It was the most painful dream she ever had. Unfortunately, those are the ones you never forget. Coleman was walking away. Lili’s reaction didn’t matter. Sometimes she cried out to him, sometimes she stood and said nothing. The result was still the same. He left her.
“Have you seen him lately?” Davin asked as they stood in line in the hospital’s cafeteria.
“Who?”
“Oh, I see. That’s how it’s going to be,” he mumbled. “Lili, you haven’t been taking care of yourself. You look terrible.”
“That’s not a very nice thing to say, Davin.” She grabbed a yogurt and a bottle of water and placed it on her tray. Davin took soup and salad for himself and added both to Lili’s tray.
“You’re not eating enough either. When are Keith and Katherine returning from their honeymoon? You seem to be in much better shape when they’re around. You are clearly too big of a task for James to handle alone, and I’m sure Gray isn’t much help with a baby and a pregnant wife on his hands. Since you insist on keeping Coleman in the dark, for reasons I cannot fathom…”
“May I get a word in?” Lili said. By this time she was halfway through her salad and was sipping on her soup. Davin, on the other hand managed only to pour dressing over his salad.
“I’m sorry. Go ahead, speak.”
“Well, I don’t have anything to say really. I just wanted you to be quiet so I could eat in peace.”
“Lili,” his sky-blue eyes were firm.
“Davin, I’m doing really well. Rana teaches me a new mantra every other week and it really helps me. Do you have any idea what it’s like to work with her? I’m more devoted to my quiet time and I love Yoga. I have a little more clarity and a lot less fear.”
“Mantra’s are very powerful. I never thought in a million years that Rana would leave Sri Lanka, much less live in New York City, but to see you able to work with this wonderful woman is more than your father ever saw happening, I’m sure.”
Lili’s eyes brightened at the thought of exceeding her father’s expectations. “Rana taught me the Gayatri Mantra this morning,” she whispered. “It’s like a million years old.”
“And it’s the most powerful of all the mantras. I’m sure Rana told you that.”
“She may have mentioned it but I’m so tired I don’t remember. I do remember she said it purifies the person who chants it or even listens to it. I wonder if it will help me sleep.”
“I think you may need the Aad Guray mantra for that,” Davin smiled. “It invokes protective energy from the universe.”
“I learned that one a few weeks ago. It’s not helping with the dreams, though.” Lili rubbed her eyes and face, then leaned in to whisper, “It’s the dreams, Davin. They are so vivid. It’s difficult to fall back to sleep.”
“Anything you need to talk through?”
“I don’t think you can help sort this out, Davin. The dreams about Coleman leaving are prophetic. Uncle Thomas thinks so too. It will happen. But this other one I keep having is about a girl I’ve never seen and the place looks like it’s from another time.”
“Do you mean in the past?”
Lili nodded.
“Have you talked to Nayaba about this?”
“Yes, of course. She said an ascended master could be trying to come through, or a saint. Whoever it is, they have a message that I need to hear. She also said I don’t have enough information yet, and to keep journaling.”
Even Nayaba knew that prophetic dreams couldn’t stop the most horrific things from happening, no matter the detail. They certainly couldn’t stop a Tsunami from killing two of their friends. Lili wondered what the point was to this particular gift, but she couldn’t very well stop herself from dreaming. There was only one person in this world that carried that ability. He called it an ancient Irish secret. She called it cinnamon and amber.
“I know you’re worried about Coleman leaving you, but…”
“Listen, Davin,” she quickly held up her hand, “Before you continue, let me explain to you that Coleman has more secrets than I do and I’m not going to tell him about my gifts and have him feeling responsible for me when he obviously has things to work out himself. We would all do well to be patient and let life unfold a bit before we go making declarations. I’m choosing not to say things to him for a reason. Sometimes I think all of you believe in fairy tales and as soon as everyone opens up and speaks their truth that everyone will live happily ever after.”
Davin leaned back in his chair and folded his arms.
“I apologize for not trusting your judgment. It’s just you have such a long road ahead and I want you to be safe. We all know Coleman is the one.”
“Not according to the prophecy Uncle Thomas has.”
“What?” Davin sat up straight. “He let you read it? What did it say?”
Lili smiled and reached into her purse.
“You’ve had it the whole time?” Davin snatched it out of her hand. He read it three times when Lili finally spoke up.
“There is a knight in my future. Interesting, huh?”
“If I were you I would read this a few more times. That is not the most interesting part.”
“What do you mean?”
He calmly folded the paper following the creases that were formed. “A few more mantras and you’ll have it figured out, Lili,” he smiled.