When Lights Collide Chapter 20

Daniel wasn’t aware that he was dreaming, he also wasn’t aware that he had passed out on the table and was now asleep upon the sofa.

He was busy, he was being a little boy, running through a huge field of grass that was as tall as he was.  Grass that was still fresh with the morning dew.  A smile was wide upon his face as he stopped and admired how the sun shimmered through the water droplets, making them look like diamonds lining the path to the castle that lay just beyond the field.

Daniel knew that it wasn’t really a castle, but to him it was the whole world.  It was where his Grams lived.  It was where he lived.

He continued along his way, skipping now, through the field toward the castle, excited to tell  his Grams about his adventures and about finding all the diamonds in the field. 

He already knew that she would smile and pretend to be as excited as he was that they were rich now that they had a field of diamonds in their yard.

This was their morning routine together, they had already had their breakfast of cereal and toast with strawberry jam and Daniel went out to play while his Grams cleaned up the dishes. 

He knew she’d be waiting for him to return, she’d be waiting to hear about his stories from the fields. 

As little Daniel got closer to the castle, their house, he broke out into a run, excited as he was to see his Grams, he didn’t notice the shadow that followed him.

He raced through the gate, allowing it to slam open the way it always did with a bang, and was almost at the arched doorway when he noticed the door didn’t look right.

Little Daniel stopped cold, instantly frozen with fright and concern as he looked over the front facade of the castle.

In an instant, right before his eyes, it was no longer the castle of his childhood, but rather it was a dilapidated old house.  The door was loose of its hinges, shutters were crooked or missing altogether, the windows held no light and were dirty and shadowed.

And he was no longer a little boy, still dreaming, Daniel looked at his hands, he now had man hands, and was no longer the little boy who had skipped and ran through the fields.

Sadness filled him, and the little boy that he had been thought to turn around and start again from the fields, that perhaps this time, when he returned to the castle, all would be as it was supposed to be, that the castle would be aglow with love and lights, his Grams would be eagerly awaiting him with his tales from his adventures and this would all be just a silly dream.

But when the man that Daniel now was, turned to try and return to the fields, he was met with only darkness and shadow, as though everything that had just been there a second ago had never ever  been.

Daniel simply stood, confused, trying to work out why everything was so different, so dark. ‘Could this all just be a dream?’ he wondered to himself as he felt a slithering crawling its way toward him unseen in the darkness.

A strange voice that he recognized from somewhere, spoke to him, causing fear to worm its way up his spine, “what's the matter Danny boy, are you afraid of the dark?”

Daniel jumped back, his fear of fear causing his anger to rise and lash out “I ain’t afraid of nothing!” he declared boldly, yet curious at the fact that his words did not sound like his own, but rather sounded like that of a small child.

Another slithering sound moved from somewhere behind him and as Daniel spun around to look and see what it was, the strange, yet familiar voice spoke to him again “why so scared Danny boy, come join us, we’ll take care of you.”

Daniel shivered as the voice finished its offering with a maniacal giggle, “come now, you know we’ve always been here for you.”

Daniel struggled to keep his thoughts as he tried to remember why that voice had felt so familiar.

When from somewhere his Grams spoke to him “Not there my boy, we don’t belong there anymore, find the light, it's within you.”

Daniel began walking forward, one step then another, before he finally broke out into a run, he shouted to his Grams “I’m coming Grams, I’m here, please help me!” again he noted that his voice sounded like that of a little boy, he shook his head trying to make it all make sense, “could this all be a dream?”  he asked himself as he continued to move forward, desperately searching for some indication of where his Grams might be, yet all he could see was darkness.

Finally exhausted from running, Daniel stopped, he tried to adjust his eyes to the darkness when the slithering made itself known once more “Danny boy, you know how this works, you come home to us and all will instantly be better, we’ll protect you, there will be no more fear.”

“No!, I don't know what or who you are, but I do know that you are not the way I am to go!” he declared boldly, noting that his own voice sounded different now, more grown up somehow.

Daniel again began walking forward, but fell to his knees as his feet suddenly felt bound together, he looked down, but in the darkness could not see where his feet were supposed to be.

“You can have your feet back when you agree to come home boy!” the dark voice spoke again, and this time Daniel noted that it sounded different as well.  It had changed, “Could the fear be afraid?” he thought to himself, “Is it possible that I could scare fear?” As he continued to ponder the thought, Daniel felt something around him crack, as though lightning had struck and the light was now making its way to him.

“What is going on?” Daniel wondered, “What is this strangeness, and how do I get out of it?” 

Suddenly the words that his Grams had spoken to him earlier came rushing back to him “find the light.”

Daniel stopped moving now, he needed to think, “what does find the light mean Grams?” he asked, feeling stronger and bolder now, knowing that whatever had caused the crack, was helping him somehow.

He stood, listening to the silence, he could feel the presence of the slithering thing, but chose to ignore it, focusing instead on the words from his Grams “what else did she say?” Daniel tried to force himself to remember, but the harder he tried to focus, the more foggy his mind became.

Suddenly, a new thought entered his mind, Daniel stood, bracing himself in the love that he held for his Grams, focusing on the happy moments of their life together, “the sunshine after the rain” his Grams used to call their life together.

As Daniel closed his eyes and thought only upon those happy memories, as he focused more and more on the sunshine moments after the rains of losing his parents, he began to feel warm, and the more warm he felt, the weaker the fear that had previously tried to engulf him, began to feel.

He felt the slithering move around him again, he could feel the panic in the movements, and this time when it spoke, it was barely a whisper “Danny boy, don’t leave us, come home to us son, we’ll take care of you…..” as the voice of the slithering thing faded into the ethers, Daniel felt uplifted, as though he was floating.  

Through his still closed eyelids, he could see light trying to filter its way in, and as he opened his eyes, he was nearly blinded by the bright white light that was all around him.

He looked left and right, then down, all around him was brightly lit with light, more white than sunlight, yet warm and comforting.  “Like home somehow.” he thought to himself.

Daniel felt the urge to look up and as he did, he was awestruck by the vision opening before him, as millions upon millions of individual lights began to make themselves visible to him through the whiteness of his surroundings.

“Like fireflies on a bright summer day” he thought to himself, amazed at what he was seeing.

Then the firefly lights began to turn and look behind themselves and in doing so, opened a pathway among them.  Daniel looked to the pathway opening and felt compelled to move forward, as he took a step forward, it was suddenly as though he was on some sort of express escalator that propelled him forward at warp speed, through the masses of firefly looking lights.  Then, just as suddenly as it had started, it stopped.

Daniel looked around, hoping his eyes would adjust, for all that was visible before him was more light.  Yet, somehow, he knew that he was not alone, that what he was seeing was not just plain light.

Suddenly, the firefly looking lights began to emit whispers, as though they all knew a secret that he, as yet, did not.

All of a sudden, the lights before him shifted slightly and a form began to take shape and the words “there’s my boy.” floated toward him from some unseen presence, yet Daniel knew who those words belonged to… “Grams!!  Where are you?” he asked while looking all around, trying to see the source of the loving voice that had spoken to him.

“I am here, child.  Follow the love, follow the light, I am here with you.  When you search for me with your whole heart of love, you will always find me.”

Daniel closed his eyes and focused on the loving feeling of the words that flowed like warm honey through his mind, through his heart and through his soul.

In the winds he heard “Let go and follow it.” In his dream he opened his arms wide in surrender, awaiting to feel the embrace of the loving soul who spoke to him.

The darkness behind his eyelids exploded with light and the shadows that had haunted him for his lifetime evaporated until there was nothing left save for the light of the love that now warmed him, heart and soul.

Happiness and grace wrapped themselves around and throughout his being, burning out any doubt and fear that lingered within him, freeing him to become one with the light.

Daniel opened his eyes, and felt a fresh wave of love flow over him, then, as plain as day, his Grams stood before him.  With her arms open wide, she smiled her best smile and said “welcome my boy, welcome to this new day, welcome to this new you, welcome to this new life.” and she wrapped herself around Daniel and he melted into her loving embrace.

Though his mouth did not speak, Daniel heard himself as he spoke to his Grams “I have missed you so very much, I am so sorry for all the times I let you down, I promise, this time, I will do better.  I promise, I will be better.”

His Grams pulled back from him and looked Daniel in the eye, her love for him flowing warm and free, like a summer spring, she said “my boy, I have always loved you, and will always love you.  There is no thing that you have ever done that has brought me sadness, for I know you lived in each day as you truly felt you needed to.  From this day forward I will walk with you always, for God and All Divine have granted us one special wish.  And you, you have stepped through your fear and into your light, you are now a new being, a new Angel on Earth, you will never again walk alone.  We have been given a Divine gift Daniel, I will be your Spirit Guide, I will be with you always.”

Daniel looked questioningly at his Grams, “I don't understand what you mean Grams… what are you saying?”

“You soon will my boy, my beautiful Danny, trust the women who have rescued you, trust that I am with you.  Trust that I have sent them to walk with you also, trust that they will be your friends.”

Daniel could feel the shift in the energy and light that surrounded them, he became distracted by the shift and began looking around.  Frantically trying to find a way to hold on longer, he did not want this moment to end.

Grams grabbed him by his shoulders and shook him slightly, gaining his attention once more, “my Danny boy, it's ok, this is not the last time we will be together, this is only the beginning.”  She smiled warmly at him and then as suddenly as she appeared to him, she was gone, fading into the light from where she had arrived from.

“Grams!!” Daniel yelled, “Grams! Come back, come back, please, come back!”  he was surprised to feel tears on his face as a new sense of loneliness washed over him.

Once more his Grams spoke, “Trust my boy, trust that I will always be with you.”

Daniel yelled in desperation “Grams!!” 

And suddenly found himself seated upright, on the sofa in Estelle’s living room. Both hands gripping tightly onto the cushions beneath him, and two women seated across from him, staring at him wide-eyed yet smiling.

To keep reading, CLICK HERE for chapter 21!