“I had Adam pack everything after we left.”
“Oh.”
“Go, have a look around,” Demien encouraged.
I did as he instructed, heading into the game room. Everything was top of the line in mint condition, as if he just furnished the place. On the stage sat a 1954 Fender Stratocaster. I recognized that guitar. I had no idea why. I’d never seen it before. I didn’t know much about guitars to begin with, so to recognize this one was odd.
“Do you like that?” I heard Demien’s soft voice in my ear.
I jumped. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
“I didn’t mean to scare you. Would you like for me to play you something?” he asked, quietly.
“Sure.”
He hopped on stage and picked up the guitar. I watched as Demien strummed the strings, tuning it. He looked very natural and comfortable behind the guitar.
“May I ask you something before you start?”
“Anything,” he replied, tuning his guitar.
“What does Zanj mean?”
He stopped tuning the guitar and looked at me with his mouth curved into his famous half-smiling smirk. “Angel.” He immediately went back to his guitar.
“What language is it from?”
Demien did not respond. When I heard the strum of the first chord, my heart stopped. I recognized this song. This song ran deep in my soul. I had been humming that tune since I was a child. It was at the moment I truly felt complete. I had found something that I never realized was incomplete in my life. Everything began to connect. The melody was the most beautiful and passionate tune I had ever heard. It could be best described as a rock ballad. Whoever wrote this, wrote it from their heart, from their experiences. It was the perfect lullaby. It was my lullaby, written for me. I just knew this in my soul.
Images flashed before my eyes. Demien was standing in front of me. He extended his wings and then slowly lifted himself away.
“Demien, come back,” I heard myself call, my voice echoing, but it was too late; he was gone.
In the distance, a girl about 5’6” stood with her side to me. She had straight, black hair. Her skin was medium in color with a thin physique. She appeared to be arguing with another. This girl was about two inches shorter and plump but not what I would call overweight, just slightly big-boned. Her skin was a little paler than the first girl’s. Her hair was bleached blonde and large green eyes. The black-haired girl said, “Stay with me. This is not a fight with high school bullies. You can’t go.”
The other girl responded, “Christie, I have to go. Everything is at stake.”
I was spun into a different scene. Demien and a strange girl were kissing. It was hard to watch. As they broke, I noticed something familiar about her. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but it was someone from my distant past. She was breathtaking. Her hair was light brown with red shimmers. Her hair hung past her waist with tiny curls at the end. Her eyes were bright green. The combination made the girl appear innocent and naive. My eyes were glued to her face. Her face was pale with rosy cheeks. Her crimson lips were full. That wasn’t why I couldn’t take my eyes from her face. There was something about her.
As Demien began to speak, his lips were pointed downward into a frown, “I will be near every second. If you don’t think I’m near, just close your eyes. You will be with me again. I will be back to you as soon as I can.” Demien’s hand moved from her cheek and stopped right under her arms. Her arms were raised, enclosed around Demien’s shoulders. He kissed her again as his hands lead down to her much-engorged stomach. She must have been seven months pregnant or more. “I will save you both,” he promised. Demien bent over and kissed her stomach.
She said nothing. She couldn’t speak through her tears.
“Trista will take you across the seas. Go with her now.” Demien instructed.
“Vessi,” I heard in the distance. I looked around and saw my sister appear from the darkness. “Vanessa, are you here?”
“I’m here,” I replied. “I’m over here.” She didn’t seem to notice me in front of her. My body started shaking and rocking. I couldn’t keep my balance. I fell into darkness.
“Ves, wake up,” I heard my sister call.
I stopped descending, and the darkness began to fill with light. My eyes felt heavy as they opened. Taking a few minutes, I could see the game room and my sister staring at me. Then I asked, “Was I dreaming? Did I fall asleep?”
Shannon grabbed me up and wrapped her arms around me. “I couldn’t find you. I didn’t know what happened. The house was trashed. Blood was everywhere. I was so scared for you.” She was crying. “A man was in your room rummaging through your things.” She was crying hysterically now.
“It’s okay. I’m fine. How did you find me?”
“Myra showed up at the house. She brought me here. Where are we, anyways?” she asked, looking around.
“Um, Demien’s house, I think.” I realized I wasn’t sure where we were. He never answered my question. “Wait... You said Myra. She is okay?”
“Yes. Who is Demien?” she asked, confused.
“A guy from work,” I said. Glancing around the room, I didn’t see him anywhere. “Demien,” I called out.
“He and Myra had to leave,” Adam said as he rounded the corner into the game room.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
I began to have an understanding of what was going on. I had to see if I could talk to them. All of a sudden, I knew how to get to them. I realized what I was able to do. I had
