75 - Wishing Well

Although her reading with Shravan hadn’t gone as well as she’d hoped, Maia was still determined to go through with her plan to use her lucky coin at the wishing well. Even though she was troubled about the unknowns that could arise, knowing that the fairies would bring Samael to her diminished the few doubts she had. Whatever the price, Maia was certain that having her soulmate in her life would be worth it.

But before she could make her wish, Chasin and Cruz aged up to toddlers.

And so, Maia had her hands full with toddler training again.

By the time she had finished teaching the tots their skills, all the other kids were ready to age up. First, the family celebrated the triplets’ birthdays.

Happy birthday Maddox!

Happy birthday Chance!

Happy birthday Felicity!

And shortly after, the teens aged up and were ready to graduate from high school.

Happy birthday Kieran!

Happy birthday Keegan!

Happy birthday Biscuit!

Happy birthday Boomer!

The four boys graduated with honors and Kieran was named valedictorian.

They were all ready to pursue their schooling and career training:  Kieran in the medical field, Keegan as a firefighter, Biscuit as a chef and Boomer as an inventor and demolitions expert. Maia hugged them all goodbye.

The following day, after the triplets were off to their first day of school, Maia set up Chasin and Cruz to play and bond with their IF dolls, Rumble and Ramble.

Leaving A.C.E. in charge of the tots, Maia finally went to the site of the wishing well.  She was ready to take her first steps on a new path in her life, and had finally made it here—the place where her dream would begin to come true...

Maia stepped up to the well and took a deep breath as she prepared herself to make her wish.  She closed her eyes and thought about Samael and how much she longed for his immediate return.  She focused only slightly on the particulars of his appearance since Shravan mentioned he had looked so different in the scrying crystal. Instead, Maia concentrated on the feelings she had involving the romantic bond and deep connection they had shared in the past. Then she opened her eyes and tossed her lucky coin into the well.

And she waited. Hours passed; day slowly became night, and still nothing happened. Maia was about ready to accept defeat when finally, the well-dwelling fairies appeared!

Moments later, a frog suddenly jumped from the well and leaped straight at her!

Maia somehow caught the slippery frog and stared at it in shocked dismay.

“Oh, come on! Seriously?!”  Maia glared at the shimmering pink fey hovering above the well as she held the slimy creature away from herself.  

She thought she heard the faintest of tinkling giggles and smooching noises in response.  Tricksy pixies! Maia sighed. She probably should have expected this sort of thing from fairies.

Maia contemplated the frog in her hands, wondering if she could actually bring herself to kiss the amphibian, when a thought occurred to her.  Trevor had referred to himself as a frog shortly after he’d given her the lucky coin, and he and Samael, although quite different, did have some physical similarities.  Could he be her Prince after all?

“Trevor? Is... Is that you?” she asked, feeling more than a little silly to be talking to a frog.

“RIBBET!”

“You would say that! Well, I guess there’s only one way to find out...”

Hesitantly, Maia puckered up and kissed the fairy tale frog.

A blinding flash of light erupted and the frog vanished abruptly. And in place of the be-spelled frog, amid a colorful shower of sparkles, stood a man.

“Samael?!”

And it was! The man who had been summoned by the fairies of the well was the same man she had seen in her dreams over and over again. The unparalleled joy she felt was mirrored in his eyes, and though neither spoke, no words were needed.

Slowly, Samael reached for her.

But suddenly, the air rippled strangely.  Maia felt a blast of heat against her face and her vision blurred.  Eyes watering, she blinked repeatedly, attempting to regain her sight.

And when she did, it was no longer her dream version of Samael that stood before her.  Instead, it was...

“REID!”

Of course it was him! She and Reid had had an instant connection from the moment they’d met in Isla Paradiso. Those summer days had truly been paradise for Maia, and it made perfect sense to Maia that Reid was her soulmate, even if Shravan couldn’t explain the whys behind such a phenomenon.  But maybe Reid himself could clarify what happened?

“Maia? What? How did I get here?”  Reid asked.

Well, maybe he needed some time to adjust first. But Maia couldn’t help but ask, “Do you remember who you are?  Do you remember the name Samael?”

Reid gave Maia an odd look and slowly said, “Ye-eaah, I’m Reid Calder and you’re Maia Lee. I don’t think I know a Samael, but... the name is really familiar for some reason.  Now it’s your turn.  Exactly how did I go from a beach in Isla Paradiso to uh, here?”

“I made a wish for my soulmate, and the fairies brought you to me,” Maia answered simply. 



She found it a little strange that he didn’t seem to remember his past life as Samael, but it wasn’t as though Maia had always known about her own past lives either. Maybe now that they were together again Reid would soon begin to remember his previous incarnation too, and she decided she would call him Reid until he did. 

Maia gazed adoringly at him.  While it was true she didn’t know a great deal about Reid, they had the rest of their lives to be together and she would learn. Reid was a gift; her wish come true in the form of the soulmate destiny had perhaps only intended to reward her with once her challenge was complete. But she had circumvented fate, and had him now!

Maia embraced Reid and gave him a passionate kiss. She would never be alone again.

But as they left the well to go home, Maia’s attention was so taken with Reid that she neither noticed the agitated fluttering of the fairies nor did she hear the whisper-soft voices that babbled urgently over the splashing of the water in the well.

“... Sorry...”

“... We tried...”

“... Did our best...”

“... We’re sorry...”

“... So sorry...”

“... Not Sam!”

74 - Threads of Destiny

Maia soon found out that she was expecting again following her encounter with Trevor.

Maddox, Chance and Felicity had also reached toddlerhood.

Maia went to work on teaching her triplets their skills during her pregnancy.

And she made sure to give the tots plenty of time to play with their IFs Gamble, Bluff and Roulette.

Not long afterwards, Maia went into labor and gave birth to twins.

Welcome Chasin!

And welcome Cruz!

Holding her new babies in her arms made Maia think about Trevor, and the conversation she’d had with him about chasing after her dreams.  She still carried the lucky coin he’d given her in her pocket, but hadn’t tried using it at the wishing well yet. She’d told herself that she had simply been too busy to make the attempt, but while that was partly true, it wasn’t the real reason...

If Maia was honest with herself, she had to admit that she was afraid to try.  What if she made her wish and it failed?

“If it fails, then you at least you’ll know,” Joy told her when Maia discussed her fears with her friend. “And if you can’t get Samael back through the wishing well, that doesn’t mean that another way isn’t possible.”

“It’s just... right now, I have hope,” Maia explained. “But if this lucky coin doesn’t work, I don’t know that I’ll even have that anymore because this is the only way I know of that might get him back! And I never want to go back to feeling how I did before.”

“Well, you are a fortuneteller,” Joy reminded her.  “Have you tried any of your divination methods to see what the future might hold?  Maybe if using the coin in the well doesn’t work, you might be able to find another way that would.”

“I’ve tried scrying, but I find it very difficult to read for myself,” Maia said. “The images I get are so confusing! The present is sort of mixed up with my dream, and I’m not sure about what I’m being shown; I can’t tell if they’re memories of the past or visions of a potential future.”

“Well, what about asking Shravan? Maybe he could give you some insight.”

Maia had to agree that probably was the best plan, so she called and scheduled a reading with Shravan.

In the meantime, it was time for her fairy twins’ birthdays.

Happy birthday Kieran!

Happy birthday Keegan!

Afterwards, Kieran and Keegan made Biscuit and Boomer real.

Maia taught the four boys to drive.

And later, it came time for all the teens to go to their prom. Layla was crowned Prom Queen and Thaddeus managed to charm his classmates into voting him Prom King.  Thad also must’ve used his charisma to avoid confrontations, because he was the only one of Maia’s teens to not get into a fight at prom that evening.

While Maia waited for her appointment with Shravan, she spent time with her older kids, encouraging their interests.

Thaddeus was quite scholarly; he was a genius who loved reading, learning new things and sharing that knowledge as a tutor.  He was very good at helping other kids with their skilling and was planning on a career in education.

Layla was a born athlete and was always playing sports, working out, and trying to improve herself physically.  She hoped to become a sports star.

Mischief was a prankster who loved playing practical jokes and making others laugh. She was considering getting a job performing as an acrobat.

Dusty was a computer nerd.  He enjoyed playing video games and looked forward to a future career in game design and development.

Kieran had gotten a part-time job working at the local hospital in preparation for his plan to become a physician.  He was eager to help as many patients as possible achieve wellness through healthy eating and herbal medicines.

Biscuit enjoyed cooking and hoped to be just like the celebrity chefs he saw on TV.

Boomer liked tinkering with gadgets and spent a lot of time in the junkyard collecting scrap metals for his inventions. But he had the most fun when he was detonating things! Ka-boom!

Keegan was quite handy and excelled at repairing mechanical things.  He had considered becoming a repairman, but a small blaze at the local junkyard, which he managed to put out, made him to decide on a career as a firefighter instead.

It was soon time for Thad, Layla, Dusty and Mischief to celebrate their birthdays and graduate.

Happy birthday Thaddeus!

Happy birthday Layla!

Happy birthday Dusty!

Happy birthday Mischief!

All of them graduated with highest honors and Thaddeus was named class valedictorian.

Maia hugged them goodbye, and the four of them moved out to begin pursuing their dreams.

The following day, Maia met with Shravan for her reading, hoping to find out what would happen if she used the lucky coin she had received from Trevor to make her own dream a reality.

“I want to have Samael back, but I’m not sure if this lucky coin will work,” Maia explained. “Do you know if the legend of the wishing well is true?  And is it possible for the fairies to bring me my soulmate like they did for the youngest brother?” Maia asked him.

“Oh, it’s true! And I’m acquainted with some of the fairies that live in that well personally, so I know they have the power to grant wishes of that nature, if that’s what you’re asking,”  Shravan answered. “But that doesn’t mean there won’t be potential consequences or obstacles to overcome.”

“Like what?”

“Well, what if it’s not the right time for you to be with Samael yet? What if he’s in between incarnations?  Could you deal with him returning to you as a ghost, for instance? What if he’s not the person you believe him to be? What if being with him now causes you to abandon your task? We all have threads of destiny that tie us to others, and your destiny is entwined with the fate of this world and everyone in it due to the challenge you’ve undertaken. The choice you make could have far-reaching implications if it affects the prophecy.”

“I understand your concerns, and I’ve given thought to some of the same questions you have,” Maia told Shravan. “But I would never willingly abandon my task.  Also, I think that if Samael is truly my soulmate, he would at least listen to me so I could explain the necessity of doing the challenge—surely someone who loves me back that deeply would understand! And I would take him as he is, no matter what form he’s in now... I love him with everything that I am!”

“I know. But what about your recurring dream and the missing piece of it?  The danger that you felt around him but couldn’t explain concerns me.  Have you considered that same danger may return to your life if Samael does?”

 

“I don’t know what the missing piece of my dream is about,” Maia told him honestly, although she didn’t mention that she always woke herself up before the dream could get to that point. “But it doesn’t necessarily follow that we’d even face the same peril we did all those lifetimes ago. And whatever that danger may be, if it turns up again, we will face it together—to have Samael back is worth the risk!”

“Alright, then I’ll do my best to see what the outcome might be.  But I have to warn you, it won’t be easy.  The future is about possibilities and contains all the different paths open to us; the choices we make that affect others can create many variables. Additionally, your threads of destiny are so knotted now that it’s very difficult to see very far down any one path,” Shravan explained as he gestured for Maia to take a seat at the scrying ball table.

“I think anything you could tell me now would be helpful. Can you at least see if the fairies will bring Samael to me if I wish it?”

Shravan peered intently into the scrying crystal for several very long minutes. “Yes. Yes, I do see that,” Shravan confirmed. 

Maia was ecstatic.

“Wait! Something isn’t right...” Shravan gazed worriedly into the crystal ball. “Shortly after coming out of the well, Samael gets... changed? It seems as though he's been completely transformed!”

“Are you sure you’re reading that thing properly?! How could something like that even happen?”

“I don't know, maybe traveling through the wishing well produces a delayed physical transformation in Samael somehow; fairy magic can be tricky, and is very powerful,” Shravan said distractedly as he continued gazing into the crystal ball.  “But then again, perhaps not. I get the impression that you've already met him in this lifetime; I see you speaking to him at the well and he already seems familiar to you... maybe Samael's soul is in a new body? But then, how did he originally come out of the well in the form he wears in your dreams?? None of this makes sense to me!” Shravan exclaimed in frustration. “And now I can’t see anything anymore; the crystal has gone totally dark!”  

“Maia, I know you have your heart set on making this wish, but I have to advise you to put it off for now,” Shravan said. “There are just too many unanswered questions.” 

“But why? Just because you can’t predict what will happen afterwards? You said it would be hard to see very much. Or is it because my soulmate may be in another body than the one I know from my dreams? I’ve already said I would take Samael in any form! And put it off for how long?  Until my challenge is over? You said that the fairies would bring him to me now.  You said it was my choice to make!”

“And it is!  But more information is needed so we can figure this out.  Maybe just wait until the rest of your dream comes to you so you’ll know what you might be dealing with. I don’t want to see you hurt...”

“But reliving that horrid dream and burning in the fire of a star does hurt me!  Being separated from the man I love hurts me! What I need isn’t more information Shravan!” Maia shook her head. “What I need is to make a choice that doesn’t revolve around the challenge or the prophecy for a change. What I need... is Samael.”

“I understand, and I know this is hard, but I wish you’d reconsider. That’s all I can say in a professional psychic capacity, and that’s what I would counsel any of my clients to do if they were in this situation.”

Maia stood up slowly. “And what does my friend Shravan have to say about it?”

“Although he’d love to tell you to follow your heart, your friend offers the same recommendation as the psychic adviser.” Shravan closed his eyes for a moment and sighed, then put his hand on Maia’s shoulder.  “But he would also remind you of the promise he made that he would be there for you in your darkest hour—and he will be.”

Shravan didn’t need to be able to read the future to know that Maia had already made her decision... whether or not fate meant for her and Samael to be together now. And he knew that dark times were ahead from the way the crystal ball had dimmed, although in truth his glimpses of the future had been looking darker—for everyone he’d read for—for some time now. Something of great significance was looming in the not so distant future, but depended on unknown variables even he could not foresee.

But Maia’s choices were hers to make; her path, although intertwined with the paths of others, was still her own. And perhaps what was coming further down the road, after the darkness he could not see beyond, would eventually lead to a better outcome than it might have otherwise. After all, the future was ever-changing, and the threads of destiny were being rewoven even now...