Beyond The Veil - Volume 1

All Is Well

KITARA'S POV

She smiled back at me and gave me a kiss on my forehead, “Alright enough with the mush, let's get this going so we can eat! I know the boys will want to once they are done.”

As soon as she said that I looked over to my dad and brother struggling with the tent, trying to put the pieces together, sweat glistening on their foreheads like they had just done a marathon, it was funny to see. I no longer had that feeling from earlier and I just hoped this trip would continue to go well.

After what felt like forever of unloading, organizing and making sure everything was accounted for, my mom made sure to lay out all our food ingredients and started chopping onions, gathering cheese, buns and other ingredients for her homemade chili cheese dogs. They were very tasty and savory, and we always looked forward to having them here. It’s only my 2nd year here with them, so I am still not too familiar with the layout of Ross Lake, but I will get the hang of it. Maybe next year, when we come again, I could be a pro like them.

“Need any help?” I asked, looking at my mom.

“No, thank you sweetie, I know you want to do some more reading. I will let you know as soon as it’s ready.”

I stayed a little longer to watch how eloquently she cooked. She chopped and had the self-assured aura of a chef on the grill. It was a marvel to see her in her element, and she made everything look so easy.

“Quit staring silly” she said as she laughed. Darn those motherly instincts.

Soon after I went to my tent and to the little corner spot I made for my stuff and once I found what I was looking for, I found a cozy spot to sit and re-read my Beastly novel by Alex Flinn. I have lost count of how many times I read it a while ago and stopped caring when people would mention it.

I know the storyline can seem familiar or unusual, maybe a little peculiar. A boy whose dad is a rich news anchor who spends no time with him and cares all about his image and the images of others, is terrible to everyone. The boy loves to make others feel terrible about themselves because of their appearances and gets cursed by a witch into looking like a monster unless he can make someone fall in love with him, otherwise the curse will last forever.

A modern-day twist on Beauty and the Beast, but anyway, it’s one of my favorites and I love a weird storyline with a happy ending. I saw to my right that my dad and brother had finally finished putting the tents together and got started on the mattresses and I tuned them out and went back to my book. As I was reading my book, I realized how tired I was and soon I started to doze off and fell asleep.

But right before I fell asleep, that feeling from earlier came back again, and it left me feeling unsettled, but I tried my best to brush it off again because what could happen? But then everything was dark.

*whisper* Kitaraaaa…

Just the sound alone was enough to make me question whether this made me feel fear or curiosity. It sounded like a hiss, almost snake like that sent shivers up your spine. I hadn’t told anyone, but lately I had been having dreams that sometimes feel so real. It was the exact same each time… I hear the whisper and when my eyes open the sky is pitch black but as my eyes adjust, I can see millions of stars littered across the dark sky like thousands of diamonds on a dark blanket and trees with long branches and leaves as if they’d been strung up intricately by string.

It's beautiful and as I sit up and look around me, I can see there is a river flowing with soft waves and grass that was the softest I have ever felt. Once I look up, I can see the moon hung high, the biggest I have ever seen, shining so brightly. There is a moment of stillness and all sounds come to a complete stop. It’s dead silent but I see the reflective light of the moon starts to move slowly towards me, as if someone is moving a spotlight onto me and I embrace its warmth. The light then glides from me and down the trees to a clearing that for some reason even with the spotlight, all I see is darkness in the middle.

Kitaraaaaaa… I hear the whisper louder this time all around me as if there is a spirit circling me and it’s coming directly from the clearing. I stand and realize my attire has changed from my normal comfortable jeans and sweater combo to a flowy white cotton dress with intricate detailing all over, beautiful fabric lines cascading into the shape of a moon in the middle and flowing down to the bottom like diamonds same as the sky. There is a train to the back of the dress that is long that makes it seem almost regal. Why would I need this? I hesitate at first, then I start to walk towards the clearing. My feet slowly creep as I feel so many different emotions, but all words seem to be lodged in my throat.

As I get closer, I feel cool stones beneath my feet and when I look up I can see a light appear within the clearing growing larger and brighter as I slowly inch closer. Why does it get larger as I get closer?

I hear a piercing scream and suddenly it's like a distorted image going in and out, dark to light, and soon I can hear someone calling my name. “Kitara! Wake up!”, “Why isn’t she moving?” “What’s happening?!” “Kitara!” It's my parents and my brother calling out to me, but why could I hear them in my dream? What was going on?

The scream got louder and started ringing in my ears and immediately I tried to cover them, but it wasn’t enough. The darkness had come back.

*Gasp* While trying to catch my breath, I opened my eyes to see my mom, dad and Kyle all looking at me with concern and I realize I am still in the same spot as earlier.. I am starting to think maybe there is something wrong with me…

“What happened sweetie? You wouldn’t wake up, we tried shaking you, are you okay?” My mom was standing there holding the sides of my face in terror and my dad sat there and sighed with relief.

“Oh, thank god,” he says. “We were about to rush you to the hospital next.”

“Yeah, good thing you are okay. What was that?” says Kyle with equal concern. They have never seen me like this.

"I’m sorry everyone, I don’t know what happened…”, I stop and look away. I want to cry as I feel tears stinging in the corners of my eyes, but I close them, take a deep breath and stop myself. There has been something inside myself telling me not to say anything to them, to keep them out of it and of my problems. I don’t want them to think I am crazy. What if they chose to get rid of me? The thought scares me so much that I must not tell them.

“Are you sure you are okay?” my mom asks.

“Yes, I am sorry I didn’t realize I had fallen asleep. I will try to be more careful,” I said, because I wanted to please her and not make her worry more than she must.

“Be more careful? Darling, you were asleep. We will make an appointment to get checked once we get back to the city just to be safe, okay? We are here for you. Don't you ever forget that."

There is a part of me that wants to tell her everything. She does and says everything that makes me feel like I could… but as soon as I think about doing so that nagging feeling comes back telling me in my head “Don’t tell her”, “Don’t tell them anything”, “It could be dangerous to them”, “They might not understand.” Therefore, I know I must keep it to myself, at least for now.