章節 44: They Who Dream of Him
"What kind of dreams did you have?"
Duncan was curious. In the past millennia, when boredom was at its height, he decided to 'jump' in to dreams.
Immortal beings like him had abilities that pop up every now and then. The older the god, the more complicated the ability, since he was coined "The Master of All Skills" it was not a surprise that he was able to visit dreams of others.
What he was not expecting was someone dreaming about his jumps.
"I was the first one to dream of you. Mommy was living in the city while I was at my father's place. He wanted to 'take care' me as he said so mommy relented," Duncan could hear the longing in his voice.
He could picture him, a boy not even seven, away from his mother. He may be with his father, but he must have felt lonely.
"You were having tea and was playing chess with a king. I do not know who the king was, but I knew he was that because of the crown on his head," there was a smile on his face when recalling that dream of his. "I woke up happy because you asked why you are wearing your crown, when you know that this is just a dream? His reply was because I am the king."
Duncan remembered that particular one. The king Claude was talking about was not yet a that king that time. It was interesting to see the dreams he jumped into become reality.
The frequency of each jump being a reality was becoming greater so he stopped. It was not good if those dreams he visited all became true. To know that a child had dreamt of those was a shock to him.
"And Nicole?"
"Hers was a little different. In my dreams you looked so weird. Your clothes looked different too. They were the same clothes I have seen in those historical documentaries that I have watched. But Nicole saw you wearing a flower necklace on one of her dreams," Claude said. There was a note of wonder in his voice.
Duncan couldn't help but smile at that particular jump. It was the first time he jump into dreams again. He was curious to see if he could still do it. So he picked a random man. He was not expecting it to be a tourist visiting Hawaii.
That particular event happened five years before Nicole was born. As for Claude, he was right. The first time he made the jump was somewhere around the Victorian era. Way before his time.
The probability of these children dreaming of him was zero point zero, zero, zero one percent. Yet here they were.
Fate, it seemed, had all things planned.
"Were you afraid, when you recognized who I was?" Duncan forced himself to ask. He was one of the most fearless beings on earth, yet he was afraid of what his future son thought about him.
Claude tilted his head. There was this bewildered expression on his face before saying, "Why would I be afraid? You were there when we were afraid and alone. I am not sure if you saw us, thought."
"I am afraid that those dreams you had happened in the past," Duncan explained. "I am not sure how or why you and your sister can see what I have done years before any of you were born. But there is one thing that I can assure you though," he looked at Claude and patted his head. "As long as I am here, you and your sister are safe."
Claude only nodded. He then glanced at his sister who was still sleeping. "Should I tell her who you are?"
"Do you want to?"
"I am not sure. Nicole knows things. She was the one who told me not to step into the water," Claude said in a remorseful voice. "I have no intention of going deeper. I was teasing her, telling her that there was nothing wrong with the lake. I…"
"Claude, what is done is done. You and she are alive, that is the important thing."
"Should we tell mommy…" there was a sudden spike of fear in the room. And it dawned to Duncan why he was crying. He was afraid that Julie might condemn him.
"Claude, my son, does your mommy love you?" Duncan asked. The boy nodded. "Will she be mad at you for nearly dying?"
"No. She will be shouting at me…"
"I think that is better than her crying over your dead body, don't you think so?" Duncan replied in a flippant manner. Claude pouted, causing the older man to laugh.
He then drew Claude in his arms once more. "Don't worry. I will be the one telling your mother what happened. It is better that I receive the burn of her anger."
"So she will be angry?"
"More likely, son that she will be. But the brunt of the anger will to herself."
"But she did not do anything wrong!" Claude cried adamantly. "She had been telling us to be careful, she was not even there when it happened. Why will she get mad to herself?"
"It was because she was not there, that she would get mad." Duncan calmly said, as he looked down at Claude's face. "You and your sister are her world. She wanted the best for both of you. She wanted you to live a full life without fear of others. The anger that she would feel is more on her regretting that she was not there to prevent it."
"But…"
"There are no buts, Claude. Your mother loves you that much, that she blames herself for all your mistakes. All your pain," Duncan quietly told Claude.
Duncan could see that Claude was processing the things he had said. He was still young, but everything that happened to him in the past, he had to grow up a bit faster.
"Will be like you?"
That question caught him off guard. Duncan's eyes deeply looked into Claude's. What he saw made his heart ache with happiness.
My brave, brave boy, Duncan thought. He had stopped himself from reading their minds. Just like their mother, they also posses the same ability, but the gods have yet to know what these precious children could do.
The fierceness he saw in the soul of his son made him proud that he was his. Duncan glanced at Nicole, and recalled what Claude had said, [She was one who told me not to step into the water.] His gut was telling him that his little girl was something more.
What it was thought, was unseen.
"Do you want to be like me?" he countered.
"Will it hurt?"
"Hurt?"
"To be like you."
"No, it won't."
Duncan was slowly running his hand on Claude's head. When he was sure that he was sleeping, he carried his son and magically conquered another plush sofa. He laid him on it and produced a fleece blanket for the two kids that he had taken as his.
He kissed each other forehead before returning to his desk. He looked out the window, and gazed at the lake caused the chain of events to unravel.
He looked back at the two kids. Both peacefully sleeping. He could see a faint glow in them, and an indication that they are changing. Little by little, they are becoming different.
"It wont hurt," he said to the sleeping children, "because the two of you already are."
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