Chantel and her travel companions stood at the edge of the Teacher’s village.
“So much has happened since Gabby and I left here, it doesn’t look the same,” Chantel said.
“That’s easy to explain,” Nixie said, standing next to her. “The village is the same. It’s you that’s changed.”
“Isn’t that the truth. Let’s go find Mom.” Chantel said, leading the group into the village.
“Hey, slow down,” Suki said, straining to get her cart moving again. “It takes a little for Shaun and I to get up to speed with these carts. Maybe we should rig the carts for two cats to pull each one.”
“Now that’s a thought,” Shaun said, following behind. “What are you thinking, side by side, or in line?”
“Neither one for now,” Suki replied, leaning into her harness. “I was just griping.”
At her mother’s house, Chantel went inside to see if Adriana was home. While they waited, Nixie helped Suki and Shaun unhook themselves from the carts.
“Thanks, Nixie. There’s always one fastener that’s hard to get to,” Suki said, stepping away from the cart.
“Write it down,” Shaun said. “We’ll come up with a fix for that when we get home.”
“Come on inside,” Chantel called from the doorway.
“Mom, this is Nixie, Suki, and Shaun.”
“Hello,” Adriana greeted them. “Are you three from Mystic village too?”
“Yes, we are,” Nixie replied.
“And you must be Adriana,” she added with a cryptic smile. “It seems like I already know you.”
“Nixie, let’s save that for last,” Chantel said, giving her a wink.
“Now you have me intrigued,” Adriana smiled. “Have you found anything interesting with the cave drawings?”
“More than you can imagine,” Chantel replied. “You might as well get comfortable. This story will take a while to tell. I probably should just tell it as it happened.”
She went through all that had happened from the time she first arrived at Mystic village up to when she returned from the site of the History tree.
After answering Adriana’s many questions, Chantel stopped just short of Nixie’s final part of the story.
“I’m glad to hear that Gabriella has been such a help,” Adriana said. “I would have thought she’d be here with you.”
“She wanted to come,” Chantel replied. “But she thought her work with the cave drawings was too important to put off.”
“Good for her. We’ve raised quite a girl,” Adriana said. “Tell her I’m proud of her.”
“Now it’s time to explain why Nixie came with us,” Chantel stated. “Nixie, you might as well tell her about your hidden talent.”
“Okay, here goes,” Nixie said, with a note of excitement. “Chantel already mentioned that I felt that the drawings were ‘talking’ to me. While she was off chasing the History tree, Gabby and I kept studying the cave drawings. One night while I was studying, I started seeing things. Vivid images of what the symbols and drawings actually represented. Sometimes the images were like vivid memories, and other times it was as if I was actually viewing the scene.”
“So you were having visions of the events depicted in the drawings,” Adriana said.
“Not only the events, but I could also see the people performing the actions,” Nixie said. “And that’s why I’m here.”
“Hang on a minute while I get my drawings,” she said, retrieving a folder.
“Here, Chantel, you show her,” Nixie said, nervously handing one of the drawings to Chantel.
“Look at this picture,” Chantel said, holding the picture that both she and Gabby had identified as being Adriana.
“That’s a beautiful picture,” Adriana said, admiring the details and the shading. “You’re very talented Nixie.”
“Look at the cat in the picture,” Chantel pressed. “Who does that look like?”
“Well, now that you mention it, it looks a lot like you, Chantel, and even Gabby for that matter.”
“Hmm, I think I see the problem,” Suki said.
“I assume you don’t see your own reflection very often,” she asked Adriana.
“We have come across a few objects made of gold with flat polished surfaces that might have been used to show one’s reflection, but I haven’t seen one of those personally. I suppose I have seen my reflection occasionally in a pool of water or a puddle after a rain storm.”
“Then you don’t really know what you look like,” Suki stated.
“No, I suppose not,” Adriana said, becoming a little impatient.
“Now’s a good time to remedy that,” Suki grinned. “Do you have a wide bowl, preferably made of dark material?”
“She does,” Chantel said. “I’ll get it.”
When she returned, Suki told her to place the bowl on the kitchen table and fill it with water.
Allowing the water to become still, she said, “Now, Adriana, look at your reflection in the water.”
Being careful to avoid any spilled water, Chantel laid the picture next to the bowl.
“Now, Mom, what do you see?”
“Damn!” Adriana exclaimed. “What am I supposed to think about that?”
“Mother! Language,” Chantel admonished, then laughed. “Sorry, I’ve just never heard you curse before.”
“I’ve never had such a good reason before,” Adriana replied, looking a little shaken.
Back in the living room, the cats were enjoying mugs of hot tea.
“I suppose you’re all waiting to hear what I think about the picture,” Adriana said, settling back in her chair.
“The source of the picture, Nixie’s visions, is incredible, and at least for now, unexplainable.”
“But with the picture in front of us, we have to accept it as real.”
“I should point out, though, when Chantel gets to be my age, you’re going to think it’s a picture of her.”
“Its a pretty good indication that we’re the direct descendants of the cat in Nixie’s vision.”
“That suggests ancestral memories passed down generation to generation. That could explain why each of the cats has been drawn to the Magic Valley.”
“Just a second,” Chantel said, searching around in her pack.
“Here it is.” She said, producing a small package and handing it to Adriana.
“Isis gave this to me to give to you.”
Adriana took the package and unwrapped it. There was a simple note inside.
It read, “There’s no doubt that this is yours. Come to us when you can.”
Under the note was a beautiful alabaster amulet. On its surface, intricate carvings depicted a stylized flower framed by twin scrolls.
Adriana picked up the amulet and held it to her heart, closing her eyes with a soft smile.
After a moment, she opened her eyes and sat up with a bright smile.
“So, it sounds like we have a grand adventure ahead of us.”
Suki couldn’t contain herself anymore and burst out laughing.
Adriana gave her a puzzled look. “Why do you find that’s funny?”
“Oh no, it’s not that,” Suki said, still chuckling. “It’s your aura. It sparkles!”
“My aura, you say?” Adriana asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.
“Yes, it was a talent that I’d tried to learn ever since Star, one of the Rangers, said she could see that I might have the ability. She offered to help me develop it. When Star and her mate, Stony, had a rather energetic reunion, my ability to see auras just suddenly burst forth.”
“When we first met, I saw your golden aura. Just now, as you sat with your eyes closed, bright sparkles appeared floating in the golden swirls of your aura. I’ve never seen that before.”
“And you say this Ranger, Star, has the ability too?”
“She does. She said many of the artists in her village also have the ability.” Suki replied, starting to feel uneasy.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything,” she said. “I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
“Not at all, Suki. I think it’s wonderful,” Adriana told her. “I just hadn’t heard of it before.”
“But now, I’d like to see more of Nixie’s drawings.”
Once she had gone though all the drawings, Chantel handed her copies of the sketches of the cave drawings.
“We hope to bring you full color copies, but it’s going to be a while before we have those,” Chantel said. “But let Nixie show you which sketches go with which of her ‘vision’ drawings.”
Looking over at Shaun, Adriana commented, “You’re being awfully quiet. You’re not shy, are you?”
“Not really,” he answered. “I just don’t have much to contribute.”
“Chantel has all the stories, Nixie has her drawings, and Suki is reading auras. That doesn’t leave much for me.”
“Well, don’t you worry,” Adriana assured him. “Just standing around being good looking is more than enough.”
He grinned, trying not to blush, “I think I’m in dangerous company,”
Chantel asked, “Mom, have you found anything useful relating to the plague or the cure?”
“Just repetitions of the legend with minor variations between the versions,” Adriana replied. “And no mention of the intentional destruction of the violet flowers that your cave drawings show.”
“Now that you’re aware of that, maybe you’ll find something in the libraries,” Chantel said.
“I’m curious, have you found anyone to help you with the search?”
“I have a couple of friends who are certainly capable, but I’m not sure how seriously they would take this whole idea,” Adriana answered. “And I’m not sure I could trust them to keep it secret.”
“Maybe I could help with that,” Suki said with a sly grin. “Auras can tell a lot about a cat’s character as well as their emotions.”
“If we could meet them while we’re here, we might learn something.”
“I’m not sure whether to be intrigued or afraid,” Adriana said, studying Suki.
“Not to worry, my aura is clean and pure,” Suki replied with a grin. “Star said so.”
Later that day, when the Mystic cats were exchanging shiners and minerals for paper and art supplies, Suki was with Adriana when she stopped to visit with her two friends.
Adriana casually brought up the idea of a new variant of the legend of the plague. Suki paid close attention to their auras and how they changed as Adriana brought up different possibilities.
When they moved on, Adriana asked, “What do you think, are they good choices?”
“The impressions that I got from observing their auras, was that they both pretended to be interested, when they were actually irritated that you would even propose such an idea.”
“I think I’d like to talk to Star about reading auras. I can see it’s a useful talent to have.” Adriana stated.
“Well, she did say that it was possible that anyone might have the ability,” Suki said.
“Well, for now,” Adriana said, “I’ll keep all this to myself. And anyway, I have a suspicion that help will show up when I need it.”