Rilestone: Fulfillment

Author's Note: This is more an excerpt from the Rilestone Series in the works.

"Thousands shall march, from near and far,

Fast held the rumors of war sewn;

Kin born from Four, they stay where they are,

Graves paved to those they own

By the blood of the Morning Star."

Rilestone stood up, having kneeled in deep prayer after his training was done. It was his voice, but it had sounded distant. He felt no malevolence, no presence of any sort from an ill being. He quickly smelled the air; no, no brimstone, so no Hellhounds nearby. What about the Man of Gray?

He shook his head again. He had no congress with the Man of Gray for a few months, even though the influence lingered over many in the world.  To be fair, many an influence had come and gone, leaving a lasting consequence on the populace in one form or another including upon himself.  No, this was something...direct. A strict but fair voice, one that commanded authority like a father yet held a gentleness like a mother, giving both fear and hope. Yet, the voice speaking was clearly his! Confused, he walked out of his room and went downstairs.

Pulling out a metal container of fresh water from the fridge, he downed a cup and wandered over to the front door. The afternoon was making its transition to the evening as the sun headed past the forest and over the horizon, peeking over as if making sure everything was as it left them. He felt like the light was shining upon him as if he stood upon a stage, readying to give a speech to his audience of the grass and trees. He drank another cup of water and pondered the words that still echoed within his mind, etched by a tool beyond his understanding. Then again, he was nine years old, and much was beyond his understanding for now.

This was not the first time something strange bled from seemingly nowhere onto his brain, leaving him puzzled yet intrigued. He recalled his dreams, and then it occurred to him that both the message and the dreams could be connected. It had to be a warning, something had happened and now the consequences were running rampant! Or, he considered, it had not happened yet, and he was delivered a preview. That left only the big question:

What did it all mean?

His mother, Lily, called out to him. Dinner would be ready and his father, Harris, was coming home soon after working late. Such was not a regular occurrence and, he thought, maybe it had something to do with what he had...what was the word? Envisioned. He shook his head; it was time to prepare for dinner. He would ask his parents, maybe they knew something that would facilitate his dilemma.

"I'm home!"

"Hi, Dad!" Rilestone greeted his father first, smiling at the orange-haired man back from his security company.

"Hello, son! You behaved all day? Minded your mother, said your prayers, stayed healthy and educated?"

Rilestone smiled. "All that and a little more, Dad. And I remembered to have fun, too."

Harris returned the smile and rubbed his son's white hair. "That's the benefit of childhood, remember not to squander it. You should tell me what you do for fun sometime. Ah, my lovely wife!"

Lily looked up, about to grab the pot of beef broccoli. "Honey, good afternoon! Had a good day?" She welcomed his kiss, attaching her own smile as she looked fondly upon the man. He gave the affirmative, grabbing another pot full of rice. "Thank you, dear. Rilestone, if you could bring the milk and water, please?"

Rilestone obliged, and all three headed to the set dinner table; it was a good meal passed down from Chinese-American families of decades past. The discussions were usually between Lily and Harris, with Rilestone chipping in here and there when he felt that it was appropriate. As dinner was coming to a close, Rilestone held onto a thought, growing like a balloon until he worried that his parents would notice that something was wrong with either a burst or a release. He opted for the latter, and asked:

"Do...do prophecies still happen to this day?"

He saw his father pause, chewing slower as he reviewed the question; his mother, in turn, looked over at his dad, not slowing her eating but, instead, looked upon him with admirable curiosity as she anticipated his answer. Finally, the response came: "Well, son, I believe that, given we're not yet in the Tribulation period, the prophecies are still abound and repeated, being passed from one chosen person to the next. Nowadays, we don't hear much from prophets. That could be because they were hunted before the Second Civil War and are hiding still, or they have integrated themselves back into the public and kept the prophecies quiet until they were away from influential politicians afraid of powers beyond theirs. That's just my thought, I could be wrong. Lily, what about you?"

Lily passed her gaze from her husband to her son, then looked down at her plate before offering her thoughts: "I had lived a life that saw the rise of extraordinary individuals and unpredictable events, yet there was always a seemingly logical conclusion. Then I was introduced to God, after which my eyes were opened even more; the supernatural does exist, not just in one country or amongst pieces of history. Being shown the future is illogical unless a supernatural element was involved; scrutiny can be applied, by all means, but how do we prove what is beyond us aside from what is given, either by word or by senses?" She lifted her eyes, now focusing her attention upon Rilestone. "Why do you ask?"

His father and mother were looking at him, meaning that they expected an answer! Rilestone paused, trying to construct a reason that he asked. If he mentioned the thoughts and dreams, they might think that he was being affected by malignant forces and revert to their previous overprotective nature. But at the same time, these were his parents! He couldn't and shouldn't lie to them. But how was he to phrase this?

"I...uh...I may have...seen - no, heard one...from...me, I think?"

Now the whole table was silent, both parents were looking at him with what appeared to be adamant concern, and Rilestone almost immediately regretted saying anything. He thought, "Oh, they're gonna lock me away and follow me everywhere I go!" Gritting his teeth behind pursed lips, he waited for the inevitable.

Finally, his dad placed his fork down and leaned forward towards Rilestone, his mother following suit. "What did you see or hear, son?"

Rilestone resisted a breath of relief; he wasn't out of the woods yet. He relayed the poem to his parents verbatim, and he even added the strange presence he felt, adding that the very air held no ill-will. When he was done, his parents relaxed a little, sitting back in their chairs as those words now echo inside their skulls. Rilestone averted their gaze, taking in the sight of the table lying before him.

After a few minutes, all three ended up finishing their meal and cleaned up afterwards, not mentioning what was spoken nor what any of them thought upon the subject. Once the doors of the fridge, cabinets, and dishwasher had closed, Harris cleared his throat. Both Lily and Rilestone looked to him, and he gently spoke:

"I imagine that there are more questions brewing over this occurrence. Believe me, Rilestone, I wish that either I or your mother had answers to give, but we're only human. We have not been given this provision of what is to be, so we shall trust in God that you were chosen to receive this message for a reason. Write it down, if need be, but this must not leave any of us. Either people will not understand, or people will panic; either way benefits neither them nor us. In time, we might see this vision play out, and all we can do is pray and prepare."

He walked over and wrapped his strong left arm around his wife; she, in turn, wrapped her right arm around his back and gripped his side with hardened fingers. Harris reached over to his son with his strong right arm, and Rilestone obeyed by walking over and placing both of his arms upon his parents as his father enveloped him. "We are still a family, no matter what is in our blood or our history; keep God above, do not let this frighten you. Remember, Rilestone, that your mother and I will always be here for you."

Rilestone never forgot that oath. Tilting his head up to behold the faces of his mom and dad, he gave his own oath: "I will never forget." Then he became concerned in turn, and asked, "What do you think that message meant?"

Harris tilted his head. "I don't know. But by whatever means we shall use to find out, we will find out together."

Harris closed his eyes in relief, grinning from ear to ear. "Oh, yeah! Together."