Andy and The Zodiac Crystal – Chapter 40

Today’s entry is yet another follow up to my ongoing venture into fictional writing. In a few more chapters, I’ll be wrapping this story up, which will end up being Book 1 of hopefully an ongoing series. For those who may not already know this about me, one of my hobbies besides writing the spiritual content I do for this blog, is to write young adult fiction. Many years ago, I actually completed a novel that was set up to be the first in a series, but unfortunately, my addictions got in the way and that series fell to the wayside. That’s why I decided about a year ago that the only way I was going to get back into this hobby again was to commit to writing at least a chapter a month. So I chose to start over and begin this fantasy series, about a 12-year old boy who gains magical abilities far beyond anything he could ever have imagined for himself. If you haven’t read any of the prior chapters, don’t worry, it’s not too late to catch up, as I always include a link to a PDF file for all the prior chapters at the beginning of each of these chapters. Thus it’s my hope that more of you may join in on this ongoing adventure, as I’m sure you won’t be disappointed if you do…

Click here for the PDF file of Chapters 1 to 39.

Andy and The Zodiac Crystal – Chapter 40

“Phew, I’m not sure if I’d ever get used to all that dizziness!” my Grandmother said once we were safely back in her kitchen.

“I know what you mean Gran, but that was friggin’ awesome!” I said a little too loudly. “I can’t wait to do it again!”

“Sshh! You don’t want to wake everyone now do you?” She said with a grin.

“Too late!”, my father said, suddenly walking into the kitchen. “So Andy, what was so friggin’ awesome anyway?” 

“Oh, nothing Dad, I was just talking about how amazing Granny’s oatmeal and popovers are…”

I hated to lie, but what else could I say?

“Well I sure hope you saved some for me!”

Soon my sister and my mother emerged into the kitchen as well, each helping themselves to some breakfast. As they ate, I continued to ponder my morning time-travel experiences and was so grateful to have witnessed one of my Grandmother’s fondest memories alongside her. I could tell the experience had really bonded us even closer together.

After everyone was done with breakfast, I spent the rest of the morning with my sister watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade while the adults began the several hour-long processes of preparing the turkey and all its trimmings. Unfortunately, even my sister was coerced into helping with those preparations when the parade eventually ended, leaving me to find something else to occupy my time with. Most of it was spent talking with Chris on the phone where I told him all about my time travel adventures. Of course, he had to remind me that it was a good thing I didn’t get stuck in the past and to not try any new signs until we did our next training together. But all in all, he was really happy for me that I had learned how to use a new sign completely on my own. What was rather ironic though was the fact that Aquarius was actually going to be the next sign he planned on training me in, given that he already knew what it was supposed to do ever since his recent visit to the Council of the Zodiac. Nevertheless, when our conversation ended, I was immediately tasked with vacuuming, setting the table, and helping out with a few miscellaneous things that needed to get done prior to our holiday feast.

By the time the food was ready, it was well past 4pm and I was incredibly starving. Every year I found it so funny to see how long it took to prepare this huge meal and how quickly it got devoured once it was placed on the table. This year was no different seeing that in the blink of an eye we had all had our fill and were done eating. Once the dishes were cleared, I decided to hold off on dessert until later only because I had eaten way too many helpings of turkey and cranberry relish. My belly was aching slightly at the moment and the thought of putting anything more into it didn’t feel so good, which is why I decided a walk might help alleviate some of it. After asking my parents for permission to do so, they suggested my sister tag along, of which she happily agreed.

An hour later we returned, but only after I had spent the entire walk explaining to her everything that had happened with my time-traveling explorations. She did try to convince me several times during our outdoor exercise to use the sign again, except this time with her. She wanted to see if we could actually travel into the future when using the zodiac sign. I decisively opted against it, not wanting to push my luck any further for the day, much to her disappointment. But I was glad that she understood and had become a great resource for friendship and support when I needed it.

The rest of Thanksgiving Day was spent eating homemade pecan and pumpkin pie with whipped cream and playing some more games with my family. When my head finally hit the pillow by the end of the evening, I was out like a light, probably because all that turkey was still sitting within me. When the next day arrived, I wasn’t looking forward to it at all. Every year I tried to hang back at the house on the day after Thanksgiving with my Grandmother, except I was never allowed to. Instead, I consistently was forced to go shopping with my family while they looked for those Black Friday deals. The thought of having to be amongst all those crowds at the mall once again with all the pushing and shoving and bumping into each other was certainly not my idea of fun. But thankfully my father decided to do something different this year, as he chose to take my Grandmother and I to the movies and lunch while my mother and sister spent the day bargain hunting. We ended up seeing a very funny Christmas-themed movie and ate at a local kosher deli that had the hugest sandwiches and the best homemade dill pickles around.

Unfortunately, there was one place my father had to always go to on Black Friday, no matter what. It was this extremely flashy jewelry store, as they had this contest where you could reach into a bowl of what appeared to be tons of diamonds. And there in that bowl were several real diamonds worth a bunch of money, while the rest were fakes. I had no use for diamonds but it was something that made my father happy each time we waited in line for our one chance to win. And after an hour long wait there this year, like it was for us every year, we went home empty-handed, except for having three brand new, totally worthless nuggets of cubic zirconia!

I felt pretty grateful to return back to my Grandmother’s house where there were no crazy shoppers nor impossible contests to win and was able to breathe a total sigh of relief once we had fully pulled into her driveway. We all spent the rest of the evening enjoying Thanksgiving leftovers and playing a few more games of ping-pong and cards before turning in. Sadly, my time with Granny came to an end the next morning as it was time to head home. I was feeling pretty blue about it, but she urged me with a wink to come and see her anytime I wanted, obviously hinting that she knew I could teleport to her anytime.

Several hours later we were back at home, pulling into our own driveway and I couldn’t believe how fast the Thanksgiving holiday had gone by. I noticed how cold it had turned after getting out of the car and my parents had said on the way home that the weather was calling for some significant snowfall later that evening. I wondered if Chris and I would be able to go sledding for the first time together tomorrow. My spirits lifted slightly with the thought while I quickly pulled the first suitcase out of the trunk. Suddenly I felt someone tap my right shoulder, yet when I turned to look, thinking it was my sister playing a trick on me from my other side, I saw that no one was there. I shrugged it off and then headed towards the garage, which had apparently stopped opening and was now frozen in a position that was about halfway up.

“Dad, I think the garage is stuck!” I said pointing to it.

The rest of my family were all still sitting in the car, which I found rather odd. Just as much as I suddenly observed that the wind wasn’t blowing that cold breeze anymore either.

“I bet you don’t miss time being frozen like this do you Andy?”

The sinister-sounding voice came from behind me. I didn’t even have to turn around to know who it was. It was Carl Dillard.

“What the hell do you want? Get the heck off my property!”

“Well, well, well…Andy learns a few tricks with his crystal that stops me in my tracks once or twice and now he’s think he’s Mr. Tough Guy…”

“I’m not afraid of you anymore Dillard!” 

“You should be…” He said a little too deviously. 

“And why is that?” 

“Because if you want to see time unfrozen and be with your family and friends ever again, you’re going to have to give me your crystal…”

“You wouldn’t do that to me…because that means you would have to remain in this state as well…” 

“I have all the time in the world Andy and have gone for far longer than you ever have with time being frozen…how’s a few years like this sound?”

“You wouldn’t…You haven’t!” I said dumb-founded. 

“I have and then some…” 

“Why can’t you just leave me alone? You don’t need my crystal as you already have a very powerful one of your own!” 

“Because it’s my destiny to be the only one holding both and it’s time to end this little charade that you think you’re going to somehow prevent that from ever happening!”

“I hate you!” I said with tears forming around my eyes. It sounded like such a stupid thing to say, but nothing else came out.

“I’m sure you do Andy, but I think I’m going to give you a little time to sit with this. How’s a few more weeks of eating chips for meals and not being able to take showers again sound?”

“You can’t do this…!”

“Oh, but I must…because I’ve already given you plenty of chances to give up your crystal, yet you stubbornly have refused me every single time! So, when you’re ready to finally turn your crystal over, just say my name three times aloud and I will appear. Until then, adios!” 

“No…..Wait!!!” I said hoping somehow I could still talk him out of it, except it was too late.

He had swiftly disappeared into thin air, leaving time in a frozen state, along with me wondering how he used multiple zodiac abilities at once and questioning if this truly would be the end of my time as a Keeper once and for all.

Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson

Andy and The Zodiac Crystal – Chapter 39

For those who may not know this about me, one of my hobbies besides writing the spiritual content I do for this blog, is to write young adult fiction. Many years ago, I actually completed a novel that was set up to be the first in a series, but unfortunately, my addictions got in the way and that series fell to the wayside. That’s why I decided about a year ago that the only way I was going to get back into this hobby again was to commit to writing at least a chapter a month. So I chose to start over and begin a new fantasy series, about a 12-year old boy who gains magical abilities far beyond anything he could ever have imagined for himself. Hopefully this story will one day be the first in its own series. Regardless, if you haven’t read any of the prior chapters for this ongoing novel, it’s never too late to catch up. I always include a link to a PDF file for all the prior chapters at the beginning of each of these monthly entries. Thus it’s my hope that each of you may join in to this ongoing adventure with Andy and his Zodiac Crystal, as I’m sure you won’t be disappointed if you do…

Click here for the PDF file of Chapters 1 to 38.

Andy and The Zodiac Crystal – Chapter 39

I rubbed my eyes and hoped it was a dream, but it wasn’t, as there I was, standing in total fear on my old porch, wondering who the stranger was in front of me. It was obvious to me that the Aquarius sign was a time-travel based one and while that may have seemed pretty cool to discover any other time, having to relive a very scary and painful moment wasn’t feeling all that fun right now. Even worse was the fact that I had transported back in time in bare feet. I was grateful at least to have some shorts and a t-shirt on.

Nevertheless, I continued to watch the unpleasant scene unfold all over again and decided to take cover in the woods behind a tree, so as not to be discovered. I had seen many time-travel movies before where nothing good ever came out of a future person running into their past self and I wasn’t ready to see if any of that science was ultimately true. So as I sat there on my Grandmother’s chair behind this large oak tree, I thought about the reality that I had actually time-travelled! For a brief moment, I felt some sense of achievement over that and enjoyed being reacquainted with the woods I had once been so fond of. The summer warmth felt nice and kind of soothing alongside the sound of rustling leaves. I decided enough time had passed to take a peek around the tree and see what was going on, only to find the porch was now empty.

I remember all too well what took place next. Sitting there in Mrs. Sampson’s home and thinking I was in a dream, only to eventually be taken in a police car down to the station where I learned that three years had indeed gone by while I had been in that cave. I pondered the memory for a moment and then started to realize I was still in the past. How the heck was I supposed to get back to the present with this Zodiac sign?

My heart began to race in fear as I thought about missing my Grandma and the conversation we had just been having a few minutes ago. Almost immediately I felt sick to my stomach and the dizziness started again. As my eyes blurred, I knew what was beginning to happen except this time I opted to keep them open because I really wanted to see the time shift take place. I’m not sure if that was a good idea though given my dizziness was becoming even more apparent. Suddenly the world around me began to melt. It was almost as if I had been staring at a painting that was rapidly become quite impressionistic. The trees and shrubbery were growing longer and wider and it felt as if I was moving away from all of them. Were my eyes playing tricks on me or was this simply the effects of this Zodiac sign, I didn’t know. And just at the precise moment where I thought I might actually throw up, I was back in my Grandmother’s kitchen.

“Yes, I’m an Aquarius.” My Grandmother said, as if nothing had taken place and I had never departed from her kitchen.

Maybe I was only gone for a split second in her eyes?

“Andy, is everything ok?” She said looking intently at me.

Obviously, she could tell something was wrong by the look on my face. After all, I had just gone backwards six months into the past and returned.

“Grandma, have I been here the entire time?”

“I’m not sure what you mean hon?”

“Since I’ve been sitting here having breakfast and talking with you, have I been here the entire time?” 

“Well of course you have dear. What a silly question to ask.” She said gently.

“No, you don’t understand. But before I explain, I need to deactivate your sign. Aquarius!”

“Is that all it takes to activate and deactivate a sign’s ability, by saying it?”

“Yes, Gran, and that’s unfortunately been a problem for me because I sometimes forget that, only to find myself using an ability without any knowledge of what it does or how it works.”

“So I’m assuming you went somewhere then during our conversation after you said my sign?” 

“Yes Grandma. When I said your sign, I had been thinking about the day I discovered the crystal and when I had met that woman, Mrs. Sampson. I had remembered her telling me my family no longer lived at the house I thought was still my house and it made me sad thinking about it all over again. And then suddenly I, and your kitchen chair, were immediately transported back to that day when I had re-emerged from the woods and met Mrs. Sampson at the door on my old porch.

“How amazing is that!!!” She said sounding extremely enthused.

“Trust me, it was far less amazing having felt dizzy, sick to my stomach, and fearing I was going to be stuck in the past forever.” 

“But you’re not, and thank goodness for that.”

“You’re always so positive Grandma! I need a little bit of that to wear off on me.” 

“You’re more positive than you think Andy! Don’t be so hard on yourself. So tell me, are you interested in trying a little experiment?

“What kind of experiment?”

“Well, what do you think would happen if you were holding onto my hand when you activate my sign. Will we travel together?” 

“I’m not sure, but I do know that when I pause time or teleport and am touching someone else at the same time, that they can experience the ability with me. But I don’t know how this sign works and I honestly can’t say I know what even engages the time-travel.”

“Well dear, have you thought about the idea that maybe it’s your heart that’s the key?” 

“What do you mean?”

“Well when you went back into the past it’s because you were thinking about how sad you were when you realized your home was occupied by two strangers. And when you returned to me here, I’m assuming you were probably thinking about missing me, am I right?” 

“How did you know? 

“Call it a Grandmother’s hunch Andy, but I think this ability, and probably some of your others are all about love. In this case your love for your family was the connection that helped you to travel back and forward in time.” 

“It makes sense, but are you sure you want to try this? And where do you want to go anyway if it works?”

My grandmother than got up and went into the living room, where she proceeded to grab a picture off the mantel over the fireplace and then headed back into the kitchen.

“Let’s have a go, shall we? Go ahead and stand up and then activate the sign. But before you do, you might want to throw your sneakers on.” She said enthusiastically while reaching for my hand.

I couldn’t believe how calm she was, but that was my Grandmother and was just one of the many endearing qualities I loved about her. As I quickly grabbed my sneakers near the front door and slipped into them, I proceeded to grab hold of her outstretched hand.

“Aquarius…”  I said the word, albeit somewhat fearfully and wondered what was going to happen next.

She then showed me the picture that was clasped in her hand. It was of her wedding day, several decades ago, a moment in time I know she still cherished, even to this day. She truly missed her husband, that much I knew. As I stared at the picture with her and then looked into her eyes, I watched as a tear fell down her face.

“Don’t be sad Grandma.” I said holding onto her hand a little tighter.

And suddenly like before, I began to feel dizzy.

“I think it’s happening Andy and now I know what you mean about the dizziness. Oh my!”

I closed my eyes again because that feeling of having an upset stomach still hadn’t passed and I really didn’t want to throw up. When I opened them, we were standing about fifty feet away from a church where all sorts of people were dressed up in suits and ties and gathered around its entrance. Suddenly the doors thrust open and there, heading down the stairs was a much younger version of my Grandmother, arm entwined into my Grandfather’s. She looked so stunningly beautiful and very happy. I looked up at her older version and felt she was still just as beautiful.

“Andy, you just gave me the best gift ever…” She said cheerfully while another tear fell from her eye.

As we continued to observe an event that unfolded decades ago, the gleeful couple got doused with tons of rice. They then entered a car adorned with “Happily Married” on the back window and cans hanging on strings from its bumper. When the car drove away, cans clanging on the pavement, I could feel the joy emanating from my Grandmother while my only thought was excitement on where in time we could time travel next.

Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson

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Andy and The Zodiac Crystal – Chapter 38

For those who may not know this about me, one of my hobbies besides writing the spiritual content I do for this blog, is to write young adult fiction. Many years ago, I actually completed a novel that was set up to be the first in a series, but unfortunately, my addictions got in the way and that series fell to the wayside. That’s why I decided about a year ago that the only way I was going to get back into this hobby again was to commit to writing at least a chapter a month. So I chose to start over and begin a new fantasy series, about a 12-year old boy who gains magical abilities far beyond anything he could ever have imagined for himself. Hopefully this story will one day be the first in its own series. Regardless, if you haven’t read any of the prior chapters for this ongoing novel, it’s never too late to catch up. I always include a link to a PDF file for all the prior chapters at the beginning of each of these monthly entries. Thus it’s my hope that each of you may join in to this ongoing adventure with Andy and his Zodiac Crystal, as I’m sure you won’t be disappointed if you do…

(Press here for the PDF file of Chapters 1 to 37)

Andy and The Zodiac Crystal – Chapter 38

The anticipation of how my Grandmother knew about my crystal and being a Keeper was killing me inside. Unfortunately, talking about this with her “a little later” ended up being much later, much to my dismay. Because after our rounds of ping-pong ended, there just wasn’t any other moments that evening to ask her any further questions.

First it was dinner out at a seafood restaurant in Oyster Bay, which is one of the next towns over from Glen Cove. There, I had my favorite seafood meal like I always do, that being a cup of clam chowder to start and the beer battered fish and chips with a ton of tartar sauce for my main course. All that was finished off by a delicious slice of cherry cheesecake. Next it was family game night once we returned to my Grandmother’s house. There all of us played Trivial Pursuit, a game that I rarely do well in. My Grandmother on the other hand was always incredible at the game and seemed to know just about everything. She won of course and by the time we wrapped up the game, it was well past 11pm, at which point my parents declared it was bedtime for my sister and I.

I really had a hard time falling asleep that night but when I finally did, my dreams were quite bizarre, one of which being about a Guardian who looked an awful lot like my Grandmother. The next morning, I awoke around 7am feeling somewhat unrefreshed, but thankfully the smell of fresh baked popovers and cinnamon oatmeal wafting through the air quickly changed that. I looked over at my sister who was still sound asleep. As silently as I could in an old home that creaks a lot, I swiftly headed downstairs to the kitchen.

“Good morning Andy!” My Grandmother greeted me cheerfully.

“Hi Gran!” I responded just as cheerfully while noticing the door down the hallway to my parent’s room was closed. It appeared as if they were still asleep as well.

“Why don’t you grab yourself a bowl of oatmeal from the stove and a popover Andy and let’s have that chat I promised you ok?”

“No arguments here Gran!” I said as I grabbed a heaping portion of the homemade oatmeal and poured it into a bowl. I then slathered a large amount of butter on one of the popovers and grabbed a seat at the small oval kitchen table.

“So I’m sure you want to know how I knew you were a Keeper right?”

“Yeah! How do you know about any of this Gran?”

“My great, great, great Grandmother Andy was a Guardian and her husband was a Keeper just like you.”

“No way!!!”

 “As the story goes, he was a great tribal leader of the Shinnecock Indian Nation. They met during a peace-keeping session and soon fell in love.”

“Ewww, gross.” I said jokingly.

“One day you’ll fall in love with someone too Andy!” She said with a grin. “Now back to the story…Soon after they fell in love, the two of them went exploring one day in the wilderness and discovered a secret cave just like you did. One in which the very crystal you are now the Keeper of was deep within it. When they emerged from that cave, five years had passed, although to them it had been only mere hours. Everyone thought they had either been killed by some animal or taken prisoner by another Indian tribe. No one believed their story like no one believed yours and they ended up becoming shunned by everyone. So they left the area and began a new life in upstate New York where they eventually learned the crystal’s abilities and why they were the only ones who could see the markings on it. The Council had chosen them just like it chose you, to help during a time when it was most needed. As it was then that a dark zodiac crystal also came into existence and the Council knew a Keeper and a Guardian was needed to thwart the rise of this darkness.”

“Gran, did you know that one of my powers is being able to talk with animals? And I initially learned about this Native American man from a female bear if you can believe it? Even stranger is the fact I had a dream last night where a woman that looked like you was a Guardian. Weird huh?”

“Not really. Nothing surprises me these days Andy, especially now that I know the story I was told as a young girl was true. So one of your zodiac abilities is actually being able to talk with animals?” 

“Yup!”

“Well maybe you can talk to all those birds outside who keep pooping all over my birdbath and ask them to do that somewhere else ok?” She said jokingly. “Anyway, you should know that this story has been passed down from daughter to daughter and has come to an end with me, seeing that I don’t have a daughter myself. Regardless, my mother never believed that this was anything more than a simple bedtime story passed on for generations. I must say I thought this as well until your father told me the details of what you said the day you returned to your family home three years after your disappearance and discovered they were no longer there.”

“Yeah, that was a pretty scary day for me Gran…”

“I can imagine. Anyway, the only other part of the story I was ever told is that the crystal shows up whenever it’s most needed to fight off a potential surge of darkness that comes from a rising Keeper of the dark crystal.” 

“Gran, I’ve actually crossed paths already with the Keeper of that dark crystal! His name is Carl Dillard and he’s terrifying. But thankfully, my Guardian, who is also my best friend Chris, has been training me to learn the crystal’s abilities and how to counteract his evil.”

“I wish there was more I could tell you Andy that could help you in that fight. What I can tell you though is that I know the Council wouldn’t have chosen you if they didn’t think you’d be able to defeat this Carl Dillard. Nevertheless, now you have me for moral support as well. Just think of me as another member of your superhero team ok? Now why don’t you start eating some of your breakfast hon before it gets totally cold…”

I looked down at the bowl of oatmeal and the popover next to it and realized I had been so absorbed in her story I hadn’t even eaten any of it so I immediately began scarfing it down.

“Slow down Andy, it’s not going anywhere.” She chuckled. “So I’m curious, how does this crystal work anyway?”

“It’s pretty simple really. I just say one of the 12 zodiac signs verbally and it activates a range of abilities within me.” I said as I chomped down on a mouthful of food.

“That’s it?

“Yup!”

“So do you know what my birth sign does then?” 

“You’re an Aquarius right?” I said completely forgetting that I had just activated the sign by saying it. I had been so caught up in hearing her tell me the story and had started thinking about that fearful day when I re-emerged out of the woods, just before I met those two strangers who were living at the home I thought was my own.

Suddenly, I began feeling totally dizzy and my eyes were growing extremely blurry. I closed them for only a moment, hoping the feeling would pass. When I reopened them, I wasn’t at my Grandmother’s house anymore and sitting at her breakfast table eating my food. Instead, I was now sitting on her kitchen chair at the edge of the woods I once used to play regularly in, staring at my old backyard, my old porch, and my old backdoor I used to come and go through so often. But what stood in front of that door at this very moment was the most alarming thing of all, as it was me, talking to Mrs. Sampson…

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Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson