When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was the silver car. The mouth of it was rammed up to the trunk of the tree, smashed against the charred bark. Smoke was spewing out from underneath the hood. The car horn was screeching and constant, echoing across the field. I was standing in the middle of what seemed to be a vegetable garden made up of endless mounded rows of green leaves poking up out of the ground. The car and the tree were at least fifty feet away from me, if not farther.
I knew I had to move quickly. My high heels kept sinking into the soft dirt, slowing me down as I hurried to reach the car.
The massive tree was naked and loomed like an ominous creature, ready to devour anyone or anything that came within its vicinity. Its branches were jagged and sharp, like angry dark arms sprawled against the overcast sky.
Lightning flashed and illuminated the field with a burst of stark white. Thunder followed, and the roar of it terrified me. Heavy rain began to fall. Within seconds I was drenched to the bone. I pushed my wet hair out of my eyes once I finally reached the car.
There were puddles of shattered glass everywhere. My high heels crunched against it with each careful step I took.
I could see Dominic through the driver’s side window. He was slumped over the steering wheel, unconscious.
“Dominic,” I said, overwhelmed by the sight of him.
No one can hear you in this universe, Destiny.
I pulled on the door handle, but the car door was jammed. It wouldn’t open. I moved around to the passenger side. The passenger door opened without much effort. I leaned down and reached into the car, my fingertips extended toward Dominic.
You can’t touch him. He won’t feel it.
I tried anyway. In the sliver of the second that my hand was to make contact with his body, something happened. The entire world seemed to shift into reverse. I slid into the passenger seat just as the car pulled back away from the tree. The damage to the car disappeared. We were moving backward. It was as if we were stuck in rewind mode at the hands of someone pushing a button on a remote control.
I heard nothing but silence, a complete audio void. Not even the sound of my own heart beating. Or my breath.
We were moving faster now, still going backward. The threatening tree grew smaller in the distance. The field soon became a blur of green leaves and dirt.
And then we stopped.
I looked through the windshield. We were idling at a four-way stop, at a rural intersection. Nothing but vast farmland surrounded us. Rain was pounding hard against the car. The flimsy windshield wipers on the compact vehicle could barely keep up.
I saw the contemplation in Dominic’s eyes.
He’s going to take the shortcut. He’s going to cut through the field. This is his deciding moment. Do something, Destiny. Now.
I heard Dominic’s voice. “I’ll be there as soon as I can,” he said. It took me a second to realize he was talking to someone on his cell phone. I stared at him. The sight of his profile caused the air to catch in my lungs. He took my breath away. He was wearing a pair of old jeans and a green T-shirt that was on inside out. His thick brown hair was a mess. It was obvious he’d gotten dressed in a hurry, in a moment of complete panic. “She has to hold on until I get there,” he said.
I felt my heart break when Dominic started to cry. He clutched the steering wheel until his knuckles paled. “It’s not fair, Mom,” he sobbed. “She’s never done anything wrong to anybody. She doesn’t deserve this.”
Even though he couldn’t hear me, I had to say something. “She’s gonna be okay. I promise.”
Dominic’s cries grew more intense. “What are we gonna do without her?”
I reached for him on instinct. Then I remembered.
Feel my presence, Dominic. I’m here. I chose you. I chose love.
“She’ll make a full recovery,” I said. “She’s cancer free. She’s waiting for you at home. She needs you, Dominic. So does your mom. So do I.”
Dominic’s sobs subsided for a moment. A strange expression crept over his face. “Mom, did you say something?”
“She told you to turn around,” I said. “She said to go back home, Dominic. Listen to your mother.”
“Mom?”
“Do what she tells you!”
“Mom, can you hear me?”
“Turn the car around. Please.”
“Mom?” he said. “Oh, there you are. I thought I lost you.”
“I can’t lose you, Dominic. Not after what we’ve gone through to be together,” I said. “My great-aunt says we were meant for each other. We’re soul mates. You’re perfect for me. And I want to be perfect for you. But you can’t go into that field. You’ll lose control of the car.”
“Mom, I’m gonna take a shortcut.”
“No!” I said as loud as I could. “You can’t.”
“I’m gonna cut through the field. I’ll be there in like two minutes.”
“Don’t do it,” I pleaded. “Turn the car around. Take a different route.”
“I love you, too,” he said. His voice started to break again as his sorrow resurfaced. His pushed a button on his cell phone before it slipped from his hand and landed on the floor of the car right between my mud-caked black high heels.
Dominic hit the accelerator. We slid off the asphalt andskidded onto the dirt as we entered the field. The tree was just up ahead, waiting.
It’s now or never, Destiny.
“Dominic, I know you can’t hear me or see me, but I know you can feel my presence. You know you’re not alone right now. I can see it in your eyes. I love you very much. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. And then after that we can live at Wonderland and make other people just as happy as we are. I need you to stop this car. I need you to put your foot on the brake now. Turn the car around. Go a different way. Mama June is going to be fine. Do you hear me?”
Dominic glanced in my direction. For a moment I thought we made eye contact.
He knows you’re here.
I stared through the windshield. The rain was relentless. It was difficult to see. I could make out the gnarled branches and the black limbs of the evil tree. We were getting closer to it. It was only a matter of seconds.
“Dominic, please,” I begged. “Stop the car!”
Instead, he started to speed up. I could see the heavy sadness in his eyes. On instinct, I reached out and touched his cheek with my fingertip, absorbing one of his tears into my skin. Even though it felt like I was making contact with nothing but thin air, Dominic shivered a little. Like an electric connection had occurred between our souls.
He hit the brakes. The car slid sideways for a few feet, spraying mud and rocks. I thought the car was going to flip over. I braced myself, prepared for an impact or worse. We spun in a circle and the rotation moved us in the opposite direction of the tree.
Finally, the car came to a stop.
Dominic was breathing hard, gasping for air. He lowered his face against the steering wheel, overwhelmed by the moment. His entire body was shaking, wrought with adrenaline and fear. I fought the urge to hold him.
Soon enough. And then, forever.
His voice filled the space between us in the car. “I don’t know who you are,” he said. “But I know you’re here with me.”
“Yes, I am,” I said. “And I always will be.”
“You’ve always been here,” he said. “Because you’re my guardian angel.”
“No,” I said. “But I am your destiny.”