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