” I said.
“Yeah?” David asked, “You have a Reader and Human Computer. No one’s thoughts run more rampant that ours. Tanya has to deal with her own thoughts and the thoughts of other people, and I have to maintain normal cognitive function while having the capability to retain information 127 times better than the average brain and process it 2,367 times faster than the average brain. Believe me, we need this more than most.”
I scratched the back of my head, contemplating this information, “So, how does it work?”
“All right, we’re going to sit up straight, but relax your shoulders. Place your hands in your lap or like on your knees like this. First, we’re going to do some deep breathing, and you’re supposed to focus on your breathing. Breathe in, breathe out. Close your eyes and just let your thoughts fall to the ground. Focus only on your breathing.”
I closed my eyes and breathed in and out. I tried paying attention to my breath, but the thought of how fast David could process information popped into my head. I wondered what that felt like. When my
