Demon

Natalie’s

As we arrive home I know that Natalie’s parents are waiting in the living room with boxes of decorations, and I anticipate that the children will be distracted by the prospect of decorating for the upcoming Christmas holiday. Our discussion, therefore, will be delayed.

Natalie, in entering the front door, immediately goes to where her parents have the open boxes of decorations on the floor. “Oooh! Is it time to decorate?”

Gabe, although not as excited about Christmas decorations as his sister, enters the living room as well. He drops onto an armchair and lifts his injured ankle to lie on the footrest.

Her mother responds to Natalie, “Not quite. We’ll go and pick out a tree tomorrow. I need to get the decorations from my house, too.”

“When?” Natalie asks. Timothy remains standing in the entryway, waiting for this conversation to end, wishing to proceed with the discussion regarding Jonathan. He is focused on the fact that they are mid-experiment and that the data needs to be analyzed.

“Well,” Brenda responds, “I’m thinking we can take Timothy home later, and then go to my house to get out the Christmas stuff.”

“Okay,” Natalie says brightly. Then her eyes fall on the luminaria ornament, and she seizes it with a sharp intake of breath. “Ooooh!” she begins.

But her father, realizing where she is going with this, preempts her with a grin. “How would you guys like to set up luminarias again this year on Christmas Eve?”

“Yes!” she enthuses, and looks to her brother and friend for their agreement.

“Sure,” Gabe says.

“Okay,” adds Timothy.

Her expression of joy dims slightly. They are clearly not as thrilled as she is.

“My dearest, do not be disappointed that they do not seem as enthusiastic as you. This is an activity that will be enjoyed by all, once again this year. I believe that your ability to find exceptional delight in all things is one of the many very special things about you.” I smile fondly at her.

She sighs, shrugs, and sets the luminaria ornament back in the box. Looking at the boys, she suggests, “Want to go upstairs?”

“Yes,” Timothy says. That is what he was waiting for.

Gabe gets his crutches and hauls himself to his feet. His ankle is experiencing some discomfort after spending the morning standing and throwing balls.

When the children arrive in Natalie’s room, I tell her, “Your brother’s ankle is painful. Perhaps he would be more comfortable lying down again.”

She immediately sets about ensuring his comfort. She invites him to lie on the bed, elevates his foot with a pillow, and asks if she can get him anything.

He grins. “Nope, I’m all good now. Thanks, sis. So, what did you all learn about Jonathan?” He is eager to discuss our findings as well.

Timothy retrieves his notebook and waits with a pencil at the ready. Natalie looks to me, and says, “Angel, what was going on that you were confused about?”

Yes, of course she noticed my perplexity. More and more, the sharing of feelings between us is becoming mutual. It is not only I who knows her emotions, but she seems to be growing in the ability to sense mine. She still needs me to speak directly to her, though, in order to know my thoughts. I wonder, briefly, if this might ever evolve as well.

“It has to do with the state of Jonathan’s soul.”

“I was actually wondering about that,” Timothy interjects. “I asked Guardian to check out how his soul was doing without Demon, or whether Demon had even taken it with him when he left.”

“A very astute inquiry, Timothy.”

Gabe observes from the bed, his head and foot both resting on pillows. He asks, “What?” He is not as familiar with this topic as are Natalie and Timothy, who after all have been avidly pursuing the topic of Guardians for months. Therefore, I begin with a summary of what the children know so far.

“When a human is born, a Guardian brings to them a soul to share. The human’s actions in life develop the soul, and the Guardian whispers encouragement throughout the lifetime of the human. Once the human lifetime is complete, the soul returns to the Guardian, to be held forevermore.”

Gabe listens to Natalie repeat my words, trying to comprehend. This all still seems very new and strange to him.

“The Guardian is tied to the soul. Never before have I, nor any of the other Guardians who have witnessed Jonathan’s current circumstances, beheld a human whose Guardian has apparently vanished, leaving the soul behind.”

Natalie continues to relay my words, primarily to Gabe, to help him understand as well as she and Timothy do.

“In answer to your question, Timothy, no, Demon did not take the soul with him. Jonathan retains his soul.”

Timothy nods and writes in his notebook.

“However,” I continue, “his soul is greatly diminished. As a human’s life unfolds, their soul increases, glowing with power as the human’s actions nourish the growing soul. To a Guardian, the soul is visible as a sort of glowing light within and surrounding the human.”

Natalie’s brow creases with concentration, as she imagines the sight. “Do you mean, like, an aura? I read about that somewhere. That some people can see other people’s auras?”

“Yes, exactly, an aura is an apt way to describe the appearance of the soul to a Guardian. It is quite unlikely that many humans have really been able to perceive this, however. It would certainly be very unusual. The soul is also comprised of matter that cannot interact with the physical world, and therefore is not visible to humans.”

The children all glance at each other, wondering if they might be able to detect the souls’ auras. “No, my children, you cannot see each other’s souls. I do, however, as do all Guardians.”

Timothy asks, “So, you said that something about Jonathan’s soul is confusing?”

The child’s intelligence continues to impress. He does not forget any detail, even without taking notes. “Yes, something unusual has occurred. More unusual than the mere fact of Demon’s absence. From the moment that Demon vanished, Jonathan’s soul has been extremely small, very dim, barely visible.”

Gabe is following along, and asks, “Is that why he’s been acting so weird? Because his soul shrank?”

“It is unclear whether his decreased level of activity is due to the absence of his Guardian, or the reduction of his soul, or both. Likely it is both.”

“The whole reason his soul shrank is because Demon is gone, though, right?” Gabe inquires. “So it really isn’t two different things, is it? It’s just one thing.”

His observation is quite accurate. Although I have grown accustomed to both Natalie and Timothy making statements that display a deep understanding of the world, to see Gabe do so is both a pleasure and a surprise. I must give him more credit in future.

Gabe’s Guardian, who has been named Aaron by the Seer, regards me wryly, of course already being familiar with Gabe’s high level of intelligence. I shrug and smile to indicate my concurrence.

“Yes, Gabe, you are correct. Jonathan’s soul is only smaller because of the absence of his Guardian. It can be described as aspects of a single event.”

“You already knew his soul was smaller, though, right?” Timothy asks. “Was there something else confusing that happened today?”

The young scientist pulls the discussion back to the specifics of the experiment. “Yes, Timothy, something new happened, something very surprising.” The children stare at me, waiting breathlessly to hear what new development I have to report. “We do not know why, but when Natalie touched him, his soul briefly brightened again.”

The children seem interested in this information, but clearly do not grasp the import. Timothy writes in his notebook. “So,” Natalie muses, “touching Jonathan can help him?”

“Perhaps, my dear. However, when others have touched him, including his parents, there was no improvement in his soul. It was only your touch, Natalie, that made any difference.”

Gabe looks over at his sister, thinking that the more he learns about her, the stranger it gets. “Ah, my darling,” Aaron whispers to him. Gabe, like always, will not sense the message, but as with all Guardians, this does not dissuade the effort. “Your sister is unique, and marvelous, and it is wonderful that she has chosen to include you in the group of people who know about Guardians. I am so pleased that you have learned of our existence, and that your knowledge continues to expand.”

“Why only her?” Timothy asks, wanting more specific information.

“I do not know, Timothy, but your Guardian and I have speculated about this. We assume it is because, as a Seer, her ability to perceive her own Guardian must extend to a further ability to interact with the matter that comprises a soul. But we do not understand how, or why.”

“Huh,” Timothy says, his mind racing. He has been presented with a mystery, which is as equally puzzling to Guardians as to humans. Timothy does not view this as a satisfactory answer. He will not allow a mystery to remain unexplored. To Timothy, this is simply an invitation to devise an experiment to uncover the secrets. His mind begins crafting a series of questions, and he speedily writes in his notebook.

Natalie watches him eagerly, anticipating the process that she knows is about to unfold. Gabe looks quizzically at his sister, and she smiles and puts her finger to her lips. He shrugs and lays back against the pillow, figuring he’ll just have to wait to see what is happening.