“Close your eyes.”
“Close my eyes?” Was I going to sleep already? He nodded, so I shut them and tried to sit up straighter in hopes that I would be prepared for whatever he was about to throw my way.
“Now tell me what you see,” he instructed.
“Um…nothing,” I heard him snicker. I frowned but kept my eyes closed.
“Just because you have your eyes closed, doesn’t necessarily mean your eyes have stopped seeing. So, try again. Tell me what you see.” After a long moment of awkward silence, a flash of light swept across my eyelids and they flew open.
“The lighthouse! I could see its light!”
“Good, now close your eyes again, but this time tell me what you hear,” he told me calmly. I listened closely, but the sound of the ocean drowned out the possibility of hearing anything else.
“I just hear the waves crashing.”
“Good, now tell me what you feel,” he prompted without missing a beat. I concentrated on my bare skin that was in direct contact with my surroundings.
“The softness of the sand…and the wind,” I claimed, opening my eyes again. I took notice of how oddly exposed I felt with my eyes closed.
“Good. Just like humans, your five senses are attached to your physical body. So, when you want your soul to be in your body, you concentrate on those five physical senses. Whether it’s sight, touch, or hearing, latch on to whichever one is strongest at the time,” he paused to make sure I understood, then continued. “But with the addition of essence to our souls, we have another sense that humans don’t have.”
“We do?” Things like spidey vision and sonic hearing ran through my thoughts.
“You’ve been using it all along, you just didn’t know it,” he revealed. He threaded his warm fingers through mine; sending tingles across my skin. His features softened and he suddenly appeared more vulnerable.
“What do you…sense about me?” he requested shyly. I automatically diverted my eyes to the patch of blanket between us. I had a feeling that incredibly sexy, alluring and good-looking weren’t the answers he was looking for, but they were exactly what came to mind. My heart began to beat wildly as I searched for a way to describe what I ‘sensed’ about him without sounding like an obsessed groupie. I closed my eyes like I had with the other senses and opened my mind.
“The main thing I sense is…darkness.” As soon as the words were out I realized how awful they sounded, so I rushed to clarify, “But it’s not a bad darkness. It’s more like a warm-summer-night kind of darkness, not the monster-under-the-bed kind of darkness.” Wow. Great explanation…for a six year old. I should have stuck with sexy, alluring, and good-looking.
“Monster under the bed?” he remarked, seeming to enjoy my obvious discomfort. I began to describe how I used to take a running start and jump on my bed in order to avoid the monster that was surely lurking underneath, waiting for the opportune time to grab my ankles and eat me alive.
Thankfully, before I could embarrass myself further, he continued.
“So how exactly do you sense that darkness?” He arched a dark eyebrow at me.
“I….feel it. Not in the same way that I feel the sand or the wind. I just…know it’s there.”
“Jackpot. That’s your other sense kicking in,” he smiled at me with pride. I pondered whether or not my ‘other sense’ included seeing darkness as well. Nadia’s darkness was definitely the monster-under-the-bed kind. Before I could ask, he rose to his knees; eyes gleaming with excitement.
“Time to practice, Pasha.”
Ignoring the turmoil growing in my stomach, I positioned myself on my back and gazed up at the stars with consternation. Finn crawled around to the crown of my head; simultaneously erupting into a fit of laughter.
“You might want to try and relax. It works better that way,” he sneered down at me.
I glared up at him, “Go ahead and laugh, but you aren’t the one sprawled out on a blanket like a science experiment.” Still smiling, he leaned down and lightly kissed me on the forehead.
“You’ve done this a dozen times, there’s nothing to worry about. I promise.” He ran his fingers gently through my hair, “I’ll be right here the whole time.”
“Promise?” I peeked up at him, requiring a little more reassurance.
“I promise,” he assured me. Satisfied, I closed my eyes and commenced to taking long, deep breaths. “First thing I want you to practice is separating your soul from your body, but not letting it go anywhere. Since you know it’s going to happen, try to relax your mind and allow yourself to let go. If you don’t wake up in five minutes, I’ll wake you up.”
“Okay, but usually, I just wake up somewhere else during the reverie. I don’t ever remember separating from my body.”
“This time you’re doing it voluntarily, so you should be able to remember the experience.
Now, try and relax.” I focused my ears on the roar of the ocean and allowed the soft wind to caress my skin. Feeling Finn’s eyes on me, I cracked an eye and observed him.
“I can see your nose hairs.”
“I bet closing your eyes would help.”
“I can see your Adams apple, too,” I said, suppressing a giggle.
“You’re about to see me tickle you if you don’t close your eyes and concentrate,” he threatened me with an incorrigible smile. When I failed to do so, he lunged forward, convincing me he was going to launch a full blown tickle attack.
“Okay! Okay! I’ll close my eyes, I’ll do it! I’ll do it!” I squealed and attempted to squirm away from his torturous hands that were hovering precariously above my stomach. After my giggles died down, Finn continued to run his fingertips through my hair and I finally felt my body relax. I listened to my own breathing and felt my conscious mind center as it began to grow numb with sleep.
I forced myself to direct my focus inward, and automatically endured a slight dizzying sensation. My immediate response was to steady myself in order to curb the uncomfortable feeling, but I made myself endure and give into the weirdness. As I continued to spin, I let go absolutely; quickly sinking. I descended farther and farther until I was simply suspended in a world of weightlessness. I hesitantly opened my eyes.
Stars. I failed. I was still lying on my back staring at the sky trying to go to sleep. But if that was the case, why did I feel so light all of a sudden? I tentatively sat up and scanned my surroundings. I wasn’t on the beach anymore. Odd. I was…above it. I steeled myself and peered down. What I saw would remain with me for the rest of my life. It was as unsettling as it was miraculous. My body lay peaceful and unmoving below; eyes closed. Finn was observing my face intently, still clutching my hand. It melted my heart and made me smile down at him lovingly.
Suddenly, I began to move. Finn and my body continued to grow smaller and smaller as the ocean spread out before me. Where was I going? I wasn’t supposed to go anywhere! I needed to go back!
As panic raced through my veins, I tried to remember what Finn had told me. Senses. Something about senses. I closed my eyes and listened. All I could hear was the sound of wind as I flew out over the water. I listened harder, but couldn’t hear anything else. I opened my eyes and looked for the lighthouse’s revolving light. Where was it? Was I too far away already? Feel. What did I feel?