happened, and I need you to know I'm Elliott Stone. I'm your father. If there’s a
way I can prove that I'm the man I say I am, then let's do it now.”
"I hope you are my father," I said softly.
Gram went into the pantry and returned with a bottle of her special zizzleberry
wine. The drink was a mixture of blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries. Her secret was to add zest from limes and oranges.
I had no idea she had that bottle, let alone, where she hid it. I thought the last
of the wine had been used for the Winter Moon celebration months ago. I was happy to see her hidden treasure.
Cole gathered four glasses for Gram to pour us each some of the wine while
I collected the tray of candles we had prepared earlier. Arranging the candles on
the table, I placed one of the white candles in front of each of us and the large
yellow candle in the center. Then, I patted my pocket, confirming I still had the
crystal vial of rue powder.
“Mara is going to add something to your wine before we toast, Elliott,”
Gram said with a serious look on her face. “If you want to back out now is the
time.”
Elliott slid his glass towards me. “I'm ready.”
I removed the cap from the vial and carefully sprinkled the powder into his
drink. Listening to my instincts, I stopped when I had emptied a little over half
of the yellow rue into the glass before him. A small whirlpool formed in his wine
and the powder began to swirl around until it disappeared. I looked to Gram for
confirmation that everything was going as planned and I saw her brown eyes faintly flicker with silver as she stared at the drink. How many times has she done something like this without my notice? I wondered what else I had missed.
“Before we toast, Mara, will you light the candles?” Gram asked with a devious smile. She must have realized that I had seen her stirring the powder into Elliott’s drink.
I guess it was my turn to show her that I could also connect with the
elements.
I nodded and closed my eyes to focus my energy on the yellow candle before
us. As the wicks of the candle lit, the flames grew strong and burst high above
us. Breathing slowly, I forced myself to contain my emotion and control the blaze. This tactic effectively lowered the flames. Then, I carefully lit each of the
small, white candles. This time, I had more control, and the candles flickered softly.
Elliott stared at me with wide eyes full of surprise. “It looks like I have missed a lot.” He flinched as if the words caused him physical pain. “I'm not going to miss any more things in your life, Caterpillar. I promise.”
I held up my wine. “A toast to the truth.”
With conviction, Elliott held up his drink, looked deeply into my eyes, and vowed, “To the truth.”
Gram and Cole raised their glasses, and we all took long sips.
The sweetly tart flavor that I usually savored, and delighted in having, didn't
taste as delicious tonight. I knew there was nothing wrong with the wine, but rather, my fear and anxiety were souring any enjoyment.
We continued to consume our drinks as we watched the candles in silence.
Nothing seemed to be happening. The anticipation built as we each sat waiting in
anticipation.
Just when I was beginning to feel the frustration inside me hit the boiling point, the flames blew out. Light strands replaced the burning fire.
The soft wisps of the extinguished flames rose above us. Soon, they grew
thicker and covered the ceiling. Eventually, a thick mist-like haze enclosed the entire room, and I could no longer see in front of me.
