DANIEL (The Starlight Gods Series Book 6) by Yumoyori Wilson (2)

LUNAR ROTATION- XI, CYCLE 5012

I stare at the back of a woman as her long golden tresses float gently in the breeze. I'm happy because I know who she is, or should I say, who I wanted her to be? I walk forward slowly, step by step. The anticipation of finally meeting the woman I've yearned to have in my life continues to grow with each passing moment. I'm right behind her now and I can hardly wait to finally see my sweet mother's face. 

She slowly turns around to face me, but I'm left in sheer horror. Her face is covered in blood. The baby she holds in her arms is me, with several knives piercing my chest. 

A scream escaped as I jolted awake and immediately burst into tears. It was not long before I heard footsteps and my door opened.

"Daniel."

I opened my tear-filled eyes to see Father frowning, which only made me cry harder. He sighed, sliding through the crack in the door, leaving it still slightly open before coming to my side.

I extended my arms and met his gaze, hoping my silent plea for a hug would be answered. Father didn't like giving us much affection, stating we needed to learn to act like men. But I was so afraid and my body quivered from the memory of Mother's bloody appearance and the little baby I somehow knew was me.

He gave me a sad smile before pulling me into his arms and lifting me up, letting me cry into his shoulder as he walked back and forth, rubbing my back soothingly.

"It's just a dream, Daniel," he reminded, but his voice didn't give the reassurance my heart desperately needed. Maybe my gift was taking effect and making him feel just as fearful as I currently did.

With my gift, my emotions could affect those around me if I didn't maintain control. I'd been training alongside my brother, Michael, to learn to control it, but it was hard.

"I want Mommy!" I cried. I wasn't referring to our new mom, but my biological mom. Father said she disappeared right after I was born. He always told me it wasn't my fault that she vanished and they were still searching for her, but our new mom begged to differ.

She claimed my mother abandoned us because she couldn't handle having two Archangel children as badly behaved as Michael and I were.

"I know, Daniel. It's okay," Father soothed as he sat on my bed.

I heard the door creak and soft footsteps enter the room.

"Did Daniel have a nightmare again?" Michael's curious voice asked.

"Yes. Did he wake you?" Father wondered.

"No," Michael replied.

I turned from Father to look at Michael. "Sorry!" I sobbed, staring at my older brother.

He smiled and opened his arms for a hug. "Why don't I sleep here tonight so Father can go back to bed?" I outstretched my arms and Father handed me over to Michael who gave me a tight hug.

"Claire said you can't sleep in the same room as me," I reminded, sniffing.

"Why not?" Father questioned.

I heard a hint of anger in his voice, but I didn't want him getting upset with our new mom. If he did, we'd be the ones to face the consequences later on.

"Claire said it's not manly and we should sleep in our own beds. Don't tell her about this, please," Michael mumbled as he sat me down on my bed. 

I looked hesitantly at Father who frowned at Michael's admission, glancing from him to me. Michael was going through what Claire called a 'stage,’ just because he was interested in both males and females. She said if Michael stayed in the same bed as me, he'd continue his wicked behavior and begin thinking that sleeping in the same bed as another male was okay.

Marissa, our family’s maid, said there was nothing wrong with liking the same gender and there was no Starlight law against it, but it was still something not fully accepted in all realms. ArchAilennia was one of the realms that frowned upon such things.

I shook my head and gave him a pleading look. "Don't tell her, please?"

Father took a deep breath, letting the air out slowly before he nodded. "Fine. I won't tell her. Michael, you can sleep here tonight and I'll inform Marissa that I gave you permission, just in case. Neither of you stay up too late," Father instructed, before getting to his feet.

We both nodded and Father came and ruffled our blond locks before wishing us goodnight. He checked to make sure my nightlight was on before closing the door, leaving Michael and me alone.

"You want me to read you some stories?" Michael suggested.

"Okay!" I rubbed my eyes and watched as Michael hopped off the bed and grabbed a few books from the small bookshelf in the corner of my bedroom.

I climbed back between the sheets, leaving enough space for Michael to sit next to me. He returned with a few books; some were fairy tales and others showed different hairstyles for men and women.

"You think Mommy would like this style?" I wondered, pointing to the crown braid the model wore on the front cover.

Michael met my hopeful gaze and used the sleeve of his pajamas to wipe the tear stains from my cheeks.

"Dad said she loved to do her hair in different styles. This was one of her favorites," he explained.

I smiled, sitting up patiently and listening as Michael read me the instructions on how to do that kind of style.

Father thought it was strange that Michael and I were into styling hair. Claire thought it was girly and said it only made us more 'gay' as she liked to say when Father wasn't present, but as long as Father approved of it, she couldn't do anything about it openly.

Marissa had even bought us something called a mannequin so we could play around with different hairstyles and she'd help us learn all the steps.

We went through the different books and I rested my head on Michael's shoulder as he read the instructions and tried to demonstrate each braiding technique with his hands. Before long, I was struggling to keep my eyes open.

"Daniel?"

"I'm awake," I mumbled with my eyes closed. I heard him chuckle and felt my head being lifted slightly and then lowered gently to rest on my pillow. I could hear the shuffling of books, followed by the bed squeaking. The warmth of the blanket made me happy and I finally relaxed.

"Michael?" I whispered, trying my best to stay awake.

"Yes, Daniel?"

"Do you think if I learn all those hairstyles, Mommy will come back? Maybe she'd let us braid her hair and we can show her we're good," I wondered.

"Maybe. Father's having a hard time finding her. But we can still hope," Michael reassured.

"She'd be better than Claire, right?" I had no memory of her since she disappeared right after I was born, but Michael remembered bits and pieces.

"A lot better. She would sing to us and let us braid her hair whenever we wanted," Michael whispered.

I smiled and moved closer so I could snuggle next to Michael. "Michael?"

"Hmm?" He sounded like he was half asleep.

"You won't leave me too, right? I'll be good, I promise." I reluctantly opened my eyes to see his gold ones looking back at me.

He ruffled my hair. "I won't leave you. No matter how bad it gets. I'll always be your big brother and never abandon you." I gave him a wide smile before yawning and resting my head on the pillow we shared.

"I love you, big brother."

"I love you more, Daniel. I'll be here to fight the nightmares, so you can sleep. Don’t worry," Michael reassured me.

I relaxed and finally nodded off to sleep.

I was standing again in the same white room. The woman was wearing a pure white dress and stood on the balcony. Her long blonde locks wafted in the passing breeze and her wondrous melodic voice sang hymns and lullabies that spoke to something deep within my soul.

I wanted to approach her, but I remained frozen in place and worry sparked inside me. This could be another nightmare and I was too afraid to face it.

I looked to my left to see Father, whose ash blond hair fluttered as he approached the woman who I believed to be my mother. She turned to face him and this time her face was visible and free of the blood from my last nightmare. She had pale skin and bright gold eyes that reminded me of mine.

When Father met her gaze, his smile widened; his usual hard expression was soft and full of happiness. I wanted to be a part of their joy, but again my fear took over and I didn’t move.

They both turned to face me and my mother reached out for me to take her hand.

"Daniel?" The sweet melody of my name rolling off her tongue made me realize how much I longed to have her in my life for real.

Why did the Starlight gods let my mom disappear? Was it truly because she didn't love me? If so, couldn’t I see her just once? Why couldn’t I have the chance to tell her how thankful I was for her and have her hug me so I could cherish her warmth and scent?

I whimpered; tears began to pool in my eyes as I stared at my parents. I wished so badly for us to be a real family. I bet my real mom would love us and accept Michael for who he was, unlike Claire. It hurt to see what I’d dreamt of for years and know it was unattainable.

"Daniel."

I felt a hand grasp mine and squeeze gently. I looked up to see Michael who smiled down at me. "Didn't I say I'd fight off the nightmares? Don't cry."

"Is this a nightmare?" I questioned.

"No. It's a good dream. See? Mother and Father are right there and they're happy. They aren't mad at you. Neither am I. You should be happy," he reassured.

"Will you come with me? I'm scared to meet Mommy. What if she disappears again?" I asked worriedly. He knelt down and used his free hand to ruffle my shoulder-length hair.

"Of course. I'll stay with you the entire time. I promise."

I grinned and quickly hugged Michael with all my might. He didn't know how much I admired him and his reassurance always calmed me down.

He got back up and looked toward Father and Mother who eyed us with happy expressions. "Let's go."

I looked up to Michael one last time and nodded happily. I knew that I wouldn't be able to escape all my nightmares, but if Michael was here, he'd fight off every one of them and make sure I was safe.

With him by my side, I knew I could conquer my fears, because Michael was the best big brother I could ever ask for.