After sleeping it off, Penelope got over the incident from yesterday. In actuality, she had a dream of her own. She saw back to when she and Orion were centaurs and it was his last minutes of life.
After waking up, Penelope was in shock. “Orion might be onto something.” She told him about her dream and he smiled in almost disbelief, “Wow, I think our destinies might be connected.”
“I’m sorry, Orion, I didn’t think it was possible, that’s all. You know me; I’m all about the facts. But you must know that I’m only thinking of your safety,” she said as they headed for the airport.
The plane ride seemed to be nothing to him. He just waited through the flight, thinking really hard about what the next step of his quest would be. He had a feeling that his destiny lied in Mexico, somewhere in the ocean. He looked out his window to see the rich blue water, only to hear a familiar sound from his dream; it sounded so much like a whale that he was mesmerized by it. He looked around, wondering if anyone else heard it, but everyone was just minding their own business. “Penelope, did you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
“Never mind.” He looked away and looked back at his window, wondering if he was the only one who heard that ‘creature’ singing.
After arriving at the hotel, Orion felt an unusual sensation, a magical sensation wrap around him, which led him to believe that his destiny laid here somewhere. The suite upstairs seemed to be just like the one at the White Sands hotel, but with a Spanish touch. After he unpacked, he heard the creature again. He looked around, but his aunt and Penelope were going about their business. He heard it again. “I think I’ll go down to the lobby and have a look around.”
“Ok Orion, just be back by 4 o’clock,” Helen dismissed him. “Enjoy the atmosphere.”
He wheeled off, whispered, “I definitely will.” He picked up his room key off the side table and headed out the door. As he headed down the elevator, he thought about the voice, almost like it was telling him to come to it. Orion made a promise to himself that he would try to find out about it.
When he made it to the lobby, he immediately took notice of a variety of brochures for different “adventures” he could take at the receptionist desk. He had the opportunity to take a sunset sailboat ride as well as a few snorkeling programs.
He saw a particular program that made something dormant inside his heart turn on for the first time. It was a trip to the ruins of the ancient merpeople. He looked at the flyer more closely, seeing something inscribed in a different language. He hadn’t seen it before in his life, but somehow he was able to read it. It read, “Embark on a journey underwater where you will find your destiny.” Somehow, he felt that this trip was calling out to him. His eyes became a more vivid blue at the pleasure of the idea, knowing that he had to try for it.
He asked the receptionist, “Excuse me, do you think you could get me a reservation for this trip tomorrow?”
She nodded, graciously, “Of course, young man, just hold on for a minute.” After clicking on her computer for a while, she smiled, “There is one spot still available for the trip at noon tomorrow.”
He didn’t waste a breath on this decision, “I’ll take it,” and he gave her his hotel key to put the cost of the trip on. “Thank you,” he gave her a fresh smile and started to wheel away, feeling more confident than ever.
She noticed that he was on wheels and called him, “Excuse me!”
He wheeled around, with an angry look on his face, “What? Are you suggesting that I should reconsider this, because I supposedly can’t swim in my condition?” She waited for him to finish, “Listen, I appreciate your concern, but I can swim without using my legs just fine.” He wheeled off in a bit of a mood. He didn’t need anyone telling him what he could and couldn’t do.
She sighed, “I was going to say that this is the type of snorkeling trip that is dangerous for someone in your condition.”
As he headed back up to the lobby, he read the language again… ‘Am I the only one who can read this,’ he thought.
When he got back to the room, Helen was resting while Penelope was lying on the bed. “Hey Orion, what do you have there?” He handed them over and Penelope looked through them. “Interesting set of choices we have here.” She handed them all back except for the “Snorkeling in the Ruins” adventure, which she was studying. “I signed myself up for the trip to some ancient ruins for a couple of days.” He waited for a response, but Penelope looked at the brochure closer. “Orion, do you see this, this language here?”
“What about it?”
“I can read it…”
“Really?” He paused, “So can I… maybe it’s something to do with my destiny. Maybe we were together in my past life, that’s how you can read it too.” She looked at it, almost mesmerized by it. “You said you heard something, right?”
“Yeah…”
“And you’re going to be researching legends and stuff like that…”
“Yeah…”
“Well, I hope you find what you’re looking for,” she hugged him. He smiled, “Thanks for understanding, Penelope. It means so much to me.”
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