Mirai

-----

I had no idea if I would be able to pull it off, and if I managed, I had no idea if it would actually help. It could backfire completely. It could make Tamah even more certain of that she was responsible for all of the death and destruction. But I didn't know how else to help her.

I brought her down to the kitchen where Dad had pancakes with whipped cream and berries waiting for us. It looked delicious, but I barely glanced at the food.

"I have a question," I told Dad and he nodded while putting a pancake on each of the plates already by my and Tamah's seats. "Is it possible to make someone else see a vision I've had?"

He moved the whipped cream and berries to Tamah. She had taken her seat while I had remained standing. She didn't seem interested in the food though, but kept her eyes on me.

"I've heard of others doing so, but I've never done it myself," he answered and turned to the counter from which he took a teapot.

"Do you know the principles of how to do it?"

He poured two cups of tea that he then moved to stand by our plates.

"From what I've gathered, it's mainly just to will it into happening." He poured himself a cup that he took a sip from. "You'd need to have physical contact, holding hands for instance, but then just visualize the vision and the other person seeing it. The other person must also be open to receiving it."

He looked over at Tamah. She met his eyes, but then turned to me. Though she now talked in my company, she'd only said a few words in Dad's presence, so I wasn't surprised by the fact that the question was never asked but only shone from her eyes and the slight frown.

"I don't know if it will help you," I explained to her and tried to also manage my own hope for that it would to lessen potential disappointment. "But it might if you get to see what happens after the green smoke and if you actually know what happened when Nesiah and Pele died."

She shook her head and got out of her seat. The chair fell to the floor.

"No," she whispered and took a step back.

"We can start with something else," I went on. "Another time when the green smoke took over."

She continued to shake her head.

"If it becomes too much, you should be able to withdraw from it. And you'll see it from the outside. You won't feel any pain. And I'll be able to stop it as well if I notice it's too much."

She bit her lip but stopped shaking her head.

"I know it's scary. But it might help you. It might make the nightmares easier to handle. Maybe even make the nightmares eventually stop."

She shivered and her head shook slightly again before she nodded. I smiled and went over to her. Hugged her in the hopes of lessening some of her fears.

"Let's do it straight away," I said to her while still holding her in my embrace. "I don't know about you, but I don't think I'll be able to keep any food down right now anyway."

She let out a shaky laugh and nodded against my shoulder.

We went back up to the safety of the bedroom. There we sat down on the bed, facing each other. Holding hands.

I knew exactly what to show her. What she needed to understand was that she wasn't Lamia, that she held no control over what happened when she transformed. The best way to show that was through an extreme circumstance, one that properly showed how unnatural and unstoppable Lamia was in her rage. But also one that showed another's compassion for her.

Out of all that I had seen, there was only one that fit into that description. The one in Jerusalem. The one with Nox.

I knew that there was more that I also wanted to show her to hopefully help her understand. Like how she would not attack me when being Lamia, how she instead would listen and turn back into Tamah. But for her to properly understand how different that was from the rest, she needed to first know how Lamia usually never stopped.

I also really wanted to show her that first time so she could see that she bore no blame for Nesiah's and Pele's deaths. That Hera's jealousy and anger with Zeus was the cause of it all. But she would need to be more open to that she wasn't a monster first. If not, that would definitely only confirm her view of herself.

"Are you ready?" I asked her.

"Yes," she nodded and sounded firmer than I had thought she would. Her hold on my hands became harder as if even they agreed. I felt pride over that assent. Just the day before, she hadn't even wanted to tell me about her nightmares. She really grew stronger with each passing day.

I also felt a small ray of hope. If this worked, if she continued to grow like she did, then maybe there was enough time left before I would disappear. Maybe she would be whole and happy before then, maybe enough so that she would be fine without me.

I took a deep breath and then closed my eyes. I concentrated on the memory of what had happened in Jerusalem. Brought the vision of it forward within myself. It came with ease, which in itself felt strange to me. How I had tried and tried before to force visions to no avail. To now have them come with barely any effort was a stark contrast.

When the vision was all that filled my mind, I focused on Tamah as well. Focused on having her see what I saw. I felt a slight resistance, but then the resistance let up and I felt us connect. It almost felt as if I brought Tamah into my own mind and I knew she watched the events of the vision unfold in her own mind.