Divina's Awakening

“You’re going to die.” The look of horror that shaped Taniel’s face was so genuine that Divina held her breath to keep from laughing. Sitting across from her, her older brother clenched his wife’s hand as he paled. Lucy, his wife, had known about the joke since this morning and played her part perfectly as she coddled him, whispering soothing words while petting the top of his hand. 

“I… I don’t understand.” His brown eyes widened as he sought answers from his younger sister. “Can you at least tell me how?”

Lucy rubbed the top of her expecting belly as if cradling the baby inside, speaking more to the child than Divina. “I think it’s time we told him the truth.”

“What? What truth? What is it you’re not telling me?”

This time Divina reacted and leaned across the wooden table between them. She placed her palms on his knees before meeting his gaze and, with as much seriousness as she could muster, she spoke, “Brother, we all die someday. There’s no veritable fortune in that. I am just stating the eventual obvious.”

He frowned, scrunching his brows a moment before speaking, “Yes. I get that, but people flock from miles to hear what you have to say. You have a gift, sister. Why do you waste it playing trivial tricks?”

Divina leaned back and smoothed out the wrinkles from the ceremonial robes she inherited from her mother. The robes were a special heirloom passed down through generations to every first-born daughter. She inherited them earlier than anyone else, years ago on the night her mother died from a mysterious illness. 

Divina couldn’t face him and instead played with some of the frayed golden thread near the hems of the sleeves. 

The sadness in his voice carried as he spoke. “You still haven’t received an awakening yet, have you?”

Unable to speak the truth, she shook her head. Hearing it made it worse. 

“Try not to think about it.” Lucy’s soft words brought comfort. “It’ll happen when it’s supposed to. Everything does. Try not to rush it.” The pregnant woman braced her lower back as she tried to stand. Her large, round belly threw off her balance, and she accepted Taniel’s extended arm for help. “In the meantime, stay strong. Even if you don’t believe in yourself, we believe in you.”

Divina’s head raised, watching Lucy waddle towards the front bathroom. 

“She really is quite something.”

“Yea, I still don’t know what she sees in you.” Divina turned to her brother, seeing his eyes glaze over, staring love-struck after his pregnant wife. The string of true love between them was invisible but tangible. 

“I don’t know, but I know I’m blessed to have her. She's my everything.”

“She’s not the only one. Soon you’ll be more than a husband. You’ll be a father too.” 

“I can’t wait for that moment.” He rested his elbows on his knees and leaned in, whispering so Lucy couldn’t hear, “Which reminds me. Are you coming tonight? I understand it might be difficult for you since you haven’t had your awakening, but I’d appreciate it if you did.” 

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Thanks to you, I’m becoming an aunt.”

“Don’t forget you’re the God Mother too.”

Divina’s face warmed at the compliment. “Are you sure about this?”

He took her hands and gave them an encouraging squeeze. “Mom would’ve wanted it this way.” 

There was time to kill before the celebration, so Divina ventured to her favorite spot to be alone and think. A summer breeze swept low in the sky, making the grass and the flowers dance as Divina sauntered along the beaten path. The same sandy path she and her brother raced down as children to the old tree swing. Wisps of loose hair tickled her face as she listened to the songs of the overhead birds.

It was the only spot where she could remember hearing her mother’s and her grandmother’s voices the loudest. On some days, she swore she could still hear them, as if they were more than random figments replaying from her past.

“Mom, I miss you. I wish you were here now. I don’t know what to do anymore. It feels wrong giving out these blanket fortunes to everyone. I feel like such a liar.” 

The warmth from a passing breeze hugged her, urging her forward. Goosebumps skittered across her skin as she imagined the ghost of her mother walking with her up the hill to the abandoned tree. Even after all these years, seeing its familiar long thick branches rise from the hilltop quieted the anxiety brewing in her belly. 

Loose threads of rope dangled from the lowest branch, a memory of where an old wooden swing once hung. Divina hugged her shoulders and sat on one of the upturned roots near the base of the tree. A perfect perch to look down the hill and onto the small village at the bottom. She sighed seeing beyond the wooden huts, barns, animals, and carts, at all the people and their expectations. 

“I can’t keep pretending I’m someone I’m not!” Slamming her eyes closed, blocking the view, she rested her head against the base of the tree. Sunlight trickled in through the leaves on the higher branches, offering warm kisses to different parts of her cheeks, bringing her compassion.

“You’re doing fine, bug.”

Divina’s eyes shot open at hearing her late grandmother’s voice. “MeeMaw?” Her head swiveled as she searched for her. An empty lush green meadow swayed in response and Divina closed her eyes again, focusing more on her breathing and going into a meditative state. 

This wasn’t the first time she heard her grandmother’s voice here. However, it was the first time the vibrations from it brushed her cheek, as if the old woman was sitting next to her. Divina's brows furrowed in concentration, trying to better hear through the spirit veil. “MeeMaw, are you still here?”

“I’m always with you, child, as I was always with your Mother.”

“Then why do I feel so alone all the time?” Divina curled forward as an invisible burden pressed on her shoulders.

“Because bug, you keep trying to do everything yourself. You are your mother’s daughter in that aspect, as stubborn as the day is long.”

“I’m just trying to make you both proud. I serve those who seek guidance and I use the donations to not only survive but to enhance the way of life for everyone around me. Still, every prediction I have is a fake, a generalization, and I feel like a failure.”

“Telling someone the sky will fall does not make you a fake. It makes you honest. When it rains, does the sky not fall? Or how about in the mornings when the clouds are on the ground? Does that also not mean the sky has fallen?”

“Yes, but…”

“Bug, real predictions are just that. Fragments of a potential future and nothing more. You are human, not an Elder. It’s not your job to see it all. Know you cannot control how people react to your visions. True or not.”

“Mom made it look so easy, though. People looked ready to face whatever challenge held them back whenever they left her. I am nothing like her. I get satisfied smiles, but I can see the pity in their eyes. They don’t want me. They want her.” Tears burned at the lids of her eyes and when they broke through the barrier, she let them fall. “I want her back, too. I can’t do this alone.”

“My dear sweet child. You are every bit as good as your Mother. And you are not alone. You need to believe in yourself as your loved ones believe in you.” Another breeze played with her loose strands of hair as if her MeeMaw were combing through it. “And let me tell you a little secret that’s been in our family for years. There hasn’t been a true Seer in the last five hundred years. We keep going because people need the hope and guidance we provide them.”

Divina’s eyes went wide as her jaw dropped, her mouth agape. The distraction of the breeze stopped as if helping her digest the revelation of the words her grandmother spoke. It couldn’t be possible. Everything she thought she knew was a lie. Unable to breathe, she drowned in the truth as the words tattooed themselves on her soul.

There hasn’t been a true Seer in at least five hundred years. 

Scrambling out of confusion, Divina spoke, windless. “That’s not possible. There’s no way.” She hopped from the root and faced the old tree, seeking MeeMaw’s guidance once more. “Tell me that’s not true.”

Moments passed until a perturbing breeze ruffled the bottom of her robe, gnawing into her bones. There was no denying it. She knew every word spoken was true. 

The sun was setting as Divina trudged towards the village. Her heart ached and her belly remained tense, as if someone had punched her, which, as a liar, she deserved. With every step, her feet and legs grew heavier and harder to move. Dread of the approaching events of the evening made her stomach queasy. 

The Gathering. 

A joyous time to celebrate the coming of a new baby. A special occasion where the entire village congregated at the great hall, bringing with them gifts for the expecting family. Tonight was the night when the men would drink themselves into a stupor, while the veteran fathers told stories about the impending sleepless nights and their grouchy, overbearing monster wives. Announcing to the expectant father, this was his last night as a free man. How afterward, he’d be ladened by responsibilities. The women would also rally together, speaking about the terror of childbirth and the early days of raising a newborn. Adding arguments about how the men were useless for breastfeeding and all things newborn. The night would end with the traditional wagon race. An idiotic pastime where two separate gift-loaded wagons were pulled by the villagers in a race to the expectant parent’s home. The pregnant woman would ride and steer one wagon while her husband rode and steered the other. Whoever arrived first would declare themselves the winner and thus the better parent.

Really, the race was about teamwork and helping the parents drive into the next stage of their lives versus being a competition, but every time it turned into one. No doubt an archaic event, but a fun one. 

Divina balled her fist until her knuckles whitened, declaring to the emptiness surrounding her. “I won’t tell them the truth tonight because no one would remember it anyway, but tomorrow. Tomorrow I’ll tell everyone the truth as I can’t live in this facade any longer.”

The music from the gathering devoured the village and grew deafening with each step. Fires danced in every street lantern lining the path to the great hall. Divina’s palms were sweaty as she opened the door to the hall and entered. She hoped to sleuth in unnoticed and be a simple wallflower in the back corner of the party until it was her turn to speak. Knowing it was the seer’s job to give a toast to a bright future for the happy couple. 

“Divina! You made it!” Taniel’s teeth glistened in the low firelight. Yellow and orange glows brought out the blues of his traditional dress and the silver tones of the sword at his hip. He was as handsome as always. It pained her to see the childlike excitement dancing in his eyes. The same excitement she would crush with the truth tomorrow. 

He jumped from the wooden throne next to his wife and dashed towards her. His broad shoulders cut through the crowd as the sheath of his sword bruised the shins of onlookers who were too drunk to get out of his way. Divina’s breath caught in her throat as his outstretched, calloused hand locked around her wrist. “You’re just in time, little sister! I can’t wait to hear what good news you have to say about our baby!”

Divina’s mind drew a blank as he settled her between the couple’s thrones. Taniel took the seat next to his wife and sealed his hand with hers, placing them in front of Divina’s thighs. Lucy’s golden wedding band shined, symbolizing their promise to each other as their fingers intertwined with perfectly practiced precision. Her other hand cradled the top of her pregnant belly. Her round cheeks scrunched her eyes as she grinned at Divina. 

The crowd and the music silenced, giving her the attention of the crowded room. Blurred faces from people she knew and some she didn’t, held their breath in palpable anticipation. Divina swallowed and mimicked the movements of her mother. She flattened her robe, straightened her spine, filled her lungs with false courage, and closed her eyes to glance into the future. Time stilled as every eye penetrated her like tiny needles pricking into various parts of her skin. Sweat beaded in her hair, as the last bit of saliva evaporated from her throat, her heart warning to give out at any moment. I can’t do this. I can’t lie to them. 

Her fingers fidgeted with the frayed seams of the robe. Right before she thought she would faint from the pressure, someone embraced her left hand. Cringing as her heart skipped a beat, and the pain revitalized her senses. She recognized the rough touch from years of skilled swordplay that it was her brother. Lucy wrapped her other hand with a gentle kindness that only an angel possessed.

An electric jolt shocked her body as if lightning had struck her, stealing her breath and lighting a fire in her soul. A surging wave rocked through her body with such intensity to drop her to her knees. She took a steadying breath, fortifying her grip against the pillars of strength at each hand, accepting the waterfall of knowledge being poured into her. Sending her mind on a mythical water ride, landing on a winding iridescent river flooded with blurred images. She peered through the glass-bottom boat, noticing the images cleared as she did. Seconds later, she saw Taniel’s and Lucy’s faces in the water. When she looked up, strange pink fireflies clustered near her, illuminating the path as the boat headed into a blinding cave.

Once emerging on the other side, Divina blinked into her unfamiliar surroundings, drifting like a cloud in an otherwise clear sky. Drawing her attention downward, she watched the wholesome scene below. Wild, unruly tufts of brown hair gave her brother’s identity away as he pushed a brown-eyed little boy on a new swing hanging from the old tree while Lucy sat a few feet away, braiding the hair of a little girl of the same age. 

Happy tears ran rivulets down Divina’s cheeks and fell from her chin like rain. If hearts could smile, hers did something stupendous. Her awakening had come, making her the first true Seer in over five hundred years. Her happiness broke through the wall of self-doubt and spilled into the words as she spoke her first vision, “You both will be wonderful parents to the twins. You’re having a little boy and a little girl. Congratulations!”