It happened again.
Candace woke us up at three-thirty as we agreed, while Sam woke Max. It was hard getting up that early, and it wasn't made any easier by how cold it was. We all bundled up in our warm coats, and Hal and I wrapped ourselves up in a comforter for good measure. Candace led Max and us outside where she and Sam had already stacked logs for a fire. Candace did make sure we all had some of her wonderful hot chocolate to sip on.
So here we were standing around in the freezing cold, almost hugging our hot mugs while the steam flowed up around us all. Unfortunately the cloud coverage was so bad we didn't have a clear view of the moon. Things were bright though, much brighter than could be explained by the street lights and porch lights that were on. Where the moon was was brightly back lit clouds, it was pretty despite our desire to see the moon itself.
As we waited, watching, Sam joined us. He came out wearing, I shit you not, a full actual wool cloak. It was very cool, and when we got to talking later I asked about it. He said he'd gotten it through his Ren Fest connections, someone that sells wool cloaks and coats. He said he could hook me up if I wanted one. I even got to try it on, and it's warm. I may have to take him up on that.
Since we couldn't make out the moon for ourselves, Hal brought out his phone so we could watch a live feed. As he was doing that, Sam pulled out flint and steel and struck the flint to create sparks. He did this over a pile of what looked like wool, but I guess it was wood shavings. It didn't take him long and soon enough he had a tiny smoking flame. He cupped it gingerly, almost like holding a precious child and blew on it to encourage it. It burst into flame and quickly he placed the shavings into a nook he'd left in the brazer. With a little more encouragement, the flame caught and grew and in short order we had a full on fire.
With the fire roaring, we bundled close. Sam stepped close to Candace and brought Max in to wrap his cloak around them. Watching on Hal's phone was alright, but of course our attentions wavered. We got to talking and Max suggested at one point we should roast marshmallows, which was a great idea.
It was about a quarter to five that the total eclipse started, and by then Sam had already tended to the fire. He had let it burn down and added wood in such a way to offer a place to put the log we had spiced up earlier. He brought out the log in preparation, and as the full shadow started to pass over the moon he placed it on the fire. It didn't immediately catch, the green plants and flowers smoking for a moment before catching themselves. But the smell that was given off was nice. Between the sandalwood and the anise, it was very pleasant.
Now that the log was on the fire, Candace passed out candles for each of us to hold. Sam lit his from the brazer, then in turn lit all of ours. Then we went about her yard and house and lit all of the candles that she and I had put up. It was kind of neat. While we couldn't see the shadow pass over the moon, the area did get noticeably darker and the bright spot in the sky had disappeared.
Between Max, Hal, and I, we were geeking out. Sam seemed to enjoy our conversation, but often asked about our references. Candace just listened. Once we realized she just didn't catch any of our references we started listing off movies that we were going to have to show her. She did get excited at that.
It was during this conversation that something caught my attention. I looked over toward the tree, and standing beside it was a beautiful woman. Despite the cold, she was only wearing a shift that was so sheer she may as well not have worn anything. She had olive skin, a little lighter than my own, and thick, dark, long flowing hair. She was tall, at least compared to Max and I. She's probably about as tall as Candace, and her hair just as dark. She wasn't as thin as Candace, her proportions would be better compared to Max than to me. Like I said, drop dead gorgeous. And she was watching us with an amused expression.
Of course, the first thing I do is look to Hal and Sam to see if they notice her, but everyone else was just talking. I looked back, she was still there. So I swallowed my pride and asked if anyone else could see her.
No one could. But since I had now drawn attention to her, and everyone was looking toward her if not at her. She responded, concerned even, and was now watching me intently. I didn't describe her, not fully, because that was embarrassing enough. But also because if they saw her, I'd want them to be able to confirm it. Sam asked what she was doing, I said "Just watching us." Though really, by this point she was watching me.
She didn't leave though, and the others became concerned as I was that I was seeing things. They all knew about the fairies, but only Hal was there for that. They were all having about the same reaction that Hal had before. But Hal was now showing concern much more along what I was feeling. But he remembered his theory about fairies showing themselves to me. So he left the comfort of our blanket and walked out to the tree where I had pointed. The lady seemed alarmed that anyone would approach her, but once she understood I was directing him she became amused again.
She brought her finger to her lips, a sign to me to keep quiet, and then she stepped away and avoided his search. I don't know why I stayed quiet, part of me is screaming that I should have said something. But as easily as she was avoiding him I don't think it would have done any good to have him more frantically run about the yard. So I kept quiet while Hal searched around the tree.
With nothing found, the others started to ask if I wanted to go in. I considered it, but when I looked back to the lady, she had a pleading look on her face as though begging me to stay. So I said "No, I'm fine." She indicated that I should pretend that she had gone. So I did.
I think part of why I agreed to this was that she was responding to us, to me, and interacting with me. I thought if she were just a hallucination, she'd be acting on her own regardless of what happened around her. Now I'm not so sure, and I'll have to ask Dr. Laurie next time I see him.
We watched Hal's live feed for a while, and she stayed the whole time. She seemed to enjoy the smell of the fire, but she avoided stepping close to it or to us. She did move about the yard and inspected Candace's garden. I think I even saw that she approved.
Since there was little else to see though, Hal and Max both indicated going back to sleep before they had to get up for class. So we all went in. They went to bed, I told Hal I'd join him later. Candace yawned and said she was going to bed. Sam asked me if I was going to be alright. I said I'd talk to Dr. Laurie when he calls me up about my results. He asked me if I needed anything, and when I said I'd be fine he locked up and went into Max's room.
When I looked outside, she was still there. She was watching me still, and she gestured for me to join her.
So I did.
When I was close enough, she asked why I could see her. Her voice was lovely, deep in a feminine way, and had a thick accent that almost seemed familiar. I told her I was asking myself that same question. She remained quiet as she watched me. It was penetrating, intimate, uncomfortable. So I tried manors, I introduced myself and asked who she was. She smiled and said it was nice to meet me, but she answered only that she was family. Before I could ask, she said I was a good friend. It caught me off guard, and I wanted to thank her and ask what she meant. But again she didn't let me. "She's in terrible danger, take care of her." Finally I was able to ask what she meant. She looked up toward where the moon should be. "I'm sorry," she said "but I'm out of time." And then she faded away.
I didn't move for a long moment. It seemed like I didn't even breath. Too scared of what had happened, if it had happened. Too scared that it hadn't happened. In my head, over and over was Candace's explanation, that tonight Selene could visit.
Sam came out and called to me, breaking me out of my stupor. He asked if everything was alright. I told him I didn't know. He came up and wrapped me up in a hug. He didn't have his cloak, or his shirt. I didn't notice at first how little he was wearing, I only noticed how warm he was, how strong he was. He held me firmly, comfortingly for another long moment before I finally moved. He asked me then if she'd ever went away. I shook my head, "Just now" I explained.
He brought me in and led me to our room, asking a last time if I needed anything. I said no, thank you. And then he watched me enter my room. I closed the door and listened for him to leave, which he didn't immediately. But now that he's gone I'm writing this down before I curl back up with Hal. I can't forget any of this. "She's in terrible danger, take care of her." Who's in danger? What danger?
Showing posts with label lunar eclipse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lunar eclipse. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Tuesday, January 30, 2018
January 30th, 2018
It's been a good day. I was nervous about leaving my bag with Hal all day. Not that I don't trust him, just that I don't often do that. So I spent most of the day and even my time here at Candace's anxious to get it back. My mind was throwing every possible bad situation it could think of for my bag to disappear. I hope I didn't offend Hal with my relief, I tried to hide it by hugging him as though he was who I was waiting for.
I almost got on the wrong bus after I left work. Lost in my thoughts about the bag, I almost got on my bus home on autopilot. But I remembered at the last second, and focused on what I was doing till I got here.
Candace was working on setting the place up for a full shindig when I arrived. I didn't realize this was such a big deal for her. And she was surprised that it wasn't that big a deal for us. She called it "The Festival of Lights," which was odd considering it was for a total lunar eclipse. Either way, I helped decorate while we waited for the others to show up. It was fun, and we were putting candles everywhere. I won't lie, I'm a little worried that we've got a fire hazard on our hands. But the candles won't be lit until during the total eclipse. Sam had delivered a brazer earlier in the day and set it up in back with a fire resistant tarp just for safety.
Part of our preparations was to put together a log to throw on the fire. We ground up some anise seed and almonds, used that to grind up some cabbage and cucumber, and then added olive oil. It looked like a great wet rub when we were done, and smelled pretty strongly. But rather than rubbing it on meat, we rubbed it all over the log. Then we used twine to tie some watercress, five lily's, and a bunch of sandalwood sticks around the log. It's been sitting on the coffee table ever since, "drying."
What's been explained to me is that when the penumbral eclipse begins, we'll start a fire in the brazer. Once the total eclipse begins, we'll throw our prepared log on to burn. Then we'll use the fire to light candles and use our candles to light the candles all around the house. According to Candace, during the total eclipse Selene can visit, and we're lighting the candles to let her know she's welcome.
Max showed up while we were working on that, and she's all sorts of excited to take part. The log we prepared is pretty big and we couldn't lift it alone. It was propped up on the kitchen table so it wouldn't roll away, and we worked around it to get it all done. When Sam got there he seemed pleased and moved it into the living room so we could use the table for dinner.
We knew Hal would be coming directly after his lab, and that he'd want to get to sleep as soon as he could so he could get enough rest. So we all pitched in and helped make dinner. I worked with Candace while Max helped Sam. We made herb and garlic bread, while Sam and Max put together a stew with mushrooms and lamb, parsnips, turnips, carrots, and onions. While that was all cooking then we made ginger bread men while Sam and Max made a fruit salad using a lot of berries. By the time Hal got there the place smelled wonderful, the food was ready to eat and the ginger bread men went into the oven.
We had a fun dinner, even Sam seemed to cheer up and was telling jokes! It couldn't last though because both Hal and Max needed to get to bed. So while they each took a room and settled in for the night, we three cleaned up the kitchen. So now we're just passing the time, which is why I'm writing this. But I am getting tired, I think I'm going to try and curl up with Hal while I can.
I almost got on the wrong bus after I left work. Lost in my thoughts about the bag, I almost got on my bus home on autopilot. But I remembered at the last second, and focused on what I was doing till I got here.
Candace was working on setting the place up for a full shindig when I arrived. I didn't realize this was such a big deal for her. And she was surprised that it wasn't that big a deal for us. She called it "The Festival of Lights," which was odd considering it was for a total lunar eclipse. Either way, I helped decorate while we waited for the others to show up. It was fun, and we were putting candles everywhere. I won't lie, I'm a little worried that we've got a fire hazard on our hands. But the candles won't be lit until during the total eclipse. Sam had delivered a brazer earlier in the day and set it up in back with a fire resistant tarp just for safety.
Part of our preparations was to put together a log to throw on the fire. We ground up some anise seed and almonds, used that to grind up some cabbage and cucumber, and then added olive oil. It looked like a great wet rub when we were done, and smelled pretty strongly. But rather than rubbing it on meat, we rubbed it all over the log. Then we used twine to tie some watercress, five lily's, and a bunch of sandalwood sticks around the log. It's been sitting on the coffee table ever since, "drying."
What's been explained to me is that when the penumbral eclipse begins, we'll start a fire in the brazer. Once the total eclipse begins, we'll throw our prepared log on to burn. Then we'll use the fire to light candles and use our candles to light the candles all around the house. According to Candace, during the total eclipse Selene can visit, and we're lighting the candles to let her know she's welcome.
Max showed up while we were working on that, and she's all sorts of excited to take part. The log we prepared is pretty big and we couldn't lift it alone. It was propped up on the kitchen table so it wouldn't roll away, and we worked around it to get it all done. When Sam got there he seemed pleased and moved it into the living room so we could use the table for dinner.
We knew Hal would be coming directly after his lab, and that he'd want to get to sleep as soon as he could so he could get enough rest. So we all pitched in and helped make dinner. I worked with Candace while Max helped Sam. We made herb and garlic bread, while Sam and Max put together a stew with mushrooms and lamb, parsnips, turnips, carrots, and onions. While that was all cooking then we made ginger bread men while Sam and Max made a fruit salad using a lot of berries. By the time Hal got there the place smelled wonderful, the food was ready to eat and the ginger bread men went into the oven.
We had a fun dinner, even Sam seemed to cheer up and was telling jokes! It couldn't last though because both Hal and Max needed to get to bed. So while they each took a room and settled in for the night, we three cleaned up the kitchen. So now we're just passing the time, which is why I'm writing this. But I am getting tired, I think I'm going to try and curl up with Hal while I can.
Monday, January 29, 2018
January 29th, 2018
Monday's are always nice. They can be pretty boring once in a while, but boring is relaxing compared to the weekend it always follows. And with tomorrow being Tuesday, business usually picks up just enough to make the day go by and then it's my weekend!
That said, I'm going to have a lot going on this weekend. Tomorrow night is when we're all going to be staying over at Candace's. I spent some time poking at Max today just to remind her and and get her planning for it. Hal was much easier. We talked about how we could pull it off at the gym, and he confirmed during lunch. Then after picking me up, we went to his place and packed up an overnight bag for him. Afterward I helped him get as much homework done as I could. It wasn't so much me answering questions, as he dictated to me while I typed up his paper. It was kinda fun. If something didn't make sense to me, I'd ask, and it'd prompt him to reword the sentence. I think it worked out well.
With both of us working on his paper though, I texted Mom and asked if I could bring Hal over for dinner. She said that'd be fun, so I invited Hal. Given his confession of wanting to try other culture's cuisines, he was thrilled to try what Mom had made. It was a lot of fun. But short, because of course he still had homework to do.
So I've been putting together my own overnight bag and thinking about how these next two days are going to work out. Candace did get a hold of me to say that Sam was okay with everything, though he was hoping we could use public transportation. He did say if we couldn't, he'd give us a ride, it's just that he does have a lot to do. So I looked up the routes and I'm pretty sure I can get us there.
Tomorrow I'll bring my overnight bag when Hal picks me up. We'll hit the gym as usual, and then he'll take my bag with him while I go to work. Now because tomorrow he'll have lab, I'll take the bus directly to Candace's. When Hal gets out, he'll meet us there with my bag. That way we're good for the night. Because Hal and Max have school, they both mentioned wanting to try and get some sleep early and then we'll wake them for the eclipse. Hopefully afterward they can get some rest again before having to get up for class.
Since I'll have the day off, I've elected to just stay with Candace and I could go home at my leisure, or Hal can pick me up, I've got options. What'll happen though is that Candace and I will set out to go to the church where donations are being made for Jane Doe. We'll try and get some canned goods or something along the way, and I did find that there's a stop by a store where we can do that in between buses. So that should work out. Depending on how that goes, we should have plenty of time to get home before Hal gets off work. My worry is that normally he'd try to come see me at lunch, and I don't know what I'm going to tell him then. I've got some time to think about it though.
So yea, big two days. And with all that happening on Wednesday, I'll have to do my chores on Thursday. I was going to try and get my hair cut this week, might have to put that off till next week. We'll see.
That said, I'm going to have a lot going on this weekend. Tomorrow night is when we're all going to be staying over at Candace's. I spent some time poking at Max today just to remind her and and get her planning for it. Hal was much easier. We talked about how we could pull it off at the gym, and he confirmed during lunch. Then after picking me up, we went to his place and packed up an overnight bag for him. Afterward I helped him get as much homework done as I could. It wasn't so much me answering questions, as he dictated to me while I typed up his paper. It was kinda fun. If something didn't make sense to me, I'd ask, and it'd prompt him to reword the sentence. I think it worked out well.
With both of us working on his paper though, I texted Mom and asked if I could bring Hal over for dinner. She said that'd be fun, so I invited Hal. Given his confession of wanting to try other culture's cuisines, he was thrilled to try what Mom had made. It was a lot of fun. But short, because of course he still had homework to do.
So I've been putting together my own overnight bag and thinking about how these next two days are going to work out. Candace did get a hold of me to say that Sam was okay with everything, though he was hoping we could use public transportation. He did say if we couldn't, he'd give us a ride, it's just that he does have a lot to do. So I looked up the routes and I'm pretty sure I can get us there.
Tomorrow I'll bring my overnight bag when Hal picks me up. We'll hit the gym as usual, and then he'll take my bag with him while I go to work. Now because tomorrow he'll have lab, I'll take the bus directly to Candace's. When Hal gets out, he'll meet us there with my bag. That way we're good for the night. Because Hal and Max have school, they both mentioned wanting to try and get some sleep early and then we'll wake them for the eclipse. Hopefully afterward they can get some rest again before having to get up for class.
Since I'll have the day off, I've elected to just stay with Candace and I could go home at my leisure, or Hal can pick me up, I've got options. What'll happen though is that Candace and I will set out to go to the church where donations are being made for Jane Doe. We'll try and get some canned goods or something along the way, and I did find that there's a stop by a store where we can do that in between buses. So that should work out. Depending on how that goes, we should have plenty of time to get home before Hal gets off work. My worry is that normally he'd try to come see me at lunch, and I don't know what I'm going to tell him then. I've got some time to think about it though.
So yea, big two days. And with all that happening on Wednesday, I'll have to do my chores on Thursday. I was going to try and get my hair cut this week, might have to put that off till next week. We'll see.
Friday, January 19, 2018
January 19th, 2018
After everything going on this last week, it's nice to just get back to work and have a relatively normal day. I even had a dizzy spell as I was getting around, before I stepped into the shower thank goodness. Hal picked me up and we hit the gym, he brought me to work. Work was nice, just busy enough to make the day pass, not so busy as to be stressful. Hal joined me for lunch and we talked about what to do for dinner tomorrow night. After work I started texting Max and Sam to confirm for tomorrow and passed along Hal's suggestions of soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.
I read that back over and realize I'm making it sound like a check list. It all happened, there just wasn't a lot more to say about any of it.
Max and Sam both confirmed for tomorrow and said grilled cheese sounds great. Sam though asked if I had any plans for the night of the 30th. It falls on a Thursday night, so I responded that I had nothing planned after work. He said Candace was wanting to invite everyone over for the lunar eclipse that would be visible before sunrise on the 31st. I hadn't known there was going to be one so I checked. Not only will it be a total lunar eclipse, it'll be the second full moon in January making it a blue moon. And it'll be a supermoon. How cool is that?!? So I said we'll have to remember to raise that with the others tomorrow, but I'd be in to see it.
I did talk to Hal about it, and he said he'd be interested too. But he was concerned about his ability to get a full nights sleep between classes. We'll talk about that with Sam and Max tomorrow, and see what Candace has planned. But I figure maybe he could try to go to bed early and be able to wake up in time to see the eclipse.
I did my best to help Hal with his homework, but to be honest he's got a few years worth of prerequisite classes on me and I think I was slowing him down by making him explain everything. So I eventually got up and worked on making us some dinner. His roommate came home long enough to see I was there, dropped his books off and left. Hal said he probably thinks we're going to have sex and his roommate wants nothing to do with that.
I hadn't thought about that, but once the opportunity was made available... Well, it was good day.
I read that back over and realize I'm making it sound like a check list. It all happened, there just wasn't a lot more to say about any of it.
Max and Sam both confirmed for tomorrow and said grilled cheese sounds great. Sam though asked if I had any plans for the night of the 30th. It falls on a Thursday night, so I responded that I had nothing planned after work. He said Candace was wanting to invite everyone over for the lunar eclipse that would be visible before sunrise on the 31st. I hadn't known there was going to be one so I checked. Not only will it be a total lunar eclipse, it'll be the second full moon in January making it a blue moon. And it'll be a supermoon. How cool is that?!? So I said we'll have to remember to raise that with the others tomorrow, but I'd be in to see it.
I did talk to Hal about it, and he said he'd be interested too. But he was concerned about his ability to get a full nights sleep between classes. We'll talk about that with Sam and Max tomorrow, and see what Candace has planned. But I figure maybe he could try to go to bed early and be able to wake up in time to see the eclipse.
I did my best to help Hal with his homework, but to be honest he's got a few years worth of prerequisite classes on me and I think I was slowing him down by making him explain everything. So I eventually got up and worked on making us some dinner. His roommate came home long enough to see I was there, dropped his books off and left. Hal said he probably thinks we're going to have sex and his roommate wants nothing to do with that.
I hadn't thought about that, but once the opportunity was made available... Well, it was good day.
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