Seer

Natalie

I wake up and am not sure for a second where I am. I see Angel waiting for me, of course, but it isn’t my bed he is sitting at the foot of. I’m on the floor. I look around to figure it out.

Oh right! I’m on the floor of Timothy’s bedroom, laying on the mattress his mom set up for me. We had our overnight last night.

It all comes rushing back into my head as my dreams fade. I flip over onto my back, to think about everything. Timothy is still asleep up on his bed.

“Good morning, darling,” Angel says, smiling at me. His expression is back to the calm way it usually looks, which is nice. Yesterday he looked so upset for a while.

“Hi Angel,” I think to him. I don’t even want to whisper, since I don’t want to wake up Timothy. I’m sure he was even more tired than me after everything we did yesterday, especially with him starting to communicate with Guardian. Everything that happened starts replaying in my mind. Of course the main thing I’m thinking about is learning about how people have been wrong all along about God. It still makes me really sad, but at least I’m over crying about it. I’m starting to wonder if there is anything I can do about it.

No, probably not. How could I possibly change anything? I’m just a kid, and we’ve learned in school that there are like seven billion people living on the Earth. Nobody would ever listen to me.

Suddenly, in the middle of thinking about all of that, I remember my parents. “Oh!” I think to Angel. “How did it go with my parents last night? You didn’t tell me anything about it before I went to sleep,” I add accusingly.

“Yes, my dearest, I apologize. I know you had wanted to be kept apprised of their progress on their camping trip. However, the events of yesterday were quite overwhelming for both you and your friend, and I resolved to wait until you asked me about it. I didn’t want to distract you with other information unless you wanted to hear it.”

“Well?” I think, impatiently.

“It went splendidly, my dear. Exactly as you had hoped. Your parents have agreed to remarry.” He smiles delightedly at me.

I sit straight up and can’t stop a little squeak from escaping my mouth, I’m so happy. I clap my hands over my mouth, but it’s too late. I’m afraid I woke up Timothy. His head lifts off the pillow and he stares at me sleepily, confused about what is happening. His hair is sticking up funny on one side. I give him a big smile.

“Good morning,” I tell him.

He rubs his eyes, and puts his head back down on the pillow for a second like he wishes he could sleep longer. But then he sits up, cross-legged on his bed.

Yawning, he asks, “Anything going on?” He knows that I always hear from Angel first thing if something is happening.

“Yes!” I tell him. “Angel says my parents are going to get married!”

“Oh!” he says, then is quiet for a minute. “Yeah, I guess I forgot about that part. That whole thing about Angel listening while they are out in the desert.” He gets out of bed and heads out the door to the bathroom. “I’ll be right back.”

“So, tell me more about what happened with Mom and Dad,” I whisper to Angel. I don’t have to worry about waking Timothy up anymore, but I still don’t want his mom to hear me talking to someone while he isn’t in the room.

“Your father prepared a beautiful outing for your mother. They enjoyed themselves greatly at their campsite in the desert. He grilled them steaks for dinner, then they took a walk after the sun went down. He told her how much he has always loved her. While they were watching the meteor shower, he asked her to marry him and gave her a ring. She agreed. They are both very, very happy.”

Oh my god, they aren’t the only ones happy. Suddenly I have a twinge of disappointment, thinking about myself saying “oh my god” when there isn’t any such thing. So much of the world is going to look different to me now. Angel nods at me, agreeing that a lot has changed.

I try to shrug it off. There isn’t anything I can do about that right now. I should focus on the happy news about my parents.

When Timothy comes back in the room, I go and have my turn in the bathroom, then come back. I tell him what Angel said about how my parents did on their trip. I don’t think he’s all that excited about them getting married again, but he does want to hear a lot more about how Angel knew everything. I have to keep reminding myself that we were working on a whole different experiment when we learned there isn’t any God. “Angel,” Timothy asks, “could you hear them the whole time, or just sometimes? How did it work?”

Angel smiles at Timothy, happy that he is focusing on this part of the experiment again. Angel still regrets that he made me so unhappy with the news about religion. “After they arrived at the desert, and it was clear that with our new method of communication we could hear each other despite the distance, I asked Lady and Knight to simply keep me updated throughout the evening rather than remaining in constant communication. Therefore, every so often one of them would relay any news to me. They summarized the events, and then I conveyed them to Natalie this morning.”

I tell all that to Timothy. He picks up the notebook and turns back a couple of pages, to that part of the experiment, and writes some notes. “Well,” he says when he is finished, “I think the experiment was a success. We have concluded that Guardians have the ability to hear each other from long distances.” He nods with satisfaction and closes the notebook.

I ask him, “Are you going to write any notes about you talking to Guardian?” It seems strange for him not to have written anything about that.

He sighs. “I don’t think so. Not yet. I wouldn’t even know what to write. I’m not sure it even felt like part of an experiment, as much as just learning about a new part of myself. I don’t know. Maybe later.”

He’s quiet for a minute, and I think that he’s trying to open his mind to check to see if Guardian is still there. Angel whispers, “Yes, he is sensing Guardian again.”

I wait. After a minute he nods his head again, like he is satisfied. “Yes, I can still hear him. It’s quieter now. I think maybe he was yelling when I first heard him, when you needed a hug and he wanted me to do it.”

Angel agrees. “Yes, when Guardian wanted to suggest that Timothy try to comfort you, he exerted a great deal more energy in the effort than he had before. It seemed like something of an emergency, with you suddenly so upset that you began crying. So Guardian was doing something like yelling, because he was desperate for Timothy to hear him.” He looks at me sadly, tilting his head and filling his eyes with his love for me.

I tell Timothy what he said. I feel a little embarrassed about it. “I’m sorry that I scared everyone by crying so hard.”

Timothy lifts up his eyebrows like he’s surprised. “You don’t have to be sorry, Natalie. You’ve seen me cry plenty of times before. You’ve always helped me whenever I needed it.” He looks down at his hands, seeming almost shy all of a sudden. “I’m glad Guardian told me what to do. I’m glad that I could be the one to help you this time.”

Natalie’s

Oh, these remarkable children. My darling Seer and her beloved friend. They have changed my world.

My existence is so different, so much richer than I could ever have anticipated before she was born, before we began sharing a soul. Even once I became her Guardian, I had no idea of the strange journey we would embark on together.

Here I am, part of a large cooperating group of humans and Guardians, learning things about our kind that I never knew, interacting in ways I never imagined.

And, I realize, I have a … friend. Unfathomable. It is mind boggling to consider, but Timothy’s Guardian and I have developed an actual relationship, a true friendship, due to the prodding of Natalie and the incessant scientific curiosity of Timothy. I never before considered even speaking directly to another Guardian, much less collaborating and conversing regularly with such a one. But here we are, in constant and direct communication, learning together with our Guarded, guiding them through their discoveries, and being the beneficiaries of their new knowledge.

Guardian continues to be nearly overwrought at the developments with his beloved Timothy. When Natalie was born I was shocked to discover myself the Guardian of a Seer. But, I knew what was expected of me, knew what I had to do to support her unique abilities. I was familiar with the memories of those who had Guarded Seers in the past, and was guided by these. Guardian does not have this advantage with Timothy. Neither of us is familiar with any such instance. We cannot turn to history to direct our actions. Guardian must invent his interaction with Timothy anew.

I consider wryly that it is appropriate that Guardian will need to effectively conduct experiments in order to know how best to Guard a human who is not a Seer, yet with whom he can communicate. I share this flash of insight with Guardian, who accepts it thoughtfully. Yes, Timothy and Guardian must be scientists together, discovering how to use their newfound abilities in tandem. As always, I presume that Timothy will be the one guiding the process, asking the right questions, conducting the necessary experiments. He will lead us, and we will all learn together.

Knight contacts me, to inform me that Ron and Brenda will be leaving the desert soon, and come here to pick Natalie up and bring her home to Ron’s house.

Natalie and Timothy are at the kitchen table, eating breakfast. Timothy’s mother has joined them, and is listening to their chatter. Of all the humans in their lives, Laura is the one who most closely understands their interactions. She has always had the sense that Natalie is an extremely unusual child. She has accepted her son’s friendship gratefully, glad that he has found a friend whose unique abilities complement his own. Laura has occasionally realized in observing Natalie that her gifts defy logical explanation, yet she has never been alarmed by this. Her love for her son, and her support of his close friendship, bring her to welcome Natalie’s company always, even when she witnesses events that seem otherworldly or unnatural. It is a boon for a Seer to have such companions, who will accept them despite the evidence of their powers.

I whisper to Natalie, “Knight tells me that your parents are on their way here, and will pick you up in approximately one hours’ time.”

“Ok,” she thinks back to me, not pausing in her breakfast or indicating in any way that she has received a message. It has become second nature to her to conceal my presence from everybody except Timothy.

I wonder about this. Will she ever begin to share my presence with others? Once she tried to instruct Jonathan about the existence of Guardians, in an effort to improve his behavior, but he dismissed what she said as ridiculous.

And what of Timothy? The unprecedented communication between he and Guardian will have unknowable consequences. But consequences there must be. How will they develop? How will Timothy use this new skill? Natalie uses me as readily as she uses her eyesight to understand her world. What will Timothy do?