“You sure about this, Grandpa Jessie? This place has been in the family for nearly one hundred years.”
“You’re more important than wood, stone, and animal trophies,” said Jessie. “Great-Grand Papi and Great-Gram Ruby would understand. Sometimes you just have to say goodbye, and now is a good time. I have enough memories of this place to last a lifetime. Besides, the money from the sale will support both of us for years.”
“Grandpa…”
“You’re more like your grandma than you realize, Jackie.”
Jessie smiled and squeezed her hand, the one with the new guardian ring. He had almost stopped hoping one of his offspring would be chosen. Last month Jackie showed up unexpectedly and he knew. In fact, he knew more about what to expect than Jackie did. Jessie never told his family about his wife’s secret life as a Dream Guardian. They never understood how she could lie down for a nap and wake hours later more fatigued than before. The truth was she traveled in a mystical dream world, projecting herself all over the planet.
Now Jackie was part of that world and her safety and welfare was more important than the family lodge. She was more than his last living relative, she was hope where there was none, kindness in an unkind world, and courage where most would run in terror. Jackie was a Dream Guardian, protector of the weak and unsuspecting.
And she didn’t even realize it yet.
alkaplan 