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!”