Tara’s Dreams
I see myself with family, mainly in a desert.
My dad speaks to me in a 100-degree desert without using his mouth. He says, “You need to survive humanity. You love them, but they can be dangerous for us.”
With confusion in my spirit, I respond without moving my lips, “But I cannot die. No one can hurt me.”
My dad replies, “With your abilities, people will torture you. You are not meant to be understood or studied by humanity. I cannot keep you safe; keeping yourself safe is your responsibility and your burden. I wish there were another way…”
I stutter, “Abilities? I have more?” I move towards dad with curiosity.
Let me show you, Tara…” my dad responds immediately.
He continues, love and gentle firmness in his expression: “Your first power is immortality, you heal quickly and never truly die.
Your second is mind-reading; I’m not using my voice, but you hear my thoughts.
Third, mind control, you can make anyone do anything you desire. Remember David’s obsession with oranges. He hates oranges, but you’ve planted a love of oranges in his mind. He couldn’t get enough.
Fourth, telekinesis, you can move objects and people with your mind. The sand around us moves along with a rock next to my feet.
Fifth, dreaming and premonitions… I don’t want to scare you, but you are dreaming right now.”
“No, I’m not—I’m right here…” I pinch my arm to feel pain. It hurts. But my dad continues without pause.
“Sixth, you are an empath. This is why you have premonitions. They will never be fully understood, but by the time you leave here, you will learn the difference between your dreams and your premonitions. You will also understand why you are dreaming and in the middle of a premonition right now. You will see.”
And last but not least, you are physically the strongest. The world must never see this, unless you intend to kill.”
My response shifts from confusion to a quiet inner knowing, but I am not fully convinced.
“How am I dreaming? I am fully conscious, I feel pain, and I am talking to you…”
My dad smiles gently and touches my shoulder with ease. “You can be fully conscious and still dream. I possess this gift as well. You can exist in two worlds at once, the dream world and the real one. Dream premonitions place you in two different times: the world where your body sleeps, and the future you are experiencing right now.”
“First lesson of the day: think about where your body is right now. Close your eyes if you have to. You won’t wake up to the past—only if you truly want to.”
I close my eyes, and I feel lighter. My hair feels tightly braided. I smell horses and dirt. I hear myself snore and sigh in a higher-pitched voice, saying, “Shoo fly, don’t bother me…”
I know immediately that my dad is telling the truth about all my abilities.
With calm panic in my voice, I say, “I am dreaming. Has this entire time been a dream?”
My dad looks at me with confidence and a touch of pride. “Yes and no. You are living in two worlds right now. You are alive and conscious on both planes. With time, you will be able to determine whether you are in one world or two.”
He gives me a warning look without opening his mouth: “This training is vital—for your survival and for the survival of those around you.”
Think about your powers: mind-reading, mind control, telekinesis, and premonitions. Without control, you could destroy thousands. What if you read the mind of a serial killer and try to change it? You might save lives…or destroy them. What if it backfires, and they decide to shoot twenty people in a department store?
You move a child out of the path of a truck, and the truck crashes into a hospital full of patients instead. Premonitions are dangerous because of free will. You may prevent a plane crash, but someone meant to die survives and becomes a dictator who starts a war.”
“And some would turn you into a guinea pig for eternity. Since you cannot die, you could be tortured endlessly without relief. You would pray for death and receive none. Your power is your burden and your responsibility.”
“The purpose of this training is to teach you how to use your abilities and when not to use them. I know this is hard to understand, especially while you are dreaming, but it will all make sense in time. I promise you.”
My thoughts race as I ask, “How will I hide all my abilities from people?”
Dad smiles, grave yet graceful. “You will learn that too, in time. Let’s begin by waking up. Wake. Up.”
I wake in darkness, hearing crickets as I lie on a wooden bed with tattered sheets. I look around and see my mother in the next bed, sighing gently in her sleep. I smile at her and drift back to sleep.