“Oh, fantastic news! They make such good parents.” She beams.
I feel impatient. “They do. But, like, the dreams, Granny?”
She wipes her hands on her apron. “Yes, sorry, right. Back to the future dreams. You say they started recently? Have you seen anything else?”
“I saw Greg betray me. I dreamt he stabbed me in the heart.”
Her brow furrows. “Wow, OK, yes, it certainly sounds like this is something, Harri.”
“So, what do I do?” I ask, puzzled.
“Whatever you want to do, my darling. You can choose to embrace it and learn how to manipulate it. I’m guessing the dreams right now are hazy and difficult to read, but with the right learning you can understand them deeper, and they will become more clearer. Or…”
“Or?”
“You leave it. You will have more which stay as hazy as they are now, and eventually, they fade into nothing.”
I pause for a moment. Do I want this? I think of all the women before me and what they went through to have these powers. Everything they endured. The people they have helped.The women who were wrongly accused.
Not a chance in hell I’m letting them down. “How do I embrace it?”
She smiles proudly. “Now let me see.” She walks into the front room and beckons me to follow her. She starts rooting through the bookcases. “It is here somewhere…” Dust flies off the incredibly old books that she moves until she pulls out a large red leather-bound book. “Here.”
She sits down on the floral sofa and tells me to sit with her. She blows the dust off the spine and opens it. She quickly flicks through the pages. “I’ve read about dream telling before I know I have. Ah, here!”
She points to a page which looks like it is written in Latin. “Mmm, yes, I thought that. Mmmm, OK…” She traces the page with her finger and brings her glasses up her nose to read a little better.
“You can read that?”
“Of course! Easy. I’ll teach you sometime,” she says so flippantly like it’s the easiest thing to do.
I shake my head at her, smiling at her. “What does it say?”
“It basically says that to take power on dream telling you must be aware of the dream while it is happening. Instead of feeling fearful of the dream, embrace its message and learn from it. Sometimes a dream telling will be harder to read but the signs are always there. One must focus before sleep to ensure they are ready to receive the dream telling. Dream telling doesn’t occur every night, just on times when a future warning or celebration must be told through the dream. This can be the future of the witch or someone the witch is close to.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that if you’re right, then yes, you can tell the future.” She sets the book on her lap.
“Does that mean I am like you and Aunt Aradia?” Emotions swirl inside me.
“Oh, darling, powers or not, you are like us. You have our blood; you have our soul. But yes, Harri, you are a witch through and through and you can choose to take this gift and use it for your benefit or others, or you carry on like I said before and let it phase out.”
I sink into the sofa. “Is this real life, Granny?”
“Beautiful, wonderful real life.” She rests her hand on mine. “Look, take some time, it is a lot of responsibility to take on. Dream telling is extremely powerful. You will have the knowledge of someone’s life including yours and the future can be positive or negative. It can be a lot to have that knowledge.”
“On top of everything I have going on.” I place a cushion over my face.
Granny laughs at my dramatic gesture. “Ah yes, with great power comes great responsibility, but if I know you like I think I do, you’ll do what’s right.”
I peek from the side. “You think?”
“Jim called to say thank you for your offer of giving him a few weeks’ break. You have so much good within you, Harri. I know you will do the right thing for you.”
I place the cushion on my lap. “Thanks, Granny.”
“You’re welcome. Now, let’s take a break from dream telling and you can help me cook these bloody lamb chops your aunt has been going on about. When she wants something, she does not stop going on about it.”
