Phantom Traveler

   Chapter 5

As morning came Aria found herself sitting on the floor staring out her bedroom window.  She had been sitting there the rest of the night since she woke up screaming from shock.  She watched the sun start to rise.  The gold, yellow, red and orange brought color to the dark sky.  She turned to look toward her bedroom door thinking, “I’m surprised I didn’t wake up Jane.” She looked back out the window.  Her thoughts drifted.  She took a breath trying to figure out what happened.  She began to wonder if this was just a dream or was it something different.  She thought of what the man told her.  What he said shook her.  She repeated the words to herself out loud, “You already know?  You already know who I am?”

       She leaned her head on the side of her dresser staring out the window.  Her thoughts drifting farther out .  Near memories of her past came and went.  As the memories went further back she kept repeating those words again and again.  She then started thinking about when she was in school.  She remembered a classmate when she was about 16.  She remembered when the three of them herself, the classmate, and her brother would go swimming together in the summer.

      A few seconds later there was a knock at her bedroom door.  “Oh, good morning Jane. Are you feeling any better?”  “Yeah, some.”  “Okay, you know its Saturday so you can sleep longer if want.  Its early yet.”  Jane gave her a thumbs up and went downstairs.  Aria went back looking out the window.   A gold cardinal landed on the power-line just outside and faced her.  She shook her head and mudered, “Na, that couldn't be him.” Jane called from downstairs.  “Mom, wheres the chocolate srupe?”  Aria turned, grind slightly and stood up.  “I’m coming downstairs, I will show you where I put it.”  “Okay,” Jane replied.

         When Aria got downstairs she instinctively made her morning coffee.  “Well, Hun how are you feeling?”  “A lot better then yesturday.”  Jane replied.  “Are you hungry for anything?”  Aria asked as she pour her coffee.  “Na, I made myself some hot chocolate and toast for now that’s all I wanted.”  “Okay.”  Aria went to turn on the morning news for the weather.  Jane sat on the couch to watch with her.  

         It was a sunny bright Saturday morning.  Nothing out of the ordinary seemed to be going on in the news.  The weather showed bright sunny days with a some passing showers and clouds on some of the days.  Aria asked Jane how her weather project was going.  “Its almost fininshed.”  Jane answered, “I just need a day or two of rainy days then I can had it in.”  “Well, looks like you’ll get them.”  Aria looked at the calender her interview was next week and she could not wait.  

She asked Jane if she wanted to watch anything.  Jane nodded and grabbed the remote.  Aria stood up, went to get another cup of coffee and went outside to the back deck.  As she stood there in the sun she looked around her back yard and saw all the flowers that had grown.  She smiled and sipped her coffee.  The warm early summer breeze picked up slightly bringing in some butterflies along the way.  She closed her eyes briefly, listening to the birds chirping inn the sunlight.  When she opened her eyes she noticed on the deck table a butterfly landing and facing her directly.  It  flew off seconds later.  She noticed it a second time, same butterfly same direction then again for a third time same thing.  She was amused yet curious.  

She contemplated on what do do for the day.  She listed what needed to be done, cleaning bathrooms, mopping floors, and sorting papers.  She even contemplated on starting her strength training up again.  She looked around her yard again then spotted something strange.  There in her flower bed was a flower she never noticed before.  It was a distinctive yellow, she could smell faintly the honey coming from it.  It stood out from the white and red roses.  In the back of her mind she knew where she say it before. She dropped her coffee cup and covered her mouth in disbelief.  Hearing the noise Jane ran outside, “Are you okay Mom?”  “Sorry honey, yeah I’m okay just dropped my cup is all.”  As she was picking up her mess she asked Jane if she had planes for the day.  “Nothing really.”  Jane replied and went back inside.

Aria went back inside to dispose of the broken cup.  She looked at the clock, “Wow, its 9:30 already.”  She went upstairs to get dressed and start on the chores.  A couple hours later when everything was finished she put her shoes on and went for a short walk.  Not half way through her walk her phone rang.  “Hello,” she answered.  “Oh, good you answered.”  “Yeah, why wouldn’t I?”  Aria replied with s giggle.  Her older sister Sally always seemed to put a smile on her face whenever she called.  “Whats up Sally?”

       “Just calling to remind you about dinner.”  “Oh yea, I almost forgot.”  Aria giggled.  Every couple of weeks their mother Anne would have a dinner with just the girls, her younger sister Mary Jane, their mother Tabitha, Sally, herself, and the niece.  However she did not deny anyone who wanted to join.  At those dinners the girls would catch up on life, and shared memories.  The older girls would share life wisdom to the younger ones.  They talked about the family tree last time.

     “Its tomorrow, right?” Aria asked.  “Tomorrow at 1:00.”  Sally replied.  “Okay.”  The two began their usual chat, catching up on the goings-on in life.  Sally told her about the new guy she met and Aria was updating her about Jane.  “So, she’s doing good in school?” Sally asked.  “Yea, shes just finishing a science project on weather patterns.” Aria said  “Cool.” said Sally.  They continued with more small talk.  Sally gave one more reminder about the dinner tomorrow then they both got off the phone.  Aria continued her walk.  She looked up to the clouds and saw the most peculiar shapes.  She never seen before.  She was able to notice a heart, a bird, and the number 3.  She double blinked, looked around and said to herself, “That was strange, that’s never happened before.”  

   After her walk she went into the kitchen, Jane ran up to her asking to go hang out with a couple of friends.  “You must be feeling better then.” Yeah, much better. So can I go?”  “I suppose, Just be home by dark and no sleep overs we have your grandmothers dinner tomorrow.”  Jane gave two thumbs up and ran out of the house.  Aria just shook her head with a smile.

 She stood there in the kitchen contemplating what to make for dinner.  She started thinking about the dream, the flower in the back yard and the shapes in the clouds.  She felt herself compelled to read more of the witchcraft book she started.  She went upstairs, picked up the book and started reading where she left off.  The more she read the more fascinated she became.  A few chapters in she came across dream interpretations.  She sat at the edge of her chair glued to the pages.  She felt a sense of calm come over her for in some way to her it was making sense. When she finished the chapter, she bookmarked it and sat the book down.  She sat there for a bit, looking out the window.  Her mind wondered, thinking.  

A strange sensation came over her out of the blue.  She was compelled to close her eye.  A moment later she felt her eyes open but she saw she wasn’t in her bedroom.  She saw a bright colored field once again, midday.  The same flower she found in her car and in her flower bed were the only flowers covering the field with a few speaks of blue and purple.  The breeze was warm but subtle.  The sky filled with butterflies all hovering over the field.  She didn’t feel any fear nor confusion just curiosity.

She started walking the same path, the same direction.  Butterflies followed her as she walked.  As she get to the trees she stopped, “Wonder what I’ll find this time?”  She stepped through the trees, but she didn’t see anything.  There was no Gazebo, no radio and no man.  She looked around as she walked closer to where everything would have been.  When she got to where the Gazebo would have stood to her remembrance she began hearing faintly the song, it has been the same song from the beginning.  However, she questioned, “How am I hearing that with no radio?”  Just then her phone rang.

Aria jolted and answered the phone.   “Hello.” She answered still in a slight daze.  “Hello, Aria this is your grandmother.”  “Oh, hi Grandma.”  “Can you pick me up on the way to your mothers tomorrow?”  “Yeah, I can go get you.”  They talked for a bit, updating each other on their lives.  It wasn’t long before her grandmother had to go.  “Okay, Grandma see you tomorrow.” Aria said as she hung up the phone.  She looked at the clock, “Wow, I have been up here most of the afternoon.  I better go start dinner.”  She went back downstairs and started to make dinner.  She texted Jane to check on her.  Jane replied that she was on her way home and that she had a surprise.

When Jane got home she went right to her mother.  “Mom, can we keep her?” She asked as she place a black cat on the living room floor.  “Where did you find this cat?”  “One of my friends cats had kittens about a month ago, she’s just now weened.”   The little kitten wondered around the living room exploring her new surroundings.  She sniffed everything in front of her as she wondered.  Jane laid out her hand letting the kitten smell her.  Aria stood there watching the little thing.  “Well, can we keep her? Please Mom.”  Aria let out a sigh, “I suppose so, but she will be your responsibility.”  “No problem.” “Do you have a name for her?” Aria asked.  “No, not yet.”  “We will think of something.”  Jane nodded her head and ran upstairs.

Aria stood there watching the kitten.  She thought to herself “What are we calling you?”  The clock struck 5, Aria went to the kitchen to start dinner.  As she wandered the kitchen cooking and getting things ready the kitten keep following her.  To Aria it seemed where ever she went there was the black kitten.  Half hour later both her and Jane sat down to dinner they discussed names for the new addition to their little family.  “I like Luna,”.  Aria shook her head, “To ordinary.”  “Okay, how about Moonlight?”  Aria shook her head again.  For some reason every name Jane suggested didn’t sit right.  She felt in her gut that the kitten name needed to mean something not ordinary.  “Okay, Mom do you have any ideas?”  “Not at the moment, but you did come up with good names.”  When dinner was finished Jane helped pick up the table then went outside to right her bike.  Aria was still at the table watching the kitten.  “What is you name?”

The kitten stopped at her feet with it’s right front paw on her left foot.  Aria felt a sensation come over her, she close her eyes and start swaying from side to side slightly.  She started saying Circe under her breath.   She opened her eyes looked at the kitten and asked, “Is your name Circe?”  The kitten gave a small cry and jumped onto her lap.  Both sat there starring into each others eyes, then Aria nodded her head.  Once the kitten jumped down and ran off, Aria shook her head, wondering what had just happened.  She also realized the kitten needed supplies.  She stood up, grabbed her purse and went to tell Jane she was going to get the cat some supplies.

        As she drove to the store she kept wondering what had happened.  She couldn’t stop thinking about the sensation she felt, or what she’d just experience.  Uneasiness settled in her chest.  When she returned home she found Jane in the yard playing with the kitten.  “So, did you come up with anything? Mom.”  Yeah, actually Circe.”  “Okay, that’s unique, I love it.” “How did you come up with Circe?”  “To tell you the true it just came to me.”  Aria told Jane as she looked down at the kitten.  Jane helped her mother unload the car and set up the supplies for Circe.  “Jane until Circe is old enough to be fixed she needs to stay in the house for her safety okay.”  “Okay.”  Jane pick up Circe and ran upstairs.  Aria watched them go upstairs with a giggle.   

      She decided to pour herself a glass of wine, picked up a wordsearch puzzle book and went out on the beck deck to enjoy the weather.  As she walked outside a breeze picked up.  She took a deep breath taking in the fresh air.  She sat down with her glass of wine and started to work on the puzzle book.  Some time passed calmness started to set in.  She noticed the words in the book started shifting.  She closed her eyes, double blinked, and shook her head slightly.  “What the hell?”  She guzzled her glass of wine then poured herself another.  She felt a bit deteriorated for a moment.  She tried looking at the book again only this time the word formed the sentence, “You know.  You need to find me.”