Moonfire Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  About the Author

  Chapter One - New beginnings

  Chapter Two - Silver girl

  Chapter Three - You say potato

  Chapter Four - Reality, illusion, confusion

  Chapter Five - Meditation, mediation

  Chapter Six - First impressions

  Chapter Seven - Hello, Goodbye

  Chapter Eight - Rekindling

  Chapter Nine - Another day, another pahana

  Chapter Ten - Dream on

  Chapter Eleven - Dichotomy

  Chapter Twelve - Invitations

  Chapter Thirteen - Come fly with me

  Chapter Fourteen - Cabin in the woods

  Chapter Fifteen - One big happy fam

  Chapter Sixteen - Dragonflies

  Chapter Seventeen - Relativity

  Chapter Eighteen - Disappearing acts

  Chapter Nineteen - Guardian

  Chapter Twenty - Ascension

  Chapter Twenty-One - Foxy

  Chapter Twenty-Two - Sacrifices

  Chapter Twenty-Three - Circle of life

  Chapter Twenty-Four - On your side

  Chapter Twenty-Five - Bridge

  Chapter Twenty-Six - Date with destiny

  Chapter Twenty-Seven - Dancing with the devil

  Chapter Twenty-Eight - Transitions

  Sneak peak

  Chapter 1 Chelsea

  Chapter 2 Fia

  Books by M. Rae Göğetap

  Moonfire

  M. Rae Göğetap

  Sunshadow Publishing

  Copyright © 2016 M. Rae Göğetap

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Printed in the United States of America

  First Printing, 2016

  ISBN: 978-0-9978784-1-7

  Cover Design by Emily Mullikin

  Sunshadow Publishing

  PO Box 27232

  Omaha, NE 68127

  www.SunshadowPublishing.com

  For my Dad, my first fan. (He thought my 2nd grade book about a girl and her pet dolphin was pretty great.)

  M. Rae Göğetap is an independent author who works full-time in healthcare. She lives in the Midwest with the love of her life and their four children. She credits her father and mother for her inability to claim a country of origin or religion, and loves to indulge in her identity crisis by traipsing around the world and experiencing cultures firsthand.

  Chapter One

  New beginnings

  TIME IS AS nebulous as the clouds I tear through. I run on an invisible ramp in the sky, higher, farther, always upwards. My lungs burn and feel like I’ve run forever, though my journey started moments ago. There are no stars, no moon. Intangibility embodied, darkness surrounds yet also creeps towards me. Shadows sucking my hopes backward. Like water down the drain in a bathtub, my dreams are funneled, spiraling down.

  The one who created me waits for me in the distance. My sentinel. My head spins when I peek below. But darkness surrounds. My stomach twists even as I hum my personal cheer, distracting myself from the fear crawling under my skin.

  I’m rushing up again, reaching. My fingertips brush a hand. My stomach sinks. The non-existent ramp disappears. I taste acid and fear as I fall. My skin feels like it’s on fire; my shoulders burn, as though the sun itself slices me with whips of solar flame. Neither breath nor screams can escape my chest and I plummet towards the ground.

  I never make it to my sentinel in the nightmare, but I always try.

  I woke with a gasp, eyes darting to the passing black darkness outside the window. The stuffy odor of sweat and dust oriented me. I was in Arizona. On a bus. On the ground. Where I belonged.

  The lady next to me snickered and handed me a tissue, with which I used to smear the drool across my chin.

  “Thank you,” I murmured, wiping at the wetness on the edge of my mouth with as much as grace as I could muster.

  As usual, the nightmare bothered me. Where had I heard that song?

  Although the fall in my recurring nightmare freaked me out, the fact that I could never remember what song I hummed filled me with irritation. Why this nagged at me more than falling millions of feet to my imminent death, I could never figure out. I flexed my big toes inside my running shoes and sighed.

  The lady next to me cleared her throat.

  “Thanks again,” I said, smiling at my seat companion. She had short white permed hair, styled typical of her generation. Her pale skin lined to the max like the grooves of a record, yet her youthful smile flashed perfect teeth. Dentures? Her aura exuded a warmth that matched her sweet smile.

  “There, there, you’re journey winds to its end,” she said. She handed me another tissue from the pocket of her teal sweater. Her clothes reminded me of the bright colors my Dedushka’s friends wore at his nursing home. “You missed a spot.”

  I dabbed my my chin and checked my appearance on my cell phone screen. Drool free.

  “Oh, thanks. I’m fine, actually. Just tired,” I said, smiling.

  “Ha, and I’m 25 years old,” she said. “I saw what happened to you at the ticket counter way back at Eppley Airfield, young lady.” She cackled a laugh, slapping my shoulder. “I’m sorry, but the look on your face when she said you weren’t eligible to fly. I thought you would breathe fire on the poor lady!”

  I cringed, but giggled with her, remembering the mishaps of earlier.

  Upon check in at the airport ticket counter in Omaha, I had given the stewardess the cheesiest smile ever. I was flying on cloud nine before even stepping on a plane. My aspiration of leaving the nest was coming true, and with Aunt Mer’s blessing. I couldn’t stop smiling. My bags packed, my transcripts transferred, my housing procured, everything prepared for my junior year of college, out of state. Finally.

  Two years of convincing my Aunt I could handle living on my own had finally paid off. For most of my freshman and sophomore years at the University of Omaha, I rehearsed different debates and arguments to convince Meredith it was time for me to discover the world beyond her watchful eyes. These imaginary debates helped me survive trudging through courses and kept my mind from wandering to my past.

  So when the time came for my big show of independence, my cheesy smile fell a bit when Rena, the busy stewardess, told me my name was pinned as a person of interest on a Russian spy watch-list.

  My questionable status as an innocent civilian required extra security. Rena, the nice stewardess, called for reinforcements.

  “It’s just a precaution,” she said, returning her own cheesy smile. The precaution included the dumping of my two suitcases, duffel bag, and backpack onto the floor of a private security room. I became acquainted on an intimate level with a Federal Security Agent named Lee. An hour and a half later, my innocence (and control of my temper) proved me fit for travel.

  After returning to the flight attendant to pay for the repacked suitcases, my AmEx was declined. But having planned for this day for several years, I knew to travel nowhere without a little cash. I paid for the luggage and hurried through the non-groping segment of airport security.

  The boarding steward had closed the exterior doors as I arrived at the gate, out of breath. “No. No way,” I said. “I need on that plane. Please.” I flashed another cheesy smile. He shrugged and opened the door, directing me to the front of the plane. I’d done it. I’d made it.

  The Phoenix airport shuttle bus made it’s final stop at the University in Flagstaff. My new school. A floodlight swarming with insects bathed the parking lot in a soft yell
ow glow. I stepped from the last stair of the bus and stretched my arms with relief. Cool piney air filled my nostrils. Like Christmas.

  “I like you, thanks for the entertainment. Newbies always amuse me.” Pearl patted me on the arm before waving goodbye. She chuckled as she shuffled along with her pink and green paisley covered knitting bag. I laughed about being called out as a first time independent traveler.

  I unzipped my suitcase to retrieve my favorite green hoodie. The mountain air held a chill at night, though it was still early July.

  Tapping the map app on my phone, I programmed it with the address to my new place. The pleasant voice on the phone assured me I could walk the whole way in ten minutes.

  My blouse clung to the sweat on my chest, and I fanned myself with the fabric as I attempted to catch my breath. The dark brown brick combined with cedar panels blended into the forest beyond. A copper sign advertised my arrival at ‘Woodsclub’. At the gate, I buzzed #38, “Fia F.”

  “That you, Chelsea?” asked a feminine voice with a heavy southern accent.

  “Yep, Chelsea Shephard,” I said. A buzzing sounded, and I opened the gate. At the building entrance, I almost kissed the elevator in happiness.

  Upstairs, the front door ajar. I heaved the luggage it’s final twenty feet to the living room. Smiling, I held out my hand to my new roommate.

  One hand on her hip, the other holding a cell phone, she glanced indifferently at me in salutation. She ignored my outstretched hand.

  At half a foot shorter than my 5’8” combined with her pixie-cut hair, Fia resembled a never-land fairy. Her hot pink yoga pants and fitted black tank top revealed her slender, yet toned figure. What little aura I could sense from Fia hinted at annoyance. Oooookay. I toned down my empath antennae, already feeling the pulling of a migraine.

  Fia’s green eyes flashed to meet mine, before rolling them upwards as the voice on the phone said something loud. “Hey, nice to meet you. I’m talking with the boyfriend. Why don’t you settle in and get freshened up. We’ll chat tomorrow.”

  She gestured to a door at the end of the hall. I followed her, trying not to gawk as we walked the short distance. Cherry cabinets in the kitchen and a flat screen with surround sound in the living room caught my eye.

  Fia opened the door to my room, staying in the hall.

  “I’ll have Frank come over tomorrow to clear out all this junk. Night.” She speed walked the few feet to what I assumed was her own room.

  “No, it’s fine-“

  Fia’s bedroom door slamming cut off the rest of my sentence.

  I glanced around the room, twice as big as my bedroom in Omaha. Gold and silver trophies with black plaques haphazardly piled along one wall. Several racks of clothes dominated the free floor space in front of the bed. Shoes lined shelves of another wall, with boots and winter coats color coded along a sliding glass door. Did a mall throw up in here? Wow.

  Fia’s aloofness didn’t bother me. It didn’t look like Fia and I shared much in common so far. Aunt Mer made good money as a real estate agent, but Fia’s monthly allowance was probably more than Aunt Mer’s annual salary. How in the world did I get so lucky to find such a steal? And only half a block from campus, too.

  When Aunt Mer changed her mind about allowing me to finish college in another state, she involved herself with the planning. She helped me prepare for the move. She was the one who stumbled upon Fia, another college student enrolled in the same Public Health Nursing internship as myself. Funny how things work out.

  The fuzzy giddiness of fatigue pulled at me.

  Opening my largest red polycarbonate suitcase, I found my favorite light blue “These boots are made for walking” Carly Simon t-shirt and white and navy striped pajama pants. I opened my matching carry-on and pulled out my toiletries and stepped into the connecting private bathroom.

  Once I figured out how to turn on the fancy sink, I brushed my teeth. The sink itself sat on a vanity of intricately engraved wood, and the vanity’s feet were carved in the shape of paws. Marine blue tiles glinted in the shower, with an orange and blue swirly design along the top.

  I plopped against the down pillows of the bed and retrieved my e-reader. My new room might be a little cluttered with Fia’s clothes and trophies, but my heart was filled with pride. My own space. Well, my space, anyway. I smiled.

  Traveling with hundreds of people today drained me, but reaching my destination was only half the battle. I still had overprotective Aunt Meredith to deal with after my arrival. The whole trip, it had been “Text me when you get on the plane,” “text me when you’re on the bus,” “text me when you wipe your ass,” well, not quite, but you get the picture.

  Stifling parenting aside, my independence and new life lay ahead. I was on my own. Free and independent. Ever since I could remember, I wanted to escape my hometown, explore the rest of the world and discover more. In retaliation against this new satisfied feeling, my stomach churned with worry.

  Satisfaction felt alien. I sighed.

  Ignoring my upset stomach, I updated my location on Facebook and sent Aunt Mer and my BFF Seema a quick text message to let them know I was safe and sound.

  Alternating between flipping through TV channels and skimming Facebook updates, my eyes fell closed for longer and longer periods. Then my phone buzzed with a notification.

  You feeling okay?

  Ha. A loaded question, coming from my best friend. She knew more about me than Aunt Meredith.

  Feeling fantastic!! pretty sure apartment’s worth 5 times more than what I’m paying. probably a jacuzzi out on the balcony :D

  Sure, sure rub it in

  I can ask if she’s interested in a 3rd roomie. not too late to transfer…or will Vijay miss you too much? ;)

  moron- I swear if I never hear one more time ‘my eyes are like shining stars’. Gaaag!!

  Hugs friend, night for now

  Call me anytime, ok, C? I’m here for you, even though I may not be right there.

  Aw Seems, don’t make me say the L word…

  right, right, night C

  Another notification. I clicked on my inbox. My arms went from perfectly smooth to bumpy with goosebumps. Irregular beats of my heart thudded in my throat. It was person number two in my life who knew all about me.

  What’s happenin’ Chelsea. Haven’t heard from you in a while. You’re living in Arizona now- wow, crazy coincidence, I actually accepted a position there in Flagstaff.

  My e-reader shuddered. Nope, my hands trembled. I paced my bedroom, shaking out my hands in an attempt to rid my body of the toxic feelings bubbling to the surface. Could teenage heartache still feel so toxic at 21?

  Damn social media.

  He knew my secrets. He taught me how to control my abilities. Hell, I thought we were in love at one point. And we’d never talked since his abrupt departure.

  He unfriended me via social media five years ago, so how’d he get word I’d moved to Arizona?

  I opened the sliding glass door to my balcony, breathing in woodsy air. The piney scent did little to calm my nerves.

  I closed my eyes and tried to picture every good looking actor I could think of, but brown and amber, Dan’s eyes filled my mind.

  Was this fate?

  No.

  Love sucks. And fate has never been a friend to me.

  A hopeless romantic dwelled in me, just like every other girl my age. But I usually could shut her up with a reality-check-bitch-slap. It’s true, romanticism can bring hope. But as my teenage heart can avow, hopeless romanticism can also tear your heart to shreds.

  Chapter Two

  Silver girl

  IT WAS THE first day of my sophomore year of high school, the air heavy with nerves and humidity. The weather was not unusual for an August day in Nebraska, but my fellow classmates’ first day anxious energy fried my brain stupid. Especially after a Molecular Biology, where a mere syllabus turned waves of excited energy into pulsating angry blasts of disbelief. I needed to get away fro
m the jittering masses inside the building.

  Fanning myself with my school schedule, I pretended to ignore everyone else. My black and round plastic sunglasses hid the throbbing vein under my left eye. My chin held high, I split my attention between the cement benches and mature crab apple trees. But the lame auras of my fellow students continued to pound my brain. So, I made the most of it. Lunchtime afforded me time to unwind, to reset my mental clock. And my wind-down time always included making fun auras.

  Ms. Popular herself, Heidi Hawthorne, sported a snooty blob undulating around her corporeal body. While I couldn’t see auras, I could sense emotional projections; when people’s mood changed, I knew. My empath antenna, as I liked to call it. My good friend laughed at something Heidi said. Seema’s aura was peaceful, wisping with grace around her tiny shorts-clad legs, adding to a ballerina-esque figure.

  Before I could compare their auras further, someone yanked an ear bud out of my ear. Jamaican scents hit my nose- coconut mingled with sea air. Lifting my gaze in shock first I saw tan legs, then muscular arms, then a wide smile. A smile that promised fun and adventure. My eyes met pools of gold and I felt like melting into a puddle of happiness as he raised his eyebrows at me. My body covered with goosebumps.

  “Too cool for school, eh girly?” he asked, helping himself to a spot on the bench next to me. He draped his right arm around me. Before I could say a word, he winked and placed the purple earbud in his own ear. I smirked. He winced.