Free Legend of the Touched by JF Jenkins Page B

sense," he said softly. Everyone in the family
had been coping with their father's death in different ways. Darien
personally avoided his father's old bedroom, but he'd done that
while the man was still alive too. The death of his mother kept him
as far away as possible. She'd died giving birth to him, and Darien
had a hard time accepting it happening as an act of love. Being in
his parents' bedroom felt awkward to him, as if their spirits were
still lingering. If Brian wanted to go and reminisce however, it
wouldn't be held against him.
    "And what are you doing up? And making coffee so
late?"
    "Insomnia is my life it seems. Bad dreams."
    "If you're drinking coffee now, that probably isn't
going to help. What are your dreams about?" It was surprising that
Brian actually wanted to know. Darien would have thought his
brother would believe it to be childish.
    After a moment of hesitation, Darien decided to try
and bond with his eldest brother. They were twelve years apart in
age, so naturally they didn't have a lot in common. "In it, I'm at
school wandering through the hallways. Tai has a baby, our son I
think, and she keeps telling me to feed him. I try to explain to
her that I don't have any food, and then she tries to kill him.
Right as I'm about to stop her, I wake up. I've been having it a
lot."
    Brian leaned against the counter-top. "You're afraid
of becoming an adult."
    "Huh?"
    "That's what your dream means."
    "I didn't know you knew anything about this
stuff."
    "Who do you think taught Tony everything he knows?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Babies and children symbolize our dreams and
desires. School is your want to achieve. She's trying to tell you
to continue to nurture your dreams, but you don't feel you have the
ability to do so. Instead of helping, she tries to destroy it."
    "Why would she do that though?"
    "It's a dream. It's not like she's actually trying to
hinder you. She does it because you're doing it to yourself. I'm
sure being the Great Dragon Lord is a lot of pressure, but I think
you're taking it a little too seriously. Just an observation.
You're a lot more wound up than usual. Didn't Dad always tell us to
not worry so much about things?"
    Darien let out a soft sigh. "I can't focus on what I
want. Then who would protect our people?"
    Brian chewed on his lower lip for a moment. "It's
only my interpretation of things, but it obviously scares you to be
taking on all of these responsibilities. I can't blame you for that
one bit. They petrify me, and I'm not even the one who got chosen.
Ever since Dad died though, we've all had to take on new tasks for
this family. Are you looking at it like it's the end of everything
though?"
    "Kind of," he admitted.
    "Well it's not. Stop being so afraid, and don't let
go of your past goals. Should help end your nightmare pretty
fast."
    "To be honest, I'm not sure I ever had any goals.
I've never known what I wanted to do with my life."
    "That doesn't mean you don't have dreams. Just think
about it, or ignore my suggestions. You're the one who's losing
sleep over it, not me."
    Darien shook his head. "No, you're right. I need to
chill out a little. We should do this more often."
    "Maybe." Brian grabbed the pizza cutter and moved to
leave the kitchen. He paused in the door. "I would like to
understand you, understand all of this, better."
    He laughed. "Me too." He watched his brother leave,
giving little more than a small wave on his way out the door.
Taking a sip of his freshly poured coffee, he sat back in his chair
and closed his eyes. Everything Brian said had made sense to him.
But how could he not be petrified of doing something he wasn't
ready for?

Chapter Eighteen
    The Inero
     
    So close. They were so close to getting there. Gwen
lay next to Jason half naked, on her side, contentedly. He too was
in a similar state, and as frustrated as the inner voice sounded
with him, he loved the warm feeling inside of his gut. They were
going at the right pace for them. Each of their own