Until the Tide Returns

“How accurate are the visions?” There was one very troubling aspect to what I saw. “Are they usually dead on?”

“Was something wrong?” Landons face was nothing but concern as I attempted to hide the panic from my face. It wasn’t working.

“Maybe, I don’t know, I need to talk to Gram.” Landon started to say something as I jumped off of the bed and ran down the hall stopping once I reached the kitchen counter. Gram was currently scrubbing a plate in the sink. “When you had your first vision of Mom, before she was born, how accurate was it? Like did what you see actually happen?” She stopped scrubbing and placed the plate in the soap filled sink, wiping her hands on her bright bohemian skirt.

“As far as I know none of our visions have been wrong. Did you have one?” I nodded. “Should I start preparing one of your bedrooms as a nursery?”

“No, she won’t be born until I’m in my twenties. But there was something seriously wrong with my vision Gram, I’m scared that I’m going to hurt her.”

“Now why would you be scared of that?” Landon had at some point silently walked up behind me and now placed a hand on the small of my back easing my nerves the tiniest bit.

“It was my 25th birthday, Landon was standing beside me, and she was sitting in my lap helping me blow out the candles on my cake, I think she was 3.” Landons hand dropped from my back. Gram stood with her jaw set staring at some point above my head. I counted ten Mississippi’s before speaking again. “Can you tell me how that could be anything but wrong?” Grams eyes snapped to my face a line of worry appearing above her brow.

“I don’t know honey, I’m going to go get your mother and then she and I are going to go pay a visit to my mother.” Her mother? Why hadn’t I met her? “I want you two to stay here. Finish the dishes while I’m gone.” Gram gave me a small smile for comfort before grabbing her things and leaving.

“Gram’s mother is still alive?” I asked Landon.

“Yeah, they don’t get along though so she doesn’t see her unless there is an absolute need.” Landon gripped my shoulders and led me to the living room.

“Gram said we need to finish the dishes.”

“Tell me what you saw.” He lowered himself onto the couch carefully moving the throw pillow and the blanket Gram had been using during her nap today out of the way. I sat on the now cleared space.

“We were at a house, I don’t know whose, it wasn’t familiar, and there was a cake that had ‘Happy 25th Birthday!’ in blue icing written across the top. It was like I was watching from somebody else’s point of view. She was sitting in my lap helping me blow out the candles and you were standing behind me holding some… thing.” I had been to preoccupied in the panic of seeing my daughter in my lap to notice what Landon had been holding. Now that I recalled the image that was in my mind so vividly I understood exactly what he was holding. “She looked just like you. Her brown hair was pulled into a ponytail with a pink bow and she was wearing a white dress with little pink flowers all over it. The only part of her that resembled me were her eyes. She was so beautiful.” Landon looked at me with a tint of sadness. “What’s wrong?”

“I just wish there was a way for me to see it.” He said softly. “I might pick up on something that could help us understand what it meant.”

“Maybe there is.” I murmured standing up and heading into the garage. Landon followed me asking what I meant but I ignored him as I moved boxes around until I found the one I wanted. I reached in and pulled out the large 36 inch by 48 inch canvas. When I purchased it I wasn’t sure what exactly I would be painting on the large surface but now I knew what it was meant for. “What if I paint my vision?”

“You would do that?”

“Of course Landon, I want to show you what I saw. All we need is to go to an art supply store, I told my dad not to ship any of my paints.” I looked into the box for my brushes, all of which my dad had just tossed into the box. Most of them were damaged. “And some brushes, they didn’t survive the trip.”



“Honey, what are you still doing up?” I peeked around the canvas to the doorway where Gram stood.

“Painting.” I thought it was pretty obvious even though she couldn’t see me she could see the easel and the back of the canvas.

“I can see that, I meant why are you painting at 3 in the morning?” I had been painting for seven hours.

“I just really need to finish this.” Gram let out a sigh and stepped into the garage walking over to me and looked at the painting.

“Is that…?”

“My vision? Yes.” It was no where near done. There wasn’t a single object in the painting that was finished. “I want Landon to be able to see it too.”

“Alright Beckett, it’s already late and I don’t see you or I being in an condition to go to school tomorrow. So just this once you and I are going to play hooky, Landon will still be going to school, I’ll leave him a note so he doesn’t wake us. You can work on your painting all day tomorrow while I go through the records with your mother again.”

“Records?”

“Every Keeper has kept journals or diaries on their experiences. They right down their visions, what they can do with their powers, what they’ve done. The eldest Keeper holds onto them and passes them along to the next eldest once she dies. At the moment the eldest is my mother. Maya and I have spent the entire night coming through journals in hopes of finding something, and tomorrow we’ll pick back up.”

“Should I start keeping one?”

“It would probably be a good idea. That way future generations will have it should they need help with something, and you honey, have had a pretty big change in the usual pattern.” I picked up my brushes and followed gram into the house. After we had come back from the art supply store Landon finished the dishes so I could begin painting. At some point he said good night but I don’t know when that was. I went to the bathroom and cleaned my brushes before going to bed and passing out almost immediately. I didn’t realize how tired I was.

I woke up shortly after 10. There was a text on my phone from Landon, and a note on the counter from Gram. I replied to Landons text letting him know I was awake and read Gram’s letter, she had gone to her mothers to do some more research and didn’t know when she would be back. I grabbed my brushes from the bathroom and went into the garage. I knew the weather was nice so I opened the large garage door and took my easel and stools outside setting right to work.

An hour later my phone rang. “Hello?”

“Have you decided yet?”

“Excuse me?” I should have checked to see who was calling before picking up.

“Where the proceeds from the concert are going? They want to get the posters and shirts drawn up today. Plus I need to contact whoever’s in charge to let them know what we’re doing.” I was so engrossed in my painting my brain wasn’t recognizing what he was talking about fast enough.

“Perry?”

“Yeah? Are you high or something?”

“What? No, I’m just working on something and it took me a minute to switch gears. I’ll text you the info. I meant to last night but things got a little out of hand.”

“Whatever you say Beckett. Your mom was a major pot head back in the day, like mother like daughter.” Perry hung up and I quickly sent him the text including a memo informing him that was something I had not inherited. I wouldn’t even know where to get pot. A moment after I set my phone on the stool I had been using as a table it vibrated.

So where are you today? Marissa is taking your absence as a sign that there’s trouble in paradise and has inserted her bony ass into your usual seat. I responded to Bernie telling her that there was something I had to take care of. You’re coming back tomorrow right? I can NOT take another day of this bitch practically throwing herself at my super awesome friend who super awesomely scored me a ticket to the Quiet Ascension concert’s boyfriend.

What did she mean by throwing herself at him? Clearly it wasn’t meant in the literal sense. I responded with a simple What?

It’s pathetic. She’s sitting here batting her eyelashes at him, touching his arm, asking him if he’s going to the concert this weekend... suggesting they meet up there. Don’t worry girlie. He looks really annoyed, and is being seriously curt with his replies. Had he been like that to me when I just implanted myself upon you on your first day here I would have gotten the memo and vamoosed. She’s kind of dense.

Ok? It’s not like her seat will be near ours.

Uh, Beckett, the concert is at a park. There are no seats. Right. I forgot about that. Wait, why are you sure she won’t have seats near ours?

It’s just an expression

Hate to break it to you girlie but it’s not. Don’t worry, I’ll ask lover boy. Maybe he can tell me how you mysteriously scored free tickets to the concert. I set my phone back down and continued painting. I knew Landon wouldn’t tell her anything. Bernie texted me half an hour later to inform me that our ceramics teacher was asking about my whereabouts. Great.



Landons tires crunched against the pine needles and dead trees. I waved at him from my spot in the driveway behind my easel. I wasn’t sure if he could see me, his windshield was too tinted to see. The engine cut off and the drivers door opened.

“Hey, can you not look? I don’t want you to see it until it’s finished.” The passengers door opened.

“Does that mean I can look?” Relik asked jumping out of the car. I had enough done to where he would be able to tell what I was painting. How would I explain painting a family portrait of Landon and eye with our daughter and… this was bad. I could not let him see this.

“Actually, I would prefer you didn’t. Artists superstition and all that.” I looked to Landon for help as he shut his door.

“Relik you can go in I’m going to help Beckett move this inside.” Landon pointed to the front door and I hoped Relik got the hint. If he went through the garage he could easily turn and see my painting.

“I’ll grab the canvas you grab the easel.” I picked up the canvas and waited for Landon to take the easel in. When he did I brought in the canvas telling him I would meet them inside. Once I had brought in the stools and my brushes I pressed the button for the garage door to close and made my way inside.

Landon and Relik were sitting at the kitchen table laughing about something. “Bernie seems to think you’re hiding something. That you have ‘seats’ to a concert in the park?” Relik commented as I walked by them towards the bathroom.

“Huh, imagine that.” I smiled and went into the bathroom.

“Landon never did tell me how you got all those free tickets.” Relik called out.

“You mean all four of them?” I called back. “You make it sound like there’s so many of them.” Landon stepped into the bathroom hugging me from behind.

“You’re going to school tomorrow right? I think Bernie may actually attack Marissa if she decides to eat with us again. Not that I’m going to stop her or anything.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time.” Relik laughed from the other room. His chair scooted back and I soon heard footsteps as he walked to the bathroom. “Bernie is pretty scrappy.”

“Are you sure it was her?” Bernie didn’t seem the type to resort to anything physical.

“In 10th grade Marissa decided to sneak into the girls locker room while Bernie was in the gym and took her clothes. That way she would have to walk around in her gym clothes. Bernie was pretty cool about it. She acted like she didn’t care. Even when she went to her locker and found her bra and panties ceremoniously stuck to the front of her locker. Bernie walked up and pulled them off tossing them in her locker like it was a flyer for a school dance or something. I don’t think any other girl could have pulled off the nonchalance Bernie did. Marissa and her little groupies kept making comments and stupid jokes at her the rest of the day and it didn’t seem to bother her.”

“Was she just building up rage or something?” Landon asked.

“Nope. Marissa decided at lunch to ‘accidentally’” Relik used air quotes, “spill her lunch all over Bernie. I honestly thought at that point Bernie was going to punch her and I doubt anyone would have stopped her. But no, Bernie stood up, took off her shirt, tossed it at Marissa and then started walking of the cafeteria in her shorts and sports bra like there was nothing wrong. Marissa should have just believed her luck that no one, especially Bernie, decided to do anything about it. Even the admins in the cafeteria stood there completely stunned at how Bernie was handling it. And then Marissa decided to open her mouth and make a comment about the scar on Bernie’s side. She said something like it needed to be covered up or something about how it looked. No one in the cafeteria made a move to stop her. Marissa completely had it coming. Broken nose and all. The administrators waited at least two minutes before they pulled her off of Marissa.”

“Because of a scar?”

“Our freshman year Bernie’s best friend got her drivers license and a car for her 16th birthday, she was held back a year, shortly after Lindsay and Bernie were coming home from the movies. Marissa was on her way home and driving her brothers car that she stole the keys to. She was completely trashed and slammed into them hitting and killing Lindsay instantly. Bernie was impaled after the car flipped and was in critical condition for awhile and had some serious surgery done to save her life. Marissa walked away without a scratch and got off with only a month in juvie and a bunch of community service. Her mom is a really powerful attorney. She made it seem like Marissa had the right of way and Lindsay was at fault.” We were all silent for awhile taking this information in.

“How is Bernie so… I don’t know. It seems like what happened doesn’t bother her.” Relik nodded.

“She does doesn’t she? I read what she texted you today at lunch and I’ll hear her make a snide comment or crack a joke on Bernie’s behalf every once in awhile in class but I’m not sure. She and I never really hung out or anything. We never ate lunch together until you two showed up. I’ve had classes with her but I don’t know. I kind of think she’s decided Marissa isn’t really worth it. She hit her hard enough that one time to where Marissa’s face was swollen for awhile. Her mom tried to press charges but the faculty all said that Marissa hit her first. I think everyone, even Marissa’s ‘friends’ collectively agreed she deserved it. I think on some level Marissa did to. Marissa has pretty much left her alone since. Though I have seen Bernie go to meditation classes down the street from my house quite a few times.” I had finished rinsing my brushes and felt it was time we take this from the bathroom to the hallway.

“I have a feeling that when we go to the concert Saturday, Marissa is not going to be happy.” I said walking towards the living room and stopping dead in my tracks when I saw who was standing there. “I’m really hoping you can keep a secret Relik.”

“Why’s that?” He asked looking at some picture that was hanging in the hallway.

“I thought you would like to see the designs for the shirts and posters. They were made up pretty quick and I even managed to score you some shirts.” Perry held up one of the black shirts and showed me the front then flipped it to the back where VIP was printed in bold white letters. “So how many of these do you need?”

“Holy shit.” Relik said finally having noticed who was standing in my living room. “How did you get shirts so early and why do they say VIP?”

“Really? You don’t recognize him?” Landon asked.

“Should I? Does he work with Quiet Ascension or something? I listen to their music but I have no idea what any of them or the people that work with them look like.”

“Are you going to the concert Saturday?” Perry asked. Relik nodded. “My niece did offer you a free backstage pass right?” Relik looked at me with a raised brow.

“Ticket, backstage pass, what’s the difference?” I shrugged. “It’s pretty much the same thing isn’t it?”

“No.” Relik shook his head slowly. “It’s not.”

“She didn’t by any chance tell you how she scored these awesome ‘tickets’ did she?” Perry asked. Relik, again, shook his head. “I think it’s time I properly introduce myself. Perry Holtz, Beckett’s uncle.” Relik’s eyes bulged.

“Holy shit. You’re related to Perry Holtz?” Relik asked me.

“Apparently so.” I shrugged.

“No need to sound so enthusiastic Beckett.” Perry laughed. “Relik is it? What size shirt do you wear?”