Seer

Natalie’s

She is lying in her bed, in the darkened room after her mother came and turned off the light, telling her to put her book down and go to sleep. But Natalie cannot sleep, her mind is too full of the events with Timothy tonight.

She looks up at me, sitting in my accustomed spot at the foot of her bed. “How is he doing?” she whispers to me.

“Timothy appears to have returned to normal, and feels perfectly well. He is curious about what happened, but does not know what should be done to find an answer. And he is reluctant to repeat the experiment until he feels that he understands more.”

“Do you and Guardian understand more?”

“No, my dear, I am afraid that we do not. We were both very surprised that Timothy seemed unwell as a result of the experiment. We did not believe that there was any genuine risk of harm.”

“Why didn’t you think so?”

That is a very pertinent question. “Because, darling, as you know, we cannot touch anything around us. You are the only person who can see me, but even you cannot touch me. We have never before experienced an event that appeared to result in some sort of actual contact with the physical world. We cannot fathom why it happened, other than it obviously had something to do with Guardian using increased energy to communicate with Timothy.”

“Do you think you will figure it out?”

“I do not know, my child. Please believe that we are both exerting a great deal of effort to attempt to understand what has occurred. We never wish to take part in anything that could harm Timothy, and will not be proceeding with such an experiment again until we feel confident that it is safe.”

“That’s going to make Timothy sad, if you can’t figure it out.”

“At this point, though, Timothy seems to agree. His experience has led him to feel that he must be cautious going forward. We must wait to see what will unfold. Perhaps we will find a way to renew the experiment without risk.”

She sighs, and flops over in her bed, discontent. I wish to distract her from this worry, so I change the subject. “You will have a pleasant visit with your friend on Saturday, when you get to spend the night in his home while your parents are away.”

“What are they doing, anyway?”

I know, of course, what her father is planning, and it has filled me with joy to anticipate Natalie’s delight if her mother accepts the proposal. But I do not wish to reveal the true purpose of the planned camping trip, in the unlikely event that it does not end with the desired result. I can never lie to her though. “Your father wishes to spend some time alone with your mother, and has arranged the camping trip to the desert for this purpose. He intends to cook a delicious meal, then spend the evening gazing at stars together.”

My little Seer, as always, is perceptive enough to know there is more behind this. She sits up, her face alight. “Hold on! He wants to set up a romantic date with Mom? Do you think this means they are going to promise to always stay together?”

I smile at her. She understands so much. “Quite possibly, my dear. That would be lovely.”

She chews on her bottom lip for a moment, thinking. “I want to know what’s happening. Will you be too far away to hear their guardians?”

“Yes, sweetheart, the desert is quite some distance from here, far beyond the normal range.”

“Do you think that you and Guardian could hear each other that far away?”

“I do not know, as we have not been that distant from each other since we learned our new method of communication. This new method seems so strong that our ability to hear each other does not diminish with distance. We do not know yet if there is a limit to the distance, though.”

“Too bad you can’t talk to Mom and Dad’s guardians.” She lays back down, but in a moment springs back up. “Wait a minute! Maybe you can! I mean, there isn’t any reason to only talk to Timothy’s guardian, right? I know Mom and Dad don’t know about them, but their guardians know about me and you, don’t they?”

“Certainly they do. All Guardians in a family are always aware of each other, and watch over all the members of the group.”

“Well, let’s try to talk to them! Maybe you could ask them to let you know how things are going on the camping trip!”

My little Seer has somehow found a new way to surprise me. I hadn’t considered that the group she has created with Timothy and his Guardian would expand to include others. I laugh, which feels strangely good after our stressful evening. “I believe that would be possible. However, I think their Guardians will be extremely surprised. Remember that Guardians do not normally speak with each other. This would be quite odd for them.”

“Well, let’s give it a try. I’ll start.” She pauses, considering how to begin. She raises her voice slightly above a whisper, but still not loud enough to attract her mother’s attention. “Hello, Mom’s guardian! Are you there? This is Natalie! Hello!” She broadcasts her thoughts as well as her voice. Of course the other Guardian hears this, as all Guardians in a family constantly monitor the other members nearby.

My laughter bubbles over. As I hear Brenda’s Guardian spring to attention with an air of absolute astonishment, I find it difficult to calm myself and attend to this new unexpected development.

The Guardian is initially speechless, but soon answers with a tenuous, “Yes, darling child, I am here.”

“Your mother’s Guardian hears you, Natalie, and is listening to see what you would like to do.”

“OK,” she says, not entirely sure what to do next. “Um,” she continues, “can you talk to Angel? So we can know how the camping trip goes?”

The Guardian somewhat haplessly turns to me. The fact that we are in different rooms of the home makes no difference to our ability to see and hear each other, of course. I must try to alleviate the shock and confusion that Natalie’s newest venture is creating. My beloved truly has no concept just how mind-boggling this is to a Guardian, to be addressed directly by a human. I speak in such a way that Natalie can hear my words. I must make this choice, now that I have learned how to communicate directly with Timothy’s Guardian in a way that Natalie cannot overhear. “My little Seer has requested that I begin communicating with you directly, as I have been doing with the Guardian of her friend Timothy. Her goal is to be able to monitor her parents as they enjoy their desert camping trip together.”

The Guardian wordlessly affirms an understanding, but cannot yet seem to reciprocate with direct communication to me. Unsurprising, since such an effort is outrageously peculiar for our kind. When I began speaking directly to Timothy’s Guardian a few weeks ago, it was not such a shock as Timothy and Natalie were already accustomed to involving both of their Guardians in their conversations and experiments. For Brenda’s Guardian, although our activities have of course been observed, this is the first time to be drawn into them. I appreciate the consternation that this can cause.

Natalie watches me closely. “Well?”

“Your mother’s Guardian is very surprised by this development, but is not unwilling to accommodate your wishes if possible.”

I turn back to Brenda’s Guardian. “If you are willing to partake in the same experiment that I performed with Timothy’s Guardian, we may be able to communicate with each other from a greater distance than normal. It is Natalie’s wish that we do this, so that you can give me updates while you are in the desert this weekend with Brenda.” I know the Guardian already understands this much, but I summarize the situation again both for Natalie’s benefit, and also to give the Guardian time to recover from the shock and begin to more actively participate.

Brenda’s Guardian acknowledges my efforts, and makes the first attempt to address directly another Guardian. “Yes, I am willing to try this unusual activity.”

I smile at the Guardian, then at Natalie. “Yes, my dear, your mother’s Guardian is willing to try.”

I regard the Guardian, who has assumed the form of a human woman, somewhat nebulous, the features ill-defined. Like many Guardians, it seemed best to have a shape that would assist in feeling connected to the human being Guarded. However, unlike my extremely tangible form, created so that Natalie can see me clearly, most Guardians do not craft a form with much detail. The outline is blurry, but the shape is female.

Natalie, unsurprisingly, is thinking along the same lines as myself. Often our thoughts flow in tandem, as our link is deeper than the mere conversations that we have with each other. “Is Mom’s guardian a girl or a boy?”

I am pleased that the question is phrased in this direct way. I have been waiting for Natalie and Timothy to ask questions about our physical appearance, and they haven’t thought to yet. But this makes the answer easy. “Her Guardian is a woman, my dear, like your mother.”

She nods. “Does she have a name?”

Of course she would wish to know something so tangible, so human. And so inapplicable. “No, my dear, Guardians do not need names.”

This is not satisfactory to her. “I wish she did. It’s going to get confusing to just keep calling her ‘Mom’s guardian.’ We already call Timothy’s guardian ‘Guardian.’”

Brenda’s Guardian, having accomplished the hurdle of making direct contact with me for the first time, finds it easier to do so again. “Perhaps you can suggest that Natalie assign a name with which to address me?”

Smiling at Natalie, I am pleased to convey this. “Your mother’s Guardian suggests that you might find an appropriate name to use.”

Natalie lights up, then frowns, a sense of weighty responsibility falling upon her. She looks around the room, and down at the book lying on her nightstand, which she had been reading before her mother came to turn off the light. The book contains children’s tales of knights and ladies. “I think,” she says slowly, looking at the book, “how about … just … ‘Lady’?”

The Guardian glows with pleasure at the novelty of having received an actual name for the first time in her existence. “Thank you, darling child, I am very pleased to be known by you as Lady. Thank you.”

Natalie is very happy when I relay this affirmation, and is ready to proceed with further discussions. However, I realize that it has grown quite late, and that the requirements of Natalie’s young human body for sleep will not be met if she stays awake much longer. I do not wish her day at school tomorrow to be impaired by fatigue.

“Now, my dear, I suggest that you lie down and close your eyes, and try to sleep. It is very late, I know you are tired, and you have school in the morning. Lady and I will work throughout the night on the effort of communicating, and I will give you a full report when you awake in the morning.”

She sighs and rolls her eyes. “I wish I didn’t have to sleep. It’s a waste of time.” Against her will, however, her body demands it by yawning. “Ok, fine, I’ll go to sleep. Good night Angel. Good night Lady. Thank you for helping with this. Good luck talking.” She lies back down, and is suddenly so tired that she can barely keep her eyes open. It doesn’t take long for sleep to envelop her.

The Guardian and I regard each other. She is overwhelmed with the bizarre situation she finds herself in. I am confident that we will be able to communicate with each other, just as I have learned to do with Timothy’s Guardian. But, we will take this slowly, so that Lady can adjust to her changed circumstances. We have all night.