Nadia’s Journey A Hybrid’s Awakening

Chapter 6

I get out of bed and head downstairs for breakfast. Sundays are family days, we get up early, have breakfast and take a day trip. Today we are going to Whirinaki Te Pua-a-Tane. It’s a short drive from home, we plan to have a picnic. Until now I never understood why my Mother always wanted to go to the forest, beach, or somewhere out in nature for our family days. Now I do, I’ve been doing my research and talking to my Mother. Witches are connected to the earth, the elements, and everything around us.

Since my birthday, when my powers first surfaced, I have learned to hone my sixth sense. Today my mother is going to help me tap into my witch powers. My Mother packs the picnic basket, while my Father packs the blanket.

“Mom, so how does this work? I have been out in nature before what is supposed to make today different?”

“Do you remember all the times we have been out in nature, hiking or boating? Remember the animals?”

“Yeah the wildlife would come up to us, I thought it was super cool. Wait is that because we are witches?”

“Yes sweetie, animals can sense our connection to the earth and our good intentions. Because of that they are not afraid of us, they know we mean them no harm.”

We pack up the car and head out. When we pull into the Whirinaki Te Pua-a-Tane Conservation Park, I look out at the beautiful scenery. It’s like I am seeing it all in a different light now. I step out of the car and immediately feel a sense of warmth come over me and I can smell the waterfalls. We head up the Walatiu Falls Track. This trail leads to a beautiful waterfall.

As we walk through the forest I feel more connected to it than I ever have before. We stop to rest and drink some water. My Mother approaches me “Isn’t it beautiful Nadia?”

“Yes it is, I seem to be seeing it in a different light today though.”

“I want you to do something Nadia. Close your eyes. Take a couple of nice deep slow breaths, then open your eyes.” I inhale and exhale slowly, then open my eyes.

“What do you see Nadia?”

“Wow. I see, its like sparkles or glitter all around the trees, the ground, everything. The green on the trees seems greener. I can see the wind, its like little swirls.”

“Isn’t it great! Now I would like you to try to make the wind blow in the direction you want. Deep breaths, concentrate and feel the wind. Hold your hands out palms up and make small circles. Then push the wind in the direction you wish it to go.”

I do as my Mother instructs and watch as the wind shifts and goes in the direction I point. “That is so cool! What else can I do?”

“We are learning together what you can do Nadia, I am simply giving you knowledge of what I can do. I also know what other witches can do, so we are going to test you to see just what your powers are.”

“OK, Mom. Sounds like a plan.” We walk the trail to the waterfall and stop, it’s a breathtaking view. My Father lays out the blanket for our picnic while Mom sets out the food. We eat our lunch and enjoy the views and sounds around us. A bird flies up and lands on my arm, I feed it a breadcrumb from my sandwich. Next thing I know birds are all around me, then other forest animals come out from the trees and bushes. It feels like they are all coming out to say hello or something. Then they all flee back into the woods.

“That was super cool! I mean I remember growing up that animals would always come up to me while I was outside. But nothing like that.” I say with excitement.

“Yes, it was” my Mother says.

“So what does that mean Mom?”

“It means you may be more powerful than we thought, that is the only explanation. All animals and creatures can sense power, good and bad, and our intentions. We witches have a connection to the earth and all its creatures. We can even communicate with them.” My Mother explains.

“We can communicate with them? Neat!” We finish our lunch and pack everything back up.

“Alright, Nadia I want to do another test. Look at the waterfall and concentrate on its flow. Close your eyes, feel the water, and then I want you to change the flow of the water” my Mother instructs me.

“OK Mom, I will try.” I close my eyes, place my hand under the waterfall, and concentrate. I open my eyes and bring my hand out from under the waterfall and to my surprise the water follows. I wave my hand into a circle and make a circle of water that floats in front of me. I wave my hands back towards the waterfall and the water circle recedes back to the falls.

“That was great Nadia.”

“Thanks, Mom, I wanted to see what I could do. Well now we know I can manipulate water and air. I wonder if I can do the same with fire and earth?”

“We will find out sweetie. See that tree over there? I want you to imagine its roots, see them in your mind, and try to summon one up.”

I take a deep breath, close my eyes, and imagine the roots of the tree. The ground begins to shake, I open my eyes and hold my hand out. The tree’s roots begin to surface until they are above the ground. I look at my hand and see that I am holding one the the roots. I lower my hand and the roots recede back under the earth.

“That was incredible!” I shriek.

“That was impressive dear,” my Father says.

“The last one is fire, your Father brought a match. He will light the match and I want you to concentrate on the flame, OK sweetie? Feel its warmth, touch the flame, and see what your instincts tell you to do.”

“You want me to touch the flame?”

“Yes, Nadia if you can wield fire then the flame won’t hurt you.”

“And if I can’t wield it?” I ask nervously.

“Well then we have a first aid kit” my Father chuckles.

“Ha ha funny Dad” my Dad strikes the match. I look into the flame for a few, then run my hand across it. It doesn’t burn, I don’t even feel anything, so I take my hand and hold it over the flame. I hold my hand there for a bit and feel its warmth, then close my eyes. When I open my eyes the flame on the match is gone and there is a ball of fire in my hand. I toss the ball between my hands to see if I can transfer it from one hand to the other. I bring both hands together and clasp them together to extinguish the flame.

“Good job Nadia. Now we know you can wield all four elements.” My Mother sounds shocked. “It’s getting late we should head back down the trail. You did good Nadia, I am proud of you.”

We head back down the trail and to the car. When we arrive home Noah is sitting on our front steps. What is he doing here? I walk up to Noah “Hey Noah what are you doing here? How did you know where I live?” I ask very confused.

“Oh um I asked Charlotte. I was wondering if we could hang out?” He asks shyly.

“Oh um yeah sure” My heart is pounding out of my chest, I am a nervous wreck. I have had dreams about this man since we met and now he wants to hang out. Oh my goodness what am I doing? “Do you want to hang out here? We just got back from hiking and I really need a shower.”

“Sure we can hang out here if you want to.” We walk into the house and head into the kitchen.

“Mom, Dad this is Noah. Is it OK if we hang out here for a little bit?” My Father eyes Noah and then walks over, extending his hand for him to shake.

“Nice to meet you, Noah. Sure pumpkin you guys can hang out in the TV room” my Father says.

“Nice to meet you too sir,” Noah says and shakes my Father’s hand. I lead Noah to the TV room.

“There are a bunch of movies here if you want to look through them and pick something for us to watch. I am going to take a quick shower then I will be right back down.” I head to my room to take a shower. After my shower, I go back downstairs to the TV room where Noah is.

“So I picked Avatar, I hope that’s ok with you?” Noah says as I walk in.

“Yeah that is a good one and it has been a while since I’ve seen it. I will go get us some movie snacks.” I go to the kitchen to grab snacks and my parents are finishing putting away and cleaning from the picnic. “I’m getting movie snacks for us.”

“OK pumpkin your Mother and I are heading to bed, don’t stay up too late you have school in the morning.” My Father leans in and kisses my forehead and my Mother gives me a wink then hugs me goodnight. After getting a tray full of snacks and beverages, I head back to the TV room.

“I didn’t know what kind of snacks you liked so I just grabbed an assortment” I chuckle and set the tray down on the coffee table in front of the couch then take a seat next to Noah.

“I am not picky, you got a lot of great options here. You ready to watch the movie?”

“Yeah, press play.” He hits the play button and as the movie starts, I reach for a snack at the same time Noah does. We both reach for the same snack and our hands brush each other’s sending tingles up my arm. “Oh, I’m sorry you can have the M&M’s I will take the Reese pieces.”

“No it’s ok you can have them I will take the Reese pieces. The lady should always get want she wants” he says with a big smile on his face. My cheeks turn red hot and my stomach starts doing somersaults. Noah reaches over and tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear.

“You are beautiful Nadia” Noah declares.

“Um thank you” I say in almost a whisper. We adjust on the couch to get comfortable. The next thing I know I am being gently shaken, I open my eyes and find my head resting in Noah’s lap.