Seer

Natalie

I know that Timothy doesn’t approve of my experiment with Jonathan. I don’t want him to be upset with me, but I am positive that I can help Jonathan be nicer. I can’t stop now, especially when I know that it is already working. Jonathan didn’t do one mean thing all weekend, and Angel said that he wasn’t even thinking about mean stuff. He was just playing with me and Gabe, and we were all enjoying the new puppy.

I think this will work! And if this works, I know that I will be able to help even more people.

So I just have to try to convince Timothy that it is going to be okay.

I show him the notes that I wrote in my notebook last night, about the time that I spent with Jonathan. When we were playing together with the Legos he felt fine about me being there, and even liked the flags that I made for their castle. Then when we were playing in the yard with the puppy all day, I think Jonathan was actually happy that I was there. He kept giving me things to use, like toys and balls, to play with the dog.

I think having a puppy will be another thing that will help Jonathan be a nicer person. Angel told me that he wasn’t thinking about anything mean at all, that he was just loving having a dog. And I love the dog so much. I already miss holding the little thing, he was so cute, and he seemed to love me just as much. I can’t wait until I get to see him again next weekend. I hope Jonathan has thought of a name for him by then.

I definitely want to stick with the experiment. Maybe I’ll even try to spend some time with Jonathan and Gabe at school, at recess or lunch. But I have to make sure that Timothy will be all right if I do that.

When Timothy finishes reading my notes, he looks up. “Well,” he says, “I guess that so far it’s going okay. But how do you know if Jonathan is really getting nicer, or if he just managed to spend two days without hurting you?”

“Angel is watching, and telling me everything he is thinking. If he started thinking about mean stuff, or was going to do something bad, Angel would tell me first so I could stop it.”

Timothy doesn’t look convinced. “But how would you stop it? He’s bigger than you. And meaner than you could ever be. You might not expect whatever is going to happen, and you wouldn’t be able to protect yourself.” He looks very anxious about this.

I know I can stop Jonathan if he tries to do something bad, but I have to think about how I know. Timothy watches me while I think. One of the things I love about our friendship is that we are each very patient when the other one is trying to think of how to say something. So he waits for me. I listen to Angel, too.

“Well,” I finally say, “I’m not sure how to explain it. But I just know I can. I have always been able to help people see things in a different way.”

He still doesn’t look convinced, so I tell him, “I’ve done it with you. Especially when we were smaller, if you were upset about something, I could just touch you, and be close to you, and it would help you calm down. Do you remember?”

He gets a faraway look in his eyes, then nods. “Yes, I remember.” But he still doesn’t look happy. “I just hope that it works on Jonathan too.”

Angel whispers to me, “Your friend is very worried that you are taking the risk of being harmed by Jonathan. However, you are correct that your touch and presence are able to calm others, including Timothy, and now Jonathan. You should reassure Timothy that I will be with you, and that if Jonathan seems inclined to do something harmful, I will alert you at once so that you can change his mind. Or if you can’t, you can at least avoid him.”

So I tell Timothy, “Angel will be with me, and he will be able to warn me if something bad is going to happen. If it is, I will either try to get Jonathan not to do it, or if I can’t, I’ll just leave. I will be safe. Please don’t worry about me, Timothy.”

He sighs. I can tell he’s still worried, but I know I’ll be okay. He’ll see.

“Well,” he says, “what are the next steps in the experiment?” He figures there isn’t anything he can do to stop me, so at least he’ll help me get organized.

“Thank you, Timothy,” I tell him. “Thank you for trusting me. This will work.”

He looks sad, but determined to help me. I am so lucky that he’s my friend.

Timothy’s

My sweet boy is trying so hard to achieve communication with me. While talking to the Seer about her project with Jonathan, he tried to concentrate on her experiment. But a part of his mind was still involved with the idea he was developing to further experiment with me.

Now that we are alone, we don’t have the benefit of Natalie and Angel to translate for us. Of course I hear everything he is thinking and saying, and I try to transmit feelings of love and unity to him.

We perform our new nightly ritual, in which Natalie writes a word in her notebook at 8 p.m. in her home, and Timothy tries to hear me tell him what it is. The word tonight is “river”, inspired by her reading of the children’s bible, which she has been studying in an attempt to better understand how religions develop. She is very taken by the fable of the mother of Moses placing her infant into a basket on the river, in the hopes that he would reach safety. I try to transmit the image of the river to Timothy, as he opens his mind to me and I imbue the word with power. He glimpses the image, and writes “water.” Again, he is so close, but yet unsatisfied.

“Guardian,” he says, “I want to try this a new way. If you are talking to the part of my mind that dreams, I want to try to keep my mind open while I fall asleep. Let’s see if I can hear you when I’m almost dreaming.”

I send him my feelings of love and approval and willingness, and he is able to sense them dimly. He does not truly appreciate how much progress he has made. His ability to regularly detect my feelings is a great achievement. Yet he does not feel that it is tangible enough.

I continue to talk to him, as he lies on his pillow and drifts towards sleep, keeping his mind open as much as possible as drowsiness overtakes him. Just as he is nearly asleep, an incredible thing happens.

We connect. We truly connect. He hears that I am repeating the word “river” to him lovingly, over and over.

It jolts him awake.

“River!” he bursts out, and scrambles to his notebook, crossing out what he had written earlier, and writing the word “river” in the light of the streetlamp outside his window.

“Thank you, Guardian, it worked! Please tell Angel.”

He climbs back into bed, and is somehow able to find sleep quickly.

Overwhelmed with joy and love, I transmit the information to Angel, and hear him informing Natalie. They are both filled with a sense of triumph over Timothy’s achievement.

She addresses me directly, knowing I will be able to hear her from next door. “Guardian, thank you!,” the sweet little Seer tells me. “Timothy wanted this so much. I’m so happy it worked. I’m sure that he’ll find a way to keep going with it. I think soon you guys will be able to talk all the time. Good night!”

Brenda’s

My beloved and her soon-to-be husband are in each other’s arms, believing the children are asleep, enjoying their renewed love for each other. As always during these times, his Guardian and I observe quietly, reveling in the glowing souls of our Guarded as they experience their delights. Passion, when imbued with love, can expand the soul more than almost any other human experience.

Natalie breaks into my thoughts, as she has been doing every night since she began including me in her extraordinary group. “Good night, Lady. Good night, Knight.” She giggles a little at the homonyms, hearing the word sounds repeat.

She has continued to keep all the Guardians in the family in her thoughts. It is amazing how she has united us into a clan of individuals, all perfectly real in her mind, humans and Guardians alike. I do not know if I will ever grow accustomed to the marvelous sensation of belonging that it brings to be part of this collective, rather than just a solitary Guardian tending to the life of a singular human.

“Good night, sweet Natalie.” I know Angel will relay my response.