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Life Takes an Unexpected Turn 1

Whisper Takes the Lead 25

Serene: The Spreading of the Calm 46

Trouble Finds Rajah 59

Whisper 78

Life Changing Decisions 96

James’ Silent Struggle 109

This Can’t Be the End 124

Whisper Gets a Dose of a New Type of Reality 134

Tying Up Loose Ends 156

A Secret Shared Amongst Friends 176

Coming Up With a Plan 204

Saying Good-bye is Never Easy 221

Will This Day Ever End? 245

So Tired of the Tears 278

Momma Never Said There’d Be Days like This 289

Confessions of the Heart 304

A Wild Road to a New Beginning 313

Finally a Break From it All 335

A Brand new Start 343

Home Sweet Home 353

Life Takes an Unexpected Turn

This is going. So is this and this too.” Whisper Clandestine instructed the movers. It was finally happening. For the past two years she had been trying to move California and work with the prestigious District Attorney Michael Dean.

She’d had the pleasure of working with him on a case, only months after receiving her law degree. He’d come into the precinct she worked for, looking for the best police officers on the team. He was trying to solve a cold case turned… I guess you could say… warm. A serial killer that had murdered twenty-five ethnic teenagers over a five year period had stopped suddenly, as it seemed. The killer then decided to start up again eight years later.

She had only been on the force for six months and had already had a reputation of closing cases proficiently and quickly. She couldn’t really explain how she did it, it was almost as though she could feel the presence of what had gone on hours and sometimes days before, in what would at the time of investigation, be a completely empty room. Not that she would ever tell anyone that was what she used to help her solve cases. She wouldn’t even know how to explain the experience.

Because of her ability to close all of the cases she worked, she was recommended first and foremost. Her partner James Carwen was chosen next and then two other officers. She, James and of course District Attorney Dean ended up taking the lead and the case was solved within a week. D.A. Dean was fascinated at the concentration, dedication and technique she used to work on her cases, as he had so gallantly put it. He made a comment about how it seemed she put all of herself into solving the crime. She never let on that she really didn’t have any choice in the matter or that the past presences of the people involved in the cases just seemed to take her mind and vision over. She was just happy to be truly appreciated. He’d observed her closely as she worked on and closed a few more cases. By the time he was ready to leave to go back to Sacramento he was singing her praises. He offered her a job and told her that if she ever decided to relocate to the Sacramento area while he was still in office she was guaranteed a job.

Today, she was finally on her way. The day was unusually warm for mid-November, the sun was shining and the birds were singing. She had put in her notice to leave the precinct, sold her beautiful, spacious house; put the first down payment on the house she was buying in California and now the movers were loading her things from the house she’d just sold, into the moving truck. In a little over an hour she would be on her way. She was ecstatic. Nothing was going to ruin her mood.

“Excuse me, Miss. Clandestine,” called one of the movers, snapping her out of her daydream. “What about the things in this room? Are they going also?”

“Yes, everything in these two rooms is go….” She exclaimed stopping short of her response as a sharp pain shot through her chest momentarily snatching her breath away. The pain was gone before she’d actually had time to ponder on what had just happened. She quickly dismissed it as gas and continued with what she was saying, “I apologize. Yes, everything in these two rooms is going. Thank you,” she smiled politely.

She walked through her beautiful spacious 5,420 square foot five bedroom, three bathroom, home one last time, making sure she didn’t leave anything she wanted or needed behind. Her family always talked about how different her way of thinking was. She’d always just explained it off as power of perception. She would get a vision of how she wanted that specific room to make her feel and that would be how she decided to decorate it.

The rooms in the home were still painted to show the type of room she referred to them as. Such as her Master Bedroom that was her “Tree Room”. The ceiling was painted like the sky filled with beautiful fluffy clouds, birds along the walls; a park bench was painted between two realistic looking painted trees. There had been huge trees painted at both the head and foot of her custom made bed to represent a rather large king sized hammock. To help make the theme feel a little more realistic she added small potted, living, in-house trees in the corners where there were no painted trees. She’d also added a few nice little flower boxes around the room to add an outdoors type of aroma. And the floor had fluffy, grass green colored carpeting with a few square feet of concrete gray to represent a walkway leading from her bed to the doorway.

She had every single room of her house decorated with themes such as this. It was just the way her imagination worked and she reveled in it. Besides the “Tree Room” there was the “Color Purple Room”. In this room, there were three purple walls with soft white and lavender colored flower petals painted as though they were floating down to the floor. The base of the wall was painted with petals that seemed to have fallen. The floor had a special made speckled carpet made to look similar to the petals that adorn the wall and base. The fourth wall of the room was black with a full bodied massive purple tree with white and lavender flowers branching out to the heavens, and of course she had the flower boxes full of beautiful purple flowers of all different hues and tones. Her all-time favorite room was the room she had fixed up and reserved for the child she was not sure she’d ever have. It was called her “Heaven in Home Room”. One wall showed what she had always imagined the gateway to heaven looking like. She’d painted angels walking on clouds along all of the other walls. She’d also skillfully arranged all of the wooden, porcelain, glass, and ceramic angels that she’d collected over the years around the room to make them appear to be at different distances depending on the size of the angel. When she had time she would go into this room just to read, think, or daydream. She was going to miss this house but she figured she’d be able to decorate the new house the same way if not better.

Returning back to the front room which, I should probably mention was decorated as the jungle and before she’d started packing, she’d had jungle animals placed in different areas of the room giving this room the title of “The Jungle Fever Room”. There’d been quite a few things that were left around the house that she’d gathered and now placed into a box that was marked miscellaneous.

She’d just finished filling and taping the box she was packing when her cell phone rang. “Hello?” she said after deciding to answer the number she didn’t recognize.

“Hello, this is Dr. Reynolds. I’m calling from the University Hospital in regards to a patient we have here by the name of Akila Clandestine.” He said pronouncing it as Clan-des-tin “May I speak to a Miss. Whisper Clandestine?”

“This is Whisper Clandestine.” I said correcting the pronunciation as Clan-des-tine. “May I ask what this is about?” Whisper asked slowly sitting down.

“We have you as her next of kin.” He said with what sounded like a flat tone that seemed so practiced that it just rolled off of his vocals as easy as saying “hello” when he’d walked by someone in passing. Not that she had really noticed at the time.

“Yes, she is my mother. Is she okay? I mean how…why is she in the hospital?” Whisper stammered trying hard to calm her now rapidly beating heart but completely failing.

“Is there any way you can come to the hospital? I’d really rather not discuss her condition over the phone. But it is very important that I speak to you…soon.”

“Her… condition? Um, sure I’ll be right there,” Whisper said. Her mind was racing in every direction at once. Her mom was the one person that had stood beside her no matter what she decided to do in her life. She couldn’t think of one time ever seeing her mother weak, broken or defeated and here the doctor was calling her and referring to her as her mother’s’ “Next Of Kin”.

“Um is there any way we can possibly reschedule the rest of this until tomorrow?” she asked the mover that seemed to be in charge of the whole moving situation.

“I can call the supervisor. Is everything okay Miss. Clandestine? Do you need something to drink? You look kind of pale.” He asked kneeling down in front of her with a worried expression.

“Um, Yes. I mean no… I don’t know. I have to leave immediately. My mother is in the hospital and it doesn’t sound good.” Whisper said in a confused voice barely above a whisper.

“Do you want us to take your things to a storage facility or just bring them back into the house?”

“Um… just bring it back in the house. I don’t think I have time to go find and pay for a storage place.”

“Okay, well give us a call back when you are ready to begin the moving process again. I’m truly sorry to hear about your mother. I will keep you and your mother in my prayers.” After crossing himself, the man stood up and quickly instructed the other movers to remove her things from the truck and made a call to his supervisor.

Meanwhile, Whisper called her brother Rajah and her sister Serene to inform them of what the doctor had just told her and to ask them to meet her at the hospital.

By the time the calls were made the movers had removed everything from the truck that had been packed and were leaving. Whisper thanked them and walked in a daze to her car. Fifteen minutes later she was at the hospital with no memory of the drive there at all.

Hesitantly she strolled toward the automatic doors of the hospital completely afraid of what she would find when she finally set eyes on her mother. As the doors opened in what seemed to be slow motion, she only vaguely noticed the other people solemnly sitting in the waiting area either awaiting news about their loved ones or waiting to go back to a room themselves. Nor did she seem to notice the colorful abstract decorations placed on the walls in a failed attempt to brighten the room and the moods within. Everything was just surreal to her at the moment. It didn’t even feel as though she were actually walking. It seemed she was more gliding or being pulled toward the information desk.

“May I help you?” The nurse sitting behind the desk asked. Whisper stared at the woman unseeing and unhearing.

“Ma’am? May I help you?” she asked again after Whisper failed to respond to the first request.

With numb lips she quietly asked for her mother’s’ room. The young nurse with the colorful scrubs stared at her questionably, tucking her own long strawberry blonde hair behind her right ear she leaned a little closer, “I’m sorry?” She turned her head a little to the side as if turning that ear toward Whisper would help her hear what was being said any better. “Can you please repeat the name again? I apologize, I couldn’t hear you.”

Whisper cleared her throat and replied a little louder, “Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry my mother, Akila Clandestine. A Dr. Reynolds called me and told that me she was here and that I needed to get here as soon as possible.”

The nurse looked at her with a note of concern in her vivid green eyes. “Sure, sure she is in room 425 but I would strongly advise that you speak to the doctor before going in there just so you can be prepared.”

“Thank you for that, but I just really need to get to my mother as soon as possible, thank you. I can wait for Dr. Reynolds in the room. I’m sorry I just really feel like I need to be with her.” Whisper told the nurse undeniably sure of her decision.

“Yes, I’m sorry, I do understand. Her room is on the fourth floor.” She pulled out a map of the hospital and began showing her the route. “Take the elevators and…” Just before the nurse finished pointing her in the direction of Akila’s room, Serene and Rajah ran through the hospital doors. When they saw Whisper, they raced toward her with looks of desperation spread across their faces.

“No. Not yet,” Whisper said and turned back toward the nurse for any information she might be able to offer. “This is my sister and brother” Whisper told the nurse in case there was any question as whether or not she could speak freely in front of them.

“Okay” She hesitated, “Your mother is very lethargic. She’s weak and won’t be able to hold much of a conversation, if at all. I will let Dr. Reynolds know you’re here. He will come in and explain everything that is going on with her and answer any questions you might have shortly.”

“Okay. Thank you,” Whisper said, as the nurse finished directing them to their mother’s’ room. They all rode in the elevator in silence, each one trying to contain the level of fear that was trying to consume them. Silently praying their own prayers they continued to the room they were directed to.

As they entered the room the wind was completely knocked out of Whisper. Her heart shattered as she looked down at her mother. The once tall, regal, always assured Akila Clandestine looked small, shrunken and defeated as she lay sleeping in the hospital bed with IVs and ECG Electrodes attached to her. It was all Whisper could do to keep from breaking down.

Approximately ten minutes later, Dr. Reynolds lightly knocked at the door and entered. Whisper stood to greet him. “Hello, Dr. Reynolds. My name is Whisper and this is my sister Serene and my brother Rajah. Can you give us a better explanation of what is going on with Momma? Is she going to be alright?”

“Would you all mind stepping outside the room please?” He asked gesturing toward the door, “I don’t want to disturb the rest your mother desperately needs.”

Once they were in the hall he explained that Akila had a heart condition called Angina. “She’s ignored all signs of it for far too long. Her heart is too weak to try to give her a pacemaker at this time. As of right now, what we can do, is put her on the heart transplant list; give her medication and hope that it will strengthen her heart enough to try to give her a pacemaker at a slightly later time. Our goal is to get her body healthy enough to take to the pacemaker and hope her heart stays healthy enough to hold out until her name comes up on the heart donors list.”

“So it is very possible that she might be able to pull out of this then right?” Rajah asked.

Dr. Reynolds gave him a look of concern. “To be honest, I’m just not sure. At this present time, she is stable. We will try everything we can do but things are not looking very good. The more rest she can get right now, the better. I do apologize. She just let things go too long without seeing a cardiologist.” He paused letting the news sink in slowly.

“How did she get this an…an…Angina? And how did she get here?” Whisper asked gesturing to the hospital.

“She collapsed at the grocery store. Someone called 911 and she was brought here. As for the description of Angina, well, it is usually a symptom of coronary heart disease or CHD. It has been researched and suggested that CHD starts when certain factors damage the inner layers of the coronary arteries. Factors such as smoking; high amounts of certain fats and cholesterol in the blood; high blood pressure or high amounts of sugar in the blood due to insulin resistance of diabetes.

“Plaque may begin to build up where the arteries are damaged. When plaque builds up in the arteries, the condition is called atherosclerosis. The plaque narrows or blocks the arteries, reducing blood flow to the heart muscle. Some plaque is hard and stable and causes the arteries to become narrow and stiff. This can greatly reduce blood flow to the heart and cause Angina.”

“Oh okay,” Whisper said, not really sure if she really fully understood everything he’d just said. She did understand that her mom had a heart condition that wasn’t taken care of, that was enough for her.

Whisper looked at her younger brother and sister and saw the defeat written across their faces. “No. Not right now. Thank you.”

“We will. Thank you,” Whisper said in a voice that was hardly audible. She watched as the doctor walked away. She and her siblings returned to the room where their mother slept silently, undisturbed by the beeps and chirps of the machines. They all stood around the bed each lost in their own separate world of misery.

Hours later Akila woke in the hospital with no memory of how she’d gotten there or how long she’d been there. Whisper called the doctor in to explain her heart condition to her.

“…And with that being said, we are going to keep you here for a few days so we can keep an eye on you and see if we can get this whole thing under control,” he finished explaining some time later.

Breaking the silence she’d withstood throughout the explanation Akila said, “I really don’t want to stay here. I would like to go home. I’ve got too much to do. I can’t spend any time lying around in some bed. Time is running out.”

“We need to keep you here so we can try to keep you healthy. If we discharge you today it’s almost one hundred percent certain you won’t last throughout the remainder of the day. Please let us help you Ms. Cladestine. He said looking at Whisper making sure he had said it correctly this time and also conveying that he would appreciate some help on the situation.

Giving him a barely noticeable nod Whisper jumped in, “Momma they are going to help you. I’ll tell you what tell us what you need to be done and we will take care of it for you, and you just stay here and rest and let the doctors take care of you.”

“The things I have to do are things that only I can do Whisper. I appreciate your wanting to help, but what I have to do is not anything you can do.”

“Ms. Clandestine I strongly recommend you at least stay in the hospital overnight.” Dr. Reynolds said with a tone of finality.

Akila began to get agitated, thrashing and trying hard to get out of the bed. “I have to get out of here NOW! You all act like you can’t hear or understand what I’m saying to you.”

Dr. Reynolds injected a sedative into her IV. Before giving in to the drugs, Akila looked into Whispers eyes, “I don’t want to die here. Please take me home I still have so much to do before it’s too late,” she said as tears streamed from her eyes.

Whisper stroked her mother’s’ hair trying to calm her. It was all she could do not to cry but to try to stay strong for her siblings and mother. “Momma please don’t say things like that you’re not going to die. The doctors are going to take good care of you. It’s going to be okay Momma.”

As Akila drifted back off to sleep, Whisper suggested that they take turns sitting with their mother. It was agreed that she would take the first shift. Kissing their mother good bye, Serene and Rajah tearfully left the hospital.

Knowing there was no way possible for her to go to Sacramento now; she called and arranged to have her things moved into storage the next morning. She also made the necessary arrangements with her new job in Sacramento She tried to set up arrangements with the real estate company she was buying the house from but they told her there was nothing to worry about. They told her everything was already taken care of. She didn’t know what to make of that but at this point in time she couldn’t concentrate on that. She would deal with them after Akila went home and was settled.

She sat staring at the television but not seeing or hearing anything that was happening on it. She felt lost and devastated. Her mom was her everything. She thought back on all of the times throughout her life that her mom did things that made her the idol that she was today. I thought back on the way she would give to people who were in need whether she had enough left over for herself or not. I remembered the way she always found a way to make sure her children had the things they needed, no matter how hard she had to plead; beg; work or scrape change together to get it done. Her momma always seemed to know when something was wrong and show up right on time and no matter what, she was able to help her children through any issue or impasse they came across.

She struggled trying to figure out how was she going to be able to live life if anything were to happen to her mom. While she was thinking on that level, why was her mother saying she didn’t want to die? The doctor had given her every reason to believe she was going to make it as long as she stayed in the hospital. There was so much to figure out. She drifted in and out of restless sleep while trying hard to work things out in her head.

Fully sleeping was next to impossible, seeing as though it seemed every time she drifted off into unconsciousness a doctor or nurse would choose that time to come in, check up on her mom and ask her questions. Akila on the other hand seemed to sleep through everything undisturbed. Whisper didn’t see how she managed to do this but she was happy her mom was resting.

The night passed with no change. They kept her sedated to keep her heart rate stable. Rajah came to relieve her early the next morning so she could take care of getting her things to the storage facility. Before she left, the doctor that had taken over, informed them that they were going to slowly bring her out of sedation around ten that morning. So Whisper knew all of her business had to be taken care of by or before then.

Whisper had just finished locking the padlock on her storage facility when she looked at her watch. It was 9:51 am and she had less than ten minutes to make the twenty-five minute drive to the hospital. She quickly called Serene and had her ask the doctor to please postpone the procedure until she got there. With some careful maneuvering and a slight case of “Speed Demon Syndrome” she made the drive in a little less than fifteen minutes.

As they brought Akila out of sedation everyone held their breath waiting to see if everything would be okay. The doctor announced that her heart rate did appear to be a little stronger, but only a very little bit. He told them that he did feel that it would be wise to keep her for at least one or two more night to continue keeping an eye on her condition. Surprisingly, Akila had no reaction to this suggestion. He stayed in the room for an extra five minutes to make sure everything was as it should be.

After he left them alone, Akila slowly turned to Whisper. “Baby,” she said quietly, “I wish you had taken me home, I didn’t want to die here. I’m not angry at you or anyone else for that matter; I just really wish I’d had more time.” She then looked each one of her children in the eye. “Please always remember I love you all, and I will always be with you. You all have special talents and they work better when you stay close to one another. I know you don’t understand what I’m saying right now or why I’m saying it, but you will soon. I promise. Now, Whisper, you are the oldest and I know Rajah and Serene are grown but please look out for them.”

“Momma, please stop talking like that. The doctor said everything looks fine. You’re going to be okay. They are going to keep you a couple more nights and then you are going home. It’s gonna be okay Momma. You’ll see.” Serene said with tears pooling in her eyes.

“No, Sweet Baby, I won’t make it back from this. This old heart of mine is only going to last long enough for me to say what I have to, so please no more interruptions.” She said taking hold of her baby girl’s hand. “Please listen to what I’m saying to you all and you have to listen closely,” Akila insisted

“Now Whisper, I need for you to get in touch with my Lawyer Zubin Sabal as soon as you leave the hospital today. Contact him immediately. His card is on my desk in my office. Set up a meeting with him. He’s expecting you; he’ll probably ask you all to come directly to his office today. He has some information that you will need to know. I promise, no matter how bad things look, as long as you stick together, everything is going to be alright.

“Remember I love you all and what I’m asking you to do will be hard but it’s very important for you to know who you are, who you really are. Follow everything he tells you to do. Please fight him on nothing regardless of how outlandish it may seem. I have trusted him with my life and now I am trusting him with yours. Please, as much as you will want to, do not question what he tells you to do. He is following my strictest instructions. Your time will be limited after I pass and every minute will be dire. You must move quickly and do exactly as he tells you. I know you’re confused but things will become clear soon. I love you My Sweet Babies.”

Akila’s heart rate picked up and before they knew what was going on they were being rushed out of the hospital room as doctors and nurses flooded in to fight, what the children of Akila Clandestine knew would be a losing battle. Akila always seemed to know things were going to happen long before it actually occurred. So knowing there was no point in doubting what she’d said about her not making it through this, together, with heavy hearts and tear filled eyes, they sat in the waiting room, awaiting the news that they all knew would befall their lives. Momma would not be making it out of this.

Thirty minutes later the doctor came out with the news. They had done all they could, but they were not able to help her. Akila Clandestine had passed on. November 19, 2013 was a very sad day in Georgington, Ohio for the Clandestines.

Whisper Takes the Lead

he temperature had dropped by quite a few degrees outside. But I didn’t really care. It felt like the rest of my life was going to be cold regardless of where I was. Right now I was at a complete loss. Momma was gone. What were we going to do? Momma was the backbone of our family. Here we were, sitting up in this man’s office that we knew absolutely nothing about, trying to figure out what Momma had been talking about. We had already debated on whether or not what she was saying had just been panicked deathbed ramblings. But after we had called Mr. Sabal and found out he was an actual person, we’d decided it might be in our best interests to go and find out what he had to tell us. We had all driven our own cars to the lawyers’ office, after going to Mommas’ house, finding his card and speaking to him. He asked us to come and see him immediately.

Looking around his office I came to realize it had a nice calming atmosphere. His secretary had actually set vases filled with combinations of passion and lavender flowers up around the office. It blended very well with the soft bluish-lilac color of the walls. There was a soft calming music playing so low that you wouldn’t even really realize it was there if you didn’t catch it and focus on it. Scenic pictures that a person could get lost in if they sat staring at them long enough, hung on the walls facing different angles of the room, and if I wasn’t mistaking I could have sworn there was a little bit of aroma therapy going on in the office too.

To most, it would almost be overkill on the whole “come on let’s relax” theme, but unfortunately the feeling of it all was loss on us. My head was filled with a million questions that had no answers. As I looked over at my little brother and sister I could see that they were also wrestling with their own qualms and queries. This was absolutely crazy. Momma had only been gone for a little over an hour and our lives felt like they were coming to a complete halt.

I tried to just sit back and empty my mind of everything that was plaguing it at the moment. I stared off into a picture that was right across from me of a beach scene and one of the most beautiful sunsets I had ever seen in my life. The water and skyline met somewhere deep in the middle of the picture. I felt myself being pulled into the picture as if I was really there. Faintly I could hear a conversation. It was as if I’d walked right into the middle of what the people were saying. It was a man with a little very young little girl, talking about how beautiful the sunset was.

“Yes Daddy. It’s so pretty. I wish Mommy was here to see it. Do you think she can see it from the house?”

“Yes Sweetheart, I’m sure she can. I think it looks so pretty EVERYBODY should get to see it. What do you think Princess?” The man asked his daughter as he began to take out his art supplies.

“What do you think about Daddy making a painting so that everybody can share this special moment with us?”

I jumped up so fast and hard I scared everyone out of their own state of reverie. I’d never realized how strong my imagination was. I mean I knew at the crime scenes I worked, it was rather easy for me to be able to imagine certain things about the crime and a general idea about the person or people that were involved. But I’d never been pulled into a picture. I mean I never thought of a picture as a thing with a past. This place was a little too relaxing, I decided. I looked at Serene and then Rajah and they were looking at me as though I had lost my mind. I was actually wondering the same thing.

I was debating on what I should say in my defense when a door opened and a very tall, well-dressed, slightly older, brown skinned, man, of a type of Native American decent, with long, rich, dark colored hair, motioned for us to join him in his office.

“Hello, I’m Zubin Sabal. It’s nice to finally meet you. Whisper, I presume?” He said reaching out to shake my hand. I nodded my head and shook his hand. “Rajah and Serene?” he said as they followed suit. He turned to his Secretary “Please hold all calls and reschedule my appointments. I am not to be bothered under any circumstances.” His accent was very nice but I just couldn’t place where it was from.

“Your mother has been my one of my clients since I first passed the bar. I’ve grown quite fond of her. She’s a very sweet; smart; determined and independent woman.” He stared off as if lost in thought in a brief moment and then quickly snapped out of it. “Unfortunately if you are here then, that means that your mother is no longer with us?” he said after we were comfortably seated in his office and he’d locked the door.

“Yes Sir, that is correct. She passed on almost an hour ago. She told us right before she’d passed that we were to call you immediately after she was gone. After that she began saying things we didn’t understand though so I’m hoping you can clear the confusion of what this is all about.” I told him, taking the lead as the eldest of her children.

“Okay then, in that case, we should really get down to business. We have a lot to cover in such a short amount of time.” He went to a hidden safe opened it and pulled out an accordion style file case with Momma’s name scrolled across the top. He opened the case and pulled out a check list and an envelope. “Before we begin I need for the three of you to read the document inside of this envelope,” he said placing a pair of earplugs in his ears.

We stared at him wondering what he was doing. Giving up, I looked down at the paper to see Momma’s delicate, perfectly scrolled handwriting on the back of the envelope. I opened the envelope and we all leaned in and silently read what looked like a poem. I’m not sure how we were able to read it seeing as though it was written in what looked like Latin but the words just seemed to flow through us and we were able to understand.

Withdrawing one of the earplugs, Mr. Sabal laughed softly. “I apologize I should have made myself clear. I need for you all to read it out loud together as one. I have been instructed to wear these earplugs, as these words are sacred and are only to be viewed; recited and heard by the three of you.”

“But, what exactly is this? It doesn’t make sense,” Rajah questioned Mr. Sabal.

“I will explain it to you shortly Mr. Clandestine. As you see your mother has made a checklist indicating exactly what she wants me to do and in what order. She has drilled this all in my head over and over since she first became my client nineteen years ago. As a matter of fact she was just here yesterday. I promise, I will try to explain everything as soon as we get this out of the way. Now please join hands together and read this out loud. We must hurry. ”

Da mihi virtutem scientiae, consectetuer terra, spiritus, aqua et igni exercitus meus.

(Give me the strength, knowledge, and dedication of earth, wind, fire and water as my host.)

As we read the last line I felt my body heat rise to an uncomfortable level. Looking at my hands thinking they might be on fire or something I was surprised by what I was greeted with. I looked at Serene and Rajah and saw that they were experiencing the same thing. Their bodies were encased with an orangish glow that seemed to cling to them. They were as awestricken as I was.

We all looked at Mr. Sabal to see if he had expected this to happen. That question was easily answered when we saw that he was slowly removing the earplugs and staring at us in shock. “Please forgive me for staring. Akila…. I’m sorry, Ms. Clandestine told me not to be alarmed at the effect that would take place after you finished reading but she never told me what to expect. This is truly amazing.” His eyes didn’t leave us until the last of the glow disappeared.

“Ummm, Okay,” Mr. Sabal said seeming a little flustered but trying hard to regain his composure. “So on to our next form of business. You are to each receive an amulet. This is to enhance the level of protection for each of you,” he said handing Rajah an amulet encased with a fifty cent piece sized emerald green square shaped stone hanging from a silver chained necklace. He then handed Serene a necklace with a deep vivid blue oval shaped stone encased in hers. It was the same size as Rajahs’. My necklace was the same as theirs but instead it held a fire-orange colored triangle stone. “You are to wear these at all times. The stones will strengthen your independent abilities.”

“Okay,” Serene started off, clearly trying to measure her words before she said them. “I know we’re not supposed to question what you’re telling us but I really don’t understand. This all sounds really… strange. Here we are reading poetry about power, protection, feeling, tasting and hearing things. Now you’re telling us that we have to wear these necklaces all the time to strengthen our independent abilities,” she made the air quotation marks while saying the words ‘strengthen’ and abilities, “I’m really not trying to be rude but, what exactly are you talking about? It’s been a really long day.”

“I couldn’t have said it better,” I said. Rajah nodded his head in agreement looking just as confused as the rest of us.

Table of Contents

Life Takes an Unexpected Turn

Whisper Takes the Lead